I wish DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, could have gone on forever, but alas, it must end, even here at Eating the Fantastic. And so, after the chatting and chewing I’ve done with José Pablo Iriarte, Fonda Lee, Usman T. Malik, and Daryl Gregory, we arrive at the D.C. Worldcon’s final culinary conversation.

My guest for brunch at the Unconventional Diner — about which Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema wrote — when he placed the restaurant at #4 on his Fall dining guide last year — “No restaurant fed me more often, or better, throughout the pandemic than French chef David Deshaies’s whimsical tribute to American comfort food.” — was two-time Hugo Award finalist Natalie Luhrs.

Luhrs was first nominated in 2017 for Best Fan Writer, and then again last year in the Best Related Work category for her essay “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition).” She’s the former science fiction and fantasy reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews and was briefly an acquisitions editor for Masque Books, the digital imprint of Prime. Though she dabbles in writing speculative fiction and poetry, she is mostly known for her non-fiction — which earned her those nominations — and can be found at her personal blog, Pretty Terrible, the intersectional geek blog, The Bias, which she co-founded with previous guest of this podcast Annalee Flower Horne, and of course, on Twitter, as @eilatanReads.

We discussed why I had a more optimistic outlook on her chances of winning last year than she did, the emotions which inspired her most recently nominated work and the doxxing that resulted from her offering up that opinion, her love for Dune even as she recognizes the classic novel’s problematic parts, what she once said about the Lord Peter Wimsey continuations which caused a backlash, the ways romance and science fiction conventions differ, where she chooses to expend her spoons when controversies arise, the importance of making our shared fannish community a welcoming space for all, recent science fiction novels which blew her mind, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us —

1) Subscribe at Apple Podcasts — where I hope you’ll be tempted to sample a few of the 164 previous episodes.

2) Use the RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss on the device of your choice.

3) Or simply listen via the embed below.

Here’s what we nibbled at the Unconventional Diner —

Buttermilk Biscuits
orange marmelade

Natalie’s Brussels Sprouts, Fried Eggs, and Shrimp
masala, red cabbage, and caramelized onions

Scott’s Chicken & Waffles
cheddar-chive cornbread waffle, habanero butter, granny gravy

Bacon

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support my mission of breaking bread with creators of the fantastic while letting you eavesdrop, there are several ways you can help bring this podcast to the attention of potential new listeners looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comics ear candy —

One is to rate Eating the Fantastic on Apple Podcasts and like it on Facebook.

Also — you could tell your friends about the show by sending them a link to your favorite episode and letting them know what I’m doing here.

Finally — I hope you’ll consider becoming a supporter of Eating the Fantastic, and help this podcast continue.

You could make a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon, where there are various perks involved depending on your level of support, such as access to a patrons-only blog, getting a shout-out on the show, stickers, postcards, and more.

Or if an ongoing level of commitment’s not for you, or if Patreon’s just not your thing, then consider tossing a couple of bucks in the tip jar instead and making a one-time donation of any size via Paypal.me.

Or you could head on over to https://ko-fi.com/eatingthefantastic and send me the funds to cover the cost of a cup of coffee.

Please join me two weeks from now when I’ll bring you a conversation which should have happened at the Boston-area convention Boskone — but didn’t — because though I’d have been happy to have attended had the con been local, I decided I wasn’t yet ready to board a plane in these days of Omicron. Who shall my remote guest be? I’m not sure which of those who’ve agreed to act “as if” will come first, but I’m whoever it is is sure to be scintillating.

Thanks for listening!