Dear Friends,

As always, I take a moment to remind you that con hangover is real. Also, my real life is real. I live in the Seattle area. I work in local government. Seattle is hosting six FIFA World Cup games, the first of which is tomorrow, and while I am not first line of defense, I am essentially on call through the end of the World Cup (because fan zones stay up and active through the whole tournament, not just when games are taking place in your city).

All of this is to say, I am going to work on getting all of our media mentions and other white board content up here on the blog, but it may take me a little longer than is ideal. Pictures of the media mentions have been shared on the Narrativity Discord channel, the Friends of Narrativity Facebook page, and on BlueSky with the hashtag #narrativity2026. I’m the person who posted them, so if you have a question for me, you can use any of those ways to get ahold of me along with the always reliable ITS A TASTY FRIED MEAT! progCANNED FOREVERramming@CANNED FOREVERnarrativity.fun email address.
Thank you all for another amazing Narrativity. You inspire me.

Your Paragon of Programming
-Erin Shanendoah

And now, onto our Friday media mentions.

Curiouser and Curiouser Opening Ceremonies (because why not)
Reds & Reds 2 (movies)

“Wax-works weren’t made to be looked at for nothing, nohow.” Worldbuilding: Economics
Non-fiction works
Das Kapital – Karl Marx
Scarcity – Eldar Sharif & Sendhil Mullainathan (consistent scarcity lowers IQ)
Wealth of Nations – Adam Smith
South Sea Bubble – Extra History (youtube/Nebula)
Debt: The First 5000 Years – David Graeber
Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession – Erma Bombeck (aside)

Fictionalized non-fiction
Maus – Art Spiegelman (fragile systems)

Books/Book Series
The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin (child investor)
Quarter Share – Nathan Lowell (post-scarcity, cozy)
Hyperion – Dan Simmons (fragile systems)
Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Care (using different kinds of power/currency)
Time Enough for Love – Robert Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert Heinlein (sex as currency)
The Door into Summer – Robert Heinlein
The Traitor Baru Cormorant – Seth Dickinson
The Anarchy – William Dalrymple
Culture series – Iain Banks (post-scarcity)
Arc of the Scythe series – Will Shusterman (post-scarcity)

Television/Movies
Star Trek (Federation post-scacity)
The Gods Must be Crazy

Music
16 Tons – Tennessee Earnie Ford (company towns)

“If you believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?” Getting the reader to trust you
Books/Book Series
Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie
Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
The Wake – Paul Kingsnorth
No Longer Human – Osamu Dazai (novel)
Usamaru Furuya (author, print manga)
Junji Ito (video manga)
Dresden series – Jim Butcher (same book, over and over)
Martian Tales – Edgar Rice Burroughs (same book, over and over)
Legend of Drizzt – RA Salvatore (same book, over and over)
Malazan Book of the Fallen – Stephen Erickson (keeps things fresh)
Blue Ant trilogy – William Gibson (only read if you already trust the author)

Authors
Joyce Carol Oates (layered stories)
Stephen King (writing technique)
Elizabeth Peters, aka Barbara Mertz (build trust over the series)

Television/Movies
Lost (lost trust)
Murder by Death (fair play mystery)
Clue
American Psycho (unreliable narrator)
M.A.S.H. the movie (violation of Chekov’s gun)

Video Games
Hades 2 (added content due to audience expectations)

“Well, I’ve often seen a cat without a grin, but a grin without a cat!” Can the author be too present?
Non-fiction works
On Writing – Stephen King

Books/Book Series
To Reign in Hell – Steven Brust (hard for reader who knew which character was Steven)
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
Moby Dick – Hermann Melville
Madame Bovary – Gustave Falubert
Jack Aubry series – Patrick O-Brien (moments of the authors special interests)
Outlander series – Diana Gabaldon
His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman (a distinct message/belief)

Authors
Robert Heinlein (put himself in all his books)
Tom Clancy (invention of the technothriller)

Television/Movies
Kingdom Possible (Stephen King-based tv series)

“In that direction lives a Hatter, and in that direction lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.” How author location feeds writing
Books/Book Series
The House with a Clock in Its Walls – John Bellairs
The Ones Who Turn Away from Omelas – Ursula K LeGuin
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James

Television/Movies
The Hours

Music/Noise
Two Steps from Hell (musician)
Binaural Beats (background noise)
Brown Noise (background noise)