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 10-Jun-2026...
Just a quick note that I've put my SF novel TERMINATION OF SPECIES up for free for a short time (and at 99c on Amazon, since they don't do free). I don't want to spoil anything, but it has some very topical thoughts in it. :) David Brin and Vernor Vinge both liked it, so maybe you will too... It's at:
https://reanimus.com/1733
Enjoy!
And this week the Critters Fund Drive is sponsored by the new release of...
OPERATION DAMOCLES by Oscar L. Fellows - $5.99
ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1761
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4BTZCXL/?tag=critters3a-20
(available in ebook + hardcover + paperback)
The fate of the earth hangs in the balance in a dispute involving a dutiful spy, a newscaster with a price on her head, a rascal scientist, a grouchy former CIA agent, a murderous idealist, and a treasonous president.
"Operation Damocles" is a secret plan for world domination using a satellite superweapon. The only thing stopping it: A spy with human failings and a pragmatic sense of duty; the woman he's been ordered to kill; a newscaster with the courage to defy a media gag-rule; a crotchety old scientist; and his lifelong friend, a kindred curmudgeon and retired CIA agent, who must engineer a world-wide rebellion.
[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]
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Thanks for the donations, folks! We are 28.4% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 68 donors, leaving about $5000 to go.
Thanks especially to
Andrew Reese
Brian Sellnow
Paul Sasser
Vincent Bonasso
Larry Hodges
Bryce Paradis
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
Jun: $201.67 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $381.33 for the month
=> short by $1511.87 of annual fund drive goal to date (and $2300 shortfall from last year)
[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]
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Woohoo! Congratulations to...
- F.B. Hughes, who has won the ECO25: The Year's Best
Speculative Ecofiction award for his (Critter'd) short story,
"The Oneiromantic Sheep".
Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.
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This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 7 critiques (at time of judging), averaging almost 500 words each, goes to...
Jeff Richardson
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.)
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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
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
Title Author
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Week of 10-Jun-2026 (Crits due 17-Jun-2026):
SF Hanover, Chapters 1-4 [mpc] Jeff Richardson -#32229
SF Winter's Web [@] Julia Nolan -#32230
F Transcendent Ballerina Douglas Kolacki -#32231
SF Sins of the Daughters Stephen Shewmake -#32232
SF The Ember Path, Chapter 7 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32233
SF The Apocryphal Tale of Wesley Ann Zero Dave Beavers -#32234
H The Lake in Winter Kenneth Parker -#32235
SF The Hot Night Jason Novsam -#32236
F LELOUCH PAULIZOX, Chapter 1 Makhosonke Mchunu -#32237
SF Black Seven: Legend of Venetta Deb CarverOwens -#32238
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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... THE STARCROSSED by BEN BOVA
A stinging SFnal, futuristic satire on the TV industry, based a bit on reality.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1466
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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 Hanover, Chapters 1-4 [mpc] Jeff Richardson -#32229
SF Winter's Web [@] Julia Nolan -#32230
F Transcendent Ballerina Douglas Kolacki -#32231
SF Sins of the Daughters Stephen Shewmake -#32232
SF The Ember Path, Chapter 7 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32233
SF The Apocryphal Tale of Wesley Ann Zero Dave Beavers -#32234
H The Lake in Winter Kenneth Parker -#32235
SF The Hot Night Jason Novsam -#32236
F LELOUCH PAULIZOX, Chapter 1 Makhosonke Mchunu -#32237
SF Black Seven: Legend of Venetta Deb CarverOwens -#32238
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You might also like... NO MIND OF MAN by ROBERT SILVERBERG, TERRY CARR, RICHARD A. LUPOFF
Three stories that break the barriers of time and space and mind.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1736
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... TO SAVE THE SUN by BEN BOVA AND A. J. AUSTIN
Earth's sun will soon explode, unless a massive engineering effort can save it.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1464
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