Scott Edelman

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

I knew the Eating the Fantastic episode I recorded with Alan Smale yesterday would likely send listeners back to our 2019 chat, so I reprocessed the original audio to suppress its ambient noise with modern software. Check out this brief comparison to hear the improvement. https://youtu.be/vn8_3lT0OV4

Last night's earworm tickling my brain each time I woke was Oliver's "As Long as He Needs Me," due to me having recently stumbled across this clip of Shani Wallis, the original film Nancy. And since I played Bill Sikes in high school, it got me verklempt. She's singing about me! https://youtu.be/F7JHtDOVlKc

Home from Awesome Con, the first thing I did was type up the writing I did in the hallway waiting for a panel to begin plus on my Metro ride home. My scribbling totaled 386 words. I hope that output will help me sleep through the night by preventing my subconscious from kicking me awake again at 4:00 a.m.

Episode 277 of my Eating the Fantastic podcast is LIVE! Join guest Salinee Goldenberg for lunch and learn why she considers herself a recovering pantser, how to know when it's necessary to kill your darlings, why she likes reading bad reviews — and much more. https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/2026/03/13/salinee-goldenberg/

Woke to find the 14th short story rejection of 2026 had been sent to my inbox as I slept. But don't worry! My accompanying sales of the year — including one to Sunday Morning Transport — more than counterbalance the pain. Besides — it's ever onward to the next market. Never give up! Never surrender!

Remembering the great writer, editor, and artist Harry Harrison, born on this date in 1925, who in the pages of his 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room!, wrote: "One time we had the whole world in our hands, but we ate it and burned it and it's gone now." We did, and we have — and soon he'll be right.

Your (unfortunately not so) context-free comic book panel of the day.

Happy birthday to artist Sy Barry, still with us at 98! He drew The Phantom comic strip for 33 years — and 55 years ago, during a 75th anniversary celebration for the comic strip held in Central Park, he sketched that famous character for this 16-year-old fanboy.

Woke in the middle of the night with the next necessary sentence for my new story having popped into my head, so I scribbled it down in the dark. Every time I tried to drop off again, another would come. So I gave up, copied them into my notebook, and kept going, eventually filling three pages. Thanks as always, subconscious!

Coming tomorrow morning — a new episode of my Eating the Fantastic podcast, during which you'll be able to take a seat at the table for my lunch with Salinee Goldenberg, author of the new novel Way of the Walker. Subscribe now to be among the first to join us at the table! https://pod.link/1083737796

Printed out my notes for an episode of Eating the Fantastic I plan to recording during Awesome Con this weekend, so now I can turn my attention to the multiple conversations I plan to record during next month's Eastercon. There's to be no end to the chatting and chewing. Join us! https://pod.link/1083737796

Today's mail brought my copy of the Spring 2026 issue of The Paris Review, the latest in a lifetime subscription my wife bought me as a gift in 1978 — providing proof I am still alive!

Today's treadmill watch was Shiva Baby, which I'd been meaning to catch for a while. Hoo boy, who knew it was going to stir up memories of so many uncomfortable family gathering? I wouldn't quite go so far as to call it triggering, but it explains why I ran, I ran so far away. https://youtu.be/8uT1M9WfqYA

After forcing his followers to wear shoes which don't fit, Donald Trump moves on to his next demands. https://youtu.be/ukr3Y3unFhg

Woke in the night with the opening sentence of a new story in my head. I scribbled it down in the dark. Then another sentence appeared. And another. So I turned on the light and kept going. After filling multiple pages, I fell back asleep. Keying it in this morning, I see it turned out to total 306 words. Thank you, subconscious!

"He is volatile. He is unreliable. He lacks credibility. Sometimes he is incoherent. He is asserting dictator-like powers. He operates in a bubble of enablers. When he utters a falsehood, it is because he is lying or because he has lost touch with reality – or both." https://presswatchers.org/2026/03/the-war-makes-it-more-urgent-for-journalists-to-call-out-trumps-derangement/

So sorry to learn we've lost writer, editor, and past SFWA officer Lee Martindale. She was always a welcome presence, not only at cons, but in our wider community as well. I photographed her during better days at the 2008 Nebula Awards weekend in Austin, and that is how I shall choose to remember her.

I've been fascinated by the discussions Mike Birbiglia has been having with comedians about how and why bits work, and I think there's wisdom there for all my writerly friends. This chat with Ira Glass about turning life into standup was particularly enlightening. https://youtu.be/eIzW5RHpeFQ

"Not since Adolf Hitler blew his brains out in a bunker beneath the garden of the German Reich Chancellery on April 30, 1945, have the lives of so many people around the world been so buffeted by the psychosis of a single man." https://davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/living-in-a-time-of-lunatics-and

Bram Stoker Awards banquet tickets went on sale today, so I grabbed mine. See you in Pittsburgh! https://www.stokercon.com/copy-of-registration

This headline has me thinking I should plan a trip to a Canadian con next year the way I planned one to the UK in April if I ever want to see my Canadian friends again, now that Donald Trump has made the U.S. an unsafe destination for international travelers. https://www.thebeaverton.com/2025/06/canadians-travelling-to-the-us-advised-to-not-fucking-do-that/

ICYMI — a new episode of Eating the Fantastic went live this morning with guest Liz Gorinsky! Eavesdrop and discover how to cleanse your palate when reading slush to be sure what you think is good really is good, self-defining success as a writer — and much more. https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/2026/02/27/liz-gorinsky/

This afternoon's treadmill TV time took in The Pitt Season 2, Episode 8, and since I needed some more stepping time than that, I followed it up with the start of the new Taylor Tomlinson standup special. https://youtu.be/iW9iwdS_2HQ

Today's lesson for writers is — you should try as best you can to live your life in a manner so when you die, the first thought people have after hearing of your passing isn't — oh, them? I used to love their books until their personal views became far too odious for me to bear. Don't be that way.

So sorry to learn we've lost comic book colorist extraordinaire Tatjana Wood at age 99. I was never lucky enough to have her color any of my individual stories, but she did make many covers which graced my issues even more beautiful — such as this Michael Wm Kaluta classic for Doorway to Nightmare #5 (October 1978).

A photo sharing service I haven't used in what seems like forever reminds me it was 23 years ago this weekend I asked Jack Williamson to autograph a copy of Amazing Stories from 75 years earlier (!) which had published his first short story. Jack was a treasure, and I feel honored to have known him.

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

"I once would have written that this is how things go in tinpot dictatorships, or in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. But today, it’s how things go in the United States of America." https://newrepublic.com/post/207138/trump-coup-detat-midterm-elections

"Writing is our way of assuaging homesickness." https://joycecaroloates.substack.com/p/five-motives-for-writing

Today in Donald Trump's state-sponsored terrorism. https://gothamist.com/news/ice-has-detained-more-than-120-kids-in-inhumane-hold-rooms-in-nyc-under-trump

The End Times are/is here! Wonder whether my mailman thinks me a prepper ...

Buddy Guy's Tiny Desk Concert brings back memories of one of the happiest nights of my life — when a free ticket allowed me to blow off last year's Hugo Awards ceremony in Seattle to attend the final show of what was then thought to be the 89-year-old blues legend's last tour. https://youtu.be/m5XxOLdMSS8

Episode 276 of Eating the Fantastic is now LIVE with guest Liz Gorinsky! Join us for lunch and learn whether either of us would have turned out as you know us without having grown up in New York, how to gracefully navigate the convention community, and much more. https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/2026/02/27/liz-gorinsky/

Starting the day uploading the latest episode of Eating the Fantastic, during which you'll get to eavesdrop on my lunch with Liz Gorinsky. No direct link yet, but once live, it'll appear up top here, pushing my conversation with Chris Kalb down a slot. Please join us! http://eatingthefantastic.com

Last night's earworm which serenaded me each time I woke was "Turn Back, O Man" from Godspell — certainly due to my recently having rewatched Morgan James sing the song to the accompaniment of Seth Rudetsky. https://youtu.be/K068ZIm2D7Y

I suspect I'd have solved this Clues by Sam rated Tricky more quickly had I attempted it before breakfast rather than after dinner. https://cluesbysam.com/

Received notification from Marvel of a reprint payment for comics originally published in 1978, and after checking what the payment was for, I was a bit embarrassed by the order of the credited writers. Yes, I know the list is alphabetical, but I don't deserve to appear ahead of any of those others!

Your context-free comic book panel of the day.

There's a major problem with this New York Times headline.

You can't lose what you never had.

I doubt any other headline I encounter today will top this one.

"I believe it would be to the benefit of the human race for Mr. Musk to be sent to prison." Ditto. https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/sf-jury-elon-musk-21369850.php