Despite it being a turbulent year politically, I was still able to accomplish quite a bit, writing-wise. I published five stories last year, four original, in Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Mad Hatters and March Hares, and Hex Publishers. I’ve had two stories translated, one into French and one into Polish. I sold four stories, one of which I co-wrote with Mercurio D. Rivera and will be appearing in a future issue of Analog. And one of my stories has been selected for a special anthology that I’m super excited to announce, but can’t just quite yet.
I did quite a lot, non-fiction wise too. I appeared on a panel with astronaut Mike Massimino at the BRITE conference at Columbia University to speak about A.I., robotics, and how science fiction anticipates the future of human-machine interaction. And I wrote a bunch of articles, did a bunch of interviews, and participated in podcasts about Blade Runner 2049, including an appearance on Geeks Guide to the Galaxy, whose lede page introducing the podcast was shared almost 50,000 times.
Before I sat down to write this post I thought to myself, Boy, you didn’t really accomplish much last year. I guess that’s because when you are down in the trenches, so to speak, working on this and that, sales and successes seem irrelevant to just finishing the work. It’s only when you pause and look back that you can see how far you’ve actually gone. One thing I’ve learned in my long and winding career as a writer is that you just need to keep your head down and write. Everything else eventually works itself out.
Anyway, 2017 was a pretty good year, writing and life-wise, for me, and I’m hoping this year will be even better. I have a young-adult novel I’m nearly done with, and a few short stories in the pipe I hope to have out in the wild soon. Here’s wishing you and yours much success and happiness in 2018.
2017 Publications
- “The Great Game at the End of the World.” Hex Publications. Ed. Josh Viola. February 1, 2017. Reprint.
- “The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard).” Tor.com. Ed. Ellen Datlow. March 15, 2017
- “Love Engine Optimization.” Lightspeed Magazine 85. Ed. John Joseph Adams. June 27, 2017.
- “Will You Meet Me There, Out Beyond the Bend?” Nightmare Magazine 63. Ed. John Joseph Adams. December 1, 2017.
- “In Memory of a Summer’s Day.” Mad Hatters and March Hares. Ed. Ellen Datlow. December 12, 2017.
2017 Translations
- “The Last Novelist (or A Dead Lizard in the Yard).” Bifrost. French language. Translated by Pierre-Paul Durastanti. October 26, 2017. Reprint.
- “The Sounds of Old Earth.” Smokopolitan nr 10. Polish language. Translated by Magdalena Grajcar. December 23, 2017. Reprint.
2017 Sales
- “The Marsh of Camarina.” Shades Within Us. Eds. Susan Forest, Lucas K. Law. Laksa Media. Forthcoming.
- “The Words That Maketh Murder.” Tales to Terrify. Ed. Scott Silk. Forthcoming.
- “The Bricks of Gelecek.” Far Fetched Fables. Ed. Gary Dowell. Forthcoming. Reprint.
- “The Walk to Distant Suns.” Analog. Co-written with Mercurio D. Rivers. Forthcoming. Reprint.
2017 Accolades
- A career milestone, to be announced!
2017 Non-fiction
- Author Spotlight, Nightmare Magazine, December 20, 2017
- Episode 4: Love Engine Optimization with Brad Warner, Alan & Jeremy Vs. SF, December 5, 2017
- Hour of the Wolf Blade Runner Discussion, with host Jim Freund, WBAI 99.5 FM, November 2, 2017
- Blade Runner 2049: A Conversation, Movie Review, with Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, Hex Publishers, October 30, 2017
- Are Audiences Too Lazy to Appreciate Blade Runner 2049?, Wired.com presents Geeks Guide to the Galaxy, October 14, 2017
- What It Means to Be Human: Five Works of Fiction That Explore Blade Runner’s Core Themes, Tor.com, October 9, 2017
- Why Blade Runner is More Relevant Than Ever, Tor.com, September 20, 2017
- Sci-Fi Writer Matt Kressel Talks About the Singularity, Data Privacy, and Short Stories, Outer Places, February 21, 2017