(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Write On! An Anything Box [1] ['Mettle Fatigue', 'Egberto Willies', 'Excorpflunky', 'Zct.Life', 'Belinda Ridgewood', 'Thom Hartmann'] Date: 2026-08-27 . . . . . American elementary school teacher and author Zenna_Henderson‘s first story was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1951. “Cited as pre-feminist,” her work emphasized middle-aged or old women, and children, often stereotyped as to life role and relationships, yet “strong, intelligent”, “outspoken” and capable in ways men tend not to be, e.g.. conflict resolution. Her key theme was differentness and its dangers, sometimes involving mental health issues. In her stories of “The People”, human aliens forced to emigrate to the 1800s American Southwest when a natural disaster destroys their home planet, they’re set apart because of cherishing their culture and beliefs, and though they possess telepathy, telekinesis, prophecy, and healing, they’re scattered and remain in danger. . . . . . Born 1917 in Tucson, eldest of five kids, Henderson was reading Astounding Stories, Amazing Stories, and Weird Tales at age 12. Among her favorite writers: Heinlein, Bradbury, Clement, Asimov. After college, her teaching jobs ranged from France to Connecticut to a WWII Japanese internment camp in Sacaton AZ, to a “semi-ghost mining town” at Fort Huachuca, and Tucson most of all. Earning an MA in 1956 while continuing to teach, she was among the first 203 female authors to be published in American SF magazines between 1926 and 1960. Some of her work was adapted for television and film, and her novelette Captivity was a 1959 Hugo nominee. “Science fiction authors Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Connie Willis, Dale Bailey,[4] and Kathy Tyers have cited her as an influence on their work….” . . . . . In one of Henderson’s gentler pieces, The Anything Box, a distressed child finds or creates “a box in which she can see her heart’s desire.” A teacher discovering this worries that the child’s escapism is risky, though also craving it herself. “In the end, the teacher lets the little girl keep the box, warning her not to let herself get lost in it.” . . . . . I was reminded of Henderson and THE ANYTHING BOX by a sidethread with ThurzdaysChild last week, and she generously gave permission for a diary idea that came of it: what odd or even bizarre combination of items in a box received by a story character might be the springboard for a piece of fiction? In nonfiction, PW or Booklife post interviewed an author on her just-published children’s book about herself and her kids sending boxes of various objects to relatives overseas whom they hadn’t seen in many years and thought they might never see again. Into the boxes they put objects representing their lives at various stages: a tiny hairbrush from when the kids were infants, a kindergarten art project, recipes they learned by cooking with Mom (the author), little bottles of the herbs and spices they liked in food or household botanicals, bits of spare fabric and wallpaper from rooms around the house and the furniture, dried flower petals and leaves from the garden, a couple of copies of books they loved to read over and over … and how those distant relatives sent boxes back too, to share their own lives as well in those tangible ways. . . . . . In a piece of fiction, an odd collection of things in a box might represent … almost anything. CHALLENGE: a character stumbles upon or receives a box of ___ objects from ___ or ? … m.f. . . . . . IN OTHER NEWS: ❦ The Association of American Literary Agents has updated its code of ethics to reflect the rise of nontraditional publishing, with major changes including allowing agents to charge clients for editorial and other publishing services ❦ The Financial Times argues that books penned by humans are becoming high-value products. ❦ PEN America talks with journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones about what The 1619 Project has taught her about censorship. ❦ Indie Spotlight: General Fiction In this round of Indie Spotlight, writers reflect on the origins of their novels, the writing process, and the path to self-publishing. ___________________________________________________ TAG REMINDERS FOR THIS DIARY SERIES: WriteOn — WriteOnGroup — R&BL — Readers&Booklovers — FreeWriters — writing — teaching — community I’D LIKE TO PROPOSE WE ADD fiction. Thoughts? (Come Nanowrimo and DaKoWriMo, we can add nonfiction — music — poetry — memoir — termpapers — recipes etc?). ___________________________________________________ Calendar as currently known: Sign up at the calendar comment in the thread. Sept 3 WO Aashirs nani – – – – – – FWIP dconrad Sept 10 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP sagesource Sept 17 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP ____________ Sept 24 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP ____________ Oct 1 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP ____________ Oct 8 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP ____________ Oct 15 WO ______________ – – – – – – FWIP ____________ ___________________________________________________ Good news for diarists: tech crew improved the language and steps for advance-scheduling of diaries so it looks clearer. I updated this tutorial accordingly. Thank you, tech crew! 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