Planetside Full Archives

by the SFWA Publications Crew and Adria Bailton Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes informational pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and initiatives, and also interviews with the SFWA volunteers who…

by Madeleine Holly-Rosing Though crowdfunding may seem intimidating to the first-timer, it is a viable alternative to direct sales, increasing your fanbase and sharing something unique to the world: your story. In this article, I will highlight some key elements…

by Russell Nohelty I’ve been working in both book publishing and comic publishing for close to 15 years at this point through my work as publisher of Wannabe Press and editor of the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell comics anthology…

by Michael Armstrong Starting in 1965, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association trophies have evolved from the original Nebula Award of spheres and spiral galaxies encased in Lucite to newer awards such as the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award of…

by Michael Capobianco Less than a year after SFWA founder and President Damon Knight created the Nebula Award, the first Nebula Awards Ceremonies were held on March 11, 1966. Why “Nebula?” The name was first introduced without explanation in the…

by  Kristen Simon Every comic book publisher has different preferences for receiving pitches. Some may not accept pitches at all, as they want to avoid the risk of copyright issues if a submission resembles a storyline they plan to publish. …

by A. A. Rubin Comic books and graphic novels are unique among storytelling mediums. While it shares characteristics with both prose and screenwriting, how the words and art interact on the page gives comics their own set of techniques. It…

by Jessica Maison If only there was an app for creator hook-ups, writers would all find the perfect artists and live happily ever after creating amazing comics. That’s how these apps are designed to work. Realistically, a writer would get…

by Tim Susman The first time I tried to write a comic book script, I had no guidance about what a script looked like, but I’d read comic books and graphic novels. So I wrote up my idea for a…

by Jessica Maison A writer conjures images for their readers, whether writing prose, film, or comics. Comics writing has a set of best practices that share similarities and differences with screenwriting and prose writing. Most successful stories told in any…

by Ira Nayman A few years ago, I was on a panel on Humorous SF at a convention (an occupational hazard, given what I write). I opened with well-rehearsed remarks about how there seemed to be a resistance to my…

by Catherine Tavares Editor’s note: This piece is part of a series titled Writing by Other Means, where authors share personal experiences and industry intel around different production contexts and writing tools. It’s spring 2023. My desk is clean, my…

by Marie Croke Publishing attracts story-lovers—readers, writers, gamers, dreamers—many of whom want to do more than just write their stories. They want to be out there, have a presence readers can find, yet they simultaneously struggle with anxieties that send…

by Gideon P. Smith Thirty years ago, I was first interviewed about my research. Five minutes after it ended, I had no idea what I had said. When I read the resulting article, my heart sank. The science and implications…

by Michael Capobianco I first encountered Jerry Pournelle in the early 80s on the pages of the computer professional magazine Byte, where he had a column called “Chaos Manor.” I had just purchased an expensive Texas Instruments 99/4 home computer…

by the SFWA Publications Crew and Emily Bell Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes informational pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and initiatives, and also interviews with the SFWA volunteers who work to support…

by A.D. Sui In early 2024, I was going through the editorial process for my short story “Svitla,” featured in Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, when my editor lovingly pointed out that the original title “Svet”…

by Rosemary Jones The explosion of the “romantasy” tag on TikTok, book websites, and bookstores’ shelf-talkers sparked news stories on CNN and PBS News Hour in 2024. While the label is new, the idea of mixing romance and fantasy took…

by the SFWA Publications Crew in conversation with Jessica Maison, Holly Lyn Walrath, and Wendy Van Camp Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes informational pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and…

by the SFWA Publications Crew Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes informational pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and initiatives, and also interviews with the SFWA volunteers who work to support…

by Marie Croke Read 25 stories a month. Copy-edit four stories an issue. Attend biweekly meetings. These are quantifiable tasks. They can be scheduled and carefully planned around. These are examples of what I consider to be visible expectations: clearly…

by Lívian Bonato Despite many recent additions to global science fiction and fantasy (SFF), Eurocentrism is still a challenge in many fictional universes. In post-colonial countries like Brazil, even national authors often replicate narratives that intentionally or unintentionally exclude voices…

by Monica Louzon Writers have a unique power: With our words, we transport our readers to new worlds. It doesn’t matter whether we write stories or poems, or whether we write long or short works—the end result remains the same….

by Corrine A. Kumar Fight scenes aren’t just about fighting. While writing technically accurate and action-packed fight scenes is important, if we don’t keep the focus on our characters and our worlds, readers will just skim past them. Fight scenes…