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The Exophonic Writer’s Journey

By Renan Bernardo In the second century A.D., Lucian of Samosata wrote A True Story, a tale of space trips and alien life-forms. His first language was Syriac, but to reach the people of Athens, he wrote the tale in Attic Greek. Since then (and probably before), speculative fiction has been written by exophonic(1) writers […]

In Memoriam: Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson (October 4, 1956–March 17, 2022) began publishing science fiction in 1977 with the story “Stormfall,” which appeared in Kate Wilhelm’s anthology Clarion SF. Over the years, he published around 30 stories. His 1997 story “We Will Drink a Fish Together” earned him the Hugo Award for Best Novelette and an Asimov’s Readers’ Poll […]

THE INDIE FILES: A Guide to SFWA StoryBundles

by Sherrie Cronin While independent authors can find many expensive ways to promote their books, and a few free ones, SWFA offers an opportunity for gaining both income and that coveted exposure all authors seek. For the past five years, SFWA has collaborated with StoryBundle (website) to produce annual collections of fantasy and science fiction […]

Finding Me: Towards Self-Actualization in Writing

By Eugen Bacon I read Maurice Broaddus’s “Black Joy and Afrofuturism for Young Readers,” which heartens us to be present, fully and joyfully, not just for ourselves but for our children, our new adults, and our future generations. He dares that we find unapology for being, that ours becomes an everyday commitment to a joyful […]

SFWA Stands With Ukraine

  The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America stand with the people of Ukraine, all creators, and SFF fans around the world who oppose and abhor the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The organization wholly condemns this invasion and oppression which has tragically taken so much from the tireless and brave Ukrainian people. […]

10 Hands-On Tips For Writing Flash Fiction

By Maria Haskins Writing flash fiction—commonly defined as a story of no more than 1,000 or 1,500 words—can seem daunting at first try. Or addictive if you’ve already caught the flash-writing bug. These tips are based on my love for flash as a reader and writer, and I want to emphasize that they are tips, […]

ROMANCING SCI-FI & FANTASY: I See Romance…Everywhere!

by Alexia Chantel Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a new SFWA Blog series, Romancing Sci-Fi & Fantasy, from our Romance Committee! Expect new posts in this series in the coming months. Science fiction and fantasy (SFF) are epic magpies. Our genres borrow bits and pieces from all the other ones and add […]

Story Salvage: Finding the Opportunity in Failure

By Jeff Somers It’s often noted that in baseball, making an out 70 percent of the time is considered all-star play(1). Although every writer’s experience will be different, writing often seems to offer a similar success ratio in terms of failed stories. Sometimes that failure also comes fast, which gives you the opportunity to start […]

SFWA Market Report—March 2022

Welcome to the March edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA. The markets included on this list all pay at least $0.08/word in at least one length-category of fiction. New Markets Cyberpunk-Solarpunk Anthology First Peoples Myths and Tales […]

Two Essential Questions to Ask As You Self-Edit

By Kahina Necaise Convincing fiction is about cause and effect.  That’s why, in my work as an editor, the two questions I ask most often while diagnosing an issue with a client’s story are:  Does this come out of nowhere? Does anything ever come of this? Does this come out of nowhere? is about unclear […]