Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 107

VanderMeer Books in 2010 and 2011

I don't have a new novel out in 2010—I haven't even really thought about writing the next one yet—but Ann and I have a bunch of books coming out in 2010-2011. Not on this list is a book version of "The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod," since the details on that are still iffy. (Breaking news: "new" Gormenghast novel!)

February 2010
The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals (Tachyon Publications) – Ann and I wrote this together, and the book also includes Ann's interview with Duff Goldman from...

Indiebound and Finch Video: In Praise of Independent Bookstores

One thing about my recent five-week book tour behind Finch and Booklife that I particularly loved was getting to read in so many great independent bookstores. Indies are extremely important to the well-being of book culture and often serve as strongholds for author events. This month, Indiebound has listed Finch as one of its Indie Notables, something I'm very proud of. This comes on the heels of tons of national media attention and praise for the novel–the novel has significant legs.

You can ...

Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief

The situation in Haiti following the earthquake is terrible. Here's information on how you can help. It reads in part:

"In a blog post on the U.S. State Department Web site, Clinton's Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills called for those wanting to help to donate $10 by texting "HAITI" to "90999." The $10 donation will go automatically to the Red Cross "to help with relief efforts" and will be charged directly to your cell phone bill, the Web site said."

Finch: Finding a Way into the Novel

(Chapbook cover for Finch limited edition, available through Underland.)

This is the fourth of a series of posts on my novel Finch. Finch is set in my fantastical city of Ambergris, but also borrows heavily from such genres as the spy novel, the noir mystery novel, and certain types of political thrillers. In the novel, an inhuman subterranean species called gray caps has risen up to take control of the city and subjugate the human population. As in Paris during Nazi control, the gray caps...

Deadline Reminders: Shared Worlds, Clarion at San Diego, Steampunk Reloaded Antho

Just a few reminders…

First off, teen writers who are interested in a wonderfully fun and educational experience–the Shared Worlds teen SF/F writing camp is now accepting applications. Come to Wofford College for two weeks this summer and build your own fantasy/SF world, write in it, and meet awesome writers like Holly Black, critically acclaimed YA and adult authors Kathe Koja and Marly Youmans, Nebula Award winner Michael Bishop, writer and gaming expert Will Hindmarch, plus Wofford...

How Did You Die, the First Time?

…and what was different when you came back?

Gender Roles and Writing

An issue that pertains to some extent to a few of the current discussions within genre, posted on Booklifenow.

As one female writer who wished to remain anonymous put it in an email to me: "[The significance of sacrifice is:] wrapped up for me in the stress/struggle I have as a female writer, on the losing end of gender expectations. There a number of things I always felt like I should do: cook healthy meals, exercise, keep the house clean for me and my significant other, remember my friends'...

Back on Monday-Tuesday–What're You Up To?

Due to pressing deadlines, I'll have to post my next blog entry about Finch next week. In the meantime, here are some lovely images from the Bellysnatcher project Eric Orchard and I are working on–and feel free to tell me/us about anything you're working on or have out.

Also, the Onion AV Club interview with me is up. It was a phone interview and a couple of things got garbled, but it's pretty good. The "[pastiche:]" in an early draft really was of Darconville's Cat by Theroux, not noir.

Finch Novel, Opening Chapters: Discarded Approaches

(The timeline I decided not to include–without the context of events in the novel, terms like "Hoegbotton" wouldn't have any weight.)

As per my post from Tuesday, this is the first of two follow-up entries on the opening of my novel Finch. Finch is set in my fantastical city of Ambergris, but also borrows heavily from such genres as the spy novel, the noir mystery novel, and certain types of political thrillers. In the novel, an inhuman subterranean species called gray caps has risen up to...

Jewcy Riffs on The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals

Jewcy.com has run a cool little gallery feature on the Kosher Guide. They've used their own stock images, but run snippets of our text with it. Check it out–and buy early and often on this one.

And, for your mid-week entertainment, the John Scalzi remix of the Finch insurgency poster (originally meant for my Big Idea piece on Whatever and created by Jeremy Tolbert)–in part as a way of introducing new readers to the Finch Reader's Page, which has a bunch of cool stuff on it.