It is with an equal helping of bittersweet melancholy and bright-eyed excitement that I am announcing the closure of A Dribble of Ink today.

A Dribble of Ink first opened in 2007, when I was a freshly graduated web development student, and in the intervening years has turned into the most passionate and rewarding professional and personal project of my life so far. The energy and enthusiasm I poured into A Dribble of Ink was rewarded in 2014 when I won a Hugo Award for “Best Fanzine,” an accolade that’s still sinking in, and in the many, many people who have read and commented on the news bits, reviews, interviews, essays, and more that have been posted here.

However, in the past year, since the birth of my daughter and the release of my first book, Tide of Shadows and Other Stories, my personal and professional goals have begun to find themselves at odds with the time and attention it takes to run an SFF publication to the standard I expect of myself and A Dribble of Ink. I want to focus more on writing fiction and, even more so, on spending time with my growing family.

I can’t tell you how many people I spoke to at LonCon 3 who said something along the lines of: “Hey! I love A Dribble of Ink, but, dude, you need to write more yourself!” So, I’m taking those words to heart.

Fun Stats

Since 2007, over 1.6 million people have read A Dribble of Ink, generating 3.7 million pageviews.
The most popular posts are:

“We Have Always Fought: Challenging the ‘Women, Cattle and Slaves’ Narrative” by Kameron Hurley (Hugo Award Winner);
A map of Middle Earth as you’ve never seen it before; and
Shockingly, Christopher Tolkien hates the Lord of the Rings films.


Other notable posts include:

My review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug;
A spotlight on the art of Veronique Meignaud;
Women fighters in reasonable armour;
My review of Avatar: The Last Airbender;
“It’s Amazing the Things We Know, That Are Actually Wrong” by Kate Elliott;
“Concerning Historical Authenticity in Fantasy, or Truth Forgives You Nothing” by Daniel Abraham;
“They Are Not Ghosts: On the Representation of the Indigenous Peoples of North America in Science Fiction & Fantasy” by Maureen Kincaid Speller;
“Gene Wolfe: The Reliably Unreliable Author” by Chris Gerwel;
and many, many more.


And, of course, the height of the site’s journalism:

Tar Valon looks like a vagina.


Aside from myself, 73 different writers have published at least one article or review on A Dribble of Ink. Each and every one of them have been integral in keeping this blog interesting, relevant, and diverse.

Thanks

I would like to thank, of course, all of my lovely readers—those who have been with me since the start, and those who have just discovered A Dribble of Ink—and all of the incredible people who have collaborated with me over the years to make A Dribble of Ink one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy watering holes. The success of this venture far exceeds even the wildest dreams I had when I published my first post.

I would also like to pay special thanks to a few people in particular: Foz Meadows, for her inspiring and incisive reviews, which have made A Dribble of Ink a much richer publication; Justin Landon, for his endless advice and friendship; Kameron Hurley, for her hand in bringing tens of thousands of new readers to A Dribble of Ink thanks to her Hugo-winning essay; Anne Perry, Jared Shurin, Thea James, and Ana Grilo for pushing me to be bigger, better, and smarter; and The G., founder and Editor of Nerds of a Feather, for instilling me with confidence that the SFF blogosphere is in good hands.

What’s Next?

Just because A Dribble of Ink is closing doesn’t mean I won’t be around—in fact, I’m writing more than ever. Which is, like, the point, right? I’m a regular contributor to the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, I’ve got an ongoing series on Tor.com, publish regularly on Medium, and I plan to keep both my Twitter and Facebook feeds alive and vibrant. I also have several unannounced things that should come to light over the next several months. One door is closing, but many more await, open and inviting.

So, adios, and thanks again for all the wonderful years and opportunities. I won’t forget them.

The post So long, and thanks for all the books appeared first on A Dribble of Ink.