Workshop and conference miscellanea, other events

Just got invited last minute to join a panel at ASJA on Saturday on “Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch” from 11 a.m. to noon this Saturday, April 30, at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC. I believe it’s open to the public (not sure if there’s a cost) so if you’re going, see you there. Only a … Read more

What I’m looking for: “The bright shiny promises of the future”

Dystopias are hot right now, that’s for sure. And I do love a good dystopia. After all, I’m a child of the 80s. Who doesn’t love The Terminator or Mad Max (especially the cheese of Beyond Thunderdome)? Or to use the example of a more present-day dystopia, space cowboys in Firefly? I love Joss Whedon, … Read more

LTUE schedule

Also, one more reminder: If you’re in Utah and have a chance to get to LTUE next week—only $20-25 to rub elbows with a bunch of professionals working in fantasy and science fiction right now and free for students—you should definitely come. I’ve been filling up my schedule left and right, and if you’re at … Read more

Life, the Universe, and Everything

Between the holidays, a nasty bout of the flu, and being busy with preparing Fall books for design and getting next spring’s books well on their way, I haven’t had much time to even think about what I’d post here lately. If you’re interested in my flittering day-to-day thoughts, follow me on Twitter—it’s not much … Read more

Resources for writers: Links for reflecting on white privilege and writing the Other

I promised the writers of the Ventura/Santa Barbara SCBWI that I’d post the list of resources I flashed at them at the end of my talk so they’d be able to actually reference them. These should also have been emailed out to the local listservs, but for those who aren’t on those listservs, and I’m … Read more

Reader question: What’s an imprint?

Ingrid writes to ask: How exactly does an imprint of a publishing company work? Are imprints more specific in subject matter or is there a deeper connection with the parent company? Are your chances of getting published better with an imprint or does the sale of your work do better with a more well-known publisher? … Read more

Is my character “black enough”

I recently got this question from a writer, who agreed that answering it on the blog would be useful: My hero is a fifteen-year-old African American boy [in a science fiction story]. A few of my alpha readers (not all) have said that he doesn’t sound “black enough.” I purposely made him an Air Force … Read more