{"id":38067,"date":"2025-11-28T10:54:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T15:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/?p=38067"},"modified":"2025-11-28T10:54:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T15:54:21","slug":"naomi-kritzer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/2025\/11\/28\/naomi-kritzer\/","title":{"rendered":"Sample samsa with Naomi Kritzer on Episode 269 of Eating the Fantastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This episode, I invite you to wander off from the Maryland convention <a href=\"https:\/\/capclave.org\">Capclave<\/a> for dinner with one of this year&#8217;s Guests of Honor &#8212; the multi-award winning writer <a href=\"https:\/\/naomikritzer.com\">Naomi Kritzer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>How multi-award-winning? Naomi&#8217;s a seven-time Hugo Award nominee (winning twice for short story and twice for novelette) &#8212; a three-time Nebula Award nominee (winning once for novelette) &#8212; a three-time Lodestar Award nominee &#8212; (winning once) \u2014 a four-time nominee for the WSFA Small Press Award (winning once) &#8212; and has also won the <em>Asimov\u2019s<\/em> readers poll.  Plus she&#8217;s been a two-time Andre Norton Award nominee,  as well as a finalist for the Eugie, Dragon, and William L. Crawford Awards.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-38069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NaomiKritzerEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The stories which won her those honors were published in such magazines as <em>Clarkesworld<\/em>, <em>Analog<\/em>, <em>Asimov\u2019s<\/em>, <em>Uncanny<\/em>, <em>Apex<\/em>, <em>F&#038;SF<\/em>, and others, and in such anthologies as <em>Infinity\u2019s End<\/em> and <em>The Reinvented Heart: Tales of Futuristic Relationships<\/em>. Many of those stories have been gathered in her collections <em>Gift of the Winter King and Other Stories<\/em> (2011) and <em>Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories<\/em> (2017). Her novels include <em>Catfishing on CatNet<\/em>, <em>Chaos on Catnet<\/em>, and <em>Liberty\u2019s Daughter<\/em>. Her novella <em>Obstetrix<\/em>, published by Tordotcom, is coming in June 2026.<\/p>\n<p>We discussed why a friend stepped up to start submitting stories for her, the question she asked Madeleine l&#8217;Engle when she was nine, why she spent years not reading reviews (even the good ones), her surprise at the way &#8220;Cat Pictures Please&#8221; went viral, what it&#8217;s like when you&#8217;re on &#8220;that&#8221; panel at a convention, why she wishes she&#8217;d told the early editors to whom she&#8217;d submitted how young she was, the many writers time has passed by (and how we hope neither of us will join them), what she was told by her mentor after confessing she wanted to be Ursula K. Le Guin, the story she sold to a market by deliberately writing the sort of story that magazine said it didn&#8217;t want, the inability of writers to know which of their stories will resonate most with readers, whether the stories she&#8217;s written in response to prompts might have existed in some other form without those prompts, how our writing has been affected by the times in which we live, and much more.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can join us at      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silkroadchoyhona.net\">Silk Road Choyhona<\/a>    &#8212; <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>1) Subscribe at <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> &#8212; or <a href=\"https:\/\/pod.link\/1083737796\">wherever<\/a> you choose to consume your podcasts &#8212; where I hope you&#8217;ll be tempted to sample a few of the 268 previous episodes.<\/p>\n<p>2) Listen via the RSS feed of <a href=\"http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss\">http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss<\/a> on the device of your choice.<\/p>\n<p>3) Or simply use the embed below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/39176135\/height\/240\/theme\/legacy\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/\" height=\"240\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what you would have seen us nibbling had you been with us at   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silkroadchoyhona.net\">Silk Road Choyhona<\/a>  &#8212;   <\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong> Samsa <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>baked layered flaky pastry filled with chopped beef and lamb tallow<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-38073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SamsaSilkRoadNaomi-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Naomi&#8217;s Plov<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>braised boneless lamb leg, rice, roasted garlic, chili pepper,<br \/>\n garbanzo beans, carrot, raisins<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-38074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PlovNaomiSIlkRoad-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Scott&#8217;s Dumgaza <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>slowly braised oxtails with garlic potatoes<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-38075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DumgazaScottSilkRoad-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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 \u2014<\/p>\n<p>One is to <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796?mt=2\">rate Eating the Fantastic on Apple Podcasts<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eatingthefantastic\/?fref=ts\">like it on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Also \u2014 you could tell your friends about the show by sending them a link to your favorite episode and letting them know what I\u2019m doing here.<\/p>\n<p>Finally \u2014 I hope you\u2019ll consider becoming a supporter of Eating the Fantastic, and help this podcast continue.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You could make a small recurring monthly donation over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/eatingthefantastic\">Patreon<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n<p>Or if an ongoing level of commitment\u2019s not for you, or if Patreon\u2019s 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.me\/eatingthefantastic\">Paypal.me<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Or you could head on over to <a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic<\/a> and send me the funds to cover the cost of a cup of coffee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Coming up two weeks from now, you\u2019ll be able to take a seat at the table for dinner with comics writer\/editor Jack C, Harris, whom I first met 52 years ago when he was cosplaying at a con as the great Batman villain Two-Face, and who was an assistant editor at DC at the same time I was one at Marvel. He went on to do much, much more, which you\u2019ll get to hear us discuss if you decide to check us out \u2014 which I hope you will.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for listening!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This episode, I invite you to wander off from the Maryland convention Capclave for dinner with one of this year&#8217;s Guests of Honor &#8212; the multi-award winning writer Naomi Kritzer. How multi-award-winning? Naomi&#8217;s a seven-time Hugo Award nominee (winning twice for short story and twice for novelette) &#8212; a three-time Nebula Award nominee (winning once [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[732,1052],"class_list":["post-38067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-eating-the-fantastic","tag-naomi-kritzer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38067"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38150,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38067\/revisions\/38150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}