The news is now out: Columbus, Ohio, won the bid for the 2010 World Fantasy Convention. The convention will evidently be held that year during Halloween weekend.Now I'm sure a few people are asking "Columbus? What the hell's in Columbus?" For all those ignorant . . . er, uneducated folk who believe the U.S.A. begins and ends with the initials NYC or LA, Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and the 15th largest in the country. The city and region boasts a large per capita number of science fiction and fantasy writers. Columbus is also a highly literary city, with a library system consistently ranked as the best in the country. I love this city even though I'm a transplanted Columbusite--don't love that term, though--and I look forward to our community showcasing both Columbus and fantasy in 2010.
David W. Hill: The most popular SF writer you've never heard of
The Nov. 2007 issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction focuses on both science fiction in China and the recent Chengdu International Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. While there are a number of good articles in the issue--including essays about the Chengdu Festival by David Brin, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Swanwick--the most fascinating read is an interview with a science fiction writer you've probably never heard of: David Wesley Hill.
Hill has had some success with science fiction in the United States, winning second place in the Writers of the Future contest in 1998 and publishing his short fiction in Talebones, Black Gate, Brutarian Quarterly, and Aboriginal SF. However, none of that compares to Hill's success in China. A number of his stories have been published in Science Fiction World, a Chinese magazine with the largest distribution of any SF/F periodical in the world. In addition, one of his stories, an ozone depletion tale called "The Curtain Falls," hit a deep nerve ten years ago with Chinese audiences. As Science Fiction World editor Yang Xiao writes:
"The Curtain Falls ... by the American writer David W. Hill presents a vivid, touching vision of how people suffer after the ozonosphere is damaged. The story was first published in our Science Fiction World in 1993, then reprinted in Readers, China’s most popular magazine, in 1994, arousing an immediate sensation among millions of Chinese readers. Shocked by the story ... many readers wrote to our magazine, expressing their strong determination to prevent ... the fictitious tragedy of the hero and his family from becoming a reality. In addition, [the] China State Environmental Protection Office reprinted the story and spread it among the broad masses of people in Beijing on the 1995 International Day of Ozonosphere Protection."
Despite this success, odds are you've never heard of the story (which I couldn't find online). In fact, when Mikael Huss mentioned the history of "The Curtain Falls" in an essay about Chinese SF in Science Fiction Studies, he added an editor's note stating "evidently the title has been lost in translation, as there is no U.S. book of that title."
As Michael Swanwich writes in the NYRSF, David Hill "may not be well known in the U.S., but is big as big in China." With luck Hill will begin to gain more exposure in the West, especially with his new science fiction novel being represented by Shawna McCarthy. (Publishers, take note!) Anyway, the wonderful NYRSF interview with him was written by poet Carolyn Click and offers a fascinating look at both Hill and the thriving Chinese science fiction world. Pick up a copy today.
A funny thing happened on the way to the online forum
Science fiction and fantasy fans tend to be labeled as anti-social geeks, but that stereotype's unfair on so many levels. The truth is the SF/F-loving world embraces as much social interaction as any aspect of humanity, and one way both readers and writers of SF/F interact is through the large number of specialized online forums. There's a long tradition of this: anyone remember the old GEnie network, which ran for a decade plus in the 1980s and 90s? Many SF/F writers used GEnie as their online community. And before anyone takes this love of online forums as an excuse to yell "geek," know that this is yet another case where SF/F stood at the leading edge of a trend. After all, it's not a big step from online forums to social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.
But what happens when your favorite forum shuts down? Lovers of the Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine forum found out when a spam virus took down their favorite haunt. The result: the community temporarily jumped to the Fantasy and Science Fiction forum at Night Shade Books (in particular, this thread). One participant, Clint Harris, even compared the Asimov's forum to a once-beloved bar. So I guess in the end, the Asimov's forum community has behaved as all communities do when their existence is threatened--it adapted and found a new way to live.
More on bloggers promoting SF/F
Glenn Reynolds noticed my comment the other day about Instapundit's role in promoting science fiction and fantasy (thanks for the link, Glenn). Tobias Buckell then noticed Glenn's comment and said there are three bloggers who create "great word of mouth" for SF/F: Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit, and John Scalzi at the Whatever and via Ficlets.
Buckell adds that his own books have benefited from these bloggers and that they "probably do more than the hundreds of pieces of spam by self published authors I see dotting forums, blog comments areas, and my inbox around the internet." It's impossible to disagree with this statement.
Review of Apex Digest Issue 11
Apex Digest has long staked a claim as one of the best SF/F semiprozines and issue 11, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, continues this trend. The issue features a great science fiction/horror story by Gary A. Braunbeck called "Blackboard Sky," in which Braunbeck channels Arthur C. Clark's Childhood End into the type of horror Clarke couldn't imagine on his most pessimistic of days. Steven Savile follows up the story with a fascinating interview with Braunbeck where they discuss Braunbeck's rather dour worldview (note: Braunbeck avoids calling his worldview pessimistic, instead saying its "more a pragmatic one that been run through a pessimistic filter and then presented to you by a cautious optimist.") The interview also discusses Braunbeck's views on writing and his life, including a horrific event no father should ever endure. This is hands down the best author interview I've read all year and, combined with Braunbeck's story, makes the issue a must read.
Another great story is "Ray Gun" by Daniel G. Keohane, in which an old man with Alzheimer's encounters a hostile alien. As the killing starts, the character tries to understand if this is really happening or simply a disease-related hallucination. While this set-up could have been a disaster in the hands of a bad writer, Keohane's steady prose presents the main character and situation through painfully-understated images and emotions, which gently lead the reader toward a tragic but understandable conclusion.
The issue also features a very good cover story, "The Moldy Dead," by first-time writer Sara King. The story is a well-written exploration of alien intelligence and genocide which is a fun and fascinating read. In fact, the heroic aspects of the story reminded me (in the best of ways) of something straight out of science fiction's Golden Age.
A final tip of the hat must be given to the short "What to Expect When You're Expectorating" by Jennifer Pelland. This hilarious spoof of drug commercials features a pharmaceutical cure for minor demonic possession. Of course, you should "Stop taking Xybutol if you experience dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sleepiness, projectile vomiting, an urge to vote Libertarian, voices telling you to cover up the local Indian burial mound with a Wal-Mart, or if you cough up something which then attempts to sell you a time share in Florida." All in all, Pelland's story is a fitting drug to close out a great issue of Apex.
How to promote your SF/F novel: send a copy to Glenn Reynolds
The other day a science fiction author with a first novel soon to be published asked me what he should do to promote the book. I told him to send a copy to Glenn Reynolds. Him: Silence. Me: You know, the law professor who writes the extremely popular political blog Instapundit. Him: Oh. I wanted to get some real publicity.
Because of that last comment I'm not naming this naive author. For those who don't know, Instapundit is one of the biggest political blogs in the country, receiving seven million page views last month alone. And Glenn Reynolds loves science fiction and fantasy. He recently promoted the winners of the Hugo awards, highlighted an interview with William Gibson, did a podcast with Vernor Vinge, and regularly mentions new SF/F books he's reading. I wouldn't be surprised if Glenn's doing more to promote SF/F right now than anyone else in the world. So my suggestion to any SF/F writers trying to gain more attention for their novels: send a copy to Glenn Reynolds.
SF/F tidbits
Two SF/F tidbits to mention:
- The speculative genre site SFScope appears to be thriving. With an easy to use interface, clean design, and tons of regularly updated news and information, this website is worth reading on a daily basis.
- Editor and poet Mike Allen is accepting submissions for the anthology Clockwork Phoenix. As Allen says, the anthology "is a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries, that aren't afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques. But experimentation is not a requirement: the stories in the anthology must be more than gimmicks, and should appeal to genuine emotions, suspense, fear, sorrow, delight, wonder. I will value a story that makes me laugh in its quirky way more than a story that tries to dazzle me with a hollow exercise in wordplay."
New SF/F magazines
The Oct. 2007 issue of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show is now available. As I previously mentioned, the issue includes the wonderful "In The Beginning, Nothing Lasts" by Mike Strahan. Other top notch work includes "The Towering Monarch of His Mighty Race" by Cat Rambo and "The Price of Love" by Alan Schoolcraft, which is a fascinating and compelling beginning to a two part story. I look forward to the conclusion in the next issue. There is also a new Ender story by Orson Scott Card. In addition, the issue features excellent artwork, such as the compelling visual by Scott Altmann for Brad Beaulieu's story "How Peacefully the Desert Sleeps" (which is also a good read). IGMS counts as a qualifying, professional-level market by SFWA standards, so it's gratifying to see the magazine giving so many slots to new and less-well-known writers.
The other day I mentioned the January 2008 Asimov's, which includes a number of good stories. One fascinating story I missed was "Unlikely" by Will McIntosh, which is a love story where the greater good of humanity depends on two unlikely people getting together. This is a fun, light-hearted read with an ending guaranteed to leave a smile on your face.
Story of the week: "In The Beginning, Nothing Lasts" by Mike Strahan
My new story of the week is "In The Beginning, Nothing Lasts" by Mike Strahan, published in the Oct. 2007 Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. Set in the 1930s dust bowl, the story opens with a weeping mother watching workers dig her son's grave. While this may sound like a tragic if everyday occurrence, the mother isn't weeping tears of grief. Instead, she is excited, happy, because "her son would not die until yesterday." In short, her son is coming back. Today he is dead in the coffin. But come yesterday, he will be freed from that wooden box and be alive in his mother's loving arms.
Welcome to the resurrection, where people live their lives backward. Where you get a second chance to undo all the mistakes and sins of your life. The main regret of Beulah Irene's life was losing her son at age three to a horrific accident, so for the last few decades she's focused on her son's return. Naturally, things don't work out the way she planned.
New writer Mike Strahan creates a surreal world in this story, using past tense to indicate events which have yet to happen--except in the sense that all time is flowing backward, so the future is always past and the past future. Even though this setup could cause confusion in the hands of a lesser writer, Strahan's wonderful prose doesn't miss a beat. This story not only tugs at the heart strings, but also leaves one questioning what it means to "wipe the slate clean" of all the things we regret in our lives. Highly recommended.
Review of Interzone 212 and "A Handful of Pearls" by Beth Bernobich
I'm trying to catch up on my reading and just finished Interzone issue 212 (Sept./Oct. 2007). For the last year I've subscribed to this British science fiction and fantasy magazine and to say I eagerly await each new issue is an understatement. Part of the excitement is Interzone's amazing design--while stories rise or fall on their own merits, the beautiful art and layout make reading Interzone a more moving experience than one gets from many of the pulp-style digest magazines. Another reason I love Interzone is the editors take risks with the stories they accept, risks other SF/F magazines sometime seem loath to embrace.
For example, take issue 212. There are many excellent stories inside, including "The Algorithm" by Tim Akers and "Feelings of the Flesh" by Douglas Elliot Cohen. I enjoyed these two stories immensely and highly recommend them to all readers. However, the story which stuck with me the longest, the story which twisted my gut into painful knots, is also the one I didn't particularly enjoy: "A Handful of Pearls" by Beth Bernobich.
I'm not saying this isn't a top-notch story. Beth is an amazing writer and the story grabs the reader's attention from the start, pulling us through a fascinating exploration narrative involving scientists trying to understand both themselves and an isolated part of their alien world. No, the reason I didn't enjoy the story is because the main character slowly reveals himself to be exactly as other people see him: a despicable, cowardly man. When the story's ultimate moment arrives--let's just say it involves a horrific act on a mute child--I placed the magazine on the table and told myself I was through with this story. However, to the author's credit the story was so well written, and the main character so fascinating in his self-denial and lack of self-understanding, that I returned to the magazine and finished reading the story.
I don't recommend "A Handful of Pearls" to most readers. But anyone wanting to understand how people do truly evil acts while imagining themselves to be the mistreated heroes of their own self-narratives, then this story is a must read. I'm certain that long after the fun stories I've read this year fade from memory, "A Handful of Pearls" will remain.
Fantasy Magazine relaunches online
Fantasy Magazine, one of the most impressive debut print magazines of recent years, has relaunched as an equally impressive online magazine. The magazine's website features a new story every week, along with interviews, commentaries, and fascinating interactive features like "blog for a beer," where writers are encouraged to go to the site each Friday and write whatever comes to mind. The most entertaining writer gets $10 to buy beer (for minors, root beer). I should add that the clean, sharp design of the website is a definite plus.
Zombies: The archaeological dig
For the first time in its 100 plus year history, the Archaeological Institute of America underwrites a dig the undead can really sink their teeth into: "Zombie Attack at Hierakonpolis."
As a lapsed archaeologist who once dealt with a rabid raccoon while on an isolated dig, I can attest that the trowel technique for zombie eradication is way too close contact for my comfort. Instead, I'd advise the shovel technique for all zombie and rabid creature encounters.
SF/F, female writers, and that dang submission thing
The other day at Novacon in England, one of the editors from Interzone was told that their magazine wasn't "feminine friendly" enough (just FYI, that's the editor's choice of words, not mine). Evidently about 30% of stories submitted to Interzone are from women writers, which results in about 30% of stories published in the magazine being by women authors. However, this editor was evidently told that Interzone should receive about 52% of submissions from women.
First off, I question someone complaining because 52% of stories submitted to and published in Interzone aren't by women. The goal isn't to have a numbers-driven statistical parity between the sexes; the goal to make sure that all authors have their stories considered equally and that there is no discrimination by sex, religious affiliation, ethnicity and race, and so on. If 30% of submissions are from women and 30% or more of the stories the magazine publishes are by female authors, then the problem is with how many women are submitting SF/F, not with Interzone being hostile to female writers. This view appears to be born out by the fact that there are more women writing SF/F than are indicated by the number who submit their stories.
This issue has been discussed for a number of years and numerous efforts have been made to address the fact that fewer women submit science fiction short stories than men (such as the attempt by female writers to occasionally "submission bomb" certain SF magazines). For an examination of the issue, check out "SF and Fantasy in the New Millennium: Women Publishing Short Fiction" and an update to the article, both by Susan U. Linville and published in Strange Horizons. According to first article, "only 26% of the stories published in the Big Four print magazines in 2001 were written by women (Analog 13%, Asimov's 28%, F&SF 19%, and Realms of Fantasy 33%)" Linville's 2007 update then shows how the situation hasn't changed much in six years, with Analog now hitting 14%, Asimov's 25%, F&SF 20%, and Realms of Fantasy 48%.
In addition, the 2007 update states that "submissions by women varied greatly between magazines. Analog had the lowest submission rate, 18% of 239 submissions by women (men 72%, unknown 10%). F&SF, with 25% of 381 submissions by women (men 70%, unknown 5%), and Asimov's, with 27% of 200 submission by women (men 66%, unknown 7%), showed intermediate submission rates. Realms of Fantasy had the highest rate with 40% of 262 submissions from women (men 53%, unknown 7%)."
As Linville declares in her 2007 update, "It seems clear that overt editorial bias is not to blame for women's low representation in short fiction. Instead, lack of participation by women remains the clear villain." I agree with Linville's accessment and wonder why Interzone was singled out at that convention when it is obviously doing better than all but one of the "Big Four" SF/F magazines?
So what is the solution? I'm not sure. Two of the big four magazines have female editors at their helms (Sheila Williams at Asimov's and Shawna McCarthy at RoF). In addition, Strange Horizons now publishes a greater proportion of women's stories than they receive--in 2006, women accounted for 33% of submissions to Strange Horizons but 67% of published stories--which is the prerogative of that magazine's editors but seems to me like merely bending over in the opposite direction rather than actually fixing the problem of why female writers don't submit as often as they could. As Linville write, "This type of encouragement from editors and writer's workshops may help, but in the end, it is the women themselves who must take the initiative."
How to save the SF/F magazines
There's been far too much said in far too many blogs about Paolo Bacigalupi's three-part series on saving science fiction and fantasy magazines from ever-declining circulations. However, if you've missed this somehow, check out his overview, his "Marketing in Meatspace," and the final part Online Marketing. Everything he says is sensible and gets little argument from me, and I say that as someone who subscribes to way too many SF/F magazines but easily understands why most people don't. Among the people who've commented on Paolo's ideas are Matt Cheney and Lou Anders.
Rumpelstiltskin, Private Eye
The Boys and Girls Club in Yorba Linda, California, has produced an amazing web-TV version of my short story "Rumpelstiltskin, Private Eye." Looks like they had a blast making the film and it's better than most of what one finds on TV. Way to go, kids!
Heinlein short story contest
The Heinlein Society has announced the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest, with prizes of $5,000, $2,000, and $1,000 given "for the best original short stories reflecting the spirit, ideas, and philosophies of Robert Anson Heinlein." There is no entry fee and the deadline is June 1, 2008. More information available on their website. Needless to say, I imagine they'll receive quite a few submssions in the next eight months.
New SF/F magazines received
Now that I've worked the kinks out of my new site, I'll be noting the arrival of new science fiction and fantasy magazines in the mail, along with providing quick reviews of what I see as their highlights.
The January 2008 Asimov's is an excellent issue and contains the print version of Mike Resnick's "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders," which I was fortunate to hear him read at the recent Context 20 convention. As I said in an earlier review of the story, this story is Resnick at his best and I expect to see it on a number of award ballots. In addition, the third part of the "Galaxy Blues" by Allen M. Steele is the best installment yet and I look forward to the ending next month. "The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald" by Tanith Lee is also a very good story, although at the beginning I wished more explanation of what was going on had been provided. But in this case trust the story and the author and you will be rewarded.
In the last month I've also received copies of the December 2007 Realms of Fantasy, the Sept./Oct. '07 Interzone (always a bit slow because of the international mailing), the Autumn 2007 Paradox, and the Summer 2007 Tales of the Unanticipated. I haven't had time to read all these magazines yet, but I'm happy to see that RoF has original art on its cover--their frequent use of movie promo pics as covers in the last year has not been attractive. I'm also looking forward to reading TOTU. For the record, the editor of TOTU, Eric Heideman, is one of the last editors in the world still sending handwritten critiques of rejected submissions. If you've ever received one of these letters, you know how valuable his feedback is. I highly value TOTU because of the hard work Eric and his fellow editors put in and for their efforts to bring new authors to the attention of the larger reading public.
Story of the Week: "Finisterra" by David Moles
For a while now I've been highlighting a favorite story of each week through the literary journal I edit, storySouth. However, the focus of storySouth is on Southern literature, while many of the stories I wish to highlight are science fiction and fantasy. To avoid blowing the minds of readers who came looking for Southern Gothic or the next William Faulkner and instead found my recommendation for Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," from now on I'll make all my SF/F story picks here.
Like Ted Chiang's tale, today's story of the week is also from the magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, specifically the December 2007 issue. The story is "Finisterra" by David Moles, who blogs at the Chrononautic Log. If you just looked at the title of his blog and went "What the hell is a chrononautic?" then his story may not be up your alley. But if you are the type of person who is intrigued by a strange word and curious enough to delve further, then "Finisterra" is for you. The story follows one Bianca Nazario, an aeronautical engineer who wants to escape from the life she's trapped in but slowly realizes the cost of escape is not always worth paying. As Moles says of the story, "It’s a riff on an old theme--the skilled protagonist who's called on to travel to a strange locale to do a job that only that protagonist can do, and who ends up changed by the experience. 'Finisterra' would mostly make sense, I think, to any SF reader back to the Golden Age--apart from the setting, it would probably make sense to Joseph Conrad and Mark Twain."
I strongly recommend this story (in fact, this story convinced me to finally subscribe to F&SF, which I did today). I also want to echo a comment Moles made on his blog: "I think I’m going to start describing all SF I like as 'literary' ... if only because the term apparently gets up so many people's noses." Amen to that. "Finisterra" is literary in the best possible meaning of that word, and if that gets up some people's noses, that's only because those people haven't read great fiction in far too long.
New anthology I Am This Meat
I'd like to draw people's attention to a wonderful new electronic book anthology called I Am This Meat. The anthology is based around Kurt Vonnegut's famous quote and features the short story "Freelanga" by yours truly.
This is one of the best designed electronic anthologies I've ever seen. You can chose to read the stories individually on the website or download a beautiful PDF to either print out or read on your PDA. And as a bonus, there are several interesting introductions and essays in the anthology. My favorite just might be by someone named Sheos, who writes tongue-in-cheek about how the creation of an anthology causes editors to hate one another as they reject each other's favorite stories.
Review of Mike Resnick's story "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders"
The short story "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders" by Mike Resnick (in the January 2008 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine) deserves to be on every award and anthology short-list next year. Not only is the story amazingly well written, it'll stab you through the heart while leaving you both sad and optimistic about humanity and our desires. This is Resnick at his very best.
The story focuses on two octogenarians who spend their remaining days reminiscing about the Chicago magic store where they first met as kids. To say that the two men have had a mixed bag in life is an understatement--they've failed in most of their careers, their families passed away before them, and they now are in poor health and waiting for death in a less-than-prime nursing home. Then they set off in search of the magic store of their youth and . . . well, you'll just have to read the rest.
Unfortunately, the January 2008 Asimov's isn't yet available. I heard Resnick read the story to a small group of people at the recent Context convention in Columbus. I usually grow irritated by author readings, especially when the story isn't worth listening to. Not this time. I literally lost track of everything but the story during Resnick's reading and for days afterward found myself reflecting on the tale.
Resnick has written many great short stories in his career, not the least of which are collected in the award-winning collection Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia. But I believe this story might just top them all. When the January 2008 Asimov's becomes available, I'd suggest picking up a copy. Until then, feel free to check out the interview I held with Resnick at the 2006 Context.