Margaret's June Nearly Monthly News!
Hello!
We're halfway through June, which means I'm three weeks and nine films into my #AMCmageddon quest to watch fifteen movies in theaters over thirty one days. (If that sentence is not meaningful to you, the full scoop is in last month's newsletter.)
Since I’m still six films from the finish line, I'll hold off on any reflections, but I do want to shout out all the local friends who have come to the theater with me so far. Out of nine films, I've only seen three solo, which is definitely fewer than I expected. That my weird adventure has become a way to get together with people I don't see in person nearly often enough has been a wonderful and unexpected silver lining.
But wait, there’s more! I have also done things in addition to going to the movies this month. Who would have believed such a thing was possible? (Not I, and yet, here we are.)
On to the news!
What? You Went to the Nebula Conference, too?!
Yes, I did! The Nebula Conference is an annual gathering run by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). It’s part professional conference, part reunion, and (this year) a chance for me to meet in person the people I worked with virtually when I was head writer for the Nebula Awards ceremony in 2020 and 2021.
The Nebula Awards are where SFWA members recognize their peers’ excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing. And while I’m not part of the ceremony team this year, I was honored to present the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction, which went to Moniquill Blackgoose for her debut novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath. Congratulations!
The full award ceremony is available online; (my bit starts here), and if you’re looking to add to your summer reading list, this video has professional narrators reading excerpts of all the finalists’ works.
New Short Fiction Coming Soon!
I have a new story appearing this July in The Sunday Morning Transport. While my story will be available for free as part of co-editor Fran Wilde’s annual birthday celebration, SMT is currently offering a 25% discount on annual subscriptions. Check out the many free stories available in their archives, and if you like what you read, consider subscribing to support their work, and to get access to the full SMT library which is filled with stories by some of the top SFF talent working in short fiction today. (Plus my 2022 story, “What Sleeps at the Heart of Aurora Station.”)
What I'm Reading and Watching
On the book front, I've finished my re-read of Frank Herbert's Dune. This time through, I’m struck by how the excerpts of Princess Irulan's many books (apparently she did indeed have some time on her hands after marrying Paul) work on a meta-textual level as examples of the Bene Gesserit myth-making and propaganda referenced in the narrative.
I'm also loving the essay collection Tomboyland by Melissa Faliveno. Faliveno uses language as an evocative scalpel, revealing and incisive whether the subject is gender, pain, tornados, or her midwestern childhood.
As for what I'm watching, I'm watching fifteen movies in thirty-one days! Isn't that enough?!
From the Cutting-Room Floor of the Duolingo Dystopia
The summer movie season has kicked off in Duolingo-land. Not everyone is excited:
And That's the Nearly Monthly News!
You’ve survived to the end of this newsletter! And I have survived learning that Run Lola Run came out TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO without withering into dust, so good work team! Keep an eye on your inbox to find out how this journey ends, along with the answers to burning questions such as, "Will the local multiplex have reliable air conditioning by the end of summer?" (Wow, do I hope the answer to that one is yes.) Comments? Queries? Drop me a line! Otherwise, I’ll see you soon!