You know what’s fun? Spending an hour writing your newsletter copy, only for a glitch to eat the whole thing. That kind of fits with how things are going these days, doesn’t it? Pretty WEIRD…
I know the world is burning down and reading your Facebook feed is enough to leave you hyperventilating into a paper bag, but… okay, there really isn’t a “but” there. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?
Suffice to say that here at Donald Media Towers, the semester has begun without too much trauma, things are starting to pick up on the fiction front, and at the moment I am still breathing and ambulatory, which is about all that one can expect these days. Here’s to better news next month?
One thing already underway: I am participating in the easiest fundraiser ever. The American Cancer Society is hosting Read Every Day in February, and what do you know? I already read every day! I’ll be posting updates on ElizabethDonald.com, and you can donate to my fundraiser here.
Also note that I had a free article on the Patreon this week, as I have about twice as many free followers as paid on Patreon. You get SO much more content for only $1 a month, and I hope you’ll consider subscribing! Here’s the free photo essay: what’s with the gargoyles?
Publicity/Appearances
Usually I take January off for public appearances, for a tiny little breath of sanity before I start living out of a suitcase again. I broke precedent to add the Books and Brews Market in January, and it was probably the best one-day signing I’ve had in a decade. Many thanks to the Old Bakery Beer Co. in Alton, Ill. for hosting me and the other authors for a terrific day of bookselling and beer drinking.
Coming up this month is Conflation, which is always one of my favorite cons and cozy enough that it’s pretty much a family reunion. I’ve been asked to speak on the topic of book banning, which is not only very timely, but one of my favorite soapboxes. Following in March is Writers of the Riverbend, followed by Midsouthcon in Memphis and then AWP in Los Angeles, all in one month! So if I look a little frazzled by April, you know why. What time zone am I in anyway?
As you can see below, bookings for 2025 are starting to swarm. I am open to speaking engagements and conventions, but I book well in advance, so if you want me to come to your library, book club, literary festival or convention, contact kyates@donaldmedia.com.
2025 calendar:
• Books and Brews, Alton, Ill. Jan. 18
• Conflation, St. Louis, Mo. Feb. 21-23
• Writers of the Riverbend, Alton, Ill. March 8 (tent.)
• Midsouthcon, Memphis, Tenn. March 21-23
• AWP Los Angeles, March 26-30
• SPJ Regional Conference, Milwaukee, April 11-13 (tent.)
• ConCarolinas, Charlotte, N.C. May 30-June 1 (tent.)
• Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. July 18-20
• Dragoncon, Atlanta, Ga. Aug. 28-Sept. 2
• Archon, Collinsville, Ill. Oct. 3-5
• SPJ Conference, Washington, D.C. Oct. 15-18 (tent.)
Journalism
• Nippon acquisition of U.S. Steel sent to Biden to decide (Labor Tribune)
• President Biden blocks sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon (Labor Tribune)
• Illinois completes minimum wage increase and other pro-worker laws taking effect (Labor Tribune)
• Illinois unions call for Day of Action on pensions (Labor Tribune)
• Daughter of union activist honored with MLK award (Labor Tribune)
• Illinois task force releases recommendations on warehouse safety (Labor Tribune)
• Hoffman pushes pro-Labor bills aimed at securing higher worker wages (Labor Tribune)
• Madison County Federation of Labor elects new board for 2025 (Labor Tribune)
• DNC national chair candidates make their case to Labor (Labor Tribune)
• Nippon, U.S. Steel file suit over blocked sale (Labor Tribune)
• Union bellringers raise $8,000 for Salvation Army (Labor Tribune)
• Madison County Federation of Labor, SWIL Labor Council celebrate holidays (Labor Tribune)
Note: Not all articles are available online, and some may be behind paywalls.
Fiction
I’m happy to announce that one of my creepy short stories is being reprinted in Weird STL, an anthology coming out later this month from the St. Louis Writers Guild. (You knew there was a reason for all the WEIRD, right?) This story has only appeared in River Bluff Review, and I’m looking forward to seeing it in print again. Hopefully by the next newsletter, I should have copies in hand and will be able to offer them on the online store and through Literary Underworld.
Elsewhere, work is proceeding on Blackfire Rising, and I think you guys are really going to enjoy returning to the Blackfire world. It certainly was a lot of fun for me, and I’m looking forward to my first release with Falstaff Books. More will be posted on the blog and social media once I have a cover. So far we seem to be on track to release at Midsouthcon, with preorders launching in advance.
Also, I participated in Authors Against Book Bans’ #UniteAgainstBookBans, reading a banned book in a bookstore. I wore my T-shirt that reads, “I survived reading banned books and all I got was smarter,” in a Barnes and Noble while reading Little Women.
Patreon/Medium/Blogs
Did you know that Patreon subscribers not only get at least one free ebook a year, but you get a 10 percent discount from me and The Literary Underworld? For the latter, that applies to all books, not just mine! For a dollar a month, you really can’t beat it. Just be sure to remind us at the booth as we do not have the subscriber list memorized. If you’re not a subscriber, the base level is $1 a month! You should totally join.
Currently on the nightstand: Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance and Revolution in Trump’s America is currently riding around in the office bag. At home it’s Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis, The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison, and on the Kindle is An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. Recently finished is Out There Screaming, which was the Jordan Peele anthology of new Black horror; as well as reviewing some excerpts from Carl Phillips’ excellent My Trade Is Mystery, which I’m using for my composition students this semester.
• Photography: Illinois winter fields (Patreon)
• The Bernays House (Patreon)
• Photography: Winter fields, again (Patreon)
• Review: Leave the World Behind (Patreon)
• Review: Out There Screaming (Patreon)
• Dance with the page (Patreon)
• Review: Nosferatu (Patreon)
Note: Patreon entries are indexed going back to its launch in 2018. I wanted new Patrons to be able to easily find the work that they’ve missed, and hopefully seeing how much work is on the Patreon might encourage some good folks to subscribe. Check out the index here.
Photography
Snow. Lots and lots of snow. What. I live in the Midwest, people. And my new commute has me driving through picturesque plains twice a week, so buckle in for snow, then spring fields, then amber waves of grain. This month’s pics are on Patreon at the links above, as well as a photo essay on a funky house in the town of my new employer.
Almost all of the images in the galleries are available for purchase, so if you see something you like that isn’t in the store, email kyates@donaldmedia.com and we’ll get you a quote. A few might not be available for purchase due to copyright issues.
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