Blog
Ahoy, Critterfolk!
New entry Dec 07
Critique Notices
P&E Has a New Caretaker!
I'm very happy to announce that P&E has been handed off to a new caretaker! Check out the site for news and such. Hurrah!
Interviewed!
I'm being interviewed live on public radio for Critters 20th birthday. For those who want to listen, it's on the 10am (Mountain time) show on Thursday, 11/19/16, on Colorado Public Radio - www.cpr.org has streaming on the site or it's 90.1 FM in the Denver area. [Interview is done, you can listen on the site]
Free Web Sites
Free web sites for authors (and others) are available at www.nyx.net.
ReAnimus Acquires Advent!
ReAnimus Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of the legendary Advent Publishers! Advent is now a subsidiary of ReAnimus Press, and we will continue to publish Advent's titles under the Advent name. Advent was founded in 1956 by Earl Kemp and others, and has published the likes of James Blish, Hal Clement, Robert Heinlein, Damon Knight, E.E. "Doc" Smith, and many others. Advent's high quality titles have won and been finalists for several Hugo Awards, such as The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy and Heinlein's Children. Watch this space for ebook and print editions of all of Advent's current titles!
Network speeding up
I'm switching the connection over to a new, shiny 10X faster network because of all the load. There might be bits of downtime as your boxes learn new addresses and things. Should be brief. Let me know of any prolonged outages you see.
Preditors & Editors Changeover
With the very sad passing of Dave Kuzminski, who ran P&E, I've taken over the P&E duties. Lots of what I hope are improvements; check it out at pred-ed.com.
Critters Server is Dying has been Replaced
See important details here in my blog. Let me know if you find anything that isn't working right. (Manuscripts are now available for this week, FYI.)
Book Recommendation
THE SIGIL TRILOGY:
The universe is dying from within...
"Great stuff... Really enjoyed it." — SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock
Announcing ReAnimus Press
If you need help making ebooks from manuscripts or print copies—or finding great stuff to read—look no further! An ebook publisher started by your very own Critter Captain. (And with a 12% Affiliate program.) [More]
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FEATURED BOOK
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Welcome to Critique.org!
News
Critters is 23!
Yes, 23 years ago Critters was born. Wow! Thanks so much to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!
Critters no longer accepting European Union members :(
It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce Critters can no longer accept people in the European Union as members. This is a result of the "GDPR" privacy laws going into effect. I'm a big fan of privacy, and applaud the general idea behind the GDPR, but the way it's implemented forces me to close the door to EU writers. [read more why...]Books from Critters!
Check out Books by Critters for books by your fellow Critterfolk, as well as my list of recommended books for writers.
How to Write SF
The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells by Ben Bova, best-selling author and six-time Hugo Award winner for Best Editor. (This is one of the books your ol' Critter Captain learned from himself, and I highly recommend it.)
(Also via Amazon)
The Sigil Trilogy
If you're looking for an amazing, WOW! science fiction story, check out THE SIGIL TRILOGY. This is — literally — one of the best science fiction novels I've ever read.
Photography Workshop
As the name suggests, this is the Critique.org workshop for Photography. Workshops for other categories are listed below. Feel free to explore the site and sign on up when you're ready to unleash your inner Shakespeare.
As a brand new workshop to the critique.org family (hurrah!), the queue for this workshop may be light for the first few times — so it's a great time to submit something to get the ball rolling.
If you have ideas how to improve the workshop by all means, please let me know.
Also, as a new workshop, I'd appreciate it if you could help announce it on your blogs, places you post where it would be of interest, etc. Thanks!
What are the Critique.org Workshops?
Critique.org is for serious authors, artists, and creators in any field who wish to improve their craft — those who seek to gain professional stature within their field or increase it. Critique.org workshops focus on in-depth critiques of your works, a process which helps both the recipient and the reviewer to grow. In addition to depth of analysis, much of critique.org's secret is our emphasis on respectful and diplomatic critiques.
By way of history, Critique.org began in 1995, making it the first on-line workshop/critique group on the web. We now have over 10,000 members and have delivered our members over 270,000 detailed critiques — enough critiques to fill thousands of books. After many years focusing on professional speculative fiction and helping authors turn pro, Critique.org branched out to bring its highly successful format to everyone. There are now Critique.org workshops for every genre and every form of creative endeavor — songwriting, music performance, art, photography, film & video, web site design, apps, screenplays, comics, non-fiction writing, literary and mainstream writing, childrens, mysteries, thrillers, romance, and of course "Critters," our first workshop, for science fiction, fantasy and horror... — you name it, there's a workshop for it.
How it works: You get your work critiqued in exchange for critiquing the work of others, both of which are invaluable ways to improve your craft. The workshops are run by the Critter Captain, Dr. Andrew Burt (founder of the world's first Internet service provider and former vice-president of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.), along with his army of software minions. We also have forums to discuss your craft and the critiquing process, as well as many other useful and fun resources. Critique.org is free (except for the work of doing critiques!) and funded by donations; if you find the workshop useful, donations are appreciated.
Authors and artists of all skill levels are welcome (with special incentives for professionals), so sign yourself up.
Workshops
We have workshops for just about everything. (Well, we WILL have them, but we're in Beta Test mode right now, adding new workshops as we shake them down.) What workshop would you like to join?—
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Critters — SF/Fantasy/Horror Writing
Mainstream and Literary Fiction
Mystery, Thriller, and Adventure Writing
Non-Fiction Writing
Script, Screenplay, and Stageplay Writing
Kids Books
Comics, Graphic novels, Manga, etc.
Western Fiction Writing
Romance Writing
Adult Fiction
Video and Film
Music and Audio
Photography
Art, Painting, Drawing, etc.
Apps, Software, Games, etc.
Website Design
Testing and Experimenting
What Next?
- Want to know more?
- Want to join?
- Need resources on critiquing, writing or SF?
- Who are we?
- What's in the Queue?
- Where's the good stuff? (Manuscripts & Critiques)
- Want to jump to the head of the queue?
- Want to write a story?
- What's in it for pros?
What Others Say
If I were shopping for a workshop, I'd give Critters a close look.
Well run and quite stable
Critters has been profiled in Salon Magazine.
More Info
Check out a more detailed description of Critique.org and what it's like to send a manuscript through the workshop.
Our mission is to achieve a high level of participation in giving critiques on short stories, novel chapters, and entire novels in the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. The focus is on providing timely, helpful critiques. Our Rules are what make this work.
(And a steady hand on the tiller from the Critter Captain.)
Note To Professionals
Professional authors, artists, etc. are most welcome, and we have many in the group. For one critique a month, professional members get immediate reviews of their work. If you don't mind a little humorous coaxing, drop in here.Ready to Join?
If you're ready to join, come on in.
