The Speculative Fiction Ecosystem

On March 26, 2023March 27, 2023 By A. T. GreenblattIn General RamblingsLeave a comment

I’ve talked about this before, in person and on this blog, and I’m absolutely not the first person to say this, but short fiction is incredibly important to the health of the speculative fiction industry. It is where writers get to explore, experiment, and often get their first publication credits. Which in turn makes them more confident about joining and engaging with the community. Essentially short fiction has been the germination place for many of our favorite writers’ careers. Short stories are also available to readers all around the world because most SFF magazines are free to read online, reaching an audience who might not have access to books. It’s where the conversation in genre is happening in real time, because short fiction is published within months, not years, as it for novels. As Kij Johnson once said “the science fiction and fantasy genre is always in conversation with itself.”

Except, even in the best of times, most magazines barely have enough funds to keep running. According to Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld Magazine less than 10% of readers subscribe to most online magazines. Scott Andrews of Beneath Ceaseless Skies says <a href="http://<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Percentage of BCS readers in 2022 who supported the zine financially (subscribers & donors & Patreon supporters) was 0.7%. 99.3% did not. (For anyone who'd like to support us, we would be grateful! Here's the BCS Patreon: <a href="https://t.co/f1CkYfEOyp">https://t.co/f1CkYfEOyp</a> )</p>— BCS Online Magazine (@BCSmagazine) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCSmagazine/status/1640377633308286976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8">that only 0.7% of readers support the magazine.

These are not the best of times.

A few months ago, Amazon announced that it will be ending it’s Kindle Newsstand Service, and switching to a Spotify-like model of payment. Meaning that publishers will only get a fraction of the income they were once making through the service. Jason Sanford has an excellent and full write up about it here. This doesn’t include the slow, but steady collapse of Twitter, which is how many magazines, writers, and readers talked about and boosted stories they love. Or the influx of AI written stories, which has bogged down editors.

I have been writing short speculative fiction for over ten years now, and have seen several ups and downs in the industry, but this time I’m worried that many beloved venues might close, leaving holes in the industry that will be difficult to fill.

Short fiction is a major component in the foundation of science fiction and fantasy fiction ecosystem and one that desperately needs any support we can give it. So, if you’re able, please consider supporting one or more of these magazines. Listed in no particular order:

Again, if you like my work, please consider buying a subscription or donating a few dollars to one of these publications. Most of them have published my work at some point. More importantly, they have published the work of hundreds of other writers as well.

My short fiction recommendation for the week is Crown Prince by Melissa Mead over at Cast of Wonders. Mead was a prolific short story writer, who like me, had cerebral palsy too. She died far too young in February 2022 and this story has been published posthumously with permission from her family.

Of City Windows and Anthologies

On December 4, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn General RamblingsLeave a comment

I’m writing this tonight from my desk in my living room/office while eating dinner. It’s been that sort of weekend. Not bad, but gone too quickly. My desk sits in front of a window and from it I can see the people in the apartments across the street, in their kitchens or dining room or hybrid spaces like mine. I know they can see me too.

Do neighbors in NYC wave to each other? Or do we politely pretend we don’t have windows into each other’s lives?

I was going to talk about my writing this week, but honestly, works-in-progress are not very interesting to talk about because it’s usually the same update week after week: Still writing and still revising. So I’ll just say that one delightful surprise was getting the Long List Anthology, Volume 8 in the mail! This has my story “Questions Asked in the Belly of the World” as well as many other amazing pieces published in 2021. As a reader, I alway really enjoyed this anthology series.

Long List Anthology Volume 8 Cover on a black background

My short fiction recommendation this week is “We Built This City” by Marie Vibbert over at Clarkesworld Magazine

Until next weekend, stay safe and healthy!

Long Weekends Should Be Standardized

On November 27, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn General RamblingsLeave a comment

Seriously, having a four day weekend has been so nice. I managed to spend part of the long weekend with my family, eating tons of home cooked food and playing with my dog. Hope those of you in the States have enjoyed it as well.

Not much to report on the home front this week. I continue to make headway on short story edits, essays, and new story drafts. Although progress is slower than I would like it to be. (It always is.)

This week, I finished reading the short story collection Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell. I found her storytelling craft exceptional, even though not all of the stories resonated with me. One of the things I liked most about it was how varied and unique each story was in terms of topics, settings, and breath. Each piece had a mix of darkness and humor, though the ratios varied from story to story.

I also saw the animated movie Porco Rosso by Hayao Miyazaki. It came out in 1992, but I never seen it before and there was a matinee over the weekend at one of the dine-in theaters in Brooklyn. So with coffee and truffle popcorn, I watched this strange, beautiful film and was once again fascinated by Miyazaki’s dreamlike way of storytelling. I learned recently that he doesn’t use a script when creating movies. Instead he creates a storyboard and he doesn’t know how the movie is going to end until he draws it.

Which, as someone who has to literally write things down to give them shape and meaning, I find that mind blowing.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with this: If you’re looking for a SFF short story to check out this week, try Slow Communication by Dominique Dickey

Year End Eligibility Post 2022 and Where Else to Find Me

On November 19, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn General Ramblings, Publishing Updates1 Comment

It’s that time of year again and I’m not talking about the holidays, though I’m excited for American Thanksgiving next week. (Four day weekend and homemade cranberry sauce!) Award season for the science fiction, fantasy, and horror community has begun, and it’s good practice to post a year end round up of your work and where to find it.

Also, since Twitter seems on the verge of collapse, I thought I’d mention that you can find me on Mastodon at @atgreenblatt@wandering.shop.

Also, I’m hoping to post on this blog weekly.

Okay, onto the stories. It’s been a bit of a rocky year for me in terms of writing, but three stories of mine were published and in some excellent venues.

A Record of Our Meeting with the Grand Faerie Lord of Vast Space and Its Great Mysteries, Revised

Published March 2022 in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 7,600 words (novelette)

“It should be noted here, at the beginning of the record, that the decision to invite such an esteemed and unknowable entity was not made lightly nor without a great deal of heated debate among the crew. [Addition: Upon reflection, Pilot Uma and Navigator Wilson conducted most of the debate and, ultimately, made the decision. The events that followed could have perhaps been avoided had they sought wider counsel.] However, it was agreed by all that the potential results were worth the risk. The crew was eager to

Cover art. Astronaut like explorers in foreground, giants in the distance — Ancient Ones by Jose Borges

If We Make It Through This Alive

Published January 2022 in Slate Magazine. 7,000 words (short story)

“The open road is just potholes and misery, but Sabrina loves it anyway. Not that she has anything against the national train system, trains are great. But it’s the challenge, the potential to rebuild everything, that has her doing final checks on Gran’s old Jeep at the starting line of the Great American Road Race.

Not that Gran would’ve recognized her beloved car.”

Photo illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo/Slate. Photos by Ruben Hanssen/Unsplash, Ravi Sharma/Unsplash, Brandon Green/Unsplash

The Music of a New Path

Published June 2022 in the Bridge to Elsewhere Anthology. 4,000 words (short story)

“Tessa rubbed her face. Click, click went her teeth, but now, her only accompaniment was the ship’s deep hum. The junkyard man had warned her she was on borrowed time with The Castaway when she’d bought it, but there was something, something that Tessa couldn’t quite name, that whispered, Don’t give up on the ship. Not yet“

That’s it! What have you read this year that you’ve loved? Have you published something that you’re proud of? Please feel free to leave a comment!

Where I’ll be at Chicon 8 (Virtually)

On August 29, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn Convention SightingsLeave a comment

Sadly, I won’t be able to make it in person to Worldcon this year. I have an important family event the next weekend and decided to try to avoid big social gatherings beforehand. I’m sad that I won’t be able to see friends and meet new people in person, but I am hoping to make it to World Fantasy Con in November.

However, I will be doing some online programming, including a virtual table talk, and would love to see people virtually. Here’s my schedule:

Virtual Table Talk – Friday, September 2 at 4:00pm CDT

Where: Airmeet Table Talk

Who: A. T. Greenblatt

Blending, Blurring, Evaporating Genres – Saturday, September 3 at 10:00am CDT

Where: Airmeet 4

Who: A. T. Greenblatt , Cassandra Rose Clarke (moderator), Julia Meitov Hersey , L. Marie Wood , Sherwood Smith

Description: Dragons in space? Magic robots? Speculative fiction has always refused to be confined between strict boundaries, and genre mashups and crossovers are now a common feature. How have our expectations for each genre changed over the years? How will they continue to change when “shelf space on a bookstore” is no longer a main concern?

One Hero to Save Them All – Saturday, September 3 at 2:30pm CDT

Where: Airmeet 3

Who: A. T. Greenblatt , Auston Habershaw , C.L. Clark Colin Alexander , John Appel (moderator), PJ Manney

Description: Many stories set in dystopias or featuring a revolution focus the narrative on a single, solitary hero. But is this realistic? Is it fair, either to the hero who must do all the work or to the secondary characters? Is it fair to readers, looking to effect changes in their own societies, to read about competent characters who can do it all? Come join the panelists as they explore and question examples of solitary heroes.

Hope to see you virtually this weekend!

4th Street Fantasy 2022

On June 16, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn Convention SightingsLeave a comment

I totally forgot to write this post and the conference is starting tomorrow. And, if all the flying goes smoothly, I will be in Minneapolis tonight. Also, I’m going to be on some panels. Additionally, I’m very excited to see people again in person and might not have finished my cup of coffee this morning yet, hence stream of consciousness-like wording of this post.

Anyway, here’s my schedule for 4th Street Fantasy:

Designing Worlds for Everyone – 4:00 PM Friday

Stella Evans (M), Avani Gadani, A.T. Greenblatt, Benjamin C. Kinney, Michael Merriam.

From airport scanners with only two body type defaults to facial recognition systems that can’t recognize BIPOC, unconscious—or conscious—design decisions from our world that treat people unequally seep into our fantasy worlds. Authors create fantastic worlds full of stairs wheelchair users can’t access or magic systems designed to erase disabilities. But there also exist magic writing systems that dyslexic users excel at and blind earthbenders who don’t have to overcome their disabilities in order to thrive. What are broad principles or specific ways of approaching world-building to include as many people in the fantasy as possible?

Ambiguous Narrative Stances – 11:30 AM Sunday

A.T. Greenblatt, Marissa Lingen, Jenn Lyons, Aja McCullough (M), Abra Staffin-Wiebe.

What kind of ambiguity serves a story, in endings and in narrative support? Raising complicated questions with no easy answers is all well and good; avoiding dealing with what they mean entirely is an abnegation of responsibility. We can’t control reader interpretations, and there can be power in letting readers fill in for themselves what goes, but when is failing to take an explicit stance a disservice to the reader, and how explicit is it important to be? Where is the line between an ambiguous ending that fails the reader by failing to take a stance, or that serves the reader in forcing them to think through implications to their logical conclusion and intentionally decide on their own reading?

As I said, very excited for this and if you’re there, please feel free to come say hello.

Comings and Goings – Late May & Early June 2022

On May 15, 2022May 15, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn Convention SightingsLeave a comment

I can’t remember when I posted here last and honestly, I’m a little too lazy right now to check, but I think it’s been a while. I’m slowly getting used to living in a new city. Or at least getting a little less lost, which is nice. I’m really enjoying the springtime greenery and looking forward to summer.

Speaking of upcoming things, I will be at the virtual Nebula Convention next weekend (May 19th-May 22nd). I also have a virtual reading at NYRSF on June 7th. Here’s the information for both:

At the Nebulas, I’ll be on two panels:

The Future of Disability Representation – May 20th at 3pm PST – with Effie Seiberg, Andi C. Buchanan, Nicola Griffith, A. T. Greenblatt, and Nalini Haynes

Description: Writers with disabilities prop up excellent examples of representation, discuss how to overcome harmful tropes and stereotypes, and explore, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the future of portraying disability in SFF.

The Second Person and You – May 22nd at 10:30am – P H Lee, Suzan Palumbo, Lauren Ring, Eden Royce, and A. T. Greenblatt

Description: The second person is often regarded as difficult, complex, or experimental. But it doesn’t need to be! Explore how your work could benefit from this technique with authors who have intentionally and successfully written from this perspective.

My second event is an author reading at the NYRSF series. It will be streamed on the internet free for all on June 7th at 7pm!

Hope to see you virtually!

New Story “A Record of Our Meeting with the Grand Faerie Lord of Vast Space and Its Great Mysteries, Revised” at Beneath Ceaseless Skies!

On March 7, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn Publishing UpdatesLeave a comment

I’m a little late to posting about this new story because my life has been a bit insane. A little over a month ago I accepted a new engineering position and now, a handful of weeks later, I’m sitting in an apartment in Brooklyn with my laptop and other essentials, but with most of my belongings in storage.

I’m still reeling from all the changes, but I’m also excited.

But right before I decided to upend my life, I wrote this story. I created it very quickly – when I was extremely tired and my exercise schedule was messed up (hence my writing productivity was also messed up.) I wanted to tell a time-looping story, but I all my initial ideas feel too much like Groundhog Day. The idea of revisions and how a story can change over time has always fascinated me. How you can redirect a story by adding little details here or reframing a moment there. So I decided to try that on an extreme scale with this story.

“A Record of Our Meeting with the Grand Faerie Lord of Vast Space and Its Great Possibilities, Revised” is one of the most difficult stories I have ever written.

At some point, I wasn’t even sure it made sense to anyone but myself – that’s how zoomed in I was to each sentence and every worldbuilding detail. I couldn’t see the larger picture anymore. So I’m eternally grateful to Beneath Ceaseless Skies editor Scott Andrews and my beta readers for their help on this one.

I figured a time-looping story needed a looping song as its soundtrack, so I was listening to Zoë Keating “Possible” on repeat as I wrote and rewrote this story.

Hope you enjoy this science-fantasy story!

New Story: “If We Make It Through This Alive” Up at Future Tense Fiction

On January 29, 2022 By A. T. GreenblattIn Publishing UpdatesLeave a comment

New story days are the best days. And I’m thrilled to say that my story “If We Make It Through This Alive” is now free to read over at Slate.com’s Future Tense!

I’m so excited to share this story with the world! It’s about a road race across America in a climate-wrecked future where the highway system has been abandoned and trains are the main mode of transportation. I’ve been working on this piece for several months now and it was definitely a challenge to keep it in the short-story word range. There’s a wonderful companion essay to the story “How Heeding Disabled People Can Help Everyone Survive a Crisis” by Damien P. Williams.

This story has several point-of-view characters, each with her own history and goals. One of the biggest challenges was to make sure each character had a chance to tell her piece of the story and to make sure she came alive against the backdrop of where she came from. So, it made sense for Sabrina, Jody, and Fern to have their own theme songs while I was writing this story.

For Sabrina, the song was “Artificial Nocturne” by Metric. For Jody, it was “I Need My Girl” by The National. And for Fern, it was “No Lights, No Lights” by Florence + The Machine.

As always, I hope you enjoy the story and the essay!

Year End Eligibility Post 2021

On November 7, 2021November 7, 2021 By A. T. GreenblattIn General RamblingsLeave a comment

I’m not sure what happened to 2021. Where 2020 seemed to drag on and on, 2021 flew by. I suspect the pandemic has truly warped my sense of time. It’s a little frightening.

In terms of writing though, 2021 was another amazing year. I had one novelette, four short stories, and one essay published. One of my stories from last year was a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards. My work has been translated into a half dozen different languages, including Klingon. I got an agent and I taught my first writing related class.

I’m still stunned to be honest.

Anyway, if you’re catching up on reading from 2021, here’s my work that came out this year:

1. Qu estions Asked in the Belly of the World