XPRIZE, as you may know, is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public science competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit all of humanity. (No small goal, there.) One of their latest initiatives is a push for science fiction stories that promote a more hopeful future than the dystopian visions that seem to be so popular.

To that end, XPRIZE has launched Seat14C.com, a site that is both an online anthology and a fiction contest. Thirty well-known science fiction writers have all contributed short stories about the passengers on a transatlantic flight that departs Tokyo in 2017 but somehow lands in San Francisco in 2037. (The contributors list includes names like Margaret Atwood, Hugh Howey, Nancy Kress, Bruce Sterling, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Charles Yu.) Our stories were written to highlight the amazing positive effects that twenty years of scientific advancement could have on a city like San Francisco.

As for the contest, XPRIZE invites readers to submit their own stories about the passenger in Seat 14C. The winner, to be chosen by members of the XPRIZE Science Fiction Advisory Council, will receive round-trip airfare to Tokyo, four nights in a four-star hotel, and $1,500 in spending cash, besides having his or her story published on Seat14C.com.

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This weekend, the New York City Poetry Festival invades Governors Island for two solid days of live readings on three stages featuring 250 poets from all five boroughs.

My reading series, Line Break, will be featured on the Festival's Algonquin Stage this Saturday from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. I'll be reading my poetry alongside Line Break alumni Emily Alta Hockaday and Oscar Sanders. It should be a great time, and I hope you'll come see us!

To be sure of seeing us, you should catch the Governors Island Ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn no later than 11:30 am. The ferries are free before noon, and after you come see us in Nolan Park, you can spend the rest of the day soaking up great poetry in the middle of one of the city's hidden treasures.

Best of all, admission to the New York City Poetry Festival is free!

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XPRIZE, as you may know, is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public science competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit all of humanity. (No small goal, there.) One of their latest initiatives is a push for science fiction stories that promote a more hopeful future than the dystopian visions that seem to be so popular.

To that end, XPRIZE has launched Seat14C.com, a site that is both an online anthology and a fiction contest. Thirty well-known science fiction writers have all contributed short stories about the passengers on a transatlantic flight that departs Tokyo in 2017 but somehow lands in San Francisco in 2037. (The contributors list includes names like Margaret Atwood, Hugh Howey, Nancy Kress, Bruce Sterling, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Charles Yu. My own contribution, about the passenger in 42E, will appear on the site on August 16th.) Our stories were written to highlight the amazing positive effects that twenty years of scientific advancement could have on a city like San Francisco.

As for the contest, XPRIZE invites readers to submit their own stories about the passenger in Seat 14C. The winner, to be chosen by members of the XPRIZE Science Fiction Advisory Council, will receive round-trip airfare to Tokyo, four nights in a four-star hotel, and $1,500 in spending cash, besides having his or her story published on Seat14C.com.

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My novelette "Our Dependence on Foreign Keys" is now available as a 99¢ ebook! I hope you'll check it out, especially since I'm hoping to get to work on more Franny and Hondo stories.

"Our Dependence on Foreign Keys" was originally published online in 2015 in Across the Margin.

Our Dependence on Foreign Keys

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Release date: 2 May 2017

When high-tech partycrashers swarm his exclusive soirée high above the floodways of New York City, billionaire inventor Pell Franziskaner can't be sure whether it's a garden-variety annoyance or a prelude to murder. His own.

Environment, economics, and augmented reality collide in this tale of reputation, revenge, and artificial intelligences so advanced they run directly on the fabric of spacetime.

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Anthony is a brilliant comedian and improviser—fearsomely disciplined yet fearless in accessing the most twisted recesses of his id. Before I met him, I got to know his work through a series of bizarre short films he made, like this one:

As a performer and teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade, Anthony was tapped to play one of the writers on 30 Rock. As essentially a glorified extra, he appeared on the show for years but did not get so much as one line until the series finale:

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My novelette "After the Earthquake a Fire" is now available as a 99¢ ebook.

This story tells a fictionalized version of some of my experiences as a Mormon missionary in Idaho after I was ejected from Canada. If you finished reading The Accidental Terrorist and wondered what what the rest of my mission was like ... well, I hope you won't read too much into this.

Be aware that this story includes scenes of animal cruelty which may be disturbing to some readers.

Um, I hope you like it.

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The Queens Lit Fest 2017 runs for two full days this weekend at LIC Landing in Long Island City. Admission for both days is free but does require an RSVP.

I will be reading promptly at 7:00 pm on Sunday evening, but don't come just to hear me. Come for an afternoon, evening, or all day to hear a wide array of Queens poets, essayists, storytellers, and more, including friends of mine like Emily Alta Hockaday, Jackie Sherbow, and Audrey Dimola.

Oh, and I'll have copies of The Accidental Terrorist with me for sale. I hope to see you there!

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Starting Monday, I will be guest-curating a two-week immersion in the discography of Spoon. Every weekday from now until April 21 we will listen to and discuss one Spoon album (with a side excursion into Divine Fits on Day 8). There will be bonus listening with B-sides, live tracks, and more, and more than a spoonful of spirited debate.

Please join us.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tempfans/

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Could very well be—and you can read all about it in my acclaimed memoir The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary. For a limited time, you can get a personalized, signed edition for only $19.95 in hardcover or $11.95 in trade paperback,—with free shipping in the United States! Or get the ebook edition for just $2.99.

Do it now. Don't force this poor kid to drink more Head & Shoulders. Because he will. Oh, yes, he will.

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Sorry, but we're afraid he was. You can read all about it in my acclaimed memoir The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary. For a limited time, you can get a personalized, signed edition for only $19.95 in hardcover or $11.95 in trade paperback,—with free shipping in the United States! Or get the ebook edition for just $2.99.

Trust me. That kid below? He's a bad, bad hombre. It's sad, really.

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