Author: A. T. Greenblatt

A.T. Greenblatt is a mechanical engineer by day and a writer by night. She lives in Philadelphia where she's well acquainted with all four seasons and is known to frequently subject her friends to various cooking and home brewing experiments. She is a graduate of Viable Paradise XVI and her work is forthcoming or has appeared in Uncanny, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Fireside, as well as fine other online journals. You can also find her on Twitter at @AtGreenblatt

Story on LeVar Burton Reads and New Essay Up at Locus!

On By A. T. GreenblattIn Publishing Updates3 Comments

I’ve been sharing this news on social media this week, but am only now getting around to writing a blog post about it.

First, I’m thrilled to share that my story “Waystation City” is featured on the latest episode of LeVar Burton Reads! For those who aren’t familiar with this podcast, Mr. Burton handpicks and reads twelve different short stories every season. As someone who has been a longtime fan of the podcast and of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I was absolutely floored when I found out this story was selected for Season 12 of the show.

“Waystation City” was originally published in Uncanny Magazine earlier this year.

Second, I’m also happy to share that the essay I wrote for Locus Magazine’s special short fiction issue is now free to read online. It’s called “Writing Short Stories in the Margins“. It’s about how short stories were the perfect art form for me when I started writing and how that opportunity is under threat for newer writers. Unfortunately, many SFF magazines can still use some help staying afloat and if you’d like to do so, here’s a good list to start from.

I’ve fallen off the wagon with adding these to the end of my posts lately, but my short fiction recommendation this time is The Sound of Children Screaming by Rachael K. Jones. (Warning it’s seriously dark, but timely and potent. CW:  Gun violence, child death, child endangerment.)

Thanks for reading!

Award Eligibility Post 2023!

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I finally decided just to post this sucker. I was originally waiting for a story and an essay to become available online, but I’ll just update this post when they do.

This year has been a bit of a rollercoaster, both in writing and in life, with some really cool moments, experiences, and opportunities, as well as some really low ones where I seriously questioned if all the work I was doing was worth it.

I think it is worth it. But I’ve also cut back on social media and have been trying to spend more time with friends and outdoors.

Which is all to say, I wrote some things this year that I probably haven’t talked about enough online. Some of which I’m very proud of, including a few essays, which I’ve been writing more of lately and have been enjoying.

So, if you’re still with me and are reading for the Nebulas, Hugos, or just want to check out more of what I published this year, here’s what I got:

The Stories

I was finishing the last of my nightly coffee when the nineteen-seventies twins approached my table and asked me to bear witness to their disappearance.

– Short story, 4500 words

The slender ones are tapping on the dividing glass. It sounds like rain – if rain was sharp, insistent, and determined.

-Short story, 3700 words

You ran alongside the ever-moving Dragon, carrying nothing but an oversized tote bag with lunch’s leftovers and rarely used lip balms, grabbed onto one of its massive legs and called up “Need some help?”

-Short story, 1700 words

The Essays

Whatever the reason you find yourself here, I hope you check out something on this list. And as always, thank you for reading!

Schedule for Capclave 2023

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As promised, here’s the second post of the weekend. I’ll be at Capclave on Sept. 29th – Oct 1st. As always, I’m so excited and it’ll be wonderful to meet up with old friends and make new ones.

Here’s my schedule:

  • Rejections Happen – Saturday, Sept 30th @ 10am EST
    • The life of a writer involves hearing many variations of the word “no.” Rejection comes with the territory but that does not make it easier to experience. Panelists discuss coping with rejection, how to continue writing through them, and what you can learn from receiving a no.
    • Panelists: A. T. Greenblatt, Ef Deal, Nate Hoffelder, R. Z. Held, Scott Edelman
  • Author Reading: A.T. Greenblatt – Saturday, Sept 30th @ 12pm EST
    • Don’t know what I’ll read yet. Open to suggestions.
  • Friendships in Science Fiction and Fantasy – Sunday, Sept 30th @ 10am EST
  • Writing Through Adversity – Sunday, Sept 30th @ 11:30am EST
    • Writing is hard enough but writers are also full human beings dealing with obstacles that can make it difficult to maintain a creative practice. From financial and family responsibilities to chronic pain and other mental and physical challenges, panelists talk openly about coping with daily pressures that often interfere with one’s writing life
    • Panelists:  A. T. Greenblatt, R. Z. Held, Samantha Katz, Sarah Avery, Scott Edelman

If you’re going to be at Capclave this year, please come say hi!

New Class Available at the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers!

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This is the first of two posts coming this weekend. Also, the first of a series of posts about writing related news over the next few weeks.

I’m excited to share that I’ll be teaching a new class on Oct 14th, 2023 called “Hitting the Road: How to Send Your Characters on a Road Trip.” It will be about 2 hours long and will be held online. There will also be a recorded version available if the timing doesn’t work for you. There’s also scholarships for students.

This is a completely new class for me and while I’ve taught a few classes for Clarion West Online and this summer at the Alpha Writing Workshop for Teens, this will be my first time teaching at The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. I love journey stories (if you couldn’t tell from my work) and if you do too, I hope you consider signing up for the class!

New Essay Up at Fantasy Magazine

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I wanted to put a quick post up today that I have a new essay online at Fantasy Magazine. It’s called “More Than A Journey” and it’s about storytelling that’s shaped by more than one character. I’m thrilled to have a piece in this magazine. I’ve adored Fantasy Magazine’s fiction and essays and I’m heartbroken that they are closing shop in October.

If you read or care about SFF short fiction, please subscribe to some magazines so that this doesn’t happen to others venues. Here’s a list of some you can support.

One last note, I made a mistake on my last post. I’ll be reading at Story Hour tomorrow, August 30th at 7pm PST, NOT Thursday.

Correction: Reading at Story Hour on 8/30!

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Update: Reading is on Wednesday, 8/30 NOT Thursday 8/31

I hope this blog post finds you well and that these summer months (in the northern hemisphere, at least) has been kind to. you.

It has been an incredible busy season for me. I’ve been working on several writing projects such as a story for this anthology and an essay that is going to be posted online at Fantasy Magazine later this week. I also attended Readercon in July and Fourth Street Fantasy in June. And this year, I was lucky enough to be asked to be a staffer at the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers.

So, yes, I’m both surprised it’s the end of August and also not.

But before the month closes out, I do have one more event. I’ll be doing a live reading this coming Wednesday, August 30th at 7 pm PST for Story Hour! I’ll be reading alongside Jean-Paul Garnier and we will each be sharing a short story. This event will be livestreamed for free over on Zoom and Facebook Live.

Hope you can make it!

Readercon Schedule 2023!

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I’m so excited to be going to Readercon in person again this year! This is one of my favorite conventions. On the docket this time, I have one panel, one reading, and one Meet The Prose event.

Here’s the Schedule:


Friday @ 2pm in Salon 4 – Do Short Stories Still Matter? – with John Chu Emma J. Gibbon A. T. Greenblatt (moderator) Nicole D. Sconiers Sheila Williams

Friday @ 10:30pm in Salon 4 – Meet the Prose – Lots of cool people listed for this one.

Saturday @ 3:30pm in Blue Hills – Reading

As always, I hope to see you at one of these events. Or if you run into me in the hallway, please don’t hesitate to say hi.

Theodore Sturgeon Finalist and Other Updates

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Okay, so how cool is this: “If We Make It Through This Alive” is a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award! This story was originally published in Slate Magazine’s Future Tense Fiction and came out in January 2022. I’m thrilled its on a finalist among so many amazing stories and authors. (Seriously, the list of finalists is fantastic this year.)

In other news, I’ve been writing some new things again. Or rather writing and being able to reach “The End” on smaller projects. I’ve spent most of the 2023 working on a longer piece, which is one of the hardest things I’ve ever written and consequently, the going is painfully slow. But I’ve been writing long enough to know that this is my process when I’m pushing the limits of my writing abilities. Stories have minds of their own and they will take as long as they need to sometimes.

Except I had to take a break and tackle some solicited work this summer. Some of which I’m not going to talk about just yet. But I can share that my essay “More Than a Journey: Reflections on Polyvocal Storytelling” will be in a forthcoming issue of Fantasy Magazine (possibly in August). I’m also writing a story for this anthology. Mad science written by disabled and chronically ill authors.

One last thing, I’ll be at Readercon this year! The schedule in not final yet, so I’ll post again when it is.

As always, if you’d like to support a magazine, Strange Horizons is currently running its annual Kickstarter. And my short story recommendation this time is “The Golden Hour” by Jeffery Ford.

Brooklyn’s Books and Booze Reading Tonight!

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I’m very late in posting this, but I’ve had a tough week for reasons I’m going to avoid talking about for now. But if you’re in the NYC area tonight, I will be reading at the Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room over at Industrial City at 6:30pm! And I’ll be reading with these fantastic writers too:

Kellye Garrett
Kathleen Alcalá
Marilyn Simon Rothstein

This is the new home of the formerly called Rooftop Reading series that was happening at Ample Hill Creamery. I’m sad about the lack of ice cream but I’m very excited to be part of this reading series!

For more information, you can find it here. For tickets, you can find it here.

Maybe I’ll see you there?

New Magic the Gathering Story

On By A. T. GreenblattIn General Ramblings, Publishing UpdatesLeave a comment

I’m a few days late with this announcement, but I’m excited to share that I have a new story up in the Magic the Gathering universe called “Battles in the Fields and in the Mind.” It’s a side story to the main March of the March storyline and I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to return to Zendikar and continue Nahiri, Akiri, Kaza and Orah’s story, as well as get to know Linvala and Tazri. It’s a grim tale, but it does offer a spark of light.

I hope you enjoy it.

Cover Art by: Zara Alfonso

My short fiction recommendation this time is The Father Provincial of Mare Imbrium by E. Lily Yu