Thrilled to announce that I will be presenting a personal story (think "The Moth"), along with five other storytellers, at "Off the Rails: An Evening of Third Rail Storytelling" on Tuesday November 11 at CoHo Theatre in NW Portland. Buy tickets here: https://third-rail-rep.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/?acode=98d50fb4c33a811df1fa763ed72f3cfd&#/instances/a0FUv000002IzS5MAK
My OryCon schedule
Oct. 16th, 2025 04:40 pm- Fri Oct 17, 2025, 6:00 PM, Washington Room
Genre Hybrids
Stories that incorporate core concepts and elements of more than one traditional genre offer something particularly satisfying. What does or doesn’t work? A discussion of genre hybrids with writers who create them with recommendations. - Fri Oct 17, 2025, 8:00 PM, Lincoln Room
Choose Your Seat
When you settle down to watch a movie are you in a theater or snuggled on the couch streaming? We'll discuss preferences and the pros and cons of both. - Sat Oct 18, 2025, 2:00 PM, Gather Side Room
David Levine Kaffeeklatch
Come spend time with David Levine in an intimate setting. - Sat Oct 18, 2025, 3:00 PM, Madison Room
The Evolution of Technology in Science Fiction
Most early science fiction was action-oriented and centered around robots, spaceships and computers in futuristic societies. Nowadays there's far more to the genre than that. How has SF changed since the heyday of Asimov et al, for better and for worse? - Sat Oct 18, 2025, 7:00 PM, Oregon Room
David Levine reading
Reading and Q&A with David Levine - Sun Oct 19, 2025, 11:00 AM, Halsey Room, Table 1
David Levine Autographs - Sun Oct 19, 2025, 4:00 PM, Powell's Books at Cedar Hills, 3415
SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005
Powell's AuthorFest
I'll be signing my books, along with 18 other Pacific Northwest SF writers!
I have over sixty published short stories, many of which have been collected in anthologies. Fortunately I keep very good records. I have been able to identify 56 published anthologies that contain at least one story of mine. Of these 48 have ISBNs, and of those 14 have copyright registration numbers and are included in the Anthropic settlement database.
My understanding is that if I file claims on these anthologies I may eventually receive a share of the settlement on those titles. Assuming the settlement goes through as I understand it and that my claims are accepted, I may eventually receive roughly a hundred bucks for each story (assuming the settlement per title is about $3000, minus 25% for the lawyers, minus 50% of the remainder for the publisher, divided by the number of authors which I'm assuming for the sake of argument is about ten).
This is in addition to the claims I'm going to file on my two novels Arabella of Mars and Arabella the Traitor of Mars, which may eventually pay off about $3000 * 0.75 * 0.50 = $1125 each. (I think the publisher's 50% in this case will go to Open Road, the current publisher, rather than Tor, the original publisher, but there are still a lot of open questions here.)
Arabella and the Battle of Venus, the middle book of the Arabella trilogy, does NOT appear in the Anthropic settlement database, and I believe this is because Macmillan failed to register the copyright for that volume. However, according to Locus, Macmillan has issued a statement that "If your work was excluded from the settlement for this reason, we will make you whole by paying you what you otherwise would have been paid under the settlement." I've already sent an email to Macmillan inquiring as to next steps.
( Read more... )
This report contains SPOILERS.
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My Worldcon schedule
Jul. 23rd, 2025 01:10 pmHere's where you can find me at the Seattle Worldcon, August 13-17, 2025!
Improbable Research Dramatic Readings
Wed 1:30pm-2:30pm, Terrace Suite (4F)
The Ig Nobel Prizes—and Improbable Research more generally—celebrate "research that makes people LAUGH… then THINK." Put another way, it celebrates the fun of science. In this panel, we will have dramatic readings of scholarly research articles that are new to the people reading them. The audience will then get to ask these "experts" about the papers they have presented. Hilarity, and then thinking, will ensue.
Mikołaj Kowalewski (M), Geri Sullivan, Liz Zitzow, E.A., Mason A. Porter, David D. Levine, Janice Gelb
Muppets, Puppets, and Marionettes
Wed 4:30pm-5:30pm, Room 343-344
We love bringing puppets into our movies and shows. What is the mystique? Why do we love them and how they can say what we can't.
David D. Levine (M), Andrew Penn Romine, Mary Robinette Kowal, Merav Hoffman, Sho Glick
Reading: David D. Levine
Wed 8:00pm-8:30pm, Room 428
I'll be reading from "Rust," a short story told from the perspective of an ASL-using enhanced chimp trying to survive in an abandoned undersea laboratory. It'll be appearing in the September/October issue of Analog.
David D. Levine (M)
The Short and Long of It: Short Fiction, Its Mutability, and How to Transform It
Thu 9:00am-10:00am, ACT Theatre (ConCurrent Seattle, a separate event)
A craft discussion about writing, editing, and publishing fiction at every length, and growing - or shrinking - the format. But how do you know how long a story should be? Are there tricks for coaxing out specific lengths for pieces? Panelists will discuss these questions and more.
Sam Asher (M), LaShawn Wanak, David D. Levine, AW Prihandita, Lauren Ring
Live Action Role Playing Around the World
Fri 3:00pm-4:00pm, Room 420-422
Live Action Roleplaying (aka LARP) takes the game off of the tabletop and brings it to life through acting, costuming and character. Explore how this unique approch to gaming has developed worldwide; from the ongoing sagas of USA LARPS, to the full-immersion weekends of European Larps, and beyond.
Eleri Hamilton (M), David D. Levine, Terilee Edwards-Hewitt, Vivian Abraham
Autographs
Sat 3:00pm-4:00pm, Garden Lounge (3F)
Ken Bebelle (M), Bethany Jacobs, Cecilia Tan, Christine Taylor-Butler, Ctein, D.L. Solum, Dan Moren, David D. Levine, Edward Martin III, Fonda Lee, Henry Lien, Nancy Kress, Robin Hobb, Sonia Orin Lyris
Do Androids Dream of AI Slop?
Sun 3:00pm-4:00pm, Room 322
What is artificial intelligence and how does it differ from the image and text generators that have proliferated over the past few years? Is science on the track to creating R. Daneel Olivaw, or is all of this a mirage?
Jon Lasser (M), Avani Vaghela, Chris Kulp, David D. Levine, Elektra Hammond
Need a new agent
Jul. 22nd, 2025 04:56 pmWhile I'm looking for an agent, I'm going to be submitting my novel Vaudevaliens myself (to publishers who'll accept unagented submissions). Here's the pitch: "Two down-on-their-luck vaudevillians run into a couple of strange guys from way, way out of town. Together they will make it big on Broadway... or destroy the Earth." It's a standalone novel for adults, 81,000 words, and I'd say it's in the genre of "historical science fiction." I'm well aware of the major SF publishers, but if you know of any literature publisher (even small or medium-sized) who'd be willing to consider a historical novel with fantastic content, please let me know.
LARP comes to the USA!
Jun. 30th, 2025 04:32 pmIf you've been reading this blog, you will have seen me raving about my Live Action Role Play experiences in Europe in the past few years. Well, suddenly the European LARP experience is coming to the United States!
I'm aware of the following LARP events in the US in the next year. Many of these are being run in cooperation with a European LARP organizer. Some of them are still provisional; others are already sold out (though there is usually a waiting list). Check the websites for details and contact the organizers if you have any questions. And feel free to bookmark my public LARP spreadsheet, which I try to keep updated with every LARP I hear about that's of interest to me. (Which excludes vampire and boffer LARPs, for example.)
- Miskatonic University North America (Lovecraft) - Pennsylvania
Aug 1-3 2025
https://chaosleague.org/miskatonic-university-larp-us - Daemon (His Dark Materials) - Colorado
Run 1: Sep 26-28 2025
Run 2: Sep 29 - Oct 1 2025
https://www.mooneybinentertainment.com/daemon - Hawkins (Stranger Things) - Wisconsin
Oct 2-5 2025
http://hawkinslarp.com - Monstrosity (Erotic horror) - New Jersey
Run 1: Oct 30 - Nov 1 2025
Run 2: Nov 2-4 2025
Run 3: Nov 6-8 2025
https://www.monstrositylarp.com - Bard's Tale US (Shakespeare) - Wisconsin
Run 5: Apr 10-12 2026
https://www.westcoastinteractive.com/bardstale - Lies & Liability (Regency) - Wisconsin
Late April 2026
https://grimmoire.productions/lies-and-liability/ - Outbound Hope Mission (Galactica-ish on a decomissioned warship) - Michigan
Run 1: Apr 30 - May 3 2026
Run 2: May 7-10 2026
https://outboundhopemission.com/ - Conscience USA (Westworld) - Montana
Run 1: Jun 26-28 2026
Run 2: Jul 3-5 2026
http://mooneybinentertainment.com/conscienceusa - Hivemind (1960s spies) - USA TBD
Nov 6-7 2026
https://www.hivemindlarp.com/
Sale: "Rust" to Analog
Mar. 11th, 2025 04:04 pmThe story is told in the unique voice of the eldest chimp, who is named Alpha -- in honor of the Alpha SFF workshop for young writers, where I developed with the plot while teaching an "idea to outline in an hour" workshop back in 2011.
This is my first short story sale since 2022 and I'm very excited about it!
Seeking comp titles
Feb. 12th, 2025 08:48 am
Fast-forward to 2024, when I learned of the existence of a Live Action Role Playing event called Feindfahrt (), an anti-war LARP held in the submarine set originally built for Das Boot (1981), which also happens to be one of my favorite films ever. Of course I had to sign up for it, and as I write this I'm on a plane home from Munich where I just finished playing it.
Massive SPOILERS for the game follow. Proceed at your own risk.
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David's Index for 2024
Dec. 31st, 2024 07:59 pmNovel words written: 24,120
Short fiction words written: 7,692
Notes, outline, and synopsis words written: 41,944
Blog words written: 19,257
Total words written: 93,013
Novel words edited out: 6,914
Net words written: 86,099
New stories written: 2
Short fiction submissions sent: 7
Responses received: 6
Rejections: 6
Acceptances: 0
Awaiting response: 1
Short stories published: 0
Novels completed: 1
Novel editing days: 43
LARPs attended: 4
Happy new year!
Completed novel VAUDEVALIENS!
Dec. 22nd, 2024 03:52 pmIt took me three years and seven months from beginning work to a submittable second draft, of which three years were spent writing the first draft and seven months revising it. I had a couple of extensive breaks during that time, including the time spent revising and marketing The Kuiper Belt Job.
This is my eighth completed novel. If it sells, it'll be my fifth one published. (Unless I somehow publish another one between then and now, which is not impossible.)
My emotional state at this point is... relieved, anxious, uncertain, and frankly not very optimistic. In my experience it will take at least a couple of months and perhaps up to a couple of years before it either sells to a publisher or we decide it's not going to, and given the subject matter and the state of the publishing industry I'm far from certain it will sell. (I'm not interested in self-publishing.) But it's finished, anyway, and what happens to it from this point forward is largely out of my hands.
This report contains SPOILERS.
( Read more... )
My OryCon schedule
Oct. 17th, 2024 07:08 pm- 4:00pm: Steampunks in Space - Hamilton
- 5:00pm: Navigating a writing career - Ross Island
- 7:00pm: Opening Ceremonies - PNW Ballroom
- 9:00pm: Doctor Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Doctor Who Improv - Jefferson
- 11:00am: Every Villain is the Hero of their own story - Ross Island
- 1:00pm: David D. Levine Reading - Holladay
- 3:00pm: Plot Considered as a Four-Dimensional Array of Brightly Colored Beads - Mt Bachelor
- 4:00pm: The Early History of the Space Station - Weidler
- 7:00pm: Masquerade! (I will be one of the judges) - Mult/Holl
- 11:00am: Autographs - Dealer Lobby
- 12:00pm: We all love a good caper story - Morrison
- 1:00pm: Making Effective Use of Point of View - Madison
- 2:00pm: LARPing European style - Lincoln
Undecided voters
Sep. 15th, 2024 08:26 pmI consider myself pretty politically savvy. I follow the news, and I'm aware how important local races are. And yet I couldn't name a single person running for mayor or city council in my town (even though lawn signs are already up and I've actually spoken to two mayoral candidates). If you polled me on the local races right now, I'd have to say I'm undecided.
But when I vote (and I will vote, and I will vote early), I will do my research. We have an official Voter's Pamphlet where the candidates and their supporters can make their cases, and I have access to people and publications whose opinions I trust. I will gather enough information to make an informed decision.
So I am sure that there are people who care about presidential politics as much as I care about local politics, but like me they have not yet paid attention to the news or done the necessary research. It's a matter of priorities, and I can't really fault anyone who is too overwhelmed by the day-to-day matter of exiting in this messed-up country to spare any attention to national politics. But many of them will do their due diligence and make a considered choice before casting their ballots.
And I do hold out hope that when they do, the rational and kind choice will be clear.
Old tabletop games for sale
Aug. 26th, 2024 12:34 pm- AD&D 1st Edition Players Handbook 3rd Printing Jan 1979 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/305750056435)
- AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual 4th Printing Alpha August 1979 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/305750062879)
- TSR Metamorphosis Alpha Original Printing Early Science Fiction RPG 1976 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/305750068260)
- Metagaming Concepts Ogre Science Fiction Board Game 1st Edition 1977 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/305750080445)
- Metagaming Concepts Rivets Science Fiction Board Game 1977 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/305750089021)
Canadians! The ebook of Arabella of Mars, volume 1 of the trilogy, is on sale for just $1.99 at Amazon US and Canada through July 31! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CPWD6M9R
And the new AUDIOBOOK of Arabella of Mars, read by Bianca Amato, will be released on July 23 and is available for preorder now! https://www.audible.com/pd/Arabella-of-Mars-Audiobook/B0D6T21PB6

Buy it here! https://podiumentertainment.com/audio-book/the-kuiper-belt-job/
The Kuiper Belt Job: http://daviddlevine.com/kuiper
Podium Entertainment: https://podiumentertainment.com
#spaceopera #scifi #heist #audiobook

Andrew Kishino is best known for his work as Saw Gerrera in the Emmy Award winning series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "The Bad Batch", Kevin in Cartoon Network's "Steven Universe", Janja in Disney Junior's "The Lion Guard" (for which he also composed and performed music), and a long list of others. His voice & performance capture work in video games can be heard & seen in "Halo Infinite", "Jedi: Fallen Order", "Ghost of Tsushima", "Fortnite", "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth" and "Starfield", among a multitude of other titles. He was a member of the English voice cast of the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winning film "The Boy and the Heron", and was the lead role of Ernest in the English voice cast of the Annie Award nominated "Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia". He is an Audie Award nominated audiobook narrator (Fonda Lee's "Jade City"), and he has voiced national commercial campaigns for Adidas, Expedia, Metro, Walmart, McDonalds and EA Games, to name a few. His promo VO client list includes NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN. He is also a Juno Award nominated and Canadian Music Publishing Association award winning recording artist, and was the first hip hop artist signed to a major label in Canada. He has produced, engineered, mentored and written for several artists, and continues to lend his artistic and technical knowledge to up and coming musicians. He is a member of Mensa, and bakes a mean chocolate chip cookie.
Andrew reads the characters Strange and Cayce as well as the interstitial sections from the perspective of the whole Cannibal Club.
STRANGE is the planner and schemer. The “memory palace” in his mind contains every bit of information he’s ever encountered and every plan he’s ever made, and his plans are constantly in motion, adapting to changing circumstances.
CAYCE is Strange's son. He has an adolescent's gangly body but he carries himself like an experienced martial artist, which is slightly disturbing.
Andrew Kishino: https://www.andrewkishino.com IG: @big.kish
The Kuiper Belt Job: http://daviddlevine.com/kuiper
Podium Entertainment: https://podiumentertainment.com
Preorder the audiobook: https://podiumentertainment.com/titles/28122/the-kuiper-belt-job
#spaceopera #scifi #heist #audiobook