K. Tempest Bradford's Blog, page 39

Win An eReader and Support Writers of Color At The Same Time!

As some of you know, every year for the past several I've done the Clarion West Write-a-thon, a fundraising event for the 6 week writing workshop I attended a few years ago. Usually what I do is split the money I raise between Clarion West and the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship, which assists writers of color who are accepted into Clarion West and Clarion Diego. This year I wasn't able to do the Write-a-thon because I had no time. But I was feeling very guilty as I raised around $1,900 the last time. I vowed to come up with a fundraising idea that would require a bit less intense commitment from myself but would still raise a nice chunk of change.

Thus, I am pleased to announce that the Carl Brandon Society is holding a prize drawing to support the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. For those who don't know, the Carl Brandon Society is an organization dedicated to racial and ethnic diversity in speculative fiction. So it's fitting that the prizes available consist of three awesome eReaders. Entrants can win one of two Barnes & Noble Nooks, One of two Kobo Readers, and an Alex eReader from Spring Design. And to sweeten the pot even more, all of the eReaders will come pre-loaded with short stories, poems, and books by writers of color.

Tickets cost $1 each and you can buy as many as you want for any of the eReaders you're interested in. Click here to buy tickets. The drawing began last week and will run through November 22, 2010.

I want to give a shout out to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Spring Design as they generously donated the devices for this drawing, and also to the authors who are donating stories, poems, books and essays to tempt you. We don't have the full list of authors yet, but they include: N. K. Jemisin, Nisi Shawl, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Terence Taylor, Ted Chiang, Shweta Narayan, Chesya Burke, Moondancer Drake, Saladin Ahmed, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz and more.

One final note: eReaders make awesome holiday gifts. So, even if you're not interested in one for yourself, I'm sure there's a book-loving person on your list who would love one. Tickets are just one dollar! And the proceeds go to an awesome cause.

Click here to buy a ticket, and click here to learn more about the Carl Brandon Society.

Win An eReader and Support Writers of Color At The Same Time! is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

NonNaNoWriMo

Several people have asked: nope, not doing NaNoWriMo. Not officially, anyway. What I am doing is continuing to write on my novel with the goal of having it done by the end of the year. This means I'm going to be doing a lot of writing this month, and if any NaNo people want to get together and do so with me, all the better.

My novel will likely be around 50K (actually I am aiming for between 60 and 75K) as it's a YA. And I would enjoy motivation. This is why I have the Chapters for Chocolate program. Anyone who wants to see my chapters as I complete them (in 5 chapter chunks) must give me good chocolate in return for them. That's all.

Also, Nina Kiriki Hoffman and I have this thing going on. A word race, if you will. Each week in November we will see who has more words for that given 7 day period. Whoever writes less will have to buy the other a Kindle book.

So, I have some great motivators. And a novel that is (finally) behaving itself. So November will be a good month.

Anyone interested in NonNaNoing with me?

NonNaNoWriMo is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

5 Awesome Things Make A Tempest Happy

Apex Magazine's special Arab/Muslim issue is now live and is full of brilliant, beautiful, amazing writing. Go read.
Cat Valente — editor of Apex Magazine — celebrated the release of her book this past weekend. The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John vol 1 is available in many fine bookstores and in eBook form. I have a copy of this book and have been clinging to it jealously ever since it was handed to me.
If the name Cat Valente doesn't get you excited, and you're all: WTF is Prester John, then partake of this video that explains it all with action figures. It is the best thing on the Internet right now.
The other book I got my hands on this weekend is M. K. Hobson's The Native Star . People, you need this book.
The 50th issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is out and, lo, it contains fiction by two people who I am not only proud to call friends, but who regularly shake me to the core with how wonderful their fiction is: Genevieve Valentine and N. K. Jemisin. That is too much awesomeness for one issue, right? Read it, anyway.

5 Awesome Things Make A Tempest Happy is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

Yes, You Should Vote Today

"Go and vote and then do something about the things you feel passionately about. Don't just vote then sit and wait for the world to change. Jesus, people, when John Mayer writes a song about the way things are, isn't that enough to tell you it's a stupid way to be?"

Yes, You Should Vote Today is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

My World Fantasy Reading Preserved Forever

Scott Edelman has been recording readings and such from World Fantasy in order to make everyone who isn't here intensely jealous. He came to my reading and recorded it, and now it's on YouTube for all to see.

I had a good sized crowd and people said they really loved the story, so I declare my first WFC reading a success. And I'm really glad I asked Mary to help me out by reading the poetry parts because she was really good and made the poems sound far better than they actually are.

After you check out my reading, head over to Scott's journal and watch the others.

My World Fantasy Reading Preserved Forever is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

I had forgotten…

How beautiful the sky is when you can see it for miles and miles.

I had forgotten… is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

My World Fantasy Schedule

October 29, 201010:30 amto11:00 am

I say "schedule" as if I'm going to be doing a ton of stuff. Indeed, that is not the case this year, which means I can relax and enjoy myself.

The one thing I do have scheduled is a reading. 10:30 Friday morning in Reading 212. I know it's a bit early, but I do hope people will attend. Joining me for my reading is Mary Robinette Kowal (who, incidentally, is giving a workshop later that weekend on how to be a more effective reader) who will lend some of her excellent skills to my story. How will this all work out? You will just have to come to the reading and discover.

My World Fantasy Schedule is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

You People Are Out Of Your Goddamned Minds

Can someone please explain to me how one makes the leap from "We no longer want to honor this person" to "Book burning and censorship"? You people do not even understand what censorship means, do you? And to this asshole who threw up the Heinlein quote: since when was WisCon ever a government or a church?

Do you people even read? Do you have brains that work in a logical manner? Or do you just simply wander through life parroting the things you read without any understanding or absorption of them?

Goddamn you stupid, ignorant troglodytes. I am ashamed to share a planet with you, much less a community.

Also, can I just point out that at no point has anyone said Elizabeth Moon can't come to WisCon. At no point has anyone said that there can't be a discussion about the issues raised by her post, with or without her. Hell, it's WisCon, there is going to be a lot of fucking discussion. But I love how these useless wankers run right to that mission statement and declare that there obviously won't be any of those things because… apparently because they've imagined it in their tiny minds.

Your tiny, dirty imagination has no bearing on actual fact. And, you know what, I am hella glad you all won't be coming to WisCon. I wish you would refrain from coming to World Fantasy, Readercon, or any other con I happen to attend. People like you we don't need. But thanks to the free speech you so loudly claim no one at WisCon has[1], you can spread your bullshit in public places and at public events. All the while whining about how you're being oppressed.

I have reached a real breaking point with the cowards in this community. The sad, pathetic people who wish to stir up shit just for the sake of pageviews or getting well-known as crusader against people who think racism and sexism are bad[2]. I am tired of this utter bullshit that comes up Every. Single. Time.

The bottom line is this: you are wrong. You're just wrong. Bigotry: is wrong. Elizabeth Moon: was wrong.

That doesn't mean that things or people or ideas or thoughts can't change. But this is immutable: Bigotry has no place at any con, and I can only be thankful that many of the people who run and attend WisCon work very hard to eliminate it from that one. And that starts by not honoring someone whose bigotry is not in question and who does not, apparently, feel she's done anything wrong nor has shown any proclivity to dialogue that would lead to something valuable. Therefore, it was the right decision to remove her.

If you feel differently, then say so. But do it out in the open.

Footnotes

Because of RaceFail, doncha know. It's just so hard to be racist when all of your friends are totally against it!
I know people think the same thing about me — that I say what i do just to stir up shit and get attention. Because it's so totally fun being an activist and working to eliminate racism and sexism. It is just too, too exciting feeling all the time like there is a giant group of people out there that thinks nasty thoughts about me, or wishes harm on me, or thinks I'm less than nothing because I'm a black person or a woman or queer or any combination thereof. I absolutely love that! And if I open my mouth even a little bit to say: Hey, that's not cool, that is hurtful, that is fundamentally wrong, suddenly I am the problem? What even worse: I am not the only person in the community to whom this paragraph could apply.

You People Are Out Of Your Goddamned Minds is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford

Elizabeth Moon No Longer WisCon GoH

SF3 posted this on their blog:

SF3 has withdrawn the invitation to Elizabeth Moon to attend WisCon 35 as guest of honor.

As I've said to others lately, this by itself will not fix everything. However, it is a step in the right direction.

Elizabeth Moon No Longer WisCon GoH is a post from: K. Tempest Bradford