Critters Workshop is brought to you by...

So, whose wacky/dumb/brilliant idea was Critters Workshop?

That would be me, Dr. Andrew Burt:

The below is probably out of date. :) I try to keep my home page the most updated, www.aburt.com. If you're looking to read some of my writing (of course you are!) :), that's at www.aburt.com/fiction.

I'm CEO of TechSoft.com; we create custom software and complex (or simple) web sites. I've also been a computer science professor at the University of Denver, focusing on teaching and research in the areas of computer security, networking, operating systems, the social impacts of computing, and an unusual branch of AI. Before that I was CEO of an Internet company that provided the local news channels to major Internet portals hundreds of newspapers and TV stations. Before that, I was doing the CS prof. thing at DU again. Additionally, I was the founder of the world's first Internet service provider, (Nyx.net).

My writing and science fictional background includes...

• Critters, obviously
• Former Vice President of SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.)
• Ed Bryant's Northern Colorado Writers' Workshop (www.ncww.org) of which I'm a past president; the NCWW has launched the careers of notables such as Connie Willis, Dan Simmons, Wil McCarthy, P.D. Cacek, and its past and present membership averages approximately one major award win or nomination per person (Connie obviously raising that bar!)
• Being Chairman of SFWA's e-piracy committee (info at www.sfwa.org/epiracy)
• The SFWA Bulletin, of which I was formerly webmaster, and which you should subscribe to!
• The Black Holes response time tracker and market information site I maintain at
• The CritFinder, a site for writers to find or announce an in-person workshop, at www.critique.org/critfinder

My publication credits include dozens of short fiction tales, one cyberwarfare novel, the profits of which were donated to the Red Cross, and a wide assortment of non-fiction. I've made numerous media appearances (including being allegedly mentioned in dialog in the forthcoming movie Takedown from Miramax) and enjoy being a frequent con panelist. For a hobby, I construct solutions to all the world's problems. Fortunately -- nobody listens.

My homepage, with details of my other nutty projects and a "find Aburt" picture, is here.

My SF writing bio (aka my Critters bio page) is here.

The story behind why I founded Critters, as memorialized in my original call-for-members netnews article, is here.

Presumably like yourself (else why are you looking at a science fiction writing workshop?), I one day hope to be a household name like 'Asimov'... I believe I have all the right tools for that: The discipline to write, ideas, maybe some insight into the human psyche, stamps and envelopes to submit manuscripts with, and a legal change of name form with "Andrew Asimov" on it. :-)

Critters and/or I have been profiled or interviewed various places on the net. Some I know of are...

• Salon.com
• Fiction Factor
• Podcast guest talking about critters & critiquing
• interviewed live on public radio for Critters' birthday

But you don't really want to know about me, you want to know about Critters. So look around and join us if you're up to the challenge!