Levar Burton Reads

A girl visits a bazaar in Cairo, seeking a favor from a mysterious angelic being.This story first appeared in the anthology Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt. For more from the author, visit pdjeliclark.com.Content advisory: Fire, hospitalization

Marty brings his family to his hometown of Lucban for the annual festival to witness a miracle: lab-grown, synthetic food made real. This story appears in Isabel Yap's collection NEVER HAVE I EVER, published by Small Beer Press.

A woman has her memories catalogued for the historical record, and must decide whether or not to divulge a painful and complicated moment from her past. Anjali Sachdeva's short fiction collection is ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD.Epigraph used by permission from How to Lie With Maps by Mark Monmonier, published by The University of Chicago Press. © 1991, 1996, 2018 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.Content Advisory: Blood, intimation of assault/violence

A man dies and finds himself reincarnated as a parrot. This story appears in Robert Olen Butler's collection TABLOID DREAMS. His forthcoming novel, LATE CITY, will be published in September. Content advisory: use of a slur

What if those spammy emails from princes about overseas banks were... real? An exiled prince teams up with the widow of a military general to recover their fortunes from the Bank of Burkina Faso. This story appears in Ekaterina Sedia's collection MOSCOW BUT DREAMING.

LeVar Burton Reads is back June 22nd, featuring stories from P Djeli Clark, Anjali Sachdeva, Ekaterina Sedia, Isabel Yap and more. But if you just can't wait to hear a new story -- here's a sneak peek...

Theresa Anne has spent years watching her mother tell fortunes and work magical spells. But when she asks to protect the girl she loves, she learns the true cost and sacrifice involved in magical requests. Find more from the author at www.clpolk.com. Content advisory: Violence

In a post-pandemic future where scientists have made great strides in eliminating disease, a young boy faces his fears and ventures out to his grandfather's island to give him an important vaccine. This story appears in the anthology Make Shift: Dispatches from the Post-Pandemic Future, edited by Gideon Lichfield and available for pre-order from The MIT Press.Content advisory: Discussion of pandemics, near-drowning

A getaway driver and her crew are hired to steal a mysterious artifact, and inadvertently get locked into a time loop. Find more from Nicole Kornher-Stace at www.nicolekornherstace.com or on Twitter @wirewalking. Content advisory: Gun violence, gore, death

A teenage girl is exiled to a penal colony on an icy, inhospitable island. But the island contains secrets, and so does the girl. Content Advisory: Death

Hoping to make their fortune (or at least climb out of debt), a trio of space traders travel on a dangerous hunt for a space whale. "An Equal Share of the Bone" was originally published at Escape Pod. Find more of Karen Osborne's work at www.karenosborne.com. Content Advisory: Animal death

Guided by an angel, a writer pens his greatest -- and perhaps most dangerous -- work. "Killer of Kings" appears in Anjali Sachdeva's collection ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD.

Adolescent boys are faced with the reality of friendships, old and new, as they work on plans to build their own airplane. "Flyboys" appears in Tobias Wolff's collection OUR STORY BEGINS, published by Vintage Books, and is available in audio from Blackstone Audio. Content advisory: discussion of death

A woman helps to test the artificial intelligence based on the mind of her mother, a brilliant thinker. "The Regression Test" appears in Wole Talabi's collection INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS from Luna Press.

A government contractor deals with everyday frustrations in a small town. "Alluvial Deposits" appears in Percival Everett's collection DAMNED IF I DO. Check out other titles from Graywolf Press, including WILD SWIMS and BRING ME THE HEAD OF QUENTIN TARANTINO, at graywolfpress.org. Content advisory: racial slur, hateful language

A woman struggles to understand why her elderly father has begun to spontaneously teleport. Content advisory: drug addiction, illness, death

A teenage thief embarks on a mission to reclaim her people's sacred treasures. First published in A UNIVERSE OF WISHES in 2020 in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, New York. Find more from Rebecca at www.rebeccaroanhorse.com.

A waitress is jolted from her morning routine when she's visited by a mysterious child.

The wait is nearly over! Join us for Season 8 of LeVar Burton Reads, beginning next week and featuring stories from Rebecca Roanhorse, Tobias Wolff, Bishop Garrison, Damion Wilson and more.

LeVar talks to Africanfuturist Nnedi Okorafor about the visceral nature of her writing, writing a beautiful and green future for the Niger Delta, and how human-AI relationships can feel like parent-child relationships. Plus, she'll tell us what she thinks happens after those final tense moments in "Mother of Invention".