Sam J.

Miller

Award Winning Author

Fantasy, Science Fiction and Short Story Writer

Travels from: New York, NY

“Miller’s sprawling novel encapsulates the complex web of feelings brought on by witnessing the destruction of a town that made adolescence hell for a gay or trans teen…. Raw and volatile…. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a queer-themed, sea salt–laced dark fantasy.” — Booklist, starred review

Sam J. Miller’s books have been called “must reads” and “bests of the year” by USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among others. They’ve also been banned in Florida, and stolen by AI. His work has been nominated for a dozen awards, has won the Nebula, Locus, Shirley Jackson, and Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, as well as the hopefully-soon-to-be-renamed John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

When Sam isn’t trying to smash the system via somewhat-subversive stories, he’s traveling the globe or watching old movies or trying to smash the system via grassroots activism. He spent fifteen years as a community organizer at Picture the Homeless, where he played a part in organizing hundreds of protests and events, and helped win over 120 policy and legislative victories. Sam also coordinated the writing of a major policy report that was required reading in urban planning courses at Columbia University—and was banned in New York State prisons.

Sam’s fiction has been translated into eleven different languages and his books include The Art of Starving, Blackfish City, Destroy All Monsters, The Blade Between, and Boys, Beasts & Men.

Sam J.'s Featured Titles

Boys, Beasts & Men

Tachyon Publications |

June 14, 2022

Literary Fiction

2023 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST COLLECTION

In Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller’s devastating debut short-fiction collection, featuring an introduction by Amal El-Mohtar, queer infatuation, inevitable heartbreak, and brutal revenge seamlessly intertwine. Whether innocent, guilty, or not even human, the boys, beasts, and men roaming through Miller’s gorgeously crafted worlds can destroy readers, yet leave them wanting more.

“Miller’s sheer talent shines through in abundance . . . Boys, Beasts & Men is an outrageous journey which skillfully blends genres and will haunt you with its original, poetic voices as much as its victims, villains, and treasure trove of leading actors.”
―Grimdark Magazine

Despite his ability to control the ambient digital cloud, a foster teen falls for a clever con-man. Luring bullies to a quarry, a boy takes clearly enumerated revenge through unnatural powers of suggestion. In the aftermath of a shapeshifting alien invasion, a survivor fears that he brought something out of the Arctic to infect the rest of the world. A rebellious group of queer artists create a new identity that transcends even the anonymity of death.

Sam J. Miller (Blackfish City, The Art of Starving) shows his savage wit, unrelenting candor, and lush imagery in this essential career retrospective collection, taking his place alongside legends of the short-fiction form such as Carmen Maria Machado, Carson McCullers, and Jeff VanderMeer.

Fantasy, Speculative & Science Fiction, Fiction, Friendship & Community, Gender & Sexuality, LGBTQI+ Concerns & Perspectives, Short Stories

The Blade Between: A Novel

Ecco |

December 1, 2020

Literary Fiction

A Recommended Book from CrimeReads and Alma

From Nebula Award winner Sam J. Miller comes a frightening and uncanny ghost story about a rapidly changing city in upstate New York and the mysterious forces that threaten it.

Ronan Szepessy promised himself he’d never return to Hudson. The sleepy upstate town was no place for a restless gay photographer. But his father is ill and New York City’s distractions have become too much for him. He hopes that a quick visit will help him recharge.

Ronan reconnects with two friends from high school: Dom, his first love, and Dom’s wife, Attalah. The three former misfits mourn what their town has become—overrun by gentrifiers and corporate interests. With friends and neighbors getting evicted en masse and a mayoral election coming up, Ronan and Attalah craft a plan to rattle the newcomers and expose their true motives. But in doing so, they unleash something far more mysterious and uncontainable.

Hudson has a rich, proud history and, it turns out, the real-state developers aren’t the only forces threatening its well-being: the spirits undergirding this once-thriving industrial town are enraged. Ronan’s hijinks have overlapped with a bubbling up of hate and violence among friends and neighbors, and everything is spiraling out of control. Ronan must summon the very best of himself to shed his own demons and save the city he once loathed.

Fiction, Horror & Gothic, LGBTQI+ Concerns & Perspectives

Blackfish City: A Novel

Ecco |

April 17, 2018

Dystopian Fiction

“One of the most intriguing future cities in years.” —Charlie Jane Anders

“Simmers with menace and heartache, suspense and wonder.” —Ann Leckie

A Best Book of the Month in

Entertainment Weekly

The Washington Post

Tor.com

B&N Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog

Amazon

After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.

Fantasy, Speculative & Science Fiction, Gender & Sexuality, LGBTQI+ Concerns & Perspectives

Coming Soon!

“We have been running One Book One Norristown for five years, and Sam made our annual event one of the best we’ve had since we started this project. Sam is an amazing and imaginative artist and writer, and he was really engaged with our high school students and community members throughout his entire visit. We made Sam an honorary Norristonian and would be happy to have him back to our small town any time!” — Norristown Area Education Foundation, 2026

“It was such a pleasure and honor working with Sam. He is a consummate professional, generous, compassionate, and brilliant. He was a joy to work with and showed so much grace when the campus visit wasn’t as well attended as I’d hope. Thank you for being so amazing, Sam!” — College of Western Idaho, 2026

“The writing is great and the protagonist is really compelling. There is also a warm, complicated love story at the heart of this… a really necessary, beautifully rendered story. Highly recommend.” — Roxanne Gay

“Sam J. Miller has cemented his status as one of the most visionary fiction writers of his generation.” — Kass Morgan, New York Times bestselling author of The 100

“An urgent tale imploring us to look at the ties between technology, race, gender and class privilege. . . . Surprisingly heartwarming. . . . An action-packed science fiction thriller.” — Washington Post

“Impressive . . . Fabulous. . . We tend to label almost any future city as dystopian, but the term hardly does justice to Miller’s complex society.” — Chicago Tribune

“Vividly brought to life. . . . Miller excels at depicting a metropolis bursting at the seams and populated by both refugees and the elite. Blackfish City is a compelling dystopian thriller.” — The Guardian

“Immersive sci-fi with a poetic edge. . . . The book thrills with its meticulous world-building while also providing great characters, inclusive representation, and hard-hitting themes.” — Entertainment Weekly, Best of 2018 So Far

“One of the most important books of the year… How different, and how beautiful, our world would be if we could take its lesson of empathy to heart.” — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

“An extraordinarily vital and necessary book that deals with underrepresented characters, discussions of toxic masculinity, and the effects of bullying in raw and effective ways . . . the overall message of devotion and self-acceptance is beautifully told.” — Romantic Times BOOKclub

“Funny, haunting, beautiful, relentless and powerful, The Art of Starving is a classic in the making.” — Book Riot

“Miller’s powerful, provocative and daring work forces readers to question reality and how much of our world is shaped by what we see.” — Shelf Awareness

Sam’s Stories Page

Sam’s Interviews

Sam’s Blog

Honors, Awards & Recognition

National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Choice
Nebula Award Winner
Locus Award Winner
Shirley Jackson Award Winner
John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winner
“Must Reads” and “Best of the Year” by
USA Today,
Entertainment Weekly
NPR
O: The Oprah Magazine
and more
Nominated for the World Fantasy Award
Nominated for the Crawford Award
Nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award
Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award
Nominated for the Premio Italia Award
Nominated for the Grand Prix de I’Imaginaire Award
Nominated for the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
Longlisted for the Hugo Award
Longlisted for the James Tiptree Award
Longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award
NPR Best Book of the Year