Octavia Butler’s birthday is today (June 22)

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And in honor of her memory, I and other members of the Carl Brandon Society are posting about her. That link, BTW, will take you to the Carl Brandon Society’s scholarship page, which helps pay for one writer of color to attend a Clarion workshop. Clarion, as you know Bob, is the premier writers’ workshop in the speculative fiction field, and in its various iterations has been running for more than 30 years now. Clarion is also where Octavia Butler was “discovered”, so to speak; she sold her first story there. And while I myself never went to Clarion or […]

Octavia Butler’s birthday is today (June 22) KEEP READING

There ARE stupid questions.

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So it’s been almost 4 weeks since I found out my novel was going to be published. It’s been a whirlwind few weeks and there have been a lot of changes in my life as a result, mostly good. But I’ve also had some variation on the following conversation three times. Me: So, yeah, 3-book deal, big advance, writer’s dream, really happy, woo hoo! Random person: Wow, that’s great! Congrats! So what kind of book is it? Me: It’s epic fantasy about a girl who gets wrapped up in a cosmological love triangle/political conspiracy. (Note: this is my current elevator

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Viable Paradise — apply thru June 30th!

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In 2002, I attended a one-week writers’ conference on Martha’s Vineyard called Viable Paradise. It was a transformative experience in more ways than one. Not only did I get over my arrogant refusal to touch short stories, I also hooked in with a top-notch writers’ group, the BRAWLers. (Formerly Boston Area SF Writers — they decided they needed a punchier name. GET IT? Punch — er, right, yeah.) VP and the BRAWLers kicked my wishy-washy, undisciplined ass into professional gear. I learned to set goals, and take small but measurable steps toward them. I learned the importance of persistence. I

Viable Paradise — apply thru June 30th! KEEP READING

MICHIO KAKU OMGWTFBBQ SQUEEEEEEE

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…Sorry. Random fangirl-mode attack, couldn’t help myself. Because today I got my contributor copies of Riffing on Strings, the anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays inspired by string theory, from Scriblerus Press. It’s a beautiful trade-paperback volume, packed and hefty at 250+ pages, nicely typeset, with lovely illustrations. My story “Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows” is reprinted therein, along with a number of other great pieces, including an essay by MICHIO KAKU OMG OMG O– ::whacks self, sighs:: Sorry. There’s other good stuff in the volume — my favorite is a psychedelic Greek-mythology-based short story called “Arachne”, by Elissa

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So, here we go…

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Welcome, welcome. This is the blog of author N. K. Jemisin. You can call me Nora. I’m not new to blogging, but I am new to the whole soon-to-be-published author thing, so bear with me as I learn to play with the big kids. =) My published short stories are available in the left-hand column, if you’d like a sample taste of my stuff. As for the rest, well, that’s coming: Orbit is excited to announce the acquisition of a debut fantasy trilogy that combines the politics of George R. R. Martin with the magic of Neil Gaiman. The trilogy

So, here we go… KEEP READING

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