I was so happy to get this snapshot of my book as a staff pick at the McNally Jackson independent book store in New York.
FedCon 30 in Bonn!
Definitely the nerdiest thing I have done in a very long time, but it was so fun to be at a huge convention with so many fellow Sci-Fi fans in Germany. FedCon is Europe’s largest Star Trek convention and apparently way more manageable than the big Con in Las Vegas. I only had two day passes, but I enjoyed the panels and plunked down the absurd amount of cash to have my photos taken with Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes. And it was all in the name of research for my new work on feminist utopias.
The advances copies arrived today!
I would love this article by Alexandra Jones in British Elle even if she didn't quote me →
Sleeping, hanging out with our friends, and having consensual sex are all forms of resistance to the ever expanding need of capitalism to force us into quantitative assessments of the worth of our leisure time. Forget the hustle. Eat crisps in bed cuddled up in a duvet! Read more here
If you are in Frankfurt on June 10
I am giving a lecture at about Alexandra Kollontai at the University of Frankfurt: “How to Organize Social Reproduction? Feminist Lessons from Alexandra Kollontai“ Get more info here
Rebecca Amsellem's new podcast series
Thrilled to be a part of this great new series on creating a feminist utopia.
The Method is a six episode podcast series hosted and co-written by Rebecca Amsellem. It was produced by one of France's leading podcast companies, Louie Media.
Here are the links to listen to the podcast in English: Apple Podcasts, Spotify
And in French: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Acast
Lunar Festival of Lights in Sofia
Such a cool project which made the whole city come alive with art and light. The perfect way to forget for a few moments about the pandemic, war, and impending recession.
Kollontai on abortion
“As long as women or men live under the pressure of unemployment, as long as the level of wages is not sufficient for a family, as long as housing conditions are unfavourable, and as long as the state does not make motherhood easier for every woman in various ways and does not provide social services for mother and child, it is clear that the women must stand up for free abortions.”
Interview in Lit Hub about contributions to the Choice Words abortion anthology →
And now it’s more important than ever to have these stories out there
A Bulgarian nationalist protest against sending military aid to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the Bulgarian government voted to send military aid to Ukraine and some Bulgarians were very unhappy. A new nationalist party is gaining more and more support as the war drags on.
A photo from my lecture yesterday at Sofia University
Caught me while I was shutting off the sound on my phone
May the Fourth be With You!
Happy Star Wars Day everyone!
A new newsletter for International Workers' Day
War, what is it good for?
This International Workers’ Day finds me just one country removed from war. According to Google maps, if I were to drive from Durankulak in the northeast corner of Bulgaria on the Black Sea to Orlivka, a border town in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine, it would take me 3 hours and 19 minutes. It’s only 218 kilometers through a small strip of coastal Romania. More than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees have flowed into Bulgaria so far, and about 100,000 have stayed, largely because they have family connections here. (The Bessarabian Bulgarians are a historical minority in Ukraine who fled Ottoman oppression and settled in what was then the Russian Empire in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly during the Russo-Turkish wars of 1806-1812 and 1828-1829.)
This war has profoundly divided Bulgaria. The Prime Minister and the President openly disagree on whether the country should send weapons to Ukraine, and ordinary people argue about the increasing presence of foreign NATO troops in their country. The United States maintains four strategic military bases here: the Bezmer Air Force base in Yambol, the Graf Ignatiev Air Force base in Plovdiv, and the Logistics Center Airforce base in Aitos. The biggest NATO staging ground is the Novo Selo Range Army Base near Sliven, and it would certainly be a key target if the war spilled over the borders of Ukraine…
Working in the National Library today
And I found a great article about Alexandra Kollontai!
Birthday in Bulgaria
So nice to celebrate with family and friends in Sofia (and without masks!)
Cover design of the forthcoming Japanese translation
The Japanese translation of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence is coming out in May, and they have changed the title to “Maybe it's capitalism that's keeping you from enjoying sex.” This image is the lonely woman under capitalism surrounded by her purchases and is an interesting twist of the themes of the book.
Orthodox Easter at Alexander Nevski Cathedral
Spotted in the wild
So nice to see my book in the English language bookstore in Sofia.
Final cover jacket design for Red Valkyries!
This is the jacket for the hardback book coming out in July.
Scenes from Sofia
One of my favorite restaurants in Sofia, Pod Lipite, and some amazing Linden trees. It’s Eastern season in Bulgaria, and the Spring is almost here. The city is being watched over by the glorious peak of Mt. Vitosha.
