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The 48th Williamson Lectureship, held April 10–12, 2025 in Portales NM, celebrated “Worlds Beyond” – including Latinx and Indigenous Futurism – in academic papers, student artist interpretations of genre books, and a student–led carnival.

Held to honor SF pioneer Jack Williamson at Eastern NM University, the 2025 Lectureship saw guest of honor Darcie Little Badger’s flight delayed more than four hours. Luckily, she arrived in time for discussions of worlds ...Read More

Kama-kon, the 63rd Japan Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2025 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo Awards), honoring the best original and translated works published last year in Japan.

Best Translated Novel

• The Red Arrow, William Brewer, translated by Motomi Ueno (Hayakawa)
• A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark, translated by Yasuko Kaji (Tokyo Sogensha)
• Titanium Noir, Nick Harkaway, translated by

...Read More

Sam Tegtmeyer has been chosen as the 2025 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellow.

The $3,000 fellowship, sponsored by the University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), is awarded to support “travel for the purpose of research on, and work with, the papers of feminist science fiction authors.”

SCUA houses the papers of Suzette Haden Elgin, Kate Elliot, Sally Miller Gearhart, Molly Gloss, Damon Knight, Ursula K. ...Read More

MILESTONES

ZIN E. ROCKLYN is now represented by Arley Sorg of kt literary.

AWARDS

HARUKI MURAKAMI was named Cultural Personality of the Year in the 19th Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, presented by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Lan­guage Centre, recognizing “a prominent Arab or international figure (or organization) who has contributed to the advancement of the Arabic culture, embodies through his/her work tolerance and promotes peaceful coexis­tence.” Murakami will receive “a ...Read More

Finalists have been announced for the 2025 Premios Kelvin 505 Awards, presented by the Celsius 232 festival and honoring the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels published in Spain.

Mejor Novela Original (Best Original Novel)

• Epifanía, J.V. Gachs (Dolmen)
• La casa de los cien escalones, David Jasso (Obscura)
• La noche de Venus, Rubén Sánchez Trigos (Dolmen)
• La península de las casas vacías, David Uclés (Siruela)

...Read More

Welcome to the May edition of the SFWA Market Report.

Please note: Inclusion of any venue in this report does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA. Those markets included on this list pay at least $0.08/word USD in at least one category of fiction. This compilation is not exhaustive of all publication opportunities that pay our recommended minimum professional rate. Additionally, SFWA adheres to our DEI Policy when making selections for this report. We strongly encourage writers to closely review all contracts and consult our resources on best contract practices.

New Markets

Night Shades (Upcoming)
Protocolized
Skull X Bones
Tractor Beam

Markets Currently Open for Submissions

Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Asimov Press
Asimov’s Science Fiction
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Book Worms (Recently Opened)
Clarkesworld Magazine
Crepuscular Magazine
Escape Pod
Factor Four Magazine
Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter
Haven Spec Magazine (Recently Opened)
Infinite Worlds
It Was Paradise
Nature: Futures
Orion’s Belt
PseudoPod
Reckoning
Samovar
Small Wonders
Taco Bell Quarterly (Recently Opened)
The Cosmic Background (Recently Opened)
The Daily Tomorrow
The Deadlands
Three-Lobed Burning Eye (Recently Opened)
Torch Literary Arts
Uncharted Magazine
Utopia Science Fiction
Wrath Month

Markets Recently Closed for Submissions

Adi
Anomaly
Flash Fiction Online (FFO) (Originals)
Issues in Earth Science
Planet Scumm
Solarpunk Magazine
Women of the Weird West (Permanent)

Other Opportunities

Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest
The Tomorrow Prize

Upcoming Market Changes

Anomaly‘s Submission Window begins and ends soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Baffling Magazine‘s Submission window begins soon.
Book Worms‘s “Cryptid Horror” Theme ends soon.
Cast of Wonders‘s “Banned Books Week” Theme begins and ends soon.
Escape Pod‘s Submission window ends soon.
Haven Spec Magazine‘s Limited demographic submission window: authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups ends soon.
Haven Spec Magazine‘s Submission window begins soon.
Plott Hound Magazine‘s Submission window begins soon.
Strange Horizons opens soon.
Three-Lobed Burning Eye‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Wrath Month permanently closes soon.

The SFWA Market Report is compiled by David Steffen, editor of Diabolical Plots and The Long List Anthology series, and administrator and co-founder of the Submission Grinder.  You can support Diabolical Plots and the Submission Grinder on PayPal or Patreon or by buying books or merch.

The post SFWA Market Report For May appeared first on SFWA.

by A. A. Rubin

Comic books and graphic novels are unique among storytelling mediums. While it shares characteristics with both prose and screenwriting, how the words and art interact on the page gives comics their own set of techniques. It is important for writers to understand how a finished comics page works to take full advantage of the medium’s unique properties. In this article, I will break down a comics page from a short superhero parody I wrote, both sequentially and holistically, to show how the story is told on the page by the words, the art, and the interaction between the two.

The page comes from a story written by me and illustrated by Evan Scale, “Mr Stupendous: In the Clutches of Doctor When.” It follows Mr. Stupendous as he battles Doctor When, a villain who can travel through time. The story was published in Creator Connection, Panel 2 (Comic Book School). Evan won the 2021 Independent Creator Award for Sequential Layout for this page.

Page from “Mr Stupendous: In the Clutches of Doctor When,” written by A. A. Rubin and illustrated by Evan Scale.

Panel 1: Setting the Scene

The first panel is an establishing shot that runs the width of the page. When a scene begins in a new location, it’s essential to establish the setting. Contemporary comics frown upon descriptive text, so it is important to situate the reader, especially if the scene has changed since the previous page. Here, the tavern and costumes establish the Renaissance period in England. The reader will know where and when this part of the story occurs based on the visual cues before they even engage with the dialogue. The switch to Shakespearean English (the previous page took place in a far-future anime world) will not be jarring because the reader’s expectations have been set at first glance.

The character on the left speaks first. The reader will see the character on the left first because they naturally read the page left to right (in American comics), so the character they see first should speak first. 

Panels 2–7: Distance and Action

Panel 2 is a closeup. Camera angles and distances are critical in visual storytelling, and the joke, based on a famous line in Romeo and Juliet, works best if the focus is on Mr. Stupendous’s thumb.

Panel 3 zooms back out to set up the conflict on the bottom half of the page.

Panels 4–8 control the distance to mimic the story’s action. The initial setup depicts a considerable distance between the two characters. Panel 4 reestablishes that distance by, once again, using a panel that runs the width of the page. The distance is accentuated because the panel is narrow vertically. Though the actual width of the panel is slightly shorter than the first horizontal panel, this panel reads longer because of its shape.

Panels 5–7: The Ratio Between Text and Art

As the characters close with each other, the camera closes as well. Panels 5–7 are tight shots, each highlighting a single action. Each panel can depict only one action, and one of the biggest mistakes novice comics writers make is trying to write multiple actions into a single panel. 

In these panels, art carries the story rather than dialogue. The absence of text allows the reader to move through these panels quickly, which is important in an action sequence, especially as multiple small panels can slow the pace of the storytelling. The choice not to continue the banter counteracts the effect of the multiple smaller panels on the eye.

The writer must also consider whether there is room for both the dialogue and the art. A panel with too much text must be drawn larger. Overwriting can affect the pacing and limit the artist’s layout choices.

The Final Panel: Structure and Movement

The final panel is, again, large to accentuate the growing distance between the characters, and the perspective has shifted so the action moves toward the reader. This creates dramatic tension. The effect is enhanced because this is an open panel. It is not confined by a bounding box. The lack of borders minimizes the separation between the reader and the action. It is similar to the effect of an actor leaving the stage and coming into the audience. The portal sucks everything into the scene on the following page: Doctor When, Mister Stupendous, and, ultimately, the reader.

The Page Holistically: Story, Theme, and Cliffhanger

As the reality of the scene breaks down, so does the page’s layout. The top of the page is rigidly structured. There are clear borders for each panel, as well as a global background of period-appropriate paper. After the portal is activated, and time becomes wibbly-wobbly, the panels and background become less structured and more freeform. Thus, the layout mimics the action. 

The structure not only suits the action but also hints at the story’s themes. It begins with a large full-width panel, funnels down to smaller panels in the middle, and widens back to a full-width panel at the bottom. The panels in the middle of the page shrink in from the page’s edges, accentuating this movement. This not only achieves a visual balance but also creates an hourglass effect, a symbol of time—and of time running out—in a story that features time travel and a chase, which adds another layer to the storytelling.

There are also a couple of holistic factors to consider. While each comics page tells part of a larger story, it is best if it contains its own story arc as well. Here, the characters banter; they fight, and one of them flees. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end.

But it’s not a true ending. In the final panel, Doctor When escapes through a portal, but the reader doesn’t know where (or in this case, when) that portal leads. This cliffhanger creates anticipation for the next part of the story and keeps the reader immersed in the action on the page turn.

Conclusion

There are many factors to consider when writing comics. There are more techniques than can fit on any single page, but this one includes many of the basics. While the artist will likely take on much of the visual storytelling responsibility, it behooves the comics writer to understand the sequential page and to write the script in a way that both makes life easier for the artist and takes advantage of the unique aspects of the comics medium.

Additional Resources

• Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices From The Legendary Cartoonist by Will Eisner
• Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
• Alan Moore’s Writing For Comics

Explore more articles in THE COMICS PANEL series

Cast out of the universe like cosmic Cain, A. A. Rubin roams the planes of reality, jumping through the variegated permutations of the multiverse across the dimensions of space and time. A member of SFWA and the HWA, his work has appeared recently in Pseudopod, Trollbreath, The Best Climate Change Stories (Secant), and Ahoy! Comics. Doomed to travel and record, but never find a home, he chronicles his adventures across social media as @TheSurrealAri and can be reached—in most realities—through his website, www.aarubin.com.

The post Breaking Down a Sequential Page: A Close Reading for Comics Writers appeared first on SFWA.

The Bookseller has announced the winners of the 2025 British Book Awards. Titles and authors of genre interest include:

Fiction

• WINNER: James, Percival Everett (Mantle)

• Long Island, Colm Tóibín (Picador)
• Think Again, Jacqueline Wilson (Bantam)

Pageturner

• WINNER: Faebound, Saara El-Arifi (Harper Voyager)

• Daydream, Hannah Grace (Simon & Schuster)
• House of Flame and Shadow, Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury)

Audiobook Fiction

• JOINT WINNER: Bunny vs Monkey

...Read More

The winners of the 2025 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, honoring the best SF/F work published in France in 2024, have been announced.

French Novel

• WINNER: L’Ost céleste, Olivier Paquet (L’Atalante)

• Les Nuits sans Kim Sauvage, Sabrina Calvo (La Volte)
• La Maison des veilleurs, Patrick K. Dewdney (Au Diable Vauvert)
• Vallée du carnage, Romain Lucazeau (Verso)
• La Sonde et la taille, Laurent Mantese (Albin Michel)
• Conque

...Read More

Dr. Heather Kathleen Forest Osborne (03 June 1981–20 September 2024) was a lifelong writer of short speculative fiction, a debut novelist, and a proud member of several fandoms. She was the Associate Editor of Foundation: The International Journal of Science Fiction published by the University of Liverpool, and a presenter at numerous conferences, including the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA). Dr. Osborne completed her doctorate in creative writing at the University of Calgary in 2018, after her time in England, and focused on Science Fiction Studies. Her short stories and creative nonfiction were included in several anthologies, most recently in 2021’s Seasons Between Us, and she published her first novel, Songbroken, in 2022.

Appreciative of life in all its facets, Dr. Osborne was a loving mom and wife who enjoyed the wilderness and a wide range of outdoor recreation. She loved being a teacher, loved storytelling, and mostly, loved sharing these things with others.

Aware of her own terminal illness, Dr. Osborne left us with her own joy:

“My favourite parts of this life was sitting down one-on-one with a student and discussing a concept, and seeing that ‘Oh!’ moment in their eyes when something clicked. That’s a feeling I’ve been chasing all my life as well! Learning is like climbing a spiral staircase—you will keep coming back around to the same ideas, but each time with a slightly higher understanding. I love that about learning and about teaching.” In her conclusion, she wanted us to know: “I’ve lived a full life with people I love.”

Heather Osborne lived 43 years.

The post In Memoriam: Heather Osborne appeared first on SFWA.

Winners for the 2025 PEN America Literary Awards have been announced. Winners of genre interest include Verdigris by Michele Mari, translated by Brian Robert Moore (And Other Stories) in the $3,000 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation category, and Mia Couto in the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature category.

The finalists of genre interest were previously covered. The awards were announced live at the PEN America Literary Awards ...Read More

The DAG Foundation has announced the five finalists for its inaugural DAG Prize for Literature, which annually awards $20,000 to “an emerging prose writer whose work expands the possibilities for American writing.” Writers who have published one prose work in the US and who have not already won a major prize in literature are eligible to apply. Winners may use the prize money for “research, writing, editing, workshops, residencies, or ...Read More

The shortlist for the annual Arthur C. Clarke Award, celebrating the best science fiction novel published in the UK, has been announced.

• Private Rites, Julia Armfield (Fourth Estate)
• The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley (Sceptre)
• Extremophile, Ian Green (Ad Astra)
• Annie Bot, Sierra Greer (The Borough)
• Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK)
• Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock, Maud Woolf (Angry Robot)

The winner ...Read More

Author and editor Chris Barkley is suing former Hugo Awards administrator Dave McCarty in small claims court. Barkley explained in a statement on his GoFundMe page:

On February 5th, 2025, I traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois to for­mally file a lawsuit in Cook County Small Claims Court against David Lawrence Mc­Carty in the amount of $3000.00.

The reason for doing so was simple; I filed on behalf of ...Read More

Peter Morwood, 68, died on May 9, 2025 in Ireland. Morwood was a prolific fantasy author, and married to writer (and frequent co-author) Diane Duane for nearly 40 years; she survives him.

UK author Morwood was born Robert Peter Smith on October 20, 1956, changing his name as an adult to his mother’s maiden name in her honor. He graduated university in 1979 and worked in the UK civil service ...Read More

The 46th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) took place March 19-22, 2025 at the Marriott Orlando Airport Hotel Lakeside, with the theme of ‘‘Night Terrors.’’ Academics, writers, publishers, editors, artists, students, independent scholars, and more participated in a weekend of conversation, papers, and events on the topic, with 363 guests attending (up from about 330 last year) and 160 people at the awards banquet. Silvia Moreno-Garcia ...Read More

Agent Eric Smith, for­merly of P.S. Literary, has launched a new agency, Neighborhood Literary. Rebecca Podos joins as senior agent, coming from Rees Liter­ary, and Donovan Levin joins as associate agent. “We’re a boutique literary agency headquartered in Philadelphia that focuses on adult fiction and non-fiction, as well as books for children.” For more, see the website.

Agent Kelly Sonnack has purchased Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and is now president. ...Read More

Finalists have been announced for the 2025 Prix Imaginales, honoring the best works of fantasy published in France.

French Novel

• Roman de ronce et d’épine, Lucie Baratte (Typhon)
• Kosigan, un printemps de sang, Fabien Cerutti (Mnémos)
• Une valse pour les grotesques, Guillaume Chamanadjian (Aux Forges de Vulcain)
• La Boutique des choses inavouables, Céline Chevet (du Chat Noir)
• Le Cycle de syffe, tome 4 : La maison

...Read More

The Prado Museum has announced Mathias Énard and Helen Oyeyemi as the writers selected to participate in the “Writing the Prado” residency program. The program is a joint initiative by the Prado and the Loewe Foundation that “invites internationally renowned writers to engage with the museum’s collections and rich history as a source of inspiration for literary works that will be published by the museum and literary magazine Granta“.

The ...Read More

This post is updated from an earlier story.

Seattle Worldcon 2025 has been rocked by controversy in recent days.

Hugo Awards Administrator Nicholas Whyte released the following statement on May 5, 2025:

Effective immediately, Cassidy (WSFS DH), Nicholas Whyte (Hugo Administrator) and Esther MacCallum-Stewart (Deputy Hugo Administrator) resign from their respective roles from the Seattle 2025 Worldcon. We do not see a path forward that enables us to make further ...Read More