Bowing to the Future

DC ENTERTAINMENT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES “BEFORE WATCHMEN”

2012-02-01T07:58:00.002-06:00

I, for one, am very curious to hear the backstory on how this came about...

DC ENTERTAINMENT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES “BEFORE WATCHMEN”

This summer, DC Entertainment will publish all-new stories expanding on the acclaimed WATCHMEN universe. As highly anticipated as they are controversial, the seven inter-connected prequel mini-series will build on the foundation of the original WATCHMEN,the bestselling graphic novel of all time. BEFORE WATCHMEN will be the collective banner for all seven titles, from DC Comics.

“It’s our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. “After twenty five years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new storiesto be told. We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original.”

Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins(WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).

BEFORE WATCHMEN includes:

- RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo

- MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke

- COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones

- DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes

- NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert

- OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee

- SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

Each week, a new issue will be released, and will feature a two-page back-up story called CURSE OF THE CRIMSON CORSAIR, written by original series editor Len Wein and with art by original series colorist John Higgins. There will also be a singleissue, BEFORE WATCHMEN: EPILOGUE, featuring the work of various writers and artists, and a CRIMSON CORSAIR story by Wein and Higgins.

“The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC's reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions havethe success they desire,” said Dave Gibbons, WATCHMEN co-creator and original series artist.

“Comic books are perhaps the largest and longest running form of collaborative fiction,” said DiDio and Lee. “Collaborative storytelling is what keeps these fictional universes current and relevant.”

David Hyde | Vice President of Publicity

DC Entertainment | A Warner Bros. Entertainment Group

1700 Broadway | New York, NY 10019

T: 212-636-5450 | F: 212-636-5756

david.hyde@dccomics.com | visit us: http://www.dccomics.com

DC fights Hunger in Horn of Africa

2012-01-23T09:53:00.000-06:00

Worth passing on:

DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES “WE CAN BE HEROES,”

AN UNPRECEDENTED GIVING CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT

THE HUNGER CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

Featuring Iconic Justice League Characters, Multilayered Campaign

To Leverage All Time Warner Advertising Platforms

Generating Significant Awareness of the Crisis

Multi-Million-Dollar Commitment Will Support

Three Aid Groups Working in Africa:

Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps

(January 23, 2012 – New York, NY) DC Entertainment, home of the world’s greatest super heroes, today unveiled an unprecedented giving campaign to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. This multi-million-dollar commitment over the nexttwo years will be supported across all Warner Bros. Entertainment’s and Time Warner’s businesses and feature DC Entertainment’s iconic Justice League characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, issuingthe call to action, “We Can Be Heroes.” The announcements were made at a press conference today in New York by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros.; Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group; and Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment.

We Can Be Heroes will support the efforts of three humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa—Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps—as part of the global effort to fight the current hunger crisis in the Horn ofAfrica. The region is suffering its worst drought and famine in over 60 years, with 13 million in need of critical assistance and 250,000 facing starvation in Somalia alone. Each partner organization was chosen for its track record of effective and expeditioushumanitarian aid efforts in Africa.

We Can Be Heroes will be supported via promotional exposure across all of Time Warner’s divisional advertising platforms (Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., HBO), generating millions of consumer impressions and creating crucially neededawareness of this crisis worldwide. Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps will equally share a corporate donation of at least $2 million over the next two years comprised of cash donations, employee matching funds and consumer matchingfunds.

“Warner Bros. has a long history of corporate philanthropy and outreach, and this campaign proudly continues that tradition,” said Meyer. “We are a global company, and this is a global issue. By marshalling our expertise in consumer and fan engagementand creating global awareness, we hope we’re able to inspire others to join us in becoming ‘heroes’ and make a difference in the Horn of Africa.”

The Justice League characters were chosen by DC Entertainment both for their global recognition as well as their demonstration of strength in unity and numbers. The campaign’s graphic identifier features the iconic Justice League characters—Superman,Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg—outlined in silhouette against the African continent. Each of these characters is a super hero in his or her own right, but when they band together as the Justice League, they become an unstoppableforce for good and right in the universe—a key message of the We Can Be Heroes campaign. While many individuals may feel powerless to effect change on their own, as part of a global campaign such as this, their efforts, combined with those of other donors,can create a world of change.

A key launch element of We Can Be Heroes is the campaign’s website, www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. Here, consumers can make donations which DC Entertainment will match 100percent (up to $1 million in donations), purchase specially branded merchandise, with 50 percent of the purchase price going to fight the hunger crisis via We Can Be Heroes, sign up for newsletters and updates, and join the We Can Be Heroes online community. The site will also feature information on each of the partner organizations and updates on current conditions in the Horn of Africa.

“This campaign goes straight to the heart of our core competency, as Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment both have a rich legacy of telling socially relevant, compelling stories with characters embraced by global audiences,” said Robinov. “The factthat we’re able to take what we do and use it to raise awareness—and inspire action—around a cause as important as this is gratifying. With the support of the entire Studio and our Time Warner sister companies, this campaign, like the DC Comics super heroes,will make a great impact on an important issue.”

“The members of the Justice League are an international team of super heroes beloved by a broad range of fans, including men and women, young and old. This makes them the perfect ‘spokescharacters’ for this campaign,” said Nelson. “Their dedicationto social justice and commitment to band together to defend the helpless brilliantly supports the ideals of the We Can Be Heroes campaign. The hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is something we can reverse if we all work together. I’m proud and gratefulwe’re able to harness the power and standing of the DC Comics brand and iconic characters as well as for the support from both Warner Bros. and Time Warner that has allowed us to pursue this unprecedented initiative.”

“This is a tragic situation affecting millions and millions of people. Everyone has the ability to be a part of the solution and efforts such as We Can Be Heroes help bring us closer to that goal,” said Dr. Jill Biden, who visited refugees inKenya in August and has worked to raise awareness of the crisis. “I commend the efforts of DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. and other organizations who are using their global reach to help raise awareness of the crisis.”

For more information on We Can Be Heroes, visit www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. For more information on the campaign’s partner organizations, visit their websites: www.savethechildren.org(Save the Children); www.rescue.org (International Rescue Committee) and www.mercycorps.org (Mercy Corps).

# # #

About DC Entertainment:

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainmentand Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishingthousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world. In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched WeCan Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

Contact:

Nicole Stipp/Fenton Courtney Simmons/DC Entertainment

nstipp@fenton.com Courtney.Simmons@warnerbros.com

212/584-5000 818/977-7764

Kelly Osmundson Paul McGuire

kosmundson@fenton.com Paul.McGuire@warnerbros.com

415/901-0111 818/954-6152

Books I Edited and Art Directed in 2011

2012-01-22T19:14:00.001-06:00

Here, for your enjoyment and edification, is a list of all the Pyr novels published in 2011 for which I served as editorial director, editor, and art director. Also included is a list of each work's respective cover artist. Please don't forget to carefully consider illustration and illustrators when you are voting in the various awards and best of the year polls. Our illustrators are an incredible and unique asset of science fiction and fantasy publishing and we should celebrate them. Happy New Year!

Demonstorm (Legends of the Raven 3)
by James Barclay
art by Raymond Swanland

Cowboy Angels
by Paul McAuley
art by Sparth

Thirteen Years Later
by Jasper Kent
art by Paul Young

The Scar-Crow Men (Swords of the Albion Book 2)
by Mark Chadbourn
art by Chris McGrath

Black Halo (The Aeons' Gate Book Two)
by Sam Sykes
art by Paul Young

Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon
by Mark Hodder
art by Jon Sullivan

The Scarab Path (Shadows of the Apt, Book 5)
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
art by Jon Sullivan

The Alchemist in the Shadows
by Pierre Pevel
art by Jon Sullivan

Haven: A Trial of Blood and Steel Book Four
by Joel Shepherd
art by David Palumbo

City of Ruins
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
art by Dave Seeley

Shadow's Lure
by Jon Sprunk
art by Michael Komarck

The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, Book One)
by Andrew P. Mayer
art by Justin Gerard

Sword of Fire and Sea (The Chaos Knight Book One)
by Erin Hoffman
art by DeHong He

The Goblin Corps
by Ari Marmell
art by Lucas Graciano

Ghosts of War
by George Mann
art by Benjamin Carre

Ravensoul (Legends of the Raven, Book 4)
by James Barclay
art by Raymond Swanland

Down to the Bone (Quantum Gravity, Book 5)
by Justina Robson
art by Larry Rostant

The Rift Walker (Vampire Empire, Book 2)
by Clay and Susan Griffith
art by Chris McGrath

Blackdog
by K.V. Johansen
art by Raymond Swanland

The Restoration Game
by Ken MacLeod
art by Stephan Martiniere

The Dervish House paperback
by Ian McDonald
art by Stephan Martiniere

Fenrir
by M.D. Lachlan
art by Paul Young

The Third Section
by Jasper Kent
art by Paul Young

Mirror Maze
by Michaele Jordan
art by Cynthia Sheppard

Lightbringer
by K.D. McEntire
art by Sam Weber

Hearts of Smoke and Steam (Society of Steam, Book Two)
by Andrew P. Mayer
art by Justin Gerard

Planesrunner (Everness, Book One)
by Ian McDonald
art by John Picacio

The Doctor and the Kid: A Weird West Tale (Weird West Tales)
by Mike Resnick
art by J. Seamas Gallagher

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D

2011-12-13T09:15:00.000-06:00

I've seen this before, but really, can you ever get used to its impact?

Men in Black 3

2011-12-12T07:39:00.002-06:00

Sure, why not?

Being Elmo

2011-12-07T09:16:00.001-06:00

Wowza

2011-12-01T14:24:00.001-06:00

NaNoWriMo

2011-11-30T21:14:00.001-06:00

I did it! 50,000 words in 30 days. This was my second NaNoWriMo experience. I completed it in 2009 as well. I finished today, hammering out the last 2,272 words for a total of 50,367. That's not the whole book. 2009's 50,000 words eventually ended up as a 103,000 word novel, and was rewritten six times across 2010 and 2011. It's now with my agent, I'm pleased to say. I've no doubt that this one, which I'm estimating will come in at around 75,000 words, has a lot of rewriting ahead of it too.

But the value in NaNoWriMo is in getting you to write a lot, in a compressed time. Having done this twice now I must say that I find NaNoWriMo an incredibly valuable experience. So many people start novels and never finish them, endlessly rewriting openings or crafting new openings. We all have draws full of great initial chapters. 50,000 words is a sizable enough chunk that it forces you to turn off the self editor and the procrastinator both and break past those 1-3 chapter abandoned drafts. If you can write half a novel, you can write the second half. Also, writing is a muscle and muscles improve by being exercised. Even if nothing worth saving comes out of your 50,000 words, you are 50,000 words deeper into honing your craft. Also, it makes the solitary pursuit of writing something communal. And finally it gets your butt in the chair.

Yay to all us participants. Also, I could not have done it without the patience of my long-suffering wife.

The World According to Lou

2011-11-30T09:06:00.001-06:00

Sandra Wickham interviewed me yesterday for the Inkpunks blog. She titled the interview "The World According to Lou," which really tickles me. I don't think she knows that it was The World According to Garp by John Irving that first made me want to choose this writing/publishing life. Anyway, I'm grateful for the interview, but please ignore her when she suggests that nonsense about my giving away my beer. Check out the whole interview, but here's a sample:

What must-have qualities would you say an author needs to become published and keep being published in the industry?

Talent plus perseverance. I recently asked a group of authors how many times they rewrote their novels before they saw publication. Seven was the average response. And I heard N.K. Jemisin say recently that she had worked on The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms for around ten years before it saw publication. Do you remember that old board game where you pulled levers out until all the marbles but one dropped away? I have probably just dated myself horribly, but that’s how I see a career in the entertainment arts. Banging your head against the wall until the wall collapses, because you sure as hell aren’t going to. Artist John Picacio describes this as, “There’s Plan A. And if that doesn’t work, there’s Plan A. And if that doesn’t work, there’s Plan A.” (Note: He’s not talking about being unrealistically inflexible. He’s talking about never giving up the goal of being a working professional.)

Octopus Walks on Land at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

2011-11-22T09:53:00.001-06:00

The Inner Sea World Guide

2011-11-15T08:35:00.001-06:00

I am such a great test case for marketers. You see, it never fails that when someone gives me something cool for free, that I then turn around and buy more product. I was geeking out here last week over the Pathfinder Beginner Box, and this week I'm back to geek over my just-purchased Pathfinder Campaign Settin: The Inner Sea World Guide. This is a 320 page, full-color, drop dead gorgeous hardcover detailing the 40+ nations that comprise the world of Golarion's Inner Sea region, along with details on their history, religion, culture, key races, locations, etc... etc... I love maps, I love world-building, I love art, I love big hardcover books full of all of the above.

Here's the official list of the contents:

Detailed summaries of the player character races native to Golarion, including more than a dozen distinct human ethnicities
Elaborate gazetteers of more than 40 crumbling empires, expansionist kingdoms, independent city-states, and monster-haunted wildlands of Golarion’s adventure-filled Inner Sea region, with locations perfect for nearly any type of fantasy campaign
Cultural information and Pathfinder RPG rules covering the 20 core deities of the Inner Sea, plus entries on other gods, demigods, forgotten deities, weird cults, strange philosophies, and more!
An overview of the Inner Sea’s history, a look at time and space, a discussion of magical artifacts and technological wonders, discussions of important factions and organizations, and hundreds of locations ripe for adventure!
Tons of new options for player characters, including Inner Sea-themed prestige classes, feats, spells, adventuring gear, and magic items!
Nine new monsters, including exotic humanoids of the skies and seas, undead and dragons, and an angry demon lord in exile!
A giant 21.75"x33" poster map that reveals the sweeping landscape of the Inner Sea in all its treacherous glory!

Pretty cool, no?

Pathfinder Beginner Box

2011-11-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

Oh, I love getting surprises in the mail, particularly when they are as cool as the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box. My friends at Paizo Publishing sent one over, and boy is it gorgeous.

For those who don't know Pathfinder, it's a Role Playing Game spawned out of the Open Game License (OGL) a few years back. Short history: a certain very popular RPG made their rules open license, many companies grew up providing supporting materials for those rules, Paizo in particular created a very, very complicated campaign setting - the world of Golarion and hundreds, or maybe thousands of adventure modules and supporting materials, and then a certain very popular RPG ditched support for their rules and made a (some would say much needed, long overdue) revamping of its rules. But this left a lot of companies without a core rule system. Paizo came out with the Pathfinder RPG, and voila! their bazillion ancillary products now had a fantastic spine. What's more, they subsequently captured a huge share of the RPG market (3.5 yay!) and have become an even more major player in the RPG industry.

I've got the Core Rulebook and Bestiary, and I bought a PDF of the Campaign Guide and several adventure modules. They are coming out with an Asian-themed campaign setting later this month, and I'll be picking that up as well. Confession: I haven't gamed in a long while, but I love reading rule books and campaign setting books, and I'm thinking that when my son gets just a little older, classic Pen & Paper style RPGs might be a nice imagination-fueling counterbalance to the comparably more passive experience of video-gaming. I'm also very interested in the way that RPGs have been an outlet for the swords & sorcery brand of fantasy in those decades in which the epic dominated literary fantasy, and the way in which RPG and literary fiction exchange energies now that epic fantasy is "grittying up."And I just love their setting. So the Beginner Box is a great way for this overworked, freetime-less editor to jump in quick and run his son through his first RPG.

ThePathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box includes:

64-page Hero’s Handbook, detailing character creation, spells, equipment, and general rules for playing the game
96-page Game Master’s Guide packed with adventures, monsters, magical treasures, and advice on how to narrate the game and control the challenges faced by the heroes
A complete set of 7 high-impact polyhedral dice
More than 80 full-color pawns depicting tons of heroes, monsters, and even a fearsome black dragon
Four pregenerated character sheets to throw you right into the action
Four blank character sheets to record the statistics and deeds of your custom-made hero
A durable, reusable, double-sided Flip-Mat play surface that works with any kind of marker

Cool, no?

Update: Getting free stuff always makes me buy stuff. I just ordered this: Pathfinder Campaign Setting World Guide: The Inner Sea (Revised Edition)

China

2011-11-04T08:14:00.000-05:00

Via SF Signal: China Miéville, at a a September 2009 talk at The University of Kansas:

[via AboutSF, the educational outreach arm of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction]

Planesrunner: You Want This Book, You Need This Book

2011-11-03T09:01:00.002-05:00

Illustration (c) John Picacio

“Smashing adventure fiction that spans the multiverse without ever losing its cool or its sense of style. Ian McDonald is one of the greats of science fiction, and his young adult debut is everything you could hope for: romantic, action packed, wildly imaginative, and full of heart.”
—Cory Doctorow

"Planesrunner is chock-full of awesome. Ian McDonald's steampunk London blazes on a vast scale with eye-popping towers, gritty streets, and larger-than-life characters who aren't afraid to fight for each other. The kind of airship-dueling, guns-blazing fantasy that makes me wish I could pop through to the next reality over, join the Airish, and take to the skies"
—Paolo Bacigalupi, Michael J. Printz Award–winning author of Ship Breaker

‎"Athletic, brilliant, and always ahead of the game, Everett is too perfect, but it doesn't detract from the book's fun. McDonald writes with scientific and literary sophistication, as well as a wicked sense of humor. Add nonstop action, eccentric characters, and expert universe building, and this first volume of the Everness series is a winner."
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"What joy to find science fiction based on real scientific concepts... In his debut for teens, established science-fiction writer McDonald builds a world just different enough to charm readers into believing... Shining imagination, pulsing suspense and sparkling writing make this one stand out."
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review!

"[Planesrunner's] world is as sharply imagined and inventive as we've come to expect from [Ian] McDonald. And it also may be the first steam-free steampunk novel… first-rate adventure writing… by the cliffhanger ending we're ready to follow [Everett] into whatever new universes McDonald can concoct, and the next one already looks interesting. Planesrunner is not only excellent YA SF in terms of its likeable characters and well-executed setpieces, but is simply good SF in a way which almost reinvents, and possibly makes addictive, the old parallel universe trope. It's fun."
—Locus, November 2011

"Planesrunner is a first class teen science fiction novel, which I believe will appeal to the fans of such boy-oriented books as Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan… There is hardly anything about Planesrunner to complain about. Quite the opposite, a lot to complement this novel on: First of all, the science. The whole idea of parallel universes is endlessly exciting and Ian McDonald did a fantastic job coming up with alternate versions of Earth's future… Second, the main character with ethnic background… Third, the teen romance has a great dynamic. Both participants are strong and resourceful young people. Planesrunner is a fantastic beginning to a new teen adventure series that will leave you yearning for more. Score: 4.50 / 5 "
—Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

‎"Ian McDonald's Planesrunner is the first in what I hope is a very long series of young adult science fiction novels.... I can't wait for the next book in this series. Planesrunner, scheduled for release in December 2011, is an appealing alternative to the dystopian YA titles lining bookstore shelves these days."
—Portland Book Review

‎"This is science fiction adventure at its best, and at its core is Everett, the heroic little geekling that we all wanted to be as kids... With "Ten Known Worlds" as part of this book's lore…I want an interdimensional passport ASAP… The adventure simply never stops… Snappy dialogue…and fascinating details round out this marvelous series debut."
—The Examiner

Convinced? Now go check out the Infundibulum Facebook page.

The Colbert Report

2011-11-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Alabama's Migrant Workers

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Let's Talk About Size

2011-10-25T09:28:00.000-05:00

SPAN - a Science Fiction Film

2011-10-25T08:40:00.003-05:00

SPAN is a science fiction film seeking funding via Kickstarter. Interesting...

Prophets of Science Fiction

2011-10-19T08:16:00.002-05:00

Writing Excuses: Endings

2011-10-18T09:21:00.002-05:00

I'm back on episode 6:20 of Writing Excuses to talk about "Endings." They describe the episode thusly:

Lou Anders joins Dan, Howard, and Mary for a discussion of endings. We begin by talking about how important it is to “stick your landing” at the end of the book, and then recap the Hollywood Formula to point out how endings work there. We get examples from Mary’s upcoming novel Glamour in Glass, Dan’s upcoming novel Partials, Howard’s work-in-progress short story, and Lou Anders’ award-worthy, dot-matrix printer.

Female Armor Sucks

2011-10-18T07:56:00.002-05:00

Dragon Age: Redemption

2011-10-14T08:55:00.001-05:00

The first episode of The Guild creator Felicia Day's Dragon Age: Redemption is up. I've been very curious about this series in particular and non-TV "television" in general for a while.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T20:22:00.001-05:00

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs

Writing Excuses: The Screenwriting Formula

2011-10-03T10:05:00.002-05:00

I'm a guest on episode 6:18 of the marvelous Writing Excuses podcast, talking about "the Hollywood Formula." They write of this episode:

Lou Anders, Hugo-winning editorial director from Pyr books, joins Mary, Dan, and Howard at Dragon*Con for a discussion of the Hollywood Formula. Lou shared this with Mary originally, and she used it to tighten up some of her work. It’s useful enough that we decided to invite Lou onto the ‘cast to share it with everybody else, too.

The formula centers around three characters – the protagonist, the antagonist, and the relationship character. Lou explains how these terms have, in this formula, different meanings than we might be accustomed to.

Among the things that we learn: The Dark Knight has an antagonist none of us could guess, Die Hard and Stargate are third-act movies, and Howard is criminally ignorant of classic cinema.

I Should Be Writing... or Reading... or Editing... or or or...

2011-09-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

Episode 218 of Mur Lafferty's wonderful podcast, I Should Be Writing, is live. Mur starts with a discussion of "writing the other", and then she moves on to an interview she conducted at the recent World Science Fiction Convention with "a very tired, loopy, Lou Anders." We talk about Kermit the Frog, writing, how the Matrix sequels failed to follow in the direction laid down by Neo's final words in part I, V for Vendetta, and K.V. Johansen's Blackdog.

FenCon 2011

2011-09-26T11:36:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49, a magnificent convention held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in North Dallas/Addison, Texas from September 23-25. I was privileged to be a special guest of the convention, as I was teaching my very first Writers' Workshop.

The Writers' Workshop kicked off Thursday the 22nd, and included three 3-hour sessions of critics and two presentations, across four days. The focus I had chosen was on "creating novel openings," essentially talking about whether, as an editor viewing a submission, a student's first chapter would have me reading on to chapter two. I had 19 students, and the workshop was organized expertly by Debbie Waller. I found it exhausting but very, very fulfilling, a wonderful time, and I thank you all for having me. (And thank you Heidi Berthiaume for the Dark Truth Stout!)

As for the rest of the con - I was delighted that my good friends Stephan Martiniere, Madelynn Martiniere, Vincent Villafranca, and Michelle Villafranca were there, as well as new friends (and in the latter case new Pyr author) Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine. And though I see them more here than I did there, it was also great to hang with Julie and Steve from my local book club!

Friday after the workshop was the guest of honor lunch at El Fenix, where I got to meet Gail Carriger, who was wonderful. Later that evening Bradley Denton did a magnificent job with Opening Ceremonies, running it Late Night With David Letterman style, right down to having a band and a couch. And musical guest Joe Bethancourt has made me a serious banjo fan!

Vincent is a tremendous sculpture and the pieces he had in the art show were amazing. I'm in love with the Ghoul Gun, but one of the most amazing things I saw was the working "Monkey Canon" that he brought in the trunk of his car to show me. We dragged Baen books publisher (and weapons aficionado) Toni Weisskopf out to see it to, and she asked many intelligent questions I wouldn't begin to know how to ask while I practiced shooting imaginary armies of intelligent gorillas.

Saturday night, Stephan & Madelynn Martiniere, Vincent and Michelle Villafranca, workshop participant Lucien Rene Nanton, and I headed out to the Queen of Sheba for Ethiopian food. It's a fun experience, if not my favorite cuisine (the spongy bread is very tasty but tends to expand in the stomach), but the company was delightful. This was followed by a private tasting of Dark Truth Stout in my very large suite, and then the DeepSouthCon 50 party, equally great.

Sunday I concluded the Writers' Workshop with a screenwriting presentation (the same one I gave in Austin at ArmdilloCon when I sat in on that workshop, now refined). I've been interested for a while now on how "the Hollywood screenplay formula" that I learned from my great guru Dan Decker can be applied to novel writing. Then it was time for my only actual panel, "The Economics of Fantasy," and closing ceremonies. I had a final meal with two of my workshop students (you were all great), said my goodbyes, and headed home.

A huge thanks to Julie Barrett, Russ Miller, Tim Miller, Tim Morgan, Jimmy Simpson, Rhonda Eudaly (my wonderful Guest Liaison), Bobb Waller, Debbie Waller, and everyone who worked so hard to make this such an amazing weekend! You are a great bunch of people and FenCon is a great con!

Now, here's the Ghoul Gun! This thing SHOOTS GHOULS! I mean, the ghouls are the projectiles. You shoot them AT ghosts. Because--Doh!--what else do you shoot ghosts with?

I Got You Babe

2011-09-21T08:44:00.004-05:00

Thanks to John DeNardo for this link, David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull performing Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe."

Podcast: Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing

2011-09-15T11:08:00.001-05:00

At the recent World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, NV, I got to catch up with Shaun Farrell of the wonderful Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing podcast. An interview we conducted Saturday morning is now up, episode 137.

Shaun writes "We discuss Lou’s passion for great stories, his theater background, how to pitch to an editor, how NOT to pitch to an editor, BLACKDOG, by K. V. Johansen, the thrill of discovering new writers, the true purpose of form rejection letters, the tumultuous publishing industry, including changes at Barnes and Noble, and major publishers being lazy with their ebooks!"

Dragon*Con 2011

2011-09-09T16:51:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was Dragon*Con, one of the largest SF&F fantasy conventions going, if not the largest, with around 40,000 fans that gather in a host of hotels in downtown Atlanta every Labor Day weekend. I've attended the past three years in a row, and Dragon*Con has become a highlight of my year. What makes it such a rewarding show for me is a) the incredible access to readers and fans of all ages and b) the large numbers of Pyr authors and personnel on hand. This year we were joined by our authors James Enge, Clay & Susan Griffith, Erin Hoffman, Andrew P. Mayer, Ari Marmell, Mike Resnick, Jon Sprunk, and Sam Sykes, as well as my editorial assistant Rene Sears, VP of Marketing/Director of Publicity Jill Maxick, e-Initiative Coordinator Lynn Pasquale, and freelance copyeditor Gabrielle Harbowy.

I drove down with Rene on Thursday, and the two of us, together with Clay and Susan Griffith, began unpacking the 60 something boxes and assembling the Pyr booth. Putting up the wireframe booth and then assembling it is like a giant jigsaw puzzle and after having done this twice before, it's actually becoming fun. Lynn and Jill arrived a few hours later to help, and set about building the huge display of sampler books. Right after they finished, a director arrived to inform us that we'd built the stack outside the lines marked by white tape that delineated the confines of our space.

Fortunately, Andrew P. Mayer was on hand to suggest a method that allowed us to move the stack instead of having to start over. After that herculean effort, Sam Sykes arrived in time to join us for beers (hmmm) at my favorite Dragon*Con hangout, Max Lager's. What makes this show for me is friends. I love the work hard/play hard vibe, so after getting everything set up for Friday's opening, we had a *very* late night at Max's as our reward. Followed by the bar High Velocity in the Marriott.

And then the show started. Friday the Exhibit Hall opens at 1pm and goes until 7pm, and I had three panels afterwards, making it a racing start. We brought a huge number of the aforementioned free samplers to give out, double what we brought last year, but that didn't stop them being pretty much gone in under two days, same as last time. What was truly gratifying was the number of readers who remembered us from last year and were glad we were back. Equally gratifying was the way we all worked together to promote each others books, with truly above and beyond the call efforts on the part of Sam Sykes and Jon Sprunk.

Saturday was 10am to 7pm and no panels, though I did sneak off to record two back to back shows of the wonderful podcast Writing Excuses with Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Taylor. I also gave an interview to George Holochwost of Mtv Geek!. The result is his very generous article "A Visit with Pyr Books." Then it was back to Max's Larger and (subsequently) High Velocity.

Sunday was another 10 to 7, punctuated by the Pyr Presents Panel, an almost-two-hour panel event where yours truly and all nine of our authors take the stage to talk about forthcoming books along with a PowerPoint presentation of fantastic cover art. Then later that evening, Clay & Susan had a private event courtesy of James Marsters (of Buffy fame) who was reading selections from their novel, The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1). James is reading for the forthcoming audiobook, a fact that has created quite a bit of buzz.

I had a 10pm sword & sorcery themed panel "Blood & Iron" that evening, which was seriously fun despite cutting into serious reward time.

Monday was 10am to 5pm, but since some of my wonderful publishing family had left, those that remained felt their loss. Rene, Gabrielle, Andrew, and Clay & Susan remained. At 5pm, we were joined by my friends David Alastair Hayden, Cooper Chun, and Will Cockrell, and this crack team, armed with last year's experience, had the booth broken and packed in 59 minutes flat.

But a tropical storm (!) kept us from driving home, so David, Cooper, Will, Clay & I headed out for a final night of dinner and drinks, and then Clay & Susan kindly volunteered their floor. Early Tuesday morning I woke and drove home, and one of the most incredible weekends of my year came to a close.

Dragon*Con marked the third of three straight weeks of conventions for me, after WorldCon (Reno) and ArmadilloCon (Austin). It's been incredible to spend almost a month in the company of writers and artists and fans, fantastic to have had two extra weeks of post-Hugo glow to spend in the company of people who actually care about such things, and tremendous to have such a sustained period in this science fiction and fantasy Brigadoon.

Thank you all for an amazing time, an amazing job, an amazing life.

AramdilloCon 33

2011-08-30T12:14:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was ArmadilloCon 33, held August 26-28, 2011 Renaissance Hotel Austin, where it was my privilege to be the Editor Guest of Honor. I've been to ArmadilloCon once before in 2003 and to this hotel in 2006, and I love the con, the hotel, and the town and was eager to return to all three.

I came in early on Thursday, so that I'd be there for the fabulous dinner at Fonda San Miguel (opened in 1975, recognized as one of the finest Mexican restaurants in US, great food, fantastic atmosphere/decor), then it was up early for the Friday workshop workshop, run admirably by Stina Leicht.

I've taken dozens of play and script writing workshops, but never taken nor taught a prose writing workshop before. Thus, I had an educational blast. There was a great writing game run by Scott Lynch, after which I gave a presentation on Screenwriting. Then I sat in with Paolo Bacigalupi and Mark Finn's writing group. It was a day long (8:45am to 4:30ish) stretch, but very, very worth it.

Then it was off to opening ceremonies, where Toast Master Mark Finn truly rocked. And he justified the title "toast master" in a way I've never seen before. I'll say no more. But if you can watch his toast master speech below, you should:

Mark Finn's Opening Ceremonies, Part I:
''

Mark Finn's Opening Ceremonies, Part II:

Then Friday night, SF Signal's John DeNardo, Author Guest of Honor Paolo Bacigalupi, Artist Guest Vincent Villafranca and I headed to Z'Tejas for dinner. I spent a lot of time with those guys, as well as with Sara Felix, and their friendship really made this an incredible convention for me. On Saturday morning, my wife joined us, and Vincent's wife came in on Saturday night, and thus our group was complete.

On Saturday morning, Rick Klaw and Mark Finn conducted the "Editor Guest Interview," where they surprised me by SERVING MIMOSAS!! At 11 am. After I had gone for an hour swim and SKIPPED BREAKFAST. I had three or four. Which ended up making for a few slurred words at the Pyr Presentation two hours later, but nothing too bad. That evenings "Fannish Feud' was fantastic, despite Paolo's inability to realize that my drawing a giant X on his back was an attempt to cheat and give him the answer to "best comic book films of all time" not a vote of no confidence in his ability to get it right (as it apparently should have been).

Then that evening, Paolo, John, Vince, my wife and Sara Felix went first to dinner at Z'Tejas again and then to my suite so that they could sample the amazing Dark Truth Stout that Sara wondrously procured for me. Dark Truth has become my All Time Favorite Beer, so I am deeply, deeply in her debt. And even DeNardo, who isn't a Stout type of guy, had seconds.

Then it was off to the parties. Though not a very late night.

Sunday was a panel on Book Covers (always a favorite topic of mine) and the final panel of the day, "The Return of Sword & Sorcery" (a topic close to my heart). Afterwards my wife and I headed out to Austin's South Congress district, where we stopped by the Big Top Candy Store and had the incredible Tamago Yoko at the Snack Bar (leek, bacon & shrimp in a hashcake, topped with over-medium eggs with wasabi aioli & sriracha drizzle). And I dug on the chia cow.

Cab fares are apparently ridiculous in Austin, so we called Sara for a rescue and she took us to the County Line for the final meal with the guests and con runners. I'd been to the County Line years ago. It was a good meal with good people (and turtles in the river). Then home for a final Dark Truth Stout with Vincent and Sara, a short stop at the Dead Dog Party, and to bed.

Monday's flight home was the best ever thanks to the Austin airport, where we had BBQ at the Salt Lick and ice cream at Amy's Ice Creams. My wife had Mexican Vanilla and I had Guinness Ice Cream. Yes, Guinness Ice Cream. The airport even has steampunk art. Why can't all airports be like this?

Thank you A. T. Campbell III, Stina Leicht, Sara Felix, Jennifer Juday, Karen Meschke, Willlie Siros, and everyone at ArmadilloCon for an incredible time. I hope I gave as good as I got, but that's a tall order. This was a wonderful four days with friends new and old. Great food, great drink. And Guinness Ice Cream. How is that not an awesome trip?

Staffer's Musings: Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Ed...

2011-08-30T08:46:00.000-05:00

There's a nice review of my anthology Fast Forward 1 up on Staffer's Musings,where they write:

"Haunting stories like Bacigalupi's Small Offerings and George Zebrowski's Settlements confront our ability to sustain humanity. A Smaller Government by Pamela Sargent parodies the U.S. government, while Jesus Christ, Reanimator by Ken MacLeod takes on faith. Vanity is a popular subject reflected in p dolce by Louise Marley and The Hour of the Sheep by Gene Wolfe. There are very few failures in the anthology....Perhaps the most thought provoking work in the book is Anders' introduction which I have quoted from liberally. He provides a thought provoking discussion about where the genre has been, is going, and will find itself in the years ahead. It's well worth a read all on its own and can be read on-line in its entirety (here). Anders was recently awarded a Hugo for his editing prowess and as far as I can tell from Fast Forward 1 and the dozens of other Pyr titles I've read, it is well deserved. ...In the mood for a science fiction anthology? Definitely pick this one up"

This is enormously flattering.

2011-08-29T21:16:00.001-05:00

Also Anealio's best song ever, right?

Congratulations Lou Anders by John Anealio

My Thoughts on eBooks

2011-08-28T19:37:00.001-05:00

This is a very cool book trailer...

2011-08-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

Via SF Signal:

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Blackdog

2011-08-25T11:56:00.001-05:00

Blackdog by K.V. Johansen
Cover Illustration: © Raymond Swanland
Design by Grace Continue M. Zilsberger

Long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, there were seven devils...

And long ago, in the days of the first kings in the north, the seven devils, who had deceived and possessed seven of the greatest wizards of the world, were defeated and bound with the help of the Old Great Gods...

And perhaps some of the devils are free in the world, and perhaps some are working to free themselves still…

In a land where gods walk on the hills and goddesses rise from river, lake, and spring, the caravan-guard Holla-Sayan, escaping the bloody conquest of a lakeside town, stops to help an abandoned child and a dying dog. The girl, though, is the incarnation of Attalissa, goddess of Lissavakail, and the dog a shape-changing guardian spirit whose origins have been forgotten. Possessed and nearly driven mad by the Blackdog, Holla-Sayan flees to the desert road, taking the powerless avatar with him.

Necromancy, treachery, massacres, rebellions, and gods dead or lost or mad follow hard on the their heels. But it is Attalissa herself who may be the Blackdog’s—and Holla-Sayan’s—doom.

Reviews:

"Johansen’s characters project believability, and her world is full of rich and vivid detail. High fantasy for lovers of mythology and of powerful beings in human form, this adult fantasy debut should appeal to fans of Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series.”

—Library Journal
“I’m hooked. The mix of magic, Tibetan-style religion, and Harold Lamb–style adventure is pretty addicting”

—James Enge
World Fantasy Award–nominated
Author of Blood of Ambrose
and The Wolf Age
“Interesting and absorbing; Blackdog takes as its heart, and its strength, a subject that most fantasy writers shy away from—the Gods themselves.”

—Tom Lloyd
Author of The Twilight Reign series

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention

2011-08-24T15:56:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I attended Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention. I had a good time.

Renovation, was held in Reno, Nevada, August 17-21, 2011, at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center (RSCC). The Atlantis Casino Resort served as the headquarters/party hotel, though I stayed .6 miles away at the Peppermill Hotel Casino.

I was very impressed with the con organizers - particularly with their efforts to ramp up the Art Show and Art programming over recent years. For the first time, WorldCon took advantage of it's artist guest of honor (in this case the magnificent Boris Vallejo) and utilized the art in signage all over the convention center. Thursday was a designated "Art Night" and the overall quality of the art program - which included life drawing sessions and portfolio reviews - was tremendous. It was a personal honor to sit and review portfolios alongside Boris, incidentally. Something up there with swinging Moorcock's Stormbringer prototype around in a Texas parking lot a few years ago. And I was thrilled to see my friend Jon Schindehette take home the Chesley Award for Best Art Director. Especially since this was his first WorldCon (or possibly first in a very long while).

The hotel layout, or rather the hotel's nature, made for a difficult after hours. While all the staff were helpful and friendly, casinos don't make for the best con experiences. I told each of my ten meetings we'd get together "in the bar", assuming that, as always, there would be one bar that emerged as "the" bar where everyone hung. My first meeting emailed me day of the con to say "Lou, there's not one bar. There's ten." And we discovered that most of them closed early! Given the perfusion of small bars, and the distance between the two hotels, what resulted was a convention of small groups spread out between two locations, and I was sad not to even run into some folks, like my good friend TC McCarthy, who was there to promote his book Germline, but who I never saw. Others, like Heaven's Shadow co-author Michael Cassutt, I saw briefly once and then not again. Or Howard Taylor (pictures above right at the autographing) who I talked to, but not nearly as much as I'd like to have.

But for everyone I missed, there were a dozen wonderful people I did get to see. This WorldCon really stood out for me overall as being about the quality of the conversations I had, whether it was a meeting with Tim Holman (Orbit), late night drinks with Irene Gallo, Gregory Manchess, and David Palumbo, or even later drinks with Saladin Ahmed, Pablo Defendini, Rajan Khanna, and Charlie Jane Anders, or the conversations that occurred on panels. The whole event was one long, fun, stimulating conversation with friends. And such great panels this year too!

Though I really enjoyed my own panels, especially "Cover Art in the Age of e-Books," " The Comeback Genre: Sword & Sorcery," and "Book Cover Design: Using Cover Elements to their Best Advantage," by far the best programming I attended myself was The Unincorporated Man's Eytan Kollin's presentation on weaponry. I've seen weapon demonstration's before, but Eytan's program was specifically designed to improve the quality of combat writing in fantasy novelists by abusing them of certain common misconceptions and cluing them into a few relevant but little known facts. Eytan was a good teacher, mixing humor and live demonstrations into his discussions of hacking and slashing. I had to leave at the halfway mark to be interviewed by my good friend Shaun Farrell of Adventures in SciFi Publishing, so I hope I get to hear the full presentation some day.

Meeting Melinda Snodgrass for breakfast was another highlight of my trip. She and I were jurors for the Science Fiction Museum's Science Fiction Hall of Fame recently and felt we'd found kindred spirits there, so it was great to meet in the flesh. Friday's KaffeeKlatsch was also top knotch - those kind of intimate conversations with fans/readers/hopeful writers are becoming my favorite things to do at cons. Dinner with John & Traci Picacio, Paul Cornell, Bill Willingham, Lauren Beukes, and Lev Grossman was another highlight. Any any chance to see Ian McDonald is worth it, natch. And Ian in a kilt?

Of course, the biggest highlight was, um, WINNING THE BEST EDITOR - LONG FORM HUGO AWARD!!! Aiiiiiiyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!

This pretty much means that, despite problems with the venue, or missing seeing some friends, or whatever, Renovation has to go down in my book as the BEST. WORLDCON. EVAH.

Thank you all, every one of you, I had a marvelous time.

2011 Hugo Awards

2011-08-23T08:34:00.001-05:00

Video streaming by Ustream

Meet Swarmanoid

2011-08-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

Via io9, this is sheer awesome:

Something Greater

2011-08-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

"Something Greater--an Epic Discussion of Epic Fantasy, Part 2" by Jeremy L.C. Jones is up at Clarkesworld Magazine. This is a mammoth discussion of epic fantasy by those who write it, with comments from such notable names as James Barclay, Elizabeth Bear, Terry Brooks, Trudi Canavan, Rowena Cory Daniells, David Anthony Durham, Kate Elliott, Steven Erikson, Ian C. Esslemont, Lynn Flewelling, Ed Greenwood, Erin Hoffman, John Jarrold, N. K. Jemisin, K. V. Johansen, J. V. Jones, Paul Kearney, Juliet McKenna, Robin McKinley, Peter Orullian, Robert V. S. Redick, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Gaie Sebold, Michael A. Stackpole, Victoria Strauss, and Gav Thorpe. I'm honored to have a quote in the opening paragraphs of both part one and part two.

2011 World Fantasy Award Nominations

2011-07-28T16:09:00.002-05:00

The 2011 World Fantasy Award nominations have just been announced, and it is very, very gratifying to see that Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery is up for an award in the category of "Best Anthology." Yours Truly is also nominated in the "Special Award, Professional" category for editing at Pyr. I'm having a happy afternoon.

Incidentaly, this means:

2011 Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor Long Form, nominee
2011 World Fantasy Award - Special Award, Professional nominee
2011 World Fantasy Award, Best Anthology, nominee: Swords & Dark Magic (editor, with Jonathan Strahan)
2011 Chesley Award for Best Art Director, nominee
2011 Locus Award finalist: Swords & Dark Magic (editor, with Jonathan Strahan)
2010 Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form, nominee
2010 Chesley Award for Best Art Director, nominee
2010 Shirley Jackson Award nominee: Swords & Dark Magic (editor, with Jonathan Strahan)
2009 Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form, nominee
2009 Chesley Award for Best Art Director, winner
2008 Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form, nominee
2008 Philip K Dick Award, nominee: Fast Forward 2, (editor)
2007 Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form nominee
2007 Chesley Award for Best Art Director nominee
2006 World Fantasy Award - Special Award, Professional nominee

Game Changer? Or Cool Gimmick?

2011-07-14T11:11:00.001-05:00

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Should Math Be Taught in Schools?

2011-07-05T09:00:00.002-05:00

Via George RR Martin:

Artists: Don't Miss This Year's Worldcon

2011-06-25T17:13:00.002-05:00

The following post is from John Picacio's blog. I'm reposting it here because it's IMPORTANT:
(Art by Worldcon Artist GoH Boris Vallejo.)
I'm stoked about this year's World Science Fiction Convention in Reno. Kudos to Colin Harris, Anne Gray, Laurie Mann, Jannie Shea, Laura Domitz, Joni Dashoff, Patti Wells and company for working overtime to make this the best Worldcon for sf/f artists in years.

If you're an established pro, an aspiring pro, or anywhere in between, this is the year to do Worldcon. Don't wait 'til next year. Don't wait 'til the year after. This one. Why? Because Worldcon is offering new opportunities for registered, participating Worldcon artists and there's zero guarantee these features will be carried on in future years.

Check 'em out:

1. FREE Artist Tables in the Dealers' Room: Worldcon has reserved two free tables in the Dealer's Room for artists to interact with fans and the con at-large. Artists can chat, sign and sell artwork (other than what has been placed in the Art Show), sculpt, sketch, or whatever. This space will be in the section of the Dealers' Room closest to the Art Show, which will be set up as an Artist Alley. Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell and others will have tables there; details here. ONLY Art Show participants are being offered this opportunity to reserve an Artist Alley table for two hours at a time to promote their work - at no cost to the artists (although Nevada sales tax rules apply). Email art@renovationsf.org to schedule a time slot or two at these special tables in Artist Alley.

2. 'Meet the Artist' Events: There will be two Meet The Artist events in the Art Show during the convention. The first is part of Art Night and runs from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Thursday. Some artists will be scheduled to do demos and panels at 8:00 PM. The second event will be Saturday morning at 11:00 AM. Should be a lot of fun as it gives Art Show artists and art lovers a chance to visit and hang out.

3. Artist Showcase Booklet: For the first time, Worldcon will print a full-color collectible booklet for sale at the convention, featuring artist info and galleries. Only registered Art Show artists will be featured. Brilliant move by this year's Worldcon art committee folks. I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

4. Illustration Masterclass taught by Richard Hescox: Learn from a Chesley Award-winning painting master. This opportunity is worth the price of admission by itself for aspiring artists. Spread the word about this one. I think this is a very cool opportunity on the part of Richard and Worldcon. Space is limited. Don't miss out!

5. Art Portfolio Reviews: Another invaluable opportunity for all job-seeking artists. Portfolio reviews by Guest of Honor Boris Vallejo and a range of industry Art Directors including Jon Schindehette, Lou Anders and David Palumbo. Again, space is limited. Tell your friends, but if I were you, I'd apply as soon as possible.

6. The Chesley Awards: Of course, the Chesleys are not new to the Worldcon effort. They're a tradition, especially when Worldcon is stateside. And they'll be the highlight of Worldcon's Art Night festivities on Thursday evening. The Chesleys are the awards administered by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists and ASFA will again host the Chesleys this year.

I love what Worldcon is doing this year. Amongst the art stars attending: Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Dave Palumbo, Bob Eggleton, Richard Hescox, Lee Moyer, Vincent Villafranca, Martina Pilcerova, Alan Beck, Anthony Palumbo, Winona Nelson, Irene Gallo, Lou Anders, and Jon Schindehette. And many more besides them. Not too late to join the fun. This is gonna be an amazing show. :)

Heaven's Shadow: An Interview with David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt

2011-06-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

The SF Signal Pocast hits its 60th episode today. Always a great podcast, this week's episode is either improved or debased by the introduction of... me. SF Signal kindly asked me to interview David S. Goyer ( Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of the blockbuster films The Dark Knight and Batman Begins) and Michael Cassutt (The Twilight Zone, Red Moon) about their new novel Heaven's Shadow. Both authors impressed me mightily with their knowledge about both classic and contemporary literary SF and the ideas they have brought to bear in Heaven's Shadow. Please check out the podcast and the book.

The Dervish House nominated for the John W. Campbell Best Novel Award

2011-06-10T10:26:00.000-05:00

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction have announced the 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists. I am thrilled to share the news that Ian McDonald's novel, The Dervish House, is among the finalists. This honor joins The Dervish House's Hugo nomination, Arthur C. Clarke nomination, Locus Award nomination, and BSFA win. At this point, I don't think it's even biased of me to say that if you haven't read The Dervish House yet, you really should.

All About eBooks with Sam Sykes

2011-06-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

Sam Sykes, (Tome of the Undergates, Black Halo) has written a post entitled "All About eBooks" that rather succinctly explains why good things take time. The post also contains "a Dante’s Inferno-style biography of Lou Anders that I’m calling The Anderman."

Here's an excerpt:

Canto 6, Verse 22
And because I showed no fear, he wanted me to know more,
thus he opened the doors and I beheld them: shackled to their desks,
in life hereafter as they had been in life waking. Perhaps it was
the editor’s great sin that he be damned to a hell without love lost,
knives in the belly, soddering irons in the flesh, fire in the spirit.
Nay, we had lived too long and too little to earn anything but this.
Our hell was repetition.

Monty Python Talks About... Writing

2011-06-05T09:04:00.001-05:00

Kill 'em by Parnell Hall

2011-06-04T09:01:00.001-05:00

Hugga Wugga

2011-06-03T08:56:00.000-05:00

Stick to your dream!

2011 Chesley Award Finalists

2011-06-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, have announced the 2011 Chesley Award Finalists. I'm thrilled to be nominated for a fourth time in the category of Best Art Director (I won in 2009), and equally happy to see two Pyr cover illustrations make the list. Congratulations to Todd Lockwood for his nomination for the cover for Tom LLoyd's The Ragged Man and to Stephan Martiniere for his nomination for the cover illustration for Ian McDonald's Ares Express. Both are in the category of Best Paperback. And congratulations to all the nominees. Please follow the link above and check out all the amazing work.

Signing in the Waldenbooks by Parnell Hall

2011-05-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mike Resnick for turning me onto this brilliant bit of musical honesty and self promotion:

And here's one of Parnell Hall's books.

Beware the Giant Fire Breathing Robot

2011-05-23T08:50:00.000-05:00

I'm a guest today on episode 80 of the Giant Fire Breathing Robot podcast. They say, "Andrew and Ashley pick the brain of Lou Anders, the steady hand at the wheel of Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books. We’d make the easy “what’s a book joke” here, but this interview is so full of great info and kick-ass book recommendations that we’ll just let the audio speak for itself. Lou gives tips for people who want to do his job, and he gives some great info for people who fancy themselves the next Tolkien."

You can listen at the link above, or download from iTunes.

I'm not going to BEA but...

2011-05-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

Pyr will be represented at Book Expo America in the Prometheus Books booth, #4566.

Book Expo America is a trade only event that delivers the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and industry professionals anywhere in North America. It takes place at the Javits Center in New York City.

In the BEA autographing area, Clay and Susan Griffith, co-authors of the Vampire Empire trilogy, will be signing copies of book one, The Greyfriar, as well as giving away bookmarks for book two, The Rift Walker, which will be published in September. BEA attendees, get your signed copy at Table #25 on Tuesday, May 24, 10:30 - 11:30 am EST.

The Pyr Fall-Winter 2011-2012 catalog will be available at booth #4566, as will publisher staff in marketing, publicity, ebooks, and sales. Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders will NOT be at BEA this year, but please do say hello to the rest of us! If you're a book reviewer or blogger interested in Pyr and are attending BEA, feel free to email publicity@prometheusbooks.com and let us know you'll be stopping by.

Conan The Musical

2011-05-17T16:32:00.001-05:00

Just putting this here so I can always find it:

Bach

2011-05-17T16:17:00.001-05:00

2011 Locus Award Finalists

2011-05-11T14:38:00.001-05:00

The 2011 Locus Award Finalists have been announced and it's with great pleasure that I discovered that Ian McDonald's The Dervish House (which I edited for Pyr) is up in the category of Best Novel as well as Swords & Dark Magic, (which I co-edited with Jonathan Strahan for Eos) in the category of Best Anthology. And from that anthology, Joe Abercrombie's "The Fool Jobs" is in the category of Best Novelette.

Masked and Anonymous

2011-05-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

Lubbock Online has posted a review of my superhero prose anthology, Masked. They write:

"Verdict: Thumbs up. Any sort of anthology like this is going to have some good stories and some not-so-good stories, and I'm glad to say that most of these fall on the good side of the equation. Far and away, my favorite stories were the ones by Gail Simone, Bill Willingham, and Paul Cornell, but the majority of the stories in this book are just plain great. ....Not a perfect anthology, but certainly one of the better ones of this type I've seen. if you're a superhero fan, this is definitely something you'll want to pick up."

My Reading from the PKD Award

2011-04-29T09:57:00.002-05:00

Ian McDonald's Hugo-nominated The Dervish House optioned by Warp Films.

2011-04-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

Ian McDonald's BSFA-winning, Hugo nominated novel, The Dervish House, has been optioned by Warp Film. The Zeno Agency reported the film option yesterday. From their blog:

Zeno Agency is delighted to announce that film and television rights to Ian McDonald‘s award winning novel THE DERVISH HOUSE have been optioned by Warp Films. The deal was negotiated by Zeno’s John Richard Parker who says, ‘As with all Ian’s books THE DERVISH HOUSE is very much cinematic as well being an imaginative tour de force. I have always believed it has the qualities that make it eminently suitable for film and I am sure that with Warp’s enthusiasm for the project and their fantastic track record, all the ingredients are in place to put together something very special indeed.’

Warp Films have had notable successes recently with SUBMARINE and FOUR LIONS and Executive Producer Peter Carlton says ‘We’re delighted to have the chance to adapt THE DERVISH HOUSE for the screen, set in that most iconic of cities, crossroads of east and west, past and future, Istanbul. It starts with an explosion on a tram and ends in a race to stop a terrorist plot, but in the meantime Ian somehow weaves together speculative share trading, nanotechnology and Islamic microcalligraphy, to name but a few strands in this visual feast that has a narrative sweep and ambition all too rare in contemporary fiction.‘

Norwescon 34

2011-04-26T13:40:00.000-05:00

I'm back from Norwescon 34, where I was guest of honor representing Pyr as Spotlight Publisher. This was my first time at a Norwescon, my first time in Seattle, and only my second time in the Northwest (though I used to live in California). And I have to say I was very, very impressed with everything and everybody. The convention had an estimated attendance of around 3600 people, and was held April 21-24 at SeaTac, WA, in the same hotel it's been in for two decades (the DoubleTree Hotel Seattle Airport). The long-running association made for a very smooth con.

I flew in Thursday with my whole family and hit the ground running. In the green room, we bumped into Mary Robinette Kowal, who did an impromptu shadow puppet show for my six year old son, then at the opening Banquet, my son was thrilled to win a pair of Star Wars chopsticks in the raffle. (They only raffled two sets. Most of the other items raffled were Pyr books, which wouldn't have thrilled him as much to win, as his daddy has a basement full of same). At the opening ceremonies, the convention also presented me with a very nice plague in appreciation for contributions to "liturature." The plaque is beautiful, and while they've offered to correct the misspelling, honestly, folks, is perfect the way it is!

Then it was to the art show reception, where I had a lovely conversation with Artist Guest of Honor Kinuko Y. Craft's husband, and caught up with old friend Todd Lockwood. Todd built his art show display this year around the gorgeous-beyond-words cover illustration he did for the Pyr edition of Tom Lloyd's The Stormcaller. I've seen it in person before, but it never fails to take my breath away. Todd is also just an awesome guy, and it's always a pleasure to hang with him.

9pm Thursday was my first panel - "The Best of Steampunk Then and Now" - moderated by Eileen Gunn, and with Mark Teppo, Diana Vick, and Chalire Hummel. I was impressed with how well attended it was for an evening panel, and hope we did some good clarifying just what steampunk is and isn't, should be and shouldn't.

I'll pause and say a con has never worked me harder than Norwescon did, but as it had been eight long months since this stage-loving, egomaniacal, book promoter has been in front of an audience, that was just what the doctor ordered. What I heard from the other guests was that the con works you hard but takes good care of you, and I can testify that's the case. So let me stop and give a shout out to Dawn Marie Pares, my wrangler, who really made the show. She met me every morning with a decaf skinny vanilla latte, met me before every panel (often with tea), and made sure that while I was being taken care of, my family was too. Here she is with her husband, Matt Youngmark, author of the Choose Your Own Adventure-style zombie novel, Zombocalypse Now. Dawn Marie, you were fantastic! It was wonderful to meet you and you made the con. I'm back to having to get my own coffee and figuring out where I'm supposed to be on my own, and the degree to which you spoiled me is becoming apparent.

Then Thurdsay ended with a visit to the Party with the Small Press, where I hooked up with my friend and author Sam Sykes (of Tome of the Undergates and Black Halo fame). Here are Sam and posing by the display of Pyr books in the lobby. Not pictured, Sam and I staying up until 3:30am. Also not pictured, the drunk in the hall who woke me up at 4am. Also not pictured, my children, two hours out of their time zone, waking me up at 5am. Never to be pictured, Lou on 1.5 intermittent hours sleep, getting up to start a grueling day of being witty and "on."

Friday I had panels at 11am, Noon, and 3pm, with the Lifetime Member's Dinner at 5pm (and what good food for a con-hosted banquet!), then the Philip K. Dick awards at 7pm, and a 10pm "Geek Geek Don't Tell Me" game-show style panel. Cat Rambo has posted "Notes from the Year’s Best Fantasy and Science Fiction 2010 Panel," a list of recommendations from the panelists, who in addition to Yours Truly included Brenda Cooper, Gordon Van Gelder, Cat, and Sam Sykes. But it was the "Marketing for Writers Panel" and the "Editing the Novel" panels later that afternoon where I really started to get a feel for how well attended panels at Norwescon is. I think one room was crammed to bursting with around 70-80 folks. The panels here too seemed to be more relevant/less frivolous than some con panels I've attended. Friday also saw the arrival of Erin Hoffman, game designer and author of the forthcoming novel Sword of Fire and Sea, and her husband Jay Ridler. Erin somehow managed to avoid being photographed, so here's the cover of her book.

And now... the Philip K. Dick Awards. The Philip K. Dick Award ar presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by the NorthWest Science Fiction Society.

I was on hand to read a selection from the novel, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder, and, as it happened, to accept the award on his behalf when he won. The ceremony was streamed with a video feed, so Mark, awake at 5am in Spain, was able to listen to a live feed of the ceremony. His reaction: "OMG OMG OMG! Are you kidding me!!!! Cannot believe it! Seriously, I'm dumbstruck … And over the moon!!!" As was I. Mark and I were both so unprepared for this that neither of us thought he might need to send me an acceptance speech! But obviously, we are thrilled. I'm pictured here accepting the award from award administrator and Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction editor/publisher Gordon Van Gelder.

Here is the full ceremony. I read the excerpt at 27 minutes, 20 seconds in and accept at 50 minutes, 20 seconds in.

That evening ended with friends old and new, as all great evenings do.

Saturday was another heavy day of panels, including the very enjoyable "Trends in Urban Fantasy" with Kat Richardson and Jim Butcher, and the very-well attended A/V presentation I always give at cons, "Pyr Books Presents..." in which a great deal of never-before-seen artwork from our forthcoming season(s) was exhibited. Sandwiched around this was a lunch with Duane Wilkins of University Bookstore and Gordon Van Gelder, and a dinner with Erik Mona of Paizo.

Then Saturday night, I was excited to learn, Norwescon throws a party in your honor! The "Spotlight Publisher Party" was amazing - with a paid bar, a huge spread of food, and several hundred Pyr books scattered about the room as gifts to the attendees. (We aren't fools: they were all first-in-series books, and I'm proud to say, not a one of them were left by midnight). Here is a picture from the party of Todd Lockwood and Programming Director SunnyJim Morgan.

Then Sunday was a final panel in the AM, and I was cut loose to explore Seattle with my family. Thanks to Rob Stewart, who not only arranged my travel to the con, but also got my family passes to the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and to the Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. The Battlestar Galactica exhibit at the former was great, and the Star Wars exhibit at the later was amazing. In fact, I was looking at this original model of the Millenium Falcon when the Hugo Awards nominations were announced. Obviously, I'm honored to be nominated in the category of Best Professional Editor, Long Form for a fifth year running and thrilled with Ian McDonald's nomination for The Dervish House in the category of Best Novel.

Then it was a good seafood dinner at Ivar's Acres of Clams and back to the hotel, where I stopped in at the dead dog to thank the organizers for a magnificent con experience. Norwescon was just amazing, and what made it so was the professionalism and warmth of Dawn Marie, Sunnijim, Rob, Les Howle, Kevin Black, and many more tireless volunteers. Thanks SeaTac for a fantastic convention experience. Rob, good luck with that zombie, buddy!

Swords & Dark Magic: You Ought to Read It

2011-04-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

The website Stella Matutina has reviewed Swords & Dark Magic, which they call a "gem." They say:

"I enjoyed almost all the stories. Strahan and Anders have assembled a strong collection from a talented group of authors. The plots are tight, the stakes are personal and the writing’s a pleasure to read. Even when the plot didn’t quite engage me, the prose kept me reading. ...All in all: good stuff. If you like secondary world fantasy, or have any interest in the authors who contributed, you ought to read it."

The Shirley Jackson Awards

2011-04-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

The 2010 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees have been announced, and I am delighted to report that the sword & sorcery anthology that I co-edited with Jonathan Strahan, Swords & Dark Magic, has been nominated in the category "Edited Anthology." Congratulations to all the nominees, and to all the contributors of Swords & Dark Magic.

"Goats of Glory" - Steven Erikson
"Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company" - Glen Cook
"Bloodsport" - Gene Wolfe
"The Singing Spear" - James Enge
"A Wizard of Wiscezan" - C.J. Cherryh
"A Rich Full Week" - K. J. Parker
"A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" - Garth Nix
"Red Pearls: An Elric Story" - Michael Moorcock
"The Deification of Dal Bamore" - Tim Lebbon
"Dark Times at the Midnight Market" - Robert Silverberg
"The Undefiled" - Greg Keyes
"Hew the Tint Master" - Michael Shea
"In the Stacks" - Scott Lynch
"Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe" - Tanith Lee
"The Sea Troll's Daughter" - Caitlin R Kiernan
"Thieves of Daring" - Bill Willingham
"The Fool Jobs" - Joe Abercrombie

In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. The Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented at Readercon 22, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Peter Jackson's videoblog of filming The Hobbit

2011-04-14T09:13:00.002-05:00

Got Pyr?

2011-04-13T13:32:00.001-05:00

“One of the most exciting publishers in the business."
-Black Gate magazine

"If you haven’t given Pyr releases a look, you really should. Their output…is nothing short of amazing…consistently good."
-LEC Book Reviews

“One of a very few publishers I know who have no bad books to their name.”
-BiblioBuffet

“If every publishing house’s cover art were as consistently attractive as Pyr’s, a lot more people would feel encouraged to read books…”
-Rob Will Review

“If there’s anything I’ve come to trust in the publishing world, it’s the quality of Pyr’s releases.”
-A Dribble of Ink

“Pyr…has stood out in science fiction publishing as a publisher with a fantastic list of authors, a standard for great editorial quality, and amazing cover art to back it all up.”
-SciFi Watch

“[Awarding] Pyr and Lou Anders for rekindling my love of Science Fiction along with some quality Fantasy and continually publishing series over consecutive months which all Fantasy fans adore. Plus they have some of the best covers in this or any genre.”
-Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Market Insights

2011-04-12T12:03:00.001-05:00

I'm guest posting on the Clarion blog today, doing a piece they call "Market Insights," talking about all the things that Pyr isn't. Here's a sample:

"We’re not really a good place for gross-out horror, slipstream, literary fantasy, or those “difficult to categorize” works. 'Not that there’s anything wrong with that,' he says, in his best Seinfeld impression. It’s just not our focus. When we first conceived of Pyr, we debated about whether or not to specialize in a subgenre, create a line look, or adhere to a particular philosophy or theme (in keeping with the parent company’s reputation for rationalist/humanist works). We opted not to do any of these things. Rather, we decided that we’d publish unabashedly genre works—space opera, military SF, time travel novels, epic fantasies, swords & sorcery—works that recognize and honor the tradition of science fiction and fantasy literature, but had an eye on the 21^st century. We wanted, though it sounds egotistical to say, works which took the writing to a 'higher level.'"

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

2011-04-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

I have enjoyed Tsui Hark's films in the past, and this looks pretty interesting:

On the one hand we have Game of Thrones...

2011-04-08T10:04:00.001-05:00

And on the other, this:

Adventures in SciFi Publishing

2011-03-30T09:11:00.000-05:00

The latest episode of Adventures in SciFi Publishing features an interview with The Desert of Souls author and Black Gate managing editor Howard Andrew Jones. They talk about the novel (which sounds great), his other novel, Black Gate's plans for the future, and the importance of heroes. At the end, I return for my first "Ask the Editor" segment in some time. I appear to be panting, as the segment was taped as I paced back and forth around my den, but hopefully there's some information in amid the heavy breathing.

Got Wolfsangel?

2011-03-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

“Savage, dark, strange, and unpredictable.” -Joe Abercrombie

“Sorcery and savagery fuel this rousing historical fantasy... Vivid in its rendering of the primitive historical past, this entertaining adventure will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.” -Publishers Weekly, January 17, 2011

“This somber series debut echoes the brooding atmosphere of Scandinavian myth and should appeal to a wide readership.” -Library Journal, February 15, 2011

“We are not done with werewolves and the fey, at least not while we have books as fine as Wolfsangel by M. D. Lachlan...” -Agony Column, January 12, 2011

“Lachlan is a gifted author and one who clearly loves his chosen subject and historical setting, which makes this novel is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy tinged with atmospheric horror elements...[his] writing has a certain quality that sucks you in and draws you on through the story...From raids to single combat, the author really puts the reader into the heart of the action; it is close, brutal and often highly personal. Certainly, Wolfsangel contains some of the best, most realistic fight scenes I’ve read in a while...Wolfsangel is a highly recommended historical fantasy… if you give it a try you will be rewarded for doing so. Dark, atmospheric, original… This is a great read.” -Civilian Reader blog, December 21, 2010

“Wolfsangel is wonderful historical fantasy that gives a different spin on the werewolf legend that tells a story of love, betrayal and the search for the truth. It is a tale that mixes love, betrayal and brutal action in a satisfying way that will leave a reader wanting more. This is recommended for fans who wish for a more brutal type of werewolf story in a historical fantasy setting. I give this one five stars Top Pick keeper status and looking forward to the sequel!” -Night Owl Reviews, Five StarsMarch 11, 2011

Works I Edited in 2010: The Complete List (repost)

2011-03-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

In these last hours of Hugo Awards nominations, I thought I'd repost this handy-dandy list of all the books that I edited in 2010, which details not only all of Pyr's output but the two short story collections that I edited as well. Many of these books and stories are deserving of consideration, and I'll detail the artists who did these covers as well. So...

Pyr's 2010 Publications:

Kay Kenyon's Prince of Storms (in hc and paperback). Cover art by Stephan Mariniere.
Kay Kenyon's City Without End (reprint). Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Paul McAuley's Gardens of the Sun. Cover art by Sparth.
David Louis Edelman's Geosynchron. Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Joel Shepherd's Petrodor. Cover art by David Palumbo.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dragonfly Falling. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Blood of the Mantis. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
George Mann's Ghosts of Manhattan. Cover art by Benjamin Carre.
Ian McDonald's Ares Express (reprint). Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Mark Chadbourn's The Devil in Green. Cover art by John Picacio.
Mark Chadbourn's The Queen of Sinister. Cover art by John Picacio.
Mark Chadbourn's The Hounds of Avalon. Cover art by John Picacio.
Matthew Sturges' The Office of Shadow. Cover art by Chris McGrath.
Jon Sprunk's Shadow's Son. Cover art by Michael Komarck.
Ian McDonald's The Dervish House. Cover art by Stephan Martiniere.
Tom Lloyd's The Ragged Man. Cover art by Todd Lockwood.
Jasper Kent's Twelve. Cover art by Paul Young.
Sam Sykes' Tome of the Undergates. Cover art by Paul Young.
Mark Hodders' The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Salute the Dark. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
Joel Shepherd's Tracato. Cover art by David Palumbo.
Pierre Pevel's The Cardinal's Blades. Cover art by Jon Sullivan.
James Enge's The Wolf Age. Cover art by Dominic Harman.
Clay and Susan Griffith's The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1). Cover art by Chris McGrath.
James Barclay's Elfsorrow. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
James Barclay's Shadowheart. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
James Barclay's Demonstorm. Cover art by Raymond Swanland.
Tim Akers' The Horns of Ruin. Cover art by Benjamin Carre.
Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special. Cover art by J. Seamus Gallagher.

30 novels in 31 bindings. Quite a year. Pyr itself turned 5 and hit our 100th title. I've posted a round up of various Best of 2010 posts over at the Pyr blog. Ian McDonald's The Dervish House and Clay and Susan Griffith's The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1) seem to be making the most Best of lists, but Pyr novels are appearing all over!

Turning to short fiction, I edited 33 individual stories, detailed below. The Hugo Awards defines a short story as anything less than 7,500 words, a novelette as being between 7,500 words and 17,500 words, and a novella as being from 17,500 words to 40,000.

Pyr released one novelette in 2010, James Enge's "Travellers' Rest," which was made available as a free ebook in both ePub and Kindle formats. Cover art by Chuck Lukacs. 8,471 words.

Beyond Pyr, I edited two short fiction anthologies (making this a year in which I am personally eligible in both the long form and short form categories, in case you are wondering). Each contained very many deserving short stories, novelettes, and novellas. They were:

Masked (Gallery Books). Cover art by Trevor Hairsine:

"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges (9,825 words)
"Where their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey (6,868 words)
"Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell (4,795 words)
"The Non-Event" by Mike Carey (6,093 words)
"Avatar" by Mike Baron (4,483 words)
"Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory (9,514 words)
"Thug" by Gail Simone (5,746 words)
"Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter (6,733 words)
"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson (11,404 words)
"Head Cases" by Peter David & Kathleen David (5,474)
"Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi (18,181)
"By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn (6,636 words)
"Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu (8,955 words)
"Tonight we fly" by Ian McDonald (4,998 words)
"A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham (15,932 words)

Swords & Dark Magic (co-edited with Jonathan Strahan, Eos). Cover art by Benjamin Carre. (Deluxe edition, Subterranean Press. Cover art by Dominic Harman).

"Goats of Glory" - Steven Erikson (10,301 words)
"Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company" - Glen Cook (9,973 words)
"Bloodsport" - Gene Wolfe (5,562 words)
"The Singing Spear" - James Enge (3,455 words)
"A Wizard of Wiscezan" - C.J. Cherryh (10,543 words)
"A Rich Full Week" - K. J. Parker (9,912 words)
"A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" - Garth Nix (5,068 words)
"Red Pearls: An Elric Story" - Michael Moorcock (17,206)
"The Deification of Dal Bamore" - Tim Lebbon (7,425 words)
"Dark Times at the Midnight Market" - Robert Silverberg (8,177 words)
"The Undefiled" - Greg Keyes (4,254 words)
"Hew the Tint Master" - Michael Shea (11,489 words)
"In the Stacks" - Scott Lynch (14,643 words)
"Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe" - Tanith Lee (10,715 words)
"The Sea Troll's Daughter" - Caitlin R Kiernan
"Thieves of Daring" - Bill Willingham (2,219 words)
"The Fool Jobs" - Joe Abercrombie (8,372 words)

And that's it for 2010. I do sincerely hope you will check out all the many deserving writers and artists in the list above.

The Dervish House Places (and tops) many Best of 2010 lists.

2011-03-23T08:32:00.000-05:00

SF Site has posted their Readers' Choice: Best Read of the Year: 2010 and Ian McDonald's The Dervish House tops the list at # 1! They say:

"The tightly plotted story takes place over a brief period of time in a confined setting, the sprawling metropolis of Istanbul. But it is McDonald's writing and his handling of character that led SF Site readers to choose The Dervish House as the best book of 2010."

But The Dervish House is already all over Best of 2010 lists. Here are a few:

#1 on Bookgasm's 5 Best SciFi Books of 2010 (and Stephan Martiniere is their choice for Best Cover Artist, with his covers for The Dervish House).

#1 (tied with Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven) on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist's Top 10 Speculative Fiction Titles of 2010.

1 of 5 unranked books in Fantasy Literature's FanLit's Favorite Books of 2010 science fiction list.

Included in io9's unranked The 15 Best Speculative Fiction Books of 2010.

Included in Locus magazine's unranked Recommended Reading List.

Included in Concatenation's unranked Best SF Books of 2010.

Included in Adam Robert's unranked 10 Best SF Novels of 2010.

So, basically it tops every ranked list and places on the unranked.

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

I saw The Adjustment Bureau last week and loved it. Based on yet another Philip K. Dick story, and one of the better adaptations of his work. Funny, engaging, well-acted, well-crafted. Not as mind-blindingly complex as Inception, not as expensive as Avatar, just a smooth execution of a good concept. The kind of film that makes me excited about writing and reading and watching and thinking. Highly recommended.

There are a lot of SF films coming out this year, but I could easily see this ending up on the Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form shortlist for the Hugos.

Just for the record...

2011-03-11T09:18:00.001-06:00

It takes a bit of work to make a decent ebook. I've been overseeing the conversion of the Pyr backlist for two months now, so I know. I've also bought about 15 ebooks in the last two weeks on iBooks, and I'm sorry to say that I wish a few of the publishers whose books I've bought had taken a little more time with the conversion process. In one sad case, every single first letter of the first word on every line of the contents page is omitted. In another, every instance of the word "pilot" has been rendered as "pi lot," where about a quarter of all apostrophes are rendered as dashes. A third omits all interior illustrations though the cover and front matter proclaims "illustrated by...".

So when I hear people clamoring for instant gratification, moaning that "why isn't this book I want available right now in all formats" and accusing the publisher of sitting on it deliberately or some such nonesense - I grit my teeth. Right now ebooks are in the same place CDs were when they first appeared. Remember all those quick and dirty AAD conversions - Analog Analog Digital - and the CDs that came with warning labels that said, "this CD may reveal limitations of the original source tape" because the music was just being dumped in, not digitally remastered?

Well, there's a lot of that out there now. This will change, as publishers learn how to make ebooks part of the initial work flow of making a book and as ebooks grow. And in fact, most of the new titles I've acquired have looked pretty good. The majority of the mistakes above are in backlist titles where the publisher has raced to digitize their catalogs as fast as possible and done a sloppy job. Sadly, I seriously doubt they'll go back and fix these books once converted.

So, against all the consumers demanding everything digitized now, here's one consumer that wishes they would all take a little more time. I'd rather they did it right than did it fast.

Locus Roundtable: Ian McDonald's Developing Economies Stories

2011-03-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

Yours Truly, Cat Rambo, Fabio Fernandes, Paul Graham Raven, Rachel Swirsky, and Karen Burnham discussing the works of Ian McDonald. Check out the Locus Roundtable: Ian McDonald’s Developing Economies Stories.

Fabio Fernandes: "The first Ian McDonald story I read was the novelette “Toward Kilimanjaro”, in the now deceased Brazilian edition of Isaac Asimov’s Magazine, in the early 1990s. I loved the way he revamped a Ballardian classic trope (one is quickly reminded of The Crystal World). Soon after that, I got a copy of Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone, and then I was hooked – I found in him a late cyberpunk author who managed to write in the same key of Ballard, Zelazny, and Gibson, keeping his own voice at the same time. Every now and then I pick up this story and read it again, and it never seems to lose its flavor."

We Are Equals

2011-03-08T14:39:00.001-06:00

SF Signal Podcast: The Borders Bankruptcy

2011-02-28T11:04:00.000-06:00

First, everyone needs to listen to this podcast from SF Signal, featuring a round table discussion with Alan Beatts (owner of independent bookstore Borderlands Books), Chris Roberson and Alison Baker (owners of publisher Monkeybrain Books) and author Cat Valente. The subject is "What the Borders Bankruptcy Means for Brick and Mortar Bookstores" and the discussion is something everyone concerned about the health, quality, and diversity of literature should hear.

Then you need to go to this post on the blog Reluctant Habits, where Edward Champion has posted an invaluable List of Independent Alternatives to Closed Borders Bookstores. This is a list of all the Borders stores being closed and independent stores nearby (with their proximity in miles).

Then put 2 and 2 together.

Game of Thrones

2011-02-28T10:34:00.000-06:00

I Shoud Be Writing

2011-02-25T13:39:00.000-06:00

I'm interviewed by the wonderful Mur Lafferty on episode 185 of her I Should Be Writing podcast. We talk about steampunk, piracy, forthcoming Pyr releases, and whether or not "write what you know" makes any sense. You can listen at the link above or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Super Harmony - The Super Hero Dating Service

2011-02-22T09:41:00.002-06:00

Via SF Signal:

Star Wars Talk to Your Kids PSA

2011-02-21T08:42:00.000-06:00

Via SF Signal:

Swords & Dark Magic - Best Heroic Fantasy of 2010

2011-02-18T11:15:00.002-06:00

Larry Nolen has posted his list of the Best Heroic Fantasy of 2010, a list of seven novels and two anthologies. I'm very proud to see Swords & Dark Magic, which I co-edited with Jonathan Strahan for Eos books, place at #7, while Pyr author Adrian Tchaikovsky's Salute the Dark came in at #8.

Speaking of Swords & Dark Magic, Larry writes:

Caitlín R. Kiernan’s “The Sea-Troll’s Daughter” brilliantly subverts the ugly/evil, handsome/good stereotypes embedded in so many tales, as the hero becomes more the villain and the presumed villain takes on heroic qualities that are the inverse of those presented in more traditional tales. Gene Wolfe’s “Bloodsport” is perhaps one of his better short fictions in recent years, as he still manages to confound and entrap the reader with the metaphysical qualities of the first-person narrator and his possible unreliability. These two stories alone, combined with several solid if not spectacular contributions from the likes of Steven Erikson and Michael Moorcock, help make Swords & Dark Magic a recommended anthology of heroic fantasy.

Of Salute the Dark he says:

The narrative arc that concludes in the fourth volume, Salute the Dark, is sharp, with little sense of extraneous detail thrown in to create a false sense of ponderousness. Tchaikovsky also weaves in elements from other subgenres such as steampunk to create a setting that feels different from traditional heroic fantasies. Combined with his quasi-magical totemic use of insects (beetles, wasps, bees, spiders, moths, mantis, ants, etc.), the atmosphere feels fresh. Tchaikovsky’s characters are complex and yet direct, which allows the author to develop and transform their personalities and actions as necessary. By the time the introductory plot arc concludes with Salute the Dark, the reader will have found herself wondering just where from here Tchaikovsky is heading with his overall series, considering how well he concludes several character and subplot arcs.

Podcast: Comic Book Outsiders Discuss Masked

2011-02-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

This week on the podcast Comic Book Outsiders, they are discussing my anthology Masked. I was interviewed on Comic Book Outsiders back in November as a guest, and am eager to hear what the book club has to say now.

Masked: A really good collection!

2011-02-10T10:18:00.001-06:00

There's a wonderfully positive review of Masked up at Tales from the Bookworm's Lair. Reviewer J. Andrew Byers goes story by story, but says in summation, "this is a really good collection... I really, really enjoyed this one, and would love to see a follow-up volume, also edited by Lou Anders and featuring many of these authors."

J. Andrew, from your lips to Superman's ears!

Superman Classic: Really Nice Fan Short

2011-02-10T09:45:00.000-06:00

Via Chris Roberson

Locus Magazine's 2010 Recommended Reading List

2011-02-03T09:00:00.001-06:00

Locus magazine has posted their 2010 Recommended Reading list, and I'm proud to say that works I edited are all over it. Ian McDonald's The Dervish House is in the Novels-Science Fiction category, James Enge's The Wolf Age is in the Novels-Fantasy, and Swords & Dark Magic (co-edited with Jonathan Strahan) is in the Anthologies-Original category. From Swords & Dark Magic, Joe Abercrombie's "The Fool Jobs" is in the Novelettes category, as is Steven Erikson's "Goats of Glory" and Scott Lynch's "In the Stacks" and K.J. Parker's "A Rich Full Week." In the Short Story category, Ian McDonald's "Tonight We Fly," from my anthology Masked, joins another contribution from Swords & Dark Magic, Garth Nix's "A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet." Congratulations to all the authors for their tremendous work, and to everyone on the list.

Japanese Toyota Prius Ad with Superman

2011-02-02T09:37:00.001-06:00

While watching White Collar last night, I remarked to my wife that Matthew Bomer would make a good Clark Kent/Superman. She thought he was too small and short, and she's probably right. But this morning, she pointed me to this. Turns out someone else thought so too:

SF Signal Podcast: The Future and Impact of eBook Publishing

2011-01-31T09:53:00.000-06:00

Episode 26 of the SF Signal Podcast marks their inaugural "virtual convention panel." Yours Truly, Mike Resnick, Sue Lange, John Picacio and hosts Patrick Hester and Jon DeNardo discuss the future and impact of eBook Publishing. I think it went rather well, if I do say so myself. The episode is available at the link above, and on iTunes.

Swords & Dark Magic: Elitist's Best of 2010

2011-01-31T09:46:00.000-06:00

Elitist Book Reviews have just published their Best of 2010 list, and I'm thrilled that Swords & Dark Magic, the sword & sorcery anthology I edited along with Jonathan Strahan for Eos books, is on the their list. Also included are no less than ten books by Pyr authors (which I naturally also edited), making the total of Lou-related works in the list eleven out of seventeen books! I'm 65% of their year!

The full list:

GEOSYNCHRON by David Louis Edelman
James Barclay's novels -- ELFSORROW and SHADOWHEART
SWORDS & DARK MAGIC edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
THE RAGGED MAN by Tom Lloyd
Adrian Tchaikovsky's novels -- EMPIRE IN BLACK AND GOLD, DRAGONFLY FALLING, BLOOD OF THE MANTIS and SALUTE THE DARK
MR. MONSTER by Dan Wells
TOME OF THE UNDERGATES by Sam Sykes
TWELVE by Jasper Kent
SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY by Mary Robinette Kowal
THE BIRD OF THE RIVER by Kage Baker
BLACKOUT and ALL CLEAR by Connie Willis
NIGHTS OF VILLJAMUR by Mark Charan Newton

Unwelcome Irony

2011-01-21T09:36:00.000-06:00

So this morning my Google Alerts returns exactly two searches on my name. One is a Goodreads discussion group in which some folks bag on me for objecting to piracy and the other is a torrent to a download of my anthology, Swords & Dark Magic.

Print Your Own Flute

2011-01-20T08:39:00.000-06:00

Via New Scientist:

Does eBook Piracy Help Sales?

2011-01-17T14:06:00.001-06:00

Media Bistro has an article, DOES EBOOK PIRACY HELP SALES. I like the comment, "It is illogical to interpret piracy as boosting sales. Piracy, one can assume, will come in direct relationship to popularity of a book. If more people want to buy it there will be a parallel number wanting to steal it."

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Bull Spec Issue Number Four

2011-01-17T10:31:00.001-06:00

I am interviewed, along with Orson Scott Card and Clay & Susan Griffith, in the current issue of Bull Spec magazine. This is a brand new speculative fiction magazine, beautifully presented, that you can buy in print or PDF (and, I'm told, ePub format soon). Check it out, and "like" Bull Spec's Facebook page as well.

Great looking cover

2011-01-16T09:52:00.001-06:00

Art by Paul Young. Design by Jackie Cooke.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Don't Steal Books

2011-01-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

Rene Sears has a very good and thoughtful post about illegal downloads on her blog, as well as a followup post about all the legal ways to read for free.

The first post deals with her exchange with someone on Twitter that claimed that by pirating a copy of a book in a region where the book is not being sold they were somehow "sending a message" to a publisher on the author's behalf. Rene makes several interesting points. She writes:

1) Book piracy is theft. My exchange with the other tweeter ended with him/her conceding that illegal downloading was wrong, but that "it's understandable since publishers are behind the times." Well, no. Wanting something doesn't give you the right to it. My four-year-old son is beginning to get the hang of this idea; surely an adult can. when you steal these books, you are not sending a message to the publisher. The publisher does not owe you books. The people in publishing are there because they love books, but it's still a business. A publisher tanking means they can't bring you more books. Furthermore, you are stealing money from the author and affecting that author's sales. Espcially for debut authors, this can seriously hurt their careers. You are not striking a blow to the man, you are hurting people who have worked very hard to get published and mostly don't make all that much money.

2) The global market isn't. There may be a global audience, but distribution and rights are still regional. And if sales in a region are siphoned away by piracy, publishers will assume there's no market in that region, because there are no sales. You can blithely wave your hands and say ebooks should be available everywhere, but the facts are more complicated and involve lawyers and contracts.

3)If you really want to convince a publisher that there's a market for a particular book or ebook in your region, the way to do that is not by stealing from them. That tells them exactly nothing. The way to communicate with a publisher is to communicate with a publisher. Not with the authors- as much as they wish they could, this isn't something they have control over: the publisher. Most publisher's websites will have some kind of contact page; write the publisher and tell them you want to see this book in your region in your preferred format. That will have far more impact than illegally downloading a book. Publishers want to connect with readers, both because they are readers and because they want to sell you books. They are not rubbing their hands together going "mwah ha ha" thinking of ways to screw any given region out of a book. They want to get the book out to as many readers as they can.

4)The other way to convince a publisher that there's a market is to buy books in your region. You may have to wait longer- there are books that came out in the UK last year that I'd quite like to read, but I'm waiting until they show up in US bookstores so that US publishers will know that there's a market for British books here. If you really can't wait, buy the book off Book Depository- they ship internationally free of charge. Just know that you're not helping your region get that book (or books like it.) (And I note Book Depository offers some free ebooks, too.)

5)If cost is an issue, there's always the library. Libraries are awesome. If they don't have the book you want, they can order it for you, and the author will see both money and sales figures from that sale.

6)If, at this point, you are still going to say that you prefer to read ebooks, and the ebook isn't available for your region, I'm not sure what to say. I prefer to eat caviar off the hood of a brand new Bentley, but that's not going to happen. Wanting something doesn't make you entitled to it. If you still go out and download something illegally, at least don't try and justify it by saying you're making a statement to a publisher. You aren't. You're just stealing books.

Her second post is about the wealth of legal free online reading already available. She writes:

After reading the twitter tag #ebookdownloads yesterday, some interesting things got repeated a lot by those who admitted to torrenting ebooks for whatever reason. A lot of people said things along the lines of "I'll illegally download a book, and if I like it, I'll go buy it," or, "I can't afford a book right now, but I'll pay for it later," or, "I live somewhere where books (or English language books) are scarce/ hard to come by." The thing that gets me about these statements is this: there is an assload of free fiction available on the internets.

Rene then lists sources of plenty of free online content, including (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Strange Horizons, Tor.com), authors and publishers' websites, web-based fiction sites like the excellent Shadow Unit, and all the free books on Kindle and Nook etc. (with a site called Books on the Knob that keeps you up to date on what's free.) None of these outlets are stealing - all these sites are giving you free fiction. Given this wealth of options, Rene concludes:

These are the ones I thought of immediately. I'm sure there are other legal ways to get free fiction. There's no reason to illegally download books unless you are possessed of a vast sense of entitlement and a lack of giving a shit about who you're hurting when you steal from them.

David Bowie

2011-01-13T12:09:00.001-06:00

The Best of 2010 Steampunk Facebook Awards

2011-01-13T09:20:00.004-06:00

Not a picture of Lou.

The steampunk page on Facebook has just announced "The Best of 2010 Steampunk Facebook Awards." They write, "The largest steampunk fan page on Facebook now has a set of yearly awards to acknowledge the best of the best, those people in the arts and other creative fields whose work has shone through above the rest or who hold the most worldwide popularity among the steampunk community for their work this year. As this is the first year of these awards, we will be taking into account the work that individuals have done over the course of the past decade when determining who to select."

I suppose I'll be needing a pair of brass goggles now as I've been named "Best Editor." But before I start affixing gears to all my gadgets, what this announcement really means is that someone appreciates all the wonderful steampunk books that Pyr has released in the last few months, books like The Ghosts of Manhattan, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, The Greyfriar, The Horns of Ruin, and The Buntline Special. For my part, I certainly appreciate their authors.

TC McCarthy's Germline

2011-01-13T08:43:00.000-06:00

Huge congratulations to my friend, fraternity brother and former CIA agent(!), TC McCarthy, on his forthcoming debut. His novel, Germline, will be published in mass market paperback in August. TC expresses his excitement here on his blog. You can also follow him on Twitter here.

From the Orbit Spring/Summer 2011 catalog:

Germline
The Subterrene War Trilogy, Book One
T.C. McCarthy
Aug-2011 | 978-0-316-12818-6 | Mass Market Paperback

Germline (n.) the genetic material contained in a cellular lineage which can be passed to the next generation.

Also: secret military program to develop genetically engineered super-soldiers (slang).

War is Oscar Wendell’s ticket to greatness. A reporter for The Stars and Stripes, he has the only one way pass to the front lines of a brutal war over natural resources buried underneath the icy, mineral rich mountains of Kazakhstan.

But war is nothing like he expected. Heavily armored soldiers battle genetically engineered troops hundreds of meters below the surface. The genetics-the germline soldiers-are the key to winning this war, but some inventions can’t be un-done. Some technologies can’t be put back in the box.

Kaz will change everything, not least Oscar himself. Hooked on a dangerous cocktail of adrenaline and drugs, Oscar doesn’t find the war, the war finds him.

Swords & Dark Magic - Something for Everyone

2011-01-11T14:38:00.001-06:00

The wonderfully named "An Eccentricity of Books and Tea to Go with Them" has posted a review of Swords & Dark Magic. They chose the Michael Moorcock, Caitlin Kiernan, and Scott Lynch stories as the standouts, but conclude, "I think that anyone interested in fantasy will find something to their liking."

Phoenix Jones - Real Life Super Hero

2011-01-06T09:16:00.000-06:00

Totally digging this:

Although apparently a senior Seattle-based superhero named Mr. Ravenblade has called him out. Just like in the comic books, two superheroes always have to fight.

A Trip Back in Time...and Sideways in Crime!

2011-01-04T10:38:00.001-06:00

Really nice to see a review for my 2008 anthology Sideways in Crime pop up. Pandora's Longbox singles out stories by Paul Di Filippo, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and others, and concludes: "Anders has included 15 short stories in Sideways in Crime and all of them show skill and verve. The result is the second collection I've recently read with Anders associated with it and the second that I have pretty much thoroughly enjoyed. So I'll be looking for Anders's name on new anthologies and, if you like a good collection of short stories, I recommend you do so as well."

Sideways in Crime was an anthology of "alternate mystery" stories - meaning classic "Who Dunnit" mysteries set in alternate histories. I'm very proud of it and very glad to see it's still being read.