Friday Links: Reading and Writing for the Long Winter Haul

Happy Friday, all! Apparently the groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, so we’re looking at six more weeks of winter weather in the northern hemisphere. In homage to that fact, I’ve got a ton of book recommendation links for you all this week, so whatever it looks like outside your window, you have some good reading material to keep you company. I’ll admit I’m doing a lot of reading myself these days, both for work and for pleasure, because I am in need of a good distraction from the insanity of real life, and books have always been that for me.

Of course, I also have some writing opportunities lined up in the links, so do take a look and maybe find yourself a deadline or a new publication to add to your writing goals. It’s always good to stretch your skills; you never know when you might come up with your next brilliant idea. Wishing you all a wonderful, creative weekend. Happy writing!

9 Books by Black Authors You Need on your Black History Month Reading List – Some really great titles, old and newer, to add to your TBR if you haven’t gotten around to them yet.

25 Great Books by Refugees in America – Another timely list of wonderful titles, across a wide range of subjects and genres.

Opportunities for Writers: February and March 2017 – A list of upcoming deadlines for contests, fellowships, publications and so on.

Join the Book Riot February #Riotgrams Instagram Challenge – A fun boookish photo challenge for anyone on Instagram. It kicked off on Feb. 1st, but there’s plenty of time to play catch up as the rules are extremely flexible.

Eimear McBride Is Not Afraid of Cruelty – The author talks about her new book, her thoughts on long descriptions, and her approach to writing.

100 Must-Read Science Fiction and Fantasy Debuts – A huge collection of debut sff books both recent and classic. Fabulous reference for anyone looking to get a great overview of the genre.

17 Books to Read This February – Some great-sounding new releases due out this month that will help the short days and still-long nights fly by.