Publishing Intensive for Speculative Fiction
Genres: Fiction, The Writing Life
Online
Online Advanced
Advanced 1 Session
1 Session This daylong seminar will provide a comprehensive overview of the publishing business and opportunities for writers of speculative fiction. This class is open to students working in every genre of speculative fiction and at any length, from the novel to flash fiction and in between. Students are required to bring a brief synopsis of their manuscript (up to two paragraphs) in order to participate in a small-group pitch exercise. Special guests joining this session include Wendy N. Wagner, L. Timmel Duchamp, and Speculatively Queer publishers Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin. One-hour lunch break included.
Isabela Oliveira
Co-owner of Speculatively Queer, Isabela Oliveira has been a professional editor for years, from technical documents to pop culture content. While attending college, she kept busy as the poetry editor and later the editor-in-chief of her university’s literary journal, the Salmon Creek Journal. Isabela started speaking on panels at fan conventions in 2016 and has been at it ever since. These days, she’s working as an editor by day, and an occasional podcast co-host, a crafter and maker, and an aspiring voice actress in her free time.
Jed Sabin
Co-owner of Speculatively Queer, Jed Sabin is a jack-of-all-trades with professional experience as an editor, writer, scientist, project coordinator, and logistics manager. They were editor-in-chief of their college student newspaper, and they worked as an editor on the Maze of Games puzzle novel. Their writing has been published by Daily Science Fiction and Wired Magazine. Their hobbies include playing hockey, inventing weird cocktails, and maintaining a spreadsheet of over 600 queer movies.
L. Timmel Duchamp
L. Timmel Duchamp is the publisher of Aqueduct Press, which she founded in 2004. Her work has been on the Otherwise Honor list multiple times and a finalist for the Sturgeon, Nebula, Homer, and Sidewise awards. The five-volume Marq’ssan Cycle won a special Otherwise Award honor in 2009. In 2008 she appeared as a Guest of Honor at WisCon. In 2009-2010 she was awarded the Neil Clark Special Achievement Award (“recognizing individuals who are proactive behind the scenes but whose efforts often don’t receive the measure of public recognition they deserve”). In 2015 she was the Editor Guest at Armadillocon. She has been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award twice, for her work as a publisher and editor. She has taught at the Clarion West Writers Workshop as well as one-day Clarion West workshops. She lives in Seattle.
Nisi Shawl
Nisi Shawl (they/them) is the multiple award-winning author and editor of over a dozen books of speculative fiction and related nonfiction, including the Nebula Award finalist novel Everfair; the standard text on inclusive representation, Writing the Other; and the first two volumes of the New Suns anthology series. Their most recent publication is the middle grade historical fantasy novel Speculation, which Lee & Low published in January 2023. They’ve taught and spoken at Duke University, Spelman College, Stanford University, Sarah Lawrence College, and many other institutions. Once upon a time, they conducted a filmed, onstage interview with Octavia E. Butler.
FAQ
Complete FAQHugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 business days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.
Class sessions may be recorded if a session falls on a holiday, or if a student has access needs. Class recordings are not guaranteed.
We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.
Classes may be cancelled if less than 5 students are enrolled within 10 days before the class start date. If for any reason Hugo House needs to cancel a class, students can choose between a full credit or full refund.
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