Inhuman Swill : Writing

Read my new short story, "Last," in XPRIZE's online Seat14C anthology

I'm delighted to announce that my new short story, "Last" (with a nifty illustration by Marco Megrati), has just appeared at Seat14C.com, an online science fiction anthology and writing competition presented by XPRIZE. XPRIZE, as you may know, is a...  read

My interview on WIRED.com's "Geek's Guide to the Galaxy" podcast

Though it doesn't officially come out until tomorrow, my interview with the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast is now live and available through iTunes and elsewhere. I really enjoyed doing this interview. Host David Barr Kirtley asked great questions,...  read

The Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith's first novel

This essay is excerpted from The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary, available everywhere November 10, 2015. WARNING: This essay contains graphic descriptions of primitive surgery that some readers may find disturbing. In January 1994, when I was 26...  read

Our memories remind us, maybe mine is not so bad

I've always believed that I have a pretty good memory—in particular, that I can recall formative events and conversations from years or even decades ago in reasonably good detail. When I started work on my memoir The Accidental Terrorist, I...  read

Fiction wants to be free

What is the sound of one hand clapping? What is the sound of a tree falling in a forest? What is the sound of a story without a reader? What is the sound of tears on my typewriter keys?  read
Speculative fiction: the superset of all possible literature

Speculative fiction: the superset of all possible literature

Genre writers must do everything mainstream writers do, and more.  read

On "The Labyrinth" podcast with Cesar Torres

My good friend Cesar Torres recently had me on Episode 29 of "The Labyrinth," his fine podcast about the strange and unusual. We talked about my Mormon upbringing, how I tried to avoid writing a novel, what not to do...  read

The stumbling block

I can't sit down to write a poem without hearing Garrison Keillor's voice, reading it over my shoulder.  read

Smoke

I make it my general practice not to drink and write. At least, I try not to drink when writing fiction, where the prose should be clear and lucid as water, even as it refracts the light. But poetry's a...  read

Immortality

I have no illusions of immortality Or do I? The way I shovel known poisons into my mouth Shout motherfucker at drivers who cut me off The way I still haven't put up the smoke alarms, two years later The...  read
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