What is a writer?\u00a0 It\u2019s a simple question.\u00a0 Or is it?\u00a0 I got back in touch with some of the writers from Altered Fluid<\/a>, the speculative fiction writer\u2019s group out of New York, and asked them what they thought.<\/p>\n
Below, a handful of them go after the question with their usual mix of playfulness and incisive wit.
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\nBrief bios of the authors appear after the interview.\u00a0 For more from Altered Fluid, check out \u201cEven the Best Stories Have Flaws\u201d<\/a> or \u201cStick to What You Love\u201d<\/a> or \u201cThe Joy of the Best Idea Ever\u201d<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
A writer is a __________?<\/strong><\/p>\n
KRIS DIKEMAN:<\/strong> Person who writes. Every day.<\/p>\n
SALADIN AHMED: <\/strong>Person who finds the free food at cons.<\/p>\n
DEVIN POORE: <\/strong> Person who re-works reality into their own image.<\/p>\n
ALAYA DAWN JOHNSON: <\/strong> Person with an unhealthy tolerance for failure.<\/p>\n
Saladin Ahmed\u2019s<\/a> <\/em>fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, IGMS, Clockwork Phoenix 2<\/a><\/em>, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies<\/em>. His novel Throne of the Crescent Moon<\/em> is forthcoming from DAW Books.<\/p>\n
Kris Dikeman<\/a> is the author of “Nine Sundays in a Row.” Her stories have appeared in Strange Horizons<\/em>, The Guide to Surreal Botany<\/em>, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet<\/em> and Year’s Best Fantasy 9<\/a><\/em>, among other places.<\/p>\n
N.(ora) K. Jemisin<\/a> is the author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms<\/a><\/em> and the forthcoming The Broken Kingdoms<\/em><\/a>. Her Clarkesworld<\/em> short story, “Non-Zero Probabilities<\/a>,” was nominated for the Hugo Award.<\/p>\n
Alaya Dawn Johnson<\/a> is the author of the novels Moonshine<\/em><\/a>, Racing the Dark<\/em><\/a>, and its sequel The Burning City<\/em><\/a>. Her fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Interfictions 2<\/a><\/em> and the forthcoming Zombies vs. Unicorns<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
Matthew Kressel\u2019s<\/a> “The History Within Us<\/a>” appeared in Clarkesworld<\/em> and the “The Suffering Gallery” will appear in Beneath Ceaseless Skies<\/em>. He is the publisher of
\nSybil’s Garage<\/a><\/em><\/em> and the co-host of the Fantastic Fiction reading series at KGB with Ellen Datlow.<\/p>\n
Mercurio D. Rivera<\/a> is a frequent contributor to Interzone<\/em> with stories also appearing or forthcoming in Unplugged: The Web’s Best SF and Fantasy for 2008<\/a>, Black Static, Nature, Electric Velocipede, Abyss & Apex <\/em>and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Jeremy L. C. Jones <\/em><\/a>is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher.\u00a0\u00a0He is the staff Interviewer for <\/em>Clarkesworld Magazine<\/em><\/a> and a frequent contributor to <\/em>Kobold Quarterly<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 He teaches at <\/em>Wofford College<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Montessori Academy<\/em><\/a> in Spartanburg, SC.\u00a0 He is also the director of <\/em>Shared Worlds<\/em><\/a>, a creative writing and world-building camp for teenagers that he and <\/em>Jeff VanderMeer <\/em><\/a>designed in 2006.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"