Some Other Words That Trans People Should Destroy, Now That You Can't Say "Woman"

July 10, 2022

We did it, everybody! We totally got rid of the word "woman!" Nobody is ever allowed to use that word again*. (Okay, I just used it a moment ago, but that...

One Thing I'd Like To See From The Next Vampire Diaries Series

July 5, 2022

Ever since Legacies finished its run on The CW, I've been thinking a lot about what I would like to see next from the Vampire Diaries universe. The Vampire...

A Fun Surprise We Snuck Into the Marvel Pride Issue

June 27, 2022

Marvel Voices: Pride #1 (the 2022 pride issue) came out last Wednesday. I was meaning to write a newsletter to celebrate, but I was traveling to Arizona for...

The Sweetweird Manifesto

June 4, 2022

A spectre is haunting pop culture — an adorable and friendly, but slightly messed-up creature that beckons us into a world of kindness and surrealism....

We Need Heroes Who Can Remind Us That Heroism Is Fun

May 24, 2022

I wrote this newsletter last week and tried to send it out on Thurs or Fri. Not sure what happened, but apparently it got eaten? In any case, here it is now!...

I Helped To Create a New Marvel Superhero!

May 13, 2022

Now it can be told!!!! I have co-created a brand new superhero for Marvel Comics (along with her best friend!) Meet Shela Sexton, aka Escapade. She's trans,...

Captain Kirk's First Adventure Was About Choosing Between Two Friends

May 10, 2022

I recently rewatched the two pilots for the original Star Trek, in preparation for the beginning of Strange New Worlds, the latest Trek show starring Captain...

Absurdly Long Train and Bus Rides I Have Taken

April 29, 2022

1) As I might have mentioned before, I took a year off before college and went to Beijing to teach English and study Mandarin. I spent several months living...

Why Do We Assume Everyone Is Speaking in Bad Faith?

April 11, 2022

I keep procrastinating on writing another newsletter — partly because of writing deadlines and book promo and touring and all of that. But also, it's a bit...

What I Learned From Writing My First Ever Sequel

April 4, 2022

Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak comes out tomorrow, and it's the first sequel I've ever written. And what I learned from writing it is that — drum roll please...

It Feels Weird To Talk Up My Book During a Compound Apocalypse. I'm Gonna Do It Anyway.

March 22, 2022

Two weeks from today, my young adult novel Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak comes out. This is the second book in the Unstoppable trilogy, and I'm so excited to...

Cover Reveal: All the Hometowns You Can't Stay Away From by Izzy Wasserstein!

March 14, 2022

Izzy Wasserstein is a powerhouse writer who has been putting out some incredible short stories lately. And now, at last, she has a whole book of her short...

A Few Ways of Thinking About "Cancel Culture"

March 9, 2022

1) I increasingly think it's not helpful to say of someone, "They have been canceled." The passive phrasing of "has been canceled" feels very Orwellian. Pro...

Tropes I Miss: The Erudite Action Hero

February 8, 2022

Hey, my young adult sequel Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak is available to pre-order! Also, I'm going to be talking about my first YA book, Victories Greater...

Here's the Official History of My Fictional Galaxy!

February 1, 2022

Hi! I'm sorry I haven't sent out a newsletter in the past month or so -- I've been frantically trying to finish the third book of my young adult trilogy. And...

Here Is a Newsletter Post Telling You To Support Newspapers Instead of Newsletters

December 18, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I published three books in 2021 (I know!). There's my young adult space...

2021 Has Been A Hell of a Year

December 13, 2021

I hope it's not too late to do a "2021 in review" post! This was a really intense year, for various reasons. I published three (!!!) books, and also got to...

All The Steps That REO Speedwagon Took In Their Unsucccessful Attempt To Fight This Feeling

December 8, 2021

1) They attempted to form a multilateral commission to explore forming a united front against this feeling, with a mixture of economic sanctions and covert...

7 Hot Takes About Shared Universes

December 1, 2021

Welcome to my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have a bunch of books and I co-host a podcast. A week from Saturday, on Dec. 11, I'm...

I Found the Most Complicated Process For Creating a Supporting Cast Because That's How I Roll

November 23, 2021

It's finally here! Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak, the second book in my young adult trilogy, is finally available to request on Netgalley. If you read it,...

Five Times I Almost Died

November 16, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. My first full-length short story collection, Even Greater Mistakes, is out...

I've Finally Arrived as a Short Story Writer!

November 9, 2021

One of my long-time dreams is about to come true next week. I'm about to have a real, proper collection of my best short stories, out from a major publisher....

Three Factors That Make a Community Fall Apart in the Face of Disaster

November 1, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have three brand new books: my young adult space fantasy Victories...

Pop Culture Lied To Us: Shared Dangers Don't Always Bring Us Together

October 27, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have three brand new books: my young adult space fantasy Victories...

Why Is It So Hard To Imagine The United States Staying United?

October 5, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have three brand new books: my young adult space fantasy Victories...

Animal-Based Superheroes, Ranked

September 27, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two brand new books: Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get...

I'm Proud To Be a Bad Trans Person

September 8, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two brand new books: Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get...

I've Been Trying to Imagine a Fascist United States for Nearly Twenty Years

September 5, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two brand new books: Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get...

Everything I Learned From Working on Season One of Y: The Last Man

September 1, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two brand new books: Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get...

How "Bending the Landscape" Helped to Queer Speculative Fiction Forever

August 15, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two books coming out soon: on August 17, I’m publishing Never Say...

Prepare to Fall Outrageously in Love with Blake's 7

August 13, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two books coming out soon: on August 17, I'm publishing Never Say...

4 Good Pieces of Writing Advice (That Are Often Misinterpreted)

August 10, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two books coming out soon: on August 17, I’m publishing Never Say...

Here's a Deleted Scene From Victories Greater Than Death!

August 6, 2021

Hey everybody! My young adult space fantasy novel Victories Greater Than Death is just $2.99 in all of the ebook formats right now, which means it's a great...

You Don't Always Slay Or Flee Your Demons — Often, They Just Shrink Down

August 1, 2021

Thank you for checking out my newsletter! You can read the archives and subscribe. I have two books coming out soon: on August 17, I'm publishing Never Say...

If You Like The Suicide Squad, You Ought To Love John Ostrander

July 16, 2021

There are a bunch of reasons I’m over-the-moon excited about The Suicide Squad, including the stacked cast and the hilarious trailers. And I’m always here...

The Hottest Trend in Entertainment Right Now Is Meeting Yourself

July 15, 2021

Marvel finally gave the trickster god Loki his own TV show, but with a major twist: there's more than one Loki. In addition to Tom Hiddleston's charmingly...

Useful Writing Advice Is a Little Like Therapy

July 2, 2021

The other day, I was tweeting about my upcoming book of writing advice, Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories. And...

Some Vital Formative Experiences All Cis Women Share (Which Trans Women Don't)

June 26, 2021

We are once again debating whether trans women are really women, becuase it's a day ending in shrieks and blood-spattered mirrors and cries of damnation....

Superhero TV Shows Are Way Better (And More Varied) Than People Give Them Credit

June 24, 2021

Last week, everybody on the internet was freaking out about this Variety article on superhero TV shows — purely because Harley Quinn producer Justin Halpern...

Here are the Things That I Love Right Now

June 22, 2021

So sorry I’ve been so slow about posting newsletters lately — I’m hoping to put out a bunch in the next week or so, and then keep cranking ‘em out regularly....

How to Write a Space Opera That's Not Quite So Messed Up

June 7, 2021

Below is a somewhat revised version of a Twitter thread I posted a couple months ago. I was on a panel the other day and was citing some of the points I made...

Don't Let Genre Tropes Boss You Around

May 30, 2021

Ever had a story that you were dying to write, for years and years? And then you finally had an opportunity to write it, and... you couldn't make it work at...

We NEED a Squirrel Girl TV Show Immediately If Not Sooner!

May 27, 2021

Marvel has announced approximately five billion TV shows, including long-awaited live-action incarnations of Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk. But there's still one...

The Truth About Literary Fiction

May 16, 2021

The other day I tweeted something about literary fiction that caused some, er, spirited discussion. People started asking me to define "literary fiction,"...

What Samuel Johnson Can Teach Us About Separating Art from the Artist

May 11, 2021

In the fifth episode of the wonderful sitcom Rutherford Falls, Nathan and Regan help to judge people's projects in their local History Fair, and end up...

10 Hot Takes About Star Wars

May 4, 2021

It’s Star Wars Day for another few hours! I know, I’m super late, and everybody else already shot a womp rat, or whatever you do to celebrate this holiday,...

Yes, You Are Trans Enough. Yes, Your Identity is Valid. No, You Shouldn't Police Other Trans People's Identities.

May 3, 2021

Lately I’ve been having, or witnessing, the same conversations again and again with fellow trans folk: people confess that they feel like imposters, or like...

To Survive a Year of Covid, Indie Booksellers Had To Reimagine What It Means To Be a Bookstore

April 19, 2021

Like many other booksellers, Margaret (not her real name) was forced to shut down her store a year ago. When she reopened, she mostly sold books online,...

The Horrible Endgame of the Legislative Attack on Trans Kids

April 15, 2021

Image: Ted Eytan/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0 I was privileged to be able to write about the horrendous new wave of legislation that aims to punish trans kids in...

Not Having An Answer Is An Answer

March 15, 2021

Back in 2019, in the before times, I was lucky enough to be guest of honor at Wiscon, the world’s first feminist science fiction convention, alongside the...