Critter Notices
[It's Freebie Friday in the Critters Store...]
Critters is 30!
Last November, Critters turned 30 years old! Wow! Thanks so much to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!
FEATURED BOOK
Weekly Notes
Notes for 27-May-2026...
Helping the Critters fund drive as always...
THE WORLD IN GRANDFATHER'S HANDS by Craig Kee Strete - $2.99
ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1571
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B07178YYCC/?tag=critters3a-20
(available in ebook + paperback)
Eleven-year-old Jimmy is angry, lonely, and homesick. Since Mother moved them from the pueblo where they lived at one with the land, to Grandfather Whitefeather's house in the city after Father's death, Jimmy has been hemmed in by tall buildings, concrete, noisy neighbors, and unfriendly people. The worst part is that there doesn't seem to be a good reason for being here.
"Try to carry the pueblo with you everywhere you go," Grandfather advises. He explains strange things like automatic doors and keeping safe at night, and helps Jimmy find good things like ice cream and the smell of a freshly cut lawn. But Jimmy doesn't understand--or really want to know--how Grandfather can live here, or why Mother thinks it important for Jimmy to live here too. Why should he learn about the world outside the pueblo, when he's sure it will never be home?
In sensitive and eloquent language, Craig Kee Strete captures the desert's beauty and the city's bustling chaos, Jimmy's struggle to live in both worlds, and the hope he finds in Grandfather Whitefeather's gentle wisdom, Mother's courage, and the dreams that sustain them all.
"When you know too much about life as Indians live it, the sadness is somehow always there," says Craig Strete. But there is still what he calls "the heart and soul" of The World In Grandfather's Hands: "Hope which gives courage to look at the night and see things. And the power of dreams which brings day from night."
[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]
-+-
Thanks for the donations, folks! We are 25.5% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 61 donors, leaving about $5200 to go.
Thanks especially to
Philip Lindeman
Michael McCoy
Curt Larock
Sean Masters
for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!
Stats by month...
Jan: $749.29 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $166.29 for the month
Feb: $181.72 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $401.28 for the month
Mar: $191.13 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $391.87 for the month
Apr: $307.38 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $275.62 for the month
May: $354.94 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $228.06 for the month
=> short by $1130.54 of annual fund drive goal to date (and $2300 shortfall from last year)
[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]
-+-
Woohoo! Congratulations to...
- Edward Moore, who sold his short story, "The Unexpected Package"
to Flash Phantom. {This story may not have gone through the
Critter que, but the feedback I've received for past submissions
help me polish this story in a manner such that Flash Phantom
found it good enough to purchase.
}
Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.
-+-
This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 5 critiques (at time of judging), averaging over 500 words each, goes to...
mike mccoy
To redeem an MPC, visit: www.critters.org/usempc.ht
Congratulations! To everyone else -- Crit early and often!
(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)
-+-
Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Critters Workshop
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
Title Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 27-May-2026 (Crits due 3-Jun-2026):
SF The Peak of Eternal Sunlight, Chapters 1-4 [mpc] Mike McCoy -#32212
SF Star Racer, Chapter 2 Brian Sellnow -#32213
SF The Last Bean Jeff Abrams -#32214
SF Savage of Carev chapter 4 Matthew D Ross -#32215
H Count Your Fingers Edward Moore -#32216
F Hydra, Chapters 6-12 Dallas Nicholls -#32217
SF The Afterworld of Light-at-475-Nanometers F.B. Hughes -#32218
H Perpetuus Concordia Aryan Bollinger -#32219
SF Bullets and Brains Nicholas Driscoll -#32220
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended books on writing:
THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
ReAnimus Press Store: https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
Amazon: https://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI
STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8
EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
Because you might enjoy it... HELL'S PAVEMENT by DAMON KNIGHT
There's a voice in your brain...but its not yours!
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1671
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pieces up for critique in other workshops...
In the lit workshop - https://critique.org/lit :
L Trust Henry McFarland -#32148
In the mystery workshop - https://critique.org/mystery :
T The Legacy Program Chapets 1 & 2 M Paul Whelan -#32103
In the nonfiction workshop - https://critique.org/nonfiction :
NO Climate Risk: What Would Ben Franklin Do Brian Cady -#32172
In the script workshop - https://critique.org/script :
SC It Happened One Christmas Robert W. Ross -#31694
In the kids workshop - https://critique.org/kids :
YS The Adventures of Jack, The Rabbit Emmanuel Agyei-Boatey -#31578
In the western workshop - https://critique.org/western :
W Good Land for Dying Kristen Vanderhoof -#32003
In the romance workshop - https://critique.org/romance :
R Embermarked, Chapter 10-12 Natalie Kalinowski -#31927
In the photo workshop - https://critique.org/photo :
PH A Building By Kanda River Nattamon Montriwat -#32096
In the apps workshop - https://critique.org/apps :
GM Uptown Valkyries Arthur Sankey -#31757
In the website workshop - https://critique.org/website :
WW Lawrence Vernon's Website Lawrence Vernon -#32200
In the critters workshop - https://critique.org/critters :
SF The Peak of Eternal Sunlight, Chapters 1-4 [mpc] Mike McCoy -#32212
SF Star Racer, Chapter 2 Brian Sellnow -#32213
SF The Last Bean Jeff Abrams -#32214
SF Savage of Carev chapter 4 Matthew D Ross -#32215
H Count Your Fingers Edward Moore -#32216
F Hydra, Chapters 6-12 Dallas Nicholls -#32217
SF The Afterworld of Light-at-475-Nanometers F.B. Hughes -#32218
H Perpetuus Concordia Aryan Bollinger -#32219
SF Bullets and Brains Nicholas Driscoll -#32220
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You might also like... THE CRUSADES by ROBERT SILVERBERG
The story of the world history-changing wars between Christianity and Islam from a master writer.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1619
Standard notes:
HELP:
If you need help with anything, see https://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.
HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
https://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!
HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive). Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234. (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it. Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see https://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)
You may also send your critiques via https://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .
Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.
DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here. Be polite. Be
considerate. Be tactful. You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way. Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can. Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story. Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact. Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful. See https://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...
CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique. (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)
CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the https://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.) Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).
QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at https://www.critters.org/format.ht .
EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page. The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites. There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.
AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address. (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.) Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.
EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to https://www.critters.org/admin.ht . Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore! (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)
BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at https://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-). Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!
QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .
DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit https://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.
Because you might enjoy it... MURDER IN THE SOLID STATE by WIL MCCARTHY
'Exceptionally good' - Vernor Vinge
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1147
--
You received this email message because you signed up for the Critters
Writers Workshop. If you want to stop getting these emails, please visit
https://www.critters.org/email.ht .