Ellen Datlow's Blog, page 42

Home, tired, sated

But I'm not going to talk about NO right now (although I'll relay more on my fantastic meals later) but thought this chart by Peter Tennant over on the TTA website is interesting. Make of it as you will: To Be the Best

Food food

Ate a fantastic dinner at GW Fin's last night--went looking for other party goers. No luck.
The Bourbon Hotel (where some are staying) had a smoking bar so we quickly went through and left. Back to our hotel early.

Cafe DuMonde for beignets and coffee today--ran into Charles Vess, Karen Schafer,and Ellen Klages, then Will Shetterly and Emma Bull. Shawna and I went to the french market after to search for the gator skull. No luck. Only those with skin. Ugh. Checked out swamp tours. A bunch of us might go Friday afternoon.

Found two voodoo places--Marie Laveaus' not as good as it used to be --trashy not much variety in dolls. The better one was Authentic Voodoo and I bought a good alligator papa there. Also found hand made voodoo dolls very cheap in the french market...,most of the rest in the french market were made in China -ugh ugh.

Lunch at Acmne: I had seafood gumbo and half a shrimp po'boy. Delicious. S had half a shrimp po'boy too with a side of sausage that was divine (spicy--she let me have a taste).

Tonight party time catered by Green Goddess.

More tomorrow.

Somehow...

I missed the snow that apparently sifted down on NYC this morning. I admit it I was asleep. I just heard about it when someone else mentioned it on FB. But it sure was cold. Tomorrow I'm off for four days down to the warmer weather of New Orleans. I haven't been there for at least 15 years, if not longer and I'm very interested in seeing it. And eating and searching for a large alligator skull (skinned thanks) to replace the one "killed" by cat that I'd had since 1986. Also, to see if the voodoo dolls are different. When I attended the New Orleans Fantasy festival in the ...90s (I think) every year there would be different style voodoo dolls, which is why I have such a great collection. I'll be online but hopefully having too good a time partying with friends to be posting much.

The Chicago Tribune article about small horror presses came out Halloween weekend minus anything I contributed other than several of the recommended short stories. No credit. Except for the sourcing of Clive Barker's "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament" as Darkness" Two Decades of Modern Horror. So not a total waste of my time. But mostly yes.

There's going to be an extensive interview with me conducted by Darrell Schweitzer for Orson Scott Card's Medicine Show in one of the next issues. I'll mention it when it shows up.

Paper sculpture

polyscene's photostream was passed on to me by Jonathan Carroll.

Photos from World Fantasy

I found myself just wanting to enjoy myself throughout a lot of the convention and shooting photos only intermittently.
http://tinyurl.com/3xtjacc

movies, socializing, and work

Had sushi and cold sake with the lovely Jenny Blackford last night and then went home and watch the piece of garbage that is Gothic--the one by Ken Russell with Gabriel Byrne (Lord Byron) (who I lech after), Julian Sands (Shelley), Timothy Spall, Miriam Cyr, and Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley. Terrible. Thank god it wasn't longer than it was. Also watched the Travolta/ Washington remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 directed by Tony Scott. Entertaining.

Today I met Jenny and Rick Bowes to do some fleamarketing/shopping for a friend's birthday. Success!

And came home to watch Disco Pigs with the very young-looking Cillian Murphy playing "Pig" a 16 year old who is emotionally and almost telepathically linked to "Runt," the female neighbor who was born on the same day as he.

spoilers






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The movie follows their lives from birth and is excellent at showing their love and ties to each other. It seems very sweet until Pig's violent nature begins manifesting. I felt there was something really odd about him from very early in the movie and found him pretty unlikable throughout but that's me. Good acting, but I didn't really care for it much.

The ending is either totally precipitous or the DVD was damaged. I suspect the former.

And in between I've been frantically reading anthologies and magazines for the Best Horror #3.

Haunted Legends mention/review

A nice mention and a very nice review of Haunted Legends.
Skulls in the Stars references the anthology in a post about Lake Crescent and the "lady of the lake" and Chasing Ray's Colleen Mondor found respite from the election by reading the anthology, writing a lovely appreciation of "As Red as Red" by Caitlin R. Kiernan.

Home from Columbus and catching up

I had a fabulous time at the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, where I unexpectedly ate some pretty fine food (who knew?) for four nights--even at the hotel restaurant, although others --not at my table--had complaints earlier in the weekend. The banquet chicken was inedible. There is an ice cream chain called Jeni's ice creams that everyone was raving about and I was relieved that I was able to get there once where Rob Killheffer and I tasted no less than 8 flavors and I settled on Reisling pear sorbet and black coffee. Looks like you can get it in NYC and other places. Yayyy.


I'm sure everyone already knows the winners.
Novel:
The City & The City, China Miéville (Macmillan UK/ Del Rey)

Novella
"Sea-Hearts", Margo Lanagan (X6 )

Short Story
"The Pelican Bar", Karen Joy Fowler (Eclipse Three)

Anthology
# American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From Poe to the Pulps/From the 1940s to Now, Peter Straub, ed. (Library of America)

Collection
# There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Penguin)

Artist
Charles Vess

Special Award --professional
Jonathan Strahan for editing anthologies

Special Award=-non-professional
Susan Marie Groppi for Strange Horizons

The three Life Achievement awards were announced earlier:
Brian Lumley
Terry Pratchett
Pete Straub


# The Very Best of Gene Wolfe/The Best of Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe (PS /Tor)

45 minutes before the banquet I was drafted by Jo Fletcher (who developed laryngitis) to take her place giving out the awards with Rodger Turner. I said "sure" as long as I didn't have to give out the awards in the two categories for which I was nominated. I was pretty nervous --it kind of dumped all my nervousness about winning or losing into ohmigod! I have to read these nominees carefully and correctly --including Ludmilla Petrushevskaya --twice. Jo separated the syllables for me on the sheet we were using (from one of the progress reports) but it was marked up with notes to me about which of us were giving out which award and with the names of the actual winners. And in pretty small letters. So yeah. I'm embarrassed to say I did stumble over her name.

I can't say I wouldn't have loved to have won, but I am very pleased for my friends and colleagues Jonathan Strahan and Peter Straub.
Congratulations to them both. And to all the rest of the winners.

radio drama adaptation of "Return to Mariabronn."

Gary A. Braunbeck has made the radio adaptation of his story from Haunted Legends
"Return to Mariabronn" available for download. It's a great tale, perfect for Halloween.
Enjoy.

Haunted Legends reading at WFC in Columbus --where it'll be

I just found out that the reading will be in suite 523/524 (aka, the Tor Suite)
The reading is Saturday 4-5pm and
Catherynne Valente, Laird Barron, Jeff Ford, Rick Bowes, M. K. Hobson, and Gary Braunbeck will be there to read, with Nick Mamatas and I hosting.
Come one, come all.