Sally Wiener Grotta interviewed me for her “What If? Why Not? How?” series. Our chat focuses on The Sign of the Dragon.
Hello and Welcome
I am a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and winner of the AnLab Readers’ Award, Dwarf Stars Award, Elgin Award, Rhysling Award, and Utopia Award. My work has appeared in Analog, Asimov’s, F&SF, Science, Strange Horizons, and Uncanny Magazine.
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JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. (April 2020 + January 2025)
Winner of the 2021 Elgin Award, The Sign of the Dragon is an epic fantasy told in poetry. Of all the things I’ve written, it’s the one that matters most to me. It began with a single poem about a boy chosen by a dragon to be king. I meant the poem to be a standalone piece, but the boy stayed with me, and I returned and wrote more, and more, and more poems about him. Over three hundred poems in the end.
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Note: Signed print copies may be bought from Phantom of the Attic in Pittsburgh (411 S Craig St 2nd floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15213).
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Featured, Interviews
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Adam Dalton-West interviewed myself, F. J. Bergmann, Beth Cato, Linda D.
Addison and David C. Kopaska-Merkel about speculative poetry. This article first appeared on the SFPA blog in May 2026.
A Time-traveller’s Guide to Speculative Poetry: Part Four, Contemporary
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A review by Tar Vol of The Sign of the Dragon, December 2025
“It’s thrilling, poignant, funny, uplifting, heartrending. It’s simultaneously poetic and easy to read, both wide in scope and eminently approachable. The Sign of the Dragon is a truly breathtaking epic, and one I highly recommend.”
Featured, Reviews
A review by Sia of The Sign of the Dragon at Every Book a Doorway, August 2025
“The Sign of the Dragon is not like any book you’ve ever read before, for a few reasons…. Xau might not be a once-in-a-generation warrior – but his story is a once-in-a-generation book.”
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Fiction: Impossible
On 5/19/2025, I joined C. S. E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez for an episode of their Fiction: Impossible Twitch series. Our conversation began with a reading/interview from The Sign of the Dragon, followed by book and board game recommendations.
Here is a link to the recording. N.B. The main portion begins at 12 and a 1/2 minutes. [Before that there’s a section with chatter but no video.] I’m not certain how long this link will stay active.
Many thanks to Claire and Carlos, who are awesome!
What's New?
Light
I’m delighted to report that my poem “Robert Frost 2.0” appeared in Light, my first appearance there 🙂
Monday, 22 June 2026
What If? Why Not? How? with Sally Wiener Grotta
Sally Wiener Grotta’s 2025 interview with me about The Sign of the Dragon is now available on Substack 🙂
Monday, 22 June 2026
Star*Line
I’m very happy to report another poetry acceptance from Star*Line 🙂
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Light
I’m delighted to report a poetry acceptance from Light 🙂
Monday, 8 June 2026
Asimov’s
I’m delighted to report that my poem “So This Is The Middle Kingdom” has been published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July/August 2026, my sixteenth poem to appear there 🙂
Monday, 8 June 2026
Website background illustrations by M. Wayne Miller
