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catherineldf ([personal profile] catherineldf) wrote2025-08-01 04:24 pm

Seattle Worldcon schedule and weekly update

Seattle Worldcon is looming in a week and a half and I'll be there! I'll be rooming with Heather, who's also on the Hugo ballot so that'll be fun. I am beginning to make dinner and other plans so if you want to hang out with me or talk projects with me or both, now's a good time to schedule. What kind of projects? Well, hiring me for things like commissioning stories and articles, signing me up to teach classes, coach or do editing and writing projects would all be swell. I know a lot about book marketing and sales and the publishing process, just saying. And I'm an award-winning writer who's good with deadlines.

On the directly related to Queen of Swords Press front: I'm reading some fine queer horror and dark fantasy and historical fantasy subs and am awaiting at least one more for this year. But we are light on queer science fiction and I'd like to fill that gap, ideally with novel length work. It will be very, very helpful to be familiar with at least some of our existing titles. I have fairly idiosyncratic tastes and I drive what gets selected. Anything much over 90k words is a hard sell for POD and anything slow-moving is a hard sell for me. We are also a "fly by the seat of our pants" operation, which while it is totally on me, also has helped us be flexible enough to outlast many, many other presses. But this is not everyone's speed and I get it. What does the future hold? Who knows? We're still here right now and making stuff happen. Reach out to me here if you don't have the QoSP email. We are not officially open to subs so this is on an invite basis.Talk to me first.

Back to Worldcon:
Wednesday:

Why Are Villains Queer-Coded?

Culture/DEI; Horror; Streaming; Virtual
Room 435-436,

Numerous genre traits, characteristics, and stereotypes have been molded into the modern idea of the villain, and many such quirks are directly tied to stereotypes of the LGBTQ+ community—but why? Is it because the status quo fears the growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, or because the status quo has always excluded and oppressed these individuals? Let’s break it down and discuss ways we creatives can alter that message for positive change regarding this misconception, even in the darkest of genre fiction.

Dr. Heather O. Petrocelli (M), Catherine Lundoff, David Demchuk, Sumiko Saulson, The Grand Arbiter

Friday:
 

Table Talks - You do need to sign up for these beforehand - limit of 6 per talk
Room 430,

Have an intimate discussion (up to six participants) with your favorite creators. Advance sign-up is required (sign-up info coming soon).

Brandon O’Brien, Cassie Alexander, Catherine Lundoff, Daphne Singingtree, F. J. Bergmann, Melinda M. Snodgrass

Saturday:

Reading: Catherine Lundoff

Readings
Room 428,

Blue Moon. Blue Moon is the third novel in Catherine’s Wolves of Wolf’s Point series, about a group of women from different backgrounds who turn into werewolves as they enter menopause. Blue Moon picks up where Blood Moon left off and traces the origins of the Wolf’s Point Pack. The books are sapphic dark fantasy.

The Radical Fiction of Joanna Russ

Genre History; Streaming; Virtual
Room 435-436,

Joanna Russ, author of The Female Man, wrote some of the most radical fiction of the 1960s and 1970s. The Female Man has remained consistently in print and is one of the most experimental and challenging books of our genre. This panel will discuss her short stories and novels and their effects.

Sue Burke (M), Catherine Lundoff, Langley Hyde, Michael Swanwick, Rich Horton

I'll also be at the Liminal Fiction table in the Dealer's Room selling my and other folk's books on Friday from 1-2PM and Saturday 1-2PM.


What else have I been up to?

  • Some passive job hunting through contracting companies
  • Accepted an invite to do grant reviewing again in November (pays a stipend)
  • Followed up on numerous things that needed following up on
  • Read 1.5 submissions
  • Did some writing and made a writing date for tomorrow
  • Worked on my developmental editing certificate class
  • Laundry and cleaning things out, like old files and things that need to be emptied before I can sell them
  • Selling more of Jana's tools
  • Prepping for Worldcon
  • Went with friends to see the alebrijes sculptures at Raspberry Island, the current art show at the Cafejian Art Trust in Shoreview, the weird Renaissance show at the MIA and "Glensheen: The Musical" at the History Theater and by myself to the Minneapolis American Indian Center to see the queer/two spirit art show at Two Rivers Gallery.
  • Diagnosed a plumbing issue and ordered parts to fix it.
  • Followed up on some Jana-related things including turning over an unfinished project to the people it should have gone to originally, networking with her former boss about selling some of her bindings and finding more things for the Minnesota Center for Book Arts to sell in the Shop at Open Book.
  • Starting to get some ducks in a row for talk and class proposals.
  • Research for the article I have due soonish.
Okay, that was a lot. Hang in there, folks. It's Friday.
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catherineldf ([personal profile] catherineldf) wrote2025-07-24 09:29 pm
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Readercon write up

Subsequent events notwithstanding, I had a swell time at Readercon. I opted to get in a day early to give myself time to adjust to jet lag and get in some writing time and seeing as I got my plane tickets five months ago when I was still employed, I opted to go first class for the first time in my life. It was indeed all that - the food is quite good, the seats are comfy, baggage check is included and people pop by to give you beverages and munchies on the regular. I watched the new Kathy Bates "Matlock" on the way out and back and took in an episode of "Elspeth" while I was at it since if I had Paramount, I'd be canceling it at home.

I also took Lyft for the first time - I was a loyal taxi rider until the local company I used for years abandoned Jana and me at the Amtrek station in downtown St. Paul on the way back from Chicon 8 and Jana tried to befriend the nice people smoking various substances and I had to call a friend to rescue us. The Lyft experience went quite smoothly and I expect to be using it again. Apart from that, the hotel was reasonably pleasant and I got some work underway. I do miss the days when there were things to watch on hotel TVs though; pickings were slim.

The convention kicked off on Thursday night and while wandering around the lobby after dinner with dave ring of Neon Hemlock, I ran into author Laura Antoniou and her wife Karen (Laura was one of my editors back in the day and I was in Laura's online play reading group during lockdown) and we had a delightful time hanging out. Friday morning, I was on the Sustaining the Small Press Ecosystem panel, which I thought went well - good discussion all around. My delightful roommate, Julia (SparkyMonster) arrived and got settled in and I went off to do the Broad Universe reading. That was a bit of a minor trainwreck as I had been added in the program, but the organizer was unaware of that fact and neither she nor I had signed me up for it. But apart from the that, the readings were good and someone fed me chocolate so that made up for the confusion.

I got into some good chats with Will Alexander, Cecilia Tan and various folks that I know from online and elsewhere. Con staff were very kind - I was sitting in the lobby waiting for something or other and a con staffer stopped by to see how I was doing, for example. My Saturday panels were fun as well and I loved having the chance to reconnect with Julia, who I've known for a zillion years. I also schmoozed a book dealer in hopes of getting us into the Worldcon Dealer's Room in Seattle and chatted with editor Julia Day for a bit. I got briefly swarmed by delightful fans of my werewolf books who had me sign copies and all, so that was extra cool.

All in all, got in a lot of quality time with old friends, met some delightful new ones, enjoyed the programming I went to, enjoyed the programming I was on and had a great time. 10/10 - would recommend!

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catherineldf ([personal profile] catherineldf) wrote2025-07-23 08:18 pm
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Anne Shaw RIP

So this was going to be a post about Readercon and my trip, which was great. But today, I got some terrible news so posting about that first. I've been trying to reach my friend Anne in Des Moines for a couple of weeks now, which was not normal. We generally text at least once a week or so, but I figured that something was wrong with her phone or she was busy or something. Today I looked at our last texts and got worried. She had mentioned not feeling well, but thought it was a cold or the flu. I went looking for an alternate contact. And found her obituary. She died within 24 hours of our last texts.

I met Anne through her sister Beth, who I met through volunteering at KFAI Radio. Beth was a great friend and we shared a love of small theater productions, international music and fun cultural events, all of which we attended for a number of years.Unfortunately, Beth was diagnosed with ALS and chose to end her life rather than have her condition deteriorate further. I got to know her sister Anne a bit before Beth got sick, then a lot better as she took care of Beth, Beth got sicker and then left us. Beth died in 2019 and my mother died in early 2020, around the same time that Jana began showing signs of dementia and our city was on fire. Anne and I used to take long walks around the neighborhood and chat after Jana went to bed. In 2021, she had to move to Des Moines to take care of their parents. She took care of her dad until he died and continued taking care of her mom and her rescue cats, including one of Beth's until she passed away several weeks ago.

This year just keeps leaving bigger holes in my life and I hate it. Rest well, Anne.