ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book contains about seven years of my writing, but is the result of decades of help, teaching, and support from a dozen different directions. This list is long, sorry not sorry.

Thanks first to Michelle Dotter, Dan Wickett, Catherine Sinow, and everyone else at Dzanc, who chose this from a mountain of submissions for their annual contest. I’m so thrilled that my first book was with people who recognized what I was trying to do and helped me do it better. Michelle in particular was kind, patient, and constantly encouraging throughout the process.

My agent, DongWon Song, is the actual best, and I’m lucky to have him. Thank you for your insight, humor, and for gently suggesting replacements for my terrible titles.

Most of these stories were first published in various SF/F literary magazines, whose editors are absolute champions of the genre and its writers. I’d like to specially shout out John Joseph Adams at Nightmare/Lightspeed, Ann VanderMeer of Tor.com, and Brian White and Julia Rios of Fireside. It’s been such a pleasure working with you all.

I’ve had so many wonderful writing teachers, starting from when I was an insufferable teenager convinced of my own genius. In roughly chronological order, I’d like to thank Jay Craven, Rob Williams, Burgess Clark, Walter Eugene Grodzik, Gail Tremblay, Gregory Frost, Geoff Ryman, Catherynne Valente, Nora Jemisin, Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer, Kij Johnson, Laura Moriarty, Darren Canady, and Giselle Anatol.

Writing is lonely sometimes, but I’m lucky to have family and friends who make it less so. Ellen and Leah Cipri, and the whole Cipri clan; Nibedita Sen, best of boos; the best-ever Aunt Squad of Anne Brunelle and Cathy MacIntyre; queerplatonic life-partner k8 Walton; my classmates and cohort at the University of Kansas, especially Hannah Warren, Maria Dones, Kyle Teller, and Jason Baltazar; my classmates at the 2014 Clarion Writing Workshop, who taught me as much as the teachers; and the amazing queer and trans writing family that I’ve come to know, who are always reminding me to drink more water and believe in my work.

Particular to “Before We Disperse like Star Stuff,” which was the last story to be written: Darcie Little Badger was kind enough to talk to me about being an Indigenous scientist. Sisi Jiang, Angeline Rodriguez, and Kyna Horten provided amazing and insightful sensitivity reads. In my research, I came across a lot of work by critics, scientists, researchers, and writers that had a profound impact on the story, including Kim Tallbear, Kara Stewart, Debbie Reese, Adrienne Keene, and Adrienne Mayor.

Lastly, gratitude to various trees in Vermont, Colorado, Washington, Illinois, Kansas, and elsewhere for existing so awesomely that I would stand beneath them and go, Trees! Wow! and feel a little better about the world.