It’s October, which means we have some all new spooky releases coming out this month! New books from Elizabeth Moon, and @Joatsimeon & @MelissaOlthoff. A return to the Paksenarrion universe, plus Rome reaching for the stars. October promises to be a spook-tastic month. /1

Have you joined the fight over which book is the best science fiction novel ever? The rumble is over on James Cambias' blog, part three is now up! Read it and join the conversation at: jamescambias.com/2026/10/21/… #BaenBooks

What is the greatest science fiction novel ever? James Cambias has thoughts on the subject and you should go fight with him over his choices on his blog! Find part two at: jamescambias.com/2026/10/17/… #BaenBooks

James Cambias has decided to "kick off the biggest nerd-fight ever" and has the blog to prove it! Read all about his thoughts on the greatest SF novel ever (part one) at: jamescambias.com/2026/10/15/… #BaenBooks

Are you dying for more of @JaneLindskold's Over Where books? Do you have the latest eARC? Jane talks about it on her blog at: janelindskold.wordpress.com/… !! Get the eARC at: baen.com/gathering-of-emeral… (eARCs are only available until release day, January 5, 2027) To preorder the physical copy, go to: simonandschuster.com/books/G… #BaenBooks #OverWhere

This week on the Baen Free Radio Hour, Government Program or Aliens? @seanphazlett interviews authors and rocket scientists Doc @TravisTaylorX and @LesAuthor on the recent Department of War disclosures and what they might mean. Also, part 86 of One Jump Ahead by Mark L. Van Name is read. Podcast: baen.com/podcast/ YouTube: youtu.be/UF8ODxgR2qs #BaenBooks #BFRH #MLVName

What will you send in this year? Since its early days, science fiction has played a unique role in human civilization. It removes the limits of what "is" and shows us a boundless vista of what "might be." Its fearless heroes, spectacular technologies and wondrous futures have inspired many people to make science, technology and space flight a real part of their lives and in doing so, have often transformed these fictions into reality. The National Space Society and Baen Books applaud the role that science fiction plays in advancing real science and have teamed up to sponsor this short fiction contest in memory of Jim Baen. Contest opens for submissions on October 15, 2026 at 12:01am EDT. (Entries sent before that date will be deleted unread. Any AI-generated stories will be automatically disqualified.) Deadline - 12:01am, U.S. Pacific Time, February 1, 2027. The ten finalists will be announced no later than March 8, 2027. To read the rules, head over to: baen.com/contest-jbmssa Wondering what sort of stories we look for? Read the winning story from 2026, “Orbital Decay” by Malory here: baen.com/orbital-decay #BaenBooks #JBMSSA

For #ThrowbackThursday, this week we’re redefining special circumstances... Princess of Wands by @Jringo1508 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES MEET KILLER DEMONS! Special: distinguished by some unusual quality . . . Circumstances: a piece of evidence that indicates the probability or improbability of an event . . . Barbara Everette, homemaker living in a small town in Mississippi, had the perfect life. Perfect husband, perfect children, perfect house, perfect Christian Faith. She cooked and cleaned perfectly and managed all of the chores of the modern suburbanite, toting the kids, running the PTA, teaching kung-fu in the local dojo . . . Perfectly. But perfection has a price and the day came when Barbara snapped. She simply had to have "one weekend off." God had to grant her that much. It said no where that she was a slave. Waving goodbye to her hapless, entirely undomestic husband, she set out on the quest for a weekend of peace and maybe some authentic Cajun food. Detective Sergeant Kelly Lockhart, New Orleans Homicide, had a perfect record on his latest case: not a single suspect. And there should be at least five or six, given the DNA traces on the many bodies. Furthermore, his sole really outstanding clue, a mysterious fish scale, had disappeared into the recesses of the FBI Crime Lab. But the old fortune-teller was sending him into the bayou, down in the land of authentic Cajun food, on the track of a mysterious pimp with the admonition to "watch for the Princess." Or die. Barbara and Kelly were heading to a rendezvous that might be fate and might reveal the hand of God. There was more cooking in the swamps than jambalaya. Unknown to either, the mystery of the Bayou Ripper had Special Circumstances. To get the ebook, go to: baen.com/princess-of-wands.h… To learn more, and purchase a physical copy go to: simonandschuster.com/books/P… #BaenBooks #ThrowbackThursday

This week for #WeReadWednesday, we're having the best time reading about treecats! Fire Season (Book #2 of Star Kingdom) by @DavidWeberBooks and @JaneLindskold The second entry in a new young adult series by New York Times best seller David Weber, and the prequel to the hugely popular Honor Harrington adult science fiction saga. Fire in the forest—and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie's alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two legs, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people. Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly's rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain—and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Sphinx: the native treecats. Now it's up to Stephanie and Climbs Quickly, along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret of all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right—that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind. It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat. To get the ebook, go to: baen.com/fire-season.html To learn more, and purchase a physical copy go to: simonandschuster.com/books/F… #BaenBooks #WeReadWednesday

Baen Books is pleased to announce its newest short story award, the David A. Drake Memorial Award is open for entries! As with the two current writing awards sponsored by Baen—the Jim Baen Memorial Award and the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award—the "Drake" will seek to find new writing talent and will reward winners with professional publication contracts for their stories as well as a lovely trophy. In the spirit of military science fiction and fantasy written by David Drake, especially the Hammers Slammers and RCN/Lieutenant Leary series, the contest will seek engaging stories with military themes. Contest opens for submissions on September 24, 2026 at 12:01am Eastern Time. (Entries sent before that date will be deleted unread. Any AI-generated stories will be automatically disqualified.) Contest closes for submissions December 10, 2026 at 11:59pm Eastern Time. Finalists will be announced no later than February 28, 2027. Wondering what sort of stories we look for? Thoughtful works of science fiction or fantasy that consider war and all things martial as human activities, with characters you want to root for, and a military theme that is essential to the story. We refer you to Jim Baen’s editorial instruction to Keith Laumer on his BOLO stories: “I would like to see something that hints at the profound erudition possessed by the author and is driven by a plot imbued with the deepest philosophical insight into the essential tragedy of the human condition as it is and places it in the bathetic contract to what could, in a better world, be our birthright. Something with scope. Something with sentient tanks.” (Contest entries are not required to have actual sentient tanks, but we won’t say no to them either.) To learn more and read the rules, head over to baen.com/drake-memorial-awar… #BaenBooks #TheDrakeAward

The Baen website (baen.com) will be down for maintenance tonight from midnight to 2 a.m. Eastern.

It's time for #BeyondTheCover, where we show you the amazing art behind our gorgeous book covers! Today we are showcasing the art created by Sam Kennedy for Rome to the Stars by @Joatsimeon and @MelissaOlthoff. About the artist: Sam R. Kennedy has 12 years of experience doing a wide variety of art jobs in the game business and freelance illustration market. Sam likes to work hard and be prolific. He loves the entertainment industry because of the loud dramatic pictures it allows him to draw. He particularly enjoys working in a variety of styles with different approaches. Some of his best work is photo realistic illustration. Sam uses the latest technologies to create bold, eye popping 3D images for video games. He is also strong in the area of drawing and painting things in a comic style. In his spare time you will find Sam drawing comics, children’s art, fantasy, and sci-fi art for freelance assignments. About the book: Rome Never Fell. To save mankind from nuclear doom, time travelers brought future technology to a faltering Rome (as chronicled in To Turn the Tide). This Roman Empire conquered the world and united mankind before spreading across the solar system and beyond—where they discovered they hadn’t united all of mankind. When a Roman colony world is invaded by the Gra’ak, an alliance of Fallen Empire barbarians, Emperor Marcus Verus Augustus Caesar charges what can be spared of the Roman Navy and Legions with reclaiming it. Commander Aquila Amphion is tasked with leading the fleet, and she embraces the responsibility for both professional and personal reasons. The Gra’ak threatened to extinguish three million Roman citizens, among them the one man who meant more to her than any other—Evander Triarius, the scion of one of Rome’s noblest families . . . and her fiancé. To see more of the artist’s work, go to: samrkennedy.artstation.com/ To get the ebook, go to: baen.com/rome-to-the-stars.h… To learn more, and purchase a physical copy go to: simonandschuster.com/books/R… #BaenBooks #NewRelease #BeyondTheCover