Three Otherwise Unobtainable Dragonstairs Chapbooks!

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Locus Magazine is having its annualfundraiser! I hold it to be a self-evident truth that Locus is anecessary element of the community focused on the genres of science fiction,fantasy, and horror. So Marianne and I have contributed two DragonstairsPress chapbooks held back for this purpose but otherwise sold out long ago,and one that will not be available for sale until next December. When,experience has taught us, it will then sell out in half an hour.

 

Our contributions—all hand-stitched, numbered, and signed, writtenby Michael Swanwick and lovingly hand-crafted by Marianne Porter—are:

           

Brief Essays on Genre is a collection of 25 short andoften witty discussions of literature including the definition of sciencefiction and fantasy, why write true crime, the place of gratuitous sex infiction, and the proper use of the present tense. Indispensable to the gonnabewriter.  Issued in an edition of 75, allof which save this copy are no longer available.

 

 In His OwnWords was created to mark the unveiling of a plaque in the Pen &Pencil Club in Philadelphia, to honor Gardner Dozois, who began his writingcareer as an award-winning journalist in the U S Army. This is a transcriptionof an interview by Michael Swanwick in which Gardner described his(occasionally wacky) career as a military newsman as well as his philosophy ofediting. Issued in an edition of 60 and was bound in hand-made paper from SriLanka, crafted from recycled elephant dung. Because Gardner would have thoughtthat was hilarious.

 

Father Winter is a collection of sevenfather-themed Solstice stories written by Michael Swanwick and his son, SeanSwanwick. It was created as a winter gift to select friends of DragonstairsPress in an addition of 120. Those that were not given away will be put on salethis coming winter and go out of print shortly thereafter.

 

The chapbooks were donated as a group but the Locus editorsare offering them up separately on their Indiegogo page. The first one went uptoday and the others will be added later in the campaign.

 

You can explore the campaign and its perks—pins, autographedbooks, story critiques, tuckerizations, coffee mugs, and much more at:

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/locus-magazine-science-fiction-fantasy-horror#/

 

 

And you may notice . . .

 

The photo shown on Indiegogo does not depict BriefEssays on Genre. Somebody did a quick search and came up with another,also sold-out, chapbook. But to make up for that, here are the first two essaysin the chapbook:

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BriefEssays on Genre: Part 1

 

On the Origin of Science Fiction

 

The first written glyph was astraight line drawn with a stick in the mud or sand and it meant: I am here. This was the beginning ofhistory.

 

A moment’s reflection, however,reveals that implicit in the statement was another: I was not always here. This was the beginning of literature.

 

So science fiction, theliterature of change, was present in written language from the very beginning.

 

 

Brief Essays on Genre: Part 2

 

On the Nature of Fantasy

 

Why fantasy?

 

Because theworld as it is makes us unhappy.

 

Why not make the world as good as you wishit were?

 

Because onlyin fantasy do we have the power to change the world to that extent.

 

But fantasy won’t do that.

 

Neither willreality.

 

Why not simply accept reality as it is?

 

I spit inyour face.

 

Above, last line: Not literally, of course. 

 

* 

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