Oh. Wow. I was sent a contract to sign and AI volunteered to give me the cogent parts so I didn't have to read it all.
Michael Swanwick
@michaelswanwick.bsky.social
Science Fiction and Fantasy writer. As a hobby, I also write Criticism and Non-Fiction.
Reading the latest Murderbot book, I noticed that Wells made female the default gender. I did this myself in The Iron Dragon's Mother, and it's not easy. Because in the vast majority of the books we've all read, the default gender is male.
The next Dragonstairs Press chapbook, goes on sale Saturday, Augus 29, at noon Philadelphia time. Red Dog is a collection of essays, some fictional, about life in western PA. Signed and numbered in an edition of 80. At www.dragonstairs.com. $11 domestic $13 international
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Basil, Pepper, Salt, and Garlic Greens A year in a witch's kitchen is a spicy, even saucy, medieval romance, full of useful advice from a woman who knows her way around a hearth, and life, too, for t...
dragonstairs.com
One of the greatest writers of our times has fallen. I've posted a brief memory of John Crowley on my blog. floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/08/john...
John Crowley (1942-2026)
. A quarter-century ago, I carried a light portable tape recorder to a convention that my wife, Marianne Porter, could no...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
Cocktail Hour! Tonight, because tomorrow will be busy, we're kicking back with Manhattans with dried orange wheels. Accompanied by spiced mushrooms and pickled green beans.
Rebecca Ore's brother is an artist who was making a living as a carpenter. He saved up some money, came to Philadelphia, and gave himself six months to make it as an artist. And succeeded. I asked him how he'd done it, and he said, "By painting pictures that validate the lifestyles of the rich."
ICE claims it goes after "gangsters, rapists, and murderers." According to the Wall Street Journal today, they're spending millions going after people who criticize them on social media. The snowflakes.
All librarians go to Heaven. A consoling thought I had at Sara Paul's funeral. floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/08/sara...
Sara Paul, 1948 - 2026
. Funerals are like tears. They rarely happen one at a time. Marianne and I were in Amherst for a memorial service when we got a phone c...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
I came home from Amherst last night, appropriately exhausted. So here, a day late, is my post about Jane Yolen's memorial. floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-me...
A Memorial For Jane Yolen--With Heartfelt Memories And Dancing Bears
. A memorial was held for Jane Yolen in Amherst at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Which was appropriate...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
Lunch the other day. First time I ever had a lobster roll served piping hot.
At the suggestion of Ellen Kushner, here's the program for Jane Yolen's memorial service. To assist those who watched it online.
As always, I'm on the road again. On an overpass, a religious procession with people pulling a juggernaut.
Sitting by the river, watching the clouds in the water.
An antique rye bottle. Alas, the wedding is not of these two distinguished gents but of five different whiskeys. A pity. I'm going to imagine an alternative past where they lived happily ever after.
Todd Sanders, publisher, and Janice Pixie, artist.
When examining werewolves weighing ten carats or less, a loupe garou is essential.
At the Eest Overholt Museum Where Old Overholt Rye was born
