Archive for the ‘SFWA Blog’ Category

An Introduction to Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction, Part 1: Definitions

For writers who are interested in writing middle grade or young adult fantasy or science fiction, the first step is puzzling out what exactly those categories mean. Science fiction and fantasy, after all, has a long tradition of featuring young protagonists — including such classics as Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings, and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey — even if those novels weren’t originally published as middle grade or young adult books.

Legal Tidbits

In 2008, following a bitter divorce, Iowan Scott Weier paid one of the Author Solutions Inc. imprints to publish his memoir, Mind, Body, and Soul. Subsequently, Weier’s ex-wife filed suit against Weier and ASI for libel, citing allegations in the memoir that she was a bad mother, had been the victim of molestation, and had a personality disorder

MFA Programs and You

MFA Programs and the efficacy or use thereof tend to come up in discussion periodically. For those of you interested, here is a run down of the types of programs and what to expect. I personally have an MFA in Poetry from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and am currently looking into applying for a second MFA, this time in Fiction. I might be addicted to school. Or it might be that MFA programs really are just that awesome.

An Interview with Jennifer Brozek

Award-winning author and editor Jennifer Brozek has edited over ten anthologies (with more on the way in 2013). The creative director of Apocalypse Ink Productions, she also has won both the Origins and the ENnie awards for her work writing for RPG companies, contributing to a long list of sourcebooks that include Dragonlance, Shadowrun, and White Wolf SAS.