I have a little short story in this anthology from Flame Tree Publishing! My story "Stardust" is about a sexbot with a heart of fire who finds her way out of a complicated relationship with a cop . . . all set in the future and with a 20s nostalgia feel. 

Pre-order your copy from Amazon or from Flame Tree! Books ship in September/November. 

My chapbook is featured today with a review at MookyChick! Thanks to Chloë Moloney for writing about my chapbook: 

"Holly Lyn Walrath’s Glimmerglass Girl is a delicate yet prevailing portrayal of womanhood in the twenty-first century. With a voracious appetite for the world, Walrath invites the reader to explore and honour femininity in all its glory..."

Read the full review
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I was interviewed by the Literary Librarian about my new chapbook, Glimmerglass Girl! 

"My writing routine changes all the time because my schedule as a freelance editor is constantly shifting. On a good writing day, I sit down to read on my patio and get some inspiration from books I love. Then I’ll write for an hour or so, sometimes working from prompts or just playing around. There are times where I write every day, but for the most part I have to take the time for my work. It’s not easy to juggle all the demands of the world. I also like to play with writing every day in NaPoWriMo and NaNoWriMo..."

...Read more!
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What's this? Glimmerglass Girl is available for download on NetGalley! If you're a reviewer, bookstore, blogger, or other VIP please consider downloading a copy to review! (Note: Only available until November!) 

My book is also on Goodreads now!

Hey y'all! I have a new poem up at the Ekphrastic Review. It is an excerpt from my chapbook, Glimmerglass Girl. 

This poem is called "Anvil Crawler" and it is an art response poem to a piece of art by John Bernhard, a local Houston artist. I got to go see him yesterday and pick up my copy of the book Dreamlike Art & Deviations (Isn't it gorgeous?) which is now available on Amazon. John and I have worked together for several years now as part of his magazine, ArtHouston. So it was lovely to see him, the book, and his exhibition at the Art Car Museum in Houston. 

I love collaborating with artists like this, and you'll notice that many of the poems in my chapbook are ekphrastic or pieces that are paired with artwork. There's just something moving to me about putting words and art together. 

We weren't able to include John's artwork in the chapbook because it's full color and I didn't want to diminish the work by transferring it to black and white. As you can see, the color really makes a difference. However, I'm still glad that this piece appears in my book and it was a delightful experience working with John. 

Anywho, go read the poem! 

Here's my schedule for Comicpalooza 2018! 

The Uncanny Valley in Fiction: Writing the Nearly Human
Friday, May 25
3:30-4:30pm - 370D
Evoking the uncanny, as understood by Housman and Freud, is one of the most evocative ways to add a skin-crawling sense of horror to your fiction. This panel will focus on how the uncanny works, what its roots and motifs are, and how to use it. Examples will include works by Neil Gaiman, Salvador Dali, Susan Cooper and David Lynch.

Poetry of the Imagination: Offsite Reading
Friday, May 25
7:00-9:00pm - Kaboom Books
3116 Houston Avenue
Houston, TX 77009

2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Join SFPA President Bryan Thao Worra, along with Houston residents Holly Walrath (author of Glimmerglass Girl), Saba Razvi (author of Of the Divining and the Dead), T. Haven Morse (Flooded By, Beam Me Up Yoda), Kate Pentecost (Elysium Girls), and Deborah L. Davitt (Ave, Caesarion), along with Dallas-area poets Michelle Muenzler (The Hills of Meat, the Forest of Bone) and Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Strange Monsters), and Iowa poet Karen Bovenmeyer (Swift for the Sun) for an evening of speculative poetry. 

This event is FREE and open to the public! 

Character Springboard Workshop
Saturday, May 26
1:30-3:00pm - 370E
Drawing from popular television, movies, and books, this workshop explores how to create in-depth characters in your novels and short fiction. Feel free to bring a piece you are working on, or start something new using exercises from the workshop.​

Writing Violence in Speculative Fiction
Saturday, May 26
3:30-4:00pm - 370F
Good writing involves conflict, and conflict can involve violence. How do writers create violent scenes effectively without sacrificing world building and characterization? When is the hint of violence scarier, and more effective, than a fully realized attack or battle? Should violence be handled differently for different audiences (such as YA and senior citizens)? Does the current international political and military climate affect the way that writers shape violent scenes? Our panel will discuss these crucial questions for the genre writer.

Speculative Poetry Deathmatch! 
Saturday, May 26
4:30-5:30pm - 370E
Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights.
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I have a new post up at Curious Fictions, an essay on writing flash fiction. Subscribers also get a free eBook of my story "Mermaid Hunt." 

Curious Fictions is a website similar to Patreon where I post occasional content, essays, and other random stuff. 

Below is a list of events I'll be participating in this year! Hope to see you around. Please come say hi - I love meeting other writers. 

May: 
Comicpalooza (Panelist and hosting the SFPA Poetry reading May 25th)

June: 
I'm the 2018 SFPA Contest chair. Submissions open June 1! 
June 26, 6:30pm: Reading Fix Coffee Bar hosted by Mike Alexander

July: 
Readercon (Panelist) 

August: 
Flash Fiction Retreat Breckenridge
​August 22nd-September 12: Writespace Writing Life 101 Workshop
August 25: Writespace Poetry of the Fantastic Workshop

September: 
September 29: Reading, Art & Words Show hosted by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

Whew, deep breaths. I am really pleased to share with you some early reviews for my forthcoming chapbook, Glimmerglass Girl (Finishing Line Press 2018). It is so exciting (and a bit terrifying) to see that people are already engaging with this book. 

My chapbook was reviewed by VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts. This is such an honor, as VIDA is a very important organization working to expose gender parity issues in literary journals and the writing world. This is a mission that means a great deal to me so to have them review my work gives me a lot of feels. Read it here. 

My chapbook was also reviewed by two bloggers, Melissa Jennings and Morgan Boyer. Thanks for the reviews fellow bloggers!

Yesterday I announced that Finishing Line Press will publish my first-ever chapbook of poems, GLIMMERGLASS GIRL this year. 

Y'all, I literally don't know how to process this. I've known since earlier this year, but I was waiting to announce until I sent off my contract. Then the I realized that I had to get all my materials in for the book by March 15! So I've been busy working on that. The responses to my announcement have blown me away. Thank you to everyone who has left me a kind thought and shown their excitement in my work. 

It's so strange, I never really thought I would be a person to publish a book. I sent GG off to FLP on a whim. I thought, I wonder if I can make a chapbook. I chose some older poems that seemed to fit into a theme and create a narrative and was very much surprised when my acceptance came back. Guess I learned my lesson. 

Perhaps the weirdest feeling is resurrecting these poems. Some of them are from as far back as 2013 and before. In fact, I distinctly remember writing one of them in college. It's almost like resurrecting a ghost of myself, the ghost of a young woman who I feel somewhat distant from. Revising and prepping the manuscript has reminded me about that person who I was. 

Glimmerglass Girl is a negotiation of the world of women as other. It is about womanhood, but that exploration is merely through my own lens. My Glimmerglass Girl asks no questions, she flits through the fairy-tale world on broken bottle glass. I hope you will take her gently into your hands.

I have more news and updates about Glimmerglass Girl coming your way soon, including a preview of the stellar and weird cover, awesome pre-order bonus gifts, and more, but for now, please join me in celebrating this exciting new adventure!

I have a new post at Curious Fictions for my subscribers: "Subscribers Preview: The Joy of Baking Audio & EBooks." 

This next week I'll be announcing the contents of this post to the world at large. Stay tuned for some exciting news! 

Whew, this month is full of updates! 

I've started a new Instagram account. I decided that I wanted to start posting more poetry online and this is a way for me to do that. I'll be posting excerpts of my poetry as I'm working on it. 

Basically, I've had a personal Instagram for years but never really did much with it but post cat pictures. :) Now I have a poetry-only dedicated account for you to follow.

I hope to see you there! 

     All that is gold does not glitter,
     Not all those who wander are lost;
     The old that is strong does not wither,
     Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
               --J.R.R. Tolkien

I've got a new subscriber-only post at Curious Fictions about Tolkien, managing your career as a writer, and basically launching my new and exciting stuff for 2018! Read it here. 

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I'm now posting subscriber-only content and reprints of my pro-market stories at Curious Fictions. 

Similar to Patreon, Curious Fictions is an invite-only platform where professional authors can sign up and create profile pages, publish their newsletters and story reprints, and start accepting payments from their followers. 

If you like what I'm doing and want to support me, this is your chance. Subscribe below for just $1 a month and receive exclusive content: reprinted stories and special blog posts. 

I'll be attending Illogicon January 12-14th in Raleigh this year. I'd love to meet you if you'll be there!

As the end of the year draws to a close, I'd like to share with you the works I published in 2017 that I'm proud of. 2017 was a great year for me and I'm so grateful to the editors who have taken my work under their wings. I wrote a lot more experimental poetry this year, which people seem to enjoy, and I published my first full-length story, which was pretty exciting to me. 

If you've read my work or nominated it in the past, I am truly truly thankful. I couldn't get by without the support of my amazing writer friends and the writing community as a whole. 

• "Confessions of a Supermassive Black Hole" (Short Poem, Dwarf Stars Eligible) in Grievous Angel, October 12, 2017 
• "We Have Always Lived" (Short poem) in Nonbinary Review, Issue#15 (November)*
• "Anvil Crawler" (Short poem) in ARTHouston Magazine, Issue#5, Sept. 2017 
• "The Hearts of Robots" (Short poem) in Dreams & Nightmares Magazine, Sept 2017, Issue #107*
• "​Lace at the Throat" (Short poem, Dwarf Star Eligible) in 2017 SFPA Poetry Contest.
• "How I Lost My Chastity" (Short poem) in Liminality Magazine, Issue #13, Autumn 2017
• "Dear Shotgun City" (Short poem) in Eye to the Telescope, Issue 25: July 2017, Theme: Garbage
• ​"My City of Ruin" (Short poem) in Mithila Review, Issue 8, April, 2017
• "Lunar Girl Drinks Poetry from the Stars" (Short poem) in Mithila Review, Issue 8, April, 2017
• "Grayslick" (Short poem) in By & By Poetry, Issue 7
• "Spring Will Come Again" (Short poem) in Abyss & Apex, Issue 62: 2nd Quarter 2017)
• "Pine Song, Robin Song, Star Song" (Short poem) in Liminality, Issue #11: Spring 2017
• "Madness" (Short poem) in Crab Fat Magazine, March 2017
• "Ship of Jinn" (Short poem) in Kaleidotrope, Winter 2017

Long Poems:

• "Bird House" (Long poem) in ​Strange Horizons, August 7, 2017
• "Reflection" (Long poem) in Mithila Review, Issue 8, April, 2017

*Poems noted with an asterisk are not available online. If you'd like a copy, email me.

​While I didn't publish anything that was specifically eligible for a fiction award, I still want to share my story, The Joy of Baking, which appeared in Luna Station Quarterly  (Issue 030, July 2017).

It’s amazing how much easier it is to bake a cake when you’ve got an eternity to get it right. The secret to effective baking is patience, followed by the ability to fold the batter with a metal spoon instead of rushing in with a wooden spoon like a hammer. The folding in must be gentle so as not to break the hard-earned bubbles of air. Lastly, a baker must have the willingness to guard the oven, your feet cold on the tile, letting the warm scents of butter and vanilla envelop you and seep into the whole house, holding your breath while the batter rises, goldens, and browns slightly at the edges... read more

For a full list of publications go here. 

I have a few events I'll be participating in coming up, so here's where you can find me in the next couple of months. (I'll update this as new dates arise.) 

• I'll be volunteering at Writespace's Writer's Family Reunion, Saturday, September 9th. 
• One of my poems will be showcased at the Art & Words Show in Fort Worth, Saturday, October 7th. 
• I'm attending World Fantasy Con, November 2-5. 
• I'm a guest at Illogicon, January 12-14, 2018 in Raleigh, N.C. 

​See you soon friends!

I'll be attending Comicpalooza this year as a guest of the literary track. Here's a list of the panels, workshops, and Q + A's on which I'll be presenting. I'm particularly excited to get to chat with Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy. 

Also, a little plug for my world-building workshop: There are still seats! If you attend Comicpalooza you can attend this workshop for free. I've been cooking up some fun anti-worldbuilding ideas to help you think about this from a new angle in your writing. See you there!

​2:30 - 4:00pm – Creative Community – Finding Your Tribe
They say it’s lonely at the top – but it’s pretty solitary down at the bottom too. Wherever you are in your creative career, the war against isolation, anxiety and self-doubt is never-ending. The good news is, you don’t have to go it alone. Let’s talk about joining, creating and/or maintaining a creative support system that will help you go the distance.
 
4:00 – 5:00pm – Speculative Poetry Death Match
Join us for an entertaining and interactive panel on science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry. Learn a little about speculative poetry, hear poets read some of their works, and then participate in a lyrical death-match, in which you, the audience, decide which poet walks away with a tinfoil crown and bragging rights.

​11:30 - 1:00pm – Worldbuilding Workshop
Drawing from popular television, movies and books, this workshop explores how to create in-depth worlds in your novels and short fiction. Feel free to bring a piece you are working on, or start something new using exercises from the workshop (Saturday, 11:30 am).  Sign up and submit your work by emailing literature@comicpalooza.com
 
1:00 – 2:00pm – Boredom-Proofing Your Story
If too little is happening, your readers get bored. If too much is going on, they'll be confused. The art of crafting an irresistible page-turner lies in skillfully walking that narrow line - and we're going to talk about how to do exactly that.
 
4:00 - 5:00pm – Lev Grossman Q & A
Lev Grossman is the author of five novels including the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy, which has been published in 25 countries and is now an hour-long drama on the Syfy channel. The Magicians books have been praised by, among others, George R.R. Martin, Audrey Niffenegger, William Gibson, Kelly Link, John Green and Joe Hill. Grossman spent 15 years as a staff writer at Time magazine, where he served as the book critic and lead technology writer and wrote more than 20 cover stories. He has also written essays on culture and technology for Salon, Slate, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Lingua Franca, the Week, the Village Voice and the Believer, among many others. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and three children.

4:00-5:00pm – Wordsmith for Hire: All About Freelance Writing
Tired of writing as a hobby? Ready to turn your keyboard into a moneymaker? You can – but it’s not as easy as hanging out a “for hire” sign. In this panel, we’ll examine the different types of freelance writing, where and how to find work, and what you need to know to make yourself attractive to potential clients.

The following poems are Rhysling Awards Eligible: 

​For my full publication history, click here. 

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Hello fellow writers of the weird! I have an announcement!

​​I've decided to start a newsletter for other writers of weird things! Starting October 1st 2016, I'll be sending out a monthly circular full of all kinds of things weird writers like, including but not limited to: Places to submit your bizarre-ass writings, delineated by paid/unpaid markets and with helpful tips for submitting, weird images and inspirations, outlandish writing-related news from the web, kooky prompts, revising tips, and updates from your host, moi.

Most of you know me, but if you don't, I write weird things. I'm interested in intersectional works and crossovers, so I'll cover speculative markets but also literary fiction and poetry too. I'm fascinated by weird images and news, so that might make it in the circular. Who knows, maybe I'll throw in one of my own poems too?

I know you can barely stand the anticipation, so scroll down to sign up! 

​And oh yes, I promise not to give away your email or use it for strange things like self-flagellation. Come on, I'm weird, but I'm not that weird. You're agreeing to receive one email a month and that's it! No freebies! (Ha. It's totally free.) 
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