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Why “Semiosis?”

Here’s a definition: “Semiosis (from the Greek verb sēmeiô, ‘to mark’) is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning; an action or process involving the establishment of a relationship between a sign and its object and meaning.” Semiosis encompasses more than semantics, which focuses on language. It can include both human and nonhuman systems that use chemical, auditory, visual, or tactile signs to pass on information.

That is, Semiosis is about communication.

Why the name “Stevland”?

Stevland took his name from Stevland Jamil Barr, the first to die on the voyage to the planet Pax. Colonists agreed that the planet’s most important life form would be named after him.

Stevland Jamil Barr got his first name from the musician Stevie Wonder, whose full name is Stevland Hardaway Morris.

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About the Book

“Semiosis” is on sale: $2.99 for the ebook
Mediate like the stars
Authors and astronomers at the Adler Planetarium Book Club
Plants in print: Books about botany
The last thing a plant sees
Where to find me at Windycon
The words to Higgins’ song, “Grief Evergreen”
“Live like a tree…”
Exactly where is the Planet Pax?
Fall is here, and trees will demonstrate their power
Reading recommendation: “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth” by Daryl Gregory
Do your neglected houseplants want revenge?
Plants are sneakier than we thought
Where to find me in early September
A review of “Children of Time,” by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Why writers hate (some) editors
Where to find me at Worldcon
“Semiosis” is now available in Great Britain and Australia
The weight of human life on Earth
Thinking non-human: how Stevland was born
The danger of a bird on Earth
What they’re saying about plants on the internet
Why the Glassmakers left
A family photo: my houseplants
Imagine a wall…
How to get published, or, are you smiling when you write?
A few links about plant science, human sex, and what we can learn from trees
My post at Asimov’s blog
I’ll be at WisCon this weekend
“Semiosis” will have a sequel!
I’ll be in St. Louis on Thursday for a #FearlessWomen event
“Life From the Sky” in the May/June issue of Asimov’s magazine
A deleted bit of a scene
A corpse flower is about to bloom in Chicago
The Writing Process: Minimalist Plotting
A few reviews and interviews
I’ll be at C2E2 on Sunday, April 8
Tree vs. tree: why kapok trees have big, nasty thorns
A few links: News and posts about the vegetable kingdom
Ask Me Anything on Monday at Reddit
Green love: grass and bison
Ask Me Anything on Thursday at Reddit
Updates on “Semiosis”
Is the poop plant real? Yes
Stevland speaks of reproduction
Water is life: a declaration by Stevland
“Semiosis” release update
“Semiosis” is released today
Roman-fleuve: a novel across generations
Get a signed copy of “Semiosis”
What’s that tentacle on the cover of the book?
A sneak peek at “Semiosis”
Clarkesworld interview: “Clever Plants, Generations, and Translations”
“Grief Evergreen” (Higgins’s song)
Maps for chapters 1 and 2
“Cinderella Faraway”: a short story set between chapters 1 and 2
“Spiders”: a short story set between chapters 3 and 4
If I were a plant
When Plants Kill (the article that gave birth to this novel)
Dominant plants? Really?