Episode 9: Strawberry Wheat/Wine

Mon 25 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Literary Beer | 4 Comments | Posted by: Michael

“Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities’ confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.”
—the Reinheitsgebot, a beer purity law, the first of its kind, enacted in Germany in 1516.

And now I’m going to talk about brewing with strawberries.

They’ll take away my homebrew when they pry it from my cold dead hands!

Read more

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Double dutch

Mon 25 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., the world | Comments Off on Double dutch | Posted by: Gavin

While in Scotland some of our nieces and nephews (and, er, others) had great fun attempting some skipping trips—don’t expect pics of this to surface on the nets. But one participant just sent us this video which made us want to head down to the Apollo Theater for the double dutch skip offs:

Watch CBS Videos Online

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Listen to John

Thu 21 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Audio out, John Kessel | Comments Off on Listen to John | Posted by: Gavin

Listen or download a John Kessel interview on WMUA’s Writer’s Voice here.

The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories just received a great thoughtful review in the LA Times:

“There is at least one universal truth running through this collection. Rejection, unlike love, is a sure thing. Its contours can be measured, its gravity weighed. In that, Kessel’s losers surely aren’t alone in stumbling off the path to paradise.”

Down in western North Carolina WNC Magazine gave the book a corker of a review in their August issue (on stands now):

“Politically conscious science fiction, macabre humor, and economical, slice-of-life storytelling…. A treasure trove of polished gems for anyone who enjoys a well-told tale.”

Update: a new review popped up on Anthem (who also have a great Feist/John McCain house-counting mashup):

What keeps the reader motivated to power through the slow points is salient feature of the book is the deftness with which Kessel builds his characters. The stories are based around misfits, nerds, and criminals—people who, for one reason or another, lie about who they are.

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Back

Thu 21 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., travel | Comments Off on Back | Posted by: Gavin

We’re back in the office after a bit of a wander around Scotland. Lots of stuff (stuff? vocabulary hasn’t improved any) happening with books and so on. (Is there a so on or is it only books? Don’t know.) Listening to an interview with John Kessel (more on that soon) and trying to catch up on all that stuff.

Scotland: nice and cool. Tea all the time. Breakfast can be a challenge! Everyone plays Wii games better than us. We had tea (see) with Alasdair Gray(!) and met up with a few of the Glasgow mafia (of the writing sort) in a pub with the best haggis in Scotland (or so said the writing on the wall). The Olympics were easier to watch (it’s UK-centric, but much less insipid and sentimental). The beer isn’t as good as in England (if you like bitter), but there were a few good ones, including Atlas Brewery’s in Kinlochleven—which we walked past while on the West Highland Way. Nothing like a local beer after a 10-mile walk. 100s of pics were taken, some may be uploaded later.

One of the things (the many things) we forgot to bring over were pedometers which would have been fun over that week. Should you ever be tempted to go on the walk, remember to check your jacket (zipped into its own pocket) is still carabinered onto your pack before you start up from lunch. Especially if this is a borrowed North Face jacket. Oops! If anyone found said jacket between Kinlochleven and Kingshouse, we’d love to hear from you.

Oh well. It meant a trip to the shops (and the Marks and Sparks food section…) where we went to Zavvi (previously known as Virgin before a management buyout—just as Small Beer Press will be known as Lost the Plot Press after a similar buyout here) where we picked up the first season of The IT Crowd which seems simple but funny enough.

Read fewer books than might be expected (maybe all that walking and sleeping) but very much enjoyed Robin Jenkins’s Poverty Castle which seemed to be Jenkins (perhaps best known for his dark and amazing The Cone-gatherers) in his lightest mood. There are echoes of Compton Mackenzie’s entertainments (Monarch of the Glen, Whiskey Galore, etc.), as well as of Georgette Heyer, and even a light metafictional concept (we see the writer who is writing this story) in the set up: a family (husband, wife, 5 daughters) are suddenly enriched by the death of a faraway uncle. They decide to buy and restore an old house in Argyll and from there their story intermingles with their neighbors (an old aristo family), the villagers, and one of the daughter’s roommates at Glasgow University. The class observations of 1950s and ’60s Scottish life are acute, the characters—even if sometimes over the top—are rich. All in all a great escape, even if Jenkins cannot quite stick to his optimistic guns.

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Reign of the Ant King

Sat 9 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Benjamin Rosenbaum, Creative Commons, ebooks | Comments Off on Reign of the Ant King | Posted by: jedediah

The Ant King takes the throne and promptly showers gifts upon the people. Namely, free copies of The Ant King and Other Stories by Benjamin Rosenbaum.

This debut collection was officially released this week and now we send forth a free download. Inside you’ll find airships, gumballs, and the orange that rules the world. What you won’t find: DRM. So copy, share, remix, reuse, repeat.

The Ant King and Other Stories is available in several formats (PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text), and is being distributed under a Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0).

Mr. Rosenbaum is at Worldcon just now, and if you’re there, you can catch him today at a reading and a signing. For more about his collection, and for a link to the free download, proceed hither.

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The Ant King in VA

Fri 1 Aug 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Benjamin Rosenbaum | Comments Off on The Ant King in VA | Posted by: Gavin

It’s almost publication day for Ben Rosenbaum’s debut collection, The Ant King, and tonight he’s doing a reading at Stacy’s Coffee in Falls Church, VA. More on the book next Tuesday when it comes out.

One note: if you want a hardcover, best go to a reading (Stacy’s or in Denver at the World Sci Fi Convention) or order it from this site. Looks like they will sell out faster than the paperback!

Stacy’s Coffee, 709 West Broad St., Falls Church, Virginia 22046, (703) 538-6266

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Yay!

Mon 21 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Elizabeth Hand | Comments Off on Yay! | Posted by: Gavin

Liz Hand’s Generation Loss won one of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Awards!

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Sun 20 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Art, Uncategorized | Comments Off on | Posted by: Gavin

Amusing and impressing us:

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Sun 20 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Art, Uncategorized | Comments Off on | Posted by: Gavin

Amusing and impressing us:

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Free story of the day

Thu 17 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Benjamin Rosenbaum | Comments Off on Free story of the day | Posted by: Gavin

is from Ben Rosenbaum’s upcoming collection The Ant King. “The Valley of Giants” was originally published in Argosy and was reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 17.

Ben just posted his Worldcon schedule: if you’re going don’t miss the triple-threat launch party with Ben, Toby Buckell (Sly Mongoose), and Jay Lake (Escapement).

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selling out

Wed 16 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., LCRW | Comments Off on selling out | Posted by: Gavin

Day of squibby twitter-esque posts.

While packing stuff for Readercon we seem to have discovered we’re all out of LCRW 18 and 20. Oops! So it’s been dropped from the website and so on. If we discover a box of either hidden in our amazing cardboard box sculpture garden (indoor, of course), we’ll put it back up.

Some parts of LCRW 18 are in The Best of LCRW and you can read Karen Joy Fowler’s “The Last Worders” from LCRW 20 either here or in the next Year’s Best. For the rest of that ish, if you don’t have it you’ll have to wait for the next Best of. Ha! So, don’t risk missing out: subscribe!

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Art!

Wed 16 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Art | Comments Off on Art! | Posted by: Gavin

We just got the best, best, best series of drawings by email from a favorite comics artist. Will post some of them in a bit, but good lord, it is fantastically exciting.

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Get The Homeless Moon

Wed 16 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Cons, Zines | Comments Off on Get The Homeless Moon | Posted by: Gavin

Here’s a fun thing for Readercon: pick up your copy of Michael J. DeLuca et al.’s new chapbook, Homeless Moon, which these crazy kids will be giving away for free. Free. Don’t they know that no one has any money in this crap economy and they can’t afford books…. Oh yeah, free.

We have a couple of copies at the office and it’s pretty! If you aren’t going to the convention (and it’s apparently nearly sold out, so register if you are going), you can either download a free PDF of the chapboor or send them a buck for postage and get the book mailed to you. Can’t beat that.

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we get around

Wed 16 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., A. DeNiro, Books, John Kessel | Comments Off on we get around | Posted by: Gavin

Wednesday John Kessel will be showing the kids a good time in New York City at the KGB Bar (can’t be there, boo!) with JoSelle Vanderhooft. Order a Baltika for us. Then John goes to Readercon outside Boston next weekend (more on that below), and on Tuesday the 22nd he (and David J. SuperSchwartz) read at Odyssey Books in South Hadley (near Northampton). He should be on the local radio, will link to it if and when.

That Readercon thing:

1. We’re on some panels.
2. So are you.
3. We’ll have a table (and maybe a surprise) in the dealers room.
4. So will you!
5. We’ll have LCRW 22 (and some old ones, The Best of, etc.) as well as Dr. Kessel’s mighty collection—get it signed here!—as well as all the usual good stuff. We’ll have galley give aways and pre-ordering opportunities.
6. One of them involve one of next year’s Guests of Honor. (Check the programming book!)
7. Geoff Ryman will be reading from The King’s Last Song on Saturday at 3 PM. We will have galleys around to look at but the book won’t be on sale until September
8. Benjamin Rosenbaum’s book hilariously ships on Tuesday July 22, just after the convention. Ha. Cough.
9. See you at the Meet the Prose party.

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Manana: The Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection of Children’s Illustration

Fri 11 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Books | Comments Off on Manana: The Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection of Children’s Illustration | Posted by: Gavin

There’s a reception for this new exhibition at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst tomorrow so off we’ll toodle on the horse and cart (um, car) to cheese it up in front of some beautiful art.

There’s supposed to be a catalog available from the exhibit, if so, will procure a copy poste haste. The Eric Carle has a fantastic book shop — tons of kids books, art, stuff, Eric Carle postcards (everyone needs a paper dragon), &c.

Of course we’ll go back with you when you visit!

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if we were good at this

Fri 11 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Year's Best Fantasy & Horror | Comments Off on if we were good at this | Posted by: Gavin

there would be pictures of books received today (Greg Frost’s second Shadowbridge novel Lord Tophet &c.), hellos to Dear Aunt Gwenda up there in Vermont, loving meditations on the chocolate bars we are considering for the LCRW subscriptioneers, a link to the fantastic fundraiser Matt et al. have put together for the KGB Reading Series, daily calls to action on the Bush disaster (hello to all wireless tappers), and, wait, there was a reason for this….

Oh yea. We boomeranged the page proofs of the next Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (#21!) back to Jim Frenkel this morning and by the magic of the internets, it’s aready online! Wow and Yay!

This year Powell’s has the book listed under Kelly’s name, maybe Ellen and Gavin are invisible? Who knows? Who cares? ‘Tis done! And Thomas Canty’s cover is brighter than the last couple of years, so that’s cool. Um, recommendations for the 2008 edition always welcome!

Here’s the table of contents (as Ellen posted a while back) in alphabetical order — actual order and all the extra bits to be found in the book when it hits the bookshops this autumn:

“The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics” Daniel Abraham
“The Gray Boy’s Work” M.T. Anderson
“Troll” (poem) Nathalie Anderson
“The Monsters of Heaven” Nathan Ballingrud
“The Forest” Laird Barron
“Reversal of Fortune” Holly Black
“The House of Mechanical Pain” Chaz Brenchley
“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” Ted Chiang
“Scenes of Hell” (poem) Billy Collins
“Toother” Terry Dowling
“The Drowned Life” Jeffrey Ford
“The Last Worders” Karen Joy Fowler
“Monkey” (poem) Eliza Griswold
“Up the Fire Road” Eileen Gunn
“Winter’s Wife” Elizabeth Hand
“A Perfect and Unmappable Grace” Jack Haringa
“The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change” Kij Johnson
“The Boulder” Lucy Kemnitzer
“The Hill” Tanith Lee
“The Ape Man” Alexander MacBride
“Lovers (Jafaar the Winged)” (poem) Khaled Mattawa
“Hum Drum” Gary McMahon
“A Thing Forbidden” Donald Mead
“England and Nowhere” Tim Nickels
“Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again” Garth Nix
“Valentine, July Heat Wave” Joyce Carol Oates
“Mr. Poo Poo” Reggie Oliver
“Fragrant Goddess” Paul Park
“Holiday” M. Rickert
“Vampires in the Lemon Grove” Karen Russell
“Rats” Veronica Schanoes
“The Fiddler of Bayou Teche” Delia Sherman
“Village Smart” (poem) Maggie Smith
“The Tenth Muse” William Browning Spencer
“Follow Me Home” Sonya Taaffe
“The Swing” Don Tumasonis
“Closet Dreams” Lisa Tuttle
“The Seven Devils of Central California” Catherynne M. Valente
“Splitfoot” Paul Walther
“The Hide” Liz Williams

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Episode 8: Chili Beer

Fri 11 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Literary Beer | Comments Off on Episode 8: Chili Beer | Posted by: Michael

I admit I had to sweat to uncover any “literary” justification for the use of hot chile peppers in beer. I’m always on the lookout for something to top that fragment of Egyptian myth about beer-as-blood and the transformation of Hathor. Trouble is, belief in the mystical power of chiles originates with the Inca, who never bothered writing their myths down. So the best I can find in these latter days are third-hand retellings of the legendary founding of Cuzco, the Inca capital, by an ancestor god known as Ayar Uchu, Lord Chile, or vague hints that Inca priests forbade the use of chiles during funereal rites and initiations, doubtless out of fear that the warding power of chiles would prevent dead souls from reaching the next world.

None of which particularly deters me, the stubborn literary homebrewer, from doing as I darn well please. I like chiles. I like beer. Ipso facto.

Read more

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Thu 10 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Kelly Link, LCRW | Comments Off on | Posted by: Gavin

Tomorrow: more literary beer (chili-style) from Michael. Later this year; a book that looks like fun: Red, White and Brew, some guy writes about visiting lots of breweries. Smart guy!

LCRW, out there fending for itself in the real world, paying those fuel surcharges and flying by zeppelin instead of by plane, gets the once over from SF Revu where various stories are named “fascinating” and “disturbing” and other strong words.

Tomorrow Museum is a fun blog.

A couple of interesting photographers, Yasuyuki Takagi and Patrick Lyn, came by to take pictures of Kelly for the Japanese edition of Esquire magazine. Huh!

Today (or, perhaps, yesterday) on Adventures in SciFi Publishing:

In our first Clarion special show, Kelly Link joins us to discuss workshops, MFA programs, writing short fiction, and more. Then Lou Anders of Pyr SF stops by to analyze the purpose of cover art.

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Thu 10 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Kelly Link, LCRW | 2 Comments | Posted by: Gavin

Tomorrow: more literary beer (chili-style) from Michael. Later this year; a book that looks like fun: Red, White and Brew, some guy writes about visiting lots of breweries. Smart guy!

LCRW, out there fending for itself in the real world, paying those fuel surcharges and flying by zeppelin instead of by plane, gets the once over from SF Revu where various stories are named “fascinating” and “disturbing” and other strong words.

Tomorrow Museum is a fun blog.

A couple of interesting photographers, Yasuyuki Takagi and Patrick Lyn, came by to take pictures of Kelly for the Japanese edition of Esquire magazine. Huh!

Today (or, perhaps, yesterday) on Adventures in SciFi Publishing:

In our first Clarion special show, Kelly Link joins us to discuss workshops, MFA programs, writing short fiction, and more. Then Lou Anders of Pyr SF stops by to analyze the purpose of cover art.

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Wessells’s political art

Sat 5 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Art, To Read Pile | Comments Off on Wessells’s political art | Posted by: Gavin

Earlier this week Henry Wessells and wife took the space elevator up to our Independence Day Viewing Platform (best place to watch thousands of firework displays all at once) and showed us a thing of two about publishing books.

Wessells’s Temporary Culture puts out some of the most carefully and well-made books that we’ve seen in recent years—including (pictured) a hand bound edition of John Crowley’s Endless Things, which is one of the most beautiful (and surprising) books we own.

Henry’s next project is a book of etchings by Judith Clute to go with a poem by Joe Haldeman, “Forever Peace. To Stop War” (first published as “ Endangered Species ” in Vanishing Acts, edited by Ellen Datlow).

If you’re going to Readercon you can see the mock-up Henry knocked us over with. It’s just slightly out of our price range but you can acquire one if you get elected to state office in the US or the UK, so quick, go run for office:

After publication of Forever Peace , a photocopy edition will be distributed to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and of the House of Commons in London.

Forever Peace. To Stop War
Poem by Joe Haldeman
Nine Etchings by Judith Clute

11 x 14 inches, [4] pp. + 9 original etchings (each signed by the artist).
30 copies on fine paper, letterpress printed by David Wolfe, with aquatint etchings printed by the artist from the original plates (two with added color), numbered & signed by the artist in pencil, hand bound in patterned paper over boards.

Twenty five copies, numbered 1 to 25, signed by the artist and author ; and five copies lettered A – E. The lettered copies are reserved for the artist and author.

An advance copy will be available for preview at Readercon (July 2008).

Please note the above images are reduced in size from the original etchings.

ISBN : 0-976-46604-X / ISBN 13 : 978-0-976-4660-4-8

By subscription only : $1000 (includes shipment).

Inquiries and orders to:
Henry Wessells
P.O. Box 43072, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043-0072 USA
Electronym : wessells@aol.com

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Trying to give stuff away!

Tue 1 Jul 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., LCRW | Comments Off on Trying to give stuff away! | Posted by: Gavin

LCRW subscribers, if this is your ticket, email us! Or, maybe we should have taped the ticket to the zine? Or we will try again next week? Or, we will just pick someone at random off the subscription list!

2970025
2970091
2970130
2970200
2970302

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Clarion South applications

Sat 28 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., travel, workshops | Comments Off on Clarion South applications | Posted by: Gavin

Robert Hoge—one of the extraordinary team of organizers (and a World Fantasy Award judge this year, poor guy!)—reminds us that the deadline for applications to the Clarion South Writers Workshop is June 30 (Monday!). This is the 2009 tutor line up:

Week 1: Sean Williams
Week 2: Marianne de Pierres
Week 3: Margo Lanagan
Week 4: Jack Dann
Week 5: Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant
Week 6: Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant

Can’t wait to go back to Brisbane! Maybe see you there?

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LCRW Subscriber #2970067

Fri 27 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Benjamin Rosenbaum, Kelly Link, LCRW | Comments Off on LCRW Subscriber #2970067 | Posted by: Gavin

Hey, you’re a winner! We put little red tickets in to all the subscriber copies of LCRW #22 that just went out (and John Klima lost his so we added a new one to the stack for him) and randomly picked a winner who will receive galleys of Ben Rosenbaum’s The Ant King and Other Stories and Kelly Link’s Pretty Monsters. So if you received ticket 2970067, send us an email with your address and these will be off to you!

We’ll give the winner a week to contact us. If this doesn’t work, maybe next time we will tape the labels to the zine. Picking out a random ticket was fun. Maybe we will pick some more.

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If we don’t answer your email today

Thu 26 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., the world | Comments Off on If we don’t answer your email today | Posted by: Gavin

it is because we are fat old executives who are soon going to be filled with team spirit (and covered in paint) so we may be at home recovering after this:

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pics and comments

Thu 26 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., Books, website bumph | Comments Off on pics and comments | Posted by: Gavin

Thanks to Ben P. we now have a new thing (functionality!) on this page. (But nowhere else on the site. Ha!) During our gremlins’ tea break we installed a “Subscribe to Comments” plugin so that you, the commenter can choose to receive an email when someone else comments on your comment. It’s not just a Facebook wall for graffiti, people are reading! Cough.

Another thing: a little while ago Michael* took some pics of some of our books and now they are online. At some later point there may be more. In the meantime:

* Michael’s got a solstice gardening story here — with a picture linked in the comments that is just right for you, Mr. Rowe.

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LCRW subscribers:

Wed 25 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., LCRW | Comments Off on LCRW subscribers: | Posted by: Gavin

This little ticket went out to LCRW subscribers and in recent orders. Keep!

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Ad word suggestions please

Tue 24 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., website bumph | 10 Comments | Posted by: Gavin

Google and Vistaprint (cheap postcards!) sent us $100 credit for Google Adwords so we’re looking for suggesting for which words* we should use. The words should apparently be enticing, or, er, seductive (perhaps filthy-as-all-get-out would be the way to go?), and something which will encourage people not at all like you (ie they have no idea who either you or us are) buy books.**

Suggestions in the comments, please. Best suggestion(s) within the next couple of days will receive an uncorrected proof of Ben Rosenbaum’s The Ant King and Other Stories.

*or: keywords!, so much more important and sexy than regular words.
** The Small Beer HQ was rocked by laughter at this point as thousands of editors, designers, typesetters, etc., chuckled heartily at the thought of people buying books. Who does that anymore? Ha ha ha.

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Like being at at reading

Tue 24 Jun 2008 - Filed under: Not a Journal., YouTube | Comments Off on Like being at at reading | Posted by: Gavin

without having to think up a question (“Um, someone or other says science fiction is pap for the weak-minded masses who can’t deal with the present, um, what’s your favorite color?”).

Ed Park—whose first novel Personal Days is not only dark and funny but is a must for writers to see someone pull off some incredible virtuoso writing—gets search-engined:

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