Thomas Ha

Thomas Ha
Born
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupations
  • Writer
  • Lawyer
Writing career
Genresspeculative fiction, dark fantasy, science fiction, weird horror
Notable awardsNebula Award (2025)
Hugo Award (2026)
Locus Award (2026)
Websitewww.thomashawrites.com

Thomas Ha is an American speculative fiction writer. His short stories have won multiple awards, including the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. His debut collection, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, received the Philip K. Dick Award Special Citation, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award.

Early life and background

Thomas Ha was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was educated on the American East Coast, and worked as an attorney in New York before moving to Los Angeles to care for his family. He is of Korean and Irish-American descent.

Career

His first fiction was published in 2020 in The Colored Lens before being published in various genre magazines, including Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Metaphorosis Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, and Lightspeed.

Ha writes short fiction, primarily dark fantasy and science fiction, with touches of weird horror, which he says is a cathartic response to the terrifying nature of the world. "Much of what I gravitate to in horror is that feeling of being overwhelmed by the threat you can’t confront—the unseeable force, the creeping thing, the presence on the other side of the door. And the subsequent question that logically springs from that: what do you do? Horror, for me, usually supplies a kind of answer..."

His debut short story collection, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, was published by Undertow Publications in September 2025. The book was named one of the "Best New Horror of 2025" by the New York Public Library.

Ha has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Ignyte Award, Bram Stoker Award, and Shirley Jackson Award. His work has won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, and two Locus Awards.

Bibliography

Collections

  • Uncertain Sons and Other Stories. Undertow Publications. 2025. ISBN 9781988964492.

Short Fiction

  • "Hold on Tight", 2020, The Colored Lens
  • "Where the Old Neighbors Go", 2020, Metaphorosis Magazine
  • "Balloon Season", 2020, Fusion Fragment
  • "Horangi", 2021, Cossmass Infinities
  • "A Compilation of Accounts Concerning the Distal Brook Flood", 2021, Metaphorosis Magazine
  • "Where You Left Me", 2021, Lightspeed Magazine
  • "The Liminal Men", 2021, Dark Matter Magazine
  • "Orla, Always", 2021, Metaphorosis Magazine
  • "To People Who’d Never Known Good", 2022, Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  • "Sweetbaby", 2022, Clarkesworld
  • "In That Crumbling Home", 2022, Bourbon Penn
  • "Our Quiet Guests", 2022, Three-Lobed Burning Eye
  • "For However Long", 2023, Khōréō Magazine
  • "On Planetary Palliative Care", 2023, Interzone Digital
  • "Window Boy", 2023, Clarkesworld
  • "Cretins", 2023, Weird Horror Magazine
  • "Gentler Things", 2023, PodCastle
  • "The Mub", 2023, Clarkesworld
  • "To Be a Happy Man", 2024, Lightspeed Magazine
  • "Behind the Gilded Door", 2024, Haven Speculative
  • "Alabama Circus Punk", 2024, Ergot
  • "The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video", 2024, Clarkesworld
  • "Grottmata", 2024, Nightmare Magazine
  • "The Fairgrounds", 2024, Metaphorosis Magazine
  • "The Sort", 2024, Clarkesworld
  • "Cages", 2024, Fusion Fragment
  • "House Traveler", 2024, Bourbon Penn
  • "St. Fario's Feast", 2024, New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine
  • "Old Wells", 2025, Three-Lobed Burning Eye
  • "In My Country", 2025, Clarkesworld
  • "Cry, the Carob King", 2025, Beneath Ceaseless Skies
  • "The Patron", 2025, The Sunday Morning Transport
  • "The Cephalophore", 2025, The Dark
  • "Uncertain Sons", 2025, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories
  • "The Folded Balloon", 2026, Simultaneous Times
  • "Scion" and "Scion: Afterword", 2026, Clarkesworld
  • "Middle Song", 2025, Bourbon Penn
  • "Our Revels Now Are Ended", 2026, Clarkesworld
  • "Jempo", 2026, Lightspeed Magazine
  • "Drive-Thru", forthcoming December 2026, Reactor Magazine

Anthologies

Awards

Year Title Award Category Result Ref
2022 "Sweetbaby" Shirley Jackson Award Novelette Finalist
"In That Crumbling Home" Brave New Weird Award Won
2023 "Window Boy" Nebula Award Short Story Finalist
2024 Ignyte Award Short Story Finalist
Locus Award Short Story Finalist
"The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video" Nebula Award Novelette Finalist
2025 Hugo Award Novelette Finalist
"Uncertain Sons" Bram Stoker Award Long Fiction Finalist
Nebula Award Novelette Won
Uncertain Sons and Other Stories BSFA Award Collection/Anthology Finalist
"In My Country" Nebula Award Short Story Finalist
2026 Hugo Award Short Story Won
Locus Award Short Story Won
World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Finalist
"Uncertain Sons" Ignyte Award Novelette Finalist
Locus Award Novelette Finalist
World Fantasy Award Novella Finalist
Uncertain Sons and Other Stories Locus Award Collection Won
Philip K. Dick Award — Special Citation
World Fantasy Award Collection Won

References

  1. 1 2 "Fear, Indecision, and Doubt: A Conversation with Thomas Ha". Clarkesworld Magazine. September 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Author Spotlight: Thomas Ha". Nightmare Magazine. July 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Welhamin: Thomas Ha's Short Story "Grotmatta"". Oct 4, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Asian Heritage in Horror: Interview with Thomas Ha". Horror Writers Association. May 2, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha". Strange Horizons. September 15, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Best New Horror of 2025". New York Public Library. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  7. 1 2 "2026 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. 2026-08-30. Retrieved 2026-08-31.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Nebula Awards Winners 2025". Locus. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "2026 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. May 30, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus Online. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 2026-10-26.
  11. ↑ "Where You Left Me by Thomas Ha". Lightspeed Magazine. September 2021. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  12. ↑ "To People Who'd Never Known Good". Beneath Ceaseless Skies. February 2022. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  13. ↑ "Sweetbaby by Thomas Ha". Clarkesworld. October 2022. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  14. ↑ "For However Long by Thomas Ha". Khoreo Magazine. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  15. ↑ "Window Boy by Thomas Ha". Clarkesworld. August 2023. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  16. ↑ "The Mub by Thomas Ha". Clarkesworld. November 2023. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  17. ↑ "To Be a Happy Man by Thomas Ha". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  18. ↑ "The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video". Clarkesworld. May 2024. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  19. ↑ "The Sort". Clarkesworld. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  20. ↑ "In My Country". Clarkesworld. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  21. ↑ "Cry, the Carob King". Beneath Ceaseless Skies. April 2025. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  22. ↑ "Scion". Clarkesworld. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  23. ↑ "Scion: Afterward". Clarkesworld. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  24. ↑ "Middle Song by Thomas Ha". Bourbon Penn 38. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  25. ↑ "Our Revels Now Are Ended". Clarkesworld. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  26. ↑ "Jempo by Thomas Ha". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 09-27-2026.
  27. ↑ year based on official award year
  28. ↑ "2022 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Locus. 16 Jul 2023. Retrieved 18 Dec 2025.
  29. ↑ "Bibliography". Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  30. ↑ "2024 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  31. ↑ "2024 Ignyte Award Winners". Locus. 8 Nov 2024. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  32. ↑ "Locus Awards 2024". Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  33. ↑ "2025 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2025-08-17. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  34. ↑ "2025 Bram Stoker Awards® Winners/Finalists". Bram Stoker Awards. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  35. ↑ "2025 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 09-23-2026.
  36. ↑ "2026 Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. 5 Oct 2026. Retrieved 11 Oct 2026.
  37. ↑ "2026 Philip K. Dick Award Winner Announced". March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.