Matt Ruff's Blog, page 23
July 27, 2017
My visit with the Fan Bros
This week I am a guest on the Fan Bros Show podcast. I was a bit nervous going in that I might be out of my league—other recent guests have included Ta-Nehisi Coates, Allison Williams, and Orlando Jones (y’know, actual famous people)—but my hosts DJ BenHaMeen and Tatiana King-Jones made me feel right at home, and we had a great conversation. You can listen to it here.
Many thanks to Ben and Tatiana, and to Greg W. Brown, aka Mellow, for inviting me on!
July 22, 2017
Lovecraft Country is a finalist for the Endeavour Award
Some good news to start the weekend: Lovecraft Country is one of five finalists for the 2017 Endeavour Award, which recognizes science-fiction and fantasy books by Pacific Northwest authors.
This year’s other finalists are Arabella of Mars, by David D. Levine; Dreams of Distant Shores, by Patricia McKillip; Eocene Station, by Dave Duncan; and Waypoint Kangaroo, by Curtis C. Chen. Congrats all around!
In other news:
* This week I am a guest on the Unreliable Narrators podcast. You can listen to it here.
* On Wednesday, August 30, at 7 PM, Third Place Books in Seward Park is holding a book club discussion of Lovecraft Country, and I will be there to answer questions (and to sign books, if anyone’s interested). The event is open to the public, so feel free to drop by.
June 23, 2017
Locus Awards Weekend
A reminder that I’ll be attending the Locus Awards tomorrow (Saturday, June 24). My official schedule is as follows:
11:00 – 11:45 AM — “How Much is that Trope in the Window? Repurposing Genre Elements to Tell New Stories.” Panel discussion with me, Nisi Shawl, Seanan McGuire, and moderator Daryl Gregory.
Noon – 12:30 PM — Signing books at the Locus autograph session.
12:45 – 3:30 PM — Locus Awards Banquet and Ceremony. (Lovecraft Country is a finalist in the horror novel category.)
Hope to see some of you there!
June 18, 2017
Father’s Day
This is the oldest surviving photo of my Dad, with Grandma Mabel, taken in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1922.
Bonus ancient Ruff pic:
From left: Oscar, Lydia, Albert, and (my grandfather) Walter Theodore Ruff. Early 1910s. Happy Father’s Day, kids.
June 9, 2017
The Lovecraft Country paperback is back in stock
The surprise sales spike following the announcement of the Lovecraft Country HBO series led to a brief paperback shortage, but a reprint has now made its way into the distribution channel, so the novel should once again be available from your local indie bookstore or your favorite online retailer.
Also:
* A new event has been added to my Locus Awards Weekend schedule. From 11:00 to 11:45 AM on Saturday, June 24, I’ll be joining Nisi Shawl, Seanan McGuire, and moderator Daryl Gregory for a panel discussion titled “How Much Is That Trope in the Window? Repurposing Genre Elements to Tell New Stories.” Following the panel, from noon to 12:30, I’ll be signing books at the official autograph session. Then it’s on to the Locus Awards ceremony, where Lovecraft Country is a finalist in the best horror novel category. Hope to see you there!
May 23, 2017
In which I continue bouncing off the walls with joy
Thanks to everyone who sent congratulations about last week’s big news, and a special high-five to Salon.com, who had my favorite headline on the story. “Liberal Horror Show” is the name of my next band.
A few Tuesday morning notes:
* Lovecraft Country is a finalist for best horror novel in the 2017 Locus Awards. To the extent that it is possible for me to be even more excited, I am psyched about this. If you are attending the Locus Awards Weekend in Seattle, I’ll be signing books at the noon autograph session on June 24, so come by and say hi.
* The Nebula Awards were announced last weekend. Charlie Jane Anders’ All the Birds in the Sky won best novel, and Arrival, the film adaptation of Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life,” won the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation. Congrats, Charlie and Ted! (Full list of winners and nominees here.)
* The German translation of Lovecraft Country will be published early next year by Carl Hanser Verlag. I should have an exact publication date soon.
* If you’re in the UK or some other part of the British Commonwealth and are wondering why you can’t find an ebook of Lovecraft Country, this is an unfortunate side-effect of the way English-language publishing rights are divided up. English ebook rights in Britain, Australia, etc. are typically reserved for the UK publisher, so if a book doesn’t have a UK publisher—as is the case right now for Lovecraft Country—there’s no way to get the ebook. I’m hopeful that the novel will eventually find a British publisher, but for now, your best bet is to order a print copy of the American edition from the Book Depository.
* And finally, last Friday I had a nice chat with Robin Shantz for the Invaders from Planet 3 podcast. You can listen to our conversation here. It’s also available (free) on iTunes, here.
May 17, 2017
Lovecraft Country will be a series on HBO
The A-Team: executive producers Jordan Peele, Misha Green, J.J. Abrams, and Ben Stephenson
Some good news I’ve been sitting on for a while: last year, Warner Brothers Television optioned Lovecraft Country, with J.J. Abrams, , , and attached as executive producers.
Two days ago I got word that HBO had picked up the show and ordered a full series. HBO publicly announced the deal yesterday afternoon, so I am free to say: Woo-hoo! In addition to being super excited in general, I’m really, really happy that Jordan Peele and Misha Green are on board. If you haven’t seen Misha’s series “Underground” yet, or if you’re one of the three people on the planet who hasn’t seen Get Out, get thee to a Netflix queue/movie theater and you’ll see why I’m so psyched. (P.S., if you’ve managed to avoid Get Out spoilers, keep it that way.)
A number of people have asked me when the show will actually air. The answer is I don’t know yet, but I’ll post more details once I have them.
Woot!
May 14, 2017
Mother’s Day
The photograph above, taken in Brazil in 1936, is the oldest surviving image of my mother that I possess. Mom is the blond toddler in the lower right with the suspicious look on her face. The cheery-looking gent holding her is my grandfather, the missionary Albert Lehenbauer. Pictured in back, from left to right: Uncle Siegfried, Aunt Naomi, Uncle Ronald, Aunt Flora (who four decades later would teach me how to type), and Uncle Reginald. The infant is my uncle Tommy, and the woman holding him is Grandma Helene, whose expression of dismay may stem from a premonition that she’s not quite done having kids yet—one more uncle, Winfred, would be born in Argentina in 1939.
Happy Mother’s Day, guys.
April 13, 2017
Victor LaValle on the Juggernaut podcast
This week’s guest on The Juggernaut podcast is Victor LaValle, author of The Ballad of Black Tom. As a fan of both the podcast and Victor’s work, I’m happy to see these crazy kids get together. (You can listen to my own Juggernaut appearance here.)
Also, a reminder that tonight I will be reading and signing books at Queen Anne Book Company, starting at 7 PM.
April 10, 2017
Reading at Queen Anne Book Company on Thursday (4/13)
This Thursday, April 13, at 7 PM, I’ll be reading, taking questions, and signing books at Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle. The Seattle Times calls it a “don’t miss author appearance,” and I believe they use science to determine that sort of thing, so if you’re in the neighborhood, come on by and catch my act!
