Worlds Without Warning

Worlds Without Warning

Weekly short stories read aloud by their authors. From Cetera Magazine, featuring literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction exploring memory, rebellion, folklore, and other worlds without warning. Stories edited by Natalia Emmons and Jon Negroni.

Episodes

January 29, 2026 26 mins

In this special bonus episode of Worlds Without Warning, Jon Negroni reads aloud "The Big Black Square" by Kasey Soska. He also shares Soska's author notes.

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

Kasey Soska is a professional science nerd and novice fiction writer. His PhD in developmental psychology is from New York University. His academic research has appeared in Developmental Science and Child Development...

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In this special bonus episode of Worlds Without Warning, Jon Negroni reads aloud "a Special Bond" by Marco Etheridge. He also shares editor's notes on why this story was published in Cetera Magazine.

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

Marco Etheridge is a writer of prose, an occasional playwright, and a part-time poet. He lives and writes in Vienna, Austria. His work has been featured in over one hundred ...

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Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new short story "Second Run," which was published on January 15, 2026. He also shares his author's notes on the story behind this story.

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author and illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015) and ...

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Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud "Hành Tinh Thu Doesn’t Welcome You" by C. Inanen. He also shares editor's notes on why this story was published on Cetera Magazine.

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

C. Inanen lives in the Midwest, USA. His work has been most recently published in Yellow Mama magazine. It will also be featured in the March 2...

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Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new speculative romance story, "No Regrets."

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author and illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015) and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). He's published short fiction for IHRAM...

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Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new literary fiction story, "You're the Best."

You can find the written version of "You're the Best" right here.

About the Author

Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015), a pop culture nonfiction, and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). His ...

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Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new literary fiction story, "Holiday Party."

You can find the written version of "Holiday Party" right here.

About the Author

Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015), a pop culture nonfiction, and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). His...

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October 30, 2025 33 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni, Natalia Emmons, and Bridget Serdock present their collaborative cozy ghost story, "Someone Lived There Too." Set in an off-season Cape Cod rental cottage, this story follows Rena, an artist struggling with creative paralysis, who discovers that the old house she's staying in hasn't quite let go of its previous inhabitants. Blending slice-of-life grief with gentle super...

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October 23, 2025 31 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new atmospheric horror story, "The Caller Isn't Human." Set during the graveyard shift at an all-night laundromat, this story follows Ray, a night-shift worker, through the hours between 2 and 4 a.m. when a payphone outside begins ringing at precise intervals, people start vanishing without explanation, and something begins testing the boundaries of the ...

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October 16, 2025 32 mins

Special thanks to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast for sponsoring this week's story. 

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new speculative horror story, "The Petals Beneath Her Tongue." Set in a near-future where emotions can be extracted and sold as consumable flavors, this story follows Vera Salazar, a disgraced influencer who signs a contract with Savorium to monetize her feelings...li...

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October 9, 2025 21 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new literary horror story, "Housekeeping for the Dead." Set during the night shift at the Starlight Motel, this story follows a housekeeper who cleans seven rooms while five stay locked, encountering different versions of the same dying woman in each one. Blending grief with supernatural repetition and the mundane details of motel housekeeping, the story...

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October 2, 2025 23 mins

Special thanks to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast for sponsoring this week's story. 

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud "The Morrow Twins," a gothic horror story by Natalia Emmons, Cetera's managing editor making her fiction debut. Set in the fictional coastal town of Greyport, Massachusetts, this story follows Iris, who returns home for the funeral of childhood friend Thalia Morrow, only ...

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September 25, 2025 34 mins

Special thanks to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast for sponsoring this week's story. 

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new fantasy story, "I Am the Wolf, I Am the Boy." Set in the mysterious Singing Woods, this story follows Ilen, a traveling bard searching for stories, who encounters Corrin, a young man cursed to transform into a wolf and forget anyone who truly loves him. Blending d...

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September 22, 2025 22 mins

Special thanks to the Type. Tune. Tint. podcast for sponsoring this week's story. 

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his dark fantasy story, "Songs for the Dead and Drowning," which is a fan favorite originally published in May that we've been eager to share in audio form. Set in a fantasy version of Caribbean waters influenced by Taíno folklore, this story follows a nameless sir...

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September 18, 2025 26 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new magical realism story, "The Archivist." Set in Oakland, this story follows Isandro, a DJ who returns home from a late-night gig to find a mysterious woman in his apartment cataloguing all of his personal absences, which include missed calls, unsent birthday cards, and broken promises that have accumulated over the years. Blending fantastical elements...

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September 11, 2025 17 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new thriller story, "End of the Line." Set on Chicago's Blue Line during the late-night shift, this story follows Lily, a train conductor whose routine crossword puzzle is interrupted by a mysterious voice on an old radio frequency claiming there's a killer on board. Blending real-time suspense with transit procedural detail and character depth, the stor...

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September 4, 2025 44 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new speculative contemporary fiction story, "Behavioral Pause." Set in our near future, this story follows Eleanor, who volunteers for a clinical trial testing a drug designed to help people control their verbal impulses by creating a neural delay between thought and speech. Blending pharmaceutical science fiction with relationship dynamics and social co...

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August 28, 2025 22 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new contemporary literary fiction story, "We Should Celebrate." Set in Charlotte, North Carolina, this story follows Elena and Noah, roommates whose carefully maintained boundaries are tested when Elena receives a job offer that will take her across the country. Blending understated prose with emotional complexity inspired by Sally Rooney and Emily Henry...

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August 21, 2025 45 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new dark fantasy horror story, "The Hunger Beneath the Warrens." Set in a world of interconnected rabbit warrens bound by ancient magic, this story follows Captain Vetch of Thornburrow as he faces an undead infection that spreads through fallen communities, turning the dead into something far more dangerous than corpses. Blending fantasy worldbuilding wi...

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August 19, 2025 19 mins

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his literary folk horror story, "A Butcher's Fable", which was originally published in April and now features a new edit by Natalia Emmons and fresh artwork by the author. Set in the fictional Caribbean coastal town of Bahía Roja, this story follows Juan Albizú, a meticulous butcher whose pristine shop becomes the center of dark secrets when hi...

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