Well, I'm back. NYC, theater, Readercon... & a sneak peek
plus the inevitable footnotes
Welcome, all!
If you’re new here, thanks for taking a chance with me. Feel free to browse older Substack letters for things about my writing, travel, and whatever ails me at any given moment. I’ll throw in a few links to make sure you’re not lost. And, of course, footnotes.
Delia & I got back from a glorious madcap tourist trip of about 2 months to Australia & New Zealand about 2 months ago, and have been running to catch up ever since.
Catching up, when you live in New York City, is more than just admin and housekeeping (although heaven knows there’s plenty of that!); it’s also catching up with the Arts. This is an Arts town the way Boston is a Baseball town: people tend to keep up with what’s playing, what’s at the museums, about obscure theater awards, the way people in other cities know their sports teams. We moved from Boston back to NYC in 2006, and it’s one reason we can never leave: in Boston, where I worked as a host / producer / announcer for one of the local Public Radio stations when not writing fiction, and Delia was chiefly writing and editing, we were always sort of a novelty act.1 Here in the city there are so many arts workers per square foot that not only are we not so colorful as all that, but it’s not hard to start a conversation that can even lead to friendship or a chance to work.
People like to come to NYC to visit - especially in May & June, it seems! Since we got back we have been meeting up with out-of-town visitors nearly every week. Lunches out (Japanese restaurants have great Sushi Lunch Specials!), dinners at our place (Delia loves to cook - and it’s quiet! Quiet!).
If you’re not interested in the cultural life of NYC, just skip to Our Next Port of Call
I love giving advice, so here is some if you’re visiting the city. All of these are a valuable part of our life here:
Delia & I see a dizzying number of Broadway shows, plus opera & ballet at Lincoln Center, concerts, etc. (even cocktail burlesque!) because as members2 of TDF (Theater Development Fund) we can get tickets for $60 and less. Shows & dates usually show up on the Private TDF Members page about a week in advance, though could be less, could be more.3 You pick up your TDF tickets at the box office right before the show, and open the magic ticket envelope to find out which seats they needed to fill that night . . . Since the Pandemic, our seats have been remarkably good. If you qualify for membership, the low annual fee is really worth it, even if you’re only in town for a few days. Not everything is available all the time, but there can be some lovely surprises.
If you want to see something not available via TDF, but still not pay full Broadway prices, check out TodayTix.
See this show no matter what:
Though it’s not on TDF (so far, anyway - hit shows don’t tend to turn up there until their final weeks), you absolutely must see Operation Mincemeat.
We first saw it in London 2 years ago, because just about everyone we knew there recommended it so emphatically.4 It’s still running there. But the original cast (most of whom also wrote the show - as a fun little romp for Edinburgh Fringe, never expecting it to be such a hit) is currently playing on Broadway! It’s running here until at least February 2026. The show’s NYC publicist describes it as “Mel Brooks meets Hamilton” - I prefer “James Bond meets Gilbert & Sullivan.” Here is the opening number as performed at London’s Olivier Awards.5 Don’t worry, no one gets all the words the first time - or even the third!
Oh - here’s the bit where they’re trying to figure out the plan - “God, that’s Brilliant!” - with the lyrics.6
So the first hour is pretty frenetic - and then they slap you out of nowhere with a heartbreakingly beautiful song that wins all the awards but just in case you’re going to see it, I won’t play it for you because I don’t want to spoil the impact. A little later there’s this Sailors’ Song, sung by the submarine crew that are taking the Top Secret Container that happens to contain the (real) body of a (fake) British airman carrying the (fake) Allied plans to invade Sardinia . . . . Oh, did I mention that 5 performers play all the parts? All of them. Regardless of age or gender.
The original cast recording is available via YouTube, Spotify, etc.
I trust you’re getting the idea why there is a large and important Theater Scene in every single one of my Swordspoint novels.
NYC’s Speculative Fiction Community
For Science Fiction & Fantasy readers, there are not one but two excellent monthly reading series, both in very cool locations. People at each are very friendly; if you’ve just moved here it’s a great way to get to know the community.
* KGB FANTASTIC FICTION
A venerable series in a venerable East Village bar. Lots of steps to get in. Past readings are available online.
* BROOKLYN BOOKS & BOOZE
(not too boozy, I promise: the name got changed when it moved from an ice cream parlor to one of those Brooklyn artisanal spaces; this one brews their own ginger liqueur. It is in the most amazing space: Industry City - check it out! We always eat in the huge Japanese food court before the reading, but in summer you can sit out in various courtyards.)
OK, that’s it for NYC for now. But I’m happy to answer any questions - and if you know the city and have more advice for newcomers, feel free to put it in Comments.
Our next port of call
On Thursday, July 17th,7 we’re off to Burlington, Massachusetts (just outside Boston) for one of the longtime pleasures in our lives, the SFF weekend convention Readercon, now in its 34th year.8 It’s a congenial, convivial, collegial weekend devoted to talking about the art and the craft of creating and imbibing story. Heavy hitters like locals John Crowley & Samuel R. Delany & Elizabeth Hand have always been regulars (though the first two are no longer able to make the trip) - and now it’s drawing writers from farther afield, like Charlie Jane Anders and Sarah Pinsker.
If you’re curious, you can come for just one day to check it out. If you want to make friends fast, volunteer to keep things running while you’re there!
Even though odds are good that only a few of my readers will be there, I hereby present (with valuable commentary)
ELLEN KUSHNER’S READERCON SCHEDULE
because it will give you a sense of what goes on at the sort of cons I like to attend - and maybe it will entice you to join us in future! Also, my new assistant told me to, and I do not dare gainsay her. (I should point out that these are small, volunteer-run, non-profit cons; nothing like ComicCon or other for profits you may have seen on TV.)
Friday, July 18, 2025
11:30 ET - Reading: Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner reads from City Year (working title), her forthcoming novel within the Swordspoint series.9
14:00 ET - Continuing a Long-Delayed Series
Panelists: Ellen Kushner, Mur Lafferty, Scott Lynch (Mod: Jim Freund)
The announcement of a long-delayed series continuation may prompt feelings of both anticipation and apprehension. What are series that have done this well or poorly, interestingly or instructively? A long series always evolves over time; is it much different when there's a longer gap between releases?
See above.
15:00 ET - Autograph Session: Ellen Kushner
Autograph Session with Ellen Kushner.
I have to be there an hour, but I don’t have any new books to sign, so I’ll use this time for Hanging Out with people who show up.
17:00 ET - The Purposes of Memorable Insults in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Panelists: Ellen Kushner, Anne E.G. Nydam, Charles Allison, Victoria Janssen (Mod: Storm Humbert)
Some of the most quotable lines in science fiction and fantasy are zingers. Wit can do a lot to build a character, a world, and a universe, and has the ability to either support or undermine reader expectations. This panel aims to explore and elaborate on the use of wit—and especially takedowns—in literature, exposing how a verbal jab can serve as more than just a punchline.
These are a few of my favorite things
Saturday, July 19, 2025
18:00 ET - Where Have All the Shared Worlds Gone?
Panelists: Ellen Kushner, Katherine Crighton (Mod: Sarah Smith)
The 1980s saw a number of prominent shared worlds, with multiple writers contributing stories—particularly short stories—set in the same world. Other than Wild Cards, edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass, these have largely fallen by the wayside. What made shared worlds work well, when they did? Why did they vanish? Has their niche been filled by other things? And how are they different from public domain canons like the Cthulhu Mythos?
I’m looking forward to talking about Terri Windling’s Bordertown series, which I was part of from its inception in the ‘80s. In 2011 I revived it with co-editor Holly Black, with Welcome to Bordertown,10 - we invited people from Holly’s generation who had been influenced by the original series to join in. I can also talk about Tremontaine, the Swordspoint prequel shared world series I did just a few years ago with a host of wonderful co-writers . . . See? Not so dead after all!
Sunday, July 20, 2025
12:00 ET - The Next Great Gatsby?
Panelists: Ellen Kushner, Kate Nepveu (Mod: R.W.W. Greene)
At Readercon 33, Max Gladstone mentioned that The Great Gatsby flopped upon publication—and therefore was cheap to send to American soldiers abroad in WWII, which resulted in its revival. He asked the audience to imagine how great a world would be in which, for some reason, copies of Sarah Caudwell's Thus Was Adonis Murdered were suddenly everywhere. What other books ought to be suddenly ubiquitous?
I love Max. I love Thus was Adonis Murdered. I love this Gatsby factoid! And I hate panels that are nothing but lists. We’ll see what happens.
Cheeze! this is really long!
And to think I didn’t even know what I was going to write about when I sat down. I actually had to cut several thrilling news items, so I’ll be sending Part II very soon.
To reward you for getting all the way to the bottom, here is a sneak peek at my forthcoming new website, which I absolutely did not show you, because brilliant designer Media Oscura is still tweaking things and that would be wrong.
And now I must dash, because my new personal assistant/copyeditor/ proofreader11 /taskmistress Deborah Brannon (who has joined Coach & Cheerleader Kim Rei in the Let’s Keep Ellen On Track team - yes, it takes a village, and yes, I recommend them both!) is tapping her foot impatiently about all the things on my Website Still Needs Text & Photos list she sent me. . . listen! I can hear it all the way from Alabama!)
The Secret Hodgson Burnett
Finally, I’d like to warmly recommend a new piece on Frances Hodgson Burnett by a dear friend and novelist I greatly admire, Lilian Nattel: What You Should Know about the Author of The Secret Garden.
The complicated author of The Secret Garden wrote 50+ novels and novellas for adults mainly, dealing with for eg spousal abuse and gender roles. Henry James envied her success but she also struggled with depression.
I learned unexpected things about FHB, about the genesis of the novel. Lilian’s Substack is frequent & terrific; she’s also begun writing about her experiences with Dissociative Identity Disorder - fascinating, compassionate, wise.
Oh, one more thing
And that’s a good place to stop.
Your pal,
Ellen
As Delia puts it: “We were always the most colorful people in the room - and we’re not all that colorful!”
Membership is available to Seniors, Teachers at all levels, people in the Arts . . .
Note that this is NOT the same as the Times Square TKTS BOOTH. Same organization, different modus operandi: the Booth is Day of Show, anyone can buy them there, prices are not as low.
If you are, in fact, in London, you can still see OPERATION MINCEMEAT there.
If you’re as geeky or obsessed as I am, you’ll enjoy this video of the cast breaking down how the opening works
Yes, the character with the Laser Cigar IS Ian Fleming (Bond…James Bond) - he really was in this MI5 think tank . . .though they did not adopt his plan, if he had one.
Most people avoid announcing their absence from their homes on Social Media. While I really miss having a house sometimes, one advantage to living in an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is that we have several fierce Bulgarian doormen who will make sure you don’t get anywhere near our door without an invitation.
Delia & I turn out both to have been at the very first Readercon, in a rundown hotel in a seamy corner of Brookline, Massachusetts, back when Brookline still had a few seamy corners left - though I don’t think we knew each other then.
I don’t have a publication date for the new book yet . . . but watch this space.
Yes, this is a link to GoodReads. I wouldn’t normally do that - but the reviews are fascinating and revealing - and very well-written! They’re a good mix of people looking to revisit the magic of the original series, and those seeking something new. I love the fact that one person’s favorite story is someone else’s Most Hated, and vice versa - shows we did a good job, IMO.
I did not ask Deborah to proofread this! All errors are my own
The art for your new website!! Kathleen Jennings!! Beautiful!
Thanks for the deeply informative post. And congrats on all your "assignments" during the Readercon in Boston!
Unfortunately I'll probably not be back in NYC in time to see the show, but I ADORED Frances Hodgson Burnett as a child (my favorite book of hers was not The Secret Garden -- although I loved it -- but The Little Princess), and I have your friend's substack up on the next tab!