Jeff VanderMeer's Blog, page 82

Warehouse Tallahassee Reading Sept 21–And Tell Me About Your Encounter with the Third Bear?

The Third Bear, my story collection, keeps chugging along, having now received a starred review in Library Journal to go with the one from PW:

"In the title story, a monster of seemingly supernatural powers threatens a small village, forcing its leader to find the only way to save his home, while in "Fixing Hanover," a seaside salvage reconstructionist balks at repairing a mechanical device he fears will bring about his own doom. These 15 elegantly crafted stories ably demonstrate...

Last Drink Bird Head Awards News

For those who may have wondered if Ann and I would continue the Last Drink Bird Head Awards for service to the SF/F community…we are! (Last year's winners here, last year's finalists here.) We'll announce the finalist ballot soon, and the winners will be announced at Capclave in Washington D.C. in October.

As I may have mentioned, the Last Drink Bird Head anthology is now available for the Kindle, with all proceeds going to the ProLiteracy charity. The book features original flash fiction...

Postmodernism in Fantasy: A Correction

Brandon Sanderson, god love 'im, does an intensely shitty job of defining postmodernism here. For one thing, "postmodernism" isn't some monolithic thing, so to describe it as he does, even within the more limited context of fantasy, is misleading. For another, some subjects do require a more complex treatment, so when you simplify them down, as Sanderson admits he is, you actually wind up losing the ability to convey any real information in what you are saying. What Sanderson says in his...

Miscellany of Ten or Eleven Things, with Finch, Mustian, Banks, Le Carre, Steamp***, and Zombies

(The new Iain M. Banks, which I'll be reviewing for [redacted:], with guy holding cat in photo Ann acquired at an antique store. Apparently that photo hung in a restaurant for a long time and is someone famous. Anyone recognize him?)

First off, if you love zombies, you should definitely check out Tor's week-long zombie feature with all kinds of prizes and undead stuff. (I hate zombies, so it is useful that they will be all gathered in one avoidable place for a month.) I will be hosting...

The Engine Rumbles to Life: Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities Update

Detail from one of the more disturbing pieces in Dr. Lambshead's exhibit, by Scott Eagle, founder of the PMO (Primary Materials Only) Movement in international art circles. We are not at liberty to discuss the origin of the teeth.

Documentation and materials are beginning to arrive, suggesting the outlines of the extent of the doctor's collection. Verified contents include:

—"The Very Shoe," art by China Mieville, text by Helen Oyeyemi

—"Gallows-Horse," art by China Mieville, text by Reza...

Turning Traitor: Juxtaposition, Corruption, the Bleed

Radically different author backgrounds, radically different approaches to characterization and narrative. Arrived on the same day, spent several hours on the same stack. May contain commonalities not immediately evident. In Alternative Universe #24, Our Kind of Discarded Dreams is a phantasmagorical rumination on global corruption from the perspective of characters living in a singularity. House of Traitors is also found in the Phantasmagoria section of the bookstore, and the two books are...

Congrats! Announcing Flash Fic Selections for The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

The results are in, and Ann and I have made our decisions, out of over 250 entries, as to which micro-submissions from our open reading period will be included in The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (HarperCollins, July 2011). Without further ado, here they are:

Hugh Alter – The Sea Scroll
Julie Andrews – Mellified Alien
Christopher Begley – Unhcegila's Scales
Jayme Lynne Blaschke – Mother of Spirits
Nickolas Brienza – The Fort Chaffee Polyhedral Deck
Tucker Cumming – "Our Greatest...

Congrats! Announcing Micro-Selections for The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

The results are in, and Ann and I have made our decisions, out of over 250 entries, as to which micro-submissions from our open reading period will be included in The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (HarperCollins, July 2011). Without further ado, here they are:

Hugh Alter – The Sea Scroll
Julie Andrews – Mellified Alien
Christopher Begley – Unhcegila's Scales
Jayme Lynne Blaschke – Mother of Spirits
Nickolas Brienza – The Fort Chaffee Polyhedral Deck
Tucker Cumming – "Our Greatest...

What're You Up To? (and micro-submissions update)

(Part of our own cabinet of curiosities, including a Romanian spaceship, a well-traveled alien baby, two fern-tentacles and sequined kiwi from a dear New Zealand friend [thanks!:], gargoyles, etc.)

So, dear readers, tell me what you've been up to–feel free to plug whatever you like. I'm finishing up some further work on the Steampunk Bible today, so am wordless at the moment. (Note that if you post URLs, they might get temporarily caught in WordPress's spam filter.)

Also, I forgot to actually l...

Steampunk Reloaded: Creating Books is Like Cooking?

(Some days, you've got to love your job. Like, proofing pages from a fake children's mag titled Five Eyes For Every Child.)

This week, my wife Ann and I have been doing some of the final proofing on the Steampunk Reloaded anthology (pages pictured above). It's over 400 pages this time, and thankfully Tachyon's managing editor, Jill Roberts, has spearheaded the main copy-editing/proofing efforts, while we've mostly focused on adjustments to image placement, re-checking the intro, and tweaking ...