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February Linkspam: Where is February going?

Happy almost Valentine’s Day!

Somehow I blinked, and it was Feb. 11 and I hadn’t sent out a newsletter yet. Who’s running this show? Those responsible will be sacked – oh yeah, that was me.

As you can tell by the seriously-delayed newsletter, the semester is rolling. Three of my four classes are working on a fiction project, which delights me no end, and most of the students are really active and engaged and they have such fun ideas. I could get used to this four-class schedule, folks. (So why is the newsletter so late? Um, I was eaten by a grue. It was very sad.)

As previously announced, I’m joining the Read Every Day in February Challenge for the American Cancer Society as my team kicks off our Relay for Life fundraiser. Of course, the joke is that I read every day anyway, so it’s not exactly a challenge! I’m on my sixth book of the year and counting, so click here to donate and support cancer research and patient services. 

Publicity/Appearances

My appearance at Books & Brews at the Old Bakery Beer Co. in Alton, Ill. was postponed from Jan. 24 to Feb. 7 because SNOW. Like approximately everyone in the U.S., we got buried under an avalanche and they actually canceled classes for a day. My Memphis readers are now snickering, as I believe they were off two weeks and counting. Here, friends: have a snowball. 

Coming up in February is Conflation, the first convention of the year for me and for the Literary Underworld. Conflation was hit with its own snowball: with three weeks to con, the blizzard froze the pipes at the host hotel and it was basically destroyed. The entire hotel is closed indefinitely; it’s not remotely habitable. The con organizers (who at Conflation are referred to as The Goddesses) managed to find a new hotel, negotiate a reasonable contract and get us all moved over there within ten days. People, I am in awe. And delighted that one of my favorite cons is going forward! If you’re in St. Louis, you should absolutely join us. I’ll be the one in the “I Heart the 80s” T-shirt (it’s a long story). 

I’ve been asked to speak this time on the representation of journalists in film, which longtime readers will recall was my masters thesis. I haven’t spoken on this topic in a long time, so I guess it’s time to update. Generally when I’m asked to talk about this at cons, it’s in the form of advice for writers, on how to write journalist characters without getting us wildly wrong. These days, it’s a little more into cultivation theory, which like all media theories is pretty much blatantly obvious to anyone who’s been on the internet for 15 minutes. I’ll see if I can’t make it a little more interesting to the non-writer, non-academic crowd.

In the meantime, we are prepping for AWP, which is nerd prom for the literary/academic set. It’s about 10,000 writers, poets, professors, students and other word geeks, and we’re descending on Baltimore this year. This delights me for several reasons: I used to live in Baltimore and loved it, and my subsequent visits have been delightful. (I miss Berger cookies!) Jim gets to come with me (as “disability assistant,” which I am totally calling him all five days we are there) and he has never been to the eastern seaboard except for our Disney trips. Unlike me, he is a big seafood fan, so if anyone has Baltimore suggestions that are walking or Lyft-ing distance from the Inner Harbor, please drop me a note! In the meantime, I’ll be participating as vice president of the Adjunct Writers Caucus, and looking forward to our discussions.

Finally, I’m glad to share that contracts have been signed for Midsouthcon, ConCarolinas and Dragoncon, so my craaaazy schedule is now updated. March is going to be the hardest month, but it also has spring break, so we’ll call that even. 

2026 calendar:

If you are interested in having me speak to your group or attend your convention or other event, contact kyates@donaldmedia.com. 


Journalism

I’ve finally set up my Authory portfolio, which collects all my news articles. It’s pretty much the most recent stuff, since MuckRack inexplicably stopped collating my pieces and my first portfolio program went belly-up. I do not have luck with this, but let’s hope that Authory sticks around and keeps working! When I have some spare time (tee hee) I’ll upload some of my older articles.

• Illinois union leaders call out Trump’s selective funding freeze on childcare, family assistance (Labor Tribune)
• Alton Steel closes suddenly, laying off 253 workers (Labor Tribune)
• Law firm investigating whether Alton Steel violated WARN Act (Labor Tribune)
• New Illinois laws will impact workers, residents (Labor Tribune)
• Work continues at Workers’ Memorial as city repairs sinkhole (Labor Tribune)
• Illinois Congresswoman votes against ICE funding; AFL-CIO offers immigration response training (Labor Tribune)
• Counter-protester causes incident at MLK Day, anti-ICE demonstration (Labor Tribune)
• Local labor councils celebrate holidays, calling for unity (Labor Tribune)
• AFSCME signs up 50,000 cultural workers (Labor Tribune)


Note: Not all articles are available online, and some may be behind paywalls. 


Fiction

Here’s where Blackfire Rising is currently shambling:


If you’d like a book signed and aren’t going to be in my general vicinity soon, order directly from me or Literary Underworld and indicate in your order that you’d like it signed. And if you love this book, please feel free to return to its Goodreads page and/or the bookseller of your choice to do a review! We love reviews, because we writers are needy insecure creatures. 

Patreon/Blogs

• Happy birthday, Langston Hughes (Patreon)
• It starts small (Patreon)
• Cyborgs report to class (Patreon)
• Review: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (Patreon)
• Review: Dear Ms. (Patreon)
• Review: 50 Pies for 50 States by Stacey Mei Yan Fong (Patreon)
• Breaking out of the compartment (Medium)
• 2025 in review (Elizabeth Donald)
• Subtext Like White Elephants (Donald Media)

Check out the Patreon index here. It needs updating, but most of the entries are listed there by category. 

Did you know that Patreon subscribers get a 10 percent discount from me and The Literary Underworld? For the latter, that applies to all books, not just mine! For a dollar a month, you really can’t beat it. Just be sure to remind us at the booth as we do not have the subscriber list memorized. If you’re not a subscriber, the base level is $1 a month! You should totally join. 

Currently on the nightstand: Nothing! No, I am reading. But it’s currently The Short Stories of Langston Hughes, edited by Akiba Sullivan Harper, and it’s on the iPad so I can take it to work with me. I am also trying something new: audiobooks. Yes, I’ve tried them before, but I always got annoyed anytime someone tried to read anything to me. However, my schedule this semester has me spending approximately 8-10 hours a week in my car, so I’m listening to some books these days. I mean, LitHub turned their podcast into a monthly event, so a girl has to do something to stay awake… This week it’s Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture, an essay anthology edited by Roxane Gay and including Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union, among other writers less famous. It’s a hard listen, but definitely important. 

Recently finished includes People Like Us by Jason Mott; Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng; and Graceful Burdens by Roxane Gay. I may just work through everything Roxane Gay has ever written this winter, as I want to be her when I grow up. 

Photography

• Frozen ghosts (Patreon)

Almost all of the images in the galleries are available for purchase (except those licensed to clients), so if you see something you like that isn’t in the store, email kyates@donaldmedia.com and we’ll get you a quote. A few might not be available for purchase due to copyright issues. 

And that’s it! Have a good (rest of) February, folks, and I’ll see you on the road!