Apologies for cribbing from 30 Rock, but what a year it’s been - and here I am, writing at the beginning of February, on the other side of a brief government shutdown. I won’t belabor the point, but it feels like we’re in the middle of a speedrun towards societal collapse.

That said, I’m incredibly heartened by the amount of resistance to ICE invading Minneapolis, and how quickly people on the ground organized. Erik Hane, one of the agents of Headwater Literary Management and local had this amazing essay about it.

We are surrounded by horrors, but we will win.

It’s Awards Season (It’s ALWAYS Awards Season)

I found out that even though Blanquitos had a very short runway (being published on December 5, 2025) for consideration, it nevertheless was longlisted for the BSFA Award. A first for me!

It has also received praise from a variety of other writers, including Xavier Garcia, Samir Sirk Morató, Matt Neill Hill, J.R. Dawson, Sam J. Miller, and many more that I’m probably forgetting.

A lot of the awards require a membership (and if you’re reading for one of these, I’ll thank you for considering my story), but one that anyone can vote in is the Locus Award. Even better, you can write in a favorite that wasn’t already listed. Blanquitos was not originally listed, but if you think that was an oversight feel free to write it in under the short fiction category.

Catching Up On My Reading

Ever since my year began with that longest of government shutdowns (yet), I’ve rediscovered my love of local libraries. I’ve actually read quite a few books since the year’s begun! I started a list over on Bluesky, but I wanted to shout out the Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Tyrant Philosophers books. I read The City of Last Chances, and imagine my delight when the second book in the series - House of Open Wounds - isn’t a strict sequel (so far, there’s exactly one character from City that connects the two). The premise is fun and simple: imagine Plato’s Republic with an army - and imperial ambitions. Perhaps my brain is conflating “British author” with “Terry Pratchett” but there’s something Pratchett-like in the way Tchaikovsky builds his fantasy world. Perhaps it’s the inclusion of class dynamics that grounds the narrative even when there’s weird magical woo-woo happening.

Kudos: In City, a labor union is a powerful faction.

Sickos YES: a labor union that subcontracts with The Kings Below for demon labor.

Also, one of the best pay-offs in recent memory is in City, and it involves a very dedicated wife guy.

Anyway, if that sounds like your cuppa go read it ASAP.

Shout out to proto-debate bro, G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Amazing little book (or novella, as the case may be) that manages to be extremely pessimistic and uproariously funny - often within the same paragraph! We covered this one for Podside Picnic recently.

I also want to thank Zach Gillan for recommending The Devil of the Provinces, by Juan Cárdenas. A weird mystery, where the narrator returns to the town he grew up in after the murder of his brother. But as the slim novel progresses, the protagonist seems to not so much solve, but dis-solve the mystery of his brother’s death. This was a welcome change, and I believe this one might fit under the TropiWeird umbrella.

I also revisited Elektra: Assassin, an unhinged collaboration between Frank Miller at Peak Frank Miller, and Bill Sienkiewicz. Both artists, at the top of their game, producing something akin to Fear and Loathing in the MCU.

Elektra: Assassin was my first big comic, and its influence casts a long shadow over me. We also covered it recently for Podside Picnic.

Next up: The Works of Vermin and The Fraud by Hiron Ennes and Zadie Smith, respectively. Can’t wait to dig into the new Ennes - I rather enjoyed their previous novel, Leech, and have heard this is full-on Weird Fantasy. The Fraud was a recommendation from a friend after I’d expressed frustration with Babel.

One More Thing...

With one government shutdown under my belt, I’m expecting another as the DHS funding bill heads towards a funding fight in Congress. Hopefully, I’m wrong but we’ll see. Things cannot continue this way, as many, many people have already told this rotten administration. It’s now up to our legislators to listen.

That’s all she wrote!