Automatic Noodle

Hugo Award nominee 2026.

A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz.

An instant USA Today and indie bestseller!

Indie Next pick | Library Reads pick | Most Anticipated at Electric Lit, Ms. Magazine, Gizmodo, Autostraddle, Book Riot, IGN, New Scientist, Reactor, and more

You don’t have to eat food to know the way to a city’s heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food―the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around―for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they’ll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other―and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t built for them.