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Bragging Rights: A Comprehensive Look at SFWA Services
by Kate Baker
“Why SFWA?” and “What can it do for me?” These two questions have stumped many a SFWA board member, volunteer, and employee throughout our existence. The typical answer had always been, “Bragging rights and oh, the emergency medical…
SFWA Market Report For February
Welcome to the February edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
New Monthly SFWA Auction
Did you miss our charity auctions in December? Good news! SFWA will be auctioning off five new items every month on Ebay. This month, bidding will close at approx. 12:00 (Noon) Eastern on Monday, Feb 12th.
Building the Disabled World
by Sandra M. Odell
I love intricate, detailed worldbuilding; it’s the backbone of science fiction and fantasy stories, even those set in the modern era. Sadly, few things make me stop reading faster than the realization that a writer gave…
The Post Novel Blues
by Paul Jessup
It seems to happen every single time I work on something larger than a novella. The minute I finish it, it seems like all of my creativity for fiction dries up.
10 Reasons to Romanticize the Donkey
by Barbara E. Hill
Because of this diminutive rose-colored darling I learned a lot about life, relationships, and especially about writing.
“But… wait, what? Writing?” you ask. “A donkey taught you about writing?”
The Racial Rubber Stamp
by R.F. Kuang
What I’ve seen is that the lone POCs in largely white writing groups often become tokenized faux authorities. We’re consulted just enough to give other work a stamp of diversity approval, but brutally marginalized when their opinions become…
Statement from the SFWA Membership Credentials Committee
Recently, a science fiction writer made a very public announcement of his application to join SFWA. SFWA Bylaws section VI.1.c.i gives discretion to the membership credentials committee “regardless of qualifications.” Based on the behavior of and online statements by this writer…
SFWA eBay Auction Closing Soon
Check out SFWA’s latest charity auction on ebay.
SFWA Market Report for January
Welcome to the January edition of the SFWA Market Report.
5 Rules for Keeping Fantasy Fiction Realistic
By Christine Feehan
Consider vampires. You likely already have ideas or beliefs about the rules of writing vampires. They must drink blood to survive. They must stay out of the sunlight. They are immortal. We all have…
Fighting and Gender
By Nancy Jane Moore
Here are a few ideas about how different body types affect fighting gleaned from my thirty-eight years in martial arts.
Odyssey Writing Workshop Opens for Applications
Beginning this year, bestselling author George R. R. Martin is funding a scholarship for an Odyssey student. The Miskatonic Scholarship will be awarded to a promising writer of Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
Surviving Times of Stagnation
by Paul Jessup
It will probably happen to you. Almost every career for a professional writer hits a snag at some point. Usually after a huge burst of activity and a feeling of momentum, of going somewhere. It comes out of…
SFWA Market Report For December
Welcome to the December edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
SFWA Charity Auctions on Ebay
Looking for the perfect gift for the book-lovers in your life? Want to do good for SFWA while you’re completing your holiday shopping? Check out SFWA’s Charity Auctions on Ebay.
A Small List of Large Characters: Fat Representation in SFF
by Jessi Cole Jackson Before delving in, I want to recognize that for many (myself included) fat is a loaded term, with years of abuse attached to it. I use it because it’s not twee or gendered and it does…
The Impact Different Font Styles And Sizes Have On Readers’ Experience
by Amber Massey
There’s a zen phrase that asks, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” For writers, here’s a different question: If you write a story and…
Odyssey Online Writing Classes Announced
The Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit known for offering some of the best programs in the world for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, is offering three live, intensive online classes this winter.
SFWA Market Report for November
Welcome to the November edition of the SFWA Pro Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any market in the report below does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA.
Building Worlds with SFWA
by Jeffe Kennedy
It’s apropos that “Lonen’s War,” book one in my Fantasy Romance series, “Sorcerous Moons,” is featured in the first SFWA Fantasy StoryBundle. That’s because the fantastically smart and helpful folks in SFWA helped me out with a worldbuilding…
The Voodoo of Research
by Tim Susman
Since it’s fall and ghosts are in the air, I thought it might be a good time to talk about my research into vodou/voodoo, the religion and spiritual practices that coalesced on Haiti among the African slaves there…
On Writing of a Different Culture
by Douglas Smith
Eventually, I came to understand these stories were transcribed from versions people remembered being told when they were young or used to tell their children. Story telling was an oral tradition.
In Memoriam: Julian May
Author Julian May (b.1931) died on October 17. May entered fandom in her late teens and published the fanzine Interim Newsletter. Her first professional sale, “Dune Roller,” appeared in Astounding in 1951, including original illustrations by May. In 1952, she chaired the TASFIC in Chicago,…