Author: Kate Lechler

On this day in 1754, Horace Walpole coined the word “serendipity,” writing in a letter to his friend Horace Mann. The etymology of the word is from a Persian fairytale, The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the princes are always benefitting from lucky chance.

Writing, Editing, and Publishing

We have a lot of writing-centric posts this week. First, Locus Magazine recently interviewed Robert Jackson Bennett. Read some excerpts of the interview here, where he discusses how he crafts his plots.

Also in Locus Mag, an interview with An Owomoyela,

On this day in 1789, the first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, was published in Boston.

Writing, Editing, and Publishing

The nominations for Hugo Awards are now open.  On Such a Full Sea, an SF novel by Chang Rae Lee, has been nominated for a National Book Critic’s Circle award. And, I’m not sure how I missed this, but the Philip K. Dick Award nominees were announced, including Maplecroft by Cherie Priest.

On this day in 2012, the Pirate Party of Greece was founded. Sounds like a party I’d like to attend!

Writing, Editing, and Publishing

Brian Staveley, writing for Tor.com, made my week when he posted this article about the differences between writing fantasy and poetry. In it, he advocates for getting characters out the door and on the road, not obsessing over details of food or clothing (or horses, or banners, or genealogy, or…). It’s one of my pet peeves in the fantasy genre and Staveley hits the nail on the head.

On this day in 1835, the HMS Beagle dropped anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.

Writing, Editing, and Publishing:

At the end of this year, WHEEL OF TIME fans can expect a new book: The Wheel of Time Companion, edited by Robert Jordan‘s wife, Harriet McDougal, and his two editorial assistants, Alan Romanczuk and Maria Simons.

Kameron Hurley writes here about what being a writer is like: how much money you make, what kind of help you have,

The Happy Holidays! Today, instead of doing an actual post, I leave you with this eerie illustration of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but next week, on the 31st, I’ll be back with the mother-of-all roundups.

On this day in 497 BC, the first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. Happy Holidays!

Writing, Editing, and Publishing:

The winners of the Rhysling Award, an award for SF/F and horror poetry, have been announced. Check it out here!

Philip Pullman, author of HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, has a new short story available online. He’s also hard at work on a fourth book in the series, called The Book of Dust. 

Ann Leckie,