Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 67
March 1, 2011
World Fantasy Awards Advocacy: Send in Books and Other Material!
The World Fantasy Award judges have finally been announced, and I've got the list along with the other relevant details from the press release below the cut. The judges pick three of the five finalists in each category—sometimes more if the judges can't come to agreement or find more material they all agree is worthy in a particular category—with the other two being voted in by attendees of the prior year's World Fantasy Convention as well as, I believe, those who bought supporting memberships.
As the internet and other factors have begun to open up the richness of world fantasy to the Anglo world, I've increasingly questioned the "World" in the World Fantasy Award, but here's the simple truth: the judges cannot consider material they do not receive. So the simplest form of advocacy for non-center-genre stories, books, and publishers from anywhere in the world, published in English, is to make sure this material gets in front of the judges. (Also, the World Fantasy Award has been very open to indie presses.)
Having served on the judging panel before, I personally feel it's more effective to have your editor or publisher submit a novel, anthology, magazine, or story collection but I don't believe anything in the rules stops an individual writer from doing so.
As for magazines and sites that publish fiction electronically, the editors of same might not want to assume the judges will automatically see online material. iI may be best for an editor to send print-outs of relevant material with the URL of the site, unless some other arrangement is satisfactory to the judges—by now they may have some protocols in place with regard to this issue. But, believe it or not, piles of paper can be convincing arguments to read stuff.
Certain books and magazines you can be sure are already being sent. For example, F&SF, any of the anthologies by major editors in the field, and, I believe, material from Strange Horizons, along with many more. (Anyone with additional insight, feel free to chime in.)
There's plenty of time, since I find it doubtful the judges will even start communicating and talking about any books or stories for another couple of weeks, based on my own experience, at least. You'll also be doing the judges a favor. I remember how excruciating it was on a tight budget to have to buy some books that weren't sent, to make sure we considered them, or the time spent tracking down copies of things that could've gone toward reading. We were also surprised that some editors couldn't be bothered to send work in; hopefully, that's changed.
One last note…if you think you're deserving of the lifetime achievement award and want to put yourself forward or have your editor to do…don't do it. You will just look like a complete egotistical jerk and will have five judges thinking the word "ass" whenever they see your picture. (We had a couple of situations like that the year I was a judge.)
2011 World Fantasy Awards Judges
Andrew Hook (85 Gertrude Road; Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 4SG; United Kingdom)
Sacha Mamczak (Heyne; Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH; Bayerstrs. 71-73, D-80335, München; Germany)
Mark Rich (P.O. Box 46; 413 Broadway Street; Cashton, WI 54619; USA)
Sean Wallace (9907 Gable Ridge Terrace, Apt. I; Rockville, MD 20850; USA)
Kim Wilkins (5B Vera Street; Toowong; Queensland 4066; Australia)
Convention Chair—Valerie Ontell, Chair; 2011 World Fantasy Convention; P.O. Box 927388; San Diego, CA 92192-7388; USA
February 28, 2011
The judges for the 2011 World Fantasy Awards, for work published in 2010, have now been empanelled. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL MATERIALS SENT TO THE JUDGES MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 1, 2011.
The Gahan Wilson designed trophies will be presented to the winners at the convention, to be held Thursday, October 27 through Sunday, October 30, 2011 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center; 500 Hotel Circle North; San Diego, CA 92108; USA.
Through March 31, 2011, an attending membership costs $150US. Information and forms can be found on the convention web site at www.wfc2011.org or via email query at info@wfc2011.org.
If you have any materials that you wish to be considered by the panel, please send them directly to the addresses above, and very importantly, please mark all packages as PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS – NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE — WORLD FANTASY AWARDS MATERIALS. Also, please make sure to send a file copy of all materials to this office so a comprehensive submission list may be kept: Peter Dennis Pautz, P.O. Box 43, Mukilteo, WA 98275-0043. This is the only way the judges can consider all eligible items, and you can be sure that your work has been given fair attention.
Qualifications: All books must have been published in 2010; magazines must have a 2010 cover date; only living authors and editors are eligible.
Fantasy Types: All forms of fantasy are eligible.
Categories: Life Achievement; Best Novel; Best Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words); Best Short Story; Best Anthology; Best Collection; Best Artist; Special Award Professional; Special Award Non Professional.
Please note that the nominees in the Life Achievement category will not be released, though the winners will be announced well before the awards banquet.
World Fantasy Awards Advocacy: Send in Books and Other Material! originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 1, 2011.
FOGCon Schedule, March 11-13: Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
As you may know, Ann and I are honored guests at FOGCon in San Francisco, along with the awesome Pat Murphy. The con is being held March 11-13 and we hope to see many of you there. Check out their facebook page as well. Our schedule is below. Note the coffee shop gig, which still has some slots available.
Ann will have the new issue of Weird Tales with her, and I will be celebrating the release of my nonfiction collection Monstrous Creatures.
For those who don't make it to FOGCon, we will be appearing at the SF in SF event March 14.
SCHEDULE
Friday 2:00-4:00 PM–First Drink Book Heads
Ann and I will endeavor to be in the hotel bar for anyone who just wants to say hi and shoot the breeze.
Friday 4:30-5:45 PM—Last Drink Bird Head
Ann, Jeff, and (hopefully) Rina WeismanA discussion of the Last Drink Bird Head awards given by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer for service and activism in the science fiction community. What are these awards? Who nominates? Who selects? What's the idea behind them? (We'll also talk about charity efforts in the field generally.)
Friday 8:00-9:15 PM—The Monster In Speculative Literature
M: Ann VanderMeer, Nabil Hijazi, Rachel Silber, Karen Williams
Sometimes a monster is the villain, increasingly the monster is the hero(ine). Why do readers identify with the monster now, or perhaps they always have? What makes a monster monstrous?
Friday 9:30-10:45 PM—How To Destroy Your City And Enjoy The Wreckage
Madeleine Robins, Pat Murphy, Jeff VanderMeer, Gary Kloster, Elwin Cotman
The ruins of Southern California in Tim Powers' *Dinner at Deviant's Palace*; the artistic mutations of San Francisco in Pat Murphy's *The City Not Long After* [er, and don't forget Ambergris...]—what fun can we have with the wreckage of a city? What is left over after the apocalypse, and what begins after it? Consider the ruined city months, years, centuries later: What threats and promises will the crumbling metropolis of the past offer to the survivors?
Saturday, 11am to 12:30 PM—Books and Coffee at Contraband Coffee (off-site)
Jeff and Ann VanderMeer talk about keeping a healthy Booklife, care and feeding of your Monstrous Creature, and creating a really Weird Tale. Bring thick skin, curiosity and a viewpoint to Contraband Coffee. Guaranteed seating for 15, standing room for more. (Only a few seated slots available–more info onRaw Dog's facebook page; email them to reserve at publicity@rawdogscreaming.com .)
Saturday, 1:30-2:45 PM—VanderMeer Honored Guest Panel
The VanderMeers: Interrogation With Eye Candy: Dr. Lambshead, Steampunk, Weird Tales, Imaginary Animals, and You: Join Weird Tales editor and Hugo Award winner Ann VanderMeer and her World Fantasy Award winning husband, writer and editor Jeff VanderMeer as they take you on a whirlwind visual exclusive inside look at a cornucopia of exciting new projects, from The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, featuring work by Mike Mignola and Greg Broadmore, to the Steampunk Bible coffee table book, from the rejuvenated Weird Tales to the insanely entertaining Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals. (This includes new stuff even if you've seen us do a powerpoint before.) FEATURING: Infamous self-Q&A, with questions NOT vetted ahead of time…
Saturday, 3:00-4:00 PM—Autograph session in the dealer's room.
Afterwards, we will hang out at the Raw Dog table for awhile.
Saturday 9pm until the wee hours
-Con suite party
-Raw Dog Screaming Press Book Party (including launch of Monstrous Creatures)
Sunday 10:30-11:45—Jeff VanderMeer Reading
(Trust me, I will not be reading for an hour and fifteen minutes. But I will probably read from my new novel Borne and also tell an anecdote or two and take questions. Ann will also be there.)
FOGCon Schedule, March 11-13: Ann & Jeff VanderMeer originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on March 1, 2011.
February 28, 2011
VanderMeer Book Deals, Books Sealed, Books Forthcoming
I'm sure most readers of this blog know that, in addition to the Monstrous Creatures I keep harping on, The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature
is out from Abrams Image on May 1st. Also on the horizon is The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and Artists
In October The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Fiction will be out from Atlantic/Corvus in the UK, co-edited with Ann as is the cabinet antho.
…but I now have some other projects to announce, specifically:
SHARED WORLDS/SINGLE VISION (Abrams Image)—This unique book focused on the craft of writing SF/Fantasy will combine a textual and visual approach in a 7 x 10 full-color format featuring over 100 images. Currently, the awesome John Coulthart is the designated designer. $1,000 of the advance will go to Clarion San Diego. In addition I will underwrite the Shared Worlds teen SF/F writing camp student antho for three years. And a percentage of all royalties from sales will be split equally between Clarion San Diego and Shared Worlds. I'll be writing the main text, but added bonuses will include pieces from Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin, Karen Lord, Karen Joy Fowler, Michael Moorcock, Paolo Bacigalupi, Liza Trombi, Diana Gill, Ann VanderMeer, Jeremy L.C. Jones, Charles Yu, Karin Lowachee, Nick Mamatas, Lev Grossman, and others. Most of it originals.
IF YOU WERE THERE: THE TOP 50 FANTASY WORLDS OF ALL TIME (Underland)—Roughly following the form/tone of a travel guide, this A to Z appreciation of iconic fantasy/SF creations will include illustrations, maps, and some additional essays in addition to the main text.
BORNE (Subterranean, US)—This will be my next, short, novel about a giant ravenous floating bear in a post-apocalyptic city that includes all manner of bioneered creations and intrigue. However, it's wedded to a very personal story. Think of it as Chekov performed in the round with Godzilla and Mothra battling it out in the backdrop.
There are at least three other projects in the works, in various media and modes, that may come to fruition soon as well. Oh, yes, and I'm launching a line of books in my spare time.
VanderMeer Book Deals, Books Sealed, Books Forthcoming originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 28, 2011.
Things You Find While Cleaning Up: High School Papers
I'm engaged in some spring cleaning that includes going through my many folders of old and/or incomplete fiction and nonfiction writings. The things you find. Like, a long-ass research paper on "The Peoples and Ruins of Great Zimbabwe". These ruins were a special obsession of mine for a year or so of high school.
An excerpt: "Soon self-proclaimed experts were interpreting the find as a lost Phoenician settlement, as King Solomon's Mines, as the ancient dwellings of the Queen of Sheba, as an Islamic colony, as anything but the truth. A kind of diseased romanticism infected imaginations everywhere, until not only the builders but even the time of construction became hopelessly entangled in a thick fog of contradictory theories. The single thread of common reasoning was the idea that Great Zimbabwe had been built by people from an area around the Mediterranean. In other words, it was presupposed that white men had been the original inhabitants of the city. Not a single person looked objectively at the evidence garnered at the ruins; otherwise the truth would have been apparent."
The second thing I found was a paper I wrote on Thai writer Somtow Sucharitkul, who at some point changed his writer name to S.P. Somtow. Sucharitkul was one of my all-time favorite writers. So I was going to write about him. The resulting paper I titled "Somtow Sucharitkul: American Themes, Multicultural Viewpoint" because the assignment was to talk about a quintessentially American writer, whatever that means. Although there are lots of ways to talk about Sucharitkul's work in terms of his being influenced by US SF/Fantasy writers and also famous poets, I have to admit I might've overdone the linkage. But most of the essay is an excitable series of appreciations of the novels, sometimes light on the analysis.
An excerpt: "Time is the essential element of the best novels. How a writer perceives time determines whether a book will be a gateway to an entire world or a narrow gateway into a small piece of that world. This perception also often determines how an author addresses his or her themes. Both Thomas Wolfe and Somtow Sucharitkul have a mastery of time, using three different types of time—ordinary sequential flow, accumulated human experience, and immutable time. However, Somtow's method of expressing time is vastly different from Wolfe's. Sucharitkul uses less poetry and more prose in expressing his ideas on time….Still, there are similarities, too. Wolfe is often essentially saying that not only are we the accumulation of human history, but we also repeat history. This is the role of Somtow's Rememberers—to repeat history so it will not be forgotten. They act as a cumulative conscience reminding the Inquestors to be compassionate."
I have a vague memory of sending a copy of the paper to Somtow and that he was kind about it, consider what a mess it must have seemed.
Somewhere around here I have the 200-page paper I wrote on post-apocalyptic civilizations that wound up being instead a whole invented storyline set after some catastrophe, including sample poetry and prose from this time period. I remember being utterly depressed when I got an A-. "I did 200 pages and got an A-". "Yes," my teacher said, "but the assignment was 30 pages and nonfiction only." Ah well.
Things You Find While Cleaning Up: High School Papers originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 28, 2011.
February 27, 2011
Style is Story is Style
It should come as no shock to anyone that style in fiction is the arrangement of words in a story by a writer. If the writer is said to have a "distinctive" style it is because the writer's voice has found expression in a way unique to the writer that resonates with the reader. Inasmuch as a story has depth, it is usually because the style can "multi-task," to use a horrible word, and operate not "just" as how a story is told but in an intrinsic way, with each sentence/paragraph performing a different function in the context of the different elements of a story (character, setting, theme, etc.).
Some styles cannot multi-task. This is not a function of the simplicity or complexity of the words chosen necessarily, but a function of the simplicity or complexity of the layering the writer wishes to achieve; some writers have no choice but to operate at a simple level, while others can create simple and complex layering as they choose. Sometimes, the inability to multi-task is due to the banality of writer's worldview. Sometimes, it is due to writing for a specific audience. Sometimes, the writer hasn't yet matured to the point where his or her style can carry the weight (or carry it in an effortless fashion). Sometimes, of course, it is a choice—and a damn good one. Nor does a multi-tasking style mean baroque or purple prose; many great multi-tasking styles are "invisible."
(Interrogatory: What is a superior style? Superior to what? And how do you judge? Each and every story must be told in the style best suited to it—whether simple and unadorned, or convoluted and ornate; some stories require both, or some hybrid. Most writers work in variations of one voice, but within those variations whole different worlds of meaning shift into focus, so this idea of "variation" is actually rather wide in its effects—and, thus, multiple styles.)
In relation to style, character is the arrangement of those particular words in a story that create an image of a construct, which, for the duration of the reader's suspension of disbelief, appears to share some of the attributes that we believe constitute a human being, even though the only truly empirical evidence we possess in this regard is the anecdotal evidence of inhabiting our own skins. For all we know, everything around us is a construct of a rapidly decaying mind and our body lies upon a fever-sweated cot in the corner of some stark prison in another reality altogether.
Thus, our suspension of disbelief while reading a story is a micro version of the faith we have in the people who inhabit our real world, since we have no way of truly verifying anything we think we know about them beyond, perhaps, the most basic of banal facts.
(Counter-argument: Character is style, true, but this is like saying a person is made up of atoms. Yes, well, so is this chair I'm sitting in right now. What's your point?)
Painters and writers are somewhat similar with regard to style, although they have often have different goals with regard to the idea of narrative. Like writers, painters have a palette of colors to work with, which they then deploy to create a painting using brushstrokes. These brushstrokes are dictated by the types of brushes they use, and their personal approach to creating the brushstrokes. How they mix and layer the paint. The resulting image of a person will seem to exist independent of the brushstrokes, but it has no such autonomy (like a golem). This may not enter into a reader's thoughts about why they liked or disliked a story, even though, were that person to view a painting, thoughts about the use of charcoal rather than watercolor, oils rather than acrylics, might come to mind almost automatically.
Some, of course, believe that style is merely an overlay, or an element of a story rather than the totality of the story—in part because any discussion of style by dint of focusing on it as a subject seems to make of it a separate element. But style doesn't encrust a story, form on top of it. Instead, style permeates. It inhabits. It exists at the particle level, in each word as strung into a phrase, into a sentence, and, in some writers, in the syllable.
If you are Greer Gilman, it doesn't exist just in the syllable, it exists in every meaning and derivation of the word from the beginning of written history, and thus as you read, each word creates layers of association that constitute a special kind of style. This is a special kind of obsession, true, but beautiful.
***
Is what I've written in this short essay true? Yes and no. As a writer and reader, I hold many different constructs in my head at once, with regard to ideas about fiction. That includes multiple approaches to thinking about style. The healthiest thing for me as a writer is to entertain several ideas that may seem mutually exclusive—and hold them in my mind, in balance.
Style is Story is Style originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 27, 2011.
Leviathan 5 Translation Fund Drive: Goal Reached, Dance to Come
Thanks to everyone who contributed to our Leviathan 5 fund-drive! We did indeed reach $1,000 in the month of February–the final tally is $1,250, in fact. You can continue to contribute, of course, through paypal using the button on the sidebar (scroll down) or directly to vanderworld at hotmail.com.
All monies received will be held in a savings account until they're needed, and all those who donated (or will donate) will be listed in the finished anthology.
More importantly, this means I have to fulfill my promise to dance on video—specifically, an interpretative dance based on my story "The Third Bear". That should be done in the next week.
It's been very busy around here, but there will be more posts this week, including my and Ann's FOGCon schedule.
Thanks to Jeremy Zerfoss, who contributed this poster graphic based on the idea of "leviathans" (and cats!) to help generate donations. Thanks also to everyone who signal-boosted this effort!
Leviathan 5 Translation Fund Drive: Goal Reached, Dance to Come originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 27, 2011.
February 24, 2011
Monstrous Creatures Limited Edition–And Translation Fund Drive
The Monstrous Creatures limited edition is in the house so I can sign them. It's a 100-copy edition signed and numbered, with a new dustjacket by Jeremy Zerfoss. It's beautiful. I especially love that Jeremy knows my work so well that the flaps feature squid and the gray caps' enigmatic symbol, as well as a cheeky blurb from Zerfoss himself: "I enjoy Jeff VanderMeer's work so much I designed the cover."
The full TOC for the book can be found here. The limited also includes a new section, "Monstrous Jobs," in which I spill all about many very surreal or bizarre work experiences, specifically:
—"I'm not with the CIA" (working for the census bureau)
—Mrs Bookwarehouse (working for a remaindered bookstore)
—The Baron's Son with Blackened Fish Sticks (working for an entrepreneur)
—Lord of the Flies with Middle Management (working for a company that codified city ordinances)
—How I Became Dr. Lambshead's Assistant (putting together an odd antho)
—The Pellet Story (getting pulled in for questioning for supposedly bombing my former employer)
—Pitch Me Eden, A-Hole (working for…oh, you have to read it)
I've received no advance for the limited and all of my royalties from orders will go directly into the Leviathan 5 translation project, along with any royalties received from the regular editions. Ordering information along with cool posters and banner ads, and a free download of my prior nonfiction collection, can be found here.
Remember–there're still a few days left to make me dance by donating directly to the Leviathan 5 effort. We're getting very close!
The release party for Monstrous Creatures will be at FOGCon; more info on all of that shortly.
Monstrous Creatures Limited Edition–And Translation Fund Drive originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 24, 2011.
February 23, 2011
Need a Story or Novel Critique? Try Tom Piccirilli…
With several book projects gearing up, I'm not accepting any further manuscript critique work for awhile. But I did want to let anyone who's interested know that Tom Piccirilli is currently available right now. Tom's an award-winning, critically acclaimed author who has been a professional for more than 20 years, writing all kinds of fiction from the supernatural to noir to neo-noir, to thrillers, subtle horror, visceral horror. This guy's just about done it all.
Furthermore, his rates are very generous, to say the least: "$50 per story, say, up to 5k words. Or 5k words of opening chapters to a novel. 2-3 single-spaced pages of critique. $250 for a novel manuscript 5-10 pages of critique." You can contact him at Picself1 at aol.com for more details.
Need a Story or Novel Critique? Try Tom Piccirilli… originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 23, 2011.
February 22, 2011
Halo Motion Comic of "The Mona Lisa": Sneak Peek
So, lo!, Tessa Kum and I wrote a kick-ass novella for the Halo: Evolutions–Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
anthology from Tor called "The Mona Lisa". It features some very tough female marines, some evil scientists, lots of loud and obnoxious shooting at people, an alien named Henry, Unspeakable Horror, and much else as well. We were very proud of "The Mona Lisa," and seeing the reaction to it in the anthology was great.
However, it wasn't over yet! As it turns out, "The Mona Lisa" is now being turned into a motion comic, probably in about 11 episodes, to be released online over the summer. We got a sneak peek at the first two episodes recently, and as Tessa reports, "The peeps at 343 are clearly awesome. I didn't think it was possible for them to get any more awesome. Surely they've broken some universal awesome limitation. Pyramid have also done a gorgeous job with the voice acting, effects and music. Seriously gorgeous voices happening in there (I luuuuv Mama Lopez's growl!), and well matched by One's gorgeous artwork."
Tessa has a ton of screen shots over on her blog, along with more information.
How closely did my vision and that of the motion comics peeps match up?
Well, first off, here is my view of the ship and then their view.
As you can see, my ship was floating along a backdrop of interstellar carpet with no visible engine burn, while theirs is in space, where it ought to be. Also, I've neglected to put my marines on the inside of the ship, where they'd be able to breathe better.
Now, here's a crucial moment: the crew is meeting and talking about the horrible, bloody find they've made, and what to do about it. Here's my version, followed by theirs.
Once again, there was a fatal flaw in my reasoning, in that for some reason all of the main crew members have left the Red Horse for their paliver, and they're standing on the carpet kind of nonchalantly, joined in this instance by a huge green alien baby and some kind of space cat. Whereas in their version not only is everyone inside, but the grunts are rightly separated out from the captain and the ship's AI.
Finally, the vision of the characters is very different, as evidenced below.
We'll both keep you posted on future sneak peeks of later episodes. So far, they've been very faithful to the structure of our original. Regardless, I'm fairly sure I've got this later scene wrong too:
Halo Motion Comic of "The Mona Lisa": Sneak Peek originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 22, 2011.
February 21, 2011
The Bestiary Anthology: Progress
Those of you who read this blog carefully will have noticed mentions of a bestiary anthology Ann and I are putting together. It's in an A-Z format, all-originals, but will also include some surprises—like an invisible letter, a 27th letter, and a secret appearance by a Special Guest. Heh.
Here's the TOC thus far, with some entries still coming in.
Auricle – Gio Clairval
Bartleby's Typewriter – Corey Redekop
Counsellor Crow – Karen Lord
Daydreamer by Proxy – Dexter Palmer
Enkantong-bato – Dean Francis Alfar
Figmon – Michael Cisco
Guest – Brian Conn
Hadrian's Sparrikan – Stephen Graham Jones
Ible – Brian Evenson
Jason Bug – Joseph Nigg
Mosquito Boy – Felix Gilman
Pyret – Karin Tidbeck
Quintus – Michal Ajvaz
Rapacis X. Loco Signa – L.L. Hannett
Tongues of Moon Toad – Cat Rambo
Ugly-Nest Rat – Eric Schaller
Vanga – Rikki Ducornet
Xaratan – Rhys Hughes
Yakshantariksh – Vandana Singh
Zee – Richard Howard
We should have several more to announce shortly, including from Leena Krohn, Reza Negarestani, Cat Valente, Micaela Morrissette, and Rochita Loenin-Ruiz.
The Bestiary Anthology: Progress originally appeared on Ecstatic Days on February 21, 2011.
