Alex Shvartsman (born November 19, 1975) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and editor known primarily for humorous short stories. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction in 2014 for his short story "Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma" published in the InterGalactic Medicine Show magazine. He won the WSFA Small Press Award in 2014 and was a finalist for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Writing in 2015 and 2017.
Alex Shvartsman is also a Magic: The Gathering player. While having enjoyed only a moderate degree of success on the Pro Tour, he is one of the most successful Grand Prix players ever. With 21 appearances, Shvartsman held the record for most Grand Prix top eights for a long time, but is now ranked 12th tied with Shota Yasooka.
Bibliography
Full-length books
Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories, UFO Publishing, 2015 H. G. Wells, Secret Agent, UFO Publishing, 2015 The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories, UFO Publishing, 2018 Eridani's Crown, UFO Publishing, 2019 The Middling Affliction, The Conradverse Chronicles, Book 1, Caezik SF & Fantasy, 2022 Kakistocracy - The Conradverse Chronicles, Book 2, Caezik SF & Fantasy, 2023 Dreidel of Dread: The Very Cthulhu Hanukkah, UFO Publishing, 2024 The Best of All Possible Planets, UFO Publishing, 2026
Selected short stories
"How Gaia and the Guardian Saved the World", Amazing Stories, 2016 "One in a Million", On Spec, 2016 "Whom He May Devour", Nautilus, 2016 "Islands in the Sargasso", Galaxy's Edge, 2015 "Burying Treasure", Chicks and Balances (Baen Books), 2015 "He Who Watches", Fireside, 2015 "The Golem of Deneb Seven", InterGalactic Medicine Show, 2014 "The Keepsake Box", Daily Science Fiction, 2014 "High-Tech Fairies and the Pandora Perplexity", InterGalactic Medicine Show, 2014 "In the Wake of the Storm", Buzzy Magazine, 2013 "The Rumination on What Isn't", Nature, 2013 "The Tinker Bell Problem", Buzzy Magazine, 2013 "Things We Leave Behind", Daily Science Fiction, 2013 "Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma", InterGalactic Medicine Show, 2013 "The Epistolary History", Nature, 2013 "A Gnomish Gift", Weird Tales, 2013 "Requiem for a Druid", Galaxy's Edge, 2013 "The Miracle on Tau Prime", Daily Science Fiction, 2013 "The Tell-Tale Ear", Nature, 2012 "Nuclear Family", Kasma SF, 2012 "Ravages of Time", Nature, 2012 "A Shard Glows in Brooklyn", Buzzy Magazine 2012 "The Take", Daily Science Fiction, 2012 "Spidersong", Daily Science Fiction, 2011 Link to complete bibliography.
As editor "Unidentified Funny Objects: An Anthology of Science Fiction & Fantasy Humor". United States: UFO Publishing, 2012. "Unidentified Funny Objects 2". United States: UFO Publishing, 2013. "Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic". United States: UFO Publishing, 2013. "Dark Expanse: Surviving the Collapse". United States: Deorc Enterprise, 2014. "Unidentified Funny Objects 3". United States: UFO Publishing, 2014. "Funny Science Fiction". United States: UFO Publishing, 2015. "Unidentified Funny Objects 4". United States: UFO Publishing, 2015. "Funny Fantasy". United States: UFO Publishing, 2016. "Unidentified Funny Objects 5". United States: UFO Publishing, 2016. "Humanity 2.0". United States: Arc Manor / Phoenix Pick, 2016. "Funny Horror". United States: UFO Publishing, 2017. "Unidentified Funny Objects 6". United States: UFO Publishing, 2017. "The Cackle of Cthulhu". United States: Baen Books, 2018. Future Science Fiction Digest, 2018 "Unidentified Funny Objects 7" United States: UFO Publishing, 2018. "Unidentified Funny Objects 8" United States: UFO Publishing, 2020. "Unidentified Funny Objects 9" United States: UFO Publishing, 2022. "The Digital Aesthete" United States: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, 2023 "Unidentified Funny Objects 10" United States: UFO Publishing, 2026.
As translator (From Russian to English)
If You Call Now - Sergey Lukyanenko - UFO, 2012 The Ferryman - Siarhey Bulyha - Spark v. 6, 2014 Black Hole Heart - K.A. Teryna - Apex, 2017 Untilted - K.A. Teryna - Apex, 2017 Impress Me, Then We'll Talk About the Money Tatiana Ivanova - UFO6, 2017 The Scheduled War - Tatiana Ivanova - Amazing Stories, 2019 Americans on the Moon - Oleg Divov - Future SF, 2019 The Building Atop the Hill - Alexander Bachilo - Future SF, 2019 Morpheus - K.A. Teryna - Samovar, 2019 The Slave - Andrej Kokoulin - F&SF, 2019 The Green Hills of Andrej Totzkiy - Eldar Safin - Samovar, 2020 No One Ever Leaves Port Henri - K.A. Teryna - Galaxy's Edge, 2020 The Chartreuse Sky - Alexander Bachilo & K.A. Teryna - Asimov's - April 2021 I'm Feeling Lucky - Leonid Kaganov - Clarkesworld - July 2021 The Jellyfish - K.A. Teryna - Future SF, 2021 When the Mujna Begins - Oleg Divov - Future SF, 2021 Lajos and his Bees - K.A. Teryna - F&SF - November 2021 The Tale of Ak and Humanity - Yefim Zozulya - Tor.com - January 2022 The Living Furniture - Yefim Zozulya - F&SF, 2022 The Tin Pilot - K.A. Teryna - Asimov's, 2022 Fly Free - Alan Kubatiev - Clarkesworld, 2022 The Loving Home - Olga Fix - Future SF, 2022 The Farctory - K.A. Teryna The Best of World SF 2 - Head of Zeus, 2022 Cain and Abel - Yefim Zozulya - Galaxy's Edge, 2023 Incommunicado - Andrej Kokoulin, 2023 The Errata - K.A. Teryna - Asimov's, 2023 Yuletide Cyberpunk - Viktor Pelevin - The Big Book of Cyberpunk, 2023 Emil's Labyrinth - Anna Mikhalevskaya - The Digital Aesthete, 2023 The Unknown Painter - H. L. Oldie - The Digital Aesthete, 2023 - BSFA Award Finalist The Rattler - Leo Kaganov - Asimov's - May 2024 - Asimov's Readers' Award Finalist Unboxing the Beast - Vladimir Mistyukov & Shimun Vrochek, 2024 - NOVEL Songs of the Snow Whale - K.A. Teryna - Reactor - December 2024 - BSFA Award Finalist Pollen - Anna Burdenko - Clarkesworld, 2025 - Clarkesworld Readers' Poll Finalist, BSFA Award Finalist Serpent Carriers - K.A. Teryna - Clarkesworld, 2025 Black Hole Heart and Other Stories - K.A. Teryna - Fairwood Press, 2025 - COLLECTION The Rattler - UncleWind & Leo Kaganov - Ongoing - Web Comic All My Birds - K.A. Teryna - Asimov's, 2026
Magic: The Gathering achievements
References
External links
Alex Shvartsman's home page