Critter Notices
Critters is 30!
Last November, Critters turned 30 years old! Wow! Thanks so much to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!
FEATURED BOOK
Weekly Notes
Notes for 13-May-2026...
Benefitting the Critters Fund Drive this week from ReAnimus Press, we have...
NO DEFENSE by Kate Wilhelm - $5.99
ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1436
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp//?tag=critters3a-20
Lara and Vinny Jessup had a lovely May-December marriage. Initially, the sheriff in Loomis County thinks that Vinny died when his car rolled over on a bad curve on Lookout Mountain. Then he finds the gunshot wound. Was it suicide or was it murder? With a large insurance policy as her motive, Lara could have staged the death--or so it appears to the sheriff. Barbara finds herself drawn to the Oregon desert to take on this case. To Barbara, it appears there's no defense at all.
[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]
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Thanks for the donations, folks! We are 22.8% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 55 donors, leaving about $5400 to go.
Thanks especially to
Vincent Bonasso
Larry Hodges
Bryce Paradis
anthony lavely
for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!
Stats by month...
Jan: $749.29 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $166.29 for the month
Feb: $181.72 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $401.28 for the month
Mar: $191.13 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $391.87 for the month
Apr: $307.38 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $275.62 for the month
May: $164.05 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $418.95 for the month
=> short by $1321.43 of annual fund drive goal to date (and $2300 shortfall from last year)
[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]
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(No Woohoo!s this week, be sure to report your sales/publications/etc. via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.)
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This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 7 critiques (at time of judging), averaging almost 900 words each, goes to...
Edward Moore
To redeem an MPC, visit: www.critters.org/usempc.ht
Congratulations! To everyone else -- Crit early and often!
(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)
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Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
Title Author
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Week of 13-May-2026 (Crits due 20-May-2026):
F Ch.1 - The Dream [mpc] Victoria Stanham -#32189
SF Getting Her Street Robert Harpold -#32190
SF The Ember Path - Chapter 6 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32191
F The Cactus and the Spider, Chapter 1 Kate Wooderson -#32192
H 8,967 minutes Clement Alain Boudreault -#32193
SF Algorithm of Life Douglas Ryan -#32194
SF Children of the Blue, Ch6, General Barclay Peter Allen -#32195
SF The Truthful and Sincere Testament of Sister Marguerite Jon Rosenthal -#32196
F Avenue C chapter 3 Charles Stevens -#32197
SF Into the Storm Joel Stanley -#32198
SF Planetless Christopher Mowder -#32199
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Recommended books on writing:
THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
ReAnimus Press Store: https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
Amazon: https://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI
STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8
EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
Because you might enjoy it... LOCAL KNOWLEDGE (A KIERAN LENAHAN MYSTERY) by CONOR DALY
'A fast-paced mystery' - THE NEW YORK TIMES
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1277
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...
In the lit workshop - https://critique.org/lit :
L Trust Henry McFarland -#32148
In the mystery workshop - https://critique.org/mystery :
T The Legacy Program Chapets 1 & 2 M Paul Whelan -#32103
In the nonfiction workshop - https://critique.org/nonfiction :
NO Climate Risk: What Would Ben Franklin Do Brian Cady -#32172
In the script workshop - https://critique.org/script :
SC It Happened One Christmas Robert W. Ross -#31694
In the kids workshop - https://critique.org/kids :
YS The Adventures of Jack, The Rabbit Emmanuel Agyei-Boatey -#31578
In the western workshop - https://critique.org/western :
W Good Land for Dying Kristen Vanderhoof -#32003
In the romance workshop - https://critique.org/romance :
R Embermarked, Chapter 10-12 Natalie Kalinowski -#31927
In the photo workshop - https://critique.org/photo :
PH A Building By Kanda River Nattamon Montriwat -#32096
In the apps workshop - https://critique.org/apps :
GM Uptown Valkyries Arthur Sankey -#31757
In the website workshop - https://critique.org/website :
WW Charles Gull creative projects blog and website Charles Gull -#31783
In the critters workshop - https://critique.org/critters :
F Ch.1 - The Dream [mpc] Victoria Stanham -#32189
SF Getting Her Street Robert Harpold -#32190
SF The Ember Path - Chapter 6 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32191
F The Cactus and the Spider, Chapter 1 Kate Wooderson -#32192
H 8,967 minutes Clement Alain Boudreault -#32193
SF Algorithm of Life Douglas Ryan -#32194
SF Children of the Blue, Ch6, General Barclay Peter Allen -#32195
SF The Truthful and Sincere Testament of Sister Marguerite Jon Rosenthal -#32196
F Avenue C chapter 3 Charles Stevens -#32197
SF Into the Storm Joel Stanley -#32198
SF Planetless Christopher Mowder -#32199
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You might also like... WALLS AND WONDERS by S. R. ALGERNON
Hugo finalist... If Hemingway wrote P.K.Dick-ian science fiction short stories...
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1583
Standard notes:
HELP:
If you need help with anything, see https://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.
HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
https://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!
HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive). Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234. (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it. Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see https://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)
You may also send your critiques via https://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .
Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.
DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here. Be polite. Be
considerate. Be tactful. You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way. Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can. Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story. Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact. Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful. See https://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...
CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique. (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)
CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the https://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.) Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).
QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at https://www.critters.org/format.ht .
EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page. The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites. There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.
AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address. (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.) Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.
EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to https://www.critters.org/admin.ht . Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore! (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)
BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at https://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-). Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!
QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .
DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit https://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.
Because you might enjoy it... Q IS FOR QUANTUM by JOHN GRIBBIN
A comprehensive encyclopedia of quantum physics
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1463
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