David Anthony Durham's Blog, page 13

Acacia, Tome 3 : L'alliance sacrée - Pocket Version

I just noticed got my first glimpse of the cover for the French Pocket edition of The Sacred Band.

It's not super jpeg, but it'll do for the moment. Take a look:

Any Knitters Around Here?

If so, go check out my wife's new shawl pattern at The Shetland Trader! It's lovely, as usual.

And if you know any knitter friends please consider her new book as a present for the holidays. It's not out just yet - next week, I think. I'll be sure to mention it here when it been born.

Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Winners

Just wanted to bring your attention to another award announcement. The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards have just been announced. These are, to quote their own information:

"The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award™ is the first national award presented to published writers of African descent by the national community of Black writers. This award consists of prizes for the highest quality writing in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry."
I've had the pleasure of working with Hurston/Wright quite a bit over the years. They've even been kind enough to throw some award recognition my way on occasion, for which I'm very grateful. This year I'm just a bystander, but I'm impressed by the list of finalists and by the open-mindedness of the judging.

In the Fiction Category, the Finalists were:

Crossbones, by Nuruddin Farah

Silver Sparrow, by Tayari Jones

Mr. Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi

You Are Free: Stories, by Danzy Senna

Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward

Zone One, by Colson Whitehead

Do you know how impressive this list is, and how diverse? It includes a post apocalyptic zombie novel by a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" grant winner, a National Book Award winning novel about a family caught in a hurricane in the Gulf, a short story collection by a Whiting Award winner, a really hard to describe slipstream sounding novel by a British novelist, a very popular coming of age novel from the American South, and a novel by a Somali author who has been translated into seventeen languages!

It's pretty amazing. These six authors could be contenders on any list, but I find something inspiring about them being praised as wonderful works by a distinct voices, each of them successful in the own way.

By the way, Helen Oyeyemi won for Mr. Fox!

Here's a link to the H/W website list of nominees.

Strange Horizons/Locus Poll Picks

Niall Harrison has kindly put up his picks in various best of categories for the 20th and 21st (so far) centuries. This is in response to Locus voters doing the same. Very pleased, then, that Niall put Acacia in the top for for fantasy titles of this century! One wonders what great books will be written in the next 80+ years, but it's nice to have some standing with a terrific critic like Niall. At least for a while...

The list is HERE: at Strange Horizons.

Thankful For Many Things...

...including peace between old enemies...

A Subterranean Haul

I just received a wonderful box of special books from Subterranean Press. They're beautiful special editions, with illustrations and all sorts of fine touches.
The books included are Ray Bradbury's A Pleasure to Burn , Alan Campbell's Damnation for Beginners , A Fantasy Medley edited by Yanni Kuznia, Salvage and Demolition by Tim Powers, Lucius Shepard's The Dragon Griaule , The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine , by Peter Straub, and two titles by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: The Angel's Game and a glorious edition of The Shadow of the Wind.
Thank you, Subterranean. Consider these books treasured...

AfroSF

Just wanted to direct your attention to a forthcoming anthology that I hope is of interest to you. I had the pleasure of reading an early copy and offering a blurb. (See below) It's called AfroSF, and here's the info:

AfroSF is the first ever anthology of Science Fiction by African writers only that was open to submissions from African writers all across Africa and abroad.

Contributors are:

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style>--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Moom!’ Nnedi Okorafor</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Home Affairs’ Sarah Lotz</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Five Sets of Hands’ Cristy Zinn</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘New Mzansi’ Ashley Jacobs</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Azania’ Nick Wood</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Notes from Gethsemane’ Tade Thompson</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Planet X’ Sally Partridge</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘The Gift of Touch’ Chinelo Onwualu</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘The Foreigner’ Uko Bendi Udo</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Angel Song’ Dave-Brendon Burgh</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘The Rare Earth’ Biram Mboob</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Terms & Conditions Apply’ Sally-Ann Murray</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Heresy’ Mandisi Nkomo</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Closing Time’ Liam Kruger</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Masquerade Stories’ Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘The Trial’ Joan De La Haye</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Brandy City’ Mia Arderne</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Ofe!’ Rafeeat Aliyu</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Claws and Savages’ Martin Stokes</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘To Gaze at the Sun’ Clifton Gachagua</span></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">‘Proposition 23’ (Novelette) Efe Okogu</span><span id="freeText10343016567659157242"> </span></span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="freeText10343016567659157242">“This is a book of subtle refractions and phantasmic resonances. The accumulated reading effect is one of deep admiration at the exuberance of the twenty-first century human imagination.” — A. Igoni Barrett, author of <i>Love is Power, Or Something Like That</i><br /><br />“The stories in AfroSF feature all the things fans of science fiction expect: deep space travel, dystopian landscapes, alien species, totalitarian bureaucracy, military adventure, neuro-enhanced nightlife, artificial intelligence, futures both to be feared and longed for. At once familiar and disarmingly original, these stories are fascinating for the diversity of voices at play and for the unique perspective each author brings to the genre. This is SF for the Twenty-first Century.” — David Anthony Durham, Campbell Award winning author of <i>The Acacia Trilogy.</i><br /><br />“I’d like the repurpose the title of an old anthropological study to describe this fine new anthology: ‘African Genesis.’ The stories in this unprecedented, full-spectrum collection of tales by African writers must surely represent, by virtue of their wit, vigor, daring, and passion, the genesis of a bright new day for Afrocentric science fiction. The contributors here are utterly conversant with all SF subgenres, and employ a full suite of up-to-date concepts and tools to convey their continent-wide, multiplex, idiosyncratic sense of wonder. With the publication of this book, the global web of science fiction is strengthened and invigorated by the inclusion of some hitherto neglected voices.” — Paul Di Filippo, co-author <i>Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010</i>.</span></span></b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="freeText10343016567659157242"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16..." target="_blank">Here's that Goodreads Page for the book, if you want to sign up to follow it. </a></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>

The Spider Dream Vanquished!

So, you may have read about earlier mentions of my son's battles with a very unpleasant spider dream. Alone in a house full of spiders. Trapped. They're attacking from all sides... That sort of thing.

Sage has been having really troubled nights. We all have. We tried suggesting that he get active in the dream. Swing up that Nerf Gun and start blasting. A flamethrower? Sure. Bring it on. Take care of business. Sage was a bit incensed about these suggestions. He just wasn't sure I was taking him seriously. I was, but...

For a couple of weeks, nothing worked. And then, a breakthrough.

Apparently, last night, for the first time, he realized he was in the dream while it was happening. He knew. He just had to figure out what to do. I'm both proud and troubled by what he came up with.

He used to be alone, right? Not this time. This time, he turns around and grabs... me. Dear ole dad. Unceremoniously, he shoves me toward the swarming spiders. Then he runs. He doesn't watch what happens. He just gets out of there. As he runs he breaks through the dreamwall and wakes up.

As glad as I am that he thinks he has the dream beat... I'm of mixed feelings on his method.

Any thoughts? Should I be troubled?

The Arched Doorway

New interview up at The Arched Doorway. It was good fun talking with Rebecca Lovatt at the World Fantasy Conference in Toronto. She managed to secure an impressive number of author interviews. I'm one of them!

Check it out the interview - and her very cool blog - HERE.

An Election

I haven't talked politics here in awhile, and I'm not really going to start now. But, having had an election last night, I think it's reasonable to share my opinion on the whole thing.

I'm pleased. Very pleased. I'm optimistic about the legacy President Obama will leave after his second term, and I'm hopeful that Congress will have no choice but to let a few things get done. I'm overjoyed that the election was so clearly won, and that there were no major diabolical plots muddying everything, and that the changing demographics of the American populace seems to be finally, and firmly, effecting the electoral process in this country. America, all things considered, did well last night. I believe that our economy, environment, world stature, healthcare and social fabric will all benefit from it.

I'm also pleased that Massachusetts has returned to form and is sending a Democrat to the Senate again.

Yesterday, I picked my son up from school and took him with me to the polling place. He got to watch the process and look through the ballot questions with me. It was great to share that with him, and for the outcome to have been so positive.

Of course, none of this stopped him from having his recurring scary spider dream again last night. That's proving harder to beat than Mr. Romney...