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

What's going on this week at Baen? With no author appearances this week, we're putting those finishing touches on our Halloween costumes! In the meantime, we want to feature one of our artists, Sam R. Kennedy. He is a Dragon Award Nominee and a fantastic artist. He's so good that we put together the video you're watching to show you how amazing his art is, and how great it looks as the cover of a book. We've enjoyed working with him this year, and let me tell you our authors absolutely LOVE their Sam Kennedy covers. In fact, you should go see the rest of his art, you can do that at: samrkennedyart.com/ Interested in the ebooks? Get them at: baen.com/rome-to-the-stars.h… baen.com/tides-of-ruin.html baen.com/welcome-to-the-jung… baen.com/not-that-kind-of-go… baen.com/to-turn-the-tide.ht… baen.com/the-winds-of-fate.h… baen.com/a-liaden-universe-c…... baen.com/twin-star.html baen.com/blood-on-the-sand.h… baen.com/the-ship-who-dared.… #BaenBooks #RealArtOnBookCovers

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