February 2026: So Much Publishing Work

2026 sure started off with a bang... so much so that I’m half a month late on my monthly update. 😭

We had a bunch of Shiraki Press deadlines hit during the first six weeks of the year, along with some new marketing opportunities that popped up recently and also had deadlines during that time, so I found myself working on the press absolutely full time; my own writing got yeeted straight off the Earth for the last month and a half, and the only reading I’ve done so far this year is submission reviews and proofreads.

I am very tired.

All that work paid off, though, with a veritable avalanche of exciting Shiraki Press news:

• I finalized the cover and ARC for our first book, Accelerated Growth Environment (illustration by Stephen Martiniere, typography and design by me)
• I finalized the cover and ARC for our second book, Wine for Roses (front cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio, spine and back by me)
• I finalized the cover and ARC for our third book, The Color of Time (illustration by Alyssa Winans, typography and design by me)
• I made what feels like a zillion graphics for print and digital ads and social media campaigns
• I built and rolled out a totally new Shiraki Press website, based on Shopify, that allows us to do print and ebook direct sales and preorders
• I reviewed dozens of #SmallPitch submissions and proofread our ARCs in production

I also just wrote at length about what it’s been like to metamorphose into an impostor syndrome-afflicted graphic designer in my essay Doing It Scared.

It’s been a lot!

Things that brought me joy these past six weeks:

• I’m quite proud of all the Shiraki Press work that’s happened, but more than that, the work itself—not just the results—is bringing me more joy than I had felt in video game development at any point in the last decade.
• Must Read Magazines finally relented and changed that gross contract they were hitting people with for submissions to Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF. (Locus)
• Bandcamp banned AI music. It probably won’t stop determined bad actors, but it should slow the slop tsunami. (Reddit)
• San Diego Comic Con banned AI from its art show. And good riddance to it! (Cartoon Brew)
• NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani announced universal child care for NYC residents on the 8th day of his administration. Turns out you can just do things! (BlueSky)
• Ryan Coogler’s incredible film Sinners—which I love unreservedly—made history, breaking the record for most Oscars nominations for a single film. (Seattle Times)

Things that are bringing me angst:

• It feels like we started a second American civil war years ago and we just didn’t see it for what it was at the time. It’s all too clear now, though. (Ziggurat)
• Fuck ICE. I’m not even going to try to list all the horrific shit they’ve pulled since the new year, and are still pulling. Total abolition of the agency is now the moderate position.
• The Epstein files are making it clear that so much of what ails the US today comes back to a sprawling and utterly depraved transnational crime syndicate. (One of my favorite journalists, Sarah Kendzior, has been working this beat for years; only now are folks starting to really pay attention.)
• At least we’re still allocating funds to combat child sex trafficking, right? Oh... oh. Never mind. (The Guardian)

My attempts at reconnection were undone by the recent intensity of press work, and I’m very much hoping to get back to a more sustainable pace soon. 😰

Upcoming events:

• I’ll be at RadCon February 13-15. Come say hi!
• I’ll be at Rainforest Writers Retreat February 18-22. Do not come say hi! The whole point of a retreat is for me to be left alone! 😂
• Our first Shiraki Press publication, Accelerated Growth Environment, comes out on March 3. You can pre-order the paperback and/or ebook right here.
• I’ll be at Emerald City Comic Con March 5-7 for some portion of the time. Come say hi again!

That’s all for now!