THE AFTERLIFE PROJECT excerpt up at Amazing Stories
April 18, 2025 § Leave a comment
It’s such an honor to be excerpted in the pages of this venerable old science fiction magazine – where such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Howard Fast, and Ursula K LeGuin published some of their early stories.
In case you want a little amuse-bouche before you order a copy of The Afterlife Project. Enjoy!
THE AFTERLIFE PROJECT receives a starred review from Library Journal
March 31, 2025 § 1 Comment
“Rousing seafaring adventure, combined with contemplative musings on life wrapped around a compelling romance make this a fascinating tale that is difficult to put down; the combination of dire ecological challenges and imaginative future discovery combine in this very engrossing read from Weed.” — Library Journal
This is a big deal, and should really help get the word out about this book. My humble and profound gratitude to all the great folks at Podium Entertainment, Page One Media, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, and to the many of you who have already preordered or posted early reviews. The Afterlife Project comes out June 3, 2025; the paperback original, audiobook, and ebook are available for preorder now.
THE AFTERLIFE PROJECT is a Middlebury Magazine Editors’ Pick
March 10, 2025 § 1 Comment
It’s an honor to receive this notice from my alma mater, with a nice little book review as well. Here’s a pull quote:
“The dangers [the characters] endure along the way are set against an unfolding and impossible love story across the vastness of geological time, as the scientists work to keep humans in existence. It may sound like an end-of-the-world tale, but it defines the strength and bravery of human beings and what they will do to preserve this precious thing we call life in the face of overwhelming odds.” — Middlebury Magazine
New fiction craft essay at Writer’s Digest
January 5, 2025 § Leave a comment
Link below to this short piece featured by Writer’s Digest. If you’ve taken a fiction class with me you’ll likely be familiar with this line of thinking, though perhaps you haven’t seen it put exactly this way before. In any case I think it’s an essential thing to keep in mind if you want to create original work in this spoiler-obsessed story culture. There’s also a link in the bio you can use to preorder the new novel, which I strongly encourage!
“What is Dramatic Irony: And How to Use it to Create Page-Turning Fiction”
New profile in UCSD/GPS alumni magazine
November 21, 2024 § 4 Comments
My thanks to reporter and editor Douglas Girardot for this article from the School of Global Policy & Strategy (GPS) at the University of California, San Diego. I got a master’s degree in international environmental policy here way back when and have never lived to regret it. Honored that they chose to feature an alum who has pursued, shall we say, a slightly ‘unconventional’ career path for a graduate from this distinguished program.
12 great novels with wilderness settings (+ one)
November 8, 2024 § Leave a comment
Was happy to have been asked recently to provide a novel recommendation list for Booklisti, a new site to help readers discover new books through the creation and sharing of lists. I love sites like this because they’re great tools for fostering literary community and for spreading the word on good literature, so I was happy to create not one but two lists! This is the second of two.
Six great literary post-apocalypse novels (+ one bonus rec)
November 7, 2024 § Leave a comment
Was happy to have been asked recently to provide a novel recommendation list for Booklisti, a new site to help readers discover new books through the creation and sharing of lists. I love sites like this because they’re great tools for fostering literary community and for spreading the word on good literature, so I was happy to create not one but two lists! This is the first of two.
THE AFTERLIFE PROJECT shortlisted for Uncharted Magazine’s Novel Excerpt Contest
April 1, 2024 § Leave a comment
Happy to report that the new novel, a finalist for the Prism Prize in Climate Literature, has garnered another pre-publication recognition. Uncharted is a magazine dedicated to high quality genre fiction, and I couldn’t be more pleased to have made this shortlist.
THE AFTERLIFE PROJECT will be released by Podium Publishing in all three formats—print, audio, and ebook—in early 2025.
If you’re interested in staying extra up-to-date on the book, and/or if you’d like to take advantage of various opportunities to get your hands on advance review copies, send me a quick note and I’ll add you to my email newsletter.* Otherwise, feel free to check in at your own pace here on my website or on my socials; I occasionally post as “vtweeder” on Instagram and Threads, and you can also find my pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.
*Given the current plague of spammy emails and social media posts, one of my goals with this newsletter is not to contribute to overloading anyone’s already-full inbox with junk. That’s why it is and will always be “very occasional but always interesting” — meaning that it will only contain information that is pithy, to the point, and, at least potentially, of interest and/or benefit to you. This may include book news, special deals and opportunities for friends, upcoming writing courses and opportunities for small-group travel experiences with creative and like-minded people. And I promise that it will land in your inbox a maximum of 2-3 times per year.
Three top fiction reads of 2023
November 1, 2023 § Leave a comment
I put together a list of three of the books I most enjoyed reading this year for this cool literary organization called Shepherd (now Book DNA), which has been conceived as a competitor to Goodreads. Some time ago I compiled my list of the best historical novels of early colonial New England; this year they asked me to compile my three top fiction reads.
I think it’s important for writers and readers to support organizations that are trying to get the word out about good books. For one thing, it’s a way to circumvent the powerful media channels dominated by conglomerate publishing; instead of the books they say we should be reading, why not listen to each other? Word of mouth, not well-funded marketing campaigns, after all, is a much more reliable way to find good books.
Of course anyone who loves to read is going to be relying to a major extent on the conglomerates; it’s just baked into the system. I try to buy books from small and independent presses whenever possible, but many of my favorites were put out by the Big 5 corporate imprints. And while it’s true that Goodreads is owned by the Amazon corporate empire, Goodreads and Amazon offer some of the best (and often the only) ways for relatively unknown writers to make their books discoverable to the world at large. This is why I’m pretty assiduous about rating and briefly reviewing the books I’ve read and enjoyed on these sites—and if you care about books and authors, you should too!
Still, Book DNA is a refreshing upstart, and I love what they’re doing for books and authors, so I tend to respond when they approach me to make this kind of list. Enjoy!
Tim Weed’s 3 favorite reads of 2023
The best historical novels of early colonial New England
Audiobook of Will Poole’s Island, small-group Cuba trips, and other news
September 3, 2020 § Leave a comment
| I’m thrilled to announce the impending release of a new audiobook of Will Poole’s Island—narrated by yours truly! It turns out that recording an audiobook is an exacting, time consuming process—but also a surprisingly enjoyable one. This slightly whimsical fish-eye photo taken by producer and sound engineer Reggie Martell in the spare room of my Vermont house that he converted into a sound studio doesn’t really do justice to how rewarding it was to re-immerse myself in that first published novel, a book that will always hold a special place in my heart. |
 |
| Years had passed since I’d last revisited Will Poole’s Island; there were moments when I felt like I was reading it for the first time. And I’m pleased to report, in my humble opinion, that the story holds up well, offering a rewarding temporary escape from the tense stretch of history we’re currently living. This is especially so thanks to Reggie’s professional expertise and the hauntingly beautiful original musical interludes composed by the talented ETC Kid. |
| The audiobook and Kindle e-book are set to be released on September 15, with a new edition of the paperback to follow in Spring ’21. If your interest is piqued, I encourage you to ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK NOW from Audible or the vendor of your choice. You’ll have my sincere gratitude. And I know you’ll enjoy listening to the novel! |
 | The last time I was in Havana was January, 2020, but it feels like fifty years ago! Very much looking forward to getting back next year. Care to join me? |
| As a place to visit Cuba is as interesting as ever, perhaps even more so given the effectiveness of the response to COVID-19. Unlike certain other countries in the world, the country has been used its excellent medical system and organizing capacity to good effect, keeping new cases of the pandemic limited. In fact my Cuban friends are constantly checking in to express their worries about how we’re all doing up north in the U.S.—which says quite a bit about the situations in our respective countries. |
| Depending on how things go, the next year or so looks to be an opportune time to revisit this fascinating country that I know and love so well. |  |
 | I’m considering putting together two or three small-group trips to Cuba, dates TBD, in winter/spring 2021, late fall 2021, and/or winter/spring 2022. |
| I’m also available to set up custom independent trips if you have a small group of family or friends that want to go. If either of these options is of more than casual interest to you, please send me a note with any thoughts on what your interests are in terms of trip content, and if there is a best time frame for you. |
| I’ll keep a careful list and update you specifically as I hear from people and actual trip dates begin to take shape. You can also bookmark this page, on which I keep an updated list of upcoming writing workshops, travel programs, talks, readings, and other events. |  |
 | Meanwhile, I hope you are holding up well, staying safe and healthy, and managing to enjoy life in all its varied moments! Please don’t hesitate to send me a note if you’d like to touch base in a more personal way. Warm wishes! |
Tim Weed 