Michael Swanwick's Blog, page 45

Philcon! Philcon! Philcon!

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Well, it's that time of year again, when Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Worldcon, Christmas and New Year's Eve all tumble one upon the other in the course of five weeks. And starting off the season... Philcon, which begins today!

The Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention, to give it its full name, is one of the oldest SF cons in the world. Though diminished in size from its heyday--down from thousands of participants to hundreds--and exiled from the city of its birth and name to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the con keeps chugging bravely away.

If you're going to be at Chillcon, as it has been waggishly nicknamed, be sure to say hi. I'll be ubiquitous.

Meanwhile, as is traditional, here's my schedule:

Start Time      Duration     Room Name                          Title

Friday

 8:00 PM    50 Min            Plaza 3                        If I Had That To Write Again          

Saturday

2:00 PM    50 Min        Grand Ballroom              Q&A with Principal Speaker Fran Wilde   

3:00 PM    50 Min        Plaza 3                            Why Haven't Exoplanets Created More Excitement?   

5:00 PM    50 Min        Plaza 2                            The World of Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008) 

 

 Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Samuel R. Delany is a late addition to the Disch panel. Chip is always worth hearing, and on this subject he knows a great deal more than most.

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New Zealand is Giving Away Books They Don't Own

 I'm going to do my best to present this calmly.

The government of New Zealand has decided to donate every book in the overseas collection of its National Library to the Internet Archive. 

Writers who do not want their books to be put up on the Web for free are being given the option of opting out. 

The people at the National Library have made no particular effort to make these two facts known. They posted this information online in October and writers wishing to opt out must respond by December 1.

For a list of all the books about to be given away and instructions on how to opt out, go to::

https://natlib.govt.nz/about-us/strategy-and-policy/collections-policy/overseas-published-collection-management#opt-out-process-for-rights-holders Non-New Zealand writers should check the list to see if any of their works are on it. I've already sent the organization a letter directing them not to give away my novel Vacuum Flowers. My phrasing of the opt-out request may have been a touch harsh. But it was nothing compared to what I was thinking.
 

And as long as you're reading this . . .

If you are a writer or know a writer or think that the people who write books deserve to profit at least a little from their labor, please spread this information far and wide.

Thank you.

 

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eBook Sale: The Iron Dragon's Daughter

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Open Road Media has just informed me that my most popular novel, The Iron Dragon's Daughter, will be on sale this Sunday and Sunday only at Early Bird Books. 

For one day, and one day only, you can buy it for only $1.99.

Um... and that's all, really.

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Notes on Three Paintings by Artemesia Gentileschi

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 In the Wadsworth Atheneum, there is a show of the art of Italian Renaissance women artists, most notably Artemesia Gentileschi. Here are the notes I made on three of her paintings:

 

1. Her women are no more beautiful than they have to be.

2. Their bodies have heft.

3. In Judith and Her Maidservant, the two are caught in the instant when, their deed done, they hear a sound that might imperil their escape. 

4. The maidservant looks as determined as Judith. But for an accident of birth, they could have traded places.

5. The hand that Judith raises to shade the candle casts a dark shadow over her eye. There are shadows on the backs of her arms as well.

6. The candle flame bends away from the imperious onrush of her hand.

7. A scabbard lies on the table by the candle.

8. Blood drips from the sword that Judith holds.

9. Blood stains her maidservant's hand, paused in the act of bundling up Holofernes' head.

10. The head, almost invisible in the darkness, is ignored by both; it belongs to the past.

11. In her painting of Bathsheba, David is almost invisible in the darkness of his balcony, unnoticed by the women on the rooftop.

12. In Lot and His Daughters, the old patriarch has a malformed big toe.

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Random Memories: Susan Casper

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Those who only knew Susan Casper in her later years, have no idea what a mischievous scamp she was in her younger years.

I vividly remember walking down a hotel corridor in the early hours of the morning with Susan on our ways to our respective rooms. This hotel had a short-lived innovation: In place of key or keycard locks, it had punch pad locks. You chose your own four-digit number code. And of course this was a science fiction convention.

So Susan stopped at every door and tapped in 2001, 1984, and 1138. It is possible that alcohol was involved in her decision to do so.

Down the hall we sauntered, leaving half the doors behind us open.

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Vampire Trees (Part 31)

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To ensure 

 

that the evil

 

we crave

will live on

 

after us.

Finis

 

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Vampire Trees (Part 30)

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This 

 

is why

 

 

graveyards

 exist.

 

 

Concluded tomorrow.

 

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Vampire Trees (Part 29)

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people who sleep 

 

soundly tonight knowing

 those who wished them

harm are

 

 

dead.

Continued tomorrow.

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Vampire Trees (Part 28)

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They know where

 

 

they will find their

victims,

 

Continued tomorrow.

 

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Vampire Trees (Part 27)

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the wolf-woman runs,

 the witch flies, 

 

the ghoul shambles off.

 

 

Continued tomorrow.

 

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