Michael Swanwick's Blog, page 54
December 21, 2020
Sale! Sale! Cigar Box-Faust! Sale!
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From Tachyon Publications comes news that as of yesterday, the shortest day of the year, my collection of short-short fictions, Cigar-Box Faust, is on sale at 20% off. This is for the paperback or the limited edition hardcover or the limited edition boxed hardcover.
(The book includes the title performance piece which may be one of the most condensed condensations of a great work of literature ever written. And I say that as the man who played the part of Frodo in the 15-minute radio adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Funny story, that. I'll share it with you soon.)
If that number looks familiar, Tachyon's second (and simultaneous) sale makes all clear: They're offering 20% off all their 2020 publications. Tachyon makes really lovely books and finds genuinely interesting authors to publish. So you should wander through their list and see if there's anything there you want. I'm pretty sure there is.
Also, they're offering free shipping in the United States.
You can read their post about my book here. Or view Jim DiMaioalo's almost but not quite demented sales pitch here.
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The Aelita Award
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Something astonishing happened to me over the weekend.
I was given the Aelita Award.
The Aelita was named after the 1923 science fiction novel Aelita by Alexei Tolstoy and is presented at Aelita, (also named after the novel), Russia's oldest science fiction convention. The award was created in 1981 to honor a lifetime contribution to Soviet science fiction. Later, this became Russian science fiction and last year it was decided to expand the remit to cover SF globally.
I am gobsmacked, as our British cousins say, to be the first American ever to receive this award. For reasons that are all too familiar to everyone, the Aelita conference was virtual this year so I didn't get to return to Ekaterinburg, a city I am very fond of, But that didn't make the honor any less sweet.
I'll be posting the recipients of the other awards given at the convention as soon as I can get a translation from the Russian.
Above: That's what a typical Aelita trophy looks like. Ekaterinburg is in the Ural Mountains, ten miles into Asia, an area famed for its mining.
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December 18, 2020
Aelita 2020
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What a strange year this is! You've probably noticed. All around the world, science fiction convention after science fiction convention has gone virtual. Including Aelita, Russia's oldest SF con. Pictured above is Your Humble (and distinctly hirsute) Correspondent, delivering his opening remarks as one of the guests.
Because of the time difference between Russia and the US, I was speaking from home at 2 a.m. This was a new experience for me and, while it was not as much fun as being physically in Ekaterinburg would have been, it was still a privilege. I spoke briefly about my original experience with Aelita and how much physically and socially has changed since then, but how the core experience of the convention--the passion of the fans and writers for fantastika--remains unchanged.
The above photo was posted by Alexander Gritsenko in Russia and downloaded by me a third of a world away. Have I mentioned what strange times these are?
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December 17, 2020
The Last Days of Old Night
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I'm in e-print again! "The Last Days of Old Night" is up in the December issue of Clarkesworld. This is a story I started looking for a little over two years ago, when I stood on the black sands of Reynisfjara on the southern coast of Iceland and stared out at the basalt sea stacks and wished I knew more about the legend behind them.
Here's how the story begins:
Through chaos and old night, the three brothers journeyed. Sometimes they rode and sometimes they strode. When they rode, their steeds snorted cold steam from their nostrils and obsidian hooves struck sparks from the rock. When they strode, their feet sank in the earth to their ankles. The sky was lit only by witch fires. Sometimes there were moons or flotillas of comets. Not tonight. Like all things, the sky and road changed at whim. In all the world, only the brothers could dictate what those changes would be.
That was simply how things were.
I would be lying if I pretended I was not pleased by how the story came out.
You can find my story here. Or just go to clarkesworldmagazine.com and just wander around.
And I should mention that . . .
I want to thank the Icelandic science fiction community for their warmth and hospitality. I had a great time at Icecon and I hope there will be many more in the coming years.
And a quick reminder . . .
The e-book of Jack Faust goes on sale tomorrow and that of Vacuum Flowers on Saturday. Both $1.99 and both One Day Only.
Above: Image swiped from Extreme Iceland (extremeiceland.is), which offers guided tours and travel packages.
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December 16, 2020
E-Book! E-Book! E-Book! Sale! Sale! Sale!
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This must be the e-book sales season because I've gotten notification after notification from Open Road Media of upcoming (and current) sales.
First up--and TODAY ONLY--is my short story collection Tales of Old Earth. This includes nineteen of my best stories, including two Hugo Award winners: Scherzo with Tyrannosaur and The Very Pulse of the Machine.
Available today only in Canada and the U.S. for $1.99.
I have no idea if the following is of any use to you or not.
We are pleased to let you know that the following ebook(s) will be featured in price promotions soon.
Next up is Jack Faust, possibly my best and certainly my most depressing novel. This Friday, December 18 only! $1.99 in Canada and the US.
Finally, on Saturday, December 19 only! Vacuum Flowers, the novel most frequently held up as evidence that I was a Cyberpunk. I didn't think so at the time, and neither did Bruce Sterling. Feel free to make up your own mind.
All three are perfect holiday presents for that e-friend who has virtually everything.
December 8, 2020
A Conversation About Avram Davidson
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The other day, I had a conversation about Avram Davidson with Seth Davis, for the Avram Davidson Universe podcast. Seth is the son of Grania Davis, who was once married to Davidson and he was Avram's godson as well. So he's well qualified to talk about the great writer.
Here's the podcast website's description of the episode:
In this episode, we sit down with author Michael Swanwick and listen to a reading of "My Boy Friend's Name Is Jello” from the Avram Davidson Treasury. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1954 . We discuss the meaning of the story and why Michael is such a huge Davidson fan!
I also... and this is a teaser... for the first time revealed how I once did Avram a solid. A fact which I only learned years after his death and he never.
You can find the conversation here.
If you wander about the site, you can also find conversations with Henry Wessells, Eileen Gun, and Avram's son Ethan Davidson. Which I heartily suggest you do. It would be time well wasted.
Above: The picture of Avram Davidson, lifted from Wikipedia (which would like me to remind you that they accept donations), fails to capture the intrinsic whimsicality of the man. But what photograph could possibly do him justice?
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December 2, 2020
In the Drift E-Book Sale! One Day Only! Saturday!
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Open Road Media has informed me that the e-book of In the Drift will be on sale this Saturday, December 5 for $1.99. It will be available in the US and Canada only. And only for the one day.
So if you read e-books and you're curious about my first novel... well, here's your chance.
And here's what Open Road had to say about it all:
Open Road will promote the feature via social media. We hope you can share the deal with your network as well. You can subscribe to the newsletters at the links below so that you will get the direct link to the deal on the day that it appears.
Newsletter Link Early Bird Books Subscribe Now The Lineup Subscribe Now The Portalist Subscribe Now Murder & Mayhem Subscribe Now A Love So True Subscribe Now The Archive Subscribe Now The Reader Subscribe Now
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November 29, 2020
London Award Finalists Announced!
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The International Union of Writers has announced the finalists the the London Literary Awards, a new and ambitious five-yearly award given in six categories to writers in the Russian and English literary communities. And I believe I've scooped the major news outlets!
Here's their press release:
Major New Literary Award Announced by International Union of Writers
The International Union of Writers (IUW) is pleased to announce the creation of the international London Literary Award, to be presented once every five years. The award will bring together some of the finest authors from around the globe, as well as promoting new writers on the world stage.
The goal of the London Literary Award is to encourage communication between English-language and Russian-language writers and two to create a common cultural space for sharing and understanding between these two great literary communities.
The London Literary Award will be given out in six categories:
The Charles Dickens Award for novels, short fiction, or journalism.
The Lord George NoëlGordon Byron Award for poetry or essays
The Samuel Johnson Award for criticism.
The William Shakespeare Award for dramatic works.
The Lewis Carroll Award for science fiction and fantasy.
The Mikhail L. Lozinsky Award for literary translation from Russian to English and English to Russian.
Each award will be given in three categories: New Authors, Established Authors, and Grand Masters. Our jury has compiled a preliminary list of finalists, each of whom, in our opinion is deserving of the title, Best Author of the Year. From this, a short list of finalists (listed below) was chosen.
Recognizing the difficulty of comparing works written in different languages, each award will be given out to one Russian-language author and one English-language author.
Our jurors have been working since 2018 to compile long lists of worthy writers and then to pare those down to the short lists below. Making the preliminary lists is an accomplishment in itself. So all finalists will receive medals and certificates from the International Union of Writers.
The English language long list for the Charles Dickens Award (Grand Master)is as follows:
Woody Allen (USA)
Dan Brown (USA)
William Gibson (Canada)
Joe Hill (USA)
Peter Ackroyd (Great Britain)
Kazuo Ishiguro Great Britain)
J. K. Rowling (Great Britain)
Stephen Fry (Great Britain)
Tibor Fischer (Great Britain)
Alexandra Adornetto (Australia)
Birimbir Wongar (Australia)
Richard Glover (Australia)
Bradley Trevor Greive (Australia)
Greg Egan (Australia)
Eleanor Catton (Great Britain)
Nick Cave (Australia)
Peter Carey (Australia)
Desmond O'Grady (Australia)
Lex Marinos (Australia)
Kiril Kadiiski(Bulgaria)
Wilbur Smith (Republic of Zambia)
Dina Rubina (Israel)
Colm Tóibín (Ireland)
Yu Jie (China)
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Lebanon)
Laimonas Tapinas (Lithuania)
Laila Lalami (Morocco)
Robert MacNeil (Canada)
Dorota Maslowska (Poland)
Pier Bayar, Alain Fleischer(France)
Antjie Krog (South Africa)
John Maxwell Coetzee (Australian)
Mongane Wally Serote (South Africa)
Marlene van Niekerk (South Africa)
Jonny Steinberg (South Africa)
The finalists of the Award in all categories have already been announced at our website: https://inwriter.org/
T he winners will be announced on December 11th, 2020. Initially, it was planned to hold the award ceremony in London, so that the winners could get to know each other and their fans. Plans were made to include a tour of the city’s historical and literary sites, starting with Westminster Abbey and ending with 221B Baker Street, the address of Sherlock Holmes. However, due to the pandemic, such a large gathering is not currently possible. So the awards will be held online, with the time and location to be announced shortly.
Russian winners will receive a grant to translate their book so it can be published in the UK. For the winner of the William Shakespeare Award for Drama, the winner’s play will be produced on the stage of the Royal Court Theater.
For further information or for a complete set of the long lists, please contact the IUW at info@inwriter.ru.
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November 27, 2020
Our New Thanksgiving Tradition
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Marianne and I came into the Thanksgiving season feeling a little down. Normally, we have guests for Thanksgiving dinner, sometimes family, sometimes friends. Last year, we had family and friends.
The great fantasist T. H. White used to say that the best cure for depression was to learn something new. Me being more of a folkloric turn of mind, I decided that we should create a new tradition. So we stole one from a friend in New England.
One thing I like to do around this time of year is to ask people what foods you absolutely have to have on Thanksgiving for it to be a proper holiday feast. The spread of answers on this one is very wide. Some people say there has to be turkey and the rest doesn't matter. Others say the same thing of ham or lasagna. Some claim to have absolutely no preferences; one of these admitted to ordering Chinese take-out the year before.
Others are more interesting. Some have to have cranberry sauce, others green bean casserole. For me, there must be clear cranberry sauce--the kind with the ridges from the can on it. Also mashed potatoes, stuffing (the proper kind--no chestnuts or oysters), celery, radishes, creamed onions... well, the list goes on.
But the absolute winner was our New England friend, whose list begins with three kinds of cranberry sauce and concludes, much later, with three different pies for desert--apple (or is it pumpkin?), pecan, and squash.
And the squash pie had to be made in a square pan.
Children soak up the family lore. They only rarely question it. It was only when our friend's mother announced that she passing on responsibility for all the cooking that our friend discovered why it was the squash pie was made in a square pan.
By the time she'd cooked everything else, square pans were all that were left. All the round ones had been used.
So we decided to adopt this custom as our own. Marianne made squash pie in a square pan, and even made a small crust acorn squash to go on top.
It tasted fantastic.
She'll be making it again next year, of course. Because it's a tradition in our house.
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November 20, 2020
Virtual Philcon 2020
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Philcon begins today and normally I'd be in an out of the Cherry Hill hotel, shmoozoing, nursing a drink at the bar while chatting with old friends, checking out the books in the huckster room, and sitting on the occasional panel.
All of that has been coronavirused into the past. Save for the panels. I'll be virtually participating in the virtual events this weekend with great enthusiasm.
Here's my schedule:
Friday, November 20
6:30 Reading: I'll be reading "Nirvana or Bust," which is, despite the title, not a wacky comedy satire of New Age enlightenment-seekers but a thoughtful science fiction tale of infrastructure and the future of humanity. With robots!
Saturday, November 21
10:00 a.m. Heinlein's Third Rule of Writing
7:00 p.m. Pandemic Fiction Versus Pandemic Reality
Sunday, November 21
11:30 a.m. Ray Bradbury Centennial
See you there!
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