This short story first appeared in the January, 1999 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. The author says, “In 1997, I attended LoneStarCon 2 in San Antonio, and happened to see a panel presentation called “Should I Sleep with the Editor?” The panelists were leading SF editors, including Gardner Dozois of Asimov’s Science Fiction. To the amusement of the audience, they read actual cover letters they had received from unpublished authors who were desperate to break into print. These aspiring authors wheedled, cajoled, and argued in an attempt to reach through the page and twist the editor’s arm. See me, read me, buy me. And then I saw it, how to finish my own story. When I returned home I rewrote ‘Yurek Rutz,’ casting it as a cover letter to Gardner Dozois. I learned later that he detests epistolary stories, but he bought it anyway, and in doing so helped insure that I’ll never want for anything again.”
