Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 65
March 31, 2011
Cheeky Frawg Announces A New Steampunk Imprint: Enjoy!
We here at Cheeky Frawg Books are always trying to expand our customer service to meet our readers' needs—and readers want Steampunk, and have been telling us that Steampunk covers a wide range of amazing titles. Thus, we have made arrangements to e-publish a new line of Steampunk Classics, set to debut in May. Below you'll find covers for the first three (by Jeremy Zerfoss) as well as a list of upcoming selections. Something to look forward to!
Additional titles in the series:
THE METAMORPHOSIS & OTHER STORIES by Franz Kafka.
Blurb: "I hate steampunk. I love steampunk. I hate steampunk. Wait. I'm confused. Which helps me more?" – Catherynne M. Valente
A CANNIBAL IN MANHATTAN by Tama Janowitz.
Blurb: "Perhaps the most incisive predictor of the current Steampunk fashion scene…Am I on the cover? Did I make the cover?" – Evelyn Kriete
INFERNAL DEVICES by K.W. Jeter.
Blurb: "He's a steampunk and that's all right. He blows up blimps, he skips and jumps, he likes to press clock cogs, put on women's clothing, and haaaang around in baaaars" – chorus, Tim Powers and James Blaylock
Cheeky Frawg Announces A New Steampunk Imprint: Enjoy! originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 31, 2011.
March 29, 2011
Warsaw, April 2-4: Schedule (with Neil Williamson)
(For more details on the event above, click here. Poster design by Will Hindmarch. PS–I hope I'll be posting to facebook during my trip, with a sticky post capturing it all here, but can't be sure…)
Before hitting Finland, Ann and I will be in Amsterdam to visit family, but I'm veering off over the next weekend to go to Warsaw, Poland, at the invite of the Polish F&SF magazine and Konrad Walewski, who has done a bang-up job of scheduling. Neil Williamson, a writer currently nominated for a BSFA award, and a World Fantasy Award finalist as an editor, will be joining me for most of the festivities—including the panel listed above.
I've had several books published in Poland now, all with great designs, and I've also enjoyed reading the reactions to the books from the very energetic and knowledgeable Polish fans and reviewers (through the miracle of Google translator). Having done so much research for The Weird antho, too, I'm thrilled to be visiting the country that brought us such fine writers as Stefan Grabinski and Bruno Schulz, among others. (I'm re-reading my Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy this week, too.) I'm very much looking forward to meeting everyone, including my publishers and the awesome Jan Żerański.
Saturday, April 2—From 2 to 3pm there's a signing at Warsaw's f/sf bookstore. There's also a party in the evening. A late lunch a bit after the signing will be with the winners of a F&SF contest, and I'm bringing City of Saints and Shriek soundtracks for them, among other things.
Sunday, April 3—At 2pm there will be a panel discussion with Neil Williamson, Robert Walis (my translator), Konrad Walewski, Pawel Matuszek, and me about new trends and everything new in world literature (with a special focus on New Weird and steampunk) entitled "Terra Nova," along with more book signing.
Monday, April 4—I'll be interviewed on a morning tv show (7am) called "Tea of Coffee?" on TVP 1, Poland's national tv station. Later that day, I'll be recording an interview for a radio station. At 2pm, tune in for a live video Internet chat at this internet address. here.
Warsaw, April 2-4: Schedule (with Neil Williamson) originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 29, 2011.
VanderCon, Finland (April 11-16): Events Listing
(Hey–the Finns sent us this map. We just marked our itinerary on it.)
Alas, so many things are happening this blog has temporarily become a VanderNews site…
One of the major things is VanderCon in Finland. The Finns are bringing us over for a kind of lecture circuit/road trip, which will also definitely function as a cross-cultural exchange. Expects lots of posts on Finland and Finnish writers upon our return—as well as video, since I now have a Flip.
There's an official VanderCon blog with more specific details, but below the cut find our general itinerary. The schedule does not include some of the more intimate pub meet-and-greets.
We look forward to meeting a lot of amazing people, as well as old friends! Finland is a dynamic and wonderful country.
VANDERCON SCHEDULE
April 11, 4-6pm Turku, at the University–MIXED MEDIA AND POP CULTURE: Hugo Award winner Ann VanderMeer and World Fantasy Award winner present a visual presentation of exciting new projects that blur genres and media, including The Steampunk Bible and The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. Amazing visuals from artists from all over the world. Followed by discussion, interview session, and Q&A–on fiction, popular culture, literature, movies, and art.
April 12, 6pm, Jyväskylä–MIXING GENRES: Ann and Jeff VanderMeer mix it up with a visual presentation of exciting new projects that blur genres and blur fiction, nonfiction, and image. Followed by their comments on and interrogation of each other about mixing genres, the state of genre fiction today, and new directions in publishing. Including a question-and-answer session with the audience.
April 13, Tempere–YOUR BOOKLIFE, A Conversation with Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. Ann & Jeff will talk about the current publishing scene, trends, new opportunities and pitfalls for writers, in the context of a sustainable career and sustainable creativity. There will then be a chance for each writer who attends to ask general questions as well as specific questions about their own writing and careers.
April 14, 4pm, Helsinki, University of Helsinki–THE USES OF FANTASY: IMAGINATIVE PLAY AND REAL-WORLD RELEVANCE. Join Ann and Jeff VanderMeer for a far-ranging lecture, both serious and seriously amusing, on the uses of fantasy, including the interconnection between the fantastical and the real. What happens when fantasy enters *our* world, and how does it transform our world? Why is the fantastical a necessary, even vital, way of trying to understand and enter into dialog with, terrible events in the modern era of failed cities and failing governments? With a visual component. Also including Ann VanderMeer, Hugo Award winning editor of Weird Tales, on cross-genre and the importance of rejecting boundaries or artificial walls between modes of fiction.
April 15, Escon, Helsinki–PRIVATE/PUBLIC BOOKLIFE: A Two-Part Workshop run by Hugo Award winner Ann VanderMeer and World Fantasy Award winner Jeff VanderMeer. Part 1–"If you cry, the world will explode": Part one of the workshop will focus on creativity, surrealism, and the imaginative spark. You will need to write, you will have fun, and you might even learn something. But, we guarantee you won't cry. (This part of the workshop may also require you to turn your fellow attendees into a monster, but that is a separate issue from the crying.)…Part 2—"Your Booklife: A Conversation with Ann & Jeff VanderMeer"–Ann & Jeff will talk briefly about the current publishing scene, trends, new opportunities and pitfalls for writers, in the context of a sustainable career and sustainable creativity. There will then be a chance for each writer who attends to ask general questions as well as specific questions about their own writing and careers.
April 16, all day, Helsinki–TAHTIVAELTAJA DAY. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer participate in this celebration of the great Finnish SF/Fantasy/Horror magazine run by Toni Jerrman. In addition to a Q&A conducted by Jerrman, Ann and Jeff will be on a panel on weird fiction. This day may also include "foreigner improv for Finnish amusement."
VanderCon, Finland (April 11-16): Events Listing originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 29, 2011.
Cheeky Frawg Books: The "Soft Splash" Launch!
If you click here you'll find a page set up for our first Cheeky Frawg e-book releases. The month of "soft splash" lets us see how things work and make any necessary adjustments. Although we already know we're unique in that we make every one of our e-books by hand on a letterpress, using only the finest, most perfectly formed 00000s and 111111s.
As noted in the text, we'll have a full-on website and a full-on PR blitz celebration in early May, along with the announcement of new titles. Although we're focusing on our own content, we will also be putting out e-books of other writers' work. The flagship of our endeavor in that regard will be the ODD? anthology. In the meantime, enjoy our first selections!
Cheeky Frawg Books: The "Soft Splash" Launch! originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 29, 2011.
March 28, 2011
Still Time to Register: Shared Worlds Teen SF/Fantasy Writing Camp
Strange Horizons has posted a great roundtable discussion about Shared Worlds, the teen SF/F writing camp I'm the assistant director for, at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina. It includes some commentary by one of the students, Megan Jackson, and her father, as well as me, the camp's director, Jeremy L.C. Jones, former teachers Kathe Koja and Ann VanderMeer.
Every summer since, the camp has offered teenagers ranging from eighth to twelfth grade opportunities to work with top science fiction/fantasy writers and editors like Ann VanderMeer, Will Hindmarch, Holly Black, Kathe Koja, Marly Youmans, and Michael Bishop, on world-building utilized in a fortnight of extensive drafting and writing, as well as group work that promotes team-building and problem solving. The first week, students team up to collaborate on world-building. The second week, they break off to focus solely on their writing. A week after the end of camp, students are rewarded with a high-quality keepsake book of their writing.
This year, the teachers include me, Ann, Will Hindmarch, Nnedi Okorafor, Minister Faust, and Ekaterina Sedia. The camp runs from July 17 through the 31.
There's still time for students to register, although slots are filling fast.
Here's an excerpt from the feature:
SJC: Why should a teen attend Shared Worlds?
Jeremy: We provide a safe place for teens to experiment with ideas and develop their imaginations, in ways that are fun and useful. Shared Worlds also offers students an opportunity to get together with other teens who love to read and write speculative fiction. Students at Shared Worlds are bright, creative, and enthusiastic young people who want to make stuff up, to tell stories, to dream big. These teens pride themselves on being readers and writers and artists….Can you imagine? Being fifteen years old and studying writing with Holly Black! That would've blown my mind as a teenager.
Jeff: I…wanted to work in something Ann and I believe in deeply: stimulation of the imagination through the kinds of writing exercises and contexts that provide structure but also allow teens to take a leap of faith off into the unknown with their creativity. Structure is so important because it's the structure that allows them to relax. And I also eventually wanted to institute the one-on-one sessions with students that I'd seen work effectively at Clarion. In a teen writing camp context, those one-on-one sessions are even more valuable, because sometimes it's the first time a teen writer has had a professional writer listen to them and take their writing goals, dreams, and aspirations seriously. Sometimes you can just see it in their eyes: the sudden realization that they are indeed a writer, they are allowed to be a creative person…
Ann VanderMeer: I've spent most of my life working with young people in a variety of venues. Shared Worlds gives students an opportunity to let their imaginations run wild without fear of judgment. We give them permission to fail, so to speak. And in a safe, accepting environment surrounded by other like-minded students and teachers.
Kathe Koja: Because s/he wants to work, write, think, compose, create, make up truly hair-raising private jokes, scream and laugh and meet people who will be close friends by the time s/he leaves. . . . All the good stuff. I know I would have loved to go to a workshop like Shared Worlds as a teen writer, and I bet all the other visiting writers have said the same.
Still Time to Register: Shared Worlds Teen SF/Fantasy Writing Camp originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 28, 2011.
March 26, 2011
VanderMeer in WARSAW: April 2-4, with Neil Williamson
Just a reminder for international readers of this blog that I will be taking a side trip to Warsaw, Poland, for a couple of days, where my friend and awesome writer Neil Williamson will be joining me on a panel. There will also be some other events, including a reading/signing and a radio interview. I also assume there will be some informal and quite wonderful discussion in some pub or other. I hope to see you there.
Polish publishers have been kind enough to publish my novels Veniss Underground, City of Saints & Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, Finch, and our Steampunk anthology.
Thanks to Konrad Walewski, who runs the Polish version of F&SF for setting everything up and getting me over there. (Hopefully, I can update this post with more details about the events soon.)
I'm also going to be in Amsterdam visiting family with Ann. Ann's coming to Finland with me, but isn't joining me for the jaunt to Poland.
VanderMeer in WARSAW: April 2-4, with Neil Williamson originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 26, 2011.
March 25, 2011
Cheeky Frawg Books: Bringing Hand-Crafted E-Books to the Blivious
Ann and I are doing a soft launch of Cheeky Frawg Books soon. Cheeky will specialize in e-books with a few intrusions into the physical world. (Interiors by Neil Clarke.)
Cheeky Frawg believes in the future of books but we don't want to forget the past. We hand-craft every e-book on a letter press with only the best, most perfectly formed 00000s and 111111s. Our e-binding is hand-rolled by former Cuban cigar makers and our covers, backcovers, logo and wallpapers are painstakingly designed by the Las Vegas Madman, artist Jeremy Zerfoss.
We'll have a webpage up next week, and the first four books available in their initial formats. Right now, though, you can check out our facebook page at "Cheeky Frawg Books".
You can enter our first contest there, or in the comments thread here:
Dear Fellow Cheekies: want to win copies of our first four e-books in the format of your choice? Just answer this question: What should Cheeky Frawg's battle cry be when waging war on other e-book publishers? Deadline April 1. One lucky winner will be chosen and their battle cry will grace the title page of our next four releases.
Cheeky Frawg Books: Bringing Hand-Crafted E-Books to the Blivious originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 25, 2011.
March 23, 2011
Wednesday Miscellany: Kosher Odd Monstrous Creatures (Now Out!)
(Extra cool stuff by Jeremy Zerfoss, for part of the ODD? PR campaign in May, a production of Cheeky Frawg)
Just some flotsam and jetsam…We're about four days away from launching our first Cheek Frawg e-books, which will include an e-version of the Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals, cover below. You'll find our approach and branding refreshingly different from the norm. Besides, we, unlike others, make each copy of our e-books by hand, including e-binding by hand and special back cover art by Jeremy Zerfoss.
In addition, my nonfiction collection Monstrous Creatures is well and truly launched into the world, with reviews at SF Signal, Bibliophile Stalker, Popmatters, Tor, and interviews various places. The book is now available via Amazon, and the limited edition is available from the publisher. Of the 100 limiteds, more than 60 are already gone. REMEMBER–my cut of the profits goes toward the Leviathan 5 translation costs. The book includes the best of my nonfiction from the last five years, including reviews from the NYTBR, etc.
Wednesday Miscellany: Kosher Odd Monstrous Creatures (Now Out!) originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 23, 2011.
March 22, 2011
Steampunk Bible Tour, S.J. Chambers (with Lambshead Goodness!)
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(Order: The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature
)
It's going to be a Steampunk summer, with the Steampunk Bible coming out in late April. My coauthor S.J. Chambers will be going on the road, and I'll be doing a few events in between book deadlines. Just to begin to give you a heads up about events in your area, here's a partial schedule. In April, we'll have finalized schedules, more confirmed events, links to relevant sites, and much more.
Austin, Texas – May 1 (Sunday), The US Art Authority – Coauthor S.J. Chambers with special guest Rick Klaw. Book Release Party, books supplied by Austin Books and Comics. Time still TBD. (Chambers will also be attending the World Horror Convention that weekend, and hopes some of the attendee will come to the book release party, which is scheduled after WHC has wound down.)
Waltham, MA – May 6-8 (F-Sun), International Steampunk City – Panel/signing at International Steampunk City, with coauthor S.J. Chambers and contributors Diana Pho and Jake Von Slatt, along with other festivities.
Somerset, NJ – May 20-22 (F-Sun), World Steam Fair – Panel appearances by coauthor S.J. Chambers, along with contributors Jake von Slatt, Ay-leen the Peacemaker, Dr. Grymm, Jaymee Goh, etc. Signing TBA.
Cambridge, MA – May 23 (Mon), Porter Square Books, 7pm – Coauthor S.J. Chambers with contributors Jake von Slatt, Mike Libby, and Aleks Sennwald for book discussion, demonstration of mechanical beetles, and more.
New York City – May 26 (Thurs), Barnes & Noble – Coauthors Jeff VanderMeer and S.J. Chambers are joined by contributors Evelyn Kriete, G.D. Falksen, Ay-leen the Peacemaker, Dexter Palmer, Aleks Sennwald, and Jaymee Goh for a lively discussion of steampunk, along with a multi-media presentation, and Q&A.
Philadelphia, PA – May 28, Between Books (Delaware, 25 min from downtown Philly), 6:30pm – Coauthor S.J. Chamber discusses the book along with Steampunk experts Ekaterina Sedia and Ed Pettit, with a possible special appearance by the steampunk band The Absinthe Drinkers.
Richmond, VA – June 2 (Thurs), Fountain Bookstore, 6:30pm – Signing and discussion with coauthor S.J. Chambers discusses the book.
Seattle – June 6, University Bookstore, 7pm – Signing and discussion with Cherie Priest (author) and Libby Bulloff (photographer), major contributors to the book.
Spartanburg, SC – July 17-30, Wofford College auditorium and Hub Bub Books – Ann & Jeff VanderMeer teach at the SF/Fantasy teen writing camp based at Wofford College, including readings and panel discussions at local bookstores and on campus that are open to the public. Including The Steampunk Bible. Special guests, Lambshead Cabinet contributors Minister Faust, Will Hindmarch, and Ekaterina Sedia.
ALSO PLANNED: An event in Washingtonn DC, July 24th event in Asheville, July 30th event near Chapel Hill, release party in Tallahassee, and attendance at Dragon*Con.
Steampunk Bible Tour, S.J. Chambers (with Lambshead Goodness!) originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 22, 2011.
March 21, 2011
West Coast Book Haul: Lisa Goldstein to Nick Mamatas, Angela Carter to Banksy
As you might imagine, even though we tried hard we wound up acquiring more books while out on the West Coast. Two favorite authors, both picked up at the Tachyon home offices in San Fran (they have a laser gun now and really interesting process flows on post-it notes). The Goldstein doesn't come out until June—it looks really interesting.
–Michael Blumlein
–The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein
The FOGCon book room, expertly run by Keyan Bowes, had many wonderful dealer tables, but the one that I must confess made my heart flutter a little was PM Press. They've got marvelous lines of left-wing nonfiction and, more recently, fiction that includes a lot of edgy or surreal SF/fantasy. I didn't mean to bring home a cockroach killer, but who the heck could pass up such a fine-looking William Morris bio?! On the right is Crucified Dreams, which looks to be a very cool dark noir/horror antho, from Tachyon.
–Crucified Dreams edited by Joe R. Lansdale
–William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary
Our Beloved Saint of Practical Ass-Kicking, Nick Mamatas, has a new novel out, also from PM, in a spiffy cover. We kept looking for him at FOGCon and except for when he was right in front of us for a panel we were doing, we saw neither the hide nor the hair. As for From Girl to Goddess, I was intrigued initially because the author was at FOGCon, and because she was so nice and upbeat and knowledgeable. Then I started skimming, and I was hooked. It's a nice antidote to Joseph Campbell.
–Sensation by Nick Mamatas
–From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey through Myth and Legend by Valerie Estelle Frankel
The Angela Carter is an advance reader's copy from 1980—with marginalia scribbled in it!—that Jacob Weisman from Tachyon kindly gifted me with…as I am still smarting, two years later, from bookstore browsing with him and his strategic positioning (read: luck) led him to a cache of similar advance copies of Carter's books before I found them. Enigmatic Pilot I snuck in there from review copies because it looks really interesting and I've got an Amazon spotlight feature on it going up later this week.
–Angela Carter
–Enigmatic Pilot by Kris Saknussemm
The Raw Dog-ians were kind enough to give me a copy of D. Harlan Wilson's Codename Prague, which looks pretty darn weird and compelling. The Dogs of Raw were lovely the entire weekend at FOGCon, them and their Guide Dogs and Monstrous Creatures. The Real Cost of Prisons Ann picked up from PM Press during a frenzy of buying.
–Codename Prague by D. Harlan Wilson
–The Real Cost Of Prisons Comix
More PM Press goodness, bought by Ann. You got yer Banksy, yer Vegan deserts, and yer Imagining Change, all from one source!
–Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London, England (PM Press)
–Lickin' The Beaters: Low Fat Vegan Desserts (PM Press)
–Re:Imagining Change: How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World
The PM Press goodness just won't stop! The Signal journal on the left Ann picked up, and the novel on the right just looked so interesting and bizarre that I had to take a chance and pick it up.
–Signal: 01: A Journal of International Political Graphics
–Songs of the Dead by Derrick Jensen
A cartoonist was flaunting his wares in the FOGCon dealer's room as well, and we wound up buying a selection of his handmades.
Steven Schwartz, who was on the FOGCon organizing committee, also has a specialty press that produces beautiful one-sheets. (Steven also gave us a great idea for promoting Cheeky Frawg e-books.)
Oh yeah–and FOGCon was invaded by a ton of these Monstrous Creatures. The book is now officially available at Amazon, btw.
–Monstrous Creatures: Explorations of Fantasy through Essays, Articles and Reviews
West Coast Book Haul: Lisa Goldstein to Nick Mamatas, Angela Carter to Banksy originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 21, 2011.
