So I'm about to head off to Montreal for Anticipation, this year's Worldcon. I've got the entire family with me this time. Should be good. I mentioned my schedule in a previous post, so I won't go through it again here. I'll just say that I'm doing a bunch of stuff and that I want to see a bunch more stuff. There. That's it. I will be gratified and disappointed in equal measure, I'm sure, and it will all be worth it.
Oh… And the Durham's will be having sushi with Mary Robinette Kowal tomorrow night. Lovely. And on Friday I'm dining with... oh, George RR Martin and some of the Wild Cards crew. Saturday? Who knows? Maybe I'll get my hooks into Neil. One can dream, yeah? (Actually, on that... Gudrun has been stalking Neil - along with many others - on Twitter. She even got a response from him once, something about Gnomes and adjectives.) Truth be told, I have Neil on the brain just now, especially as I'm on that panel about his fiction and he is the guest of honor and all that...
Just finished The Graveyard Book, by the way. One day, I'll write something with an ending that's as life affirming and touching. Someday. Hopefully soon.
But not tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll start by driving through Vermont and into Canada. Oh... also, you know I'm up for an award? The John W Campbell Award. Won't find out what's happened with that until Sunday night. Please, though, think positive for me. It would mean a lot to win this one.
I know I never really did a post on Readercon. That's because right after it I was off an away to Maine for the Stonecoast MFA residency, and that's rather intensive. It's all a bit of a blur, really. I just got back yesterday and I'm trying to normalize now, catching up on lots of stuff. One thing that happened over the weekend pertains to the next conference on my schedule, so I'll just slide right into that...
So I now know what I'll officially be doing at Worldcon next month in Montreal (aka Anticipation). It's a fair bit of programming, actually, and includes some cool nuggets that make perfect sense and some other slots that make me look at the screen cross-eyed. So be it. I'm happy to play. My Anticipation Schedule (as of 7/18/09):
Title: Elizabeth Bear and David Anthony Durham: First Novels When: Thu 16:30 Location: P-513B Session ID: 773 Participants: David Anthony Durham, Elizabeth Bear Description: Elizabeth Bear and David Anthony Durham interview each other about how they work and how they got their first book(s) published. Title: The Fiction of Neil Gaiman When: Fri 14:00 Location: P-516AB Session ID: 533 Participants: Bruce Lindsley Rockwood, David Anthony Durham, kyle cassidy, Paul Kincaid, Lily Faure Description: A look at our Guest of Honour's work in novels and short stories.
Title: Author Reading When: Fri 17:00 Location: P-521A Session ID: 220 Participants: David Anthony Durham, Janice Cullum Hodghead, Shariann Lewitt Description: Janice Callum Hodghead; David Anthony Durham; Nina Harper
Title: David Anthony Durham Signing When: Sat 10:00 Location: P-Autographs Session ID: 1310 Participants: Ellen Datlow, Cory Doctorow, Jean-Claude Dunyach, Felix Gilman and Robert Silverberg
Title: We are the Knights Who Say f***! When: Sat 12:30 Location: P-518A Session ID: 627 Participants: David Anthony Durham, Guy Gavriel Kay (Moderator), Marc Gascoigne, Pat Rothfuss Description: Diction in fantasy used to be pretty formal, and, indeed, this can be a problem for the contemporary reader in getting on with The Lord of the Rings. But more recent epic fantasies have had their characters speaking more demotic language (and with a fair bit of Anglo-Saxon thrown in). What are the costs of doing this? Does it really make things easier for readers? Duration: 1:30 hrs:min
Title: Writing the Other and Other Assumptions When: Sat 14:00 Location: P-511A Session ID: 554 Participants: David Anthony Durham, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kate Nepveu, Wendy Gay Pearson, Jamie Nesbitt Golden Description: Do discussions of Writing the Other reinforce the power dynamics of a genre structured by racial hierarchies? Is the assumption that the Other is "of colour" coded into all our discussions?
Title: David Anthony Durham Kaffeeklatsch When: Sat 15:30 Location: P-521B Session ID: 1085 Participants: David Anthony Durham Description: A chance to ask one of your favourite authors those burning questions.
Title: Getting It Right: Warfare and History When: Sat 19:00 Location: P-512CG Session ID: 718 Participants: David Anthony Durham, Dawn Hewitt, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Mike Resnick (Moderator) Description: Panelists discuss military history around the world and how to get it right in your work, whether you're writing fantasy, science fiction or alternate history.
Title: Hugo Awards Reception When: Sun 18:00 Location: P-710A Session ID: 10 Participants: Neil Gaiman, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Taral Wayne, Tom Doherty, Julie E. Czerneda, Alan F. Beck, Aliette de Bodard, Ann VanderMeer, Beth Meacham, Bill Willingham, Cheryl Morgan, Christopher J. Garcia, Cory Doctorow, Darlene Marshall, Dave Howell, David Anthony Durham, David Hartwell, Elizabeth Bear, Ellen Datlow, Emma Hawkes, Farah Mendlesohn, Gord Sellar, Gordon Van Gelder, Guy H. Lillian III, Jay Lake, John Helfers, John Kessel, Jonathan Strahan, Karl Schroeder, Kathryn Cramer, Kevin J. Maroney, Kij Johnson, Lillian Stewart Carl, Lou Anders, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Neil Clarke, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Paul Cornell, Paul Kincaid, Rev. Randy Smith, Sean Wallace, Stephen H. Segal, Yves Meynard, Steve Green, Steven H Silver, Sue Mason, Tony Pi, Claude Lalumière, Mike Glyer, John Hertz, John Scalzi, Stanley Schmidt, Charles Stross, John Picacio, Frank Wu, Sheila Williams, Felix Gilman, Ginjer Buchanan, LeAmber Kinsley, Paolo Bacigalupi, Pia Guerra, Tobias Buckell
Title: Cultural Memory, Societal Resilience and Change When: Mon 12:30 Location: P-512BF Session ID: 910 Participants: Blind Lemming Chiffon, David Anthony Durham, Geoff Ryman (Moderator), Lancer Kind Description: How important is cultural memory? Does it support or hinder social change? Does it matter whether it is given up voluntarily or taken away by force?
Last night my son and I were out with a flashlight and one of those sponge mops trying to hook some oranges from high in our orange tree. We've harvested all the lower ones already, and haven't gotten around to borrowing our friend's orange picker to get the rest. Hence, the questionable use of household cleaning supplies. I won't go into why we were doing it at night...
Anyway, we were doing a pretty good job, really. I'd just managed to scoop up an armful and was about to call it quits, when my daughter rushed out of the house shouting that Neil Gaiman was on The Colbert Report. You know how I am about Neil, yeah? Well, this news sent me stumbling toward the door, bumping into lawn chairs, dropping oranges and at risk of stumbling into the pool the entire time. I made it, though, and I watched Neil and Colbert chat about knives and death.
I just this minute learned that Neil Gaiman has won the American Library Associations Newberry Medal today! I'm thrilled by that. I haven't read the The Graveyard Book yet, but I have to admit I think about Neil at some point every day. Does that sound weird? Well, I'll offer that for one thing I'm teaching Stardust in a Popular Fiction class at Cal State University. So that's part of it.
Of course, there's more. Like I can't get over how much I admire the way Neil walks the world. I've seen him with tons and tons of fans, but he never showed getting tired or impatient with anyone. He's quite gracious, and I find the range and diversity of his work very inspiring.
What it comes down to is this: when I grow up I want to be like Neil. Considering that I'll be forty in a few months, I'm on a rather tight schedule to achieve this, by the way. Wish me luck.
(Oh, and have I mentioned that Neil has, at least on on occasion, read my blog. "Hurrah!")
I'm on a plane, or train, or boat, or sitting in some transportational waiting space right now, so let me offer wisdom from another right now. You wanna be a writer. Well, get your ego on. Says Neil... (And, yes, I know this has been quoted many, many times. That doesn't mean I can't do it too, right? It is Neil I'm talking about here...)
"It does help, to be a writer, to have the sort of crazed ego that doesn't allow for failure. The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering "Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!" and then writing something so unbelievably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there's nothing left to write. Because the rejection slips will arrive. And, if the books are published, then you can pretty much guarantee that bad reviews will be as well. And you'll need to learn how to shrug and keep going. Or you stop, and get a real job."
--Neil Gaiman
It's true. All true. Smart guy.
(He, by the way, posted a one word comment on my blog a few days ago. "Hurrah!")
Okay, folks, for all of you that helped suggest sci/fi and fantasy titles for my father-in-law (and those that may have watched with passing interest) here's the verdict. Yes, I just heard back from Laughton, and figured I might as well share his response, especially as this has been a collaborative effort. Here's what he wrote...
I clearly did not know what I was asking of you! I'm overwhelmed, by the time and thoughtfulness that you and all your correspondents have put into this and... by my ignorance of modern fantasy and sc-fi. You know I read a lot but this is literally (in both senses) another world.
I am pleased to say that I have read one of the suggestions... Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, probably in the early 70s. When I discovered the joys of the A Wizard of Earthsea trilogy for the children I went on to read everything of hers that I could get. Lately, her writing took on the later style and topics of Doris Lessing's 'fantasy' (although the latter has moved on/back again) and she no longer appeals to me.
My choices from your list may well then be a little conservative (I am getting old). The last thing I want is to settle down (perhaps that's stretching it a bit) on the long flights and restless airport lounges and find that the thick book with the crisp pages is not to my taste!
Robert Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land is appealing, probably for nostalgic reasons... I read masses of sci-fi in the late 50s, 60s and 70s. Less of Heinlen than I thought when I look at the shelves; they seem to contain more John Wyndham, Ray Bradbury, Azimov, Arthur C Clarke, Frank Herbert etc (just name-dropping). I wonder how many of your correspondents have read A Voyage to Arcturus by the Scottish writer David Lindsay (who died fairly young)? So, Heinlen would be stepping back rather than forward...
I have my eye on a couple of recommendations, partly based (I was going to say 'mostly' but that might worry you) on your comments; I have a great respect for you judgement!
But the others...
A Game of Thrones by R R Martin sounds like a big boy's read. I think I will have to graduate to that. Maybe when I get home in January, when the nights are still long and dark and it's blowing a gale out there, I will take the plunge. No, not maybe, let's not be too tentative and timid here... I will go for this in the new year.
Richard Morgan's Thirteen/Black Man... hhmmm. The 'over-sexed' comment puts me off. Not that I would under-rate sex, but in one's late 60s I'm looking for subtlety.
Dan Simmons' Ilium? I guess I will just leave this for the reasons you know. Like I know the story of Franklin so well... incidentally, it was an Orkney man, John Rae, who first brought the news of the horror of the fate of Franklin's men, and one of his few companions was a Shetland man. Lady Franklin also makes a brief appearance in a book of mine. I felt the 'actual' story was scary enough.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf and Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, I will keep on my list for later.
I suspect I will be raising a few hackles with my very short and dismissive comments, but what do we all do when faced with so many choices?
China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. With a title like that, it sounds quite intriguing. Plus your 'bloody good read' comment. I am tempted here. Likewise, I am tempted by your comments on Dreaming Void by Peter F Hamilton. These I might try later along with, or before, RR Martin. So, they are sort of third/fourth choices.
I am going to take two then. Did you intentionally/unintentionally put them in order of your own preferences? (No you didn't did you! You put them in alphabetical order so as to appear completely unbiased...)
However, I am going to take your first two. Second choice is American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Not because he is British writer but because it sounds frighteningly contemporary. Tell me if my hunch is way wrong.
The one that I instantly went for, though I am not sure why, is Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. On second thoughts, perhaps because I see that the author is a black woman whom I would hope might bring some fresh perspectives. Or am I the marketing man's dream who simply picks the first shiny one on offer? Like the previous book, there is a contemporary feel to it which attracts me... and... you liked it.
So thanks to you all and forgive me for my many presumptions... I'll let you know!
Thanks, David,
Laughton
And just so you know who has been talking, here's a photo of the man himself (along with his youngest daughter - and my wife).
Okay. Works for me. Butler and Gaiman. They both rock. I do hope you'll have both of them with you, Laughton, just in case either doesn't do it for you.
Octavia Butler is... well, she's the first sci/fi writer to get a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, isn't she? (Jonathan Lethem scooped one more recently. As far as I could tell, he bought really suave new glasses with the cash.) I know pretentious literary prizes aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I wouldn't say no to $500,000 "Out of the Blue", with no strings attached, just for being... geniusy. And, yes, in many ways Ms. Butler's racial identity informs her writing. She would've been brilliant anyway, but she has a wide, empathetic perspective that I'm quite sure was influenced by the particular details of the skin she lived her life in.
And, yes, Gaiman does strike me as "frighteningly contemporary", at least in reference to American Gods. Neither author is one that I assume everyone will like, but both have a measure of brilliance that I'd encourage anyone to at least try. Notes on two other titles... I finished The Dreaming Void recently. Liked it very much, although as I rounded the last hundred pages or so I got to suspecting there wasn't going to be much in the way of resolution at the end. I wasn't wrong. Mr. Hamilton wraps things up like a professional, but this is clearly just the beginning of this particular story. And Perdido Street Station got another celebrity shout out recently - John Scalzi spoke of it as one of his favorite books on several occasions at LosCon. As we all know, Mr. Scalzi is a very smart guy.
Okay, I think that brings the "Help Me Pick a Book For My Father-in-Law" segment of this blog to a close. Thanks for playing. In closing... I'm curious. Anyone read A Voyage to Arcturus, by David Lindsay?
I got something cool in the mail yesterday. It's funny, because I tend to not be very impressed by symbolic gestures, awards and the like. But I'm rather moved by this...It's the pen that the organizers of next year's Worldcon, Anticipation, gave as a commiserating present to the non-winner finalists for the 2007 Hugos. Yes, this is a "losers" present, but damn... It's a Hugo losers present! Are you kidding me? (I know, the John W. Campbell Award is not, officially, a Hugo, but still, it kinda is. Yeah?)
Anyway, I wasn't able to go to Denvention, so I couldn't pick this up in the dire moments after not winning the Campbell. Instead, they just sent it to me. I'm rather pleased. I'll make sure not to loose it.
No guarantees, but technically I do have a shot at next year's Campbell. Whether I get the nod or not I'll be there. Neil Gaiman is the writer Guest of Honor after all. It would be silly to miss that!
Fantasy Matters Conference (or, Proof of the Growing Geek in Me)
I'm just back from the Fantasy Matters Conference at the University of Minnesota. It was good stuff. I liked this event the minute I heard about it because its a rare academic conference devoted to Fantasy Literature. Lots of papers, lots of panels, lots of readings, lots of authors!
I got to spend time quite a bit of time with Patrick Rothfuss. We'd just hung out a couple weeks back at World Fantasy, but it was nice to actually sit down and get to know each other. He's absolutely a great guy, an ambitious writer and really smart (and funny) in talking about literature. His debut, The Name of the Wind, has been kicking ass all year, but it hasn't gone to his head yet - and I don't think it will. He's taking his sophomore effort seriously, and I've no doubt he's going to be a fantasy star for a long time to come.
It was terrific to meet Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. Her debut, Zahrah the Windseeker, was well-received, and her second novel, The Shadow Speaker, looks great too. (She's got blurbs on the new book from Tananarive Due, Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula K LeGuin!) And Drew Bowling (the absurdly young guy in the picture with Neil Gaiman below) was a ball of energy and enthusiasm. This kid was born when I was a junior in high school, and already his first book is out to strong reviews, and he's working on the next two of his trilogy as he works through college. He's got strong opinions on dragons. Jim C Hines was great to hang out with. He writes about Goblins and Princesses, and from what I heard his writing is sharp and witty. So that was all good fun. It was nice to meet Caitlin Kittredge and Bryan Thao Worra also.
One of the highlights, though, was meeting Neil Gaiman. I'd heard tales of the rock star effect Neil has on people. I knew he was suppose to have the biggest fan base in fantasy, but I hadn't thought much about it ahead of time. I'd been casual speaking with lots of famous authors just a couple week’s back, so why should Neil be any different?
I don't know. I really don't, but he is. When I first saw him, instead of running over with my book in hand I found myself lurking behind columns, strolling by nonchalantly, circling. I had a sudden fear of opening my mouth. What stupidity would jump out if I did?
I might not mention this reaction to anybody if it hadn't been so universally shared by all the other authors. Nnedi looked like she was going to faint after speaking to him. Drew, after debating buying a copy of American Gods, decided to buy three. Patrick was shocked and a bit unnerved to hear that Neil was actually waiting to meet him. When I did speak to him I was fairly close-mouthed, just covering the basics, getting the signatures, choosing to listen instead of talk much.
Perhaps part of the whole strangeness of his effect on people is that he's so terribly nice. He's also funny, yes. His intelligence is clear. He manages to mention everything from his friendships with all sorts of famous people to his various movie projects without the slightest pretension. But at the end of it all is just the fact that he seems an attentive, generous, nice person. He took a picture with anyone that asked. And was as courteous to the last person at the end of his massive signing line as he was to the first person. So not only is he a superstar in the comic world and a first rate novelist and a great short story writer and a wonderful children’s author and a scriptwriter and film producer and husband and father... he's also a model of how to contain all these gifts with class. I took notes.
Which leads me to conclude that - in addition to getting on with my work as an author - I want a black leather jacket for Christmas. Or something else to build my "signature" look... Suggestions?...
Oh, and, yes... I did manage to do my duty in self-promoting terms. Neil walked out of there with a signed copy of Acacia in hand. Hee hee.
Wow. That's a line up. Neil would skew things all by himself, but the entire list is super human. 
away "a chapter at a time?..."
, probably in the early 70s. When I discovered the joys of the 
trilogy for the children I went on to read everything of hers that I could get. Lately, her writing took on the later style and topics of Doris Lessing's 'fantasy' (although the latter has moved on/back again) and she no longer appeals to me.
is appealing, probably for nostalgic reasons... I read masses of sci-fi in the late 5
by R R Martin sounds like a big boy's read. I think I will have to graduate to that. Maybe when I get home in January, when the nights are still long and dark and it's blowing a gale out there, I will take the plunge. No, not maybe, let's not be too tentative and timid here... I will go for this in the new year.
. On second thoughts, perhaps because I see that the author is a black woman whom I would hope might bring some fresh perspectives. Or am I the marketing man's dream who simply picks the first shiny one on offer? Like the previous book, there is a contemporary feel to it which attracts me... and... you liked it.
. Neither author is one that I assume everyone will like, but both have a measure of brilliance that I'd encourage anyone to at least try. Notes on two other titles... I finished 
recently. Liked it very much, although as I rounded the last hundred pages or so I got to suspecting there wasn't going to be much in the way of resolution at the end. I wasn't wrong. Mr. Hamilton wraps things up like a professional, but this is clearly just the beginning of this particular story. And 
