Writers in Chicago in the Summertime

Next month, Chicago is hosting the 50th Annual Nebula Awards and Nebula Weekend! A few years ago, I had no idea about the rich resources and networking opportunities afforded by something like the Nebulas. I really wish I had known, and so I’m passing this along to writer friends in the Chicagoland area (and those looking for an excuse to visit Chicago…Come!)

The Nebula Weekend is an amazing opportunity, and it rotates cities. This year (the 50th Anniversary!) and next, Chicago will hosting the weekend. (Chicago in June is so lovely–finally warm and sunny, but not yet sweltering. The lake breezes are perfection, and we have such lush, green spaces.)

The panels offered are targeted at authors. There will be a self-publishing workshop on Thursday, and experts are participating throughout the weekend to discuss things like the future of cities, intellectual property law, and selling your work to Hollywood.

On Friday evening, the Mass Autographing session is FREE to the public, with more than 50 authors expected to participate, including Cixin Liu, Larry Niven, Greg Bear, Tobias Buckell, Jody Lynn Nye, Connie Willis, Aliette de Bodard, Daryl Gregory, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ken Liu, Fran Wilde, Alyssa Wong, Usman Tanveer Malik, Sam J. Miller, and so many others!

There’s also the Awards Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday evening with toastmaster Nick Offerman, best known for his role of Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation!

Incredible writers and editors who are brilliant and inspiring and delightful are coming in from all over the world. So because I adore many of them, and I adore many of you…you should meet!

Do let me know if you’re coming because I will be there all weekend.

Register to attend here! 

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Things Literary and Fantastic

This past weekend I returned to New York City to spend time with the wonderful Nancy Hightower (who just signed her poetry collection, The Acolyte, with Port Yonder Press).

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I also met with my new literary agent, Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.

Sara represents children’s fiction and adult fiction and non fiction. Her clients include NYT Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and USA Today Bestselling author Jeff Hirsch; her authors have been nominated for Edgars and the Morris Award, and have been on the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults list and in the Top Ten. She is consistently ranked among the top three YA and MG agents in Publishers Marketplace.

We had a lovely chat, and I know that my next book, The Supper Club, is in good hands.

Following our meeting, I headed to WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn with Nancy and Brooke Bolander to attend Jeff VanderMeer’s reading from his new book, Annihilation.

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Jeff is a terrific reader—clever, witty, and well-spoken, and it was a fun event (so be sure to attend a reading and get your book signed if he comes to a town near you). I love stories where the setting is a character, so I’m especially excited to read Jeff’s newest novel, set in an eerie version of southern Florida’s wild coastline.

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Friday was all about Electric Velocipede. Run by John Klima for twelve years, the beloved magazine published quality genre fiction by more than 250 writers, including Catherynne M. Valente, Jeffrey Ford, Rachel Swirsky, Jeff VanderMeer, and Jay Lake.

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A release party/memorial service at Bluestockings Bookstore celebrated the 27th and final issue of Electric Velocipede and featured readings by ten writers who have been published in Electric Velocipede over the years:

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After Bluestockings, people were invited to an after-party at David Edison’s place in the East Village. Earlier in the day, with the help of Stephen Segal, Nancy, Brooke, and I had gotten to work transforming David’s apartment with red lights, blue lights, and hanging skeletons.

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The space invites that kind of playful decoration, so we turned the three floors into a “Danse Macabre” backdrop for writers, editors, and other creatives to gather and celebrate John’s magazine and the excellent writing he published over the years. It was a full house and a joyful last hurrah.

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The following day, we were lucky enough to enjoy a lazy afternoon with friends, the perfect way to wind down and end my visit.

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I caught the plane back to Chicago early the next morning (narrowly avoiding the next snowpocalypse-vortex), to come home to the family and a visit from the lovely Maura Henn, who was traveling through Chicago on her way to Minnesota.

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I think back to 2008 when I was living in Germany and feeling such a lack of creative community. Just over five years later, and I am grateful to be surrounded by talented, innovative, imaginative writers, editors, agents, and artists. Some are in different cities and others are in the same neighborhood, but we are a community.

It is certainly possible to navigate these waters alone, but for me, it’s so much more enjoyable to have a cherished circle. We do the work, we make our art, we tell our stories, we support one another when we can, and when we come together, sometimes we make magic. Together, the journey becomes as meaningful as the destination.