In Memoriam: Jack Cohen
Scientist Jack Cohen (b.1933) died on May 6.
SFWA Blog
2019 Officer Election Results
Thank you to those of you who took the time to vote in the SFWA Board elections. The results as certified by the Elections Committee and the Executive Director are as follows: President: Mary Robinette Kowal (unopposed) Secretary: Curtis Chen (unopposed) Director-at-Large: 3 Open Positions (winners and runners-up listed alphabetically) (W) Andy Duncan (W) Jeffe Kennedy (W) Sarah Pinsker […]
From the Inside Out: Worldbuilding Through Extrapolation
by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
It’s virtually impossible to do ALL of your SFF worldbuilding prior to writing your book/story. How much weight is given to each stage depends on the author (some prefer to do a lot before starting, some build nothing before writing). My own preference is to build the foundation–just enough to get me started, then build more along the way, and go back and change stuff after I’m done.
Why I Review, or Rather: What Is Reviewing?
by Cameron N. Coulter
Since March 2018, I’ve been writing a monthly short fiction review column for Skiffy and Fanty. A year ago, I didn’t have too many thoughts on reviewing, but now I find I can have long conversations about it.
The Art of the Playlist
by Paul Jessup
Ever since I first started taking writing seriously as a teenager, I’ve always written to music. Back then it was a bit more difficult than it is now, in the days of Spotify and gigantic playlists that can stretch on for hours or even days. Back in those days I would make mix tapes for my writing, each story and scene would get its own mixtape of songs that I felt carried the tone and the emotion of what I’m trying to convey.
In Memoriam: Allan Cole
Allan Cole, international best-selling author, screenwriter and former prize-winning newsman, died March 29, 2019, of cancer in Boca Raton, FL. He was 75. Cole was probably best known for the Sten science fiction series, which he co-authored with his late partner Chris Bunch, as well as the critically acclaimed Vietnam novel “A Reckoning for Kings” […]
In Memoriam: Gene Wolfe
SFWA Grand Master Gene Wolfe (b.1931) died on April 14. Wolfe is widely considered to be one of science fiction and fantasy’s greatest stylists, writing complex and intelligent novels and short stories, while letting his wry wit show through. After service in the Korean War, Wolfe earned a degree and became the senior editor of […]
How to Avoid Writing That’s as Clear as a Mountain Stream
by Chris Sumberg
The phrase “clear as a mountain stream” gets splashed around pretty loosely, sometimes in reference to clear writing but also in reference to the sometimes not-at-all-clear names of actual bodies of water, clear or otherwise. When you take time to examine the hard, cold facts, it makes you wonder if writing that is as clear as a mountain stream is, in fact, very clear at all.
2019 Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service to SFWA Award Announced
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) is pleased to announce that the Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service Award will be presented to Lee Martindale during the SFWA Nebula Conference awards ceremony on May 18th, 2019.
The Dream Foundry
by Anaea Lay
We’re building a community meant to capture the community. The whole community. We want to find beginners and bring them in to nurture them, help them learn, smooth their career path. We’re going to have resources that are useful to prose authors, and illustrators, and game designers, and people working in film.
