Jay Lake was scheduled to be at Orycon this year, during which time he was going to have a reading of his own material. Instead, he was recovering from surgery for treatment of cancer. We, and all his fans, friends, and family, wish him the best.

Jeff Soesbe, David Levine, and Mary Robinette Kowal took his slot and did readings for him. They're available at Mary Robinette's blog. One of the stories is "Golden Pepper", which was originally published here in February of this year. (Coincidentally, Jeff's "Apologies All Around" was published here exactly one year earlier.)