Fish
Can What Be Taught?
"I didnąt write Travel Light."
Sallisiana
Flense Me
Complaint
Link
Peeps
Building
Another pesky zine
LCRW letter, etc.
&c.
...
.
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Hello dear, it's just me. I'm at the fish shop and the nice man behind the
counter gave me scrap of the paper he uses to wrap the fish because I said I
was going to send it to you and he wanted me to write first but I'll send
the fish with this.
I know you don't eat fish anymore but this is such a nice piece of
trout. I borrowed the nice fishmonger's phone and that talked to that lovely
Mrs Prenderghastlie down the hall and she said she'd cook it up for you with
some new Cyprus potatoes and fresh corn from the stand on the other side of
town. I said she shouldn't go to such trouble but she wanted to go to the
corn maze (http://www.mikesmaze.com) anyway.
About those books you sent me. You know I've always preferred money for
my birthday. Not that I'm ungrateful. What father would be unhappy to get
books from their son? Not I! Wait a minute, I'll see if the fishmonger will
give me more paper.
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Supply your own crafty line about autumn books, open leaves, all that sort
of thing here.
New Titles from Small Beer Press
Ok, that'll do.
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Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers'
Workshop
Kate Wilhelm
Did you get a signed copy? Well done. No more of them left (sorry!), but we
still have pencils and we're still donating $5 to the Clarion Workshop for
every copy sold through the website in 2005.
We've posted the first online excerpt, "Can Writing Be Taught?" Look out for
more excerpts in the next few weeks:
http://www.lcrw.net/wilhelm/wilhelm-can.htm
STORYTELLER REVIEWS
"A useful, compact, and entertaining guide to writing that is neither bound
to a particular genre or market."-- Locus
"This book should be on the reference shelf of every aspiring writer. Not
only is it a gift of insight and experience of a wonderful writer but it's
also a fine story of the growth of a renowned writing workshop. Highly
recommended." -- SF REVU
http://sfrevu.com/Review-id.php?id=2976
We have a PDF which you can post on any appropriate noticeboard. Just email
us if you'd like it sent to you.
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Here's a note on Naomi Michison's TRAVEL LIGHT, the 2nd title in our Peapod
Classics line, by Jed Berry, writer and intern extraordinaire:
Travel Light is a book that goes places you never quite expect, even when
youąre the one whoąs writing it.
No, I didnąt write Travel Light. But when Small Beer Press decided to
release Naomi Mitchisonąs wondrous novel as part of their Peapod Classics
series, it fell to me to rewrite it‹retype it, to be more precise. Since it
was first published in 1952, no electronic version of the text existed. And,
somewhere between the death of Hallaąs adopted dragon/father and her arrival
on the mean streets of medieval Constantinople with only Odinąs magic cloak
to help her, I realized I had no idea what was going to happen next. And
that made me giddy all the way through the last chapter: I couldnąt write
(read) (type) fast enough.
There is so much that is familiar about this fairy tale novel. There are
dragons and heroes, and an exiled princess. There are unicorns, Valkyries,
and corrupt priests. But in Mitchisonąs world, the princess is better off
with the dragons than with the heroes (even the tragic ones). Halla never
takes the easy way out. When the Valkyries offer to recruit her, or when she
learns the truth of her lineage, she still must find her own way.
Travel Light is a classic, but only on its own terms, as all true
classics must be. It is a surprising tale, a first-rate adventure, and
always thoughtful in the telling. As Halla learns and unlearns each step of
her journey, Mitchison greets us with the cheering knowledge that the
wandering itself is what counts.
More about the book:
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/index.htm
Read the first couple of chapters:
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/mitchison-chapterone.htm
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Sallisiana
Something to look forward to. Jim Sallis, author of an _amazing_ series of
New Orleans-based novels has just signed a contract with BBC radio for
broadcast of a five-part adaptation of one of them, Eye of the Cricket.
Jim has a new band! And, more good books:
Drive, a novella
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/books/bookDetails.php?ISBN=1590581814
The James Sallis Reader
http://www.wildsidepress.com/product.asp?itemid=1259&catid=325
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Maureen F. McHugh, MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/
Since Maureen F. McHugh isn't a professional chef the best we can all do is
enjoy what she whips up on the page instead of on the plate. (Yes, she's a
fantastic cook.) The 13 stories in her debut collection will blow the small
grey lump behind your eyes right out of your ears. Been flensed recently?
But, says you, why would I want to be? Okay, it's not quite that. It is
taking your sister (the clone of your late older sister) to the mall and
hating it. It is watching the others come to your place and seeing it
through their eyes. It is wondering if the Alzheimer's cure is going to
bring back the person you loved or produce a completely new person.
There are some reviews and so on below. We loved this book so much we
did a special edition: http://www.lcrw.net/special/mchugh/index.htm
* A July Book Sense Notable Book
Read a very short story (more linked from the page above):
http://www.anglemagazine.org/articles/Wicked_2292.asp
"Passion and precision."-- Locus
"There's not a single story that isn't strong, and most are brilliant."
-- Ideomancer
"Hauntingly beautiful, driven by the difficult circumstances of their
characters' lives -- slices of life well worth reading and rereading."
-- Booklist
"Poignant and sometimes heartwrenching explorations of personal
relationships and their transformative power.... The universality of these
tales should break them out to the wider audience they deserve."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Stories that abjure future or alternate-history settings for a here-and-now
(sometimes problematically so) in which women, most of them mothers (though
again often problematically) seek to negotiate landscapes for which their
lives thus far have left them unprepared."
-- Tangent Online
http://www.tangentonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=504&I
temid=263
Mention: http://www.bookslut.com/specfic_floozy/2005_04_005003.php
Purchase: http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520135
Get it as an ebook: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook33632.htm
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At what point did drinking tea or coffee become known as drinking caffeine?
If it really is about the drug, why not pop a pill? Stop with the discussion
of caffeine levels! Only you care, remember? Everyone else knows you're
occasionally freaky and the low/high caffeine level excuses, well, we all
love you anyway, so: enough.
Mmmm. Tea.
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Seen Kelly Link's new website? Some bugs (ha!) yet, but check it out.
http://www.kellylink.net
Skillfully done by Theo Black:
http://www.theblackarts.com
Some reviews for Kelly Link's MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS -- which is now in its
second printing and we are, well, you can guess. Knackered? Wary! Excited.
Working on the next books. Shipping, shipping, shipping. Over the moon,
Brian (soccer reference [Did you see Scotland beat Norway 2-1 in Norway?
Good lord that team knows how to squeeze every ounce of tension out of
trying to qualify for the World Cup.]).
Thanks to everyone who helped get this book out there, for encouragement,
and for being fine, upstanding peeps.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1103563,00.htmlhttp://www.newyorker.com/critics/briefly/http://scifi.com/sfw/issue430/books2.htmlhttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/28/RVGHKEAGUB1.DTL&
type=books
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200508/?read=review_linkhttp://www.salon.com/books/review/2005/08/24/link/index.html
"Sinister and sublime."
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/arts/books/documents/04939047.asphttp://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0605-013.html
Book Sense Pick 8/05
MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS, by Kelly Link (interior illustrations by Shelley
Jackson) (Small Beer Press, $24, 1931520151) "Kelly Link is my favorite new
fantasy writer. She mixes up fairy-tale monsters and our modern world to
create unique, humane stories that illuminate the joy and pain of everyday
stuff. These stories are magic." --Michael Wells, Bailey-Coy Books, Seattle,
WA
Get a free book: download Kelly's first collection, STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN:
http://manybooks.net/titles/linkkother05stranger_things.html
Or buy the ebook from Fictionwise:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook32312.htm
Here's a couple of new reviews:
http://www.fantasybookspot.com/?q=node/view/257http://www.sfcrowsnest.co.uk/articles/books/2005/nz8556.php
UPCOMING READINGS &C.
October 13 -- Shaman Drum Book Shop, Ann Arbor, MI
October 16, 6 PM -- Wisconsin Book Festival, Madison, Wisconsin
(Everyday is Strange: Kelly Link & Rebecca Meacham)
October 17, 4PM -- University of Chicago, Urbana
October 25 -- Porter Square Book Shop, Cambridge, MA (with Barry Yourgrau)
November 1 -- Prairie Lights, Iowa City, Iowa
November 3-6 -- World Fantasy Convention, Madison, WI
November 13 -- KGB Bar, New York City
http://www.lcrw.net/kellylink/calendar.htm
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That thing about upstanding peeps above reminds us to recommend Scott
Westerfeld's Peeps. Now that was a fun book. Virus, anyone?
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Building? Do it right! We're happy to pass on that Kraus-Fitch Architects of
Amherst, MA (who worked on our house) were chosen for Natural Home &
Garden's Top 10 Green Architects for 2005.
http://www.naturalhomemag.com/mediacenter/pr062805.asp
... the more interesting link is to Kraus-Fitch's own page:
http://www.krausfitch.com
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TRASH SEX MAGIC still grabbing people:
http://www.fantasybookspot.com/?q=node/view/216http://sex-kitten.net/2453459191843.html
Get it as an ebook:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook32203.htm
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Writer?
Another pesky zine demanding your attention: Sybil's Garage Issue #3 is
accepting submissions beginning September 5. Submission guidelines are here:
http://sensesfive.com/sybilsgarage/issue3/guidelines.html
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Some LCRW Pieces:
A letter concerning LCRW no.15 (http://www.lcrw.net/issues/lcrw15.htm) where
the writer pretends we published a "comic" or narrative of a "graphic"
persuasion. While we love being persuaded, we neither remember anything
funny nor narrative associated with that issue. While it seems there may be
a loose copy or twenty-five we could go and check this out on, they would be
all the way over there and we are all the way under here. (Apologies: we
misplaced our prepositions of place. We have the interns searching as we
type.)
-----
January 18, 2005
Dear Tiger and/or Lady:
Thank you for the enlightening and enlivening essay from Schimel and Rojo,
"The Well-Dressed Wolf." I could refer to this piece as a graphic essay, but
that might create an erroneous impression, leading to untoward (1) inquiries
from the Justice Department. I note that you place it under the heading
"Comic"’ which neatly circumvents the ambiguity of "graphic"’ but hardly
does justice (ahem) to Schimel and Rojoąs work.
Their analysis is masterful! Lawrence Schimel has pierced the heart of a
critical subtext within the fairy tale genre. And yet I feel the focus of
the article is slightly soft: The true key to understanding Schimel’s thesis
is not the wolf himself, but the clothing. As someone (2) once said,
"Clothes make the man." (Schimeląs promise of a followup article on tailors
suggests that this has not escaped him.)
It is a psychological commonplace that clothing symbolizes the persona.
While appreciating Schimeląs refreshing openness regarding gender issues, I
respectfully draw attention away from the cross-dressing and toward the fact
that the wolf in each tale wears clothing not his own. Red becomes the hero
of her tale when she sees the wolfish nature mendaciously hidden beneath the
flannel nightie. Whether the wolf or the sheep triumph in other cases
depends on the perspicacity of the sheep; alas, not one of their strengths.
This pattern is repeated in other tales. Cinderellaąs stepmother seeks to
control her identity by encasing her in thrift shop items without even a
shred of retro chic. The fairy godmother replaces these sad rags with high
fashion designer wear reflecting Cinderella’s true inner beauty. When Cindy
is once again forced into yucky clothes, her princely hero sees through the
false persona to the prom queen beneath. As someone else once said, (3) itąs
all about the dress.
Consider the subversive tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. The Emperor decides
to spend some of his political capital on a suit of clothes so precious it
doesnąt actually exist. Yet the political climate is chilly enough that no
one comments on this total absence of persona until an innocent child blurts
out the obvious. The Emperor’s advisors should never have placed him in such
a ridiculous position, but one would think that someone reaching the level
of Emperor could think for himself. Wouldnąt one?
It is also well known that brownies will desert a house in which the master
(or mistress) tries to give them clothing. The reluctance of any
self-respecting sprite to assume a human persona is perhaps understandable,
but has not (to my knowledge) been explicated in this way.
I could go on. Indeed, I could, and will with the slightest encouragement.
And if Ms. Rojo were available to illustrate the final copy, that would be
cool, too.
Sincerely,
A Devoted Reader
1. I have nothing personal against the Justice Department. Really. The
blessing from Fiddler on the Roof comes to mind: God bless and keep the
tzar...far away from us.
2. Mark Twain: "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no
influence on society." I thought it was Viola, until I looked it up. You
could see why. Iąve always liked her.
3. I've heard this from several people, including my daughter, and she
should know.
-----
Fourth Annual Southeastern Independent Literary Magazine and Small Press
Festival: Sept. 23-24, 2005 10am-5pm · Agnes Scott College · Atlanta, GA
[We won't be there, but LCRW will. See that line about "Journals will be
sold over the two-day period at every event." Energetic, eh?]
Atlanta's annual showcase of America's best independent publishers of
poetry, fiction & prose.
A two-day festival presented in conjunction with The Chattahoochee
Review, Agnes Scott College, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, the
Georgia Center for the Book, Georgia Perimeter College, and A Capella Books.
Journals will be sold over the two-day period at every event. Editors, book
publishers, and agents will converge upon Atlanta to educate the public on
the role of literary magazines and small presses and to answer questions.
Come listen to readings and panelists, participate in the many
workshops, or browse the book fairs. The Southeastern Independent Literary
Magazine and Small Press Fair is the literary extravaganza of autumn.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information,
directions, and a complete schedule of events visit
http://www.chattahoochee-review.org, call 770-274-5145.
A review of the poetry in LCRW 16:
http://multiverse.erictmarin.com/reviews.htm
A review of the zine on Newpages.com:
http://www.newpages.com/magazinestand/zines/
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Soon to come: Yet another LCRW. More excitingly, Sean Stewart's MOCKINGBIRD.
At last!
Is this a good book? Yes.
Is it bright and shiny? Yes.
Is it true that that's a picture of Carol Emshwiller's hands on the
cover as taken by Ed Emshwiller in the 1950s? Yes.
Did Elaine Chen paint the bird on the cover? Yes.
Would it be an eagle? Nope, it's the Texas state boid, the mockingbird.
More on that later. Shipped from printer to distro so will be appearing
soonish....
Call for action:
1) Write your Representative and insist that Mike Brown, head of FEMA, and
all his incompetent ilk be fired. http://www.house.gov/writerep/*
2) Impeach the president for incompetence. Go on, you can do it!
3) Stain the outside stairs before winter.
4) Tell everyone about that excellent David Maruseck book. (Wasn't he in
that old film The Shop Around the Corner?)
5) Make to do list.
* Wow, time got ahead of us and "You're doing a good job, Brownie," went
ahead and quit. Why wasn't he fired? That would be the government admitting
croneyism was a mistake rather than just Brown admitting his own
incompetence. Did he ever say anything that wasn't completely the wrong
thing to say? He has plenty of time for Mexican meals and margaritas now.
Write them about George W. Bush....
A buying spot: http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Thanks for reading. Feel free to forward this or repost whatever parts you
like -- with attribution, baby. Feel free to send us recommendations for The
Year's Best Fantasy, eeek, deadlines! Feel free to send us questions for
Dear Aunt Gwenda for the next LCRW. Feel free to quit something and pass the
money onto New Orleans.
Guess the fishmonger wouldn't give any more paper.
Peace!
Photo request
Random booky goodness
Audio interviews
Some Readings and another book
Monkeybike
LCRW haunts
Did you go see Wallace & Gromit? Cheese!
Some reviews
TRAVEL LIGHT
A gag. Travel Light was first published before most of us were born. It is a
wonderful and weird book. Something not like the other books you're reading
-- unless you are reading a novel about a young woman rescued by bears,
raised by dragons, and taunted by heroes.
Halla is all of these and more. She is a delightfully spiky protagonist
with a will of her own.
So, the gig (or the gag) here is photos, pix, all those things. You will
have seen the great Kevin Huizenga drawing on the cover (avec dragons and
all!).
What is being looked for is pictures of the book in odd situations,
travelling (light or otherwise), unexpected, or out of kilter. Or comfy and
at home atop the dragon's pile of treasure.
Feel free to check out your local bookshop, Borders, or B&N (we know
it's out there) to find a copy for picturing. Post your pic online somewhere
-- you can even post it on Amazon if this linky thing works. May have to be
cut and pasted in 2 parts or something:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-images/add-image-to-asin.html/ref=cm_ciu_p
dp_add/102-6372179-8358519?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=1931520143
Then email us about your picture. We will have an impartial set of judges
(lured from an international biking event through the skillful use of
Putney, VT, apple pie) judge the pictures on the basis of imagination,
legality, fitness, ballroom dancing technique, and use as a paperweight.
Or, maybe we'll just send you something for your trouble. A copy of
LCRW, a paperback, chocolate, something like that.
Read a bit of TRAVEL LIGHT:
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/mitchison-chapterone.htm
Send us a pic!
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Listen to an interview with Kate Wilhelm:
http://www.dragonpage.com/archives/cover_to_cover_183.html
Listen to an interview with Maureen McHugh:
http://www.dragonpage.com/archives/cover_to_cover_184.html
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Random booky goodness. Have you started your Jon Courteney Grimwood reading
series yet? Complicated, smart, alt. history/present day techno thriller.
All in one. Yes please.
Next. Justine Larbalestier, Magic or Madness. First of three in a young
adult series. Very fun, very satisfying.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1595140220
Next. Conrad's Fate, Diana Wynne Jones. Hmm. 15 pages from the end and
thinking, Surely this can not be wrapped up? Well, it can be. But.... Still
lots of fun.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0060747439
Next. Michael Martone by Michael Martone. Shouldn't work! But it does. Loads
of Contributors Notes and a few more things add up to a palimpset-style
novel of varying stories on Martone by Martone. Very energetic.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1573661260
Next. Scott Westerfeld does the hitting things out of the park the way this
year the Red Sox don't. (Hey, a sports metaphor not involving the Scottish
national football team!) Midnighters trilogy, Peeps, any and all of these
are worth you taking the bus instead of paying for gas. Taking the bus gives
you more reading time, too.
Next. David Marusek (sorry about the misspelling last time!), Counting
Heads. This is a debut scifi novel to trepan yourself with. If you like the
Vernor Vinge and Charles Stross stuff then get ye to a bookery and read
this.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0765312670
Next. Well, there were a few books we haven't gotten to yet. That might be
it until later in the email.
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Assorted upcoming readings.
October 13, 7 p.m.
Kelly Link and Cara Spindler (LCRW 12, 16)
Shaman Drum Bookshop
Ann Arbor, MI
October 15, 6 p.m.
Christopher Rowe, Gwenda Bond, Erin Keane, and Mark Rudolph Saturday,
Destinations Booksellers, New Albany, Indiana.
The reading's called Four Writers, Four Voices.
(The fabulous Lipkandy might be playing some acoustic happiness for your
ears.)
October 16, 6 p.m.
Kelly Link & Rebecca Meacham
Wisconsin Book Festival
Madison, Wisconsin
October 17, 4 PM
University of Illinois, Urbana
October 24, 7 PM
Kelly Link, Barry Yourgrau, and Motoyuki Shibata (who translated Kelly's
story "The Great Divorce" into Japanese).
Porter Square Book Shop
Cambridge, MA
November 1
Kelly Link
Prairie Lights
Iowa City, Iowa
November 2, 7 PM
John Hodgman (AREAS OF MY EXPERTISE)
Quimbys
Chicago, IL
Reading and Q&A with musical accompaniment (guitarist). Walkie-talkies may
be involved.
Nov. 3-6
Tons of people!
World Fantasy Convention
Madison, WI
Nov 8
Kelly Link, Maureen F. McHugh, and Dan Chaon (You Remind Me of Me)
Mac's Backs, Cleveland Heights, OH
Nov. 13
Kelly Link
KGB Bar, New York City
At some of these readings you may see Kelly Link waving a book around that
is not Magic for Beginners. In fact, if the reading is at a book shop, then
she will probably be carrying a pile of books to the cash register.* You can
stop her, she won't mind.
One of the books she may be waving around, a book there is some
probability she may read from, has a very long title and stories from some
very good writers in it. [In fact, one of those authors, George Saunders,
read at UMass Amherst recently and the whole twenty-five hundred or so
current Small Beer staff and interns loaded into the work hydrogen buses and
crossed the river to hear him. There was much happiness at hearing him read.
What a great teacher he must be.]
So, George Saunders has a story in this book Kelly Link may be waving
around. There are other not bad authors, too. And, it is illustrated.
Kelly's story in this pretty book is called "Monster" and it features, well,
summer camp. Can't tell you any more. It was too scary.
The book is called Noisy Outlaws. It is published by McSweeney's, is a
fundraiser for children's literacy, and is in stores now. Give to young
adult readers at your own discretion. (Which means give them the book while
their parents are arguing over who has to rake the lawn now that the damn
kid has taken up reading.)
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1932416358
* Unless she is really tired and has fallen back into the habit of shelving
books. If it looks like this has happened, please do not disturb her unless
you have some coffee to hand.
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Interview with Jennifer Stevenson down a few spots on this page:
http://www.zulkey.com/diary_archive_093005.html
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MonkeyBicycle.net newsletter reprinted without attribution!
This week, I'm breaking out of the usual institutional "we" to talk
personally about the update. Ray Vukcevich is one of my (web editor
Matthew's) favorite > writers. I've said this before. I'll say it again.
When I read Meet Me In the Moon Room, it changed my writing. It freed my
writing. No one combines the surreal and the human like Ray does. No one has
the imagination Ray has. No one writes like Ray.
Ray's the best. This week, we're very proud to present a story by Ray
Vukcevich. It's about Kierkegaard. Kind of.
Also, when you're done checking out Ray's story, don't forget to stop by our
online store and pick up some bookmarks, or maybe a t-shirt.
Thanks for reading!
Monkeybicycle staff
http://www.monkeybicycle.net/archive/Vukevich/super.html
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Pretty, pretty things.
http://www.lcrw.net/special/index.htm
T-shirts and Cards for sale. No lemonade, though.
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping.htm
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Review of Storyteller:
"Oh, but this is a lovely book.... Wilhelm fills Storyteller with lessons
about how to write, and just as important, how not to write."
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2005/09/storyteller.shtml
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Strange Horizons is having a fundraiser which I suppose is one way to get
Free Stuff! http://www.strangehorizons.com/fund_drives/200510/prizes.shtml
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LCRW 15.
Came out in January. Remember January? It was about 2 months ago. Never mind
what your calendar says. It's late spring outside. Hence the rain and so on.
"A treat."
http://www.newpages.com/magazinestand/zines/zinearchives/number27/zinerack27
.htm
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Magic for Beginners Boston Globe review:
"Link's stories are delightfully playful, almost precocious, as she creates
palimpsests of secret passages, hidden doors, quiet pulses of deeper
meaning. Don't look for unexpected twists or tight resolutions.
Nevertheless, many images linger, and the characters are memorable, real
people placed in impossibly strange circumstances, sometimes of their own
making.
"Link is fast becoming a major talent. While she happily positions herself
as a genre writer, I would compare her with writers like George Saunders,
authors who work in a recognizable world but can't dismiss the hidden things
that tap on our windows at night, that flutter around the edges of
photographs, that inhabit the stone animals in our gardens."
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2005/09/25/a_novel_take_on_byron_fea
r_at_realitys_edge/?page=2
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Hey look, you can read the 1st bit of Judith Berman's debut novel, Bear
Daughter: http://www.judithberman.net/BDcover/BD%20chapter%201/ch1.html
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Another mag worth a quick checking: http://www.susurrusmagazine.com/
It's an interesting set up that somewhat mirrors a physical mag with a
"continue" link at the end of each page and drawings that push you on
through it.
The website is slowly growing -- hmm, the links page claims LCRW is "The
BEST small press literary magazine you'll ever find." What do they know
about our future discoveries? What do they know? Don't they read Expressive
Sores? How about Broken Daquiri? Or, really, there are many, many much
better lit zines. Starting with Ninth Letter: http://www.ninthletter.com
5555555555444444444333333333322222222211111111BLASTOFF!
LCRW haunts these shops:
Atomic Books, Baltimore, MD
Borderlands Bookshop, San Francisco, CA
Broadside Books, Northampton, MA
Clovis Press, Brooklyn, NY
Downtown News & Books, Asheville, NC
Dreamhaven, Minneapolis, MN
Pandemonium, Cambridge, MA
Powell's, Portland, OR
Prairie Lights, Iowa City, IA
Quimby's, Chicago, IL
A Room of One's Own, Madison, WI
Sqecial Media, Lexington, KY
St. Mark's Bookshop, NY, NY
Mark V. Ziesing, Bookseller, CA
If you have a nice shoppe and would like to carry this zine, email us!
Also, if you are a subscriber and just received the note below from our
intern and thought it was rude: sorry about that. Unless you thought it was
funny. Then, phew.
-----------------------
Small Beer Press
176 Prospect Avenue
Northampton, MA 01060
September 23, 2005
Dear Long-Term Subscriber and Ally in the Never-Ending Struggle Against Our
Personal Poverty,
It has come to our attention that your subscription to Lady Churchilląs
Rosebud Wristlet has nearly run out. We would like to take this opportunity
to thank you profusely and with the very most earnestness we can muster for
your patronage over the past year. Your kind indulgence has been like the
one perfectly-placed length of two-by-four propped against our rickety
castle that keeps it from winding up a pile of much-loved rubble almost
obscured by settling dust.
We are - to put it mildly - much obliged.
We do not, however, mean to suggest we wouldnąt love for you to remain
of Ally in This, Our Great Endeavor. Quite the opposite, in fact. The new
issue of Lady Churchilląs is coming out soon; we would like nothing more
than to know our efforts may rely on your discerning eye, unmatched
imagination and structural support for one more term. Please consider
carefully the joys, the awe and strangeness you have found with Lady
Churchilląs at your side. Are you prepared to sacrifice those joys and
strangenesses? Would you not rather chance your lot with ours for on year
further?
We owe you too much already to think of expecting anything more. But we
canąt pretend retaining your kind attention wouldnąt riddle us with relief.
Awaiting your Replay as though on Eggshells,
Michael DeLuca, Intern
Lady Churchilląs Rosebud Wristlet
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
P.S. (From Gwyneth) You can go ahead and buy a copy of U.S. Weekly and a
Hershey bar and look at pictures of famous people wearing ugly hats and
sweat pants. But seriously, wouldnąt you rather leave your gourmet chocolate
finger prints on a copy of Lady Churchilląs? Think about it.
--
Small Beer Press 2005 or so
Naomi Mitchison, TRAVEL LIGHT
Maureen F. McHugh, MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
Kate Wilhelm, STORYTELLER
Sean Stewart, MOCKINGBIRD
Kelly Link, MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS
http://www.smallbeerpress.com
LCRW seventeen somethings and a new pic
Bookth
Music
Not music
Beer News
THINGS WE ARE Sad ABOUT
THINGS WE ARE Happy ABOUT
REVIEWS & NEWS
Reviews and Book News
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
Hidden in here somewhere is a piece on Free Stuff. It's not actually free
and it's not on the table of contents because our Lordly Squirrel Masters
(why don't they go hibernate??) won't let us put it there. Why not free?
Because they want you to Buy (fortunately it's past Buy Nothing Day) Books,
or Zines, or T-Shirts, or Cards, or Something, and Then and Only Then will
they let us into the vaults and take away some of their paperclip treasures
(no fooling). There's other stuff, too, but, really, paperclips?
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
BONE WARS
If you live in the state of Kansas (which is perhaps a strange state of
mind?) you can get 20% off BONE WARS: The Game of Ruthless Paleontology.
Why? because they're scientists with a sense of humor.
http://www.zygotegames.com/kansas.html
There's also a Zygote Games/Science Made Cool blog (aimed at smart kids and
so on, hence the name. Wonder if they know the kids are already smarter than
the adults? Why help them?) from we excerpt the hilarious post below about
coffee (although we go for Tea, Tea, Tea!):
"It's possible to make a case that modern civilization as we know it was
built by coffee. In the Middle Ages, people drank wine and beer, pretty much
exclusively. Much of the history of medieval Europe makes a lot more sense
when you realize it was populated largely by drunk teenagers.
"Then Europe discovered caffeine. Boom! The Scientific Revolution. The
Enlightenment. The Industrial Revolution. Heavily-caffeinated Europeans
built global empires to ensure reliable supplies of tea, coffee, sugar, and
chocolate. Without coffee, we'd still be fatalistic drunken peasants."
http://ipath.blogs.com/zygotegames/
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
So, some of this stuff below is barely re-purposed (poached/refried) from
this page: http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/notajournal.htm
LCRW -- Seventeen issues: seventeen somethings:
1. LCRW hits seventeen and no one gives it a car. It has a permit to
drive right through the woods, over the hills, down the freeway (EZPassing
everything in its way) and off the pier. But that's ok: it's printed on
waterproof paper. (For a certain value of water.)
2. LCRW hits seventeen but still loses the Ashes. (Cricket joke.)
3. LCRW hits seventeen. There are witnesses who swear it was the other
way around.
4. LCRW hit seventeen a long time ago but dresses young.
5. LCRW hits seventeen but needed a triple-twenty to win. (Darts joke.)
6. LCRW hits seventeen bars and is then led away for a "rest."
7. LCRW hits seventeen but the eighteenth is standing behind it with a
big stick and knocks it over.
8. LCRW hits seventeen on the first hole. Retires gracefully to the
nineteenth. (Golf story.)
9. LCRW hits seventeen and runs away. Is found living in squalor in the
basement of the Bertelsman building. Wrangles a distribution deal out of it.
Still doesn't get to meet Jenny Agutter.
10. LCRW hits seventeen and still has eight years of 25-Life to serve.
11. LCRW hits seventeen aces in a row. (Somewhat boring tennis dream.)
12. LCRW hits seventeen but the elevator never gets there.
13. LCRW hits seventeen (?)
14. LCRW hits seventeen and only then discovers the internet. Then sues.
15. LCRW hits seventeen and goes to college. The next four years are a
blur of fiction, poetry, and "other."
16. LCRW hits seventeenth century music festivals like a tornado.
17. LCRW hits seventeen new indie bookshops distributing it and falls over
in a dead faint.
The pic/new logo on this page is composed of the Valrhona bars going out to
those peeps (mostly not vampiric Westerfeldian Peeps) who chose "Zine avec
chocolat." (Some chocolate was consumed during the composing of this
composted composition.)
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
BOOKTH
Michael Martone (FC2) by Michael Martone is all about Michael Martone.
From Heather Rogers's Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage. More than
enough to provide food for, ah, thought:
"In 1863, Dr. Ezra Pulling, a volunteer sanitation inspector in New York
City, described the taxonomy of waste redistribution as follows:
"Thus the textile contents of his [the scavenger's] bag and basket go to the
paper mill and shoddy factories. Bones find their destiny in saponaeceous
and fertilizing compounds; metallic articles are transferred to the junk
shop; and even bits of coal find their appropriate uses. But there still
remains a residuum which his professional genius has contrived to make a
source of profit. This consists of fragments of bread and other farinacious
[sic] food, decaying potatoes, cabbages, &c., interspersed with lifeless
cats, rats, and puppies, this introduced to a post mortem fellowship. I
shall not stop to trace the occasional metamorphosis of the latter into the
familiar sausage, but proceed to state that much of the above miscellaneous
collection is supplied to certain sailors' boarding-houses, and enters into
the composition of bread puddings, and of a sort of "[s]longshore lobscouse"
which Jack loves "not wisely but too well."
"There is, however, a debris of material too thoroughly saturated with
street-mire to be considered savory, even in the above compound; but this is
by no means destined to be wasted. It is sold to the manufacturers of cheap
coffee. It is desiccated, partially carbonized, mingled with a small
proportion of chickory, &c., ground, and is ready to fulfill its destiny."
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1565848799
Hey, thanks for using our Powell's links to pick up such goodies as James
Patrick Kelly's new short novel BURN:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1892391279
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
MUSIC
So it seems Black Sabbath are going to be inducted into the rock and roll
hall of fame (how can there be one of these again?). Should be an
interesting ritual. Sabbath will probably induct the hall of fame into
Satanism or set the place on fire or something.
Just listened to VOLUME 4 -- an incredible album. There's a weepy song
that can be taken or left ("Changes") but mostly it's that clean guitar
sound. Maybe it was only murky on 4-watt 1980s stereos? The songs are just
this excuse for some amazing guitar -- and, shock, keyboard! -- work that
still sounds fresh.
THE ROSEBUDS have a new CD out, BIRDS MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS. It's pretty good
but the band are just fantastic live. Maybe they'll come to Northampton and
play at the Iron Horse. Or there's a nice park (Look Park) that does summer
concerts. Go see The Rosebuds (we like them for more than just there name)
in the next week or two. They are too smart to come up to the foggy north
right now:
Nov 28th * Baton Rouge LA * Red Star Bar
Nov 30th * Tampa FL * The Orpheum w/ Shout Out Louds
Dec 1st * Orlando FL * The Social w/ Shout Out Louds
Dec 2nd * Ft. Lauderdale FL * Culture Room w/ Shout Out Louds
Dec 3rd * Savannah GA * The Jinx
Dec 9th * Columbia SC * The Garage
Dec 10th * Atlanta GA * The Earl w/ Ronnie Specter!!
http://www.therosebuds.com
In the meantime we gots some travelling people (not Wilburys) coming: Death
Vessel are playing with local faves the Winterpills (inc. Phillip Price of
The Maggies and so on). Yep, new discs of music by both bands are being
thrown across the land to listeners everywhere. Stand up and catch one at
your local Recorded Music Emporium.
http://www.winterpills.com/http://www.deathvessel.com/ -- who are also on tour w/ Iron & Wine and
Calexico.
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
NOT MUSIC
Looking for some presents? There's a wee sale at top shelf. All Flee is
recommended: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?section=specialdeals
Go see Walk the Line! Dance in the aisles. Kick out the footlights. Regret
your '70s fashion choices. Ignore how you'll feel about now in the 2040s.
New ish of Xerography Debt is coming with reviews, columns, ziney stuff of
all flavors. This review zine has lasted quite a while and the two editors
(Davida Gypsy Breier and Donny Smith) do an amazing job at getting this out
3 times a year. If you want to volunteer time or buy a zub for a zine
library or Something, check it out below:
http://www.leekinginc.com/xeroxdebt/http://www.leekinginc.com/xeroxdebt/xd17.htm -- nice color cover!
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
BEER NEWS
One of these days we will publish a book on beer and make everyone at the
bank and trade shows happy. In the meantime, we will just drink Ruddles,
English ales in tins, Berkshire Brewing Company (BBC!) Berkshire Ale
growlers, and so on, and make note of beer stories (to be forgotten by the
time the book comes out):
Female genius lay behind Andes Ale:
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2243052005
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
THINGS WE ARE Sad ABOUT
No non-violent revolution or impeachment in the USA yet. What's with that?
No diesel minivans in the USA yet.
The cat sat on the mat. (We are allergic to the damn cat.)
Someday soon the sun will go out and we will all regret not saving those
candle stubs.
We did not buy Google stock.
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
THINGS WE ARE Happy ABOUT
Give Bees and Trees to everyone you know at http://www.heifer.org !
2005 coming to a close means the next US election is that tiny bit closer.
Choconita cometh. It's a secret, ok?
We have the latest ish of TRUNK STORIES. Pretty! Illustrated!
Lunch is almost ready.
Gwenda Bond interviewed Greg Pak:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2005/20051128/pak-int-a.shtml
We did not buy Krispy Kreme stock.
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
REVIEWS & NEWS
News: We have hardcovers of Sean Stewart's PERFECT CIRCLE and Jennifer
Stevenson's TRASH SEX MAGIC.
This is where our shop begins: http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Beautiful new edition of MOCKINGBIRD is in stores now. Those are Carol
Emshwiller's hands and that painting is by Elaine Chen.
http://www.lcrw.net/seanstewart/mockingbird.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520097
Ok, mostly reviews. Which we all read religiously, right? 36,000 LCRW
subscribers all scanning their own daily for the AP reviews, then the local
reviews. Then its online to check out the NY Times, the Washington Post,
Seattle Times, and other weeklies. Then its the litblogs, seeing who Gwenda
(Dear Aunt Gwenda!) or Maud or Matt are pointing toward. Then it's a look at
the blog aggregator which pulls in more reviews. Check the reviews picked up
by Google News. BoingBoing and Metafilter probably have a few worth checking
out.
What's that? 5 PM already. Oh well, I'll start on that project tomorrow.
Time to go home and write a few reviews for the blog.
TRAVEL LIGHT
Read the introduction:
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/introduces/travellight.htm
"When The Lord of the Rings was first published, Allen and Unwin knew that
such a strange book by an outsider of Tolkienąs idiosyncratic calibre needed
a few literary heavy-hitters to offer positive judgement, paving a way into
the libraries of sophisticated readers and the dailiesą books pages. In thus
inventing the celebrity blurb, they turned to C.S. Lewis, Richard Hughes,
and a fiercely intelligent writer of startling breadth named Naomi
Mitchison."
-- Strange Horizons
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2005/11/travel_li.shtml
A gag. TRAVEL LIGHT was first published before most of us were born. It's a
wonderful and weird book. Something not like the other books you're reading
-- unless you are reading a novel about a young woman rescued by bears,
raised by dragons, and taunted by heroes. Halla is all of these and more.
She is a delightfully spiky protagonist with a will of her own.
So, the gig (or the gag) here is photos, pix, all those things. You will
have seen the great Kevin Huizenga drawing on the cover (avec dragons and
all!). What is being looked for is pictures of the book in odd situations,
travelling (light or otherwise), unexpected, or out of kilter. Or comfy and
at home atop the dragon's pile of treasure. Feel free to check out your
local bookshop, Borders, or B&N (we know it's out there) to find a copy for
picturing. Post your pic online somewhere -- you can even post it on Amazon
if this linky thing works.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-images/add-image-to-asin.html/ref=cm_ciu_p
dp_add/104-8040344-8861538?_encoding=UTF8&asin=1931520143
Then email us about your picture. We will have an impartial set of judges
(lured from an international biking event through the skillful use of
Putney, VT, apple pie) judge the pictures on the basis of imagination,
legality, fitness, ballroom dancing technique, and use as a paperweight. Or,
maybe we'll just send you something for your trouble. A copy of LCRW, a
paperback, chocolate, something like that.
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/index.htm
CARMEN DOG
Added ebook version.
Hey! Carol Emshwiller was just given a Life Achievement World Fantasy Award!
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/emshwiller/carmendog.htm
MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
Maureen F. McHugh & Sarah Willis in three part conversation:
http://www.beatrice.com/archives/001810.htmlhttp://www.beatrice.com/archives/001815.htmlhttp://www.beatrice.com/archives/001809.html
Added ebook version.
"McHughąs prose style is unique."
-- LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer)
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051123/LEO0306/51122041/-
1/LEO03
"McHugh's work doesn't rely on exploding spaceships and laser battles but
rather on the intensely felt epiphanies of ordinary people."
-- Challenging Destiny
http://www.challengingdestiny.com/reviews/mothersandother.htmhttp://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/index.htm
Limited Edition: http://www.lcrw.net/special/mchugh/index.htm
STORYTELLER
"There are many books of writing instruction out there, but what sets
"Storyteller" apart is the sense that Wilhelm really knows students and
knows how to teach them to craft a professional story."
-- The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1129373940803
10.xml?oregonian?albssf&coll=7
"Full of pithy, relevant advice for writers, amusing recollections of the
field's current giants during their early days, and the fullest published
account to date of how a revered program was established."
-- Scifi Dimensions
http://www.scifidimensions.com/Nov05/storyteller.htm
Department of No Comment
A while ago when we were sending out all the review copies and so on for
Kate Wilhelm's memoir of the Clarion Writer's Workshop and book on writing,
Storyteller, we sent a query to AARP The Magazine to see if they were
interested in a copy of the book, an interview etc. Yesterday we received
this response:
-------
Dear Mr. Grant:
Thank you for contacting AARP. We appreciate hearing from you.
Due to the very limited space in our bi-monthly magazine, a decision was
made not to accept poetry submissions at this time. Should we decide to
include poetry in the future; an announcement will be posted in AARP The
Magazine.
-------
http://www.lcrw.net/wilhelm/index.htm
PERFECT CIRCLE (aka Firecracker)
"An unpredictable ghost story and an unexpected love story... Stewart shifts
skilfully between humour and terror."
-- The Independent on Sunday
http://www.lcrw.net/seanstewart/index.htm
MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS
"Charm, wry humor, invention and canny social observation."
-- Los Angeles Times
http://www.calendarlive.com/books/cl-et-book26oct26,0,7172997.story?coll=cl-
books-util
http://www.lcrw.net/kellylink/mfb/index.htm
LCRW 16
Review spotted on a blog. (Thanks Davida!)
Note: No matter what the masthead may claim (and we generally need a Ouija
Board to understand it) Kelly is still connected to LCRW.
http://hebdomeros.blogspot.com/2005/09/whats-lady-churchill-got-on-her-wrist
.html
http://www.lcrw.net/issues/lcrw16.htm
*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*17*
FREE STUFF to go with orders (ask for it by name: Free Stuff!). You has to
order at least one book to get this stuff. Or a goodly number of zines or
something.
(1) Black XL Free Comic Book Day T-shirt
(1) White XL Optic Nerve T-shirt
(1) Tiny flat style Rolodex
(1) Epson ink cartridge: for Stylus 400/440/640/660/740 etc
(1) Robert Whiting's tale of baseball folk in Japan: You Gotta Have Wa (may
have already been given out, so be ready for a substitute)
(More) The Red Pencil of Death!
(1) A box of assorted paperclips.
(1) Valrhona chocolate bar.
And, the creme de la creme: A one-off "Teamwork" Pocket Pal 2006 Diary with
"Compliments of SMALL BEER PRESS Northampton, MA" embossed on the front.
This came in the mail to us and apparently we will not be taking these
chaps up on their offer of making more of these. Diary has all the usual
features (365 days!), some kind of faux leather cover, and a pen(!)
It really is an amazing Objet d'Art. Maybe. Good luck.
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
PS No returns on Free Stuff!
Cycle carefully!
Yrs,
Small Beer Press
http://www.smallbeerpress.com
A Story About Maureen F. McHugh
NORTHAMPTON, MA: This morning Ohio housewife, novelist, and video game
author Maureen F. McHugh woke up to discover her debut short fiction
collection, Mothers Other Monsters (Small Beer Press, July 2005, $24, ISBN
1-931520-13-5) is one of three finalists for the second annual $20,000 Story
Prize. (The runners-up each receive $5,000.)
Interviewed by phone McHugh exclaimed, "This book has changed my life!"
McHugh, an award-winning writer, is the author of four novels. After
undergoing chemotherapy to overcome a bout of Hodgkinąs Lymphoma in the
first half of this year McHugh had most recently been working on a series of
stories for lastcallpoker.com, an online game and marketing campaign. She
has also been working on a second, as yet unannounced, campaign.
"Being a finalist for this award," McHugh said, has inspired her "to take up
where she left off" in her critically-acclaimed career as a novelist. She is
working on two novels, BabyGoth and Coming of Age in America. "Of course,"
she added, sheąll "certainly continue to write short stories!"
The Story Prize will be awarded Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 7 P.M. at the
New Schooląs Tishman Auditorium (66 West 12th Street in New York City). The
three Story Prize finalists will read brief selections from their
collections and then discuss their work with Larry Dark, Director of The
Story Prize (on the stage where Inside The Actors Studio is staged).
The evening will culminate with the announcement of the winner and
presentation of the $20,000 award and the engraved silver bowl given to each
winner of The Story Prize.
The 2005 judges were novelist and MacArthur Fellow Andrea Barrett (The
Voyage of the Narwhal); the most famous librarian in the USA and author of
Book Lust, Nancy Pearl, and critic and novelist (The Book Against God) James
Wood.
Mothers & Other Monsters was a July Book Sense Notable Book and Booklist
called it "Hauntingly beautiful, driven by the difficult circumstances of
their charactersą lives‹slices of life well worth reading and rereading." It
has garnered praise from bestselling authors Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane
Austen Book Club) who said of it "Each of these stories is a gift" and Mary
Doria Russell (A Thread of Grace) who called Mothers & Other Monsters
"Enchanting, wistful, funny and fierce by turns."
Maureen F. McHugh has spent most of her life in Ohio, but has lived in New
York City and, for a year, in Shijiazhuang, China. She is the author of four
novels. Her first novel, China Mountain Zhang, won the Tiptree Award. Her
latest, Nekropolis, was a Book Sense 76 pick and a New York Times Editor's
Choice. McHugh teaches writing at the John Carroll University in Cleveland
and at the Imagination and Clarion workshops. She lives with her husband and
two dogs next to a dairy farm in Cleveland Heights, OH. Sometimes, in the
summer, black and white Holsteins look over the fence at them.
The two other finalists are The Summer He Didn't Die by Jim Harrison
(Atlantic Monthly Press) and The Hill Road by Patrick O'Keeffe (Viking).
To order tickets ($14 for general admission seating) to The Story Prize
reading and awards ceremony at the New School's Tishman Auditorium (66 East
12th Street) on Jan. 25, call 212-229-5488 from 1 to 8 p.m., Monday through
Friday or e-mail boxoffice@....
The judges also produced a short list of other highly recommended story
collections published in 2005 -- which included Kelly Link's Magic for
Beginners, as well as books by Robert Coover, Judy Budnitz, Michael Martone
and others.
Maureen F. McHugh, Mothers & Other Monsters: Stories
Small Beer Press · July 2005 · Fiction/Short Stories · $24 · ISBN::
1-931520-13-5
The Story Prize
http://thestoryprize.org/index.html
Mothers & Other Monsters
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/index.htm
Buy books &c.:
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
More updates and so on:
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/notajournal.htm
--
Small Beer Press
176 Prospect Avenue
Northampton, MA 01060
T: 413-584-0299
F: 413-584-2662
http://www.smallbeerpress.com
New Year / tea / comics
My Silent Partner
The Story Prize Award night
The Stare
People we don't have
Eva Ibbotsonąs
Some Places to Go
Sean Stewart
Zinesters who made history file
Mad MFB news
Happy new year.
If you've fallen for that Gregorian thing. Or, even if you're close to
celebrating the Lunar New Year. (Coming up, the Year of the Dog, yay!)
What are we doing in the new year?
Completely, I say _completely_ new and different, ah, Things!, than we
did last year. Who cares if 2005 still sounds all science-fictiony-futury?
Not us. We bravely step ashore into this randomly numbered day and join the
chorus singing "Bloody hell, Bob! Someone's stolen my jetpack!"
We are drinking tea. No matter if you read this when we send it out, or
hours, days later, we will still be drinking tea. Whether or not time is an
illusion or not, we have always been drinking tea. Sometimes if you peeked
it would be simple Barry's Irish tea, PG Tips, Tetley's. Sometimes we visit
the Republic of Tea. Sometimes we are in the middle of making a pot of green
tea. We're making the tea and steeping it thrice.
Sometimes it is Darjeeling tea from http://www.nathmulltea.com (thank
you Sarah). Here is where we area not:
http://www.nathmulltea.com/tea_excursions.html Just so.
Ok, stop with your tea drinking and open a new window with the link below
where you can read a very mellow comic, Lost and Found, by Kevin Huizenga:
http://usscatastrophe.com/kh/lostandfound.html
Then go to a comic shop and give them your name and address. Tell them, "I
would like to please subscribe to Kevin Huizenga's comic OR ELSE from Drawn
and Quarterly."
Comic book shop person will say, "Sure."
Then you could add, "Please subscribe me to Huizenga's new book GLEN
GANGES, coming soon from Fantagraphics."
Comic book shop person will say, "Sure."
Then you have the following options: Leave. Or, buy another copy of V FOR
VENDETTA because something about the current US government reminded you of
it and you want to re-read it before the movie and you lent out your first
four copies to coworkers and friends. Or, repeat the above for Alan Moore's
TOP TEN and maybe some others. Or, buy an action figure. Or, think about
buying an action figure then realize something deep about yourself. Or,
apply for a job at the comic book shop so that you can read all the comics,
heh heh.
At some point, 5.30 PM at the latest, you will Have to leave.
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Newly posted on sfsite.com is a very helpful excerpt on writing, "My Silent
Partner," from Kate Wilhelm's STORYTELLER:
http://www.sfsite.com/01b/sp216.htm
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Maureen F. McHugh will be in NYC on 1/25 for The Story Prize Award night.
Tickets ($14) are available here:
https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=STO1.
The three nominated authors will read from their books and be interviewed on
stage before the one of them gets the prize. (Should be a nice relaxing
evening, then? Right.)
We'll be the ones with our hearts on our sleeves, the MOTHERS & OTHER
MONSTERS shirts, flags and (hopefully you won't see these) underwear.
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/
Limited edition:
http://www.lcrw.net/special/mchugh/index.htm
Strange Horizons review:
"McHugh is enormously talented.... [She] has a light touch, a gentle sense
of a humor, and a keen wit."
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2005/12/mothers_a.shtml
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Appreciation of John Wyndham's short story "The Stare":
http://edsfproject.blogspot.com/2005/12/stare-by-john-wyndham-appreciation-b
y.html.
More: http://edsfproject.blogspot.com
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People we don't have
So this is why we always feel a couple of people short. Sure, we have people
in all of these jobs, it's just they're all the same people!
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/aboutus/jobs_workingpeng.html
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The Cultural Gutter is a very readable group blog/site where posts can range
from pop music to books to video games and further. This was a recent post
about a writer many of whose books are on our shelves:
"Most of us have one, a story we know by heart. A truly beloved book, the
one that comes down from the shelf when life is tense and frustrating and we
require a little something extra to get through the toughest bit. Mine is an
old, battered ex-library copy of Eva Ibbotsonąs gorgeous romance novel,
Magic Flutes. Itąs about music, family, love, and home, and was so
beautifully written that I took German, so as better to understand Mozartąs
opera."
http://theculturalgutter.com/guest_star/romance_done_right.html
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Places to go:
Kelly Link readings:
February, 16 -- LRC Visiting Writer Series, Belk Centrum, Hickory, NC
http://www.lrc.edu/visitingwriters/
March 9 (group reading)
BookPeople, Austin, TX
http://www.bookpeople.com/
Kelly is teaching July 23-Aug. 4 at the Clarion Writers' Workshop in E.
Lansing, MI with Holly Black:
http://www.msu.edu/%7Eclarion/2006info_comet.htm
Small Beer Press:
March 8-11 -- AWP Conference & Bookfair, Austin, TX
May 26-29 -- WisCon, Madison, WI
Readercon 17, July 7 9, 2006
Burlington, MA
http://www.readercon.org/
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PERFECT CIRCLE
Can't remember if last year we mentioned that Sean Stewart's and Steve
Lieber's comic for PERFECT CIRCLE was included in the Year's Best Comics
(etc.)? It's a groovy collection and worth picking up as a sampler to see
what's going on Out There.
Houghton Mifflin is going to have a Best American Comics out at some
point this year, yay for the huge and growing # of comics readers!
PERFECT CIRCLE was also just reviewed at SF Site who called it:
"A hell of a book."
http://www.sfsite.com/12a/pc213.htmhttp://www.lcrw.net/seanstewart/index.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520119
I think they meant it's a great book, not a burning smelly eternal pit of a
book. Because it's much more the former than the latter.
We just (well...) published Sean's going-to-be-an-Oprah-Book-one-day
fantastic novel MOCKINGBIRD. It's another pageturner set in Texas (it's like
he's onto something!) this time about a woman who inherits her mother's
voodoo gods. It's spooky, touching, and funny as all get out.
Sean is working away at video games and so on and should have a groovy
project out at some point this year. Will it have his name on it? Only time
will tell. One of these days we'll get another novel from him. One of these
days. In the meantime, convince him to write one by buying these books! (It
might work, you never know.)
http://www.lcrw.net/seanstewart/mockingbird.htm
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Stuff
Photographer Christa Parravani has a new site where you can see the first
pics in her new Spoon River Anthology series (and previous work):
http://www.christaparravani.com/
Great post-Rapture comic here:
http://nomediakings.org/publishing/my_evil_comic_book.html
Read a fun sci-fi story about not getting old:
"Start the Clock," by Benjamin Rosenbaum (F&SF, Aug04)
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/fiction/br01.htm
Some Reader Resources:
MORE BOOKS FOR WOMEN is compiled by the staff of Chicago's world-renowned
Women & Children First bookstore. We searched long and hard to find the
right combination of reviewers for this edition, and we're thrilled to offer
you their years of expertise in finding and highlighting the best in women's
reading.
We hope you enjoy MORE BOOKS FOR WOMEN and want to subscribe.
Subscriptions are $30 annually for the email edition, $42 for the mailed
print edition.
-- Subscribe/give a gift sub at http://www.BTWOF.com/subscribe
-- Read sample issues: http://www.btwof.com/samples.php>
-- Free 3-month trial subscription: http://www.btwof.com/MBW
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LCRW 16 review
http://www.tangentonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&
amp;sectionid=5&id=101&Itemid=262
LCRW 17 is out. LCRW 18 will be out in June. LCRW 19 will be out in
November. It's one of those biannual occasional outburst. But maybe there
will be news of some sort down the line.
What about Seana Graham's story "The Pirate's True Love" being selected
for YEAR'S BEST FANTASY? That's news. Right. Oops!
Here, before this gets messed up. Read about it and subscribe to the
thing that is not an albatross nor a pudding:
http://www.lcrw.net/issues/lcrw17.htm
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Zinesters who made history file:
Donald Watson, founder of veganism, was born on September 2, 1910. He died
on November 16, 2005, aged 95.
"Towards the end of the [Second World W]ar, Watson formed a committee of
łnon-dairy vegetarians˛, who wanted to remove animal products entirely from
their diet and initiate a new movement. He was keen to capitalise on the
tuberculosis reported in Britainąs dairy cows, and the scarcity of eggs. He
laid out the first issue of his Vegan News in November 1944, over 12 typed
and stapled sheets of A4. The word vegan he took from the front and back end
of łvegetarian˛, expressing his belief that this new, absolutist diet was in
fact the first impulse and the final destination of the vegetarian journey.
He asked for other suggestions, and łdairyban˛, łvitan˛, łbenevore˛,
łsanivore˛ and łbeaumangeur˛ were offered, but most of the 25 members were
happiest with vegan."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1914862,00.html
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TRAVEL LIGHT is a book that skips through time as it follows Halla, daughter
of a king but thrown out of the house and ordered killed by her stepmother.
But it's no simple fairy tale. Bears, dragons, and early Constantinople
all feature in a book we spent two years searching down the rights for
(thanks Craig!).
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/index.htm
As Dan Hartland pointed out in his Strange Horizons review:
"When The Lord of the Rings was first published, Allen and Unwin knew that
such a strange book by an outsider of Tolkienąs idiosyncratic calibre needed
a few literary heavy-hitters to offer positive judgement, paving a way into
the libraries of sophisticated readers and the dailiesą books pages. In thus
inventing the celebrity blurb, they turned to C.S. Lewis, Richard Hughes,
and a fiercely intelligent writer of startling breadth named Naomi
Mitchison."
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2005/11/travel_li.shtml
Now you can read the new Introduction here:
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/introduces/travellight.htm
And another review (with some spoilers) on a Scottish web site. Poke around
on the site for a bit, there's lots of good stuff.
http://www.laurahird.com/newreview/travellight.html
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CHOP CHOP
We've added ebooks and some new books (more about them next time) to our
high-tech chopping page.
Check out all the latest in hi-tensile knives, butcher's-block chopping
boards, as well as signed (and hand-cut!) copies of ZEN AND THE ART OF TOFU
SLICING.
And books.
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
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Mad news about Kelly Link's MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS
December Something, 2005, NORTHAMPTON, MA
JINNY (15) & PEPPETE are being interviewed by the local paper, THE HAMPSHIRE
GAZETTE
J: We were bored. We'd done planning for first night --
P: We made these amazing costumes! I'm going as a --
J: Wait! Don't give it away!
P: Ow! Don't hit so hard! Ok, what.
J: So we had these feathers we didn't use 'cause Pep's dad is allergic.
P: Which is lame. I'm allergic to peanut butter and he eats it every day.
J: You should sue.
P: He's a lawyer. And he always says he's broke.
J: So we were in Haymarket, the cafe? And then this woman came in and
ordered a double espresso. We recognized her.
P: She's a writer. We saw her read at Space Crime Books with our Fave Fave
Holly Black.
J: She likes coffee, too. We saw this woman in a magazine.
P: But nothing we read!
J: So we told her we loved her book.
P: We do!
J: We do. We would.
P: If we'd read it.
J: I'd taken all my dad's magazines to make paper mache. How do you spell
that?
P: I don't know!
J: And we showed her the magazine.
P: Then Jinny --
J: It was not me!
P: Then Jinny showed her a feather and knocked her over with it. It was
totally weird.
J: It was like she'd never seen herself in a magazine before.
P: Weird. Just weird.
### Or something not at all like that.
Film rights to "The Faery Handbag" have indeed sold. Wow. That story and
"Magic for Beginners" are up on the early Nebula ballot and you can read
them from this page here:
http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2006/NebPrelim2005.html
Some best of the year lists, some reviews.
Time Magazine, Best of 2005: Books
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1141684,00.html
VILLAGE VOICE FAVORITE BOOKS
http://villagevoice.com/books/0550,vls,70946,10.html
"Otherworldly nostalgia creeps close to revolution in Link's collection,
where zombies and ghost dogs muddle a sweetly feral domesticity. In "Lull,"
a cheerleader fated to live life backward thinks (during a spin-the-bottle
interlude in a closet with the Devil): "That was what was so nice about
being married. Things got better and better until you hardly even knew each
other anymore. And then you said goodnight and went out on a date, and after
that you were just friends." It's the storyteller's mantra‹"It gets
better"‹come to life and multiplied."
Capitol Times: Our book picks for 2005
http://www.madison.com/captimes/books/index.php?ntid=65378&ntpid=2
"Magic for Beginners," by Kelly Link (Small Beer Press, $24) Link's second
collection of short stories is just a mind-bending blast, as funny,
disturbing and poignant as anything I've read this year. I guess you'd call
her a fantasy writer, since she writes about handbags that contain entire
cities or convenience stores that cater to zombies, but something about her
otherworldly flights seems unsettlingly real.
Boldtype
http://www.boldtype.com/issues/aug2005/index.html
"Link's powerful prose places this collection into a class of its own."
"One of my favorite books this year."
Books to Watch Out For: More Books for Women - Premiere Issue
http://www.btwofr.com/MBW
REVIEWS
Oddball thrown from left field
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/books/13415197.htm
If your Christmas list includes anyone who perks up at the words "zombie,"
"haunted" or "alien," pick up a copy of "Magic For Beginners." Kelly Link
writes from way out in left field -- any attempt to sum up her story lines
ends in confusion -- but her eerie blend of the everyday and the
other-worldly is bound to please your favorite oddball. Parents beware --
brief sexual references. In the spring, Link will be a visiting writer at
Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory. Hear her speak at 8 p.m. Feb. 16 at the
college's Belk Centrum. (Small Beer Press, 272 pages, $24.)
-- Salem MacKnee, for the observer
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Link's work has beckoned me back into that enchanted wood, aka the
science-fiction/popular-literature section at a local bookstore."
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertain
ment/1136626341227562.xml&coll=2>
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Books: Naomi Mitchison, TRAVEL LIGHT
Kate Wilhelm, STORYTELLER
Sean Stewart, MOCKINGBIRD
Kelly Link,
Maureen F. McHugh, MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
Zine: LCRW
Later: More stuff.
Small Beer Press: http://www.smallbeerpress.com
Easier to type: http://www.lcrw.net
Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
lcrw group:
We recently received a "letter" from R.C. who lives in the city of L.
The "letter" was written on the back of a store receipt where RC (presumably)
had purchased "SpongeBob Squarepants: Absorbing Fav" (cut short), Picaresque by
the Decembrists, and something by Amos Lee for a total of $40.99 (including
tax). And paid for it in cash.
On the back of the receipt RC wrote:
"I was wondering if it would be possible for you to send me a copy of your zine
please and thank you.
Peace,
R.C."
No well concealed cash. No check. No shiny bracelets or other trade goods.
So, what do you think? Should we send RC a free copy of Lady Churchill's? Or
should we just file it in the "Huh..." file? You, the great reading public,
decide!
Vote here, and, if you want, send us an email with your reason why/why not and
we'll send you a copy of LCRW.
o Sure, send that guy a zine.
o Uh, no way. Dude should pay.
To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lcrw/surveys?id=12249017
Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.
Thanks!
1. Books is On Sale!
2. The poll.
3 or so things to listen to.
3. Some things to read.
4. etcs.
............................
............................
It's been a while since we wrote. We've been making things.
............................
............................
1. Books is On Sale! True!
http://www.lcrw.net/special.htm
Massive savings available. All kinds of deal packages. Buy now, gift later.
http://www.lcrw.net/special.htm
............................
............................
2. The Poll
So we ran a poll on the LCRW yahoo group thingy about this weird receipt we
received. This is how is went:
------
POLL QUESTION: We recently received a "letter" from R.C. who lives in the
city of L.
The "letter" was written on the back of a store receipt where RC
(presumably) had purchased "SpongeBob Squarepants: Absorbing Fav" (cut
short), Picaresque by the Decembrists, and something by Amos Lee for a total
of $40.99 (including tax). And paid for it in cash.
On the back of the receipt RC wrote:
"I was wondering if it would be possible for you to send me a copy of your
zine please and thank you.
Peace,
R.C."
No well concealed cash. No check. No shiny bracelets or other trade goods.
So, what do you think? Should we send RC a free copy of Lady Churchill's? Or
should we just file it in the "Huh..." file? You, the great reading public,
decide!
------
Of course, so far we have not done anything. But this was the result:
CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Sure, send that guy a zine., 40 votes, 38.83%
- Uh, no way. Dude should pay., 63 votes, 61.17%
We received lots of emails. Too many. It blew out the motor on our
pass-order-to-intern robot who did not send out any LCRWs for a bit.
Then Ben Lovelyguy (some names have been changed to protect the
generous) took life into his own hands and sent us $5. So it wasn't our
choice any more. Unless we took that $5 to the nice beer place and got a
couple of bottles of a good English ESB. (We have to send them some cold
hard currency to try and make up for the defeat at rugby.)
But, we didn't take the $5 for beer. Instead, we'll be sending R.C. of
the city L-- a copy of LCRW.
There are some really nice readers out there. Some mean and funny ones,
too. We'd probably be in the latter camp. Thanks again, Ben, for making us
look better than we are.
............................
............................
We are getting the paperback release of MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS together
which will have some of that reader groupie stuff at the back. If you have
any questions about the book, send them along. If we use them, we'll send
you a copy of the paperback. (Hardcover is almost sold out.)
............................
............................
Listen to stuff (x3 or so)
1. Jennifer Stevenson has released the first part of her podcast of "Trash
Sex Magic". She's going to do the whole book chapter by chapter which is
pretty cool. She has another short story availabe there, too.
Das page: http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/excerpts.htm
Direct to audio: http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/mp3/TSM_release_1.mp3
Das book: http://www.lcrw.net/stevenson/
2. A couple of months ago Kelly Link did a reading at Prairie Lights in Iowa
City. So if you want to hear her read "Monster" from the anthology NOISY
OUTLAWS click on this -- Warning: this is a Real Player file:
http://128.255.60.46:8080/ramgen/wsuiarc/LPL2005_11_01.rm
Then, when she was in Madison she was interviewed at WPR. It's part of a
great show but if it's just Link you want to hear, she starts at the 42:30
mark: http://www.wpr.org/book/060108a.html
3. We're having fun getting our reprint of HOWARD WHO? together for the July
release. Howard will be reading all over the country on a 200 city tour.
Not. Howard isn't travelling that much, so if you want to hear him, best
listen to this interview. (The CapClave convention was late last year, so
this should be sort of up to date.)
http://www.capclave.org/capclave05/waldrop.php
............................
............................
Send us a question for Dear Aunt Gwenda!
............................
............................
Reviews
Tiny review of lcrw 15 in among the zine reviews:
http://www.smellingtrees.com/files/pr.htm
MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS by Kelly Link
"These stories shimmer like impressionist paintings.... Reading Kelly Link
is a joyful experience."-- Claude Lalumičre, Montreal Gazette
............................
............................
THINGS TO READ
A good short story by David Schwartz (thanks to Gwenda for the link):
http://www.pindeldyboz.com/djsscreen.htm
Michael Kandel has some candid thoughts about editing:
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Kandel-Candid.html
............................
............................
Check out the sale:
http://www.lcrw.net/special.htm
--
Naomi Mitchison, TRAVEL LIGHT
Kate Wilhelm, STORYTELLER
Sean Stewart, MOCKINGBIRD
Kelly Link, MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS
Maureen F. McHugh, MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
Small Beer Press
http://www.lcrw.net
Short
Reminder
Small Beer on Special
Not saying nothing
Actual News
Pants (TM)
And What We've Been Reading
You have a couple more days to check out the sale. In what ways is it mad?
Or, in which?
1) Sale prices are Mad.
2) Mad how far behind on shipping we are!
3) Readers are mad they are not getting their books.
4) Post office is mad at stacks of boxes being brought to them.
5) Mad to remind people about this and exacerbate problem.
6) You tell us.
7. Mad use of brackets ends now.
8. Sale page not proofed and all hardcovers sold at $1.00.
9. Now you are fuming because #8 is a hairy-faced, bald-headed lie.
10. While you were thinking about this sale being mad GW Bush & Co. removed
some of your previously-law-given rights.
13. Ack. No 12 or 11.
Small Beer on Special:
http://www.lcrw.net/special.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily Wilson, skilled artist, sent a cool drawing inspired by "Magic for
Beginners" -- don't know if it is on her site but there's lots of good art
there. Will need to start a new section on Kellylink.net if more of these
come in.
http://eeemily.com/
Also, now you can read "The Faery Handbag" in Hebrew:
http://www.blipanika.co.il/?p=817.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actual News
Did we mention that we sold Turkish rights to Maureen F. McHugh's story
collection Mothers & Other Monsters to Istikal Publishing? Exciting! Call
your favorite foreign publisher and ask them to buy rights, too!
Also: the paperback of Maureen F. McHugh's story collection Mothers & Other
Monsters is about to go to the printer so it should be in stores in, maybe 2
months! Wow, so fast. Er, not. There are no extra stories because while it
was tempting, it would also be Wrong! There is however an interview, an
essay, and talking points.
<Hint>Your book club can read this book. </Hint>
http://lcrw.net/mchugh/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520194
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hugo Nomulations!
Best Related Book: Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of
the Clarion Writers' Workshop, Kate Wilhelm
http://www.lcrw.net/wilhelm/index.htm
Best Novella: Kelly Link, "Magic for Beginners"
-- Congratulations to all the nominees!
Small Beer does not know as yet whether it will be in Anaheim or not for the
Worldcon thingie where these "Tin Rockets"* are awarded. Maybe?
We will be in Tempe, AZ, on May 4-6 where Nebula Cubes are given out and
perhaps in Scotland on January 25th when haggis is enjoyed by all.
http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2006/
* Alice Sheldon, aka James Tiptree, Jr. There is a biography coming in
August.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0312203853
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We interrupt this nothingness with a some being from Le Blog de al Alan
DeNiro:
---
Geek Fight, 8th-century style
Iąve been reading Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classical
Arabic Literature, edited by Robert Irwin (author of the brilliant novel
Arabian Nightmare). Meghan blogged a little while ago about how thereąs
nothing like a good geek fight. Writers of classical Arabic would seem to
agree with this, as it seems that a lot of their literature is pure,
unadulterated geek-fight. Itąs so awesome. Here is one take-down by Tamman
ibn Ghalib al-Farazdaq to some of his contemporaries:
"Poetry was once a magnificent camel. Then, one day, it was slaughtered. So
Imr'ul Quays came and took his head, 'Amr ibn Kulthum took his hump, Zuhayr
the shoulders, al-A'sha and Nabigha the thighs, and Tarafa and Labid the
stomach. There remained only the forearms and offal, which we split among
ourselves. The butcher then said, 'Hey you, there remains only the blood and
impurities. See that I get them.' 'They are yours,' we replied. So we took
the stuff, cooked it, ate it and excreted it. Your verses are from the
excrement of that butcher."
SNAP!
http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0385721552
---
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Kiriyama Prize recognizes "outstanding books about the Pacific Rim and
South Asia that encourage greater mutual understanding of and among the
peoples and nations of this vast and culturally diverse region."
This year two authors will split the $30,000 award:
Fiction: The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0316745464
Nonfiction: The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in
Siberia by Piers Vitebsky
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0618211888
Yay Luis! Now, go read the book. Luis also keeps a blog (every time I check
out his website it's fancier and fancier. Now it gets up and offers you a
cup of tea). http://www.luisurrea.com/blog.php
He also points to the site of one of his fave authors: http://lowrypei.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raleigh News & Observer has a good piece on translators. We're still
slowly (glacially) trying to juggle another Angelica Gorodischer title into
being. (Apologies for slowness!)
http://www.newsobserver.com/308/story/414694.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jennifer Stevenson is up to Chapter Three in her podcast of "Trash Sex
Magic". She's going to do the whole book chapter by chapter which is pretty
cool. She has another short story availabe there, too.
Das page: http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/excerpts.htm
Warning! Direct to MP3 of Ch.1
http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/mp3/TSM_release_1.mp3
Das book: http://www.lcrw.net/stevenson/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not Saying Nothing
Because it's not grammatically correct. And it's easier to run on at the
mouth. But, an early word in your ear about Ellen Kushner's THE SWORD OF
PRIVILEGE. What's that? We're putting out a hardcover edition of it
simultaneously with Bantam's trade pb.
We've got a bit of a messy early page up here:
http://lcrw.net/kushner/
Which page we will tidy one of these days. Anyway, it's a swashbuckler for
fans of Errol Flynn and Barbara Stanwyck, Dumas and, uh, Dan Brown? (Just
kidding, Ellen.) Maybe not so much the last one, except the 10-million
selling part.
On other upcoming books, well, more on that later. Enough for now. The sale
comes to an end on Friday March 31 and at some point we'll report back on
how it went.
More updates occasionally:
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/notajournal.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dave Chapelle's Block Party is Awesome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Department of You Will Not Be Able To Call Your applesauce Business Apple
Super-Heroes:
Apple Music (the Beatles and, er, other people) and Apple Computers (useless
new computers which will not yet run InDesign, Photoshop, etc. so we cannot
upgrade) are fighting over the word Apple.
Also, Marvin the Marvel Comics People (sic) and DC (District of
Columbia??) are trying to trademark the word super-hero. Kidding, right?
Superhero.
Super-hero.
Super-heroine.
Super-heroin is illegal. (Unless distributed by the CIA.)
SuperPerson.
SuperAndrogyne.
Super-andro.
Super-intendant.
Super-intended. ("I super-intended to marry him but it turned out he was
already married to his league of fancy-pants'd peeps.")
Uber-Hero.
Uber-Heroine. Mmmm!
Also: we have trademarked the word Pants (TM). From now on please capitalize
it and use the trademark sign: (TM), as in, "This is Pants.(TM)"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Books to read which we have read sometime recently or so and think you might
enjoy and we do not talk about no damn cat (and I mean Fup not some
polydactyl by the way!) while recommending them. Even though Fup and The
Other Cat are nice. For cats.
Some of these books were thrown at your newsletter editor by someone who
has read them with a generalized comment along the lines of "these are so
good you'll teach your blood cells to read so that you can enjoy them at the
cellular level." Or, perhaps it was just something about where's the damn
cell phone?
Ok, you are on a plane (or bored at work) and you need a Damn Good Book
(TM). Barth Anderson's first novel "The Patron Saint of Plagues" is a
pageturner about the future of food, flu, and the decline and fall of the
USA and scientific ethics. So, yeah, you should pick it up today!
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0553383582
Kathryn Davis's gorgeous new novel The Thin Place
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0316735043
Samuel R. Delany doesn't give up any Mafia (the game) secrets in his new
book, About Writing, but it does have a ton of good advice and
thought-provoking thoughts;
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0819567167
Someone send us the amazingly expensive HC edition!
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0819567159
Scarlett Thomas, PopCo. The UK keeps producing these smart books about
consumerism and so on then they come over here, get mobbed at the airport
(if they get a damn visa) and Change the World, Baby!
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=015603137x
Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon is another pageturner (see Anderson
above). This is comfort food for Patrick O'Brian and dragon fans -- together
at last. Who knew they were better together? Anyway, over here in the
once-free USA there are 3 books and the first one, His Majesty's Dragon is
Out Now:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345481283
Once of the year's biggie anthologies is about to drop (ouch, toe).
ParaSpheres: Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction
edited by Ken Keegan and Rusty Morrison has stories by all your fave writers
(really, they checked your list) and a few you didn't know you liked. Big
good book:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1890650188
Originally published a bit back, someone 'round here has been enjoying
Tanith Lee's reprinted Biting the Sun. This is two of those little yellow
DAW pbs together, Don't Bite the Sun and Drinking Sapphire Wine:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0553581309
And lastly a little more nonfiction: Alabama Curiosities: Quirky Characters,
Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff which is basically a novel by Andy
Duncan but disguised as an off the usual tracks guide book to the State of
Alabama. Mule-powered pottery. Fountain creatures. Mardi Gras and Joe Cain
Day. Snake handling, Panda Heaven, and One Batty Temple.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0762730889
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
++ Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award Nomination
++ Travels
++ LCRW 18 coming
++ Things Worth Your While
++ Weird music news
++ Oddities
++ Mother's Day
++ We keep going
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.
Alan DeNiro's debut collection garners some good pre-pub news, Skinny
Dipping in the Lake of the Dead is on the 2006 Longlist for the Frank
O'Connor International Short Story Award.
http://lcrw.net/deniro/index.htm
"Playful, unexpected, and deadly serious."
-- Jeffrey Ford (The Girl in the Glass)
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Travels
Where We Are When It Is This Month, or, Travels to Seek Out the Best
Chocolate, Tea, and Salsa that Zinesters Can Find:
4-6 -- Nebula Weekend, Tempe, AZ
http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2006/
18-21 -- Book Expo America, Washington, DC
http://bookexpoamerica.com
26-29 -- WisCon, Madison, WI
http://www.wiscon.info/
Any other sightings? Hmm. Not sure. Maybe at farmer's markets worldwide.
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ LCRW 18 &c.
A New LCRW (Literature Crystallizes Robin Wings) Hits the Bandstands (yes,
it is entirely made of music and can be hummed) in June.
It is #18 and a Table of Contents that is more or less accurate yet
incomplete can be found here:
http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw18.htm
David Schwartz, who has a story in LCRW 18, has a new story at Strange
Horizons, "The Water-Poet and the Four Seasons." It's a considered look at a
man's life and work and a gentle, seasonal story with some fine word (and
world) play.
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20060501/water-poet-f.shtml
Order LCRW 16,17 (etc) from us:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#zines
From Powells:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1121075231
Other good LCRW news:
Deborah Roggie's "The Mushroom Duchess" from LCRW 17 will be in The Year's
Best Fantasy and Horror 2006: 19th Annual Collection (coming in August)
Table of Contents: http://lcrw.net/yearsbest/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0312356145
Also, John Brown's "Bright Waters" from LCRW 17 and Eric Schaller's "Three
Urban Folk Tales" from LCRW 16 will be included in the Best of the Rest 4:
The Best Unknown Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2005 (available ~June 1,
2006) and will include many groovy stories:
http://www.suddenlypress.com/botr4.htm
Thanks to people for subscribing to the only zine with two personal
trainers.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Things Worth Your While
More places to read and write for:
http://www.Ideomancer.com/main/ideoMain.htm says:
"We are looking for stories that explore the edges of ideas, stories that
subvert, refute and push the limits. Unique pieces from authors willing to
explore non-traditional narratives, take chances with tone, structure and
execution, and take risks."
One of our favorite local stores Essentials now has a website. When you are
done stalking us* you should stop by. Sure, yes, they carry a few of our
books, but it ain't that. It is, to paraphrase the title of a Stephen King
story, that kind of place where you know they have a phrase for it in French
but you can't remember what it is. Je ne sais quoi? But they have it in
paper, furniture, style, every thing.
http://www.shopessentials.net/
* Which you didn't even consider doing. Phew!
Sorry, this news is too late as this little book sold out but it's a great
little enterprise so go check out the press anyway.
A very limited edition of a longer poem by Veronica Schanoes has been put
out by Papaveria Press, a press run single-handedly by artist, Erzebet
Yellowboy. There are only 10 copies for sale (gorgeous, hand-made), and if
you want to see the Things of Beauty that they are, here's the URL:
http://www.papaveria.com/the-room.html
Been enjoying the pinot noir from www.frenchrabbit.com -- a wine that comes
in a tetrapack (like a soymilk box). Haven't tried the merlot, cabernet, or
chardonnays yet.
They claim the packaging is easier to recycle than glass (have no idea
if that's true) but the it is certainly lighter to carry a couple of these
than a couple of bottles. Verry interresting development. Will
http://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com follow suit?
New issue of Xerography Debt (#19) is going out there with reviews and news
about the tiny, nay, miniscule! press. There's a ton of paper zines going
about. Some of them you might find in stores, some of them never make it
that far. Order a copy for someone with a wide reading palate:
http://www.leekinginc.com/xeroxdebt/
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Oddities
The Guardian explains a little something about our chocophilia and the
LCRW-comes-with-chocolatiers:
"At 605,000 tonnes a year: Britons take the chocoholic crown"
"The people of Britain are Europe's top chocoholics, according to a survey
published yesterday which shows average consumption of 10kg (22lb) a year,
nearly five times the amount eaten by the more weight-conscious Italians."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,1752682,00.html?gusrc=rss
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman is funnier than anything else.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0525949089
And last night while basking in the glow of the alternate present where
scary-eyes Stephen Colbert isn't the only member of the press to confront
the Monkey-in-Chief with reality, there appeared ... John Hodgman in an ad
for Apple Computers. Weird and wonderful is the world.
Two things from Greg Frost:
What you can buy for $1: Stick it to the man with only one dollar. The short
version of the story:
In 2002, the Bush Administration withheld the $34 million that would've gone
to UNFPA to provide healthcare, family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention to
vulnerable women around the world. In response, two women - Lois Abraham and
Jane Roberts - decided to make this funding happen on their own... $1 at a
time. If you're in, take a buck, put it in an envelope, and mail it to:
Americans for UNFPA
P.O. Box 681
Toms River, NJ 08754
Read more here...
http://www.34millionfriends.orghttp://www.americansforunfpa.org
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
Before you get to the link below we'd like to state that we don't regard you
(or ourselves) as niche readers. We just read good books. Some of which come
from tiny presses and some from gigantonormous presses:
Small Publishers Book Big Rewards
Nonmainstream presses generated $14 billion in 2005 -- more than half of all
book sales -- by targeting niche readers:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2006/sb20060502_704137.htm
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
Happy Birthday, Kristin, Haappy Birthday! She is the RatBastard Design and
Maker Queen so drop by and say hello, how are you, how's the puppy, &c.:
http://32degrees.blogspot.com/
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Weird music news:
~ Kelly Hogan is on tour with Neko Case, wow! Go, hear!
~ Missed the Sisters of Mercy tour: Boo!
~ Suzanne Vega got married.
~ Radiohead have a new CD coming. (Wonder if Gillian Welch plays on it?)
~ Rosebuds are on tour in Europe.
~ Guns N' Roses are supposed to be at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York
City in May and in Europe this summer. Huh.
~ Aimee Mann happily lost in the '70s; now she's playing with an orchestra.
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
++ Mother's Day
May 14 is Mothers (& Other Monsters, ha ha) Day. Don't forget to be nice to
your mother. For once. You ungrateful wretch. Just wait until there are
robots with the same (few) rights as you but without mothers. Then -- maybe
too late, fool! -- then, maybe you will realize the gratitude you should
have, could have, maybe even food(?) have expressed.
Gratitude best expressed with a phone call or a book not some hothouse
flowers, baby.
And, segueing neatly, here is Maureen F. McHugh's Mothers & Other Monsters.
Yes, great present for everyone. Paperback shipping to bookshops soon.
Essay, new interview, questions. Medea on the cover. Mother!
http://lcrw.net/mchugh/
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
This email is also available in a really annoying HTML and graphics-heavy
version (with all kinds of extra horrid run-on sentences), which will not
properly display on your home or work computer and when printed will kill
your printer.
To receive that version, please send an email to
subscribe@...
with "Fifteen seconds of every week for the rest of my life" in the body of
your email.
Thank you.
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
Jennifer Stevenson is up to Chapter Six in her "Trash Sex Magic" podcast.
http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/excerpts.htm
Warning! Direct to MP3 of Ch.1
http://www.jenniferstevenson.com/mp3/TSM_release_1.mp3http://www.lcrw.net/stevenson/
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
Updated Howard Waldrop's travel schedule to add World Fantasy Con in Austin,
TX. There's even a chance we could do an audio book of Howard Who? He's a
phenomenal reader so we have our fingers crossed.
Also, how about the Howard Waldrop Bibliography: A current listing of first
publication for Howard Waldropąs short fiction kept up-to-date by Jonathan
Strahan:
http://www.jonathanstrahan.com.au/wp/the-howard-waldrop-bibliography/
...... M. Mm. Mmm. Mmmm! May! ......
Jackson, Robinson, Grenon, Sandlin, Ford
On the looking to the future and it is a strange place to be but they have
some good books there and probably you can get chocolate (that has not been
processed by slaves) to eat while reading them, Shelley Jackson's novel,
Half Life, comes out this summer:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0060882352
Not sure if this is still good but try this to hear Kim Stanley Robinson on
NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5176592
Photos from Kosovo in the 90s and more: http://www.marthagrenon.com
Tim Sandlin has a new novel coming out over the distant horizon next year
and in the meantime you can go sign up for short stories delivered to your
mailbox. The April Vignette is here (that sentence was a direct "lift" from
the Sandlin email) -- note this is to a Word download:
http://www.timsandlin.com/April%20story%20du%20monthe.dochttp://www.timsandlin.com/
This newsletter starts with a quote from Jeffrey Ford and ends with a push
toward the Lit Blog Coop where they are talking about Jeff's latest (Edgar
Award Winning) novel The Girl in the Glass:
http://lbc.typepad.com/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0060936193
Recent Books:
Naomi Mitchison, TRAVEL LIGHT
Kate Wilhelm, STORYTELLER
Sean Stewart, MOCKINGBIRD
Kelly Link, MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS
Maureen F. McHugh, MOTHERS & OTHER MONSTERS
Small Beer Press
http://www.lcrw.net
Updates:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/notajournal.htm
· Sean Stewart Personalizing Books Sunday
· Take Your Time
· Next Book Up: Alan DeNiro + Readings
· Mothers & Other Monsters Reading Group Guide
· Stuff to read, other things, Awards
· LCRW is new and fresh again
· One After That: Howard Waldrop
· Kit Kat time
· Books What We Have Liked Recently
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Sean Stewart will personalize your book on Sunday
Sean Stewart will be in the office July 1st (yay!) and besides quizzing him
about secret projects he can't tell us about anyway, we've asked him to sign
copies of Mockingbird and Perfect Circle. If you'd like Sean to sign either
or both to you or someone else, order now.
$24 for both: http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/notajournal.htm (shipping frrree
within the US + Canada):
- We first saw Sean's new project thing a couple of years ago at Book Expo
and have been sitting around doing nothing else but hug our knees until it
came out. Look at that cover. This is another really enjoyable story from a
writer who just gets better and better each day. Grab a copy early and get
in on the game.
Especially recommended for anyone who played The Beast or I Love Bees or
who likes young adult books or stuff like Veronica Mars:
Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman, Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=076242656X
Other books we have publicated which are available signed but not
personalized (please request signed in the comments box) by:
- Alan DeNiro, Carol Emshwiller, Ursula Le Guin, Kelly Link, Jennifer
Stevenson, and Kate Wilhelm.
- Signed chapbooks: Richard Butner, Mark Rich.
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
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take your time. there's a lot of text ahead and some of it even carries
information and moves the plot ahead. some skimming is to be expected but
it's better to read a little now, chew 33 times, and come back for the rest
rather than trying to gulp it all down at once. indigestion of the head does
not make us pretty.
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Our genius new book
Coming up to release date (a Saturday of course!) for Alan DeNiro's amazing
debut collection Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead.
http://www.lcrw.net/deniro/index.htm
Alan's in a class of his own (although if you live in Minneapolis you can
sometimes take classes from him) and the collection builds as it goes along
until it culminates in the mind-blowing "Home of the" which encapsulates the
past, present, and future of Erie, PA. And more and more and more.
Some exciting surprising news on this one to come July 6. Ooh. (Yes, Mel
Gibson is making a movie of the 1st story, "Our Byzantium." All true.)
Alan wrote a hilarious reading and drinking guide for his book which can be
downloaded as a PDF here:
http://www.taverners-koans.com/drinkinggames.pdf
Alan is also popping over to the east coast for a couple of readings. Most
of the Small Beer team will be at these, come by and say hi.
July 7-9 -- Readercon 17, Burlington, MA
10, 8 PM -- Amherst Books
8 Main Street
Amherst, MA 01002 · 413.256.1547 · 800.503.5865
-- Also an LCRW Launch Party!
11 -- Porter Square Books
Porter Square Shopping Center
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA 02140 · (617) 491-2220
-- Reading with Theodora Goss (In the Forest of Forgetting)
18, 7 PM -- Magers & Quinn
3038 Hennepin Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55408 · (612) 822-4611 [reception afterward]
August 19, 1-2 PM (Signing only) -- Northern Lights Books and Gifts
Duluth, MN
29, 6:30 PM -- Dreamhaven Books
912 West Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN
October 27-28 -- Loft Festival for fiction writers, Minneapolis, MN
-- Indefatigable John Klima points out that Alan DeNiro's story "A Keeper"
is available to read.
http://members.aol.com/evzine/htm/akeeper.htm
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Maureen F. McHugh's Mothers & Other Monsters is a Cleveland Plain Dealer
Recommended Summer Reading pick: "Unpredictable and poetic work."
We've added the Reading Group Guide which can be found in the paperback
edition. Please forward to to all your friends in book clubs. Heh.
* The Evil Stepmother: An Essay
http://my.en.com/%7Emcq/stepmother.html
* Author Interview by Gwenda Bond
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/mchugh-interview.htm
* Talking Points
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/mchugh-talking.htm
These three parts of the whole can be gotten in a pretty PDF version, too:
http://www.lcrw.net/mchugh/McHugh-Reading-Groups.pdf
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Stuff to read, other things
"The Perfect Man" by Lauren McLaughlin
Design-your-own boyfriends lack that certain something. Until they don't.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2006/05/30/perfect_man/print.html
- For Chicago readers from the Chicago Sun-Times (cough, books by Jon
Courtney Grimwood, Molly Gloss, cough):
> Have a favorite book? Send us your name, address and phone (we wonąt publish
these) along with your occupation, an email address and 100 words on your
favorite book published within the past year. Email your information along
with a jpeg photo to books@suntimes.
- Bugger bugger bugger. Clovis Press, lovely zine and bookstore in Brooklyn,
has closed. Apparently the landlord is going to rent the place out to some
(nice...) people who will put in a cheese shop. Bugger. Here's a wacky post
about the closing by a former worker and another about it and the arson of a
building in Greenpoint and some history of the scary landlord (not the same
landlord as the bookshop). Clovis carried LCRW for ages and sometimes even
paid for it which was nice. Should probably send it to Spoonbill and
Sugartown, nice bookshop across the street. Bugger. Awesome rude good-bye
page.
http://uberdionysus.livejournal.com/314988.htmlhttp://uberdionysus.livejournal.com/317877.htmlhttp://www.clovispress.com
Break for a Kit Kat. Or a hop soda. Or the spicy vosges chocolate bar. Now
that's a treat. Latest LCRW (see below) went out with
http://www.scharffenberger.com and we have plans for the next one that will
be nicer. All this chocolate is really research.
We have thunderstorms. How about you?
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Lots of Award News since we last wrote:
Locus Awards
http://locusmag.com/2006/News/06_LocusWinners.html
Congratulations to all the winners which included the following:
* Best Novella: "Magic for Beginners", Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners, F&SF
9/05)
* Best Anthology: The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 18, Ellen Datlow, Kelly
Link & Gavin Grant, eds. (St. Martin's)
* Best Collection: Magic for Beginners, Kelly Link (Small Beer Press)
* Best Non-Fiction: Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of
the Clarion Writers' Workshop, Kate Wilhelm (Small Beer Press)
Nebulas
Congrats to Carol Emshwiller who received her second Nebula Award for her
story "I Live With You" (after "Creature" in 2003). And of course to Kelly
Link whose stories "The Faery Handbag" and "Magic for Beginners" both
received awards.
Also, Holly Black's excellent YA novel Valiant won the inaugural Andre
Norton Award. Congrats to everyone on the ballot.
Young Lions
Congratulations to Uzodinma Iweala whose Beasts of No Nation won the 6th
Annual Young Lions Award (and was a Time Book of the Year and won the L.A.
Times Book Award).
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=006079867X
The three nights were a total blast and thanks and congrats go out to
the Young Lions organization for putting it all together.
On the awards night Famke Janssen (...!) read an excerpt from Kelly's
story "The Hortlak" -- which, with the line about the city still burning in
her eyes, made a lot of sense. Great reading. Terrance Howard and Ethan
Hawke (a cofounder of the award) also did lively readings from Rattawut
Lapcharoensap's Sightseeing, Ander Monson's Other Electricites, Eric
Puchner's Music Through the Floor. Wow.
The next night was the Young Lions Fundraiser. A drinkie was had
beforehand which was smart as reinforcement was necessary to survive the
night. Tres fancy. The set were all out in Roaring 20s splendor (or, 20s
Splenda: just as sweet, a fraction of the calories, and not quite natural)
and lovely it was to see. After a relaxed dinner (veggie options, yay!) all
the finalists danced until the place got closed down -- excellent stuff,
although odd how as the night went on the music got older. Hmm. Perhaps
playing to the crowd? Dance, dance, revolution, but without the revolution
thing. A surreal week for other awards to emulate!
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LCRW 18
New issue of LCRW (18, wherein LCRW can drink, drive, vote, and fight. Wait,
can't drink...) [Literature Crystallizes Robin Wings] Hit the Bandstands
(yes, it is entirely made of music and can be hummed) in June.
We are actually sort of getting it together and having a launch party.
Next time at the laundry, this time a Amherst Books. Alan DeNiro will read
then there will be reading from the zine, then there will be beer drinking.
July 10, 8 PM -- Amherst Books
8 Main Street, Amherst, MA 01002 · 413.256.1547 · 800.503.5865
June 2006 · $5 · 60 pages · Black & white with handtinted woodblock cuts by
famous and unknown artists. Printed on a 12th century Chinese letterpress on
sheets of kelp-paper handmade by centaurs and sprites. Unattractively bound
in the skins of dead animals. Alternately: attractively bound in more
handmade paper, these sheets fairly traded from The Mysterions: Those Who
Live at the Center of the Earth.
Some people wondered where the car fuel economy figures quoted within LCRW
18 came from. Some came from research done by Erik, one of der interns.
Otherwise, the best resource was the Vehicle Certification Agency site.
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/fuelConSearch.asp
None of the cars seem to get over 70 mpg, but check the 61-70 range and
you'll see a ton of cars by Toyota, Nissan, Smart (which start selling here
within a year or so -- send us a demo and we'll blog it!), Citroen, Renault,
etc. etc. Lovely, comfy cars of the future.
Two Notes
1. LCRW comes out twice a year. Should you wish a third issue, please send
us a check for $500. That issue will be the Your-Name-Here Issue. It will
also be numbered for our simpler editors.
2. A new literary award. We believe everyone is special (even those people
who don't read -- or write for -- LCRW, but this award is not for them).
Here is the press release:
June 2006, Northampton, MA. LCRW and Small Beer announces The Eponymous
Award, given to all writers on publication in LCRW of their writing. So, Bob
Smith has been awarded the Bob Smith Award for Fiction Writing. Jane Smith
has been awarded the Nonfiction Award. D.K. Smith has been awarded the
Poetry Award. You get the idea.
fiction
David J. Schwartz -- Play
John Schoffstall -- Errant Souls
Becca De La Rosa -- This Is The Train The Queen Rides On
Scot Peacock -- Diabolique d'amour
Stephanie Parent -- In Ophelia's Garden
Will McIntosh -- Followed
E. Catherine Tobler -- Threads
Matthew Lee Bain -- A Half-Lizard Boy
Peter Bebergal -- A Static of Names
Sarah Micklem The Fabricant of Marvels
Angela Slatter -- The Juniper Tree
Jeannette Westwood -- Crimson-lady at the Auction, Buying
Fred Coppersmith -- At Uncle Ogden's House
Michael Emmons -- A Message from the Welcomer
Veronica Schanoes -- Swimming
poetry
Jenny Benjamin-Smith -- Two Poems
Sunshine Ison -- Two Poems
Tsultrim Dorjee -- Son of a Bitch
nonfiction
Erik Gallant -- Music Reviews
Gwenda Bond -- Dear Aunt Gwenda
[Name Withheld] -- Article Withdrawal
William Smith -- The Film Column
Zine Reviews
cover art · Emily Wilson
http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw18.htmhttp://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Good news for Elaine: Elaine Chen, who painted the mockingbird and hand
piece for the cover of Sean Stewart's Mockingbird, has been nominated for a
2006 Prix Aurora Award (Artistic Achievement). The nomination is for the
body of work Ms. Chen produced in 2005. The awards ceremony takes place in
Toronto, July 7-9, 2006.
http://www.lcrw.net/seanstewart/mockingbird.htm
Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Howard Who? is at the printer.
You can imagine what fun we've been having with our reprint of Howard
Waldrop's first collection. This is the unofficial 20th anniversary edition.
If you are exactly 20 years old (email us your ID) we will sell you this for
$20 instead of $14. And throw in another paperback for free. But you have
the burden of proof on your age. If you're faking (and I'm talking to
Christopher Barzak here), we will cut you off from buying any more of our
books. And you will be sad.
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/waldrop/index.htm
Where you can meet, greet, and buy Howard Waldrop a beer this year. The man
says these are the only places he's going. Our Peapod edition of Howard Who?
should be at these convention things:
August 11-13 -- Armadillocon, Austin, TX
World Fantasy Con, Nov. 2-5, Austin, TX.
That thing linked to above is the real and actual Howard Who? cover. A crap
condition hardcover of this book can be got for a bit more than the price as
our upcoming pb, but you wouldn't get Kevin Huizenga's Ugly Chicken drawing!
On Bookfinder, ABE, etc., it runs about $40 for a nice non-library copy, and
Elliott Bay, B. Brown, and others have it up around $125 for a fine/fine
signed copy.
Catch Howard at one of these conventions and you can get him to sign
your copy there. (Or email us we'll take some there and get them signed or
something.)
This book should shoot out once word gets around. It's 20 years old but
this is alt. hist. fic. so the stories aren't dated, if anything they're
just more heartbreaking, more harsh. Was "Horror, We Got" really published?
Damn. Should send it out to blowhards and talking heads and step back and
watch them get all head-explodey.
- An interview with Kevin Huizenga who did the cover for Howard's book:
http://www.comicfoundry.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=231
"But also I could mention that my mother really inspired a love of reading
in me. I really devoured books growing up ‹ a lot of it was sci-fi junk and
Stephen King and Tom Clancy, but good stuff too."
- A wacky thing from Jed Berry who helped retype Howard Who? Check out this
Chinese magazine that stole one of his stories. At last, he has been
published in "Crazy English Reader!"
http://www.qikan.com/gbqikan/view_article.asp?titleid=fkyy20060112&lanmu=%A3
%DB%C8%CB%C9%FA%B0%D9%CE%B6%A3%DD
Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Stories and other things
Kelly Link's latest story, "The Wizards of Perfil", can be found in the
anthology Firebirds Rising, edited by Sharyn November:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0142405493
- Kelly will be reading in west coast bookshops in September. In August she
is Guest of Honor(!) at Diversicon in Bloomington, MN
http://diversicon.org
Gavin J. Grant's latest story: "We Are Never Where We Are":
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20060508/where-f.shtml
- Also, "Softly with a Big Stick" is reprinted in Cecilia Tan's new
anthology Sex in the System:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1560258519
Jim Sallis and excellent band:
http://www.three-legged-dog.net
Bear discovers flickr. Youtube.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73602556@N00/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEqUX4LPyEk
Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Books What We Have Liked Recently
- In picture books, you gots to read MOME. The Spring/Summer ish is
"Designed by acclaimed designer and cartoonist Jordan Crane" and
"spotlight[s] a regular cast of a dozen of today's most exciting
cartoonist." 'Tis true. Wacky, deep, odd, not your average kitchen
sink-is-clogged-what-should-I-do lit comics antho.
http://www.fantagraphics.com/anthol/mome_gal/mome4_gal/image1.html
- Heads up: Coming later this summer Julie Phillips's amazing pageturner
"James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon."
- Shelley Jackson's new novel, Half Life, comes out in July (what a
beautiful cover). You might have seen her on tour with Kelly in 2002, or be
one of the words in her Skin tattoo-only story (pictures are great!), or
become enamored of her amazing hypertext Patchwork Girl.
For Half Life she offers a Mutant Typology Test which will work out your
mutation, find who you are related to (i.e. "The Two-Headed Boy of Bengal,
born in 1783 in Mundul Gait, Bengal"), and offers a prescription.
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=26490&cgi=product&isbn=006
0882352
- Sarah Monette, who has had a few stories in LCRW, has a second novel out
right now, The Virtu. This one stands by itself in the way her debut didn't
(the books are in a series, although they don't tell you that). The Virtu
races along and Monette gives her characters some great dialogue. It's a
book mostly about boys but there is a great governess (who isn't, of course)
who is so much fun that she is missed when she disappears off screen. A
great book to get stuck into late on a summer's eve.
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=26490&cgi=product&isbn=044
1014046
One from Heidi Smith:
"I recently read Carol Emshwillerąs Carmen Dog, and was thoroughly pleased
with it as an amazing, well-written book, but thatąs not the most important
part. Iąd been rethinking definitions of feminism already -- mostly in light
of old films, and especially the concept of femme fatale -- and I was
surprised to find that Emshwillerąs character of Pooch goes further in the
direction Iąve been heading. A new woman, one that is not a danger to man
because while the two sexes at times are divided and different, physically
or mentally, in the most inextricable situations, they can morph into
something stronger and truer to an inner nature."
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/emshwiller/carmendog.htm
Books at the top of the autumn stack include:
* M.T. Anderson The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the
Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party
Wow. Historicity.
* Karen Russell's debut collection St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by
Wolves.
Fantastic debut collection.
* The Long Tail (apparently not about rats or anteaters, etc.)
It's the tail we're all hanging onto the lowest branches with.
* Ursula K. Le Guin's follow-up to Gifts, Voices.
Yay!
* Inside the Not So Big House
Hoping for 4-dimensional shelving options.
* Liz Hand's November collection, Saffron and Brimstone, from the lovely
people at M Press.
You know about our big news, right?
* Ysabeau Wilce's first young adult book Flora Segunda.
Which we are told is a great, nay super, read.
* Susanna Clarke's The Ladies of Grace Adieu.
Which will have b&w illustrations.
Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Peace in our time.
20 Years After: Howard Who?
Shipping now, baby:
Twenty years ago (isn't it a shock the first time you say that about
something in your life?) the world stopped laughing at Ronnie Reagan for a
minute and lined up to get a copy of Texan wunderkind Howard Waldrop's first
novel, I, John Mandeville.
Waldrop, after six years on the job said, "You know what? Not yet." (All
quotes complete hearsay.)
Iconoclastic Waldrop, determined to be the one guy in his generation to
live off his fiction income (seriously) instead offered up to hungry readers
his debut short story collection, HOWARD WHO?, which burned up the charts
for two years in hardcover but then somehow we don't quite know why and it's
probably one of those conglomerate finicky things that even if it were
explained we wouldn't get it: Doubleday forgot to put the book out as
paperback.
Readers wept. Libraries found all there copies never came back. Time
capsules were dug up just in case they held copies. Book dealers put nice
protective Brodart jackets on their rare-as-dodoes copies and financed their
kids' education on the back of them. Wars were fought.
Twenty Years After (not just the title of an Alexandre Dumas novel, you
know) and Here is the paperback. (Not Here on your email. Although, since
there's an ebook edition, suppose it could be.)
Twelve stories filled with smarts, kicks in the pants, a real knowledge
of the world and the way those naked monkeys (and robots) act their way
through the day.
Go fishing in the Slough of Despond. Watch the world end in the days
before you were born (not talking to you, Methy old boy). And always always
come back to the ugly chickens. _So_ close....
Howard Waldrop, HOWARD WHO? · ISBN 1931520186 · $14 trade pb · $9.95 ebook
Get your copy with all the original introductions and new groovy art from
Kevin Huizenga:
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/waldrop/index.htmhttp://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#peapod
żHoward Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhho?
Alan DeNiro's book is a [insert adjective here and here] Book Sense Pick for
August!
SKINNY DIPPING IN THE LAKE OF THE DEAD: Stories, by Alan DeNiro "This is a
great debut collection of loopy, off-the-wall, and
still-somehow-packing-emotional-weight stories; DeNiro can weld words into
some mighty strange configurations."
--Caleb Wilson, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Nashville, TN
Yeah! Shout out for the booksellers and hope they get it into some readers'
hands.
http://www.lcrw.net/deniro/index.htm
żHoward Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhho?
A Few Small Things
It being summer and a little hot for all this.
Brothers of the Head, a film, starts Friday. The premiere was in New
York City last night and certain people snagged invites so sneaked down for
a quick in and out the city visit.
Why are we writing about this flick? David Bowie is on the soundsystem
and the novel by Brian Aldiss always seemed to owe him a debt of some sort.
Also, we recently watched Entourage (thanks Theo!) making going to a
premiere irresistible.
Brothers is set in the UK in the 70s. It's a dark, strange and often fun
film reminiscent of Iain M. Banks's The Wasp Factory. The filmmakers, Pepe
and Fulton, made Man of La Mancha and seem interested in unusual projects.
The music was good, the twins who play the eponymous Brothers (connected at
the chest!) are great and they're surrounded by a pretty good cast. The
character arc of the minder was fantastic.
There was an after party filled with beautiful people (and Bass and
Jameson's -- excellent) where the music was being felt more than heard (you
know that bass-in-the-chest thing).
It opens in NY and LA Friday and if you don't live there then it should
be in your town real soon. Go see. It's different.
http://www.brothersofthehead.com
Review of Firecracker by Sean Stewart (Perfect Circle under it's UK alias.)
"Evocative and economic at the same time. More please."
<http://www.computercrowsnest.com/articles/books/2006/nz10318.php>
Well, we're just saying if you want more watch out for Cathy's Book, ok?
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=076242656X
There were more reviews out there. But we are inefficient and playing with
the tiny letterpress (not the big one, not for a bit yet) we may miss them.
Feel free to email us about any reviews you read. Or write. We read a lot.
We write a lot less. Despite the over-verbiage of this occasional
newsletter.
Oran Mor
When in Glasgow we were lucky enough to not only get to the bar Oran Mor a
couple of times (hello Phil, Neil, Ross, Nicola, Kentucks) and the place is
fabulous enough to make Glasgow shoot up the list of possible places to
live. Here's writer and artists Alisdair Gray on Oran Mor:
"In 2003 Colin Beattie, Glasgow publican and property developer, bought the
former Kelvinside (Botanic Gardens) Parish Church building, which had stood
derelict for several years and began turning it into a leisure centre called
Oran Mor Gaelic for Great Music."
http://alasdairgray.blogspot.com/2006/07/oran-mor-leisure-centre.html
Thriller
Need a present for someone who needs a thrilling tale?
An aside, first, before another book is pushed from the top of this
stack along the synaptinet from our heads to yours. Why do thrilling tales
thrill? The word is just a lisp attached to small stream.
Anyway, get with The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen, the second of M.
T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales which are hilarious (and have great illlos by
Kurt Cyrus).
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0152053522
żHoward Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhho?
Kelly Link readings at lovely bookshops and so on
Kelly Link is teaching the final two weeks of the Clarion East workshop with
Holly Black.
They read on July 26th, 7 PM at the Capital Area District Library, 401
S. Capital Ave, Lansing, MI 48933 517-367-6363
Aug. 2, Archives Book Shop, 517-519 W. Grand River, East Lansing, MI 48823
Aug. 10, 6:30 -- DreamHaven, 912 W. Lake St, Minn, MN 55408 (612) 823-6161
Kelly will be Guest of Honor August 11-13 at Diversicon, Bloomington, MN.
Special Guest at Diversicon is Bryan Thao Worra who has published poetry
in an incredible number of journals and will be leading discussions and
screenings of the horror films Shutter, Ju-On and The Eye, as well as
sessions on Southeast Asian creatures of folklore and myth and
cryptogeography, examining 3 mysterious locations in Laos.
http://diversicon.org/http://members.aol.com/Thaoworra/
Kelly's book comes out in paperback soon from Harcourt. Yay! She will be on
the west coast in September. That's a long time from now, so enough on that.
More here: http://www.lcrw.net/kellylink/calendar.htm
Also, should you be on the west coast tonight, you have the chance to go see
Shelley Jackson read from her new novel Half Life:
July 26, 7:30 PM -- Powells, 1005 West Burnside, Portland 503-228-4651
July 29, 7:30 PM -- Elliot Bay Books 101 South Main St, Seattle 206-624-6600
More here: http://www.ineradicablestain.com/latest.html
żHoward Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhho?
Howard Who? Did you forget already? Howard Waldrop!
http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/waldrop/index.htmhttp://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#peapod
1. Ask Aunt Gwenda a question.
2. Do you teach these books?
3. Send us a day off.
4. This email is an unending maw of want: discuss.
4. This should be #8 as 2x4=8.
5. Go see the pretty pictures.
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1. Aunt Gwenda's been handing out pithy advice for a while now.
Aren't you in need? Send us your question to info@... (include
your address and with luck we'll send you the ish of LCRW your
question appears in).
That could be #19, which will be the 10th anniversary issue. Perhaps
the last if we think too deeply about that. But Zine World just said
this about #17, so maybe we will keep going: "This treasury of
fiction is a feast of mystery, novelty, and desire."
Send Aunty G. a Q!
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2. We'd love to hear from any teachers or professors or whomever
using Small Beer books in classrooms or any kind of teaching use. We
want to send some catalogs out to other people who could be doing the
same thing so maybe you can help us use the right language?
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3. Busy times at Small Beer Global HQ (which hovers near Sweden at
the moment before heading toward the Med for autumn). There's
raspberry picking, banjo picking (good crop this year, all that
rain), lolling on the deck, and training for the upcoming shove
ha'penny competition.
Did you know, if we send more of these emails apparently we will
sell more books? Seems an unlikely proposition to us, however, so we
will keep with the slow glide to obscurity.
However, we are firing off technological flares as if the apocalypse
had come and we were holding the last high ground from the zombies
(right, dispensed with the obligatory zombie mention).
Here are the latest non-Flash (oh how we still dislike you) moves: a
journal style updatey-thing and a fancy new calendar page.
Subscribing can be done to either, both, the usual. You, too, can
make Google calendars (we have made many...) and make them open or
clos'd.
http://lcrw.net/wordpress/http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htmhttp://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=qa0d2oe7mgfub6alg7moj4k2ts%
40group.calendar.google.com
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At this point the numbering fails here as it failed above. See you in
Minneapolis at the Twin Cities Book Fest. Or Tulsa. Or Austin.
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We posted some stuff on above said journaly thing recently, including
a pointer to a letter to Carol Emshwiller from James Tiptree, Jr.
(aka Alice Sheldon), with spelling and punctuation left intact.
http://www.lcrw.net/carolemshwiller/tiptree-letter.htm
(Misspellings of our own are intentional and hilarious and anyway
can't be fixed because we are updating to Univac 1.02 and can no
longer access the Internet Page Making Tool. These things are done to
make us more humid. Or test our humility. Or humors.)
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Congratulations to all the Hugo Award winners especially Kate
Wilhelm, whose book Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27
Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop won the Hugo for Best Related
Book. Storyteller also won the Locus Award a couple of months ago.
That’s pretty amazing. The little book that could and all that.
Kate was one of the co-founders of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop — of
which there are now three: Clarion (San Diego), Clarion West
(Seattle), and Clarion South (Australia) — and taught there for 27
years (hence the book title!). She is the Chair of the (all
volunteer) Board of Directors of the Clarion Foundation, a nonprofit
organization she helped establish in 2005 to ensure that the Clarion
Workshop will continue.
Storyteller a lovely book, formal where it needs to be (while
writing about writing) and informal where it can be — the fun parts.
Read some excerpts and so on:
http://lcrw.net/wilhelm/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=193152016X
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About our books and other stuff
New books in spring. New LCRW in November. Reading pile huge. Latest
edition of The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror spreading joy and
heartache across the land.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0312356145
Sex in the System: Stories of Erotic Futures, Technological
Stimulation, and the Sensual Life of Machines edited by Cecilia Tan
has stories by Paul DiFilippo, Sarah Micklem, Bruce Sterling, M.
Christian, Gavin J. Grant and others you know. Hot.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1560258519
Kelly Link's second collection, Magic for Beginners, is out in a
handy new paperback from Harcourt. She'll be Out West in September
and then all over the place in October. Meanwhile:
"Even if fairies and zombies don't normally fall into your realm of
reading, Kelly Link's short-story collection, Magic for Beginners
(Harvest, 320 pp., $14), is worth picking up. Doing so will put you
in the hands of a true conjurer."
—http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/
entertainment/1157532090103760.xml&coll=2
"Enchanting and highly potent."—Women's Review of Books
Check the calendar (http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm) to see
where she'll be. (She'll be doing the same....) There's even a
possible trip to Italy (where STRANGER THINGS HAPPEN has come out), a
Conference of the Undead in Berkeley, and more. Must stop, put feet
up, have cup of tea. All too much.
HC http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520151
PB http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=113562562X
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Latest limited edition is s small run of Ellen Kushner's
swashbuckling remaking of Dumas, Heyer, Nancy Drew (not really), &c.
The Privilege of the Sword.
John Scalzi did a terrific interview with Ellen Kushner that's up at:
http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/6253
We didn't print that many of these and the paperback is in its 3rd
printing so the hardcover is skipping merrily along and we don't
expect to have many left soon.
Ellen is reading all over the place (often with Delia Sherman, whose
new YA novel, Changeling, is Out Now, don't you know):
http://www.sff.net/people/kushnerSherman/Kushner/upcoming.html
-- including at KGB in NYC on 9/20: http://www.lcrw.net/kgb
Get this book while yous can:
http://www.lcrw.net/kushner/index.htm
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Hi. It's been a while. As per usual. Hope your summer has been ok.
Sorry we're behind on answering your email, reading your story, all
that stuff.
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Tomato sauce should not be used with Howard Who?
http://lcrw.net/peapod/waldrop/index.htm
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Alan DeNiro's collection Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead is
reviewed
in the August issue of Locus and picked as a notable book:
"DeNiro’s writing is deeply weird, sometimes challenging, but always
smart
and affecting." -- Tim Pratt
http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Issues/08NewAndNotable.html
"Nothing cools you off like Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead."
—The Spoken Word http://www.prx.org/pieces/12683 (short mention @ 54
mins)
"Original and clever without being overdone."
http://www.bookdwarf.com/archives/cat_reads.html#000649
La de da: http://www.lcrw.net/deniro/
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Zine distros
If you have ever wondered why you don't find LCRW at your local
newstand or even in your local chain bookshop here's another eye-
opener on magazine distribution. The Indy Press Association seemed
like a great idea to us* and to many other people but in the past few
years the IPA's financial mismanagement nearly killed some good mags
they were distributing.
Pulp Friction (SF Weekly)
Ryan Blitstein: The Independent Press Association was founded to
champion
alternative magazines, but now its members say it has become the kind of
hard-hearted corporation it once opposed.
http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2006-06-14/news/feature.html
* We contacted the IPA about distributing LCRW but it fell through
the usual
cracks:
-- It's too cheap. [Whereas we think going higher in price would
suck, even if we could use the % to go color or to add pages or
change the binding.]
-- B&W cover? Weird size? [Yeah, we know.]
-- It's unfocussed. [Or, it's too finely focussed on things that
interest us.]
-- There are too many unknowns and not enough "names". [Maybe, what
you gonna do? Ask "names"? Push out the interesting new writers? Eh.]
-- Und so weiter.
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Jay Kinney and Paul Mavrides who did the illustrations for Ray
Vukcevich's story "In the Flesh" on the Infinite Matrix have turned
the illo they didn't use into a postcard and a T-shirt. It's pretty
cool. The question is, who will dare wear the shirts to the airport?
http://www.cafepress.com/kinney/
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What happened to the Squirrel Nut Zippers is talked about in this New
Observer piece from May this year (link from Wikipedia). It's not a
pretty story, so don't read it if you're already down, ok?
Sure, they were sometimes kitschy but they had that whole joy
thing going for
them.
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/439524.html
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Random links:
http://www.delocator.nethttp://www.outofthiseos.typepad.com
We lied about the pretty pictures. Step outside instead? See you!
--
Small Beer Press
176 Prospect Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
413-584-0299
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
LCRW 19
Where We Will Be
2007 Books
2006 Books
2042 Books
We’ve been away for a while. Oops! Promise to be knocking on your
email door at least a couple of times a year from now on. [Promise
not valid for any days that you or we get less than 8 hours sleep.
Not valid in the USA or the UK. Not valid on Tuesdays or Odin’s Days.]
First: Happy St. Andrew’s Day! Get your kilt on, your flask filled,
find a partner, and get out on the dancefloor. Scots Wha Hae an’ a’
that an’ a’ that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Andrew
Not sure about the dancing? How about raising a glass to Colin
Beattie. Who? Alisdair Gray has a blog where he occasionally posts
letters and so on. He just posted a wonderful history of the Oran Mor
pub (which is a place of beauty due in no small part to Gray’s
paintings) which Beattie bought in 2002:
http://alasdairgray.blogspot.com/2006/11/oran-mor-glasgow.html
Not such a good thing, a wee bit south of Scotland, anyone passionate
about theatre and theatre history, please take a minute to add your
name to the growing petition to challenge the closing of the Theatre
Museum in Covent Garden: http://www.theatremuseumguardians.org.uk/
-------------
New to you and mailing slowly to stores and subscribers: LCRW 19
Aka The Tenth Anniversary Issue. Or: the one with wrestlers on the
cover. (That Nifty Cover is by Eric Schaller.) Contains fiction about
birds, brides, bath(tubs), and, yes, wrestlers by fave writers such
as Ray Vukcevich and Carol Emshwiller as well as new-to-these-pages
peeps such as Daniel Rabuzzi and Katherine Beutner. And, yes, the
necessary wisdom of Dear Aunt Gwenda. There is wondrous limninal
poetry, too. [Really? Uh, we think so.]
However, we are Still Waiting on the chocolate to be delivered, so
chocolate subscribers copies are a little delayed, sorry!
Subscribers now include people in the following countries: Canada,
Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Sweden, the USA, and the UK.
Join in?
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#zines
Project Pulp
Seems as if one of our long-time sales channels (we know the lingo!),
Project Pulp, has bought the farm. We’d like to thank Jon Hodges for
innumerable sales over the years and the hundreds of hours he must
have spent on the site. We bought a few books and zines and
subscribed to a few more through the site and it was pretty
miraculously easy considering all the micropresses he was dealing
with. So, thanks Jon. Best of luck with future endeavours.
Sort of Secret, Not Any More, Really
Speaking of future endeavours, here’s one of ours. Next November (a
year from now, isn’t that titillating?) the Del Rey tentacle of the
Random House machine (machine tentacles!) will publish something
titled along the lines of The Shocking, the Amazing, the Fried-in-
Butter, the Knit-One-Purl-One, the Fuel-Efficient, the Tea-Powered,
The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (So Far). You read it
here first. (Or, if someone is reading this to you, you actually
heard it here first and you can pretend you were standing at the
ZineBar chatting with friends and someone told you the news. ) Either
way: Tons of fun for everyone. Yay!
---------
Some recent pieces on Kelly Link (the Harcourt pb of Magic for
Beginners has gone back to press, yay!):
Kelly reads “The Hortlak” on The Writer’s Block:
http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/
151/510076/6414201/KQED_6414201.mp3
More readings here: http://lcrw.net/audio/
The Boston Globe, “Make it weird”
Feel like the fiction you've been reading has been missing something
-- aliens perhaps, or the occasional occult incursion of rabbits? A
new literary movement, based in Northampton, has just the thing for you.
by Jessica Winter | October 8, 2006
“[Small Beer Press] has provided a platform for engrossing but hard-
to-classify work such as Carol Emshwiller's dystopic fable ``The
Mount," Rust Belt surrealist Alan DeNiro's collection ``Skinny
Dipping in the Lake of the Dead," and Shelley Jackson's conjoined-
twin Gothic ``Half Life." [Ed. Note: published by HarperCollins.]
“The story of Small Beer Press, and of the new wave fabulists, begins
a decade ago in Boston, where Link met Grant at the dearly departed
Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop on Newbury Street. (She later dedicated
``Magic for Beginners" to both spouse and shop.) Their 'zine, ``Lady
Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet," which specializes in what Grant calls
``weird or speculative fiction," planted the seeds for a do-it-
yourself publishing house.”
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/10/08/
make_it_weird/
------------
Howard Who?
We have signed copies of Howard Who?, Howard Waldrop’s legendary
(really, there are legends based on it) debut collection of which
this is the First Paperback Edition.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#peapod
-----------
Where We Will Be
Small Beer Press author reading pages have been centralized and can
all be (subscribed to!) and found here: http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/
calendar.htm
Small Beer will have a table at:
The Independent and Small Press Book Fair, NYC
Dec 2-3, Saturday (10-6) and Sunday (11-5)
Free and open to the public
Small Press Center, General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, 20
West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues in midtown Manhattan
(smallpress.org· 212.764.7021)
If you’re in Northampton, MA, on the first Monday of any month,
here’s an open invite to drinks at The Dirty Truth bar. Next one is
Monday, Dec. 4, 7.30ish. (Later is ok, but less sense may be made.)
at The Dirty Truth, 29 Main St. Northampton (413) 585-5999.
Directions: http://www.themoananddove.com/dirtytruth/about_info.html
(Not that we will be there on Monday, but we will be next month.)
Ellen Kushner (The Privilege of The Sword) reads with rising star
Naomi Novik (His Majesty's Dragon):
Tuesday, December 5th -- Doors open 6:30 PM
Free Admission -- $5 donation if possible
South Street Seaport Museum's Melville Gallery
213 Water Street (near Beekman)
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=213+Water+Street,+New+York,+NY
------
Music: First Tiger
http://www.myspace.com/tigerthefirsthttp://www.myspace.com/tigerthesecond
-----------
2007 books
Oh yes. We have some books coming out next year. Order them now for
Christmas (etc.) presents and we’ll send whomever you want a card for
you. (A pretty leetle card it will be.) We built a FAQ for them and
are reprinting it here as well as some info on the actual books.
Q. Can I preorder 2007 books?
A. Yes! http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
Q. Books. Hmm. Don’t they have authors?
A. Sometimes. These ones we’re working on are new novels by John
Crowley, Elizabeth Hand, Laurie J. Marks, and Interfictions: an
Anthology of Interstitial Writing, edited by Theodora Goss and Delia
Sherman. A little more about the books is available on the preorder
page.
Q. And were there artists involved with the covers or did they just
fall from the sky?
A. Yes on the former. Liz Hand’s cover is by Jacob McMurray; John
Crowley’s features a Rosamund Purcell photograph, and the
Interfictions features a photo of a box made (in all senses of the
word) by Connie Toebe.
Elizabeth Hand, Generation Loss: A Novel
April 2007 · 1931520216 · Trade Cloth · 6 x 9 · 320 pp · $24
John Crowley, Endless Things: An Ćgypt Novel
May 2007 · 1931520224 · Trade Cloth · 6 x 9 · 400 pp · $24
Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss, Editors, Interfictions: An Anthology
of Interstitial Writing
April 2007 · 1931520240 · Trade Paper · 6 x 9 · 296 pp · $18
Laurie J. Marks, Water Logic
June 2007 · 1931520232 · Trade Paper · 5.5 x 8.5 · 320pp · $16
Preorder: http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
Shop? http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Updates: http://lcrw.net/wordpress/
2006 Books
Howard Waldrop, Howard Who?
Ellen Kushner, The Privilege of the Sword
Maureen F. McHugh, Mothers & Other Monsters
Alan DeNiro, Skinny Dipping in the Kale of the Dead
Small Beer Press ·http://www.lcrw.net
2042 Books
Books? Que?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
We've mostly moved
Merry March: Interfictions coming soon
4 Years of War, Hasn't It Been Great?
More on spring books
Other Book news
Other SPB Book news
Bye!
We've mostly moved to these two pages which are 1stly: journaly and
2ndly: calendric. You can subscribe to at least the second (you can
also subscribe to our free tax calendar for small businesses, but
there might be a little less interest in that...).
http://www.lcrw.net/wordpress/http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
Dear Reader,
Merry March! We're getting ready to present new books to the world.
Wigs are being powdered. Shoes are being filed into points. Knees are
canted at the right angles (which aren't right angles this year). The
first of this year's crop of books is something new for us: a book we
are producing for someone else. Interfictions: An Anthology of
Interstitial Writing is edited by Delia Sherman (one of the
cofounders of the Interstitial Arts Foundation) and Theodora Goss and
is really published by the Interstitial Arts Foundation (http://
www.interstitialarts.org/). Delia and Dora have also included a
conversational afterword (which can be read on the Interfictions
blog) and Heinz insu Fenkl gives the introduction. The cover is a
photo of an art box by Connie Toebe.
Interfictions comes out in on Monday April 30th (don't believe any
other date you see!) and we are sending out review copies now. Yours
will be arriving right soon now. If you are a reviewer. Or blogger.
(Contact us if you'd like a copy. [Or to get some postcards.])
More on this book as we get closer to the pub date. In the meantime,
links!
Book blog: http://interfictions.blogspot.com/
Connie Toebe: http://www.connietoebe.com/http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520249
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1931520240/theendicotstudio
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
Our other new titles for '07 all hit the stores between April and
June and can most easily be read about here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
or there's more about them at the end of the email.
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
Also to come in September: The Best of LCRW! (so far). The best of
the first 10 years as selected by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant* and
published through the good folks at Del Rey by the wisdom and smarts
of Jim Minz. More on this as it develops. Hopefully we'll be having
parties at zine stores across the nation. Some of these we will be
at, some: how about you?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0345499131/theendicotstudio
* Method of selection was as follows: LCRW issues 1-19 were pinned to
hay bales. Arrows were shot at the zines. Absolutely true.
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
4 Years of War, Hasn't It Been Great?
4 years ago millions of people around the world protested the US
Government's premeditated invasion of Iraq. The WMD evidence looked
flimsy and there was nothing to link Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks. Declaring war on a concept, terror, was perhaps the dumbest
idea since the redesign of the Florida ballot. The present
administration had apparently begun planning the invasion soon after
taking office yet there were no plans to follow the invasion, no
plans besides TV opportunities and embedding journalists. There was
an international coalition, but it was weak, and the world knew the
US was going ahead with its invasion no matter what anyone else did.
4 years later, embroiled in a civil war in Iraq, it's too late for
finger pointing (although an impeachment might be nice). Bringing the
troops home right away is not an honorable option. It's been hard
work to try and train a police force and an army. Harder work to try
and get Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds to work with the US (and the
remains of the weak coalition): and yet the US has to work harder to
save its own ass and to stop the civil war it helped start.
Suggestions on napkins to the White House, who obviously don't have a
clue. The United Nations? The African League? Nato? Someone? Anyone?
There'll be more marches against the ongoing war (and to remember the
thousands of Iraqi and American dead) soon. Perhaps the US Government
will see its populace walking in the cold days of spring and be moved
to action.
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
More on spring books:
Generation Loss: A Novel
Elizabeth Hand
April 2007 · Trade Cloth · 6 x 9 · 265 pp · $24
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520216
Lit thriller. Page turner. Book a flight or just skip work. It's that
good.
» Starred review in PW.
» Paperback rights sold to Harcourt Harvest.
Endless Things
An Ćgypt Novel
John Crowley
May 2007 · Trade Cloth · 6 x 9 · 400 pp · $24
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520224
The fourth novel—and much-anticipated conclusion—of John Crowley’s
astonishing and lauded Ćgypt sequence: a dense, lyrical meditation on
history, alchemy, and memory.
Water Logic
Laurie J. Marks
June 2007 · Trade Paper · 5.5 x 8.5 · 320pp · $16
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520232
Marks’s Elemental Logic series is a triumph of politics, fantasy,
world-building, and intelligent design: of character, world, and magic.
» Marks is a Guest of Honor at the Memorial Day WisCon
convention in Madison, WI (http://www.wiscon.info).
» Postcards available (email us, we'll send you a packet of them!)
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
Other book news: Shaun Tan's The Arrival is so good you should have 3
copies air shipped to you from Australia. One for you. One for your
Best friend. And one for us because we want many many copies.
http://www.shauntan.net/
Elizabeth Knox's Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet comes
highly recommended by Kelly:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780374318543
Other SBP book news:
There's a ton. Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners is out in Italy and
the UK -- in the latter of which it received an amazing review in The
Guardian by Audrey Niffenegger (http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/
story/0,,2025109,00.html). There is a play of "The Girl Detective"
playing in New York City until March 17th. Save us some seats:
http://www.ateh.org/AtehMain.aspx?
Main=Home&Info=GirlDetective&Content=GirlDetective
Carol Emshwiller has a new novel coming in April, The Secret City,
and it's a corker. It's Carol at the top of her game. 2007 is shaping
up to be a great year in books and with Carol being Guest of Honor at
the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga later this year, a great
year for fans of Carol!
The Secret City:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1892391449
Congratulations to Ellen Kushner whose swashbuckler novel The
Privilege of the Sword is a finalist for the Nebula Award. Of course
congrats to all the nominees, it's an honor (or a Privilege...) to be
nomulated. Fingers crossed.
The Privilege of the Sword:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520208
Coming up soon on the Lit Blog Coop (and the warren of blogs
associated with it) the Lit Blog Coopsters will be discussing Alan
DeNiro's Crawford Award finalist collection Skinny Dipping in the
Lake of the Dead:
http://lbc.typepad.com/blog/2007/02/spring_2007_our.htmlhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520178
In May: hell, let's get through March and April without worrying
about new issues of LCRW and WisCon.
Be brave and get out there into the cold cold winter (unless you're
in Australia — hello lovely people! We want to come back! Leaving was
a mistake!) and get nice and cold so that when you pop into your
local bookshop to get some good books or mags it'll be warming not
just the cockles of your fickle (but actually loyal) heart but also
your little fingers, too. Then when you get home someone will have
the kettle on and you can surprise them with your smart and wonderful
book choice and maybe some bon-bons or a chocolate cake. Aw, aren't
you lovely?
/---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/ /---\ \---/
Small Beer Press
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Table of Contents
1. Oh, Happy Day: Awards News
2. Exquisite Memoir: And Now We Are Going to Have a Party by Nicola
Griffith
3. More New Releases: A t-shirt and two prints
3. Meet Us: P&S at Wiscon 31
4. Last Copies: Mecca|Mettle by Thomas M. Disch and BlöödHag;
"Postcards of Doom" by 30 illustrators
5. Upcoming Projects: Matthew Hughes and Thomas M. Disch
***
Yes, that Table of Contents is actually from the Payseur & Schmidt
newsletter, which you can subscribe to here (http://
payseurandschmidt.com/mailing.shtml) and is full of interesting books
that you should snap up because they are 1) beautiful 2) wow 3)
unique 4) not usually reprinted 5) must be encouraged so that they
keep this crazy stuff up long enough for us to finish our Epic poem
on the Post Industrial Age titled Wooden Wheel Types, A Spoken History.
This week is a biggie for Small Beer, too. It's Alan DeNiro week at
the Lit Blog Coop (http://lbc.typepad.com), Monday was the
publication day for Endless Things, yellow tulips came up then were
eaten by bunnies in the backyard, and Generation Loss received a
stunner of a review in the Washington Post (and a starred review in
Booklist: buy, librarians, buy!). And we are trying to remember the
recipe for LCRW. More on this stuff (and more) below. More. Losing
the meaning now. More.
We post more often now here: http://lcrw.net/wordpress/ In fact, this
will be posted there soon.
Hot! We are planting fruit trees. How about you?
Another TOC
Liz Hand
John Crowley
LCRW
Interfictions
Laurie J. Marks
Kelly Link
++++++
Generation Loss is the first book we've published by Elizabeth Hand.
Yay! It is dark, unremitting, looks at art and says What the Hell?
and pops a few pills on the way. Is Maine weird? Sometimes.
Liz is about to go out on tour. Hear her here: http://
www.elizabethhand.com/2007/gen_loss.mp3
Interview on Bookslut: http://www.bookslut.com/features/
2007_05_011056.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/
AR2007050301965.html
http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2007/04/
book_notes_eliz.html
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20016465,00.html
Read some: http://lcrw.net/hand/hand-excerpt.htm
Tonight: Thursday May 10 7 PM
Olsson’s, 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20004, 202.638.7610
Thursday May 17 7 PM
Artifacts, 28 North Maple Street, Florence, MA 01062, 413-320-9480
—reading with John Crowley, Paul Park,& others, & music from Flora
Reed & Philip Price (of the Winterpills). Books supplied by Amherst
Books. (Named Best Bookstore of New England by Boston Magazine.)
Friday May 18 Time TBA
Hiram Halle Memorial Library, 271 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge, NY
10576, (914) 764-5085
Saturday May 19 2 PM
Borders, 162 E Main St., Mt Kisco, NY 10549, (914) 241-8387
Wednesday May 23 7 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138,
(800) 542-READ
Megan Sullivan of Harvard Book Store recommends Generation Loss in
the Boston Globe:
“This smart, dark, literary thriller will keep you up at night. A
photographer who has been drinking, doing drugs, and alienating
everyone around her since the ’70s goes to Maine to interview a
legendary photographer and gets caught up in the case of a missing
girl.”
Saturday Date to be confirmed
Sherman’s Books, 8 Bay View Street, Camden, ME 04843, 1-207-236-2223
BookExpo America
Jacob Javits Center, New York City
Signing: Sat. June 2, 12-12.30 PM
Reading: Sun. June 3 10.30 AM (Foreword Second Stage)
June 23+24
Maine Festival of the Book, Portland, ME (Reading and panel participant)
+++++++
John Crowley's 4-part novel Aegypt is completed in Endless Things, a
beautiful book that manages to end many strands of story without
being elegiac or closing down the narratives -- a feat few authors
could handle and few readers of the series might have believed. It is
a deep, sometimes hilarious, and hopeful novel that readers will be
able to dig into and enjoy for long stretches of the summer.
The cover is an irresistibly attractive photograph by Rosamond
Purcell from Bookworms:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1593720238
John reads (with Sarah Langan) at KGB Bar in New York City on May 16:
http://lcrw.net/kgb
and on the 17th at Artifacts in Florence (Northampton), MA:
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm
The first three books in the Aegpyt series are being reprinted in
trade paperback by the Overlook Press beginning in autumn.
Reviews of Endless Things:
http://www.bookforum.com/beha_may.htmlhttp://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_crowley_endlessthings.html
Das Book:
http://lcrw.net/crowley/
+++++++
Want to see some neat art coming out of the Vermont Center for
Cartoon Studies? Here's a neat site from Colleen Frakes and Jon-Mikel
Gates: http://www.cowboyorange.com/
We went up for a visit (in a snow storm, hard to believe now) and
were blown away by the concentration of good art and artists. We'll
post more links as time goes by.
+++++++
Alan DeNiro's collection Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead
(http://www.lcrw.net/deniro) is the Spring Read This! Pick (thanks,
Pinky of http://www.pinkyspaperhaus.com!) this week at the Lit Blog
Coop (http://lbc.typepad.com).
If you loved the book or hated it, go tell them, link to it, post
about it and then post about your post and call your local radio and
tell them. These Lit Bloggers are the book reviewers of today and
tomorrow and they are looking to talk to the whole interewebs -- and
get the internet talking. Their combined voices (and individually on
their blogs) are an interesting strand in the cross-all-genres
conversation of the moment.
One part of our contribution is an interview with Alan recorded while
he was in town for the UMass Amherst Juniper Festival (he's a good
reader and a great panelist, please consider adding him to you
festival!). We waited until Alan was hungry, tired, and looked like a
greyhound, then got out the difficult questions. (Alan's signature
drink it...?)
Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2EdC6LW8Qs
+++++++
LCRW links
The new one is in the pot and getting ready to boil. Or something.
The latest store to add LCRW to its backroom stores:
Magers and Quinn Booksellers
3038 Hennepin Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Which is a great and groovy store.
The Best of LCRW is on track for a September release from Del Rey.
Wacky, no? It should be called The Best of LCRW (So Far), but that
didn't fit on the jacket. So please write that on the cover (or title
page) when you get your copy. It is an excellent book, or at least
the parts not written by us, are brilliant. Will the world be shaken
when it comes out? It will shake with joy at Dan Chaon's
introduction. Then it will be assigned to classes and become part of
the Harold Bloom-approved Western Canon. Then kids will start writing
haiku as protest and we will be first up against the wall when the
revolution comes. We will escape on our jetpacks. We don't know what
future you're living in, but in ours: we have jetpacks.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780345499134
+++++++
Huge local event!
http://www.google.com/calendar/event?
eid=YnBsNnB0YmE5Y2p0aHY2YnNsMGo1b3FqYmMgcWEwZDJvZTdtZ2Z1YjZhbGc3bW9qNGsy
dHNAZw&ctz=Etc/GMT
A Speculatively Spectacular Evening with:
Elizabeth Hand (Generation Loss)
John Crowley (Endless Things)
Paul Park (The White Tyger)
Flora Reed & Philip Price (of the Winterpills)
& a selection of interstitial material (i.e. in the breaks) from
Michael DeLuca, Jedediah Berry, Diana Gordon, &c.
Celebrate spring with Small Beer Press’s Speculatively Spectacular
evening of art, readings, music, and perhaps a little more. Beginning
at 7 p.m. on May 17, the event will be held at Artifacts, a new
gallery at 28 North Maple Street in Florence, MA. Artifacts is housed
in a converted warehouse, where guests will be able to meet the
authors, listen, dance if they are so inclined, and mingle as three
bestselling authors showcase their latest offerings.
John Crowley (Endless Things), Elizabeth Hand (Generation Loss), and
Paul Park (The White Tyger) will headline the event. Crowley, who
lives in Conway and teaches at Yale, and Hand, who lives on the Maine
coast, will be reading from their recently published novels (see next
page for reviews). Park, who teaches at Williams College in
Williamstown, Massachusetts, will read from his latest novel, The
White Tyger.
A variety of other local authors will read their work, including a
number of contributors to Small Beer Press’s tiny lit zine, LCRW.
The evening will be topped off by Flora Reed and Philip Price (of
the critically-acclaimed Winterpills[http://www.winterpills.com]),
who will provide musical entertainment.
Guests will be expected to peruse the art, be polite to the authors,
provide good conversation, and, on leaving, remember where they
parked their jetpacks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
When: Thursday, May 17, 7 PM
Where: Artifacts
28 North Maple Street
Florence, MA 01062
413-320-9480
Art: Appropriately for Maine author Elizabeth Hand’s post-punk lit
thriller Generation Loss, Artifacts will hold over the photographs
from Susie J. Horgan’s Punk Love.
Music: Flora Reed & Philip Price (of the critically-acclaimed
Winterpills http://www.winterpills.com/).
Refreshments: Will be provided. As will seats, walls, windows, and
doors.
Tickets: This is not a ticketed event and entrance is free.
Books: The authors’ books will be available on the night at a table
manned by stalwart booksellers from Amherst Books.
http://www.amherstbooks.com/Events/eventsMay2007.shtmlhttp://www.lcrw.net
+++++++
Interfictions
Ther first Interstitial Arts Foundation anthology is out online and
in the real world. 19 new stories at a buck a piece plus a freebie—
you read it and tell us here (http://interfictions.blogspot.com/)
which story is the the bonus one! The authors include newer writers
as well as a few who are more well known. Adding to the depth of the
book are three translations -- one each from Spanish, French, and
Hungarian -- which goes a tiny way to filling the translation gap.
The authors involved are: Anna Tambour, Catherynne M. Valente,
Christopher Barzak, Colin Greenland, Csilla Kleinheincz, Holly
Phillips, Jon Singer, Joy Marchand, K. Tempest Bradford, Lea Silhol,
Leslie What, Matthew Cheney, Michael J. DeLuca, Mikal Trimm, Rachel
Pollack, Vandana Singh, and Veronica Schanoes.
We recently did a giveaway for copies of Interfictions (http://
lcrw.net/iaf/). Copies went to the following readers who will paint
or sing their reviews on subways near you:
Hannah Wolf Bowen
Bob Scheffel
Hyowon Kim
Nin Harris
Steph Burgis
Look out for (or instigate) interstitial events in the summer months.
More at these sites:
http://interfictions.blogspot.com/http://lcrw.net/iaf/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520249
+++++++
It's Mother's Day in the USA on May 13th. Isn't that nice? Aren't you
going to send her chocolates? Or books? Especially as the US postal
rates rise the next day. Seems like a great opportunity. Here's one
idea:
The mother of all Mother's Day gifts--Mothers and Other Monsters.
Anyone can send Mother's Day flowers. Mother has always said you
aren't just anyone.
A book for everyone who has ever had a mother.
Celebrate the little monster in every mom.
Mother's Day flowers wither and candy melts. But with proper
storage, Mothers and Other Monsters will last forever.
http://lcrw.net/mchugh/
+++++++
Laurie J. Mark's third Elemental Logic novel, Water Logic, is the
first novel we've published in a fantasy series. So, they must be
good, right? Yes. They're right up your street. They're smart, sexy,
and political. These books use some of the familiar tropes of
pastoral fantasies, but they don't rely on them. It's not a standard
military fantasy series, it's subversive and electric. Good things
happen. Bad things happen, too. The costs of magic are high.
If you haven't been reading and want to dive in, start with Fire
Logic then Earth Logic. Water Logic, coming in June, is a knockout.
Laurie J. Marks is a Guest of Honor (with Kelly) at WisCon 31. We
will have a launch party with special Things to go to those who buy
the book -- pre-orders will receive the one that is easier to mail.
(More on these secret things later.)
Laurie has recorded a podcast (ahem) of the first chapter:
http://lauriejmarks.com/audio/water-logic-chap1-1-marks.mp3http://lauriejmarks.com/audio/water-logic-chap1-2-marks.mp3
or you can read it here: http://lauriejmarks.com/water-logic-
excerpt.html
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520232
Laurie is reading in Albany, June 16, 2007, at Flights of Fantasy
Bookstore, 488 Albany-Shaker Rd, Loudonville, NY 1221.
If you work at a bookshop and are interested in a reading copy of
this, send us an email!
+++++++
Are you playing this game? http://www.worldwithoutoil.org
+++++++
Secret giveaway for the readers who go this far. How about you tell
us which book you want? We will say no and come back to you with an
offer of a Peapod Threesome for a review of at least one? A couple of
these sets (tied up in a pretty ribbon) are available. Love to hear
from you sweetie.
+++++++
Live in Australia? Or somewhere else? Or, nowhere, you ghost, you?
How about this:
Independent Publishers - The Brave New World
Join Gavin Grant (Publisher of the US-based Small Beer Press) at 12
noon AEST on Tuesday 15 May to discuss the dynamics of US,
international, and independent publishing.
http://blog.awmonline.com.au/2007/05/09/independent-publishers-a-
brave-new-world/Log in here; http://awmforum.server101.com/index.php?
+++++++
Ah, respite.
+++++++
Link links
Missed Kelly on her tour last September? Catch up with her now-not-so-
super secret Authors@Google visit with Karen Joy Fowler: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPmq-gprbs
This week Nancy Pearl included Magic for Beginners in one of her NPR
lists (online, not on the radio): Under the Radar: Books Not to Miss,
saying, "It's intricate, wildly imaginative and totally wonderful."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9255546
Kelly sold a young adult collection to Sharyn November at Viking. It
will contain many of the stories she has been publishing in young
adult anthologies as well as one new story and, since this is her
first young adult collection, a couple of stories from her other
books. (This last because her previous collections contain stories
like Catskin which make it hard for some adults to give to young
adults.) Should come out next year and will be followed by a tour
(with support from the reformed Guns'n'Roses (shhh, it's a secret)
and the usual Today Show for Kids, Young Letterman!, and other age-
appropriate media.
Kelly is a Guest of Honor (with Laurie J. Marks) at WisCon 31. (Hope
to see you there!) www.wiscon.info
Kelly will also be at BookExpo America, Readercon, Worldcon in Japan,
a Best of LCRW reading at KGB, World Fantasy in Saratogo Springs in
November. Un so weiter.
This is the best way to keep up: http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm
+++++++
We alphabetized our Shopping page which might make it easier to use.
Do tell if and when you are unhappy with our website: http://lcrw.net/
lcrw/shopping3.htm
+++++++
Exeunt.
Small Beer Press
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
1) Preface
2) Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis
2b) Karen Joy Fowler story
3) Introduction (B Dan Chaon!)
4) Stuff that's on the inside
5) The Ask
6) The Tell
7) The Noun
+ ............................................... +
1) This is a preface for an email newsletter featuring and focusing
on the question: Is Increased Daylight Hedgehog Activity Linked to
Urban Heat Islands? and the anthology The Best of LCRW.
Get it: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345499131
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345499131/theendicotstudio
Sort of: http://lcrw.net/lcrw/thebestof.htm
There is, in fact, a completely different fabric used in the preface
of the book itself.
+ ............................................... +
2) Have you seen any hedgehogs in your area? Are they a little manic?
Are they trying to get into air-conditioned bookshops? Have you
considered that they might be dangerous in this heat?
The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet can help you ignore
this problem. It's a book, a real book, and it's a stonker. A
stoater. It has more than 30 authors' fiction and poetry in it. Yes,
an anthology with poetry in it! When did you last see that? (This
question does not apply to poets, editors, or readers.)
When starting this zine thing 10+ years ago (10+ is much more fun to
type than 11) we didn't really think there would ever be a book
springing forth from it. And now there is and we love it so we could
just eat it. If we were paper eaters, which we are not. So we will
put it on a shelf and pull it down to look for favorite bits now and
then and occasionally we will sell copies to people or give them to
people and sometimes we will weep at it all and when we are asked why
we are weeping it will be something to do with happiness and that's
all we'll be able to sob until we are handed a martini.
Even when we signed the contract, cashed the check (thanks!), sent
out contracts to writers (and then did it again when we lost a few),
and watched the thing being designed and made, it didn't seem real.
But now we have seen a few blog posts about it, so we know it must
be real after all. Phew.
+ ............................................... +
To Be)
The latest ish of the zine, #20 (http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw20.htm)
has a story from Karen Joy Fowler, "The Last Worders," which You Can
Read Here:
http://lcrw.net/fictionplus/fowlerlastworders.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#zines
+ ............................................... +
3) A-one, a-two, a-one-two-three-four
In this tea chest of stories there is an introduction. By Dan Chaon,
a brain-meltingly talented short story writer. Imagine James Brown at
the peak of his career going "Huhhnhh!" in the middle of a fantastic
body-popping dance move: that's Dan's stories.
Here's the start of the intro: “What is in this container?” Is it
“dwarves and faeries and hobgoblins sitting around drinking mead out
of acorns?” Or “post-nuclear holocaust cannibal mutants with a taste
for sexy college students?” Perhaps it’s something even more
sinister, some sort of “weird or speculative fiction.”
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#zines
+ ............................................... +
4) Insider information
Trade on this! "It's paper coated with ink that will swallow you up
and carry you into the imaginative peregrinations of Karen Joy
Fowler, Karen Russell, Jeff Ford, Veronica Schanoes, David Erik
Nelson and Cara Spindler, and A Huge Amount More. A big part of the
joy of this thing is the amount of newer writers here whose stories
we get to throw out to a wider audience.
This is the book, see:
The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
Del Rey, 416 pp., $14.95 (paper)
ISBN 13: 978-0345499134
Old ISBN 10, does anyone use these any more? How quickly we change.
0345499131
It's even in the Random House catalog: http://www.randomhouse.com/
catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345502292
Cover by Jacob McMurray (http://www.jacobmcmurray.blogspot.com).
Bought by Jim Minz (Thanks Jim!), published by Chris Schleup,
Fleetwood Robbins, et al, designed by Barbara M. Bachman, apologies
again to Hillaire Belloc (not least for the typo in the bio, doh!).
Read by millions and millions!
+ ............................................... +
5) The Ask
Brooklyn Book Festival was pretty As(s)k(icking).
+ ............................................... +
6) The Tell
The tell is when we have a book out we send out emails, see? Not sure
how this will help in the upcoming Zine World Poker Hi-Lo Xerox (TM)
Stakes, but that's the tell.
A brief interview telling about the tell:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3EAR1V9878GLN
6, part 2)
Would you like to interview us, the editors? Please do! Also: please
review the books. This is all about asking, really, isn't it? Help
get this Huge Book out to the People.
+ ............................................... +
7) The Noun
The noun of the moment is Hot, Baby, Hot!*
+ ............................................... +
7a) Other Nouns
"With a major SF imprint publishing this hefty anthology, LCRW’s
times as a low-profile fringe zine may be at an end."
—Publishers Weekly (http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/
CA6471655.html?q=lady+churchill&)
"An otherworldly Farmer’s Almanac."
—Library Journal
"Showcasing a selection of the top new and exciting writers working
today, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet presents a
wondrous playground for lovers of experimental and avant-garde
literature. If this is the 21st century zine, the form can be taken
off the endangered list."
—Rick Klaw (http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?
oid=oid%3A534868)
"LCRW is one of my favorite literary magazines, featuring authors
like Jeffrey Ford and Nalo Hopkinson and strange and lovely stories
you won't see being published in the Paris Review or VQR. (And why
not, I might ask you.) The fact that one of the editors is one of the
best living short story writers doesn't hurt."
—Jessa Crispin (http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-
to-read-this-fall_06.html)
"Dan Chaon provides an introduction, but really, no introduction can
quite prepare you for the celebrated mix of insane ideas that await
in the pages, ready to pounce. Link herself delivers the first, a
modern-day revisionist fairy tale titled “Travels with the Snow
Queen.” Karen Joy Fowler’s “Heartland,” about doomed young love
amongst fast-food employees, is a heartbreaker, and among the book’s
early highlights."
–Rod Lott (http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/anthologies/lady-
churchills-rosebud-wristlet/)
Comments from the cheap seats: Yay!
Audio interviews:
Kelly Link, Gavin J. Grant, Karen Joy Fowler,
http://trashotron.com/agony/news/2007/08-20-07.htm#082107
Seana Graham
http://www.trashotron.com/agony/audio/2007/2007-news/082907-
seana_graham.mp3
Again: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345499131
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345499131/theendicotstudio
+ ............................................... +
7b) (i) We shall send out a free copy of the anthology (to wit, The
Best of LCRW) to the five readers who post their most interesting
photos of themselves (or others) with either the zine (you may know
of which one we speak), a Small Beer Booke, or, indeed, The Best of
LCRW.
The photos can be 1) posted to us by mail [with the understanding
that we will a) scan them and post them online and b) use them to
block the light, the burning burning light from our fair skin], 2)
emailed to us 3) posted on blogs, on Amazon.com, in reviews, in
newspapers (best of all), or in the editorial column of Vanity Fair
(c'mon Graydon!).
+ ............................................... +
8) Other
It's been a long time since we sent one of these from Japan.
(This long: http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrwv2n1.htm)
That's so long ago that none of us here can remember if we had an
email list back when we were part of Zaibatsu Lady Churchill (which
was before we took our tiny piece of the office block and floated it
from Osaka to Boston, then Brooklyn, then up the Connecticut River to
Northampton).
So this newsletter was started in Yokohama, continued in Tokyo, then
dropped (like our jaws) while in Hokkaido.
Going to the World Science Fiction Convention was a blast. We
arrived in Tokyo and ran around as much as the super-hot summer
allowed. (The newspapers reported that temperatures were 5 degrees C
(9 degrees F) hotter than 20 years ago so rice farmers are looking
for new rice strains that won't be damaged by the heat.)
Quick visits were made to Harajukyu for T-shirts, a tofu restaurant
(with 3 new-to-us types of tofu and 4 types of sake), and an eye-
popping exhibition (on the top floor of a department store) of Jan
and Eva Svankmajer’s paintings and 3-D creative taxidermy sculptures.
We also visited Kelly’s Japanese publisher Hayakawa Publishing
(http://hayakawa-online.co.jp/) which was great fun. We was impressed
not only Mr. Hayakawa and all the editors (they put out 300 books a
year!) but also by their ground floor café, Christie’s (yes, they're
Agatha’s publisher) and their basement French restaurant. Every
publisher should have a café.
There are some pics on Flickr. More may follow. But shouldn't we be
working instead of posting stuff? Stuff? So, maybe.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcrw/tags/japan/
There's another short write-up is here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2007/09/getting-the-gis.html
+ ............................................... +
Other Stuff
Librarians: want to see our books? Some of them will be on display at
the CBE booths here:
Ohio Library Association
October 10-12, 2007 / Columbus, OH
New England Library Association
October 14-16, 2007 / Sturbridge, MA
American Association of School Librarians
October 25-28, 2007 / Reno, NV
California Library Association
October 26-28, 2007 / Long Beach, CA
+ ............................................... +
Yes: Howard Waldrop is blogging for us!
http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?cat=38
+ ............................................... +
* Extra noun, "baby" comes with no charge except to look both ways
before you cross the road and always designate a driver, baby!
And lastly: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345499131
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345499131/theendicotstudio
Hey, look, it's an ebook, too!
http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook49685.htm
+ ............................................... +
Please note, we have moved our office:
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
+ ............................................... +
Ok, if you got this far you probably passed by item 7, section b,
part (i). Go back, go back!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
A New LCRW, or, The Dangerous History for Boys and Girls of a Secret
Guide for Men and Women to the Complete Historiography for Dogs and
Cats of the Mind-Blowing Impossibilities of the Ironed Shirts and
Blouses and Multiple Formats of LCRW
Confusion
Reading by light that is how old?
LCRW in many ways
less and less and a secret
Recent Reads
Margaret on Holidays
Address
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Welcome to the first snowy day of the season and maybe the start of
Fimbulwinter?
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Confusion
Quick. Stop. Quick! Stop. Oh, now we've confused ourselves and
forgotten what all this hullaballula was for. Stop, start. Um.
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The Light
Maybe you don't believe LCRW has reached issue 21? It only took about
10.75 years. Which is more than enough time to put the kettle on and
find a comfy seat and be ready for when this issue drops in the mailbox.
Also, in Martian, LCRW is only 5 years old. Or 17 Venusian years.
Or, and the staples are starting to ache here, 45 Mercurian years old.
All of this was discovered by our newly young editorial staff
(counting in Martian years) with the handy-dandy Martian Birthday
Calculator built by LCRW 21 contributor Brian Conn. (Let's make it a
meme and crash his site!)
It is unlikely you will reach your first Plutonian birthday. Oh well.
http://www.brianconn.net/mbc.php
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There is News
The new issue of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, aka LCRW, this
being Number, or No., 21, has gone out into the world.
There are some stunning stories in this one. We know that Karen Joy
Fowler's story from Robot No.20 (http://lcrw.net/fictionplus/
fowlerlastworders.htm) is still finding readers but if you want your
mind blown (and, really, why else are we here?) read Alice Sola Kim's
"The Night and Day War" in LCRW 21.
The Unexpected Angle
There are more ways than you might expect, Horatio old chum, to
procure yourself a copy of this zine. We have gone a little format
crazed around the Pioneer Valley recently. We have not made LCRW art
projects out of leaves and old bike tires (yet, damn snow), but we
have made this issue of the zine available in Formats As Yet Not Seen
by LCRW readers. Or indeed, by Any.
The usual version, saddle-stitched, 60 pages (half-legal [8/5" x
7"]), black and white, has been mailed to subscribers, reviewers, and
stores and is (quick!) available here:
http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw21.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/index.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#zines
But, (stop!) that isn't all.
There are two other formats available.
1) For the first time ever (unless we count #13: http://lcrw.net/
issues/lcrw13.htm) you can now buy LCRW as a perfectbound paperback.
Talk about a historical document! And, you can pay $10 instead of $5!
Here are the specs:
Perfect binding, 144 pages, 5.83" x 8.26", 60# weight paper, still
black and white, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color
exterior ink. (We have this beautiful cover by Tatsuro Kiuchi so
we're not taking much advantage of the color option. Maybe next time
-- if we ever do this again.)
http://www.lulu.com/content/1466042
And if you like the look of that but would rather have it as an
ebook, that's available too -- you good-looking early-adopting Kindle-
user, you!
We had some trouble actually finding the download option on Lulu but
we're confident you can:
http://www.lulu.com/sbp
2) Or, buy it on Fictionwise:
http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook52982.htm
Some of our books have done really well on Fictionwise.com so from
now on we'll add them whenever we can (we may even go back and try
and add older books, you never know).
Once we have a couple of issues of LCRW up there you'll be able to
subscribe to the electronic edition which will make it easier to keep
up with from abroad. We're not sure if the price will stay the same
or not. Maybe. Perhaps.
And while futzing about Fictionwise, we noticed they can zap you a
copy of The Best of LCRW:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook49685.htm
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Also, you can verry easily subscribe to the original edition of LCRW
here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
We have been asked if buyers have to use Paypal to get LCRW. The
answer is: No. You can send us cash or checks using this page:
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/ordersheet.htm
Also, we have purchased zines and other things through our Paypal
account but without using Paypal -- it draws directly from the bank.
Exciting!
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Places you can see us and the books: The Washington Post Holiday Book
insert. Ooh! Venus! Bitch! Conjunctions! F&SF! (Check the
classifieds!) Jubilat! AWP in NYC (the book fair is open to the
public on Saturday, Feb. 2, drop by if you can, it'll be huge),
Harvard/Vericon, Jan 25 - 27, (http://www.vericon.org).
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Most fun: review Laurie J. Marks' Water Logic on your blog, in your
national magazine, or wherever and we will send you some tea!
http://lcrw.net/marks/http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=218http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520232
This is one of the best big fantasy series we've read and it's the
sort we want more of. It's political, engrossing, epic, and intimate.
Tor published the first two volumes in the series and we are very
proud to see the series continued. Can't wait for #4.
Fire Logic
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780812566536
Earth Logic
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780765348388
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Ok. So, Stephen King (great writer and no doubt a lovely guy) and
some others (do they read A Public Space? Strange Horizons?) think
that the short story is up the creek. We beg to differ.
We recommend that anyone who feels the story is D.E.A.D. give The
Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet a shot. This anthology has
a ton of new writers who are quite happy to stretch the format, remix
it, go with the historical view, or just ignore everything that's
come before.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/thebestof.htmhttp://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?
partner_id=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345499131
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John Kessel's new collection is going to the galley printer so will
be zooming out to the reviewers of the world in a couple of weeks.
We're printing a short hardcover run and the usual good amount of
paperbacks (enough for John to upgrade his jetpack) so if you want a
hardcover, maybe go reserve one here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
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Recent Reading:
We are a little buried in Year's Best reading but here are a few
things from the other stacks.
Doug Lain and M.K. Hobson have (re)started Diet Soap: http://
www.dietsoap.org/
Microcosm have a new issue of Doris: http://
www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2079/
Very much worth ordering (for $1!) is the You Can Work Any 100 Hours
Per Week You Want (In Your Underwear)!! Zine
http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/1702/
Whores of Mensa #2 by Ellen Lindner, Mardou, & Jeremy Dennis
http://usscatastrophe.com/store/mensa.html
Alex Holden's Magic Hour: http://poopsheet.ecrater.com/category.php?
cid=206926
Sarah Becan's Monkeynauts (and a link to her site): http://
usscatastrophe.com/store/monkeynauts.html
Alex Robinson's Lower Regions is something completely unexpected and
brilliant from one of our fave comic book writers -- if you haven't
read Box Office Poison put this on your reading list now:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781891830198
Lower Regions is a wordless comic inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and
just hilarious -- and, of course, is more than that:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=596
Also, Top Shelf (like everyone else in the world!) is having a
seasonal sale -- free samplers abound:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?section=specialdealshttp://www.bloodshotrecords.com/http://payseurandschmidt.com/catalog.shtmlhttps://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/ (apparently -- horrid non-
navigable (but pretty...) Flash site)
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At last The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier is
out (we found it at Newbury Comics http://www.newburycomics.com) from
Alan Moore and compatriots. Physically it's a thing of wonder --
inserts, different paper stocks and page designs for different
sections (there are some weird long lines that aren't the easiest
thing in the world to read) and 3D glasses.
Moore's obsessions kind of get the better of the story but if you
believe the getting there is the more interesting part, you'll love it.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781401203061
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A couple of months ago we were Very Happy to receive an advance copy
of Eric Felten's How's Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art
of Drinking Well.
This is a book we've been waiting years for! Felten writes a column
about drinks (and drinking, famous and infamous old drunks, &c.) in
the Wall Street Journal and it's worth buying the paper just for it.
We've tried more than a few of the cocktails in this book, but the
real pleasure is in Felten's writing. He goes for the stories behind
the drinks, tracks down cocktail inventors, and makes drinking fun
instead of a challenge. Buy two: one to read and one you don't mind
getting splashed with simple syrup.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781572840898
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More music than books: certain people would like to point you to the
new Magnetic Fields album coming in January and a tour:
http://houseoftomorrow.com/archives/000057.phphttp://www.houseoftomorrow.com/calendar.php
Also with the new album (missed the tour, darn it) are the Squirrel
Nut Zippers. Hope it's as fun as it used to be:
http://www.snzippers.com
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less and less and less -- in dollars
Yes, the dollar is in the whole. Time we all moved to Canada,
Australia (maybe we will just stay there in Jan. '09 when we go to
teach Clarion South), Europe, Japan, Somewhere.
Anyway, secret sale for readers anywhere in this world -- as long as
you use the shipping button:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#shipping
We recommend that readers on other worlds buy our books on Fictionwise.
1) order any two books by December 20, 2007.
2) tell us in the comment field which other title (book, zine,
chapbook @ the same price or less) you would like Free.
3) we mail them to you.
4) we are all happy.
And: due to the snow and the upcoming KGB Reading (Matt Cheney!) and
this Thanksgiving holiday day thing we may be a bit slow but we will
Work Hard to Send Out Your Stuff ASAP.
Remember books are shipped Media Mail (which will get slower as the
holidays approach) unless you upgrade to Priority Mail
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
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Lastly: if you are living in the decadent west and have decided you
have too many tchotchkes (although can one ever have enough books?)
please consider gifts in your name instead of another crappy piece of
made-by-slaves plastic crap:
http://www.heifer.orghttp://www.pih.orghttp://www.habitat.orghttp://www.amnesty.org
For one more week you can get one of these:
http://www.laptopgiving.org
or try shopping somewhere like this: http://veganstore.com
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Our interns have been busy recently. You can follow Michael's
Literary Beer (and Cider) progress here: http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?
cat=44
And here's something from our other intern, Margaret Kinney:
It is holiday time. People will be telling you that you, that we,
have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. They may mean Jesus, or
pure giving or love, or something vague like that. Nowadays, they
will also be telling you that, by forgetting this meaning and
engaging instead in an orgy of materialism, you are destroying the
environment and contributing to our wasteful, consumerist culture.
But more people will be telling you that Christmas is a time for
giving, abundant giving, and that you need to come to their store and
spend, spend, spend on whatever it is that will assuredly make you
and everyone you love so happy. And I believe them. And so do you.
And we will buy things and wrap them in wasteful, shiny papers, and
set them in heaps until we unwrap them together and glow with
happiness just like the ads promised. Those naysayers above offer
various reasons for this; we are sinful, greedy, taken in by modern
temptations, we are shortsighted, our culture is irredeemably
materialistic. Yes, probably. But maybe there is something else.
Evolutionary psychology is a relatively recent and still not widely
accepted branch of study. It holds that evolutionary pressures have
shaped our minds as well as our bodies, which doesn’t seem too
controversial by itself. But it becomes offensive to many of those
who have heard of it at all, when it intrudes too far into the mind
and explains away a rather stunning array of behavior. Mind-body
split, Descartes and all that. In any case, the basis of much of our
human behavior, according to the theory, is reciprocal altruism, the
basis of that kin selection. The latter meaning you will help those
who share your genes, even at great personal expense, the former that
you will help non-relatives with the expectation that they will pay
you back eventually. Thus love is really just concern for your genes,
acts of love really acts on their behalf. The mother sacrificing
herself for kids who share half her genes, etc. Altruism is disguised
self-interest. And so on. It’s all very complicated. Many seemingly
ephemeral aspects of human nature can be elucidated by this theory.
But people are resistant to it, sometimes hugely. An anthropologist
once attempted to refute the whole of it by telling me about her
friend who said he secretly loved his adopted child more than his
biological one. Anthropologists generally abhor evolutionary
psychology, I think, because it takes the emphasis off of cultural
explanations. Culture being what they study. Others simply shy away
from such concrete explanation for sacred, special phenomena like
love. Doubtless culture and consciousness have a huge effect on every
aspect of our behavior, and mitigate many instincts. But it seems
extreme to deny any non-cultural explanations, or even to deny a
large role to the millions of years of shaping that our brains have
undergone.
So maybe it’s not nonsense, and maybe not really that offensive. For
example, Christmas. Sure it’s largely a cultural product, dependent
on tradition and our modern consumerism. And Christmas feelings are
far from scheming. But part of the reason that the whole Christmas
ritual, in its modern, not terribly Jesus-centric way, remains so
powerfully satisfying and alluring, may be that it appeals to a deep-
seated instinct in us. What is it, really, after all, but a very
pure, artificial enactment of kin selection and reciprocal altruism?
I give you a gift, you give me one, we are beholden to each other.
The more we give the better, the more beholden. We are connected. In
one of the most basic human ways. Yes? Why shouldn’t our lizard
brains be thinking such things, even as our consciousnesses are taken
up by tingly satisfaction and fellow-feeling? Maybe, the more we
understand this aspect of our feelings, the better we can control
them, the better we can restrain ourselves and pacify all those
annoying, if correct, doomsday environmentalists and anti-
materialists. Who knows? Thoughts?
http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=325
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We have moved. Maybe you know this? Here is the new address again,
just in case:
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
Wonder what we forgot?
More maunderings here: http://lcrw.net/wordpress/
Thanks for reading.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
A real sale this time.
http://lcrw.net/special.htm#shipping
It's Yet Another Sale! Happens Once a Year. Ends December 24!
No, wait. Say someone gives you $$$ for Xmas or whatever and you
(sensibly) want to Buy These Books! Ok. Now this sale runs until
December 31st, 2007 and no later.
We Are Meeting Everyone Else's Prices! Except Those People Who Live
in the Middle of Nowhere and List Books for 1 penny. How Can They Do
That? Anyway, There Are Tons of Deals! We Are Pretending We Are Crazy
Used-Car Salesmen Shouting About Crazy Low Prices. (Our throats are
getting sore.)
All Books Come with Meaningless 100,000-Mile Invisible Warranty! All
Books Printed on Paper! Guaranteed to Be Printed with Ink! Guaranteed
to Be Books!
Please Read This About Shipping:
-- Books ship December 6th.
-- To arrive for the holidays: please order Priority Mail Shipping
http://lcrw.net/special.htm#shipping
-- Books shipped by Media Mail will probably not arrive before the
holidays.
-- International shipping.
http://lcrw.net/special.htm#shipping
-- Permanent remainder sale here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping5.htm
Here it is! Please spread the word far and wide!
http://lcrw.net/special.htm#shipping
Cheers!
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Updates on things that are being done, not done, Getting It Done,
undone, not particularly Lifehacked, coated in sticky toffee, and
otherwise somewhat interesting if you have a minute.
As well as a note on an event or two.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Don't order any books until you've read the full thing through. Nope,
there's nae mair sales but there's a freebie of a weird nature. Then:
go wild. Order them all. Make us work shipping out parcel after
parcel (like the sale: awesome, thanks!).
Make us work and maybe we will stop playing videogames....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We are afraid that below this line you, being the smart person we
know* and respect**, will in fact be knowing everything we will be
writing about. Radioshift. Do you use, it? Love it? Hate it? Snow
shovelling technique. Got any secrets?
We hope you will not find it boring. And if you do, could you film
yourself lip-synching along to The Pierces' "Boring" and post it on
YouTube?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXbk3OL-t-s
More hilarious in storytelling: "Sticks and Stones"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAU2Pf78fXE&feature=related
* Unlikely.
** You read books? You not only have our respect, you have our
admiration!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Happy New Year, Gregorians. Welcome to the last year of the G.W. Bush
disaster (satirically known as a presidency) and the first year where
we will publish a book by John Kessel. Maybe there will be more years
like this. Maybe John will send us a novel. Who knows! We have just
made an offer on another book and we have a contract out (heh) on
another and should we get it together soon we will send out a
contract on another. Soon we will have 100 books a year on our list
and even Andy Hatchell will not be able to keep up!
Pre-ordering John's collection (or our August title, Ben Rosenbaum's
The Ant King and Other Stories) will definitely increase our ability
to pay for their printing and many other good things, of course.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here are some updates on what's going on:
Handbasket: We are no longer weaving our Small Beery Basket. We hope
those that ordered them before Xmas received them (sorry about the
delay due to the post office, RSI, and a small disaster on the
weaving floor concerning a bucket of paint, a donkey, and a city
inspector. The fix there was not cheap so we have put a hold on the
baskets for now.
Mugs: We are still working with a potter on this. There is a design,
there are mock-ups, there is a kiln. Said kiln has not been fired.
HTML: Maybe we will have a site update. We haven't gotten back to a
lovely guy who might help out. Sorry! There's a small update to our
main page which we like: http://lcrw.net
Zine: LCRW is now akin to light. It can be gotten as a bunch of
electrons and/or a paperback.
Electronica:
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook52982.htm
The perfect(bound) version can be seen here:
Exterior: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcrw/2175913417/
Interior: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcrw/2175913323/
and ordered here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1466042
Exciting, ne? Well, except for the person who rated LCRW 21 "Ok" on
Fictionwise. Oh well. Fortunately we just received word of a (mostly,
there's always something) great review on the revitalized The Fix site:
http://thefix-online.com/reviews/lcrw-21/
Here's the regular site (which has a lovely Google map of where LCRW
can be found) and the place of subscriptions:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/index.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm
The Zine Book: Gosh, that was fun. Still flying off the shelves in a
way that makes us wonder if people realize there is not actually a
free Churchill with every copy.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/thebestof.htmhttp://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_link_gavin_wristlet.htmlhttp://www.sfsite.com/01a/lc263.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0345499131
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There is an awesome article about Liz Hand and other authors with
tattoos on ABE:
http://www.abebooks.com/docs/Community/Featured/author-tattoos.shtml
Generation Loss was on a bunch of reader's best of '07 lists (and the
Washington Post [below]) which was great to see. We tried entering it
for the Edgars and failed because we have not been averaging five
books a year. Darn the technicalities! Page Six will not be covering
this boondoggle.
"Although it moves like a thriller, it detonates with greater
resound. A dark and beautiful novel."
—Washington Post Best Books of 2007
There's an interview with Liz in Locus and part of it can be read here:
http://www.locusmag.com/2007/Issue12_Hand.html
Read more about the book:
http://lcrw.net/hand/
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Wired ran another piece on alt. reality games and mentioned Sean
Stewart among others. In fact Small Beer Press is actually a part of
an ARG which is still to run. You'd be amazed how far in advance
these people seed stuff. MP3 players in concert bathrooms? That's
nothing. How about a failed Texas oilman as president? No, can't
blame them. Anyway, nothing's ever going to be quite as it seems
again now that reality's the plaything:
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_args?p1
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Interstitial Arts Foundation is keeping busy. They had a fun
online salon in December (which you can catch up on here: http://
p081.ezboard.com/finterstitialartsfrm2.showMessage?topicID=323.topic)
and they're on a membership drive for the new year with completely
redesigned website (nice job Stephen!):
http://www.interstitialarts.org/wordpress/
Rambles posted a strong review of the IAF's anthology:
"The stories themselves are generally superb -- from the first,
Christopher Barzak's subliminally scary "What We Know About the Lost
Families of ----- House," to the last, Catherynne M. Valente's poetic
but distanced "A Dirge for Prester John" -- to the extent that most
of the works presented could be noted as stand-outs."
http://www.rambles.net/sherman_interficts07.htmlhttp://lcrw.net/iaf/index.htm
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
John Crowley's Aegypt books keep finding new readers (and we're not
just talking about Christopher Rowe: http://
christopherrowe.typepad.com/uncommonwealth/2007/11/holy-crap.html).
Michael Dirda wrote about the series for the American Scholar, and it
is lovely to be able to point to something like that online:
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/wi08/crowley-dirda.html
Endless Things hit a couple of best of the year lists:
"A work of great erudition and deep humanity."
—Washington Post Best Books of 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/features/2007/
holiday-guide/gifts/book-world-holiday-issue/index.html
"An unpredictable, free-flowing, sui generis novel."
—LA Times Favorite SciFi Books of 2007
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bk-
park9dec09,0,1253262.story?coll=la-books-center
and received a lovely encomium from Matt Ruff: "This year, while
millions of Harry Potter fans celebrated and mourned the end of their
favorite series, a much smaller but no less devoted group of readers
marked another literary milestone: the publication of the last book
in John Crowley's Aegypt Cycle."
http://www.themillionsblog.com/2007/12/year-in-reading-matt-ruff.html
The first book in the series, The Solitudes, is doing quite nicely in
paperback and the second, Love & Sleep, comes out at the end of the
month. John recently posted his (hilarious) thoughts on the cover on
his livejournal (cough).
http://crowleycrow.livejournal.com/75720.html
Here are links to the books. Yes, they are to Powell's. Yes, we love
the efficiency and depth of Amazon and by golly do they sell books.
But there's no Amazon bookshop (until they buy B&N or Borders) so
until then we delight in sending you to the lovely peeps at Powell's.
And, yes, we get a cut which basically pays for our webhosting, yay!
The Solitudes
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1585679860
Love & Sleep
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1585679860
Endless Things
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1585679860
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here is the rail trail behind our office. How awesome it is, how
awesome:
http://manhanrailtrail.org/
If you like the small comics and zines and things there is a sale at
Poopsheet. Some of the stuff is 40% off, everything is at 15% off
until Jan. 31st:
http://shop.poopsheetfoundation.com - 15%
There is a weird science fiction story in the new issue of the
Virginia Quarterly Review. Jedediah Berry has a just plain weird
story and great story in the latest issue of the Chicago Review.
All these reviews! Just read the first issue of a new poetry and art
review, Cave Wall, from Greensboro, NC. If you liked Sunshine Ison's
poetry from LCRW (or the Best of LCRW), you can find more here. Also
Fred Chappell and some other recognizable names. For the most part
it's narrative poetry, not too weird.
http://www.cavewallpress.com/index.html
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kelly Link has a busy spring coming up (before Pretty Monsters comes
out in autumn). She's teaching a class at Smith College here in
Northampton and one for the MFA program at Columbia University in New
York. She also has a couple of students from Stone Coast MFA program.
This summer she is teaching the Taos Toolbox and Clarion Diego.
Here are some dates (our Google calendar has most of these)
including a local event which we're looking forward to in a couple of
weeks (no, she is not opening for Neko Case on 2/2, but we will be
leaving AWP as soon as we can to make sure we make it there!):
1/26, 7 pm - 11 pm, $10
Essentials Books Out Loud Dance Party
American Legion Post 271, 126 Russell St., Hadley, MA 01035
John Hodgman, Thurston Moore DJing, Rachel Sherman, Kelly Link, Ed
Skoog, Who Shot Hollywood.
More info on the organiser: http://www.shopessentials.net/eshop/http://www.shopessentials.net/eshop/index.php?
main_page=product_info&cPath=126&products_id=861
class visit, Holy Cross, Worcester, 2/13
publishing conference, U.Georgia, Feb.21-24
reading, Athens, GA, 2/25
reading, Brooklyn, 3/6
Minnesota class visit 3/24 (with Alan DeNiro)
Writer's Festival, University of Cincinnatti, 4/9-11
http://www.taostoolbox.com/http://clarion.ucsd.edu/http://www.usm.maine.edu/stonecoastmfa/
In November (so fast, so fast it goes) was an interview in Locus:
http://www.locusmag.com/2007/Issue11_Link.html
and Kelly received an amazing shout out in the LA Times (ok, maybe
that's not the right term):
http://www.calendarlive.com/books/la-ca-
booksfaces30dec30,0,959989.story?coll=cl-books-features
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We're getting ready for the day paper is no longer a viable option so
Kelly's books (and a lot of our other titles, 21 altogether when
everything goes live in a couple of weeks) are available to be read
on Google Books. Email them to your friends! We've been adding basic
search boxes to the book pages (again: some of the books aren't live
yet) to our site and will be making them prettier at some point.
Google will eventually just buy us and we will publish books
directly through their search engine. Really.
http://books.google.com/books?q=%22small+beer+press%
22&lr=&sa=N&start=10
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Our new(ish) office address is below for submissions, cheques,
presents, etc. We can probably sell you books from here, just call
ahead and expect to get about 5 minutes before we get distracted by
something Shiny.
Other places we will be found: Vericon, Boskone, AWP, Philadelphia
Book Festival, WisCon, Readercon. And that's as far ahead as it goes
right now. Ok, the Brooklyn Book Festival. But, really, that's it.
Ok, ok. The bar, we will be found at the bar. You're right.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Free ... Thing!
First person to order a book and request it wins the one and only
completely unique rather odd 2008 Small Beer Press planner. This is a
sample from a printer which we think is groovy but doubt we are going
to use. Anyone? Here's a picture of it (standing in front of one of
our fave new things -- even if it is mostly unused):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcrw/2176682854/http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
--
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Somthing
Somthing more
Something spelled correctly
Some books we liked
Neighbots
This is not in order
How about you?
Sleepy yet? Wake up! For you it's Tuesday.
What to do at 1.25 AM when sleep has gone the way of all flesh and
sense has gone for a walk with a slightly weird and unsatisfying
metaphor. What? What to do? Tell everyone you know in the form of a
newsletter.
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Not bath time: Tea Time
Last year we published Laurie J. Marks's third Elemental Logic novel,
Water Logic, which is part of one of the best big fantasy series
going. There's nothing out there quite like these books. The
protagonists are all smart people (which makes what they choose to or
have to do all the harder) caught up in events larger than themselves.
One of the arguments against magic in fantasy is that it can
sometimes seem as easy to use as a credit card. Your questing group
have met a huge hungry troll at the top of the pass? Swipe your card
and troll disappears.
Marks's books look at what happens when one person is very powerful
and what happens when power changes hands -- specifically, can it be
done peacefully? These are thought-provoking books for people
watching and/or taking part in the US elections or for those who have
been horrified by the last 5-6 years in Iraq and Afghanistan (to
start with). These are for readers who aren't afraid of exploring
that most dangerous and painful idea: hope.
http://lcrw.net/marks/http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520232http://lauriejmarks.com/books/water-logic-excerpt.html
If you haven't read any of these books, they are part of a 4 book
series, Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. The first two books are
available in hardcover and mass market paperback. Laurie is presently
working on Air Logic.
Fire Logic
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780812566536
Earth Logic
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780765348388
At some point on our journal-y thing we also offered some lovely tins
of tea that we had made to go with Water Logic (get it, water?) to
people who reviewed the book on their blog, in a zine, or on TV. Send
us your Youtube links, reviews, etc., and we will happily send you
some tea.
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
First (well, after Laurie): we are supporting the writers' strike so
hard that we have given up writing and we are using our mental powers
to make you think that you are receiving an actual email but actually
this is a Thought Projection Communication which we sent well before
the strike.
You did know the TV writers (not the LCRW or Small Beer writers, as
far as we know) are on strike, right?
Anyway, if there are any labor unions with power left in the USA,
surely they are the TV unions? Don't mess with our opiates!
Despite this being a Mental Communique and not an email all these
links to buy books will still work. Such as this one which is for
John Kessel's first short fiction collection in ten years, The Baum
Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520508http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htmhttp://broadside.booksense.com/NASApp/store/Product?
s=showproduct&isbn=9781931520508
More about John's book will be mentally sent your way in the run-up
to the pub date (which is not the date(s) we go to the pub) but
rather the date the world will be amazed and filled with joy to once
again look upon a John Kessel book. You can catch up with John at a
few readings this spring and summer:
4/16, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC
4/22, Regulator Bookstore, Durham, NC
5/14*, Malaprops, Asheville, NC
5/15*, Park Road Books, Charlotte, NC
7/16, KGB Bar, New York City (with JoSelle Vanderhooft
7/17–20 Readercon, Boston, MA
—and more to come in Buffalo, NY; Madison, WI; Boston, MA; Amherst,
MA, Denver, CO, etc. Some of those are conventions, some readings.
John is an awesome reader so we hope you'll get to go out and see
him. He's also recorded the title story which will be online at some
point and maybe we will get an interview up on Youtube. We've done an
interview and put together a reading group guide for the book—what do
you think, should we include it in the book or just put it online?
* These readings are with Greg Frost, another writer whose readings
are always a blast. His latest novel, Shadowbridge, is a highly
entertaining, sometimes dark story of a young woman who is perhaps
the shadow puppeteer alive. Of course, there are complications!
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780345497581
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Autumn
There's nothing like thinking about autumn and falling leaves (we
understand that for reasons of upsidedownedness this might be easier
for our Very Southern friends) while the snow outside has not melted
in the past month or so. What will we be doing in autumn?
We will be publishing new books! We are in the process of signing
contracts on four books. Will have to send out some actual info on
that (and put up the pre-order page!) when those come in. They
stretch out from September to next April.
If you go to AWP this weekend coming in NYC, we may tell you more
(and swear you to secrecy before giving you our flier!).
Ok, so that wasn't as much info as we hoped it would be. Oops. Next
time.
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Our neighbors in the Paragon Arts building in Easthampton get more
and more interesting! Here are a few:
—Theo Black (http://www.theblackarts.com) who sent us an amazing logo
idea: http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=348
—Spooky Bikes, want a handmade frame? http://www.spookybikes.com
—Questionable Content, new comics every day, and some Very Smart
shirts: http://questionablecontent.net
—http://www.greasecar.com, wave of the future where we all eat our
chips and then drive on the oil
—and apparently there's someone moving in who is experimenting with
making biofuel out of hydroponically-grown algae!
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Other readings and so on are on our calendar (which is also on our
front page and on our journaly page) including 2 upcoming readings by
Carol Emshwiller (yay!) in New York. Carol has been a fave of ours
for longer than ants have had legs. Go see her read, or just read one
of her books, and see why.
The Secret City:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781892391445
The Calendar:
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm
Hmm. More about AWP from our journaly thing:
http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=350
We’ll be at the Associated Writing Programs Conference and Bookfair
Thursday to Saturday (Hilton NY & Sheraton NY, 6th Ave. and 53rd
St.). We're taking boxes of returns (most like-new condition) and
selling them at 1/2 price. Whoopee!
— Fri., Feb 1, 10:30 AM — “Reeling Beyond Realism: But to Reel in What?”
Kate Bernheimer, Rikki Ducornet, Brian Evenson, Theodora Goss, Kelly
Link, Ken Keegan (moderator)
Sheraton, Lower Level, Executive Conference Center, Rm D
—Fri., Feb 1, 2:30 PM — Kelly Link signing at the Best American
Fantasy table.
—Sat, Feb 2, 11 AM — Delia Sherman & Theodora Goss sign copies of
Interfictions,
Small Beer Press
Americas Hall 1, Exhibit Hall, 3rd floor, Hilton
—Sat, Feb 2, 2.30 PM — Kelly Link signing
Small Beer Press
Americas Hall 1, Exhibit Hall, 3rd floor, Hilton
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Ok, so there's not much about our upcoming books. How about some others.
Do you like the sci-fi stuff? Iain M. Banks's Matter is probably for
you and should be on all the award ballots next year. You know,
Nebula, Pulitzer, that sort of thing. It's quite stunning how tightly
and widely Banks manages to tell his story of three siblings quite
different interactions with the Culture and the power structures of
their own country. Best SF novel since the last Ian McDonald novel.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780316005364
In fantasy, The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick is lots of fun.
Parts of the novel have been appearing in Asimov's and other places
(i.e. The Year's Best) for the past couple of years and it is very
satisfying to see them all tied together at last.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0765319500
What else? Here are LCRW HQ we have mostly been reading 6-month old
submissions (sorry about that, if we still have it and it's that old
it means it's in the "we like this but we're not sure how much" box)
and the neverending stuff for Year's Best. As ever, we're always
looking for recommendations!
The most recent edition, the 20th(!), came out recently and can be
picked up in all 1.44 pounds of it's glory from Powell's:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780312369422
And here's another anthology, dum de dum:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780345499134
And of course, we make books and sell them here (we are Sullivan-
nodding right now):
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
-- bath time -- bath time -- bath time -- bath time --
Good night!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hello chaps and chapetters,
April 15th is not a great day, really. Except it is publication day
for John Kessel's new collection The Baum Plan for Financial
Independence and Other Stories and you can download it for free. Not
bad!
Here's the short form—more links and so on below:
http://lcrw.net/kessel/http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=388
Please do pass the word along and enjoy the book. More from us soon
with further plans to send more great books out into The World.
------------------------------
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Mail order: http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/ordersheet.htm
Buy ebook: http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook65812.htm?cache
Hardcover:
Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520515
Locally: http://www.booksense.com/product/info.jsp?
isbn=9781931520515&affiliateID=beer&assignStoreNear=01060%20
Trade paperback:
Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520508
Locally: http://www.booksense.com/product/info.jsp?
isbn=9781931520508&affiliateID=beer&assignStoreNear=01060%20
------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2008
Today, April 15, 2008, is tax day in the USA and we all need cheering
up. We’re celebrating at Small Beer Press by publishing John Kessel’s
first collection of short stories in ten years, The Baum Plan for
Financial Independence and Other Stories, as well as releasing it as
a free download in a number of completely open formats—with, of
course, no Digital Rights Management (DRM).
The Baum Plan includes Kessel’s Tiptree Award winning “Stories for
Men” (gender inequality meet Fight Club . . . on the moon), “Pride
and Prometheus,” a mashup of Frankenstein and Jane Austen, and
“Powerless,” an amazing mix of pulp fictions, paranoia, and academia.
The Baum Plan is licensed under a Creative Commons (Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license allowing readers to share the
stories with friends and generally have at them in any remixing/
interpretation/Web 2.0 huddly-cuddly noncommercial manner. The
collection is provided in these formats: low-res PDF, HTML, RTF, and
text file. We encourage any and all conversions into other formats.
John Kessel is the co-director of the creative writing program at
North Carolina State University in Raleigh. A winner of the Nebula,
Sturgeon, Locus, and Tiptree Awards, his books include Good News from
Outer Space, Corrupting Dr. Nice, and The Pure Product. His story
collection, Meeting in Infinity, was a New York Times Notable Book of
1992. Most recently, with James Patrick Kelly he edited the
anthologies Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology and
Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology. He lives with his wife and
daughter in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Small Beer Press is an independent press based in Easthampton,
Massachusetts. Since its founding in 2000 in Brooklyn, Small Beer
Press has published Kelly Link’s collections Stranger Things Happen
(Salon Best Books of the Year) and Magic for Beginners (Time Magazine
Best Books of the Year); Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of Angélica
Gorodischer’s novel Kalpa Imperial; Carol Emshwiller’s The Mount
(Philip K. Dick Award winner); Sean Stewart’s Perfect Circle; Story
Prize Finalist Mothers & Other Monsters by Maureen F. McHugh, and
John Crowley’s Endless Things, among others. Small Beer also
publishes a small lit-zine, LCRW.
In July 2005 Small Beer Press released Kelly Link's first collection,
Stranger Things Happen, online under a Creative Commons license. It
has since been downloaded more than 50,000 times.
#30#
Get your copy here: http://lcrw.net/kessel/
------------------------------
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
You are the first to know.
Today we are releasing Maureen F. McHugh's collection Mothers and
Other Monsters for the second time. (Actually, the fifth: hardcover,
limited edition, paperback, ebook, and now this).
What is this? Today the book is being released free online under a
Creative Commons license. Yay!
Here's the short form—more links and so on below:
http://lcrw.net/mchugh/
Please do pass the word along. The further out these go (especially
from our site) the more chances there are of persuading other authors
of doing the same with their books.
http://lcrw.net/cc/
------------------------------
The paper edition is much nicer, although not free:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
Mail order: http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/ordersheet.htm
Buy ebook: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook33632.htm
Hardcover:
Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520135
Locally: http://www.booksense.com/product/info.jsp?
isbn=1931520135&affiliateID=beer&assignStoreNear=01060%20
Trade paperback:
Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520194
Locally: http://www.booksense.com/product/info.jsp?
isbn=1931520194&affiliateID=beer&assignStoreNear=01060%20
Limited edition:
http://lcrw.net/special/mchugh/index.htm
------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2008
Hot on the heels of last week's successful Creative Commons release
of John Kessel's collection The Baum Plan for Financial Independence
(which Entertainment Weekly gave an A- and called "A sustained
exploration of the ways gender dynamics can both empower and enslave
us") Small Beer Press is proud to announce their third title to be
released under a Creative Commons license, Maureen F. McHugh's
Mothers and other Monsters.
The thirteen stories in McHugh's "gorgeously crafted" (Nancy Pearl,
NPR, Morning Edition) collection include her her Hugo Award winner
"The Lincoln Train" as well as a reading group guide with an
interview, essay, and talking points.
Mothers and Other Monsters was a Story Prize finalist and a Book
Sense Notable Book.
Mothers and Other Monsters is licensed under a Creative Commons
(Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license allowing readers to
share the stories with friends and generally have at them. The
collection is provided in these formats: low-res PDF, HTML, RTF, and
text file. We encourage any and all conversions into other formats.
Maureen F. McHugh has spent most of her life in Ohio, but has lived
in New York City and, for a year, in Shijiazhuang, China. She is the
author of four novels. Her first novel, China Mountain Zhang, won the
Tiptree Award and her latest novel, Nekropolis, was a Book Sense pick
and a New York Times Editor's Choice. For the last couple of years
she has been writing Alternate Reality Games. McHugh lives in Austin,
Texas.
Small Beer Press is an independent press based in Easthampton,
Massachusetts. Since its founding in 2000 in Brooklyn, Small Beer
Press has published Kelly Link’s collections Stranger Things Happen
(Salon Best Books of the Year) and Magic for Beginners (Time Magazine
Best Books of the Year); Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of Angélica
Gorodischer’s novel Kalpa Imperial; Carol Emshwiller’s The Mount
(Philip K. Dick Award winner); Sean Stewart’s Perfect Circle; Story
Prize Finalist Mothers & Other Monsters by Maureen F. McHugh, and
John Crowley’s Endless Things, among others. Small Beer also
publishes a small lit-zine, LCRW.
Last week Small Beer Press released John Kessel's first collection in
a decade, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence, online under a
Creative Commons license. It has since been downloaded more than
5,000 times. It has also popped up on many social reading sites such
as Scribd, Teleread, Munseys, etc.
In July 2005 Small Beer Press released Kelly Link's first
collection, Stranger Things Happen, online under a Creative Commons
license. It has since been downloaded more than 50,000 times.
#30#
Get your copy here: http://lcrw.net/mchugh/
------------------------------
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Why Hello. Are you going to Los Angeles for Book Expo? Why, so are
we. We are in LA having been at WisCon (were you there? What a
different world it points to!).
And, we're going to have a little fun here. Later this year, we will
publish Benjamin Parzybok's debut novel, COUCH (http://
www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520542). On
Ben's website (http://ideacog.net) you'll see a link to Operation
Peachblow from something called the Black Magic Insurance Agency
(BMIA). And that's enough about that.
Perhaps coincidentally there will be a quick caper at Book Expo
involving some lovely people:
Tin House, Penguin, MacAdam/Cage, Agate, Baby Tattoo, No Voice
Unheard, Algonquin, McSweeney's, Gray Wolf Press, Drawn & Quarterly,
Rain Taxi, and your hosts, Small Beer Press.
The game runs on Saturday and Sunday (on Friday we have to set up the
cell phone for text messaging, etc.) at Small Beer Press booth (#2120).
More BookExpo Stuff:
FRIDAY
9-5 Booth 2120, galleys, books, Joan Aiken chapbook, catalog,
goodies, etc.
10:30 AM Ben Parzybok signs in the Debut Author signing group
1:00 PM Ben Parzybok signs at the Consortium signing booth
SATURDAY
9-5 Booth 2120, etc.
Caper!
6:00 PM Independent Press Party co-sponsored by Small Beer Press
(Figueroa Hotel, 939 S. Figueroa St., LA, CA 90015)
SUNDAY
9-5 Booth 2120, ETC!
Caper!
We encourage you to forward this to any booksellers
you know who are going to the convention:
---
Hey,
There's an underground game going to happen at on Saturday + Sunday at
BookExpo. Stop by Booth 2120 and they'll start you out on your way to
a pile of goodies that no one else will get!
---
More on the news front a bit after this. And that, which has been a
lot, really, is all for now.
--
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
This time with working links
A lie
A note to an LCRW subscriber
A note from Anna
Recently overheard: why to shop local
That zine
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Thanks for subscribing! We recently sent out LCRW 22 and included a
raffle ticket. Now we have picked a winning ticket, number 2970067.
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The title of this email is a complete fabrication. It is only an
unsubtle acknowledgment that while summer is rather gloriously
northern hemispherically here we are also working harder than the
rabbits who are eating our sunflowers on our autumn books. Bugs Bunny
showed us it is useless to fight rabbits. So we will pick fights we
might win. There is an election this year in the YouSA and we are
foolishly publishing a bunch of books that are complete fictions.
Some of these books are already showing up in the electrosphere.
We especially like this one, which is trying to stay anonymous for
the nonce: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520546
Here are the others (full of kings and Benjamins):
August
Benjamin Rosenbaum
The Ant King and Other Stories
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520522(hardcover)
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520539(paperback)
September
Geoff Ryman
The King's Last Song
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520560 (paperback)
October
Joan Aiken
The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520577 (hardcover)
November
Benjamin Parzybok
Couch: a novel
http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520546 (paperback)
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It's a bit cramped inside your computer. Can we get out now?
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A note to LCRW Subscriber #2970067
You’re a winner! We put little red tickets in to all the subscriber
copies (and to the lovely shops that carry LCRW!) of LCRW #22 that
just went out and randomly picked a winner who will receive galleys
of Ben Rosenbaum’s The Ant King and Other Stories and Kelly Link’s
Pretty Monsters. So if you received ticket 2970067, send us an email
with your address and these will be off to you!
We’ll give the winner a week to contact us. If this doesn’t work,
maybe next time we will tape the labels to the zine. Picking out a
random ticket was fun. Maybe we will pick some more next time.
Subscribe many times here: http://lcrw.net/lcrw/subscriptions.htm.
(Chocolate is still the most popular.)
Hello to new readers! Perhaps you are here because Jim Minz was kind
enough to buy The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet for Del
Rey. We had a ton of fun with that book. It started off twice the
size it ended up (11" x 17") but apparently literary anthologies are
easier for bookshops to stock (and for readers to hold) at 5.5" x 8.5".
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780345499134
This newsletter goes out at a maximum of once per month unless
something exciting (the first ripe tomato or a new organic dark
chocolate bar is spotted). This newsletter in other words has no
rhythm or frequency and is often both juvenile and delinquint (which
is five times as bad as delinquent).
Without readers such as Henry Spungle-Thwaite and his $1,000
purchase of the letter E for this newsletter, we would not be able to
provide such frequent, powerful, and juicy emails. We know not all of
our readers can afford such popular letters as the Spungle-Thwaites,
however, please consider supporting this email at the $1 a day level
and you can purchase the letters Q, U, I, T, N,O, and W.
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Ebooks: Some for free (see above), some on Fictionwise, a couple of
Mobipocket, even some on the Kindle. Are they selling? Enough that
we'll keep doing them, but so far readers like paper more than
electrons.
http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/smallbeerpresseBooks.htm?cachehttp://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#ebooks
One note: our titles sometimes appear as ebooks before the paper
edition.
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Subject: Newsletter Whatsit.
Date: June 25, 2008 6:00:32 PM EDT
Recently, I found myself in Western Massachusetts (as this area is
named on Craigslist.org) in a dilapidated ex-Victorian-esque mansion
which has been converted into small but suitably interesting
apartments. Why Western Mass? To come intern for Small Beer Press of
course! Why a Victorian Mansion? Cheapest thing of Craigslist! (Who
knew?)
In order to celebrate my Victorian-eqsue abode, I have decided to
share one of my favorite (non-dilapidated) Victorian-esque websites:
http://www.bloomers4u.com
During the Victorian era bloomers were generally worn in opposition to
mainstream, more restric tive clothing styles.
This website sells custom-made bloomers for the contemporary
woman (or
man) in a variety of lengths, sizes, fabrics, styles, and colors. You
can get them in silk, you can get them with bows, you can get them in
red, you can get them short-short, or you can get very traditional
no-nonsense cotton bloomers. Whatever your heart desires.
If you're wondering why you might want bloomers today (I know it
isn't
Halloween yet), let me assure you that they are incredibly
comfortable, great for pajamas, and a silly and wonderful garment to
have.
With much delight,
Anna the Brand New Intern
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Readings:
7/2, 7 PM: Kelly Link reads at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA
-- which is this Wednesday night.
7/16, 7 PM: John Kessel reads at the KGB Bar in NYC with JoSelle
Vanderhooft
7/17 - 20: John Kessel, Kelly Link, Delia Sherman, Theodora Goss,
Ellen Kushner, John Crowley, Greer Gilman, Elizabeth Hand, et al, at
Readercon in Burlington, MA
http://readercon.org/
-- Small Beer Press will have a table in the dealer's room along
with many interns and interesting Things!
-- We think Laurie J. Marks will be there, but have to check!
7/22, 7 PM: John Kessel and David J. Schwartz (Superpowers) read at
the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA
-- Check out another of our lovely local bookshops: http://
www.odysseybks.com/
-- http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0307394409
8/1, 7PM: Benjamin Rosenbaum reads Stacy's Coffee, 709 West Broad
St., Falls Church, Virginia 22046, (703) 538-6266
http://www.stacyscoffee.com/index.php?
option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=58&year=2008&month=08&day=01&Ite
mid=28
8/6 - 8/10: John Kessel and Benjamin Rosenbaum (and 5,000 others!)
are at the World Sci Fi Convention a mile up there in Denver, CO.
Subscribe to our readings calendar on Google:
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=qa0d2oe7mgfub6alg7moj4k2ts%
40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
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This email is Wordle free.
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Nic Clarke has an essay today on Naomi Mitchison on Strange Horizons
which includes a look at the "charming, subversive picaresque fantasy
Travel Light." Yes, we love this book and hope you will give it a shot.
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2008/06/an_experimental.shtmlhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520143http://www.lcrw.net/peapod/mitchison/index.htm
Also. Strange Horizons are having their annual barnraising fundraiser
community get together. We threw in some prizes for supporters and
think it's a great way for readers to get rid of some pesky monies.
http://www.strangehorizons.com/fund_drives/200806/main.shtml
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Recently overheard in a used bookshop that was closing:
"New bookshops can't compete with Amazon. I was at [redacted] and
they had this book I wanted* so I went home and ordered it on Amazon
for 30% off."
There was no knowledge or realization that this guy, whose bookshop
was closing due to rising rents, etc., had just shafted another local
bookseller! That 30% he "saved" (which didn't value his time very
highly as he had to go hom, look it up, order it, wait for it instead
of just buying the book) would have helped that bookshop stick
around, pays local people to sell books, pays taxes, contributes to
the community, etc. etc.
If the booksellers don't understand, who will?
At least the American Booksellers Association are giving it a shot
with their new program Indiebound.org which hopes to bring together
local businesses in a new alliance to promote each other rather than
big box stores. If you live in a rural area and a big box bookshop or
the internet is your only choice, c'est la vie. If you live in a town
or city, there will probably be one local bookshop which is a good
fit for you. Bike them all and pick one — or some! — and start
ordering through their web site if you want. Or, heck, go to Powell's.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520539
Here's a clip from Foreword This Week on indie business alliances.
The money part is in the 3rd para. Thought provoking for anyone with
an interest in keeping local businesses thriving:
“Booksellers were slightly ahead of the curve because they were
threatened very early by the chain stores,” said Steve Bercu, co-
owner of Bookpeople in Austin, Texas, and founder of the Austin
Independent Business Alliance. “It was easy for them to recognize and
understand it.”
When corporately owned pharmacies, coffee shops, toy stores, and
hardware stores began springing up, other local businesses took
notice as well. The alliances that were formed publish directories,
sponsor events, hang fliers, and promote member businesses in other
creative ways. Today, well-publicized studies conducted by these
alliances and national organizations, including ABA and the American
Independent Business Alliance, show that spending money at
independent businesses keeps more money in local communities.
Bercu told FTW about a study conducted several years ago on the last
Saturday in November. Austin residents spent $44 million that day. If
that money was spent entirely in national chain stores, Austin kept
only $5.85 million. If that $44 million was spent in independent
businesses, the community would keep $20.25 million. That $14 million
difference would have resulted from a “small change in behavior,”
Bercu said.
http://www.forewordmagazine.com/ftw/ftwarchives.aspx?id=20080604.htm
* Editorial note: Perhaps An Idiot's Guide to Closing Your Business.
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Free downloads
We've got a new page for all the Creative Commons-licensed downloads
on our site. So far there are 3 short story collections available
(and, of course, they're still available at your local bookshop),
Maureen F. McHugh's Mothers & Other Monsters, John Kessel's The Baum
Plan for Financial Independence, and Kelly Link's Stranger Things
Happen:
http://lcrw.net/cc/
Out there in the big wide world where there are more readers than
grains of rice (it's a big universe and apparently everyone out there
reads but rice is only native to Earth) there is much rejoicing at
the news that not only does Lew Shiner have a new novel out, Black &
White, he and Subterranean Press have released it under a Creative
Commons license on his Fiction Liberation Front. Go hence!
http://www.lewisshiner.com/liberation/index.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1596061715
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Here's where it all began and where it all keeps returning to, snake-
like, if you are a snake who is daft enough to bite your own tail:
L C R Q. (Um, it's it W?)
Now hear this: there is a new issue of the zine that brought Lady
Churchill to Massachusetts, Japan, Brooklyn, and then back to
Massachusetts. It is: Number 22.
http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw22.htm
There is a sad lack of Holly Black and M.T. Anderson stories in this.
(Try the Year's Best instead: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0312369425)
There are 60 pages of good stuff. One
copy was printed on gold leaves and buried in a blatant attempt to
copy The King's Last Song. Stories include stories are stories there
are stories these writers wrote stories whose stories are stories are
here: William Alexander, Charlie Anders, Becca De La Rosa, Kristine
Dikeman, Carol Emshwiller, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Maureen F. McHugh,
Jeremie McKnight, Mark Rigney, David J. Schwartz, Jodi Lynn Villers,
Caleb Wilson, Cara Spindler, and Miriam Allred,
There is also a poem from Eileen Gunn, advice from Dear Aunt Gwenda
and comix from Abby Denson and Michael DeLuca. Derek Ford provided
the cover art inspired by Jeremie McKnight's "The Camera & the Octopus."
As ever (until we update our website...), you can order it here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
At the moment all orders from our website come with a free chapbook
of an unpublished Joan Aiken Armitage story from our forthcoming
collection The Serial Garden.
alt.lcrw.reads: Fictionwise · A perfectbound paperback edition is
available at Lulu. Here's the direct link to 22 (and 21 before it).
http://fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook68013.htmhttp://www.lulu.com/sbp
22 http://www.lulu.com/content/2575651
21 http://www.lulu.com/content/1466042
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Summer recommendations:
—Barley Tea. Once more it's a little hot for the constant cups of hot
tea (even if they're still de rigeur a couple of times a day) so we
are now into* pitchers of barley tea. (Which was described as "bread
juice" this weekend.) It's refreshing, not sweet, and caffeeeeeeine
free (which can be a good thing).
http://www.nikkamarket.com/house-barley-tea-bags--caffeine-free.html
* just up to our knees.
—Just in case it's all about zines for you: Xerography Debt has a new
blog thing with reviews, hot hot tips, &c.
http://xerographydebt.blogspot.com/
—Dengue Fever have a new CD out and are on tour.
http://www.myspace.com/denguefevermusic
—Triple Canopy have a speech up by Roberto Bolano that's never been
translated before.
http://canopycanopycanopy.com/2/the_caracas_speech
***********8888888**************8888888888***************88888888888****
*********
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
New Books: Here
Blueberries
Makings for Brooklyn
A Move to the Happy Valley
New Books: Not Here Yet
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Books and Blueberries are two great things best kept apart.
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New Books: Here
The first one is The Ant King and Other Stories by Benjamin
Rosenbaum: this is an incredible, wide-ranging collection of stories
that range from Babar (yes, Babar) to the far future to horny
woodpeckers to world-ruling fruit. There's weirdness and joy and
challenging ideas all in one. This is a real brain-stretcher with
some of the best science fiction and fantasy of recent years. Reviews
have been strong (* "Give him some prizes, like, perhaps, "best first
collection" for this book."—Booklist, starred review) and more are
coming (Washington Post, Realms of Fantasy—which shows the breadth
of interest in this book).
We published this in both paperback and hardcover (as well as, with
Ben's permission) releasing it online under the Creative Commons so
that readers can choose the format that best suits them. We still
have hardcovers but don't expect them to last long:
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#antking_hchttp://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#antking_pbhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520539http://lcrw.net/cc/index.htm#rosenbaum1http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2008/06/feature-interview-with-
benjamin.html

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It's gorgeous here in the Happy Valley (no, really, that's what it's
known as) and we are in the midst of fruit picking, putting up, and
so on. WE have made some books, too. Some of them more last minute
than others. And our hero is Andi Watson, as you will soon see.
First: blueberries. If you are anywhere in the northeast, there's
still (perhaps) time to go pick some. If you are near the Happy
Valley, we very much recommended Bird Haven Blueberry Farm in
Southampton -- we not only picked 10 pounds, we also picked up a
rhubarb (mmm!) and strawberry pie (vegan, of course, who would put
horses hooves in pie??), and some peach jam to see if we liked that
(more on the whys of that soon).
Bird Haven is just a beautiful place. We picked berries there last
year as well. This year we picked enough to freeze so that there will
be blueberry pancakes all winter. (Maybe enough to make juice, but
they are so good by themselves, maybe, maybe not.)
Today's pancakes were an experiment: Williams-Sonoma's oatmeal
pancake mix with the handpicked blueberries and local maple syrup
(we'll make that next year!). The idea being that if the mix were any
good then we'd go ahead and add pulverized oats to our regular
pancake batter. And the results are in: the jury gives a big Yay! So,
next time on Small Beer for Breakfast, we'll be testing oatmeal and
pancake recipes. (Experimenting with breakfast seems a bit dangerous!)
Also: Bird Haven has at least one more weekend of blueberries left.
If you can go, don't miss out: http://www.birdhavenblueberry.info/
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Next up Small Beery Bookwise is Geoff Ryman's novel The King's Last
Song which should just now be reaching bookshops (Powell's already
has it in stock, yay!). Geoff, a Canadian who lives in England, is
teaching this semester at UC San Diego so he will be doing a couple
of West Coast readings later this autumn. His readings are something
to behold. We may be able to post a couple of them online, we'll let
you know.
Ryman's first book based on events in Cambodia was published in
1985, the award-winning The Unconquered Country. The King’s Last
Song was inspired by a visit to an Australian archaeological dig at
Angkor Wat in 2000. He has been a regular visitor since, teaching
writing workshops in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap twice, and publishing
three further novellas set in Cambodia. In Britain he produced
documentaries for Resonance FM, London, on Cambodian Arts.
The King's Last Song is a huge and engrossing novel which follows
two stories which somewhat intertwine: a 12th century story of a king
who brings the country together and a story set in 2004 in which the
biographical tale of the 12th century king is discovered written on
gold leaves. The gold leaves are stolen—and the archaeologist who
discovered them is kidnapped along with them—and two of his friends
set out to find him.
This isn't a tourist's guide to Cambodia, but it is an insight into
a country and culture which is rarely written about in the west. We
leapt at the chance to publish this book and hope that it finds the
wide readership it deserves.
* "An unforgettably vivid portrait of Cambodian culture past and
present."—Booklist (starred review)
"Ryman's knack for depicting characters; his ability to tell
multiple, interrelated stories; and his knowledge of Cambodian
history create a rich narrative that looks at Cambodia's "killing
fields" both recent and ancient and Buddhist belief with its desire
for transcendence."—Library Journal
http://lcrw.net/ryman/http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#kingshttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520560

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Kelly is making buttons (and more) for the Brooklyn Book Festival. We
will be Table No. 40 (see our calendar for more info on this and
other upcoming readings):
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htmhttp://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/
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A Move to the Happy Valley
Danielle Baldassini, September 8, 2008
Moving from Bristol, RI to Northampton, MA is a bit like switching
from listening to monolithic radio music to an eclectic mix of fast-
paced punk, spicy salsa, tribal drums, and slow, dreamy electric
guitar. In my one week of living here, I have encountered dry hot sun
and torrential downpours, lonely streets asleep in late afternoon,
and the hustle and bustle nightlife of the living, breathing
downtown. Going to see the Silver Jews at the Iron Horse on Thursday
night proved a dazzling introduction to Northampton’s music scene.
David Berman’s soft, eerie voice has a resonating tone that lingered
with me like the hot sweat of the crowd long after I left the venue.
His duets with his wife Cassie have a harmonious balance, a delicate
weaving of soft, subtle melodies and sonorous bellows of honest
poetry. Their set list varied from upbeat, melodic songs to poignant
musings on love, loss, and beauty accompanied perfectly with
Cassie’s rhythmic bass, and a soft, consistent drumbeat. As I looked
around, I saw clearly that the performance inspired a range of
emotion, from the boy on my right eagerly bobbing his head, grinning
and singing along, to the girl on my left, head cocked slightly to
one side and eyes straight ahead, seeming to be looking not at the
band, but through them, to find something soft and soothing. As I
left the venue and walked through the warm late-summer night, I could
almost see what she was looking for.
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Sarah Palin: why won't you be interviewed? What? You never received
our email? Darn. Should try sending that again.
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Kelly Link has her first collection of young adult stories, Pretty
Monsters, coming out next month. We have 2 advance release copies to
give to readers (in North America, sorry!) who promise to review it
online. Emails to the usual address.
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Ebooks
We're on it. Well, mostly. There are even some available on that rare
beast, the Kindle. You can get your local library to buy them (from
Follett and other places) and 15 of our titles are available as DRM-
free PDF downloads here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#ebooks
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Andi Watson
We have two more books coming up, the first is the first of a new
imprint, the second is a debut novel. And Andi Watson contributed art
for both. Andi's site is here (http://andiwatson.biz), we recommend
Skeleton Key as a starter.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780943151120
If you have kids, he also has a lovely little series, Glister, for
all ages
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=158240853X
Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories
is at the printer
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520577
and Benjamin Parzybok's debut novel, Couch, heading there soon:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520546
More on these next time!
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htm
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Last note: Elizabeth Hand's Generation Loss is on sale for ten bucks!
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#genloss
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--
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hello campers:
Two mentions of the mighty Douglas Adams in one week is enough to get
us off our backsides (a lie) and writing a newsletter.
First The Guardian reports that Adams's widow, Jane Belson,
sanctioned a new Hitchhiker book said thing to be written by Eoin
Colfer. About a million people would have sent Ms. Belson $1 to not
sell this idea. Oh well, as Kurt Vonnegut said in Slaughterhouse Six,
so it went.
Oh wait, that one was by John Grisham. They all rather meld together
in one's muddy old brainpan.
The second Adams mention was a (happier to us) one in Publishers
Weekly's review of Benjamin Parzybok's novel Couch. Here's the full
review, although mention must needs be made that this book was being
edited up until last week so the reviewer was working from a previous
draftier draft:
"Parzybok's delightfully lighthearted writing successfully diverts
attention from the heavy-handed plot devices that threaten to
overwhelm this ambitious debut. An apartment flood destroys almost
everything owned by mismatched roommates Thom, Tree and Erik, leaving
only the handmade orange couch, which the landlord demands they
remove. Broke, jobless and now homeless, the roommates begin carrying
their couch through the streets of Portland, Ore., and quickly
discover two things: it might be magical, and Goodwill won't take it.
They reluctantly embark on a hapless quest to take the couch exactly
where it “wants to go.” Occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, the
enthusiastic prose carries readers through sporadic dark moments,
though it can't save a clunky finale that leaves too many unanswered
questions, including the survival of its heroes. Parzybok's quirky
humor recalls the flaws and successes of early Douglas Adams."
Here's the glossy (aka naughty?) version:
"Delightfully lighthearted writing. . . . Occasionally laugh-out-loud
funny, the enthusiastic prose carries readers through sporadic dark
moments . . . Parzybok’s quirky humor recalls the flaws and successes
of early Douglas Adams."
— Publishers Weekly
Or maybe for shortness's sake, just that last line?
There are quite a books of interest in this week's issue of PW, so
let's do the whole review then the possible blurb (prizes will be
given to us if we get this right):
The Love We Share Without Knowing, Christopher Barzak. Bantam, $12
paper (288p)
which is long-time LCRW contributor and eerily energetic fireball Mr.
Barzak's second novel (after the well-received One for Sorrow").
From: "Barzak's accomplished novel-in-stories dwells on people
dealing with life's sorrows through somewhat tenuous connections. Set
in Japan, the narratives focus on protagonists from the country and
travelers in search of a new life, as in “Realer Than You,” in which
16-year-old Elijah Fulton longs for his native America while
struggling to fit into his new surroundings outside of Tokyo. “The
Suicide Club” is made up of four young adults on the fringe of
Japanese society attempting to make sense of their lives, while
“Sleeping Beauties” concerns, albeit sappily, an American teacher and
his Japanese lover; the narrator loses his identity through total
immersion in his lover's life, yet it's the slow return to self that
is even more devastating. “If You Can Read This You're Too Close”
centers on a disillusioned, selfish young man whose life is changed
after a blind man sees him. Barzak's perceptive writing evinces the
fragile and overwhelming desire for meaning and love." (Nov.)
To: "Barzak's accomplished novel-in-stories . . . evinces the fragile
and overwhelming desire for meaning and love."
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780553385649
The Lone Star Stories Reader Edited by Eric T. Marin. LSS Press,
$13.95 paper (284p)
in which is found Gavin's story "Janet, Meet Bob" and 14 others:
From: "Marin selects 15 fantasy stories from the first 25 issues of
webzine Lone Star Stories, with moderate success. In Catherynne M.
Valente's stunning “Thread: A Triptych,” a fantastical mail-order
bride is brought to the “real” world, only to be cast aside. The
western meets dark fantasy in Martha Wells's standout “Wolf Night,”
when a group of people barricaded in a stockade are attacked by an
otherworldly creature. Other standouts include Ekaterina Sedia's “The
Disemboweler,” where a robot explores a world where little spirits
animate machines, and Sarah Monette's “A Night in Electric
Squidland,” where two queer psychic cops infiltrate an occult BDSM
nightclub. Most of the stories have a writer's-workshop sameness to
them that flattens their range, but the gems really shine." (Nov.)
http://www.lsspress.com/8201.htmlhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780981781907
To: "15 fantasy stories from the first 25 issues of webzine Lone Star
Stories . . . the gems really shine." (Nov.)
Magic to the Bone Devon Monk. Roc, $6.99 (368p)
which is the debut novel by Devon Monk who had a story back in LCRW #14:
From: "In this clever and compulsively readable debut, set in a
magical analog of Portland, Ore., Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, able to
trace a spell back to its caster. When a young boy is injured by a
spell, Allie tracks it back to her estranged father, Daniel, a
ruthless businessman who protests his innocence. Then someone
magically disguised as Allie kills Daniel. Allie and sexy corporate
operative Zayvion race against time to find the answers. Magic is
common in this alternate universe, but using it always incurs a
physical or mental cost, rendering it a commodity to be bought and
sold, used and abused. Allie's internal and external struggles are
brilliantly and tightly written, creating a multifaceted character
who will surprise, amuse, amaze and absorb readers." (Starred review)
To: "Brilliantly and tightly written, creating a multifaceted
character who will surprise, amuse, amaze and absorb
readers." (Starred review)
http://www.lcrw.net/issues/lcrw14.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780451462404
Not sure if we mentioned Couch to you before...? It comes out in
November and will have a page on our site soon. In the meantime,
there's these:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520546
Couch is the first debut novel we've taken from our slush pile—Ben
sent in a query for it around the same time he sent us his story "The
Coder" which we published in LCRW #21 (http://lcrw.net/issues/
lcrw21.htm).
The query grabbed us so we asked for some pages. Some while later
(we were buy blogging!) we asked for more. We passed it around and
eventually, some laugh out loud moments later, we offered Ben a
sizable chunk of Equador for it. He negotiated us up to actual cash
instead of countries cut out of our world map shower curtain and We
Made a Deal!
We've been spreading the word ever since. In May we carried an
inflatable couch around the LA Convention Center (and gifted it on to
some very happy house designer!) and gave out a couple of hundred
galleys and got Mr. Parzybok on TV. Ok, on Library Journal's
videosite (http://www.libraryjournal.com/flashVideo/element_id/
2140230947/taxid/33554.html) and generally had fun.
Collectors note: the galley went through at least 3 iterations. One
of those in an edition of 14.
The second galley cover featured a couch drawn by star intern Anna
Sears and colored by none other than Jedediah Berry.
The final cover is by a full-color wraparound drawing by UK comics
star (and Small Beer fave) Andi Watson. We've got tons of books by
Andi and recommend the following (to start with!):
Glister, a great all-ages comic:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781582408538
Slow News Day, an American abroad tale (won't there be a lot of
those if things go badly in November!)
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781593620806
Skeleton Key, a fun story involving a girl and her fox spirit friend
available in a bunch of trade paperbacks which are worth tracking
down, even from Powell's "Remote Warehouse" as listed here:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780943151120
Last week Mr. Parzybok was meeting Pacific Northwest booksellers and
we hope to set up a few readings there soon. So far we've confirmed
these, hope you can go. He's a good reader and it's a fun book. Check
out all our readings here:
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/calendar.htm
Fri, Nov 14, 7 PM
Powell's, 1005 W. Burnside, Portland, OR 97209
http://www.powells.com/info/places/burnsidemap.html
Mon, Nov 17, 7:30 PM
Elliott Bay Book Company 101 S. Main St. Seattle, WA 98104
http://www.elliottbaybook.com/events/index.jsp
Wed, Nov 19, 7 PM
KGB Bar, New York, NY (reading with Caitlin R. Kiernan)
Thu, Nov 20, 8 PM
Amherst Books, 8 Main St, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 256-1547
http://www.amherstbooks.com/
Preorder our books here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/preorder.htmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520546
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{__________}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
LCRW update: we're in the middle of thinking about being in the
middle of reading and putting together a new issue of LCRW. One thing
we are wondering about is whether those chocolate subscribers would
mind if we sent out a lovely but cheaper bar this time (except for
those whose subscriptions are about to expire) and a lovely but
expensive bar next time.
Any comments appreciated:
http://lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=471
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Listen to "The Ant King"!
http://podcast.starshipsofa.com/podcast/
StarShipSofa_Aural_Delights_No_42_Benjamin_Rosenbaum.mp3
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{__________}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
The latest review of Pretty Monsters is from School Library Journal:
Gr 9 Up–In her first collection of stories for young adults, Link
upends traditional horror, science fiction, and fantasy motifs,
creating original, quirky, and distinctly beautiful literary
landscapes. Honed, brilliant language renders blood, werewolves,
ghosts, magic, and monsters sublime–at times even funny. Readers will
relish uncertainty in these savory, strange stories and never feel
quite sure of their footing. They proceed giddily, jumping from one
uncanny premise, phrase, or image to the next, eventually stumbling
upon a revelation that hits them like the snap of a rubber band.
Clever resolutions and tricky plots place teens on delightfully
circuitous reading paths. Unexpected endings force them to double
back and reconsider each story from the beginning. In this second
read, young adults might notice Link’s seamless incorporation of
their own experiences. Awkward adolescence, uncomfortable first love,
frustrating parents, and complicated friendships surface quietly amid
wonderfully knotty, twisted plots and incandescent imagery. This
compilation of intricate, transfixing selections succeeds in making
the weird wonderful and the grotesque absolutely gorgeous.–Shelley
Huntington, New York Public Library
We will be selling signed copies of Kelly Link's latest collection,
Pretty Monsters (comes out October 2 from Viking) from here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#pmhttp://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780670010905
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Rights sale: Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage
Family Stories just sold to Post Publishing for Thai rights and Uri
Ky Yuk for Korean rights! We only have US/Canadian rights on this
beautiful book but it's great fun to hear about it going out into the
world. Our printer tells us it should ship from them on October 14th,
so it will be in stores by it's publication date of October 28th.
Should have news on a New York event for the book in early November
coming soon. Fingers crossed on that. Download a free story here:
http://lcrw.net/aiken/
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Looks like The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: 21st Annual Collection
is hitting the stores, too. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred
review, yay!
Demand on this one is high (due to the fantastic nature of the
contents), so if it isn't in stock it should be on reorder, yay!
Get the hardcover
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780312380489
or the Paperback
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780312380472
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Geoff Ryman's The King's Last Song: Or Kraing Meas just came out in
the US. Booklist gave it a starred review:
Ryman draws on his extensive knowledge of Indo-Chinese history and
his masterful descriptive powers to paint an unforgettably vivid
portrait of Cambodian culture past and present. His focus on the
power of a peaceful philosophy to assuage pain and guilt brings a
message of hope to a country still haunted by its war-torn past."
We're hoping for some decent coverage of this book, after all, how
many novels about Cambodia are published each year?
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9781931520560http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#kings
The King's Last Song is our bestselling ebook at the moment:
http://fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook72755.htmhttp://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#ebooks
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Please vote in November!
--
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hello there shiny happy peoples,
2 big things you may have seen on our bloggity device. Or on Kelly's
new site, http://www.prettymonsters.net. Anyway, this is a fun, mad,
great fun day because we're sending out another free book and having
a sale—and 20% of the proceeds will be donated to Obama! Change the
world, honeybunnies! (Um, too much Maya Gold? Yes!)
1. the sale
2. the download
1. Short version: http://lcrw.net/special.htm
Longer version:
* Celebrate, come on! We are celebrating many things by having a
sale.
* 20% of the proceeds of this sale will be donated to Barack
Obama's campaign for President of the United States of America.
* Next month in the USA we get to show the world that the
mistakes of the last eight long years will not be repeated. If you
really want to buy these books but don't want to donate to Obama, we
won't insist. But: we hope you will donate! And vote.
* Everything on this page is at least 25% off. Some of it is 60%
off. Reason enough to celebrate!
* We are publishing our first book for readers of all ages: Joan
Aiken's The Serial Garden and we want to make sure that the kid in
your life (or you) gets it for the holidays.
* We just got our tax bill and apparently we have to bail the
government out all by ourselves.
* Hallowe'en is coming and we need to move some books out of the
haunted warehouse.
* Suggestions welcome!
What can you do: Buy every book we've published (including the two
still at the printer): $249! (You just gave $50 to Obama!)
Or, just the books published this year: $63 (9x7/5 = uh, carry the 1,
erm, $12.60 to Obama! We'll call it $13.)
Buy some books: change the world.
http://lcrw.net/special.htm
2. Short version: http://lcrw.net/cc
Longer version:
To celebrate the publication of Kelly's new collection, Pretty
Monsters*, most of Kelly's previous collection Magic for Beginners is
now available as a free download in various completely open formats
with no Digital Rights Management (DRM) strings attached. It is
licensed under a Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 3.0) license allowing readers to share the stories with
friends and generally have at them in any noncommercial manner. The
book is provided below in these formats: Text file, HTML, rtf, and lo-
res PDF.
Kelly Link and Small Beer Press think that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(USA) and HarperPerennial (UK) are completely awesome for being
willing to participate in making these stories available online. Due
to contractual obligations, "The Faery Handbag" and "Magic for
Beginners" are not included in this download.
We encourage any and all conversions into other formats. We'll
happily host, credit, and add your conversion to the file list below.
Please abide by these few rules for file-conversions:
* Send us a link to the reader for your conversion so that we
can include it on the downloads page.
* No DRM. We are not interested in this. If your format of
choice has a means of restricting copying, use or playback, please do
not use it.
* If the book has been converted to your format of choice but
the conversion doesn't suit you, go ahead and reconvert it for your
own use and distribution. We will host the first and only the first
version as the few formats we have provided are pretty much all we
know anything about. And we don't know that much about those.
* Enjoy!
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and HarperPerennial asked that we also
provide links easy links to buy Magic for Beginners. So, here we go:
US hardcover:
—Signed: http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#mfb
—Powells: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?
partner_id=26490&cgi=product&isbn=1931520151
—local bookshop: http://www.indiebound.org/aff/beer?product=1931520151
US paperback:
—Signed: http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#mfb
—Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=0156031876
—local bookshop: http://www.indiebound.com/product/info.jsp?
affiliateId=beer&isbn=0156031876
—Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156031876/
theendicotstudio:
UK edition:
—Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Beginners-Kelly-Link/dp/
000724200X/
—John Smith: http://www.jscampus.co.uk/shop/product_display.asp?
mscssid=35BW2TV92M549MU6VWHRFBUDWR3J72T2&ProductID=9780007242009&BranchI
D=0
—Waterstones: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/
displayProductDetails.do?sku=5567773
* Pretty Monsters comes out today! We hope your local bookshop will
carry it!
—Powells: http://www.powells.com/biblio?
PID=26490&cgi=product&isbn=9780670010905
—Order a signed copy from us and receive tattoos, stickers, and
similar items of interest.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#pm
More Small Beer Press CC-licensed downloads:
http://lcrw.net/cc/index.htm
That one thing again:
http://lcrw.net/special.htm
Happy Autumn!
--
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ebook wonderings
Low Stock Stuff
Last Minute Things
Secret Offer
LCRW 23 is gang oot
Xmas Ordering
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.......
Order now and we will wrap your books in a randomly selected canvas
tote bag.
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We've added a couple of options to a couple of book pages on the web
to see if there's any demand or uptake. On the following pages you
can get the book for $16, or the ebook for $9.95, or both for $19.
http://lcrw.net/parzybok/index.htmhttp://lcrw.net/ryman/index.htm
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Get Your Name on the Dustjacket
Small Beer Press will publish Greer Gilman's second novel, Cloud &
Ashes: Three Winter's Tales (9781931520553 · Trade cloth · 5.5 x 8.5
· 448 pp · $26 · http://lcrw.net/gilman).
Order and your name will be printed on the inside of the dust-jacket
as a special thanks to dedicated readers.
This special offer runs through December 31st, 2008 and only applies
to orders made through the Small Beer Press website or using this form:
http://lcrw.net/smallbeer/ordersheet.htm
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Low Stock (and High Collectibility) Warning
Our distro is out of the hardcover of Ben Rosenbaum's collection, The
Ant King and Other Stories, which was recently chosen as one of the
best books of 2008 by the LA Times (and discussed on Torque Control).
The distro is not getting more copies of this, so if you want it,
check your local bookshop or order here:
http://www.lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#antking_hc
"The Ant King and Other Stories (Small Beer Press) contains invisible
cities and playful deconstructions of the form. In "Biographical
Notes to 'A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, With Air-Planes,'
by Benjamin Rosenbaum" -- yes, his name is part of the title -- the
author imagines a world whose technologies and philosophies differ
wildly from ours. The result is a commentary on the state of the art
that is itself the state of the art.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-ca-favoritebooks-
sciencefict-2008dec07,0,3049326.story
http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/a-discussion-about-the-
ant-king-and-other-stories/
Another Low Stock
We have signed copies of future cult novel, Couch, by Benjamin
Parzybok. Get in ahead of the crowd. We've got a good stock of signed
copies, our distro has shipped 75% of the run, it's an Indie Next
List Pick for January, the Brits are interested in buying it, fingers
crossed, and it looks like we'll be going back to press on this soon.
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#couch
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LCRW 23 is being mailed out -- pics on the web site soon. It is a
lovely thing, we hope you will enjoy it. As voted by readers (http://
lcrw.net/wordpress/?p=471) the chocolate for this issue's chocolate
bar+zine subscribers does indeed come from IKEA, so that next time we
can spend some money on something Nice.
New on this page: you can order the paper or ebook edition here:
http://lcrw.net/issues/lcrw23.htm
The ebook has been uploaded to Fictionwise.com and is in production.
The lovely paperback edition will be available on http://www.lulu.com/
sbp soon.
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Sale Prices Are Now in Effect and include Media Mail shipping:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm
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*** Special Offer Just For You
Buy any 4 books and we will include a new Theo Black designed Small
Beer Press T-shirt. Please include the size you would like in the
note field. Available sizes: S,M,L, XL, XXL
If you'd like to buy just the shirt, there are a very limited number
of them available here. There is no picture of them there yet!
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping.htm
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Some fresh reading:
http://philippinespeculativefiction.com/
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Tomorrow, Dec. 11, is the last day to get packages out on time for
Xmas to most of the world from the USA. Here are the post office
deadlines:
* Dec. 11 Priority Mail: Asia, Pacific Rim, Australia, New
Zealand, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Middle East
* Dec. 15 Domestic Parcel Post
* Dec. 20 Domestic First-Class Mail
* Dec. 20 Domestic Priority Mail
* Dec. 22 Domestic Express Mail (365 days per year (in many
areas), including Christmas Day)
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#shipping
And here are the prices:
John Crowley, Endless Things · $9 · trade cloth
Alan DeNiro, Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead · $8 · trade
paperback
Signed
Carol Emshwiller, Report to the Men's Club and Other Stories · $8 ·
trade paperback
———, The Mount · $8 · trade paperback
Signed
Angélica Gorodischer, Kalpa Imperial · Translated by Ursula K. Le
Guin · $7 · trade paperback
Elizabeth Hand, Generation Loss · $9 · trade cloth
John Kessel, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories
$24 · trade cloth · $16 · trade paper
Ellen Kushner, The Privilege of the Sword · $24 · trade cloth
Signed
Kelly Link, Pretty Monsters · $19.99· trade cloth
Order a signed copy and receive tattoos, stickers, and similar items
of interest.
———, Magic for Beginners · $9 · trade cloth
Signed
———, Magic for Beginners · $14 · trade paperback from Harcourt
Signed
———, Stranger Things Happen · $16 · trade paperback
Signed
———, ed., Trampoline · Maureen F. McHugh, Shelley Jackson, Greer
Gilman, more · $8 · trade paperback
Laurie J. Marks, Water Logic · $10 · trade paperback
Signed
Maureen F. McHugh, Mothers & Other Monsters · $8 · trade paperback
Signed
———, Mothers & Other Monsters · $10 · trade cloth
Benjamin Parzybok, Couch · 16 · trade paper
Signed
Benjamin Rosenbaum, The Ant King and Other Stories · $24 · trade
cloth · $16 · trade paper
Geoff Ryman, The King's Last Song · $16 · trade paperback
Jennifer Stevenson, Trash Sex Magic · $16 · trade paperback
Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss, Editors, Interfictions: An Anthology
of Interstitial Writing
$12 · trade paperback
Sean Stewart, Mockingbird · $8 · trade paperback
Signed
———, Perfect Circle · $10 · trade paperback
Ray Vukcevich, Meet Me in the Moon Room · $8 · trade paperback
Kate Wilhelm, Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of
the Clarion Writers' Workshop · $8 · trade paperback
*** Peapod Classics
Carol Emshwiller, Carmen Dog · $7 · trade paperback
Naomi Mitchison, Travel Light · $7 · trade paperback
Howard Waldrop, Howard Who? · $14 · trade paperback
Signed
Three Peas in a Pod · Separately: $28 · Together: $21
*** Limited Editions
Kelly Link, Magic for Beginners · edition of 150 · $100
Maureen F. McHugh, Mothers & Other Monsters · edition of 150 · $50
Magic for Beginners & Mothers & Other Monsters · $135
*** Small Beer Press 2008
In 2008 we published 5 more great books which, all together, have a
retail price of $84.
We're selling sets of all these titles in paperback for $69.
—Media Mail shipping is free in the USA. Priority will add $9.
—Shipping to the rest of the world would probably be at least $40.
—Upgrade to hardcovers (for books by John Kessel and Benjamin
Rosenbaum) for $15.
*** The Whole Small Beer Ebook Package (20 books, the current LCRW,
various podcasts and movies) on a handy 2 GB flash drive.
$99.95
*** LCRW No.23 · $5
Ted Chiang, Kirstin Allio, Mark Rich, Angela Slatter, & More.
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How big is Your head?
https://mymonsterhat.com/
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After the Indie Press Book Fair in New York City this weekend we had
to restock and get Kelly Link to sign more copies of Pretty Monsters,
which are available here:
http://lcrw.net/lcrw/shopping3.htm#pm
"Essential to the book’s fairytale content is Link’s understanding of
the power of objects, the proprietary folk tale feel of something in
hand — a carved comb, a clay cup. There’s alchemy in it, and power.
Perhaps the thing that most clearly marks this as a young adult book
is the agency it gives to teens and children. Sometimes the business
of magic is best left up to the young."
http://venuszine.com/articles/art_and_culture/reads/4872/
Werewolves_corpses_and_aliens_oh_my_
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Sharpen your pencils, applications will be accepted to Clarion
beginning Jan.2:
2009 writers in residence are:
Holly Black, Larissa Lai, Robert Crais, Kim Stanley Robinson,
Elizabeth Hand, and Paul Park.
Clarion Writers' Workshop
at UC San Diego
June 28 - August 8, 2009
Applications Accepted
January 2 - March 1
http://clarion.ucsd.edu/
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An excellent present!
"The Armitage's world grows richer as it is extended. This is a
collection of stories which allow -- in fact demand -- the reader
joins in with their own imagination and remakes the story inside
their own head. Aiken's pragmatism shows through in her stories.
Instead of remaining in or reflecting upon the past like some of her
contemporaries, they show an author making the best of the world and
coming out ahead with humor and imagination."
http://www.januarymagazine.com/kidsbooks/serialgarden.htmlhttp://lcrw.net/aiken
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1) Thanks for reading!
2) Thanks for shopping!
3) Thanks for supporting independent businesses! See http://
www.indiebound.org for more.
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.......
Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St., #306
Easthampton, MA 01027
413-203-1636
http://www.lcrw.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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