Features Why We Still Read Lord of the Rings I learn something new about myself each time I visit Middle-earth.
Promo I wrote a thing! Check out "The Pixel Art Revolution Will Be Televised" on Wired How retro blocks overtook 3D gaming to win the hearts of modern players. In my last go around at Wired, I explored how old CRT screen technology has become a hot commodity for retro gaming. Now I'm back again with more retro goodness. "The Pixel Art Revolution
Promo Hey! I'm eligible for "Best Fan Writer" this year, so here's my eligibility post Another turn around the sun, another season of awards eligibility posts from all your favourite writers, artists, creators, and book industry folk. Like me! (Hopefully?) 2021 was an exceptionally busy year for me as a fan writer, a professional writer, as well as for Astrolabe—my all-purpose SFF and
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 21: Why does everyone think writing's easy? Writing's (not) easy My guess is that a large portion of Astrolabe's readers are also writers in some capacity—whether its writing novels, blogging, drafting D&D campaigns, creating technical documentation at work, online roleplaying, or anything else on the wide creative spectrum of the
Announcements Behold! I wrote a Dungeons & Dragons Announcing "Dame Beatrice J. Delacroix III's Guide for Training Your New Beholder" Y'alllllll. I wrote a Dungeons & Dragons. Me. I did this. 👇 "Dame Beatrice J. Delacroix III's Guide for Training Your New Beholder" is an accompanying booklet for an
Features The Witchwood Crown Is a Triumphant Return to a Beloved Fantasy World This review was originally published by Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog in June, 2017. Sadly the publication closed down, so I'm preserving my favourite pieces, and bringing them to a new audience through these reprints. “By the Ransomer’s Tree, when did we all grow
Features How to Pitch and Sell a Freelance Feature Article So, you think you can freelance? Here's how I do it. When I started pitching freelance gaming articles a few years ago, I was surprised and dismayed by how few resources existed to help new writers understand the intricacies of pitching and breaking into pro markets. I was
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 20: The retro appeal, three dragon quests, and the boutique publisher powering up video games Welcome to Astrolabe 20! For this milestone moment, I'm handing the feature section in this issue over to Harper Jay MacIntyre. You might know her work as a games journalist at places like Kotaku, or as a community manager at Double Fine. (Go play Psychonauts 2, it'
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 19: Why you need to pre-order this issue, FFVI for people with jobs, and Austin Channing Brown's quest to prove she's still here Join 'round this soapbox, fellow villagers, for Astrolabe's very first guest editorial is here! This issue, I've invited Jason Sanford, whose own brilliant newsletter, Genre Grapevine, is a finalist for this year's Hugo Awards, to write a guest editorial. Jason's got
Transmission Received Astrolabe (18): Transmission Received with Amy Ratcliffe Transmission Received is a new series exclusive to paid Astrolabe members. It’s an extension of the interviews available in the main Astrolabe issues, providing members with early access to the full interviews—via text transcription or YouTube video, depending on the interview—to supplement the more focused editorial interviews.
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 18: Welcome to Fandom with Amy Ratcliffe, 1.22474487139 reasons to love NieR, and why you shouldn't throw out your old TV Welcome to Fandom, Kid. What was your first fandom? Not the first thing you loved, or your favourite show as a kid, but the first thing that motivated you to seek out other fans, to become a part of a community devoted to loving a particular book, video game, film,
Guest Post Astrolabe Gaiden: "Out of the Labyrinth" by Ryan Van Loan I've been a big fan of Ryan Van Loan for a while. His kindness and optimism is infectious, he's endlessly interesting, and his Twitter feed is always a breath of fresh air amongst all the doomscrolling. So, I went into his debut novel, The Sin in
Guest Post Astrolabe Gaiden: "How a Spark Became a BonFiyah" by Iori Kusano and Vida Cruz Last month, Adri Joy joined me to discuss CoNZealand Fringe—a programming offshoot of CoNZealand that centred fan voices and provided an alternative to official convention programming. "With the idea spearheaded by Claire Rousseau, the first Booktuber—that’s the community of book reviewers and fans on YouTube—to
Guest Post Astrolabe Gaiden: "Well, somebody has to do this!" The story of CoNZealand Fringe by Adri Joy One glance at the "Best Related Work" ballot for this year's Hugo Awards reveals a rich collection of voices from the SFF community. Chief among those are two genre conventions: FIYAHCON, an online convention "centering the perspectives and celebrating the contributions of BIPOC in speculative
Features Fantasy’s Finest: An Appreciation of Daniel Abraham’s The Long Price Quartet This essay was originally published by Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog in January, 2019. Sadly the publication closed down, so I'm preserving my favourite pieces, and bringing them to a new audience through these reprints. In the mid-1990s, you’d be forgiven for assuming
Promo I wrote a thing! "Your Grandma's Tube TV Is the Hottest Gaming Tech" for WIRED. What is my life? Thanks to a retro gaming renaissance, enthusiasts are scouring online marketplaces for 20-year-old CRTs. Today, I made my debut at legendary tech/culture magazine WIRED. Check that one off the bucket list. * ✓ Inadvertently have my photo taken by a boatload of tourists while skinny dipping in the Adriatic
Transmission Received Astrolabe (17): Transmission Received with Patrick Klepek Transmission Received is a new series exclusive to paid Astrolabe members. It’s an extension of the interviews available in the main Astrolabe issues, providing members with early access to the full interviews—via text transcription or YouTube video, depending on the interview—to supplement the more focused editorial interviews.
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 17: Growing up out loud with Patrick Klepek, Fabulous Nova Crystallis, and judging books by their covers Growing up Out Loud It was 2007, and I was 23 years old when I started a book blog called A Dribble of Ink. I had the fortune to be in the right place at the right time, and within a couple of years, it was one of the most
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 16: The heroes of today, a mystic quest, and Ellen Ullman's life in code This is your semi-regular reminder that Astrolabe is funded by its readers. A $5/month subscription helps keep the newsletter chugging along, creates opportunity for more and better content, and gets you access to all the Transmission Received transcripts right away. The Heroes of Today "We are each
Features Becoming Gandalf This essay was originally published by The Book Smugglers in January, 2015. My daughter is now six years old, and has a younger sister who's about to turn three, but I think the lessons here remain the same. “Petite, her silver hair shining, Le Guin shrugged and grinned
Transmission Received Astrolabe (15): Transmission Received with Ty Schalter Transmission Received is a new series exclusive to paid Astrolabe members. It’s an extension of the interviews available in the main Astrolabe issues, providing members with early access to the full interviews—via text transcription or YouTube video, depending on the interview—to supplement the more focused editorial interviews.
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 15: Sportsball with Ty Schalter, the $1,000 JRPG, and Kings of the Wyld Mixing Sports and Science Fiction with Ty Schalter When the world went on pause last year, sports came to a crashing halt as leagues across the world—from youth and beer leagues to the majors—sought to understand the risk associated with play during the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many
Transmission Received Astrolabe (14): Transmission Received with Matt Wallace, author of Bump Transmission Received is a new series exclusive to paid Astrolabe members. It’s an extension of the interviews available in the main Astrolabe issues, providing members with early access to the full interviews—via text transcription or YouTube video, depending on the interview—to supplement the more focused editorial interviews.
Flagship Issues Astrolabe 14: Writing for Kids with Matt Wallace, Time's Illusion, and Indians on Vacation Editor's Note: Welcome to Astrolabe's new home! I wanted to expand briefly on my prior note about Astrolabe's move—if you'd like to skip straight to this issue's main content, you'll find a wonderful interview with Matt Wallace
Features Featured The Lasting Legacy of Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn A beautiful transition between post-Tolkien idealism and the epic fantasy of today
