While I'm away I'm handing the blog over to an ensemble of all-star SF/F writers. We'll have Harry Connolly, Laura Anne Gilman, Elizabeth Bear, and the collaborating duo of Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown.

I'll also be hanging out and drinking beer from 6pm on next Monday, the 2nd, in Pine Box Rock Shop in Brooklyn. It's really close to the Morgan Ave L stop (opposite side of the block), has good beer and spirits, and can feed vegans (not me: my wife). You can find it on Google Maps as Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206, United States. If you're reading this, you're welcome to come along. (I'm told there's a facebook page for the event here . NB: I don't do Facebook.)

I'm off to New York on Thursday, weather permitting, and won't be back until late in February. I'm in the US for business, and while I'm there I'll also be appearing at Boskone 52 in Boston from February 13-15; you can find me on the program schedule here .

Sherwood Smith studied in Austria, finally earning a (useless) master's in history—she's been a governess, a bartender, and wore various hats in the film industry before turning to teaching for 20 years. She began her publishing career in 1986. To date she's published over forty books, nominated for several awards, including the Nebula, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and an Anne Lindbergh Honor Book.

Harry Connolly's debut novel, Child of Fire, was listed to Publishers Weekly's Best 100 Books of 2009. He turned to Kickstarter to fund the publication of his epic fantasy trilogy The Great Way and became the ninth most funded project in the Fiction category. He lives in Seattle with his beloved wife, beloved son, and beloved library system.

Recanting a life of regular paychecks, Laura Anne Gilman left her full-time gig in as an editor in 2003. Since then, she has written the popular Cosa Nostradamus urban fantasy series (most recently Promises to Keep), and the Nebula award-nominated Vineart War trilogy. Her next fantasy novel, Silver on the Road, will be published by Saga Press/Simon & Schuster in 2015. She still keeps a freelance hand in on the editing gig, though, because red ink is addictive.

Elizabeth Bear was born on the same day as Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, but in a different year.When coupled with a childhood tendency to read the dictionary for fun, this led her inevitably to penury, intransigence, and the writing of speculative fiction. She is the Hugo, Sturgeon, Locus, and Campbell Award winning author of 27 novels (The most recent is Karen Memory, a Weird West adventure from Tor) and over a hundred short stories. Her dog lives in Massachusetts; her partner, writer Scott Lynch, lives in Wisconsin. She spends a lot of time on planes.

And between them, they're going to keep the blog busy for the next month!

