Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep Reading Series – SpecPo Hugo Edition!

The Electric Sheep Reading Series welcomes an all-star lineup of speculative poets, November 12, 8 pm (US Eastern). Please join us for an hour of fantastic readings, featuring the following poets:

Guest Host: Holly Lyn Walrath, Speculative Poetry Initiative

Guest of Honor: Marie Brennan, 2025 Hugo Winner for Best Poem

Readers:

Brian U. Garrison

Ai Jiang

Oliver K. Langmead

Angela Liu

Mari Ness

Brandon O’Brien, Poet Laureate 2025 WorldCon

The event is free but space is limited! Captions and transcription provided by Zoom.

Huge thanks to our reading volunteers: Jason Bartles, Andrea Goyan, and Raima Larter!

The Electric Sheep Speculative Reading Series launched in 2022 with a slate of phenomenal guest authors from the previous year’s discussions. Past guests include: Meg Elison, John Wiswell, A.C. Wise, Ai Jiang, Eugenia Triantafyllou, Vanessa Fogg, K.C. Mead-Brewer, Avra Margariti, Maria Haskins, Phoenix Alexander, Phong Quan, Tara Campbell, Andrea Goyan, Trey Dowell, M.L. Krishnan, Joe Butler, Marie Vibbert, Janna Miller, Ra’Niqua Lee, and Laila Miller.

Discussion Group

Electric Sheep is a casual discussion group dedicated to short speculative fiction. Our goals are to have fun and celebrate speculative writers & the magazines that publish them. Since our first meeting in February, 2021, more than 50 guest authors have joined us for a short Q&A about their stories and careers. We encourage everyone to read along with us. Our guest authors, as well as special discussion topics, are posted on Bluesky at Electric Sheep SF.

Upcoming 2025 Guests

Sheree Renée Thomas
T.K. Rex
Helen McClory
Josh Rountree
C.L. Clark
Holly Lyn Walrath
Aimee Ogden
Emma Burnett
Linda D. Addison
Erin Cairns
Spencer Nitkey

Upcoming 2025 Special Topics

Grimdark
Cozy SFFH
Awards overview
C.L. Clark’s Uncanny stories & Writing Excuses close read episodes

Past Featured Authors (many of these authors generously joined our group for a craft Q&A!)

Thomas Ha (returning guest!)
Renan Bernardo
P.A. Cornell
Jason Sanford
Marisca Pichette
Chris Campbell
F.E. Choe
Yaroslav Barsukov
Lyndsie Manusos (returning guest!)
Premee Mohamed (returning guest!)
Wole Talabi
Lindz McLeod
Rachael K. Jones
Julie Danvers
Danai Christopoulou
A.D. Sui
Pedro Iniguez
John Wiswell (returning guest!)
David Goodman
Katherine Karch
Carol Scheina
Uche D. Nwaka
Thomas Ha
Samantha Mills
L Chan
Angela Liu
A.M. Guay
Jennifer Hudak
Aeryn Rudel
Maria Haskins
Premee Mohamed
Karin Lowachee
Alex Fox
K.B. Carle
Jennifer Linnaea
Tessa Yang
Chris Panatier
Melissa Ostrom
Tara Campbell
Marie Vibbert
Gwen Kirby
William Squirrell
K.T. Bryski
Richard Bertram Peterson
Jasmine Sawers
Lucy Zhang
Melissa Scholes Young
John Wiswell
David Ebenbach
Liz Breazeale
Aimee Picchi
Yohanca Delgado
Laura Blackwell
K.C. Mead-Brewer
Liza Olson
Lauren Ring
Dr. Phoenix Alexander
Eugenia Triantafyllou
Isabel J. Kim
Jordan Taylor
Avra Margariti
Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Jenny Rae Rappaport
C.L. Holland
Vanessa Fogg
Celeste Rita Baker
Katrina Smith
Ai Jiang
M.L. Krishnan
Sarah Pauling
Ra’Niqua Lee
Meg Elison
Mathew Olivas
Guan Un
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Margaret Weng
Corey Farrenkopf
Lyndsie Manusos
Sarah Pinsker
Jiksun Cheung
Phong Quan
A.C. Wise
E. Catherine Tobler

Past Guest Editors & Special Topics

Neil Clarke, EIC of Clarkesworld, business of genre publishing
Lesley Conner, EIC of Apex Magazine & Apex Books
Wendy N. Wagner, Nightmare EIC
Rhonda Schlumpberger, Intrepidus Ink EIC
Radon Journal Editors
Intro to new magazine Small Wonders with guests Cislyn Smith & Stephen Granade
Trends in the slush pile with guest Tommy Dean of Uncharted Magazine
Metastellar & Long Lost Friends with Andrea Goyan and E.E. King
Metaphorosis with guest B. Morris Allen
The Submission Grinder with guest David Steffen
TL;DR Press with Sarah Hawthorne and Joe Butler
Aqueduct Press with Kath Wilhelm
Study of Mary Robinette Kowal’s stories/teaching
Writing villains in the age of cartoonish IRL monsters
Slipstream
Non-Western Story Structure
Study of Octavia Butler’s stories
Solar Punk, hosted by Jason Bartles
Speculative Poetry
Worldbuilding, unexpected techniques
POV in “Welcome To Your Authentic Indian Experience,” By Rebecca Roanhorse
2nd-Person POV
Speculative Memoir with stories by Sofia Samatar and Sim Kern
Little Red Riding Hood retellings
Speculative Tropes
Study of James Tiptree, Jr//Alice Sheldon
Cyberpunk & Post-cyberpunk
P.K. Dick short works
Ursula K. Le Guin’s influence on genre
N.K. Jemisin short stories
Magical Realism – What it is, what it isn’t
Spec fic in history, with short stories by E.M. Forster and W.E.B. DuBois
Helen Oyeyemi career
Kelly Link voice and style