Philip Athans

Happy birthday to Mark Z. Danielewski, author of the masterpiece House of Leaves. March 5, 1966. fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/b...

Authors Guild Expands ‘Human Authored’ Certification Program The program, which launched in beta for Guild members in 2025 and certifies titles as written by humans and not AI, is now open to any author whose books are published in the United States.

What do we think, #BookSky and #WritingCommunity…?

Too easy to fake…?

Authors Guild Expands ‘Human Authored’ Certification Program
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

The Literary History of the Haunted House. Thematic Essays.

The Literary History of the Haunted House
cmreid1.substack.com/p/the-litera...

THEY’RE NEW, AND I’M SCARED TO DEATH

Let’s start with this passage from the science fiction novel Babel-17  by Samuel R. Delany… She said something unprintable. When she finished there were tears starting on her lower lids. “What I want to say, what I want to express, I just…” Again she shook her…

50 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Works Every Socialist Should Read When I became a socialist I was also studying Sociology and Philosophy academically. I experienced something that seems to be a trend among many (though assuredly not all) folks who delve into these w...

50 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Works Every Socialist Should Read

Author China Mieville lays out a list of 50 science fiction and fantasy works he feels every socialist ought to read.

portside.org/2017-11-18/5...

I'm already seven books behind on my GoodReads challenge.

The negative result of Big Deadline Energy…

And… I'm taking the rest of the day off.

INDEX AN INDEX TO FANTASY AUTHOR’S HANDBOOK   First, chronologically…   June 2009 June 15, 2009 Who is Philip Athans? I should probably update this—my autobiography. * * * July 2009 July…

Your monthly reminder that
FANTASY AUTHOR'S HANDBOOK
comes with a handy index of posts on the art and craft of #writingfantasy #writingsciencefiction #writinghorror and #writing in general!

fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/index/

Amazon Amazon

They say social media doesn't sell books.

I have about 2100 followers… what of only 1% of you bought a copy of…?

The Best of Fantasy Author’s Handbook Vol. 1

One of the gentler voices of the Golden Age This is intended, not just as a tribute to an author whose work I remember fondly, but also as a tribute to a line of single author collections that had a huge impact on me when I was a teenager. Unde...

One of the gentler voices of the Golden Age
The Best of Eric Frank Russell
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/one-o...

A Nationwide Book Ban Bill Has Been Introduced in the House of Representatives Hours after the State of the Union address, House republicans introduced legislation banning LGBTQ+ books from public schools nationwide.

The Republican Party is a domestic terrorist organization.

bookriot.com/hr7661-book-...

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Art of Living (and Dying) On summer break from his university studies, a young Robert Louis Stevenson worked late into the night. He apprenticed in his family’s lighthouse engineering business but had no interest in the tra…

The Times Literary Supplement argued in 1919 that his emphasis on adventure, courage, and optimism was no longer tenable: “Violence is not the fashion. Nor for that matter is optimism.”

lithub.com/robert-louis...

THE THREE RULES OF GENRE FICTION

I’ve been working hard to stop using the word “rules” when it comes to creative writing—especially fiction, and including genre fiction. I’ve used that word in connection to two things in particular: one scene, one POV and show, don’t tell, but both those things…

Happy 100th birthday to Richard Matheson, February 20, 1926. I keep calling people “one of the all time greats” in these posts, and here’s another one!

Authors and readers alike, hear my words: THERE ARE ONLY THREE SUB-GENRES OF FANTASY! ----- Books mentioned in this video… The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction… FANTASY SUB-GENRES EXPLAINED!

Authors and readers alike, hear my words:

THERE ARE ONLY THREE SUB-GENRES OF FANTASY!

Adapt Balestra's Sixth Edition

You can read my poem
"It's Not That I've Been Hurt"
at Balestra

balestramagazine.substack.com/p/adapt

This publisher enlists 'bookfluencers' to choose its titles. Is it working? At Bindery Books, a publishing startup, online influencers work as acquiring editors. The model offers a new path for surviving the social media era.

Can I say I'm "cautiously optimistic" about this…?

This publisher enlists ‘bookfluencers’ to choose its titles. Is it working?

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

SUSPENSE VS. EXPLANATION

I’ve been oh so slowly working my way through the old Perry Rhodan books, and made it to #4: Invasion from Space by Walter Ernsting and Kurt Mahr. The quick history of Perry Rhodan: a magazine series of space opera sci-fi stories published in Germany and brought to the…

The mad genius Alejandro Jodorowsky was placed on this planet by unknown forces on February 17, 1929. Happy birthday.

Happy birthday to Iain Banks, who, with or without his middle initial, wrote some of my favorite books of all time. February 16, 1954.

If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there. —Anton Chekhov Your readers are keeping track of everything you… WRITING: CHEKHOV’S GUN & THE MENTAL INVENTORY

f in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.
—Anton Chekhov

Your readers are keeping track of everything you throw at them—do all of those things actually pay off in anyway way?

Good to see your priorities are in the right place!

Open Road Touts ‘Record Growth’ In his annual letter to employees, Open Road Integrated Media CEO David Steinberger said more titles and new programs led to record results at the book discovery company.

Open Road Touts ‘Record Growth'

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Fantasy Author's Handbook Open to authors of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and genre fiction in general.Ask questions, trade writing tips and tricks, career advice… anything...

What…? You haven't joined the Fantasy Author's Handbook group on GoodReads yet?

Insanity!

AM I THE CADILLAC LADY?

My last retail “day job” was managing a record store in suburban Chicago. This would have been late 1994 or early 1995, before I got the job at TSR in September ’95. I had outgrown that job by then—and I mean really outgrown it—and most of that last stint in music retail…

A rabbit in overalls and a goat in pants are sitting on the ground drawing pictures. The rabbit is saying “ART POSES A THREAT TO CORPORATOLRATIC SYSTEMS BECAUSE A PURPOSE OF ART IS TO REMIND THE INDIVIDUAL OF THEIR INHERENT AUTONOMY.”, the goat adds “THEIR HUMANITY.”

Make Art (1/4)

The New Writing Economy An author advocates for taking charge via self-publishing and paid newsletter outreach.

Hey #WritingCommunity consider the disconnect between:

"One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from writers is: 'But I don’t have a huge audience.' The reality? You don’t need one."
…and:
"Amy Suto is a former Hollywood TV writer turned seven-figure ghostwriter…"

booklife.com/authors/02/0...

Seattle Seahawks

Victory.

I’m calling it:

#Seahawks 35-10

Happy birthday Jules Verne, one of the inventors of the science fiction genre, born in Nantes, France, February 8, 1828.