It’s been three years since Eating the Fantastic’s last lightning-round donut episode — the Capclave Donut Carnival — so this latest dozen guests daring to down a dozen donuts has been a long time coming. Welcome to what I’ve dubbed — following that most recent experience as well as the Readercon Donut Spectacular, the Balticon Donut Extravaganza, the Nebula Awards Donut Jamboree, and the StokerCon Donut Spooktacular — the Worldcon Donut Divertissment!

The premise is simple — I plop myself down with a dozen donuts in a high-traffic area of a convention, and sit beside a sign offering a donut to anyone who’ll talk to me about their favorite con-going memories. I’m always happy when those memories range not only from guests whose first cons were more than half a century ago, but also those who were first-timers, both of which happened last weekend at LAcon V.

So please join us as and hear Caitlin Rozakis share how hanging out in the halls is often the most fun of all, Cody Goodfellow on pretending to be H. P. Lovecraft at his first Worldcon in 20 years, Nick Mamatas on his jokes being misunderstood at the 2001 Millennium PhilCon, Rosemary Claire Smith about the infamous 1983 Hugo Awards banquet crab mallet incident, Jennifer Middleton on a life-changing meeting at the 2008 Denver Worldcon, Craig Engler on how wild Worldcons used to be in days gone by (or maybe just how people wanted us to think they were), Ursula K. Le Guin’s reply when Neil Rest asked if she was an anarchist, why Kevin Anderson feels Worldcon is an intimate con, Bruce Robertson on watching the Star Wars trilogy until dawn, how dim sum was the cause of Catherine Green’s discovery of Worldcon (and the night she sang Weird Al Yankovic songs with Lois McMaster Bujold), Jordan Hiatt’s first timer experience learning his elevator pitch needed work, how selling and publishing his first novel to Del Rey a lifetime ago brought Lawrence Watt-Evans to his first Worldcon, and more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop as we nibble on a tasty dozen from M & M Donuts — (more…)

Now that Eating the Fantastic is finished with StokerCon, it’s time to move on to my first meal of Readercon — my first which you can join, that is — lunch with Alex Jablokov, who I feel I’ve been seeing at Readercons as long as I’ve been attending — and my first was its first, way back in 1987.

Since Alex’s fiction debut in 1985, he’s had more than 50 short stories appear in Analog, Asimov’s, Amazing Stories, and Aboriginal SF, plus some venues with titles further down the alphabet, such as Fantasy and Science Fiction, Far Frontiers, Future Boston: The History of a City 1990-2100, Interzone, and  Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology. Some of that earliest work was gathered in the collection The Breath of Suspension, published by the legendary Arkham House in 1994, an achievement of which I am so, so envious.

His first novel, Carve the Sky, was released in 1991, and was followed by A Deeper Sea, Nimbus, River of Dust, Deepdrive, and most recently, Brain Thief. 

We discussed how he came to publish a short story collection with the legendary Arkham House, what the ease with which he wrote some of his earlier stories led him to believe which he quickly learned was wrong, why writing workshops are good for surfacing rather than solving story problems, the one question every writer must ask themselves, plotters vs. pantsers (and whether one can turn into the other), the difficulty in getting writing done when life intervenes, what horseradish has to do with the publishing business, the story he believes he only sold because the editor liked spiders, the best way to believably write characters with whom you disagree, plus much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Woojeon Korean Cuisine — (more…)

It’s time for the fourth and final Eating the Fantastic conversation from StokerCon 2026, following my culinary chats with Arley Sorg, Kate Maruyama, and Jamal Hodge.

This episode’s guest is Todd Sanders, a poet as well as both the editor and publisher of Air & Nothingness Press, which is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. I find the evolution of that press fascinating, for what began with the release of French Surrealist poetry in translation evolved into one of the more interesting genre presses out there — one with anthology calls so eclectic my reluctant muse — which is reluctant to rise to the challenge of theme anthologies — even woke for one of them.

We discussed how his love for French Surrealist poet Robert Desnos led to the creation of Air and Nothingness Press, why he’s been able to survive for 30 years when so many other presses have failed, which poet he wanted to be when he grew up, the art objects he created from from the short stories of Mary Robinette Kowal and Benjamin Rosenbaum, the reason he decided to publish an anthology of stories with obnoxiously long titles, what he’s learned from using Kickstarter to fund books,  a spam text I received which sparked his idea for a future anthology, plus much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Kabab King BBQ Grill — (more…)

Only four more days until the L. A. Worldcon, where I’ll be on five panels, acting in a play, doing a reading, autographing, and table talk, plus recording at least five episodes of Eating the Fantastic. Whew!

Here’s where you’ll be able to find me for all but those culinary conversations —

Reading
Thursday, August 27, 6:40–6:55 p.m., San Simeon B (Hilton)

Hear Me Out: Hugo Best Fancast Finalists
Friday, August 28, 9:00–10:00 p.m., 259 (ACC North)
Since 2012, we have been showing our love to the Hugo Award for Best Fancast. Come hear this year’s finalists talk about the ins and outs of running a fancast, what that entails, and how you, too, could be sharing your work out there for all to hear.
with Amy Salley, Gary K Wolfe, John Coxon, and Natania Barron

Finding Satisfaction as an Author Apart from Sales (or Lack Thereof)
Friday, August 28, 1:30–2:30 a.m., 258 (ACC North)
Whether you are a midlist trad-pub author or self-published, being published can be satisfying—and frustrating. While everyone aspires to be that breakthrough author with millions in sales and hordes of adoring fans, the vast majority hover somewhere between midlist survival and total obscurity. We will explore the life of an author regardless of how many books you sell, and how to enjoy the process. We will also address the many activities you can participate in, and ways to showcase your work once you’ve published your first book.
with Benjamin Liar, Christine Amsden, Palmer Pickering (M), and Vanessa MacLaren-Wray

How to Give Dang Good Feedback
Friday, August 28, 3:00–4:30 p.m., 252C (ACC North)
“I liked it” might make the creator happy but it’s not very actionable. How do you provide a kind but useful critique?
with Emiko Ogasawara, Kaitlin Schmidt, Lisa Padol, Matthew Cropley, and Terri Wells (M)

Welcome to Clarion San Diego!
Saturday, August 29, 9:00–10:00 p.m., 251C (ACC North)
Clarion faculty and alumni will answer your questions about the long-standing writing program for science fiction and fantasy writers that takes place on the lovely campus of the University of California San Diego for six weeks each summer. Get answers to questions such as how to apply, the timing of application to acceptance, where you will eat and live, the cost, the availability of scholarships, and more. Come find out how it can advance your writing goals!
with Christine Valada (M), James Patrick Kelly, and Mary Turzillo

The Failure of the Century (Staged Reading)
Saturday, August 29, 1:30–TK p.m., Pacific Ballroom D (Hilton)
It’s after midnight in Providence, when the eccentric, problematic author H. P. Lovecraft receives three visitors: Fellow pulp writer Frank Belknap Long (performed by ME); Lovecraft’s estranged wife, Sonia Greene; and Nyarlathotep, a figment of Lovecraft’s feverish imagination. One part horror story, one part Dickensian Christmas panto, The Failure of the Century is the first play by Nick Mamatas, author of Move Under Ground, and the Lovecraftian crime novel I Am Providence.

Can We Enjoy the Art of Unethical People?
Sunday, August 30, 12:00–1:00 p.m., 258 (ACC North)
Over the years we learned that some of the “big names” in science fiction and fantasy were, and are, behaving in a very unethical way. Their works, however, may be important to us. Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? Should we try doing so, and if yes how can we achieve it? And last, but not least: how can we ethically enjoy such pieces of art?
with Christine Amsden, Julie Soskins (M), Kylie Adkins, and Matthew S. Rotundo

Table Talk
Monday, August 31, 9:00–10:00 a.m., Monterey (Hilton)

Autographing
Monday, August 31, 1:00–2:00 p.m., Pedestrian Bridge (ACC North)

I hope to see you there!

My third Eating the Fantastic conversation during the 2026 StokerCon — following my chats with Arley Sorg and Kate Maruyama — was with the award-winning writer of horror poetry and prose Jamal Hodge mere hours after his Bram Stoker Award win of the previous night.

That isn’t the only award recognition Hodge has received along his writing journey, for he’s also an Elgin Award winner, a Dwarf Stars Award winner and a Rhysling Award finalist. His collections include The Dark Between the Twilight, which earned him his first Bram Stoker Award nomination, as well as Everything Endless, written with previous guest of this podcast Linda Addison, which is what resulted in this year’s win.

His creative life isn’t limited to the page, for he’s also a multi-award-winning filmmaker who’s a sitting Board Member of Harlem Film House and Axs Lab. His films have been an official selection in over 100 Film Festivals, and have won more than 50 awards including The Vanguard Award (Best of The Fest) at the Hip Hop Film Festival (2020), Best Director at The Chelsea Film Festival (2020) and Best Director at GenreBlast (2020). He co‑produced the Academy Award‑nominated documentary Armed Only With a Camera: The Life & Death of Brent Renaud, and is producing the upcoming animated feature Pierre the Pigeon Hawk. He also directed the first season of the Discovery ID series Primal Instinct.

His upcoming books include I’m Not a Good Person, I’m a New Yorker from Crystal Lake Publishing in Sept 2026, plus Shards of Gotham: New York City Through the Looking Glass from Ruadán Books in June 2027.

We discussed how winning a Stoker Award the previous night altered his ambitions, why Linda Addison is his favorite collaborator, how most things we think of as choices aren’t, why he prefers Batman to Spider-Man, the reason the environment in his stories is not your friend, the way the living are controlled by the dead, how he always starts a project thinking it’s one thing only to discover it’s something else, what Mega Man has to do with him becoming a better writer, his favorite short story of all time, how 1984 made him realize what writing could do, the way poetry healed him, plus much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Walters BBQ Southern Kitchen — (more…)