Good news #1: “Pollen” by Anna Burdenko is the Clarkesworld Readers’ Poll finalist! I am so glad people enjoyed this excellent story. You can vote for your favorites here, up until February 15.
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/clarke_02_26/
Good news #2: “Origin Story,” an epistolary tale of an advanced AI model responding to queries from its unhinged billionaire owner, has been accepted at Nature Futures. It should be published sometime in the next few months.
Books & Booze: I am going to be a part of this brand-new book fair organized by Randee Dawn tomorrow. Stop by and see many and many fabulous authors, as well as a few literary agents, at Industry City.
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 
Have fun today at the book fair! May you have all the sales, sir!
Thank you! We got “frozen out” — the real feel is -13 F as I write this — so it was mostly a social event with authors hanging out, but that’s a lot of fun, too! And I got back early enough to enjoy the evening at home.