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The SFWA Blog
Taking the Long View
Come the beginning of my pro career, in the early Eighties, women were discouraged from writing science fiction. (Hard, muscular SF was for boys.) Fantasy was deemed more appropriate, being so much softer and “easier,” or so one was told,…
The Value of SFWA: An Infographic
Design by Ron Dircks For more information about becoming a member or for a listing of services, head to our membership page.
Canopus Awards for Excellence in Interstellar Writing
100 Year Starshipâ (100YSSâ) has announced the winners of the inaugural 2015 Canopus Award honoring excellence in interstellar writing.
Fundraiser for Clarion Writers Workshop
Awkward Robots, AKA The cohesive Clarion class of 2012, is at it again. Last year they released The Red Volume and raised $1,500 for the Clarion Foundation. This year–just in time for Halloween—they’re following up with The Orange Volume.
Odyssey Online Writing Classes and Webinar
Odyssey’s online classes are unique among writing programs. Sessions are held live through Web conferencing software, so students can have an active learning process, asking questions and participating in discussions.
SFWA Investment Program
In January 2013 the Board determined that 30% of the Money Market funds should be moved into long-term, conservative, and balanced growth funds to help ensure the long-term health of SFWA.
What to Expect When You Start an Internet Kerfluffle
by Nancy Fulda
Your post strikes a nerve. It gets tweeted, and retweeted, and blogged about, and linked to. Comments start pouring in, both for and against your position. Your inbox is overflowing. You put other projects on hold.
CubeSat Competition for High School Students
The Museum of Science Fiction, the world’s first comprehensive science fiction museum, in partnership with NASA and Cornell University, is excited to announce a global CubeSat competition for high school students with the winning proposals to be built and put…
Guest Post–Things I learned: On Artistry and Art Life
by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
To be able to practice our art in a space and time when we are free from thinking of anything else but that practice is a vital and precious good.
Sunburst Award Winners Announced
The Sunburst Award Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic in the Adult and Young Adult categories.
Support SFWA & Play Some Great Games
Don’t miss your chance to pick up amazing DRM-free, cross platform games while supporting Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America in Humble Indie Bundle 15! The current Humble Indie Bundle expires at 11AM Pacific Time on Tuesday, October 13. The last Humble…
Grievance Committee Alert: Contract Safeguards Under Siege
There is a recent tendency of some publishers to change their contracts in manners that are decidedly unfavorable to authors. We have had and are having particular issues with indemnity clauses. Griefcom urges all of you to compare any offered…
Copper Cylinder Award Winners Announced
The Sunburst Award Society is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Copper Cylinder Award.
Humor as a Plot Adhesive
As fiction writers, we talk a lot about humor. We talk about what’s funny. We talk about what isn’t. We talk about appropriate moments for humor, the types of audience best suited to it, and the consequences of attempted humor…
Canopus Award Finalists Announced
The finalists in the inaugural Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Writing have been selected. The Canopus Award is an annual writing prize recognizing the finest fiction and non-fiction works that contribute to the excitement, knowledge, and understanding of interstellar…
How Do You Ask for a Blurb?
How do you ask for a blurb without making a nuisance of yourself? You do your research. Many professional authors have “blurb and review” policies in place on their websites, mostly out of self-defense.
Call for Submissions to the Journal of Science Fiction
The Museum of Science Fiction, the world’s first comprehensive science fiction museum, will publish an academic journal of science fiction using the University of Maryland’s journal management system.
Seven Days on Skokholm: Part Five
by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
I need to know if a Greater Black-Backed Gull could and would eat a Welsh faerie if the opportunity presented itself.
Seven Days on Skokholm: Part Four
by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
The ground in front of me slopes down. There is a red painted stone marking the end of the path, which makes me laugh, because of course I’m not going to stumble down to the cliff edge, …
SFWA Releases a New Model Magazine Contract
As part of its mission to serve professional genre writers, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America is pleased to announce that their Contracts Committee has released an updated Model Magazine Contract.
2015 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship Open to Applicants
The deadline for the 2015-16 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship has been extended to 5 pm, Thursday, October 1, 2015.
Seven Days on Skokholm: Part Three
by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
“Also, just keep writing, even when it seems stupid. You’ll need to use up a whole lot of words to get to the good ones.”
Seven Days on Skokholm: Part Two
Skokholm, Richard tells us, is a honeycomb of burrows. The rabbits, the puffins, the storm petrels and the manx shearwaters all make their own burrows and to be honest, it’s a bit of a nightmare, the island riddled with holes.
Seven Days on Skokholm
by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
If I had a week with nothing to do, I would write amazing words. I would write a book. I would write a million words and then dream the story while I slept under the stars and…