The last week of August is going to bring some exciting stuff. Here are updates about my newest book, an exciting announcement regarding #SFFpit, and some of the things I’ll be doing at ChiCon 8 (WorldCon).
Silver Queendom comes out Tuesday
On Tuesday my seventh book, Silver Queendom, will be published by Angry Robot Books and Tantor Media. It marks my return to fantasy after four-some years, during which I edited two nonfiction books, co-wrote a sci-fi serial, and did a book about genetically engineered dragons. But I’m very excited about SQ. It’s about a group of con artists known as the Red Rooster Crew, mainly because that’s the name of the ramshackle inn that serves as their based of operations. They do mostly small-time jobs, pulling in enough coin to get by but not enough to attract attention.
So when a stranger shows up offering them a small fortune to boost a shipment of imperial dreamwine, they know they should refuse. The hallucinogenic wine is worth its weight in silver and guarded by mercenaries with a reputation for brutality. But thanks to a string of bad luck, they owe money to dangerous people. Boosting the wine shipment will settle their debts and then some… but only if they survive.
Thursday: Pitch Your Novel on #SFFpit
Next Thursday, authors with completed SF/F novels who are seeking representation/publication can pitch them using the hashtag #SFFpit. By my count, this will be the 17th time we’ve hosted this event. And it may be the most important one yet, because #SFFpit 16 (hosted in February 2022) did not go so well. Participating authors turned out in droves — we had record numbers of people and I’m glad for that. Yet we had the lowest literary agent participation that I can remember.
Admittedly, Russia had invaded Ukraine on February 23rd. The threat of global conflict was a major distraction for everyone, and literary agents on Twitter are a supremely distractible group. Maybe they felt odd gleefully participating in a pitch event, just as we felt odd hosting it. However, I can’t help but point out that in our current political climate, there’s often some new crisis evoking a firestorm on Twitter. It’s the way of the world.
As many authors have noticed, many Twitter pitch events are less effective than they once were. Literary agent participation is down for many of them. This not only diminishes the value of pitching events for authors, but creates an environment where predatory agents and small presses can take advantage. But hey, we’re going to give it one more shot. I hope that if you participate, you’ll work hard to write and refine excellent pitches. If you’re not participating, I hope you’ll show up on the hashtag and support your fellow SF/F authors.
New #SFFpit Requestors
Mike Mammay (my co-host) and I are working hard to get agents and editors to participate. We’ve updated and expanded the long list of agents who get personal invitations. With so much riding on this, I called in a couple of additional favors. I’m pleased to announce that my fantasy publisher Angry Robot Books and my science fiction publisher Baen Books will both be participating in #SFFpit next week. So let’s all bring our A-game, shall we?
Looking Ahead to WorldCon
Last but not least, I’m pleased to confirm that I’ll be attending ChiCon 8, the next WorldCon, in person in early September. Here’s my current schedule:
- Friday, 10:00 am: Panel: Playing in the Toolbox of Creation
- Friday, 7:00 pm: Table talk. Come to my table, ask me anything!
- Saturday, 4:00 pm: Autographing session with my friend Michael Mammay
- Saturday, 7:00 pm: Panel: Scientists: Fiction vs Reality with my shelf-nemesis Mary Robinette Kowal
- Sunday, 1:00 pm: Panel: Short and Sweet: Crafting an Elevator Pitch
- Sunday, 4:00 pm: Life Extension in Fact and Fiction
If you read my blog and will be there, I’d love to meet you! I’m bringing some cool Silver Queendom swag as well.
Follow me and you'll never miss a post:
Please share this article:
It seems like Facebook as well isnt as effective of a tool for us writers like it used to be. They give too much preference to paid advertising it seems. I tried Twitter twice and found there to be too much noise going on that keeps pushing some our own posts out of view. I don’t bother with it anymore; it’s a waste of time.
Congrats on your new book!