Mid-February News
Here’s a roundup of what I am up to and some stuff you might like to attend or participate in.
Hello! We’re definitely into my busy time of year right now. Here’s a roundup of what I am up to and some stuff you might like to attend or participate in.
The SFWA Mentorship Program is Open to Applications until the 21st!
The SFWA Mentorship program is an all volunteer program that runs a three month mentorship period each spring. I’m the Director of Matching, which is a fancy way of saying that I work with a very small team to make the best possible mentor and mentee matches. If you are writer who wants to share you industry experience with others, please consider applying to be a mentor by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdoK05odw10kBDmwgBj-DNKrNz9nJhijrtcKezSDzvasIiEg/viewform?usp=dialog
If you are a writer who is interested in getting some career advice or insights (but not critiques of your work—this is a program for the business side of writing or for general craft tips, but not for critiques), apply to be a mentee by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOzBjR68QLSp5yR-SD9ua2DFlOahHyaFj0-cu_vjFcwfshRg/viewform?usp=dialog
You do not have to be a member of SFWA to participate in this program!
Boskone is this weekend! Come see me!
Here’s my official Boskone Schedule:
I’m moderating the Romance panel, but as there are only three of us, I will be participating in it a bit as well. The Poetry “slam” is really a group reading with several other really good poets! I will have some exciting free things at each thing, so come to get a special surprise!
For more info about Boskone, visit https://boskone.org
The Otherwise Fellows have been announced!
I had the honor of serving on the Otherwise Fellowship Committee this year. Here’s what The Otherwise Award page has to say about it:
“The Otherwise Award celebrates works of speculative fiction that imagine new futures by exploring and expanding our understanding of gender roles. Through the Fellowship program, the Otherwise Motherboard also encourages those who are striving to complete works, to imagine futures that might have been unimaginable when the Otherwise Award began. The Fellowship program seeks out new voices in the field, particularly from communities that have been historically underrepresented in science fiction and fantasy and by those who work in media other than traditional fiction.”
This year the committee received many very strong applications, and we were delighted to select illustrator Aude Abou Nasr and writer Ayida Shonibar as the two Otherwise Fellows. We all loved the work that each of these fellows are creating and we can’t wait to see more. Find out more about them and about the fellowship here: https://otherwiseaward.org/2026/02/announcing-2025-otherwise-fellows
Readings by other people that I think are cool!
On Tuesday the 10th, I had the great pleasure of getting to see my friend Tayyba Kanwal read from her collection of linked stories, Talking With Boys. This collection is so tightly written, sharp and bright and gorgeous. It explores the lives of Pakistani women in Pakistan, Dubai, and the USA, and it’s so good! If you’re in Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, or Houston, you might still be able to catch her reading! If not, you can definitely still get this awesome book from your favorite bookstore.
Can’t make it to any of these in person events, but want to see cool people reading their work? I’ve got just the thing for you! C. S. E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez are hosting another awesome virtual group reading on Monday! Free to everyone, just go to https://m.twitch.tv/csecooney/home on Monday evening!
Announcing my first creative sprint and chat session (for paid subscribers)!
Finally, I’ve decided to try something new this month. I’m going to host a creative sprint and chat session over Zoom. This one will be just for my paid subscribers (here on juliarios.com or over on my patreon). I asked them all to let me know the best times for them and the consensus is Monday the 23rd at 7pm Eastern time. If you are a patron or a paid subscriber at any level, look out for a zoom link at the end of next week. If you aren’t a paid subscriber or patron and you want to join this video chat, you have a week to sign up!
This session will open with a few minutes of casual chat, then we will do a sprint of 30-45 minutes during which all audio will be muted and we’ll each work on our own projects (I will probably use my time to do a daily art challenge I’ve signed up for, but others may use it to write or craft, or even just read a book). After the sprint, we’ll have a 15 minute chat to talk about how our creative sprint went.
