“The Ableism and Privilege Behind ‘You Must Write Every Day'” by Cait Gordon

SF Canada member Cait Gordon has an article in Write Magazine this month. With quotes from A. Gregory Frankson, Derek Newman-Stille, Talia C. Johnson, SFC member Bernadette Gabay Dyer, and Cathy Smith, Cait examines how the common writing advice of “write every day” may be harmful to people who are disabled, neurodivergent, and/or who have lived experiences that make this writing “rule” inaccessible..

Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Life in the ’CosmThe Stealth Lovers, and Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Her short stories appear in Alice Unbound: Beyond WonderlandWe Shall Be Monsters, Space Opera Libretti, and Stargazers: Microtales from the Cosmos. Cait also founded The Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too anthologies, whose authors and protagonists are disabled, d/Deaf, Blind or visually impaired, neurodivergent, Spoonie, and/or they manage mental illness.

You can learn more about Cait Gordon at her website: caitgordon.com.

Best Fan Writing and Publication: Polar Borealis!

Congratulations to SF Canada member R. Graeme Cameron, who has won a third Aurora Award for Best Fan Publication for Polar Borealis!

Wow!

My retirement hobby is promoting Canadian speculative fiction authors, poets, and artists.

Publishing Polar Borealis, with eight stories and eight poems plus cover art in every issue, is the joyful way I do this.

In reality, it is the talent, creativity and imagination of the contributors that makes Polar Borealis fun and intriguing to read. All I do is put it together.

In effect, it is the contributors who earned the award. It is the contributors who deserve the award.

BUT I am more than happy to accept this award on their behalf.

Thank you!

— R. Graeme Cameron’s Aurora acceptance speech 2022

Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings now out!

Under Fortunate Stars by SF Canada member Ren Hutchings is out now from Solaris: a sci-fi debut pitched for fans of Becky Chambers, Alex White and K.B. Wagers. Under Fortunate Stars is a space opera about accidental time travel and the perils of actually meeting your historical heroes.

Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.

The Gallion‘s chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five’s legendary ship—and the Five’s famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.

But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake.

You can get your copy of Under Fortunate Stars in hardcover, ebook or audiobook format here  and check out the book playlist here  — including an original music single inspired by the book: “The Flight of the Jonah” by Canadian folk-rock band The Burning Hell!

“An engaging space saga with time-travel twists, and a compelling look at how past and future are created not only by those who live it but those who record it.” – Library Journal (Starred Review)

You can find Ren online at renhutchings.com, and on social media as @voidcricket.

Polar Borealis #22 now out!

The 22nd issue of SF Canada member R. Graeme Cameron’s speculative fiction magazine, Polar Borealis, is now available for free download!

It contains work by several SF Canada members!:

  • “What Awaits”, a poem by Lisa Timpf
  • “Pillar”, a poem by Melanie Marttila
  • Schrödinger’s Cats, a short story by Wayne Cusack
  • “October Birds”, a poem by Neile Graham
  • The Watersprite, a short story by Nina Munteanu

Download the issue today!:
https://polarborealis.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/POLAR-BOREALIS-22-July-2022.pdf

Cover reveal of Weekends Can Be Murder by Arlene Marks!

SF Canada member Arlene Marks will have a novel out in November! Weekends Can Be Murder is a paranormal mystery set in a Victorian-era summer home built on an island in Georgian Bay.

When murder mystery theatre becomes too real for comfort…

Firefighter Larry Holmes needs some time away. Out of other options, he agrees to take his cousin’s place at a crime fiction convention. Larry doesn’t like mystery novels, but he can enjoy the host resort’s amenities and stay out of the way. That plan goes out the window, however, when he arrives at the venue with the convention’s organizer, Selena Watt, and the close-knit Crime Club decides that with Holmes and Watt present, the game must be afoot.

Arlene is the creator of the ongoing Sic Transit Terra space opera series, among other current and upcoming novels. Her short fiction has appeared in various publications, including H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, Polar Borealis, and Daily Science Fiction, and has most recently been gathered into a collection titled Imaginary Friends (May 2022, Brain Lag). Her website is thewritersnest.ca.

Preorder Weekends Can be Murder today!

River of Sons by Geoff Cole!

SF Canada member Geoff Cole’s story “River of Sons” was just published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies!
The story takes place in Brussels at the start of a very different World War One and features dueling sorcerers, unfortunate cabbage, and a chain-smoking mandarin duck!