April 2025 Newsletter
Hello, Dear Readers!
March was chaos and April is off to a rollicking start, so let’s dive straight into:
Biggest News
I’m delighted to announce that Worldbuilding for Masochists is, for the fifth year in a row, a Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Fancast!
We are so, so honored to be on the Finalist list once again, and we are tremendously grateful to all of our listeners, as well as the many guests who join us and make the podcast so wonderful!
Information about voting will be available soon — and I won’t be falsely humble. I would really like to win this year, and I quite think we deserve it! We produce an episode, over an hour long, every two weeks precisely. We’ve done that for the full almost-six-years that the podcast has been running. We interrogate matters of worldbuilding from many angles, always with the aim of exploring the many interesting choices that a writer can make, rather than merely relying on assumptions, presumptions, and stale tropes. We have so many magnificent guests who are generous enough to share their time and their brains with us, and one of the great joys of doing this podcast is not only being able to chat with these folks, but having the opportunity to hype them up to our listeners.
And speaking of our listeners! Our podcast has developed not just a listener base, but a true community. Our Discord server is lively and supportive, a place where members test out ideas, talk through their worldbuilding thoughts, and cheer each other on. Since last November, we’ve also been hosting monthly mutual-encouragement leaderboards on TrackBear!
Want to listen to some sample episodes? Well, 2024 was a pretty banger year, but here are three episodes that we think are particularly well-representative of the various conversations we have on the podcast:
Episode 125: Monstrous Worldbuilding, with guest John Wiswell: Monsters and what they tell us about a society's fears and biases
Episode 133: The Devil in the Details, with guest M.J. Kuhn: Spreadsheets, templates, charts, and other organizational tools
Episode 144: What Do You Do with a B.A. in Magic?: Back to Basics: Education
You can find us on all major podcast platforms!
So, if you’re a Hugo-voting-type person, or you’d like to become one, I really think Worldbuilding for Masochists deserves your consideration for Best Fancast.
Other News
In sadder news, it seems that Nanowrimo, once-giant of the online writing community, has finally shriveled up and died. It’s tremendously sad, but honestly, I did most of my mourning for it last year. It’s been on a downhill trajectory for several years, and apparently that’s been the result of some financial mismanagement dating to at least 2018. But all the other scandals in the past few years certainly didn’t help.
That said — I dunno, in some ways it feels apt for a time when the various internet giants have been crumbling, and new ones are ascendant. I know that after last year, a lot of writing challenge communities popped up (or got a rush of new members) on Discord. I, personally, am doing Novel Gauntlet, which sprung off of the Goblin City server that I’ve been a part of for a while.
And that’s certainly helping me this month! They’re doing an April challenge, and I’m using it to help motivate me in working on Shattered Souls. I would very much love to have a proper draft completed and ready to give to my agent before camp season starts up and I lose all of my time and soul.
Oh! My agent! That’s other new news: Connor Goldsmith, who has been my agent since 2013, is leaving agenting in order to focus more on his own writing and podcasting career. I’m so happy for him and wish him all the very best as he makes that transition. And no worries for me: I have been taken on by Laurie McLean, one of the founding partners at Fuse Literary! I’m super-excited to be working with her. We vibed instantly when we had a get-to-know-you chat, and I’m looking forward to handing Shattered Souls over to her this summer.
Upcoming Events
At the end of this month, I’ll be at RavenCon in Richmond, Virginia! This is my home con, and I’m always delighted to attend. Exact schedule for that is still TBD, but it’ll be up on my website as soon as I have it!
I’ve said before that I will be attending WorldCon Seattle, August 13-17, and now I can also confirm that I will be on programming! Schedule also TBD, but I just got to fill out my request form, and there are some super-exciting things that, if I don’t make it on the panel, I’ll definitely be wanting to attend.
What I’ve Been Reading
Two Can Play, Ali Hazelwood
The Enchanted Greenhouse, Sarah Beth Durst
Wearing the Lion, John Wiswell
A Tarnished Canvas, Anna Lee Huber
Blood over Bright Haven, M.L. Wang
The Rushworth Family Plot, Claudia Gray
The Martian Contingency, Mary Robinette Kowal
Lady Henterman's Wardrobe, Marshall Ryan Maresca
March was a much better month for reading! I whipped through several of the things on my TBR, including a few of my NetGalley ARCs. But don’t worry! If they’re not out yet, they will be soon and can be pre-ordered through the affiliate links above!
Wrapping It Up
So! Life is busy and I don’t see that changing anytime soon! Although I do have a Disney vacation coming in May. I had so much fun at May the Fourth in Batuu last year that I decided I had to go back — but I’ll also be trying out at least two new-to-me restaurants and taking advantage of the “free water park on arrival day” hotel perk. If you want to see how all of that goes, be sure to follow my Stories on Instagram.
In the meantime — wish me luck on with keeping pace on Shattered Souls!
May spring be kind to you (and may the pollen be light)!
