Introductions

About Me and Why I'm Starting this Newsletter

Hello, I’m Matthew Kressel.

I’m a writer, coder, and artist from Queens, New York.

I began my writing journey approximately twenty years ago, if you count the first writing class I took at the New School in Manhattan, or more than forty years ago if you count the scenic “novels” I created in my head when no one else was around to play with me.

In that time I’ve published (to date) seventy short stories in such publications as Tor.com, Clarkesworld Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Interzone, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, in anthologies such as Mad Hatters & March Hares, Naked City, The People of the Book, and in multiple Year’s Best anthologies. My short fiction has also been translated into eight languages.

Three of my short stories were finalists for the Nebula Award — one of the highest accolades in speculative fiction, since it’s voted on by members of SFWA, or The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a professional organization.

These stories are:

“The Sounds of Old Earth” - Nebula Award Finalist in 2013.

“The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye” - Nebula Award Finalist in 2014

“The Last Novelist” - Nebula Award Finalist in 2017.

“The Last Novelist” was also a finalist for the Eugie Foster Memorial Award that same year.

In addition to my short fiction, I’ve written some full-length books. My first novel, King of Shards, was hailed by NPR Books as “a radical reinvention of the portal fantasy” and a “majestic, resonant, reality-twisting madness.” Writer N.K. Jemisin called it, “A surreal and exotic adventure in a unique mythological setting. Scary, exhilarating fun!”

Queen of Static, the sequel to King of Shards, is just out this past April.

I’ve also got a YA (Young Adult) near-future science-fiction thriller out on submission with my agent, Ethan Ellenberg, and I’m working on a far-future science-fiction adventure novel of which I’m about 90% complete.

As well as write fiction, I also used to publish some. Back in 2003, I started a small speculative fiction ‘zine (self-published print magazine) called Sybil’s Garage, and I published one issue a year (with the help of many) until about 2010, when I decided that I wanted to spend more time writing and less time editing. In that time, the stories and poems in Sybil’s Garage garnished high praise from the writing community, and some highly successful authors today got their first or early publications inside Sybil’s pages.

During that period, I published an anthology called Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, edited by Ekaterina Sedia, and this book went on to win the World Fantasy Award in 2009.

Then there’s the Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series. In early 2008, I took over hosting duties from Gavin Grant, and I began co-hosting the long-running Manhattan-based speculative fiction reading series with Ellen Datlow. Fourteen years later, I’m still hosting with Ellen, and many famous authors have read for us, including N.K. Jemisin, William Gibson, Victor LaValle, Lauren Beukes, Joe Hill, Paul Tremblay and more.

By day, I’m also a software programmer, or coder.

In 2011 or so, John Joseph Adams approached me to create a manuscript submission system for his then new creation: Lightspeed Magazine. (You may have heard of it.) That submissions system ended up becoming what is today known as Moksha. If you are a speculative fiction author, chances are you probably have used Moksha at some point. In 2021 Moksha processed almost 100,000 submissions. Since its inception, almost one million.

I list all these things not to boast or brag, but to point out that, despite my occasionally strong sense of impostor syndrome (we all get it from time to time), I feel I am quite qualified to talk about the process of writing, editing, submitting, and publishing science fiction & fantasy fiction. And here, in this newsletter, I wish to explore with you my long journey, which I’m still very much on and hope to be until my fingers can’t type and my eyes don’t work anymore. And maybe even then.

Topics in this newsletter will include:

• Why editors stop reading your story on the first page

• Tips for a successful live reading of your work

• Dos and Don’ts in the submission process

• Stories and anecdotes about my own creative path

• Why no two authors’ paths will be the same

• Why rejections matter

• Why reviews don’t

• Emotional health

• & much more.

I have lots more to say, but I think I’ve said enough for this first post, so I’ll just leave this here.

I hope the information, stories, and tips in this newsletter will help you find your way on your own creative path, or provide you some small bit of joy or entertainment during your day.