Now that it’s really officially official, I am honored to share that I am one of the three SPJ Freelance Fellowship recipients this year, as detailed in this press release.
“These three outstanding journalists embody the spirit of freelance work. They’re resourceful, resilient and deeply committed to telling important stories,” said SPJ Freelance Community Chair Stacie Overton Johnson. “We’re thrilled to support them as they bring their talents and perspectives to MediaFest25.”
I have to remember to buy Stacie a drink in D.C. I’m uncharacteristically speechless.
“But Donald, I thought you were a professor!”
I am a professor, and I love teaching. I am an author, and I love writing. I am a journalist, and I love reporting. I never said a life of words was easy, uncomplicated, or single-minded. It’s more like spinning plates while riding a unicycle.
I left full-time reporting in 2018, but I never left journalism. My work has continued, writing news and features and even doing photojournalism for newspapers, websites and magazines over the past seven years, not to mention the nonfiction segments of this Patreon. I’ve reported for McClatchy, Hearst and Lee publications; for magazines like Inside Higher Ed,Current and Feast; and I’ve done regular beat reporting for my former newspaper and for the St. Louis Labor Tribune, which has employed me for the past several years as their chief Illinois correspondent on labor issues. This has enabled me to keep reporting on politics, as labor and the political sphere are never far apart in Illinois.
This is not some side gig to keep me alive in between professorial paychecks (though it fills that role nicely). I believe that if we are to teach journalism, we should keep practicing it in some form. The profession and practice keep changing, faster for journalism than in most fields, and it’s really important that we keep pace with the current state of the industry as we guide the young people who will take over for us.
That, and I really love it.
Those of you who’ve followed me for a long time know what a hard and scary decision it was to leave my newspaper and dive into academia. I likened it to jumping off the high dive without knowing whether there would be water in the pool below. Part of that trepidation was the sadness at giving up a profession I loved, using my words to inform, investigate and maybe make some small difference in the world.
Freelancing allowed me to keep the parts that I loved, to choose the assignments I wanted to write, and jettison the parts I didn’t want, like chasing ambulances, calling bereaved families, and work hours and situations that my defective body frankly couldn’t manage anymore.
MediaFest (or the SPJ National Conference or whatever we’ve called it over the years) has always been high tide for this journo-love, and I’ve never come away from the conference without a pile of new ideas, both for my own work and for my teaching. If you are a journalist and were on the fence about attending, I can’t recommend it enough. I was very sad at the possibility of having to miss it this year for financial reasons, and delighted that the fellowship will now make it possible for me to attend.
While there, I hope I can sneak over to some of the museums I’ve never seen, like the National Museum of African American History and the Holocaust Memorial. I’ve hit all the usual sites, like Ford’s Theater and the major memorials, which I’ve detailed on this Patreon and photographed. If anyone has any suggestions of new sites I should visit, please let me know! I won’t have much spare time around the conference, but I love D.C., and sightseeing – learning – is always a priority.
Once again, thank you to the good folks of the SPJ Freelance Community for their generous support, and thank you to all you Patrons who continue to make my mad career possible.
Funny thing happened on the way to the semester launch: One of my employer colleges got a big uptick in enrollment, and they needed (wo)manpower quick. An application and interview later, I was offered and accepted a one-year temporary contract as a full-time professor.
Longtime readers know that this is the end goal, the thing I’ve been working toward for eight years now. It’s why I left full-time reporting to go to grad school, why I earned two masters degrees, why I’ve been toiling in the adjunct vineyards since graduation. It’s the endgame.
Needless to say, I’m over the moon.
Q: Wait a minute: temporary?
A: Yup. I’m the temp from Chiswick.* After one year it could be extended, rolled into a permanent position, or I could be rolled back to adjunct next year. I’ll have to jump off that bridge when I come to it.
Q: So you’re just teaching a normal number of classes?
A: Nope! I still have two adjunct classes at another college for which I was contracted this fall, plus one overload class at my main employer, so it’s one more semester of crazy overload. But then I get to teach just one full-time load, which honestly feels like a vacation at this point.
But in the meantime, I finally have a full-time job again, and a regular salary that will provide us with a little stability. It’s a really wonderful development, totally unexpected and very welcome.
Q: So you’ll only have one job?
A: Of course not. I’ve still got Donald Media, with my freelance journalism, photography, editing and other miscellaneous shenanigans. That’s the wonderful thing about freelancing: you can scale your work load up and down according to the needs of the moment.
Q: You’re not gonna stop writing books, are you?
A: Absolutely not. I have much more trauma to inflict on you! Next year’s book is a space opera and I think you’re going to love it. In fact, if you are on the Patreon, it has some excerpts from the work in progress already.
Q: So the Patreon is continuing?
A: Of course. The Patreon has been some of the best writing I’ve ever done, especially in the nonfiction realm. I have no intention of mothballing it and giving up my travelogues, photo essays and rants. And I continue to be so grateful for the wonderful Patrons who continue to support me with their subscriptions.
Q: Anything else going on?
A: I’m so glad you asked. On the same day as the job offer, I was informed that I am receiving the SPJ Freelance Fellowship for 2025, which will fund my attendance at MediaFest next month in Washington D.C. I’m delighted to be joining my colleagues at the Society of Professional Journalists and continuing the important discussions facing our profession. I am so grateful to the Freelance Community for this honor, and am looking forward to thanking them in person in DC.
Thanks for bearing with me, loyal readers. It makes such an enormous difference to have your support, and to know that you keep coming back to read me. Here’s the year of the temp!
* Only Doctor Who nerds are going to get this joke.
It is a universal truth among academics that when Aug. 1 rolls around, the panic hits.
We all begin the summer with the best of intentions. We will finally have time to read that giant backlog sitting on the TBR pile. We will unearth the surface of our desks and sort out the chaos that piled up during the previous year. We will reorganize our lesson plans and readings, update our assignments, and everything will be orderly and make sense by the time the fall semester hits.
And sometimes we will also publish a new novel and go on a mini-tour for it, teach two summer school classes, move offices, work on the next novel and generally keep spinning at nearly the same rate as a full academic semester.
August 1 has arrived, and suddenly my calendar is filling up with mandatory conferences and meetings and seminars and luncheons, which is definitely going to impact that whole “sort out the chaos” concept. As I write this, I am three weeks away from launching seven classes at three colleges, and one week of the three has been cleared for family, so…
Yeah.
Be nice to the professors. We are in panic mode.
Publicity/Appearances
It’s an honor just to be… yup, once again I did not win the screenplay award, this time for Grow Old With Me. Seriously, it’s always a thrill to make the finalist list, even if I am now the Susan Lucci of the Imadjinns. While at Imaginarium – which was a total blast, awards notwithstanding – I was interviewed by VampChat, a fun podcast centered on… you guessed it… vampires. It was delightful to chat about the toothy ones, even if I had to out myself not only as Team Louis but also Team Angel. And if you have any idea what I’m talking about, you should definitely check out the podcast here.
Up next is the big ‘un: Dragoncon! I’m boggling that we’re already at Dragoncon time, and wrangling my logistics for another solo trip to Atlanta for me and 100,000 of my closest friends. Watch the website for my full schedule, which will include extra signings this year. Due to Southwest’s changing policies regarding checked luggage, I will be bringing/shipping a limited number of books, so if you are definitely planning to get something from me, be sure to preorder it so I set aside a copy for you. You can do that on the store website or by emailing my assistant at kyates@ donaldmedia.com.
2025 calendar:
Books and Brews, Alton, Ill. Jan. 18
Conflation, St. Louis, Mo. Feb. 21-23
International Women’s Day, Second Life March 7-9 [POSTPONED]
Weird STL release party/signing, St. Louis, March 7
Writers of the Riverbend, Alton, Ill. March 8
Midsouthcon, Memphis, Tenn. March 21-23
AWP Los Angeles, March 26-30
Live author chat/book release, April 7
Afterwords Books, Edwardsville, Ill. April 26
Boozy Book Fair, St. Charles, Mo. May 10
Prairie Fox LitFest, Ottawa, Ill. May 17
Pagan Picnic, St. Louis, Mo. May 31
Books and Brunch, Alton, Ill. June 21
West County Barnes and Noble, St. Louis, Mo. June 28
Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. July 18-20
VampChat, online, July 19
Nerd Market, Alton, Ill. Aug. 16 (CANCELED)
Dragoncon, Atlanta, Ga. Aug. 28-Sept. 2
Melting Pot, Granite City, Ill. Sept. 6
SPJ Boot Camp, Edwardsville, Ill. Sept. 20 (tent.)
One of my big summer projects has been shifting my nonfiction portfolio from Contently to a new portfolio site. For some reason MuckRack no longer pulls my articles, and Contently has decided not to verify me (no explanation given). I’ll let you all know when that process is done. Sadly, a number of my better articles since going freelance have now disappeared off the internets, which is one of those annoying side effects of the modern age. It’s been a long, long time since I kept a stringbook… and it’s probably around here in this hazmat site of an office. Right next to Jimmy Hoffa.
• Democrats, Labor leaders sound alarm over cuts to social safety net (Labor Tribune) • Illinois teachers’ unions protest withholding of federal funds (Labor Tribune) • Webb steps down as Madison County Dems elect new chair (Labor Tribune) • SIBA awards record number of grants for vocational education (Labor Tribune) • Budzinski, United Steelworkers demand voice for Granite City in Nippon deal (Labor Tribune)
Note: Not all articles are available online, and some may be behind paywalls.
Fiction
Did you figure out I have a new book out? Have I been too subtle? Dying to buy this book? Of course you are! Here’s where it’s currently shambling:
If you’d like the book signed and aren’t going to be in my general vicinity soon, order directly from me or Literary Underworld and indicate in your order that you’d like it signed. And if you love this book, please feel free to return to its Goodreads page and/or the bookseller of your choice to do a review! We love reviews, because we writers are needy insecure creatures. Also, Amazon will only start recommending your book to other customers once you have at least 15 reviews, or so I am told.
Meanwhile, I have been cranking away at the next book, Banshee’s Run. It’s space opera and so far I’m enjoying the hell out of it. It’s an idea I’ve been playing with for a long time, and I’m so glad it’s finally going to see print… probably next year.
Patreon/Medium/Blogs
• Freedom Day 2025 (Patreon) • Kentucky Book Conventions (Patreon) • Imaginarium ahoy! (Patreon) • WIP: Banshee’s Run (Patreon) • The Chicago Guy (Patreon) • Independence Day (Patreon) • Poem: Aurora (Patreon)
Did you know that Patreon subscribers not only get at least one free ebook a year, but you get a 10 percent discount from me and The Literary Underworld? For the latter, that applies to all books, not just mine! For a dollar a month, you really can’t beat it. Just be sure to remind us at the booth as we do not have the subscriber list memorized. If you’re not a subscriber, the base level is $1 a month! You should totally join.
Currently on the nightstand: A Low Country Heart by Pat Conroy, one of my favorite lyrical Southern writers. On the iPad is Wilderness Tips, a collection of short stories by Margaret Atwood. And I finally found my copy of Nasty Women, a collection of feminist essays, which had gotten buried in the magazine pile over the last few months. This month’s reading included Never Flinch by Stephen King, the latest of his Holly Gibney series; and a re-read of The Stand, because apparently I must re-read early King for life.
Photography
Shoots this month included a trip to the Gateway Arch, which has been renovated for ten years and we finally got around to seeing it. I also did some practice shooting at the Missouri Botanical Garden, which is always photogenic. I collected the best moments there in this TikTok vid.
I am happy to announce that my short-form screenplay, Grow Old With Me, has been named a finalist in the Imaginarium film festival screenplay competition. I am told that there were more entries this year than they’ve ever had, and I am truly honored to be among the finalists.
The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name that appeared in my second collection, Moonlight Sonata. It’s a bit of a departure – still speculative fiction, but it’s a quieter, more melancholy piece that works almost like a frame story, wherein the central character is not necessarily the protagonist. It was an interesting challenge to translate it to film.
This is the third screenplay that has been honored as a finalist at a competition, and I’m really encouraged by the success in this medium, even as unproduced screenplays are a dime a thousand.
The Imaginarium Film Festival will take place July 18-20 in Louisville, Ky. I’ll be there teaching three workshops: my ongoing seminar on book banning in the U.S., a workshop on building writing habits that stick, and “Death, Taxes and Freelancing,” which I’ve done annually for the Eville Writers to help new writers learn to manage the money part of being a freelance writer.
If you’re in the vicinity, I hope you’ll come by and say hello! When I’m not in panels or workshops, I’ll be at the Literary Underworld table. See you in Louisville!
It’s that time of year where we’re supposed to collect our clips and turn them in for the awards. I am a freelancer, so there aren’t that many possibilities, but as I was going through my clips, I found a few I really liked from my work .
Battle of Virden revisited on Miners Day (11.11.24). I end up in Mt. Olive at least a couple of times a year, as it hosts a union memorial to Mother Jones and remembers the Virden massacre each year. it’s a little corner of history few people think of, to remember when a work stoppage didn’t mean inconveniences of health insurance, but actually meant you could be murdered by your employer’s hired security and there were no conseqences.
Illinois and Missouri have vastly different approaches to child labor (8.5.24). While Illinois law has a number of requirements and limitations to protect children from being exploited, Missouri was considering a bill to eliminate child work permits entirely, which would leave child labor laws at the bare minimum required by federal regulations.
DNC chair candidates make their case to Labor (1.15.25). The candidates for chair of the Democratic Party mulled what went wrong in 2024 and what they believe the DNC’s focus should be going forward. Spoilers: Ken Martin won.
Steve Nonn, stalwart union supporter, set to retire (11.4.24). Pro-union public officials retire all the time, but Nonn was a lifer – he did a whole career in law enforcement, retired, and then came back as coroner and did another couple of decades instead of fishing.
Unions call for Illinois to fix Tier 2 pension (10.7.24). This one focused on a couple who both teach a few doors apart from each other, but one will retire earlier with a much larger pension simply because they changed the pensions plans before the other was hired – and it may violate federal law.
I’m really enjoying my work covering Labor and its issues, not only for the work itself, but that it keeps me working actively in journalism while I continue to teach it. I feel strongly that we need to stay on top of the changes in the industry and how it works if we’re going to teach students how to do this – we can’t teach them how it worked in 2010 or 1995 if we expect them to be ready for the hellacious media landscape of 2026 and beyond. As I’ll be teaching newswriting again in the fall, I’m looking forward to revisiting my lessons once again, and hopefully suckering another group of students into the awesomeness that is journalism.
In what might be the silliest idea yet to protect young people from acknowledging the existence of sex, Corpus Christi, Texas has created two separate sections of its library: One for teens, as in ages 13-18, and another for “young adults,” for books appropriate for ages 18-25.
Many of the book-banning activists believe that these kinds of “leveled” cards are still censorship, as well as a significant liability: it takes the responsibility for curating a child’s reading away from the parents and places it on the library, which then can be held accountable in this idiotic age for what sneaks through. Heaven forfend parents be involved enough to know what their kids are reading.
But the ludicrousness of telling an adult of 25 that they are too young and naive to read a book about a family with two mommies, or that acknowledges the existence of sex, absolutely amazes me. Folks, by the time I was 25 years old I’d been through high school and college, gotten married, started my journalism career and had a baby. I knew what sex was, and had covered trials for stuff too gnarly to describe in the newspaper, much less a children’s book. What do you think you’re protecting me from?
In other news from the Worst Timeline:
Residents of Huntington Beach, Calif. will actually vote on book banning later this year. One of the measures repeals the “advisory board” that basically serves as the library’s censor, and the other decides the future of privatizing the libraries. (Me personally? Not a big fan of privatizing libraries, and I think there’s a whole column to be written on how that’s a Very Bad Thing.)
Book bans this week hit Rutherford County, Ten.; Radnor High School in Pennsylvania; Ohio, Indiana, Florida (always), Virginia, Wyoming, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado and Utah. And Canada. What? Come on, Canada, we count on you to be the voice of sanity in this hemisphere!
Oh, about Utah? It’s got one of the strictest book-ban laws, which ban certain books statewide (so much for local control). This despite the fact that there are 42 public school districts but only two of those districts account for 80 percent of books banned. Also, it’s not just banning the books from being provided by the school. Students may not bring their own copies of really subversive material like Forever by Judy Blume into the building. Oh, and it doesn’t apply to private schools. Because reasons.
Missouri wants to allow parents to sue library board members if their children are able to access something they find offensive. That includes online electronic materials, which are managed by a third-party vendor, so they’d probably have to stop using those materials at all because the content curation wouldn’t be within the library’s control.
Turns out the people trying to cut off all funding to the Washoe County Library in Nevada was… wait for it… an anti-LGBTQ group.
The Pennfield Central School District in New York has been deluged with hundreds of messages that include racist, homophobic threats. This follows a meeting over a picture book they deemed explicit. The racists showed up in force, including one in a gorilla costume. Board meetings have had to be canceled due to the violent threats. Someone explain to me what the @#$! is going on? (Intended language censored so a guy in a gorilla suit doesn’t show up on my front porch.)
On the good news side, Authors Guild has created a free-access tracker for all the ongoing legislative nonsense and other attacks on free expression. They’re also suing Florida in court on the constitutionality of its book ban “don’t say gay” law.
And PEN America has issued an extensive “Cover to Cover” report on the books banned last year, with predictable findings: 36 percent featured authors or characters of color (even though children of color comprise more than 50 percent of U.S. schoolchildren), 24 percent LGBTQ people. When you limit it to graphic novels, the percentage goes up to 73 percent. Only 13 percent have “onscreen” depictions of sexual acts. About 85 percent are fiction. More than half are “young adult” as opposed to children’s or middle-grade books, and 32 percent are adult books. Nearly 30 percent are speculative fiction, second only to “realistic” books at 40 percent. About 43 percent depict abuse, mostly verbal with only 15 percent sexual. About 14 percent had religious content, ranging from The Purim Superhero to When You Trap a Tiger to, of course, the Bible.
And in the most unintentionally hilarious choice, Indiana is going after Dolly Parton. Specifically, her Imagination Library, which puts books in the hands of young children. The state of Indiana has now decided to stop supporting the program, to which it contributed $6 million per year, or 0.013 percent of the state budget. That serves about 60,000 Indiana children per year. Apparently more people have called their state legislators about this than any other budget cut this year.
I’m happy to share that the St. Louis Writers Guild anthology, Weird STL, is now live on Amazon and in my personal shop! This anthology includes some creepy, unusual, slipstream or downright WEIRD stories by the funky members of the Guild, including yours truly.
Weird STL, by the St. Louis Writers Guild
I want to make it clear: My story is not a COVID story. It was written two weeks before the pandemic hit, and then became painfully prescient when the virus spread. But I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.
The ebook anthology can be purchased via Big River here. If, however, you would like the paper version, I hope you’ll consider ordering it directly from me here. You can opt to have it autographed! The copies have just arrived, and I have to say, I’m really pleased with how it came out.
You know what’s fun? Spending an hour writing your newsletter copy, only for a glitch to eat the whole thing. That kind of fits with how things are going these days, doesn’t it? Pretty WEIRD…
I know the world is burning down and reading your Facebook feed is enough to leave you hyperventilating into a paper bag, but… okay, there really isn’t a “but” there. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?
Suffice to say that here at Donald Media Towers, the semester has begun without too much trauma, things are starting to pick up on the fiction front, and at the moment I am still breathing and ambulatory, which is about all that one can expect these days. Here’s to better news next month?
One thing already underway: I am participating in the easiest fundraiser ever. The American Cancer Society is hosting Read Every Day in February, and what do you know? I already read every day! I’ll be posting updates on ElizabethDonald.com, and you can donate to my fundraiser here.
Also note that I had a free article on the Patreon this week, as I have about twice as many free followers as paid on Patreon. You get SO much more content for only $1 a month, and I hope you’ll consider subscribing! Here’s the free photo essay: what’s with the gargoyles?
Publicity/Appearances
Usually I take January off for public appearances, for a tiny little breath of sanity before I start living out of a suitcase again. I broke precedent to add the Books and Brews Market in January, and it was probably the best one-day signing I’ve had in a decade. Many thanks to the Old Bakery Beer Co. in Alton, Ill. for hosting me and the other authors for a terrific day of bookselling and beer drinking.
Coming up this month is Conflation, which is always one of my favorite cons and cozy enough that it’s pretty much a family reunion. I’ve been asked to speak on the topic of book banning, which is not only very timely, but one of my favorite soapboxes. Following in March is Writers of the Riverbend, followed by Midsouthcon in Memphis and then AWP in Los Angeles, all in one month! So if I look a little frazzled by April, you know why. What time zone am I in anyway?
As you can see below, bookings for 2025 are starting to swarm. I am open to speaking engagements and conventions, but I book well in advance, so if you want me to come to your library, book club, literary festival or convention, contact kyates@donaldmedia.com.
2025 calendar: • Books and Brews, Alton, Ill. Jan. 18 • Conflation, St. Louis, Mo. Feb. 21-23 • Writers of the Riverbend, Alton, Ill. March 8 (tent.) • Midsouthcon, Memphis, Tenn. March 21-23 • AWP Los Angeles, March 26-30 • SPJ Regional Conference, Milwaukee, April 11-13 (tent.) • ConCarolinas, Charlotte, N.C. May 30-June 1 (tent.) • Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. July 18-20 • Dragoncon, Atlanta, Ga. Aug. 28-Sept. 2 • Archon, Collinsville, Ill. Oct. 3-5 • SPJ Conference, Washington, D.C. Oct. 15-18 (tent.)
Journalism
• Nippon acquisition of U.S. Steel sent to Biden to decide (Labor Tribune) • President Biden blocks sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon (Labor Tribune) • Illinois completes minimum wage increase and other pro-worker laws taking effect (Labor Tribune) • Illinois unions call for Day of Action on pensions (Labor Tribune) • Daughter of union activist honored with MLK award (Labor Tribune) • Illinois task force releases recommendations on warehouse safety (Labor Tribune) • Hoffman pushes pro-Labor bills aimed at securing higher worker wages (Labor Tribune) • Madison County Federation of Labor elects new board for 2025 (Labor Tribune) • DNC national chair candidates make their case to Labor (Labor Tribune) • Nippon, U.S. Steel file suit over blocked sale (Labor Tribune) • Union bellringers raise $8,000 for Salvation Army (Labor Tribune) • Madison County Federation of Labor, SWIL Labor Council celebrate holidays (Labor Tribune)
Note: Not all articles are available online, and some may be behind paywalls. Fiction
I’m happy to announce that one of my creepy short stories is being reprinted in Weird STL, an anthology coming out later this month from the St. Louis Writers Guild. (You knew there was a reason for all the WEIRD, right?) This story has only appeared in River Bluff Review, and I’m looking forward to seeing it in print again. Hopefully by the next newsletter, I should have copies in hand and will be able to offer them on the online store and through Literary Underworld.
Elsewhere, work is proceeding on Blackfire Rising, and I think you guys are really going to enjoy returning to the Blackfire world. It certainly was a lot of fun for me, and I’m looking forward to my first release with Falstaff Books. More will be posted on the blog and social media once I have a cover. So far we seem to be on track to release at Midsouthcon, with preorders launching in advance.
Also, I participated in Authors Against Book Bans’ #UniteAgainstBookBans, reading a banned book in a bookstore. I wore my T-shirt that reads, “I survived reading banned books and all I got was smarter,” in a Barnes and Noble while reading Little Women.
Patreon/Medium/Blogs
Did you know that Patreon subscribers not only get at least one free ebook a year, but you get a 10 percent discount from me and The Literary Underworld? For the latter, that applies to all books, not just mine! For a dollar a month, you really can’t beat it. Just be sure to remind us at the booth as we do not have the subscriber list memorized. If you’re not a subscriber, the base level is $1 a month! You should totally join.
Currently on the nightstand: Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance and Revolution in Trump’s America is currently riding around in the office bag. At home it’s Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis, The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison, and on the Kindle is An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. Recently finished is Out There Screaming, which was the Jordan Peele anthology of new Black horror; as well as reviewing some excerpts from Carl Phillips’ excellent My Trade Is Mystery, which I’m using for my composition students this semester.
• Photography: Illinois winter fields (Patreon) • The Bernays House (Patreon) • Photography: Winter fields, again (Patreon) • Review: Leave the World Behind (Patreon) • Review: Out There Screaming (Patreon) • Dance with the page (Patreon) • Review: Nosferatu (Patreon)
Note: Patreon entries are indexed going back to its launch in 2018. I wanted new Patrons to be able to easily find the work that they’ve missed, and hopefully seeing how much work is on the Patreon might encourage some good folks to subscribe. Check out the index here.
Photography
Snow. Lots and lots of snow. What. I live in the Midwest, people. And my new commute has me driving through picturesque plains twice a week, so buckle in for snow, then spring fields, then amber waves of grain. This month’s pics are on Patreon at the links above, as well as a photo essay on a funky house in the town of my new employer.
Almost all of the images in the galleries are available for purchase, so if you see something you like that isn’t in the store, email kyates@donaldmedia.com and we’ll get you a quote. A few might not be available for purchase due to copyright issues.
Did you see this newsletter on my blog or Patreon and not in your inbox? Are you not subscribed to my monthly newsletter? For shame! You’re missing discounts and Photo of the Month and more! Sign up here, it’s free and I am way too disorganized to spam you.
Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. — Samuel Clemens
Remember when I said I greatly regretted taking on such a huge class overload for the fall? Well, it pretty much ate me for the last two months of 2024, and one of the things that fell through the cracks was this newsletter. So hello! I’m still alive, I survived the Semester of Too Many, and still wrote a few things (though not nearly enough!).
As I write this, the new year is only a couple of days old and I haven’t managed to screw up my spreadsheets yet. I am slated to begin teaching again in a week or two, but only six classes this time. I’ve added a new college to my lineup of coffee mugs: McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill. I’ll continue teaching at St. Louis Community College and at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. While I won’t be back at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville this spring, I’m still on the list and hope to return in the future.
I like New Year. It’s not up there with Thanksgiving or Christmas and certainly not with Halloween, but the idea of a fresh start appeals to me. We clear out the detritus and excess of the holidays in favor of a clean start, with new goals and renewed sense of purpose. I say this as I sit at the Desk of Endless Tasks (tm Allan Gilbreath) heavily loaded with paperwork, but I plan to hammer through it and go about the business of getting life back in order and organized after the craziness of the last few months.
Hush, let me hold on to my delusions.
One of the things that marks the turn of the year for me is the annual Hanukwanyulemas gathering of my long-running writers’ group, the Eville Writers. We get together between Christmas and New Year to socialize without our laptops for once, and to check in on our Writers Resolutions. We get to read last year’s list, have a good little laugh, and then write new goals for the new year, with fresh intent and holding each other accountable.
My list this year pretty much looks like last year’s list, to my regret. I had a very ambitious list of projects, and with the unemployment circus, the fall semester marathon, an ugly car crash (everyone is fine) and assorted other personal nonsense, most of them did not get done. If I have a real resolution, it’s to stop rolling over project after project from year to year, assuming that I’ll get to it when I have time. You could roll that thing you always meant to do year to year forever, but eventually you run out of next times, folks.
As Mr. Eliot says in this month’s header: To make an end is to make a beginning. What can we do this year to make the world a little brighter, a little warmer, a little more beautiful? What can I do?
Let’s find out, shall we?
Publicity/Appearances
Whew! When we left off, Contra was pending in Kansas City on Oct. 25-27. I got to run my mouth about book banning and the First Amendment, and while the hotel was decidedly unfriendly with many problems, the wonderful people of ContraKC made it all work and we had a fantastic time. I also appeared at a spooky gathering of authors in Granite City, Ill. hosted by the Six Mile Regional Library District, and read a short segment on stage, just like my old theater days.
There was also a side trip to Chicago for a few days with the Husbeast, but that was to celebrate our tenth (!!!) anniversary. Of course, I also took photos, so that is a future post on Patreon waiting to happen. We live only four hours from Chicago and this was the first time we’d managed to get up there except for a weekend con mumblety years ago, and you know how it is: when we do a convention, we rarely manage to leave the hotel. It was great to see Chicago again, and I couldn’t help myself: I am now a member of the American Writers Museum, which you should totally visit when next you are in the Windy City. We also did a bungee trip to Kansas City for the Disney 100th Anniversary Exhibition, because of course we did, and that will also be pending on the Patreon.
Finally, I enjoyed the holiday author fair hosted by the Hayner Public Library in Alton, Ill. in December. Many thanks to the good library folks for organizing the signing, which was my second appearance at this annual event.
Added to the schedule: I’m delighted that the proposal for a caucus panel on adjunct teaching was accepted for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference for next spring. This will be my third AWP and my first as a presenter, and I am so glad to be able to participate, especially as an academic. It also means a trip to Los Angeles in March, which is always a fun time and a healthy dose of nostalgia for me, as many of my family lived there when I was young.
Also added: Books and Brews Market will take place 11:30-3:30 on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Old Bakery Beer Co. in Alton, Ill. Authors and alcohol, what could possibly go wrong? I’m delighted to join this event and hope to see you there! I’m also delighted to announce that I’ve been accepted once again at Dragoncon, so I’m returning to the annual crazy once more.
As you can see below, bookings for 2025 are starting to swarm. I am open to speaking engagements and conventions, but I book well in advance, so if you want me to come to your library, book club, literary festival or convention, contact kyates@donaldmedia.com.
2025 calendar: • Books and Brews, Alton, Ill. Jan. 18 • Conflation, St. Louis, Mo. Feb. 21-23 • Writers of the Riverbend, Alton, Ill. March 8 (tent.) • Midsouthcon, Memphis, Tenn. March 21-23 • AWP Los Angeles, March 26-30 • SPJ Regional Conference, Milwaukee, April 11-13 (tent.) • ConCarolinas, Charlotte, N.C. May 30-June 1 (tent.) • Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. July 18-20 • Archon, Collinsville, Ill. Oct. 3-5 • SPJ Conference, Washington, D.C. Oct. 15-18 (tent.)
Journalism
So… I won a journalism award. The International Labor Press Association honored the St. Louis Labor Tribune with three national awards, and one of them went to me: best news analysis, second place. It was a piece looking at the significant gains labor has made in the last few years with more than 139,000 new members, and yet the union density in the American workforce remains relatively low compared to its historical numbers. Honestly, as a freelancer I rarely see my work submitted for awards, so it was a pleasant surprise to snag one, and for the acknowledgement of the work I’m getting to do at the Labor Tribune.
• Steelworkers: Nippon offers bribes to workers to support U.S. Steel purchase (Labor Tribune) • Budzinski blasts proposed USPS changes (Labor Tribune) • Higher education unions make the grade with Labor actions (Labor Tribune) • Union leaders call on Congress to support Social Security Fairness Act (Labor Tribune) • A hard Election Night for Democrats didn’t leave Illinois untouched (Labor Tribune) • Battle of Virden revisited in Miners Day program (Labor Tribune) • Senators ask hard questions about ‘golden parachutes’ tied to Nippon acquisition (Labor Tribune) • Steve Nonn retires after 50 years of labor support and county leadership (Labor Tribune) • Town hall focuses on fixing Illinois’ Tier 2 pensions (Labor Tribune) • Steelworkers remain adamant against sale of U.S. Steel (Labor Tribune) • Illinois sees highest union gains in a decade (Labor Tribune)
Note: Not all articles are available online, and some may be behind paywalls.
Fiction
All quiet on this as we are deep in edits for Blackfire Rising, which is coming in March from Falstaff Books! I’m really enjoying revisiting my Blackfire crew, especially Major Sara Harvey, who is ready to rise up and kick ass yet again. Look for a lot more on this as we get closer to release!
Patreon/Medium/Blogs
Did you know that Patreon subscribers not only get at least one free ebook a year, but you get a 10 percent discount from me and The Literary Underworld? For the latter, that applies to all books, not just mine! For a dollar a month, you really can’t beat it. Just be sure to remind us at the booth as we do not have the subscriber list memorized. If you’re not a subscriber, the base level is $1 a month! You should totally join.
I’m going to try to get more book and movie reviews up on the various sites, as I neglected that part for much of 2024 and I went hunting for my reviews that didn’t exist. I’m reading more of a mix of literary and creative nonfiction these days, but I’m still finding space for my critters that go chomp in the night. As I look at my Goodreads list, roughly half were nonfiction or literary fiction, which is a first for me.
Currently on the nightstand: Out There Screaming, a terrific anthology of Black horror fiction edited by Jordan Peele and starring such amazing writers as Maurice Broaddus, Dr. Chesya Burke, TananariveDue, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse and others. So far I’m loving it. Recently finished were “When You Leave I Disappear,” a novella by David Niall Wilson; Black Ink: Literary Legends on the Peril, Power and Pleasure of Reading and Writing edited by Stephanie Stokes Oliver; The Untold Story of Books by Michael Castleman; and I did not finish The Last Juror by John Grisham, a rare miss for me.
• So long 2024, and good riddance (Donald Media) • And that’s a wrap for 2024 (Patreon, with book/film reviews) • Happy holidays, wonderful Patrons (Patreon) • A parable from Petunia Pigthighs (Elizabeth Donald) • Standing in the sky (Patreon) • Spoiler alert (Patreon) • Poem: Time to Work (Patreon) • In which Elizabeth wins an award… (Donald Media) • How to survive a horror movie: 2024 edition (Medium) • Quote: Jarek Steele (Patreon) • Review: My Trade is Mystery by Carl Phillips (Patreon) • True or False (Patreon) • St. Andrew’s to hold book fair (Edwardsville Intelligencer)
Note: Patreon entries are indexed going back to its launch in 2018. I wanted new Patrons to be able to easily find the work that they’ve missed, and hopefully seeing how much work is on the Patreon might encourage some good folks to subscribe. (Hint, hint.) Seriously, subscriptions start at $1 a month, and I truly believe some of the best work I’ve ever done is on the Patreon. Check out the index here.
Photography
Photo shoots ranged all over, from Miner’s Day and Election Night to shoots in Chicago and Kansas City. All of them pending at Patreon, once I get my act together! (Hush, you in the back.) The website is sorely in need of updating, and that will be happening soon. Ish.
Almost all of the images in the galleries are available for purchase, so if you see something you like that isn’t in the store, email kyates@donaldmedia.com and we’ll get you a quote. A few might not be available for purchase due to copyright issues.
Photograph of the Month
Some of the classic books that served as inspiration for Disney movies over the years, from the Disney 100 exhibition in Kansas City.
That’s it for this month’s newsletter! Let’s all get back to what passes for normal, shall we?
Welcome to the final roundup of 2024, and it’s a mixed bag, to be sure. In a year where press freedom and the simple freedom to read met unprecedented setbacks, we should cling to whatever scraps of joy and hope we can find.
• PEN America reported that more than 10,000 titles were removed from libraries and schools this year, which is more than three times the number last year, and about 80 percent were in Florida and Iowa.
• Whee! A federal judge struck down the Arkansas law that would have sent librarians and booksellers to jail for recommending books to minors. Anyone could have objected to any book for any reason and criminal charges would be filed.
• Louisiana’s bill that would criminalize librarians joining the American Library Association did not pass, but several states and local governments have banned the organization, which would have seemed like the least controversial organization in America ten years ago. Kelly Jensen has a comprehensive roundup of pending legislation.
• Elizabeth, Colo. leaders have decided to ban … wait for it… books about race, gender and mental health, and are now being sued by the ACLU.
• Libraries in Crawford County, Ark. and Liberty Lakes, Wash. are now desperately trying to stay open because book-banners are going after their funding. If you don’t ban the books we want, we’ll shut you down! Totally not censorship.
• Current banning efforts are underway in Cincinnati, South Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and others. The list is shorter than usual because, well, school is out.
• In non-banning news: LitHub detailed the 50 biggest literary stories of 2024, and while some of them are silly (Nicholas Sparks adding Splenda to potato salad, which frankly seems on point for him), others are barnburners. Romance Writers of America filed for bankruptcy. New York City Public Library survived its funding attack. Stanford fired its entire creative writing program over Zoom. Authors who got canceled included Joe Arden, Neil Gaiman, and posthumous Alice Munro for various misdeeds. An Olympic boxer sued J.K. Rowling for being a jerk. AI continued to destroy life as we know it.
LitHub also had one of its most popular articles of the year: Ursula K. Le Guin on how to become a writer. (Step one: write.)
• And incoming President Trump sued the Des Moines Register for reporting that a poll indicated he might lose Iowa, and also sued 60 Minutes for … interviewing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Obviously we’ve all had better years. So grab onto that little scrap of joy, even if it’s just a really spectacular cookie, and enjoy it while you can, folks. I’ll see you on the flip side.
