Michael Swanwick
@michaelswanwick.bsky.social
Science Fiction and Fantasy writer. As a hobby, I also write Criticism and Non-Fiction.
With great regret, I had to cancel my reading today at the Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, NY. The roads are murderous here. I got three or four miles before giving up and the round trip took half an hour. The reading has been rescheduled to Sunday, January 25 at 3 p.m.
January 17, 2026 at 5:36 PM
With great regret, I had to cancel my reading today at the Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, NY. The roads are murderous here. I got three or four miles before giving up and the round trip took half an hour. The reading has been rescheduled to Sunday, January 25 at 3 p.m.
Gary Wolfe gave my new collection, THE UNIVERSE BOX, a very positive review in Locus. My nuanced reaction and a link to the review itself can be found on my blog.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-pa...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-pa...
A Paucity of Cat Whiskers
. I have never in my life thanked a reviewer for a positive review. That would be insulting. All he or she has to offer is their honest opi...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Gary Wolfe gave my new collection, THE UNIVERSE BOX, a very positive review in Locus. My nuanced reaction and a link to the review itself can be found on my blog.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-pa...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-pa...
One of my minor hobbies is paying close attention to Black actors in minor roles in old films. I'm watching TALK OF THE TOWN and Rex Ingram's Tilney is given the space to be a real character.
January 16, 2026 at 2:31 AM
One of my minor hobbies is paying close attention to Black actors in minor roles in old films. I'm watching TALK OF THE TOWN and Rex Ingram's Tilney is given the space to be a real character.
I'm doing a reading this weekend! At the Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, NY. Details on my blog:
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/spar...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/spar...
Sparkle Bookstore Reading This Saturday!
. This Saturday, January 17, at 3:00 p.m. , I will do a reading from my new collection, The Universe Box, at the Sparkle Bookstore in Sp...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:46 PM
I'm doing a reading this weekend! At the Sparkle Bookstore in Sparkill, NY. Details on my blog:
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/spar...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/spar...
One of the best things about the farm show was how many loving and attentive fathers there were there with small, contented children.
January 15, 2026 at 12:03 AM
One of the best things about the farm show was how many loving and attentive fathers there were there with small, contented children.
Wow
I missed posting the pedal tractor pull.
I missed posting the pedal tractor pull.
January 15, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Wow
I missed posting the pedal tractor pull.
I missed posting the pedal tractor pull.
Best eaten warm.
January 14, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Best eaten warm.
Cow with a mohawk.
January 14, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Cow with a mohawk.
You've heard about them. You've learned to see them. And now, here they are, the CONDIMENT SOW and the CONDIMENT COW!
January 14, 2026 at 11:49 PM
You've heard about them. You've learned to see them. And now, here they are, the CONDIMENT SOW and the CONDIMENT COW!
Five dollars. I passed up the opportunity.
January 14, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Five dollars. I passed up the opportunity.
Patriotic Potatoes.
January 14, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Patriotic Potatoes.
We are at the PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW!
January 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM
We are at the PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW!
Kids Tractor Pull.
January 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Kids Tractor Pull.
Competitors (and parents) in the Tractor Pull.
January 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Competitors (and parents) in the Tractor Pull.
Terrible news. Sheila Williams has been hospitalized.
On my blog, I retell a telling anecdote.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-br...
On my blog, I retell a telling anecdote.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-br...
A Brief But Telling Anecdote About Sheila Williams
. I was extremely unhappy to learn that Sheila Williams , a dear friend as well as being the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction , has been ...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Terrible news. Sheila Williams has been hospitalized.
On my blog, I retell a telling anecdote.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-br...
On my blog, I retell a telling anecdote.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/a-br...
Books! Booze! Me! Brooklyn! Four great things that go great together. Plus three other fantastic writers.
You may or may not be able to attend. But if you don't at least wish you could... Well, I don't think I want to know you anymore.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/broo...
You may or may not be able to attend. But if you don't at least wish you could... Well, I don't think I want to know you anymore.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/broo...
Brooklyn Books & Booze @ Barrows Intense -- January 20 at 7 PM
. Brooklyn Books & Booze @ Barrows Intense is just what the title says--a monthly literary reading series held in a bar in Brooklyn. A week...
floggingbabel.blogspot.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:13 AM
Books! Booze! Me! Brooklyn! Four great things that go great together. Plus three other fantastic writers.
You may or may not be able to attend. But if you don't at least wish you could... Well, I don't think I want to know you anymore.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/broo...
You may or may not be able to attend. But if you don't at least wish you could... Well, I don't think I want to know you anymore.
floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2026/01/broo...
Good Lord! I failed to post yesterday's Universe Box Monday at File 770. It's about a meat cleaver Marianne and I have hung on our living room wall.
file770.com/a-meat-cleav...
file770.com/a-meat-cleav...
a meat cleaver
Let’s celebrate The Universe Box‘s February 3rd release by Tachyon Press! I have opened the universe box that is my life, and will be sharing a piece of it every Monday. By Michael Swanwi…
file770.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Good Lord! I failed to post yesterday's Universe Box Monday at File 770. It's about a meat cleaver Marianne and I have hung on our living room wall.
file770.com/a-meat-cleav...
file770.com/a-meat-cleav...
Is there a native Polish speaker here? I need the correct term for fishing port (a small one) for the following passage from a story I'm writing.
Half a mile’s struggle later, there was a moment’s letup in the rain. Kaśka pointed and said, “Portow rybackich.”
Fishing port.
Half a mile’s struggle later, there was a moment’s letup in the rain. Kaśka pointed and said, “Portow rybackich.”
Fishing port.
January 12, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Is there a native Polish speaker here? I need the correct term for fishing port (a small one) for the following passage from a story I'm writing.
Half a mile’s struggle later, there was a moment’s letup in the rain. Kaśka pointed and said, “Portow rybackich.”
Fishing port.
Half a mile’s struggle later, there was a moment’s letup in the rain. Kaśka pointed and said, “Portow rybackich.”
Fishing port.
Cocktail Hour! After a long and busy day, relaxing with Boulevardiers, served with crackers, cheese spread, and sopressata.
January 11, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Cocktail Hour! After a long and busy day, relaxing with Boulevardiers, served with crackers, cheese spread, and sopressata.
Cocktail Hour! Tonight: Manhattans (an earlier cocktail experiment... disappointed), served with faux caviar canapés and olives.
January 10, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Cocktail Hour! Tonight: Manhattans (an earlier cocktail experiment... disappointed), served with faux caviar canapés and olives.