How is it almost May? — Hugos, Grants, New Books, New Year, New Journeys
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Frens, how is it already almost May? We're also about a week out from the release of A Palace Near the Wind which is wild (and Linghun recently turned 2)!! It was so far and suddenly it's so close. But one other thing I've released that being a writer consists of (outside of the whole "hurry up and wait" landscape) is the following: What I thought I'd be doing as a full-time writer: writing What I actually do as a full-time writer: hours of admin work/emails Fortunately, even with the emails, I was somehow able to finish the second book in the Natural Engines duology—A River from the Sky—at a, you guessed it, sparseish 25K which will likely get puffed a bit after gets back to me from my editor's hands with comments. I'm working on a bit of an experimental book which I'd like to describe as "instead of To All the Boys I've Ever Loved, it's a To All My Family Who Always Gave." It's quite a personal one, so I'm excited to finish it. I've plans to do one more book this year, which is the long-belated novelization of my short story "Give Me English" because it'd received grant support (!!!) so I have no choice but to end my procrastination (happily, of course.) —A big thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for their support, along with my Recommender's Grant recommenders: Augur Society, Diaspora Dialogues, Wolsak and Wynn, and House of Anansi. I will say though, it's a dream of mine to be able to put out two books a year until I can have a steady flow of backlog income and time to really sit down and take a couple of years to work on a single book, but I know with that comes even more organization and admin work, and with the current landscape in publishing and the way advances are usually spread out/royalties are distributed, it might take a while before I can become firmly rooted in this career path. Regardless, I'm grateful that I have continued support from readers like those of your currently reading this, along with my now endlessly enthusiastic family. As for the future of these forthcoming books? After parting amicably with my former agents, I'm now signed with Lane Heymont and Danai Christopoulou of The Tobias Literary Agency—we're currently on sub with a novel I'd like to describe as Mulan but with ghosts. Fingers crossed!! Some other news include the extreme honour of being a finalist in the inaugural Best Poem category for the Hugo Awards with my piece "We Drink Lava" published in Uncanny Magazine Issue 56 (which you can both read and listen to here). Which brings me to... Maybe because of stubborn, or my brain just likes to take risks and rebel whenever there are warning alarms sounding (maybe both—probably both), but I'll be taking three US trips this year: StokerCon, Seattle WorldCon, and DragonCon. I'll also be dropping by the UK for 10 days (MCM London 23rd, Oxford 24, Bath 25, Cambridge 26, Edinburgh 28 at the University of Edinburgh with fellow alums, Waterstones Covent Garden 29 in-conversation with Gareth Powell). For Canadian events, we just had our pre-release with Little Ghosts Books on the 6th, will be doing another with Bakka Phoenix on the 12th, and then Take Cover in Peterborough on June 20th, and with Joie de Livres in Montreal on June 22nd. I was lucky enough this year to get to attend the JoCo Cruise as a featured guest as part of the lit track and what a time it was. I was able to reconnect with old friends and make new ones and have lovely discussions on panels with John Scalzi, Sarah Gailey, among others. (The only downside was the fact I was decommissioned for two days because of seasickness... but luckily Dramamine saved the day and I was able to get my boat legs in shape.) —pictures here and here! I'd also took a trip back to China to do some research on the parade of gods my hometown is known for—more on this soon! Other events: World Fantasy and Can*Con Faculty: Banff Residency for Science Fiction with Premee Mohamed and Amal El-Mohtar — September 8-19 (application deadline is April 16) NEW STORIES/POEMS “Shadows Below Seaway Trains”—APEX MAGAZINE, April 2025 "the bud of a dead dream"—Uncanny Magazine, March/April 2025 “A Realm Alive After Dusk”—APEX MAGAZINE’s The Map of Lost Places Anthology, April 2025 “A Species Called Hope”—Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabres, February 2025 “On the Bridge Above the River”—And One Day We Will Die Anthology, February 2025 “Memories Are Only Valuable if They Can Be Lost”—Chinese translation in CNY SF Gala by FAA, February 2025
“An Elegy for Horns”—INTREPIDUS INK, January 2025 “A Thousand Forbidden Weddings”—The Earth Bleeds at Night Anthology, January 2025 I'm sure I'm missing something, but I've got more emails to answer and more deadlines to chase, so until next time!! |