Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, host Jon Negroni reads aloud his new speculative literary short story, "Paper Dreams." Set in a near-future Silicon Valley, this is a world where dreams are taxed as intellectual property. Blending soft sci-fi and dystopian satire with emotional realism, the story explores grief, surveillance, and the quiet rebellion of a woman whose inner life is no longer her own.

You can find the written version of "Paper Dreams" 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 novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). His recent short fiction includes "Men Who Are Strong" (IHRAM Press) and "Upon a Dream," an original fable published in The Fairy Tale Magazine. His upcoming anthology appearances include a cryptid horror tale, a speculative fiction piece for Neon Hemlock, and a superhero story for Oddity Prodigies. He's also the co-founder of the entertainment website, InBetweenDrafts.

Listen toward the end of the show for Jon’s full author’s notes on the making of this story.

• Read "Paper Dreams" with original artwork.
• Explore our full archive of stories and poetry.
• Submit your own story to be featured on Cetera.

About Cetera

Cetera is a literary magazine publishing original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons.

Credits

• Host & Author: Jon Negroni
• Editor: Natalia Emmons
• Artwork: Jon Negroni
• Music: "Opportunity Walks" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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