Why is my blog called Inhuman Swill? Because you can unscramble the pieces to make William Shunn.
How bookstore returns forced me to rethink my publishing strategy
Returnable books are what enable brick-and-mortar stores to maintain an affordable inventory. But they also put a huge burden on small publishers—like me.
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You can’t spell “preventable” without a bee
Sometimes life (or a diabolical puzzle editor) throws you a curve you know is coming, and it still beans you in the brainpan. Bee alert!
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My story “Last” will close out Season 2 of the DUST podcast
The top-rated audio series returns with stories adapted from the XPRIZE anthology Seat 14C, following the lives of hapless air travelers who find themselves transported to a world twenty years in their future.
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My body math index
A miscalculation at a routine health screening presents a tantalizing mathematical mystery.
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Hear my new short story tonight at Liars' League NYC!
If you’re in or near Manhattan tonight, I hope you’ll drop by KGB Bar to hear fiction by me and a few other excellent writers, in support of an excellent cause . . . Wednesday, October 2: 7:00-9:00 pm Liars’ League NYC presents...
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Hear me read tonight at Write This Down in Brooklyn!
If you’re in or near Brooklyn tonight, I hope you’ll drop by Branded Saloon to hear personal essays by me and some other excellent writers and storytellers . . . Monday, September 30: 7:30-10:30 pm Write This Down: A Creative Nonfiction Reading Series...
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Catch me in New York City on September 30 and October 2
New Yorkers! I’m participating in two events next week that I hope you’ll be able to come out and see: Monday, September 30: 7:30-10:30 pm Write This Down: A Creative Nonfiction Reading Series Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn At...
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Tour an alternate 21st century through six near-future fictions
Announcing the ebook release of my rare 2007 chapbook, An Alternate History of the 21st Century, which includes two original stories.
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A Coney Island poem for the 4th of July
Today is America's day, and what's more American than Coney Island? I have a poem for Coney Island, so, by the transitive property, this poem is also for America. And like America, it perhaps contains some bad words. [ click...
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Cast a warm eye on "Cast a Cold Eye"
Cast a Cold Eye, the ghostly novella I wrote with Derryl Murphy, appeared ten years ago as a limited-edition hardcover to exceptionally kind reviews. Now it's coming back to life as an ebook.
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