I am often asked what is the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. My shorthand answer is that we are an organization of Professional Writers working and publishing in the SF & Fantasy field. But what is this thing “professional?” A Profession in its most formal sense is a trade/occupation that requires an extensive […]

Working in Manhattan meant I was in the center of the universe. While working for DC Comics, I was a few blocks from Pocket Books where I was contributing to their Star Trek line of novels and a few blocks in the other direction was Random House where I did a job or three. Further […]

  In my freshman year in college, I made a serious mistake. I tried to workshop a science fiction story in my first creative writing class. I was completely addicted to science fiction and fantasy, having spent my childhood and adolescence devouring every SF novel I could find in my school and local libraries. I […]

Daughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things–web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist–but is currently a full-time parent, artist, […]

  I suppose I wanted to be convinced. While at a convention last summer, I attended a panel of SFWA members there to discuss and answer questions about the organization. When the panelists mentioned it would be nice to hear from a writer who qualified for membership but had chosen not to apply, I put […]

Back in college, when I first set out to be a professional author, the biggest question I wanted answered upfront was: “What does being a pro author mean?” What were the qualifications? How did I set goals to become a professional so I could know if I’d attained that level? Lo and behold, as I […]