Another year wherein I thought I didn’t do that much, but it turns out I did so much. My first book came out this year, and I started a full-time job for the first time since 2017 (has it really been that long?). Oh, and the world is… *gestures vaguely outside* you know. Difficult circumstances to be creating under, yet I’ve managed anyway. Some of this work has been in the pipeline since last year or earlier, but a lot of it is new from this year.
Especially the interviews. So many interviews.
I like doing these award eligibility posts not just for award consideration, but also as a recap of what I’ve accomplished over the year. It can be easy to forget or downplay everything I’ve done, but gathering them in one place gives me a chance to reflect and appreciate the work I’ve put in.
So without further ado, here’s everything I’ve worked on this year. I’ve provided a customizable, downloadable packet of most of my work at the end of the post (also available through this link). All the review copies are free. Please feel free to contact me if you run into any issues. Thank you so much for your consideration!
Novellas
In the Watchful City. August 31, 2021 from Tordotcom Publishing. 36,000 words. Biocyberpunk stories within stories: Minority Report meets 1,001 Nights in a queernormative secondary world.
Short stories
“Spilling Salt Into the Sea.” January 29, 2021 from Corvid Queen. 3,300 words. Selkies, sapphics, fairy tale magic, and sweet, tragic hubris.
“Where There Are Cities, These Dissolve Too.” Speculative Los Angeles edited by Denise Hamilton, February 2021 from Akashic Books. 7,400 words. Brutal sapphic mecha battle romance set in Los Angeles against a renewed Chinese Exclusion Act.
“Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red.” September/October 2021 from Asimov’s Science Fiction. 7,500 words. Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, but make it about using rope bondage to control lycanthropy and unlearn toxic masculinity.
“Que vagi bé.” Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World (2021 edition), edited by Charlatan Bardot and Eric J. Guignard. November 2021 from Dark Moon Books. 4,000 words. Striking up a partnership with a ghost in a haunted soup dumpling restaurant in Barcelona.
Translations
Graphic novels
The Wandering Earth. Translation of comic adaptation of 《流浪地球》 by Liu Cixin (刘慈欣) on behalf of FT Culture. September 7, 2021 from Talos. 128 pages. What if we equipped Earth with rockets to get away from the dying Sun?
The Village Schoolteacher. Translation of comic adaptation of 《乡村教育》 by Liu Cixin (刘慈欣) on behalf of FT Culture. September 14, 2021 from Talos Press. 108 pages. Humanity’s last hope for salvation in the face of alien destruction depends on rural schoolchildren remembering their teacher’s valuable lessons.
Short stories
“Mr. Komatsu Hates Cats.” Translation of 《讨厌猫咪的小松先生》 by Cheng Jingbo (程婧波) on behalf of Eight Light Minutes Culture. Galaxy’s Edge 50, May 2021. 5,700 words. Soft literary sci-fi/slipstream set in Thailand.
“Hyperspace Partner.” Translation of 《超时空同居》 by Bao Shu (宝树) on behalf of Eight Light Minutes Culture. Galaxy’s Edge 51, July 2021. 3,100 words. Take 24/7 Zoom calls up a notch to VR that bridges the distance in a transnational relationship.
“Into a Warm Cold Night.” Translation of 《冷湖之夜》 by Wang Nuonuo (王诺诺) on behalf of Eight Light Minutes Culture. Galaxy’s Edge 53, November 2021. 7,000 words. Four travelers from different eras find themselves sucked through a time vortex and trapped in a house during a sandstorm.
Narration
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu. August 2021 from the Aurumque Network. 5 hours 11 minutes.
“Unnamed” by Monte Lin. Cast of Wonders, April 2021. 35 minutes. Not just unnamed, but dehumanized, through the erasure of a name.
Reviews
Review of Old Demons, New Deities: Twenty-One Short Stories from Tibet edited by Tenzin Dickie, December 2017 from OR Books (buy). May 24, 2021 from Strange Horizons. 2,200 words.
Editing
Arsenika, issue 8. Fiction and poetry.
microverses, May 2020–present. Microfiction (Constraint 280) and poetry (Octavos).
The Best of Abyss & Apex, Volume 4. October 2, 2021 from Abyss & Apex Publishing. 341 pages.
Talks and Panels
“Denise Hamilton, Stephen Blackmoore, S. Qiouyi Lu, and Ben Winters Present Speculative Los Angeles.” Panelist. Book Soup, February 2021.
“Charles Yu and S. Qiouyi Lu in conversation with Denise Hamilton.” Panelist. Mysterious Galaxy, May 2021.
“Cyberpunk: A New Landscape.” Moderator. FIYAHCON, September 2021.
“Tiling your Writing Like a Mosaic.” Talk, Build Your Book Month. Jericho Writers, October 10, 2021.
In the Watchful City (excerpt). Reading. World Fantasy Convention, October 2021.
“Stereotyping in Fantasy.” Panelist. World Fantasy Convention, October 2021.
“Where do we go from here?” Panelist. World Fantasy Convention, October 2021.
“Speculative Los Angeles featuring Denise Hamilton, Alex Espinoza, and S. Qiouyi Lu.” Panelist. Miami Book Fair International, November 17, 2021.
Interviews
“Our Friend is Here! An Interview with S. Qiouyi Lu, Author of In the Watchful City – On Exploring Diaspora Experiences, Interrogating Gender Constructs and Bio-Cyberpunk.” The Quiet Pond: A Book Blog, June 17, 2021. 2,900 words.
“Interview with S. QIOUYI LU.” Civilian Reader, July 6, 2021. 900 words.
“Culture Beyond Flair: A Conversation with S. Qiouyi Lu.” Clarkesworld 179, August 2021. 2,800 words.
“Episode 501-With S. Qiouyi Lu.” The Functional Nerds, August 3, 2021. 50 minutes.
“Interview with S. Qiouyi Lu, Author of In the Watchful City.” GeeklyInc, August 26, 2021. 1,800 words.
“Five questions with S. Qiouyi Lu.” Breaking the Glass Slipper, August 26, 2021. 1,400 words.
“City of Night.” Alta Online, August 30, 2021. 1,100 words.
“Exclusive Interview: In The Watchful City Author S. Qiouyi Lu.” PaulSemel.com, August 31, 2021. 1,400 words.
“Q&A with S. Qiouyi Lu.” Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, August 31, 2021. 600 words.
“S. Qiouyi Lu and Silvia Moreno-Garcia Talk Neo-Pronouns and Genre-Hopping.” Interview. LitHub x Tor Presents: Voices from Genre Podcast, September 8, 2021. 60 minutes.
“S. Qiouyi Lu on Surveillance Technology, Experimental Narratives, and Neopronouns.” Interview. New Books in Science Fiction, September 10, 2021. 33 minutes.
“Q&A with S. Qiouyi Lu.” From Earth to the Stars, September 28, 2021. 900 words.
Grants
Diverse Writers Grant. Awarded by the Speculative Literature Foundation for Razing Babel, 2021.
Others’ Translations
“Mother Tongues.” 3,700 words. Translated into Tamil by மைத்ரேயன் (Maitreyan) as “தாய்மொழிகள்” in Solvanam, April 25, 2021.
“The Shapeshifter Unraveled.” 980 words. Translated into Japanese by 勝山海百合 (Umiyuri Katsuyama) as「稲妻マリー」 (“Lightning Marie”) in 『幻想と怪奇７ ウィアード・テールズ 恐怖と冒険の王国』Genso to Kaiki (Roman Fantastique) 7, August 2021.
“An Abundance of Fish.” 800 words. Translated into Japanese by 勝山海百合 (Umiyuri Katsuyama) as 「年年有魚」 in Hayakawa SF Magazine, October 2021.
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