Nicola Griffith's Blog, page 120

Hild publishing deal!

I'm delighted to announce that Hild will be published in 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It will be a big fat fall read, a perfect match for applewood fires and a snifter of Armagnac...

FSG is one of the last old school literary publishers in the US. Their list positively bulges with Nobel, Pulitzer, and National Book Award winners. I'm absolutely thrilled that Hild will be in their company. Thanks to my fabulous new agent, Stephanie Cabot of the Gernert Company, my editor there will be Sean McDonald. Sean edited Stay and Always, so I know the book will be in the best shape possible before it's released into the wild.

You can read the announcement in Publishers Weekly ("...steeped in the beauty and bruality of a different age...")

It's difficult to encapsulate a 200,000-word novel in a single paragraph, but here's my first stab at it:

Seventh century Britain is in transition. Small kingdoms are dissolving and merging. Edwin of Northumbria plots to become overking of the Angles using every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, and belief. Into this world of war and wyrd is born Hild, king's niece: a child with a glittering mind, powerful curiosity, and will of adamant. Edwin is cunning and ruthless, but Hild is matchless. She carves herself a place as his advisor, a young woman at the heart of the violence, subtlety, and mysticism of the early medieval age. But kings don't trust anyone, even nieces. And at this level, the stakes are life and death.

I think it describes one layer of the book reasonably well, it's just that there are just so many others...

The day the deal was done, I emailed half a dozen friends to say, Drop everything and come to the pub! Jennifer Durham took these pictures:
I start sensibly enough But happiness is thirsty work... And by the end, I am wild with joyThere's a lot to do. But it will be exciting work, in the service of a project I've been labouring over, on some level, for over ten years. It's the best thing I've ever written. I can't wait to put it in your hands.

A good weekend gets better

Good morning. This was my view first thing. (Well, okay, not very first thing.) It's going to be a hot one. I'll be spending a good chunk of it on the deck with Kelley and her mum, drinking wine. Happy Mother's day to everyone.

Tomorrow I'll be making an announcement about Hild. Meanwhile, I'm currently in expansive mode, so if you have anything you'd like me to talk about today and/or next week, just let me know and I'll start thinking about it...

And here's how the garden looked last night immediately after dinner.


It's been a good weekend so far.

Join Clarion West's 'shadow workshop' without leaving home

Every summer since 2004 famous and emerging writers of f/sf have taken part in a 'shadow' Clarion West writing workshop--without leaving home.

It's called the Clarion West Write-a-thon.

Kelley took part in it last year. Not only did she raise a huge amount of money for Clarion West (more than $2,500--thanks to your generosity) but absolutely soared above what she thought she could do in terms of raw will and talent. It was amazing: 41 pieces in 41 days. Many of them weren't just good but brilliant. (Go read them on her website. Go read her editorial comments on each piece at Sterling Editing.)

This kind of experience is why eighteen lucky students risk everything every summer--put their lives on hold for a six-week, utterly immersive, life-changing workshop. But now any writer--if s/he's brave and committed--has access to that crucible and the community that grows around that shared work. As it says on CW's website:

Pick a writing goal: something that’s a little stretch; something that motivates you. Shadow the workshop from June 17 through July 27 and write, write, write! Write 15 minutes or 4 hours a day, 250 words a day, or maybe 8,000 words a week (we call that a “Swanwick”); revise a story or a chapter of your novel every week; complete a story, novella, or trilogy; submit three short stories to professional markets; or do something else completely different.

Here's the whole press release:

The ninth annual Clarion West Write-a-thon is open for participant sign-up now through June 16. Every summer since 2004, famous authors and emerging ones have announced their six-week writing goals on individual web pages hosted by Clarion West. Clarion West gets donations from their supporters when those goals are met. Michael Swanwick and several others have offered Tuckerized story appearanced to their supporting donors.

Award-winners Vonda N. McIntyre, Rachel Swirsky, and Nisi Shawl are already signed up. The goal is to have at least 200 participating writers by June 16; four supporters have offered to give Clarion West $2000 if that happens.

Also known as “the shadow workshop,” the Clarion West Write-a-thon runs in conjunction with our six-week summer workshop. More details on how the Write-a-thon works and how you can take part are available at www.clarionwest.org/writeathon.

Clarion West is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization which presents writing workshops for those preparing for careers as professional writers in the fantastic genres.

Be one of the chosen. Be one of the 200. I can't tell you how much I recommend this. If Kelley's experience is anything to go by, it will rock your world. And the money you raise will make an enormous difference to the bank balance of an organisation that's been helping writers for nearly thirty years. Everybody wins: the participating writers, future students of Clarion West, and--most of all--readers. Go sign up.

RRMS, SPMS and the lipid hypothesis of multiple sclerosis

From: Blake

I stumbled across your blog while searching for information on Dr. Corthals' hypothesis, and thought you might be a good person to ask this question: to your knowledge, what, if anything, has the lipid theory suggested about the differing courses of MS? I know some in the medical community have doubted whether relapsing and progressive forms of MS are even the same disease, so I'm very interested in how the paradigm shift affects that dynamic.

Any information would be much appreciated!

Before I begin, please remember I'm a novelist, not a physician. For answers you can rely on, talk to your healthcare professional.

Here's a quote from Dr Corthals in the excellent io9.com piece about her article:

Eventually, the toxic macrophages are cleared, leading to the emission part of the RRMS (relapsing-remitting MS) cycle. But this detente holds only until the next trigger comes along. Dysfunction of the PPAR is further implicated in MS because it slows the repair mechanism of the central nervous system to a crawl, preventing the efficient renewal and synthesis of myelin.

Secondary progressive (SPMS) is just what happens next. Toxic macrophages don't clear sufficiently and/or for long enough, and myelin renewal ceases due to long-term damage/axonal death. This happens at a greater/faster scale/rate than with RRMS. The increase in both processes also increase the lack of integrity of the blood brain barrier (BBB).

I was initially diagnosed with RRMS and now have SPMS; I feel qualified to at least have an opinion on how they relate to the lipid hypothesis of MS. However, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know enough about the pathophysiology of other forms of MS (primary progressive and progressive relapsing) to feel comfortable even guessing where/how they fit into the hypothesis. If anyone out there does, I'd love to hear from you.

POTUS evolves on same-sex marriage

The money quote is at the end: "I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."

We can speculate about why President Obama has decided to make this statement now:

the sheer awfulness of over 60% of North Carolina voters amending their state constitution, most of them not understanding that now children of same-sex couples can't get health insurance; same-sex couples can't bury each other; same-sex couples in North Carolina just aren't couples anymore, legallythe rising anger of his base, particularly the young, over his pragmatical fence-sittingthe fact that Romney and an increasingly right-wing Republican Party have staked out their territory on the issuethe rumour that more than one seven-figure donation to Obama's campaign has been withheld until he 'evolved'
But to me the dint in Obama's arse doesn't matter much. What matters is the fact that this campaign cycle has begun, and same-sex marriage will be an issue. I expect discourse to devolve rapidly from polite to virulent.

But not here. There will be no virulence on this blog, from either side. I will moderate ruthlessly. Commenters will be kind, humane, and alert to our inherent differences. We are all human. We all have feelings. Let's treat each other that way.

Number one rule: do as you would be done by. Stay open. Stay patient. Stay polite. Not just here, but Out There. And keep your fingers crossed that others on both sides will, too. To create change we have to understand. We have to really listen--especially when we think we already do understand. Play nicely.

Start now.

Lightspeed Author Spotlight: an interview

My story, "Song of Bullfrogs, Cry of Geese" is featured in this month's Lightspeed magazine. There's an Author Spotlight (a short interview, 850 words) to go with it:

Can you tell us about how your story, “Song of Bullfrogs, Cry of Geese,” came about for you?

In spring 1989, in England, after a bout of flu, I didn’t recover my strength. I went from being the kind of person who goes running in the morning, teaches self-defense in the afternoon, and studies karate at night to a wraith who had lost twenty pounds, didn’t have the strength to sit up straight, and couldn’t walk half a block. [cont'd]

I also talk a bit about what a rush it was to write Hild.

Until the end of the week you can read for free both story and interview--along with great short fiction by Catherine Valente, Linda Nagata, and Dale Bailey. Or you can buy the ebook, which also includes pieces by Vernor Vinge, Michael Chabon, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kage Baker, and many others. Enjoy.

What sunshine does to me

I've been wrestling with timelines for more Hild. I'm surrounded by drifts of paper covered in indecipherable scribbles, a bewildering scatter of screengrabs, and cryptically-named desktop folders of photos that, once, I'm sure, had Deep Meaning.

I really need to start using Evernote, but keep forgetting.

Why do I keep forgetting? Well, that's what happens when I start thinking about Hild. It's also what happens when I sit out in the sun; I get mazed and muddled. I also get the urge to eat everything in the fridge followed by everything in the fruit basket followed by everything in the cupboard. Also a mildly sunburnt left knee. Why just one? It's a mystery. Also a mystery: why Goodreads won't accept my birthdate but keeps insisting on September 27. And what date was the Battle of Hatfield Chase really? And are all these things spookily, mysteriously connected?

But, y'know, working it all out is too much bother. So today, eh, I got nothing. Have some tulips.

Help with Goodreads profile?

Can anyone tell me how to fix my birthdate on my profile? I've changed it about ten times to 30 September (the real date) and it keeps resetting itself to the 27th.

I am mystified.

York in Hild's time, part 2

Over at Gemæcca, my research blog about Hild, I have a longish post about York, and how it became a carefully planned trading settlement in the early seventh century. Complete with nifty maps and schematics. Enjoy...

...and stay tuned for an announcement here this time next week.

Reading day

Today I'll be alternately sitting in the sun reading this and working on some Hild research. Also, y'know, indulging in high-stress activities like eating lunch, talking to family on the phone, and pondering where to put the flower planters.

But mainly just lounging about away from the keyboard. I hope you get to do the same.