Year End

and what's to come in 2024...

Looking Back…

This isn’t a summary of everything I’ve done (not enough) and all the wonderful things that happened to me (incredible) this year. I don’t enjoy looking back on a year near its end and summing up all the “accomplishments” — I much prefer the Belichickian “We’re on to 2024” — but I do want to take a moment to be grateful for all the wonderful things that happened to me in my last 12 months as a writer.

I got to go to several amazing gatherings, meeting scientists, artists, writers, technologists, entrepreneurs … and learning from all of them. This is by far my favorite part of the job. I got to be part of a workshop where we discussed whether math is invented or discovered and another workshop where I was bombarded by new theories of life, the universe, and everything. Eight-year-old me would not have believed that such a cool life is even possible.

I got to do a lot more teaching. I saw my students (in various writings programs as well as in one-off classes) find their voice and tell the stories they wanted to tell — the highest achievement for any writer. I’m so thankful for knowing them and for learning from them.

I got to do some thinking about AI, and how it challenges us to be more human. I worked with other writers on advising our political leaders on regulating AI, and I came up with some new ideas that have been infused into my fiction and the talks I give (we need new metaphors for thinking about AI). Rather than fearful, I’m excited about how we can be creative in the age of cogitating machines.

I got to revisit Le Guin’s work as a critic and as a novelist. I’m in awe of her mind, and I think about her wisdom daily.

I got to work on rebooting a series of films as a TV show — the most fun I’ve ever had in media work (the project is on hold for now, alas). As well, the Dandelion Dynasty found readers all over the world who love Dara, and Pantheon, long after I thought it was gone forever, returned to streaming so that at least some people in some parts of the world could see it. Along with these big memories were many, many little triumphs and lovely notes from readers that made me appreciate my life more than ever.

Last but not least, I published a few pieces of fiction, which you can find a full listing of here. Of these, the one I’m most pleased by is “The Passing of the Dragon” (Tor.com), a story that I wrote to understand what it means to make art and to take in art. And the one that is most fun is “Collaboration?” (Uncanny), a piece I co-wrote with Caroline Yoachim to explore all the pleasures afforded by fiction.

Looking Forward

The future is always uncertain, but the one thing that is certain is that I’ll have a new book out next year.

My translation of Laozi’s Dao De Jing will be published by Simon & Schuster (Scribner) on August 20, 2024. Laozi’s Dao De Jing: A New Interpretation for a Transformative Time will be the first time this book, previously available in audio from Audible, is published in text. I wrote about the genesis of this book here. You can pre-order it from your favorite retailer (the publisher’s page, linked above, has more details).

I really enjoyed working with Kathryn Belden of Scribner on the text of this book, and the cover, by Jaya Miceli, and the design, by Kyle Kabel, are exquisite. I’m so pleased with how it turned out.

What will the next year hold? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out.