Attention please, especially those of you who are librarians or are likely to be attending Finncon this year. As many of you will know, I am a fan of Liz Williams’ writing. Her latest book is just out, and because it is with Prime I am actually able to stock it. I can promise that the book will be of interest to librarians. There’s much to interest students of folklore too. And Liz is one of the Guests of Honor at Finncon this year so Finnish fans should be keen to check out her work. I have written a review, which you can read here. And then you can buy the book.
Books
A Lammy Winner – Half Price
The Lambda Literary Award winners for 2012 were announced in New York last night. These are for LGBT-themed books of all types. The SF/F/H category was won by The German by Lee Thomas, beating out a strong field that included a collection of short stories from Geoff Ryman. I’m delighted to be able to say that I have the book in my store. What’s more, the publishers, Lethe Press, are so delighted with their win that they have decided to put the book on sale for the rest of the month. Here’s how you can take advantage of their generosity:
Beyond Binary in Stock
Here’s a book I have been waiting eagerly for. Beyond Binary is an anthology from Lethe Press edited by Brit Mandelo. I’ll quote briefly from the blurb:
These seventeen stories explore the ways in which identity can go beyond binary—from space colonies to small college towns, from angels to androids, and from a magical past to other worlds entirely, the authors in this collection have brought to life wonderful tales starring people who proudly define (and redefine) their own genders, sexualities, identities, and so much else in between.
It has stories by such wonderful people as Nalo Hopkinson, Ellen Kushner, Sandra McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Delia Sherman and Catherynne M. Valente. There will be a proper review sometime soon, but in the meantime you know what to do, right?
New Book – Turns & Chances
Next week Wizard’s Tower will be releasing the next volume in Juliet McKenna’s back catalog. Turns & Chances was originally published as a standalone novella by PS Publishing, but is now out of print. The story is set in the country of Lescar, and on reading the book Chaz Brenchley told Juliet that Lescar sounded ripe for revolution. As Juliet explains here, this led her to write the Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution series, so Turns & Chances has a very important place in the story of Einarinn.
Our ebook edition uses the same magnificent Edward Miller artwork as the original (see below) and includes an introduction from Chaz that explains his thoughts about the book.
Turns & Chances will be on sale late next week. I’ll let you know as soon as it is available.
Book Review – Hide Me Among The Graves
A couple of months of intensive travel has been good for the book reading, if not for actually reducing the To Be Read pile. Now, of course, I have a backlog of reviews to write. The first one off the production line features the new novel from the American Guest of Honor at Eurocon, the very wonderful Mr. Tim Powers. If you want to know what I made of Hide Me Among The Graves, click here.
A Mythopoeic Award Nominee
One of the things that makes me very happy about my bookstore is that it contains a book by Ursula K. Le Guin. Normally, of course, Le Guin gets published by the big multi-national companies who put DRM on their books and don’t want anything to do with little stores like mine. When it comes to non-fiction, however, even the greatest authors don’t always get big deals. Cheek by Jowl, “a collection of talks and essays on how and why fantasy matters”, is published by Aqueduct Press, and so we have it in store. And it is just been short-listed for a Mythopoeic Award. Find out more about the book here.
Reporting In
Hello from Helsinki. I am here. The weather is good. Cat is apparently in Copenhagen changing planes. All is well. Today Otto, Paula and I will be on the road to Turku. There’s some sort of pub meet tonight, but we’ll want to be early to bed as the ferry leaves at stupid-o-clock tomorrow.
On the plane over I read Ishtar, a collection of stories by Kaaron Warren, Deb Biancotti and Cat Sparks. It’s wonderful. Review to follow.
New From Prime
With all of the back catalog now loaded into the bookstore, I can start on the new releases. As expected, our friends at Prime have been very busy. Here’s what they have produced for you in the last few weeks.
Not one book, but three. This is a classic cyberpunk trilogy from one of the founders of the genre, John Shirley. It has nuclear war, religious fundamentalists, and rock starts. A Song Called Youth – John Shirley (£13.45).
A novel of crime, gods and demons: Powers – James A. Burton. (£4.49)
Book One of The Vampire Musketeers. Yes, you read that right: sharp rapiers, and even sharper teeth. Sword & Blood – Sarah Marques (£4.49)
A new reprint anthology from Rich Horton & Sean Wallace. This one features stories about war in space. Featured authors include Ken Macleod, Al Reynolds, Cat Valente, Robert Reed, Sandra McDonald, Nancy Kress, Genevieve Valentine and Paul McAuley. The book also features the fabulous Hugo-nominated novella, “The Political Officer” by Charles Coleman Finlay. War and Space – Rich Horton & Sean Wallace (£4.49)
And finally a second anthology, this time from Paula Guran. Witches: Wicked, Wild & Wonderful features stories from big name writers such as Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Bear, Margo Lanagan and Kelly Link. Two of the stories, including one by Tim Pratt, are original to the collection. (£4.49)
I’ve also taken a quick peek at what they have lined up for June. Top of the list is Worldsoul by Liz Williams. Oh yes!
Kim Stanley Robinson UK Tour
As many of you will know, Kim Stanley Robinson has a new book out (2312). There’s also a tour. According to his website he’ll be in the UK from June 7-11, which is not very long. The only confirmed signing thus far is at Toppings in Bath on June 8. I’ll be there. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there too.
International Day Against DRM
Today is apparently International Day Against DRM. The fine folks at Angry Robot are running a one-day 50% off sale on all their ebook titles, which are all DRM free. There are some fine books in there. There are titles by Lauren Beukes, Kaaron Warren and Lavie Tidhar, plus a couple I have reveiwed recently: The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle, and Debris by Jo Anderton.
You may ask why I am not running a similar sale at my own store. Well, that’s because I don’t have the margins. Almost all the money I take in goes direct to the publishers (which in many cases are the authors). Organizing a sale of that type would require a lot of negotiation. But all of my books are DRM free, and there are lots of really great authors including Gwyneth Jones, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Adam Roberts, Ekaterina Sedia, Nisi Shawl, Catherynne M. Valente and Genevieve Valentine.
Lesbian Werewolves, Anyone?
Yes, I’ve got a new book from Lethe in the bookstore.
Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff got a nice review from Publishers Weekly. So if lesbian werewolves are your thing, you know what to do.
Ditmar Nominations
The nominee lists for Australia’s Ditmar Awards were announced recently. I note that the Best Novel nominees are all women. Aussie women also dominate (I keep using that word to wind up Mondy) all of the other fiction categories. There has been much talk about them on the latest Galactic Suburbia podcast. Naturally there are many Twelfth Planet books and stories on the ballot, and most of them we have available for you to buy. Here they are.
| Above/Below – Stephanie Campisi & Ben Peek |
Bad Power – Deborah Biancotti |
| Love and Romanpunk – Tansy Rayner Roberts |
Thief of Lives – Lucy Sussex |
Back In Store – Book View Cafe
I’m on my way to Zagreb, but to keep you amused while I’m traveling here is more news of the book store re-stock. All 57 titles from Book View Cafe are now available. Some of the authors they publish include:
Probably the most famous book in their catalog is Lord of the Two Lands by Judith Tarr, which was a World Fantasy Award nominee.
Book Review – Arctic Rising
Clearing the decks of book reviews before I head off on my travels (and hopefully finish a few more books on the way), I have posted my review of Tobias Buckell’s Artic Rising. This one is written in the style of a thriller, but it never forgets its science fiction roots. It also has a nicely diverse cast of characters. You can read the review here.
Back in Store – Lethe Press
The bookstore re-load continues, and I’m delighted to report that all of the books I had from Lethe Press are now available again. They have produced a lot of great books. Here are a couple of favorites.
| Diana Comet and Other Improbable Stories – Sandra McDonald |
Shadow Man – Melissa Scott |
Feminist SF on Kickstarter
Yes, it is Kickstarter again. This time the book is an anthology of Feminist SF. “Ho hum”, you might say, but then I note that it will be edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. “Oh, awesome”, you say, “where can I sign up?” I thought you would never ask. Go here.
Book Review – The Kingdoms of Dust
Another book read and reviewed. I’m delighted to note that the latest Amanda Downum book, The Kingdoms of Dust, caused me far less heartache than its predecessor. You can read the review here.
While I’m being reminded of trans issues in books, however, I should note that the latest episode of The Writer and the Critic takes on George Alec Effinger’s When Gravity Fails. Given what Mondy says about the book, I guess I need to read it and comment. So many books…
Shirley Jackson Award Short Lists
The nominees for this year’s Shirley Jackson Awards were announced over the weekend. Ellen Datlow naturally figures prominently, and I see many of my other friends on the ballot: Deb Biancotti, Liz Hand, Peter Straub, Jeff Ford, Kelly Link, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. Not to mention some fine writers I wish I knew better, such as Lucius Shepard, Mary Rickert and Genevieve Valentine. Special congratulations are due to Kit Reed for getting on the ballot at the age of 80.
The book I want to highlight, however, is the one that I have for sale. Engines of Desire: Tales of Love & Other Horrors, by Livia Llewellyn, was published by the fine folks at Lethe Press. It is a nominee in the Single-Author Collection category, and a story from it, “Omphalosâ€, is in the Novelette category. You can find out more about the book, and read an extract, here.
Farewell, Diana
Diana Wynne Jones died in March last year. The funeral was a private, family affair, but it was obvious that something should be done for the many friends and fans from all over the world that Diana had acquired over her career. That something happened in Bristol today, and I was lucky enough to be there.
The event was held in St. George’s concert hall, the same former church that housed the Peter Straub event last year. A lot of people, including Farah and Edward, arrived from London on the 11:55, and there was a local train due in just before then so I was able to be there to meet them. We headed off to the Wetherspoon’s at the top of Park Street for lunch, where our party grew steadily in size. Greer Gilman and Cathy Butler joined us, as did Jo and Roz from BristolCon, and long-time UK fans such as Chris Bell and Caroline Mullan.
When it came to head down to St.George’s the heavens opened. I gather from Twitter that we got off lightly as hail stones the size of small asteroids were falling in other parts of the city. If I believed in life after death I would suspect Diana of having arranged that as a prank.
As is only fitting, books were on sale in the foyer. I finally managed to pick up a copy of Fire & Hemlock, which I have been wanting to read for some time. I also got the new non-fiction collection, Reflections, which contains much of Diana’s writing about the craft of writing. There’s a foreward by Neil Gaiman in which he waxes lyrical about just how well Diana understood her craft. Someone had built a tower out of foreign language editions of Diana’s books — I suspect that each one is different — and it was much photographed. Here’s mine.
Something that was very clear from the various speeches is that Diana’s whole family is extremely talented. There were contributions from her sisters, Ursula and Isobel; from her sons, Richard, Michael and Colin; and from her nephew, Tom. They all spoke well, and with ready wit. One of the highlights of the event was a reading of the first few paragraphs of the book Diana was writing when she died. It concerns a young girl who appears to be a trainee in some sort of goddess cult who has just been through her initiation and thinks she has flunked it but very clearly hasn’t. Ursula did the reading, and was extremely good.
Whether that book ever appears is currently uncertain. I guess someone would have to finish it, and the family may not want that. But there is, apparently, a finished adult novel called Incubus that Diana wrote years ago and which may see print soon.
Other speakers included Diana’s agent, Laura Cecil; her UK editor, Stella Paskins; her US editor, Sharyn November; and her Israeli translator, Gili Bar-Hillel. Greer Gilman, Robin McKinley and David Devereaux all spoke movingly, and Sharyn read a message from Neil Gaiman, who was unable to attend and will have been desperately disappointed not to be there.
I have been asked whether the event was recorded. I didn’t see any signs of it, but the audio could easily have been run through a recorder so it could have happened. Isobel’s contribution is available online here (PDF). Reflections contains the orations that Richard and Colin wrote for the funeral, and I know that Richard gave the same speech today as he said so at the start. Other material may appear online later.
All in all, it was a lovely day. I’m very glad to have been a part of it.
Some Smaller Presses
I’m slowly working through getting all of the books from Lethe and Book View Cafe back in the store, but in the meantime here are a couple of small publishers you might want to check out.
Firstly we have Peggy Bright Books from Australia. I haven’t, as yet, figured out how to configure the store to allow me to sell their paper editions as well, but you can now get ebook copies at very reasonable prices.
Also I have a book by one of this year’s Hugo nominees. Clearly many of you love the blog that Jim C. Hines runs (and quite right too, IMHO), but have you read any of his fiction? We have his collection, Goblin Tales. Only £1.99. Worth a try, yes?