The Mumpsimus

I've been reading through this year's Best American Short Stories , edited by Geraldine Brooks, little by little, almost randomly, not quickly, and mostly as a reward to myself when I get other work done. I got it as an ebook, because that's a nicely convenient way to read it. What ultimately attracted me to it was that this year's table of contents is more interesting to me than any in the last few years. (Finally, a BASS  that isn't a Best American Rich White People !) My favorite story so far is Rebecca Makkai's "Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart", originally published in Tin House . For me this story alone is easily worth what I paid for the book.

Jeff VanderMeer has announced that the Best American Fantasy series , for which I served as series editor, has been cancelled. I've known about this for a while now, but reading the announcement was a particularly sad moment for me, because I'd been looking forward very much to seeing what the next few books would look like, with new series editor Larry Nolen taking over for me, new resources to open up the literature of Latin America to the book, and exciting guest editors lined up: Minister Faust, Junot Diaz, and Catherynne M. Valente. There are lots of reasons why we couldn't bring the series beyond three volumes, most of which boil down to the fact that we weren't able to find a way to reach a large enough audience to be profitable. As Jeff wrote, "BAF did not having a wide margin for error. A cross-genre fantasy year’s best that focused not just on genre magazines but also on literary magazines, that required sympathy and generosity from both the mainstr...

With one post, Larry Nolen simultaneously offers a thoughtful and well-informed response to folks who got all "wwaaaahhrrr!  waaaahhhhrrr!  genre good!  waaahhhhrrrr!" about the New Yorker's "20 Under 40" promotional list (whereas I just offered snark ) and he proves what we already knew -- that he was the perfect successor as Best American Fantasy series editor, because his perspective is exactly the one we wanted for the book when we created the series (and he's a much faster reader than I am, which will make the work perhaps a bit less arduous for him than it was for me).  It's a post well worth reading -- one of the things being inundated with piles of lit mags does is show you the extraordinary variety of writing out there, both in terms of content and form. Now if I can just get him to stop calling it "mimetic fiction" , I'll have achieved all of my goals for world domination, bwahahahahahahahaaaa! Update: The link for "...

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...

I haven't seen a copy yet, but various online outlets say they're shipping Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy 3 , and Powell's and St. Marks Books report they've got some in stock at this very moment, so now's your chance to get them before they become collector's items and sell for tens of thousands of dollars on the used book market.  Publisher's Weekly and Charles Tan both like it, so you should, too! Or, if you just want to read it and aren't planning on buying a box or two of the book to hoard in preparation for the Last Days, there's always the library .

Paul Tremblay and I were emailing recently, but I didn't realize until I read his comment on an excellent blog post by John Scalzi that Paul's second novel, No Sleep till Wonderland , is 1.) being published today, and 2.) published by Henry Holt, a subsidiary of Macmillan , which means that for the moment it's not being sold on Amazon.com.  (Yes, there are copies available from third-party sellers -- these are probably review copies, and they send no royalties to the writer.) The first day of a novel's publication should be a day of celebration and joy, not a day when the world's largest monopolistic bookseller refuses to sell your book because they're in a spat with another massive corporation. I don't know Paul well, and I haven't read his novels, but I've read his short fiction and met him a few times.  His story "The Two-Headed Girl" is included in Best American Fantasy 3 .  He's a nice guy and a good writer. So here's ...

I've just posted the new guidelines and reading period for Best American Fantasy 4 , guest edited by Minister Faust , on the BAF blog (the info is also available elsewhere ).  If you are a publisher or editor, or if you know and have sway over publishers and editors, then please take a moment to check it out. I'm also thrilled that Larry Nolen is taking my place as series editor -- I can't think of a better person for the job.  I continue to be thrilled by the development of the series, with volume four adding lots of new staff to help gather material, and, with Fábio Fernandez's assistance, the ability finally to be able to cover South America as well as North.  I'm sticking around to offer help and advice (much like Statler & Waldorf helped The Muppets, I'm sure!) but it's also quite exciting that right now, for the first time since 2006, I do not have to try to read every journal, magazine, webzine, and anthology I can get my hands on...

I just posted lots of news about the Best American Fantasy series. Now here is what I've waited a long time to be able to share -- very much worth the wait, I think-- Best American Fantasy 3: Real Unreal Guest Editor Kevin Brockmeier, Series Editor Matthew Cheney "Safe Passage" by Ramona Ausubel ( One Story , Issue 106) "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel" by Peter S. Beagle ( Strange Roads ) "Cardiology" by Ryan Boudinot ( Five Chapters , 2008) "The Pentecostal Home for Flying Children" by Will Clarke ( The Oxford American , Issue 61) "For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing" by Martin Cozza ( Pindeldyboz , July 6 2008) "Daltharee" by Jeffrey Ford ( The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy ) "Is" by Chris Gavaler ( New England Review , Volume 39, Number 2) "The Torturer's Wife" by Thomas Glave ( The Kenyon Review , Fall 2008) "Reader's Guide...

I'll post the contents and recommended reading from Best American Fantasy 3: Real Unreal soon, but until then, some news: The Best American Fantasy series has undergone a series of important changes, starting with the publisher. Underland Press has acquired the Best American Fantasy series, and will publish the third volume, "Real Unreal," in January of 2010. BAF4, tentatively titled "Imaginary Borders," will appear in March 2011. BAF3 contains work by, among others, Stephen King, Lisa Goldstein, Peter S. Beagle, and John Kessel, as chosen by guest editor Kevin Brockmeier with assistance from series editor Matthew Cheney. The cover of BAF3 was designed by John Coulthart . The guest editors for volumes 4 through 6 will be: Minister Faust , Junot Diaz , and Catherynne M. Valente . Each of these critically acclaimed writers will bring excellence and expertise to the position. BAF4 will include work published in 2010, as the series skips a year to accommodate t...

My essay "Coetzee in the Promised Land" has just been posted in the new issue of The Quarterly Conversation. The whole issue is worth checking out -- it's a particularly rich one, I think. Also notable: In a nice bit of Best American Fantasy syncronicity, Matt Bell writes about Brian Evenson's new novel Last Days . Brian had a story in the first volume of BAF , Matt has a story in the second volume , and the third volume will be published by Underland Press , which published Last Days . This adds evidence to my hypothesis that The Quarterly Conversation is at the center of the universe. Well, my universe at least... My own essay is a hybrid/collage of literary analysis, literary historiography, cultural meditation, occasional speculation, semi-educated guesses, and various random ideas that are thrown around with the hope that a few might stick to something. My original intention was to write an essay with a larger scope -- an investigation of South Afric...

As Jeff notes , the Best American Fantasy series is moving to Underland Press for the future, starting with Best American Fantasy 3 guest-edited by Kevin Brockmeier. We owe thanks to Prime and Sean Wallace for helping the series get launched. The much-delayed second volume is, apparently, now available . Folks who got advanced copies seem to like the book, which includes stories by Rick Moody, Kage Baker, Peter Beagle, Kelly Link, Jeffrey Ford, Judy Budnitz, and other writers equally deserving of mention. For a sense of the book, check out Liz Hand's review at F&SF or the story-by-story reading at Bookspot Central . Volume three is shaping up nicely, and we've nearly settled on the contents, so once we have done that and I've secured reprint permission for everything, I will post the contents here.

Somehow, in the merry-go-round-that-aspires-to-be-a-rollercoaster that is my life, I missed this interview that Charles Tan conducted with me about Best American Fantasy (volume 2 is now, finally, making its way into the world!), writing, reading, theatre, teaching, reviewing, etc. It was a fun interview, and I'm grateful to Charles for giving me the opportunity to ramble on about some favorite topics. Here's a taste: What for you makes a good story? I wish it were something simple and reliable -- I wish, for instance, that I loved every story with the word "arugula" in it. That would make writing and reading much easier. But, alas, it's all more ineffable than that. Generally, it boils down to surprise and individuality. I don't continue reading stories if they don't contain some element of surprise -- if they don't make me wonder where the writer will take the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next page. I'm not a fast reader, so if I f...

BookSpot Central is hosting a roundtable discussion of the stories in volume 2 of Best American Fantasy -- first up is M. Rickert's "Memoir of a Deer Woman" . It's an ambitious project, and I look forward to following it.

I discovered Frédéric Chabot's work when we were looking for cover artists for Best American Fantasy 2008 . We looked at art from a bunch of different people, but I kept coming back to Frédéric's images. For a while, in fact, he was going to be our artist. Alas, the publishing world is mercurial, and in the end some marketing forces pushed us in other directions. It happens all the time, and I certainly understand. But this is such marvelous art, I couldn't help but share my enthusiasm with the world... More of Frédéric's images are available here and here .

Ann just posted this , and so I'm going to do the same, as all wise people follow her lead: The advance copies contain few of the ancillary materials, because, well, we're kinda still working on getting things like my preface, Ann & Jeff's intro, the recommended stories list, and an accurate "publications received" list finished (note to self: next time finish this list before you pack everything up and move it to another state).

Matt Bell has won the StorySouth Million Writers Award for his story "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" from Storyglossia . (Galleycat has a good write-up about the award and Matt here .) I'm noting this not because I'm a big fan of awards, but because I had not noticed Matt's name before Jeff and Ann VanderMeer picked his story "Mario's Three Lives" for Best American Fantasy 2008 , and it's fun to see someone whose work we read without any knowledge of his background or abilities now achieving some recognition. So congrats to Matt, and let's hope this is just the beginning of many more accomplishments in the future!

We have now finally settled on the contents for Best American Fantasy 2008 (to be released this fall) and tracked down all the permissions, which means I can now announce the stories that will be included: "Bufo Rex" by Erik Amundsen ( Weird Tales ) "The Ruby Incomparable" by Kage Baker ( Wizards ) "The Last and Only" by Peter S. Beagle ( Eclipse 1 ) "Mario's Three Lives" by Matt Bell ( Barrelhouse ) "Interval" by Aimee Bender ( Conjunctions ) "Minus, His Heart" by Jedediah Berry ( Chicago Review ) "Abroad" by Judy Budnitz ( Tin House ) "Chainsaw on Hand" by Deborah Coates ( Asimov's ) "The Drowned Life" by Jeffrey Ford ( Eclipse 1 ) "The Naming of the Islands" by David Hollander ( McSweeney's ) "Light" by Kelly Link ( Tin House ) "The Revisionist" by Miranda Mellis ( Harper's ) "In the Middle of the Woods" by Christian Moody ( Cincinnati Re...

I'm pleased to announce that the guest editor for Best American Fantasy 3 will be Kevin Brockmeier . The book will be filled with stories from this year (2008) and will be published in September 2009. For the full, official press release (with a rare quote from series editor Matthew Cheney himself!), check out the BAF blog . For information on guidelines and publicity, see the BAF website . I'm really thrilled Kevin agreed to join our endeavor -- I can't imagine a person who would be more perfect to take over. I'm also thrilled that I was able to convince Ann and Jeff to stay on and help with some publicity and packaging, because there's a lot I still don't know about putting books together, and their experience and knowledge and patience have been essential to the series. If you don't know Kevin Brockmeier's work ... well, didn't you read his marvelous "Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets" in the first BAF? (If n...

Due to various technical mishaps, I wasn't able to get into the AWP Bookfair on Friday to help the ever-erstwhile Clayton Kroh with the Best American Fantasy/Weird Tales table. Saturday, though, was no problem, and I spent the day in the labyrinthine world of the Bookfair -- three floors of tables and booths. It took me fifteen minutes just to find our table, placed as it was against a back wall of the farthest room, and once when I wandered out alone I managed to walk in circles for at least ten minutes before realizing the source of the profound sense of deja vu filling my brain. Tempest Bradford stopped by, and I quickly convinced her to take over the table so I could wander around and give copies of BAF to any magazine or journal whose representatives I could convince to take one. It can be amazingly difficult to give things away at AWP, because so many people are traveling by airplane and cannot carry away piles and piles of the many things it is so easy to accumulate ...

Pindeldyboz is migrating from being a print-and-online magazine to being only an online magazine, and so they held a party Monday night, and I went. So did other people. Including Richard Larson , Dustin Kurtz , Ed Champion , and Sarah Weinman . The last print issue of Pboz is actually only appearing as a free PDF download . It's 16 megabytes of worthwhile reading. Of last night's readings from the last issue, I was particularly taken by two. Here are excerpts: As internships go—is that still what this is? -- you could do a lot better than zig-zagging through no man’s land carving up no man’s cows all summer. It’s not for credit, what the hell kind of major would give you credit for that? It’s more like an apprenticeship, but with no hope or desire to take over the business. Every Wednesday $250 is direct-deposited into my account back east. This job makes a lot more sense on Wednesdays. --from "Every Creeping Thing of the Earth" by Patrick Rappa I agreed with...