The Mumpsimus

I was honored to be the nonfiction editor for a special issue of Fantasy magazine, part of the ever-growing Destroy series from Lightspeed, Nightmare, and Fantasy — this time, QUEERS DESTROY FANTASY! The editor-in-fabulousness/fiction editor was Christopher Barzak, the reprints editor was Liz Gorinsky, and the art editor was Henry Lien. Throughout this month, some pieces will be put online. So far, Austin Bunn's magnificent story "Ledge" is now available, as are our various editorial statements . More will be released later, but most of the pieces I commissioned are only available by purchasing the ebook [also available via Weightless ] or paperback . There are magnificent pieces by Mary Anne Mohanraj, merritt kopas, Keguro Macharia, Ekaterina Sedia, and Ellen Kushner, and only merritt's "Sleepover Manifesto" will be online. I owe huge thanks to all the contributors I worked with, to the other editors, to managing editor Wendy Wagner who did lo...

    Jamie Marks Is Dead is based on a book I love by a writer I love: One for Sorrow by Christopher Barzak . I realized recently that I think of it as the first novel of "our" generation/group of writers — Chris is a few months older than me, and originally introduced me to probably half the writers and editors I know. I read One for Sorrow in manuscript, exhorted Juliet Ulman to buy and edit it for Bantam, and celebrated its publication. Chris sent me a copy with the kindest inscription penned onto its title page that any writer has ever given me. I feel like a kind of distant (crazy) uncle to the book, and thus also deeply protective toward it. I didn't read most of the reviews when it was released for fear that I would seek out any negative reviewers and do terrible things to them that would get me arrested.  When I found out it was being made into a movie, I was both excited for Chris and for the higher profile the book would likely gain, and terrified that the ...

This is the sixth in a series of posts leading up to this blog's tenth anniversary on August 18. In each post, I look back on one year, sometimes specifically and sometimes generally. All the posts can be found  here . I'm Not There 2007 began with an outtake from an interview I did with Juliet Ulman of Bantam Books and ended with a rather mysterious announcement on December 24 that I would need to take a break from blogging for a while. The reason for the hiatus was something I discussed in the previous post : my father's death. I last talked with him on my cell phone as I was walking home after seeing Tim Burton's movie of Sweeney Todd , a review of which was the last substantive post I wrote that year; the next afternoon, I got the call from the New Hampshire State Police. The only thing I managed to write between the announcement of my absence and then my later return was a column for Strange Horizons  that adds some context to it all, "Of Muses and ...

Blogging always slows to a crawl during the second half of a semester, but I was surprised to see that it's been almost a month since I last posted here. Egads. I've hardly had a moment to breathe, though. For now, I just want to capture a few moments of reading from the recent weeks.

By now, you've probably seen John Scalzi's post "Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is" (and perhaps John's amusing commentary on deleted comments  and follow-up post in response to some responses ). My post here is simply to point you toward three responses among the many, many, many that the post has drawn. Excerpts are here merely to entice you to read more, not to suggest that they are the only things you need to read from these excellent writers. First, Nick Mamatas : ...when class is fully integrated into an understanding of the difficulty setting of the Game of Life, I think the arguments get much clearer. The question: "I'm a poor white guy; should I fight against systems of privilege?" The answer: "Because you'll benefit from it. The more equal things are, the better off you are." For rich white guys who ask the same question, well, they're clearly on the other side, so they don't n...

Dear Nebula Voters, I know what your real purpose is with the nominees for this year's award.  Don't think you can hide your secret, conspiratorial goals from me!  I know what you really want to do is cause me immense angst by putting some of my favorite people up against each other in your various (nefarious!) categories.  You know when it comes to awards I root for the people I know and like before I even consider anything else, because of course the people I know and like are all the greatest writer in the world, but what am I supposed to do when you, for instance, put VanderMeer up against Barzak in the novel category?! I'm safe, at least, with the short story category.  Jim Kelly is the only writer I know well there, so obviously he should win.  Novelette is worse -- Paolo Bacigalupi is the one person whose short stories have caused me to write a long essay , and he's a really nice guy (well, as long as you don't burn lots of hydrocarbons in front...

Ellen Kushner and Tempest Bradford both let me know that not only is the Interstitial Arts Foundation holding an auction of jewelry based on stories from Interfictions , but one of the pieces of jewelry is, in fact, based on my story "A Map of the Everywhere": "A Map of the Everywhere -- Boxcar Diner" by Sarah Evans. I've tried to write something eloquent and thoughtful about how pleased I am anyone would find inspiration in something I'd written ... but basically all I want to say is: Wow! That's so cool! In other cool news, Mumpsimus fave Chris Barzak has been nominated for the NewNowNext Awards from Logo, which is, apparently, a TV station (I don't have a TV). Chris is nominated in the "Brink of Fame: Author" category, which apparently means he's on the verge of becoming a contestant on a Bravo show. Or something. I don't know. But what I do know is you can go vote for him! Don't let Barzak Day in the Blogosphere have...

It's the day after Barzak Day, and we're still sweeping up all the confetti here at Mumpsimus Central, but I wanted to take a moment to say how much fun it was to see all the support for Chris and his book. I just updated the link post again, most notably with Liz Hand's very positive Village Voice review. Chris has plenty of good news he'll be able to share in the future, too, so keep an eye on him . Things around here are likely to slow down for a while, because my new job starts tomorrow, and I have no idea what sort of free time I will have. I've got a couple assignments for reviews that I need to get done, reading to do for Best American Fantasy , and one big project I've been promising myself I would devote more time to, so we shall see. But this was a great way to end the summer, and I hope everybody who participated had as much fun as I did. Thanks all.

This post will be updated throughout the day with links to material about Christopher Barzak and his first novel One For Sorrow , released today. Thanks to everybody who is participating! Colleen Lindsay offers an in-depth interview and a classic photo. She's also giving copies of the book away! The Stage @ The Oakland is heading up the Youngstown, Ohio side of Barzak Day. Into My Own presents an interview with Chris. Chris guest-blogs at Gwenda Bond's place. Small Beer Press and LCRW (about whom more later) offer "Barzakian Secrets of the Barzakian Plan for Barzakian Galactic Domination". Colleen Mondor writes about Chris's short stories. Jason Erik Lundberg has been reading Barzak from the very beginning. Jeffrey Ford has some nice things to say. The Creativity Incubator launches a new feature, Creative Spotlight, with One for Sorrow . The new Science Fiction Awards Watch notes that Mr. Barzak is in their database. Secritcrush remembers One for Sorrow from a...

Bantam Senior Editor Juliet Ulman acquired Christopher Barzak's One for Sorrow and shepherded it into print. I really have the wonderful Mumpsimus himself to thank for bringing us together. Matt and I met in person for the first time at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, and we were sitting around one night, probably resting from a bout of giggling, talking about short story authors we admired and who I'd been following. I was wishing aloud that some of my favorites had a book in them, and exclaimed in frustration, "Christopher Barzak! Now why hasn't he written a novel!?" To which Matt calmly replied, "But he has." A few minutes later, we'd established that Chris had written a novel, Matt had seen it, and Matt would pass on word that I wanted to take a look. When I got back from the convention, the manuscript was waiting for me. Reading One for Sorrow for the first time is an experience I will never forget. I couldn't stop my...

Yes, today is Barzak Day. Obviously. But it is also, and quite appropriately, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet Day. Yes, that fine and marvelous book is being released on the same day as Mr. Barzak's One for Sorrow . This is appropriate not just because it's appropriate for two wonderful books to be released on the same day. That is, indeed, a good thing. But here are some facts to consider: Mr. Barzak's first published story was "A Mad Tea Party" in LCRW . One for Sorrow evolved from the story "Dead Boy Found", first published in Trampoline , an anthology edited by Kelly Link and published by Small Beer Press . Kelly Link is co-founder of Small Beer Press, which publishes LCRW , which she co-edits, which is how she got to be co-editor of The Best of LCRW. Oh, the tangled web she weaves! Kelly Link blurbed One for Sorrow , calling it, "An uncommonly good book with brains, heart, and bravery to spare. Readers who don't ...

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning writer James Patrick Kelly was an important mentor for Chris Barzak when the young Mr. B. was just beginning to figure out what it meant to be a writer. I asked Jim to join us in celebrating his protege's success, and here is what he had to say: I first met and worked with Chris Barzak when he was knee high to an adverb at the Imagination Writers Workshop in Cleveland, Ohio back in the summer of 1997, and I remember sitting out on a sunny patio and telling him that he needed to apply to Clarion and then go on to have a career as a writer. I also have a vague memory of him staring back at me like I was perhaps addled by the heat. The next year we did let him into Clarion and I worked with him again and informed him he was already a writer, just one who hadn't published yet. I'm pretty sure he was starting to believe by then. Over the years I have watched with pride as he has proved me so very right. I have recently derived a formula th...

Rick Bowes doesn't have a blog, but he's been a huge supporter of Chris Barzak for years, and so it made no sense for Barzak Day to happen without some words from him. When asked about Barzak, here is what Bowes said: Chris Barzak is a better dancer than any other novelist in the world. And he’s a better novelist than any dancer in the world. And: Chris Barzak’s car just broke down, which is a sin and a shame. I think it would be lovely if a rich patron who wished to keep his or her identity a secret would buy Chris a new car. Nothing too ostentatious or sporty (because he’ll be driving it in Youngstown, after all).Something Japanese would be good. He likes that.

To start off Barzak Day here at The Mumpsimus, I offer Chris's responses to a questionnaire I created (mostly from other questionnaires, including The Proust Questionnaire , Tom Disch's poem "Questions Your Children are Certain to Ask" , a SFWA Fantasy Worldbuilding Questionnaire , a couple of Cosmo quizzes , the book Here Speeching American , and other sources). To what faults do you feel most indulgent? Permissiveness. I permit myself to indulge my other faults far too often. Dr. Spock didn't know what he was talking about. Your favorite virtue? There are too many! And from which category of virtue? Buddhist? That would be Right Mindfulness - Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness . Samurai virtues? That would be To manifest great compassion, and act for the sake of Man. Western virtues? Justice. Roman virtues? Veritas, honesty in dealing with others. Christian virtues? Love. How do the different prohibitions grow On ...

Chris Barzak's first novel, One For Sorrow , is officially released tomorrow, and for that auspicious occasion, I have decided to do something I've not done before -- organize a multi-blog celebration of all things Barzak. I'm calling it Barzak Day in the Blogosphere, which seems to me like a perfectly humble and unassuming title. The idea is this: various bloggers will write about Chris, about his writing, about the book -- and I will collect and link to as much of it as I know about from here, updating a post with links throughout the day. Also, there will be a couple of guest appearances here by people who have had encounters with Mr. B., and I will present a solemn and deeply meaningful exclusive Q&A with the man himself. Colleen Lindsay will be offering an interview with Chris as well as, I think, some free copies of the book. I actually owe the whole idea of this to Colleen, because when she announced she was doing an interview on the day of the book's re...