LaShawn M. Wanak

We're back, and we got a new story up!

ICYMI

September 2025 Writing Update This is the hardest newsletter I've ever written. I've been putting it off for the longest time, but many on this newsletter are not on social media, so they don’t know what happened over the summer. I’ll keep this brief. My dad in 2005 In May, my father, Raymond Taylor, was admitted to the hospital with what we learned later was terminal stomach cancer.

My latest newsletter is now out. This was a hard one, but also very important.

Hey gaming friends. My sister is looking for a new game to join and play. If you're looking for a seat to fill for your RPG or need a person to join your MMO, ping me and I'll introduce ya.

Thanks to @tbonejenkins.bsky.social for the cover quote!!!

Holy SHIT the latest Genshin Archon quest got me ready to write a whole goddamn treastie on faith and walking away from faith and also staying in faith and fighting to bring truth to those who'll be shattered by it and DAMMIT THIS WHOLE FUCKIN ARCHON QUEST 😭😭😭😭😭

Putting the finishing touches on my short story collection. I got a few places I'll be sending this to (thanks, friends at Worldcon!), but if my writer friends know of any other presses who do short story collections, please recommend!

Welp, new #GenshinImpact update and new Nod Krai region dropped so, you know, I'll see ya when I see ya. ::puts on headphones and gets ready to not sleep tonight::.

Okay y'all. You can stop yelling at me. I FINALLY WATCHED SINNERS.

::sits down to journal about Seattle::
::stops::
::stares::
HOLY CRAP I NEVER DID MAKE IT BACK TO HMART DIDN'T I??????

Cat Physics, Deconstruction, and the Shape of Love - Uncanny Magazine When cats fall from a great height, they twist their bodies, searching to reorient themselves, using their tails to rotate their bodies to an upright position before bracing for impact. This requires ...

If you enjoyed my short story, "Deconstruction in the Form of a Cat God", @uncannymagazine.bsky.social just published my essay about my faith journey complete with cats, figuring out my faith, and a bonus rumination on what following love looks like when horrible stuff happens unexpectedly.

Cat Physics, Deconstruction, and the Shape of Love - Uncanny Magazine When cats fall from a great height, they twist their bodies, searching to reorient themselves, using their tails to rotate their bodies to an upright position before bracing for impact. This requires ...

If you enjoyed my short story, "Deconstruction in the Form of a Cat God", @uncannymagazine.bsky.social just published my essay about my faith journey complete with cats, figuring out my faith, and a bonus rumination on what following love looks like when horrible stuff happens unexpectedly.

Looks like I'm going to be staying in a hostel for my last couple of days in Seattle. Anyone got any tips, advice, things to watch out for? This will be a new experience for me.

Holy crap tomorrow I get on a plane and head to Seattle for Worldcon.

Is it okay to feel weird about it?

CONCURRENT SEATTLE ConCurrent is a free one-day event intended to be an alternative to WorldCon programming.

What's this? Our website looks a bit different now!

The landing page has been redesigned to provide you with pertinent info at a glance. Walking directions from Summit as well as a map are now up front, as well as links to our credo, our FAQ, and our registration page.

concurrentseattle.weebly.com

A. W. Prihandita’s Worldcon and ConCurrent Schedule Worldcon Reading (with Sarah Pinsker) Friday, Aug 15 6 - 6.30 PM, Room 429 Monsoon Season: The Southeast Asian SFF Wave Saturday, Aug 16 6 - 7 PM, Room 445-446 ConCurrent The Short and Long of It: Short Fiction, Its Mutability, and How to Transform It Thursday, Aug 14, 9 AM ACT Theater/Union Arts Center And, message me if you want to hang out! :)

I’m going to my first ever Worldcon! I have a panel with Victor Manibo, Van Hoang, & Salinee Goldenberg. Plus, @sarahpinsker.bsky.social is generously sharing her reading slot w/ me. 🥹

I’m also paneling at @concurrentseattle.bsky.social w/ Sam Asher, Lauren Ring, LaShawn Wanak, & David Levine!

Other than that, my schedule is free and clear. If you want to meet up with me for food, tour downtown Seattle, or just want to chat, ping me!

image showing that I’ll be talking about short fiction with Sam Asher, David Levine, A.W. Prihandita and Lauren Ring at ConCurrent.

That said, I *will* be on the first panel at ConCurrent, the one-day Worldcon Alternative event taking place Thursday, Aug 14, at the ACT Theatre/Union Arts Center. It’ll be a fun conversation, so come if you can.

(I actually turned in my survey too late, which at first was a bummer, but then July happened and you have no idea how absolutely grateful I am to not be on any programming.) /2

Thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes and checked in on me. I deeply appreciate it.

I’m slowing getting back into work mode, which means it's time to announce that I’ll be attending Seattle WorldCon next week.
I won’t be on any panels at WorldCon itself /1

Now that I'm home, I can finally start preparing for Worldcon next month. One thing I'll need help with is finding a place to stay from Sunday, August 17 (the night of the Hugos) to Tuesday, August 19. If anyone's got a place in Seattle or are willing to lend me a couch/hotel space, please DM me

A graphic with the ConCurrent Seattle logo and the words "panel schedule" beneath. The background of the graphic is purple with a rainbow at the bottom. Beneath "panel schedule" is a list of panel participants: Sam Asher, LaShawn Wanak, David Levine, AW Prihandita, Lauren Ring. There is a text box below with this text inside: 9:00 The Short and Long of It: Short Fiction, Its Mutability, and How to Transform It A craft discussion about writing, editing, and publishing fiction at every length, and growing - or shrinking - the format. But how do you know how long a story should be? Are there tricks for coaxing out specific lengths for pieces? Panelists will discuss these questions and more.

ICYMI: ConCurrent's first panel of the day will be the short fiction panel with @samasherwriter.bsky.social @tbonejenkins.bsky.social @daviddlevine.com @awprihandita.bsky.social @ringwrites.bsky.social. Two EICs, plus Hugo, World Fantasy, and Nebula winners all on this panel!

On the plus side, I am finally getting around to reading A Wizard of Earthsea for the first time ever.

Also...I'm starting work on that Evangelical Omegaverse story I've been hinting at for the past year.

This has been sitting on my shelf for ages. Starting to read it now.

At some point, I'll write a longer post about this. We've been dealing with devastating stuff, but there's also been such beauty that has brought tears to my eyes that I want to share about when the time is right.

This has been a hard year for us, and this month has been especially hard. Please send us all the prayers and good thoughts.

I have just posted an announcement about @giganotosaurus.bsky.social being placed on pause for the next couple of months. My family has been dealing with a couple of back-to-back losses, so things are a bit hard right now. I've posted more info on FB, so feel free to go there to see what's up.

For those of you who read GigaNotoSaurus magazine, we will be putting a pause on publishing for the months of August and September. We will reopen in October.

giganotosaurus.org/2025/07/14/g...

YURI ON ICE IS NOW ON HULU. I REPEAT---YURI ON ICE IS NOW ON HULU. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH AND LOVE WINS INDEED!