Matt Staggs interviewed Jeff and Ann VanderMeer for Suvudu at Comic Com about their soon to be released anthology Steampunk Reloaded and the steampunk genre. The video is on YouTube or you can watch it here. (There’s a warning on the video that there is a lot of ambient noise — wind and air traffic in the background.
Daniel Rabuzzi writes:
My fantasy novel The Choir Boats (ChiZine Publications, Toronto, 2009; launched at Worldcon, Montreal) is Wowio’s July Book of the Month. During July 2010 only, the e-book version is FREE here: http://news.wowio.com/2010/07/book-of-the-month-choir-boats/
Reviewers describe it as “Gulliver’s Travels crossed with The Golden Compass and a dollop of Pride and Prejudice,” and “a muscular, Napoleonic-era fantasy that, like Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series, will appeal to both adult and young adult readers.”
The Choir Boats was selected by January Magazine as a Top Ten Young Adult Novel for 2009.
This special edition of the novel includes bonus illustrations by Deborah A. Mills. It’s also DRM-free, so it can be read on any device compatible with PDFs, and shared with friends just like a regular book.
Author’s bio, publication data and reviews are available at www.danielarabuzzi.com.
Suvudo has an article by Connie Willis about her novel the Doomsday Book.
From the article:
Eighteen years ago readers got lucky—Connie Willis brought us the wonderful Doomsday Book, a novel that would go on to win both the Nebula and Hugo Awards. Time-traveling, the plague, and Connie’s trademark wit—it was a brilliant combination that I will admit blew me away when I read it.
It also introduced us to Colin, a character that she would revisit in her books Blackout and the upcoming All Clear.
Check out the article on Suduvo.
This year WSFA Press is proud to publish two books in honor of the Guests of Honor of Capclave, the Washington Science Fiction Association’s yearly convention, this year being held in Rockville Maryland Oct 22-24th, 2010.
Fire Watch, by Connie Willis and The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod, by Jeff VanderMeer will be made available initially at Capclave to the members of the convention. As only 500 copies of each book (signed and numbered) will be printed, and the membership of Capclave is being capped at 500 members, we have made every effort to allow the members of Capclave to pre-order copies if they choose to do so.
If you are not already a member of Capclave, but are planning to attend the convention, you may register at our
If you are already a member of Capclave, but became one before the books were made available, you should simply contact the webmaster (that’s the username) at either wsfapressbooks.org or capclave.org (they both go to the same person). Let the webmaster know you wish to pre-order one or both of the books and you’ll be given the information you need.
UPDATE:
After several weeks, we’ve decided that we can open up pre-orders to non-members of Capclave on a limited basis. One hundred copies of each book are now available for sale from this website. Depending on the sale volume, additional copies may or may not be made available later. In any event, pre-ordered books from non-members of Capclave will be
mailed out via the USPS during the week following Capclave.
Book Sellers:
If you are a Book Seller, and are interested in pre-ordering books, please contact the webmaster as above, for further information.
It’s been 23 years since the publication of Connie Willis’ Lincoln’s Dream.
Suvudo has an interview with Connie Willis about Lincoln’s Dream and writing up on their site. Here’s the intro:
Twenty-three years ago, Spectra published LINCOLN’S DREAMS, by Connie Willis, which would go on to win the John W. Campbell Award. Connie happily talks about her experience working on the book and being a part of the Spectra family, and her editor for the book, Shawna McCarthy, discusses what it was like working with Connie:
“The thing I most remember about LINCOLN’S DREAMS is that after it came out, people kept coming up to talk to me not about the novel, but about their dreams. They’d tell me, in detail, about dreams they’d had and ask me what they meant.
Check out the entire article at the above link.
Why the Dodo:
When we started our annual convention and named it Capclave, we decided we needed a mascot. It took a couple of years, but suddenly it was 2005 and our Guest of Honor that year was Howard Waldrop who’d written a very funny and poignant story called “The Ugly Chicken.” So, we had lots of dodos at the convention.
We decided that the Dodo would make a good mascot for Capclave because Capclave celebrates short fiction and reading. We also began to use the phrase: Capclave, where reading is not extinct. While the Dodo lives in our hearts, we’ll continue to celebrate reading, good stories, and good fellowship because they should never be allowed to go extinct.
As we’re gearing up for Capclave 2010, we tend to take our Dodos out to conventions to talk about Capclave. (Did I mention the Dodos are puppets?) Capclave this year will have three Guests of Honor: Connie Willis, Ann VanderMeer, and Jeff VanderMeer. The convention will be held 22-24 October 2010 at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville, Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. (Check our website for registration information.)
Dodo Photos:
Just how did we get a photo of Connie Willis with our Dodos? Well, as I said, members of WSFA are attending conventions and bringing Dodos with them — after all Dodos make very good companions. One WSFAn spotted our Guest of Honor and asked for a photo. Connie being a very good sport posed with these two very friendly and well-read Capclave Dodos.
So, if you see us at a convention with a Dodo, ask about our convention, and we’ll be more than willing to tell you what a great time you’ll have if you join us for Capclave 2010. We may even take your photo with one of our Dodos for our website.
NOTE: We’re capping membership at 500 this year. Also, WSFA Press will be premiering two books at Capclave (details here). We’re only printing 500 copies of each book and they are available for preorders to Capclave members and will be available for purchase at Capclave. The books are: The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod, by Jeff VanderMeer and Fire Watch by Connie Willis.
Steampunk has gotten quite popular. Jeff and Ann VanderMeer have edited a new collection of steampunk fiction, Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded, which will be available in October … just in time for Capclave.
With their interest in steampunk fiction, it’s no surprise that Jeff VanderMeer reviewed Dexter Palmer’s The Dream of Perpetual Motion in The New York Times Sunday Book Review. To read the full review go to the article, Malevolent Design. Here’s the first paragraph of the review:
In his tragicomic first novel, “The Dream of Perpetual Motion,” Dexter Palmer takes elements from Nabokov, Neal Stephenson, Steven Millhauser and “The Tempest,” tosses them into a retro-futuristic blender and hits “purée.” The result is a singular riff on steampunk — sophisticated, subversive entertainment that never settles for escapism.
Barnes and Noble publishes an interview Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (in his Evil Monkey persona) as they discuss their newest collaboration, The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals: The Evil Monkey Dialogues.
The book description:
We made a typo on last night’s post that needs to be corrected. The price for last year’s Reincarnations is $28.00 including shipping and handling, rather than the $23 which was specified in that post. We’ve also updated the previous post to avoid any additional confusion.
But in addition to the the offerings previously listed, we have added yet one more option. This year for $60, you can pre-order a special bundle including all three books, which will also be delivered to you at Capclave.
Last year, WSFA Press was resurrected to help celebrate Capclave 2009′s Guest of Honor Harry Turtledove. The book Reincarnations premiered at Capclave and sold well. We have very few of the signed and numbered volumes left in stock.
This year, WSFA Press is publishing two books: Fire Watch by Connie Willis and The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod, by Jeff VanderMeer (with an afterwards by Ann VanderMeer–our 3rd Guest of Honor). Each book will be a limited signed and numbered edition of 500 copies, chosen to match the Capclave membership, which is being capped at 500 members. The books will be released at Capclave and only available to non-attendees after the convention.
WSFA Press Special Offer on Capclave Registration:
Included this year is the ability to pre-order WSFA Press’ two newest books, The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod, by Jeff VanderMeer–
The Wizard Sarnod has lived in isolation on an island in the middle of a lake for centuries. But one day, the Nose of Memory arrives to destroy his calm by dredging up the past, and he must send three of his familiars to the subterranean Underhinds on a quest to find two people, long banished: his brother and a former lover. In the Underhinds, they will encounter living dirigibles, fire dragons, the Bloat Toad, unimaginable perils, and long-buried secrets . . . Based on Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series, The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod is a longer and very different version of a story published in the Dozois-Martin edited Songs from the Dying Earth.
The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod will be published by WSFA Press in 2010, and released at WSFA’s annual Capclave convention as a special 500-copy limited and signed hardcover edition, with an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer and an afterward by Ann VanderMeer.Designed by John Coulthart, a well-known British graphic artist, illustrator, author and designer, the book will be signed by Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer, and John Coulthart. (Capclave special price: $20).
and Fire Watch by Connie Willis:
Fire Watch is a science-fiction story written in 1982 by Connie Willis, involving a time-traveling historian who goes back to The Blitz in London, to participate in the fire watch at St. Paul’s Cathedral. This story is in the same universe as Willis’ newly released novel Blackout and the upcoming October release, All Clear.
Fire Watch will be published by WSFA Press in 2010, and released at WSFA’s annual Capclave convention as a special 500-copy limited and signed hardcover edition, with an introduction by James Patrick Kelly, designed by John Coulthart, a well-known British graphic artist, illustrator, author and designer, and signed by all Willis, Kelly, and Coulthart. (Capclave special price: $20).
Both of these volumes will be premiering at Capclave, and now is your chance to reserve a copy for yourself. In addition, we are again offering a special deal on last year’s WSFA Press special book, Reincarnations, by Harry Turtledove. There are only a small number of these signed and numbered, limited-edition copies remaining. The special Capclave price includes $3.00 for shipping and handling (Total: $28), and this volume will be mailed to you now.
For those now registering to attend Capclave, the option to pre-order the two new WSFA Press books or a copy of last year’s book is listed on the registration form.
If you have already registered for Capclave 2010 and wish to pre-order a book, send email to webmaster@capclave.org to receive information on how to pre-order.
