‘The Duck’ published in Barleby Snopes 12

Bartleby Snopes 12, which includes a short story, "The Duck," by me

Bartleby Snopes 12, which includes a short story, “The Duck,” by me

Earlier this year, you may have been among the few hundred (OK, maybe thousand) people I bombarded with emails, posts and pleas to vote for my humble short story “The Duck” in Bartleby Snopes’ monthly fiction contest. The winner of each month’s contest is automatically included in Bartleby Snope’s semiannual print journal.

Alas, despite all my outreach and your kind votes, my simple story of young love (or is it lust?) was not victorious that month, coming in second place; however, many of you did send me kind words of delight and enjoyment at my story.

You, dear readers, were not alone. The good editors over at Bartleby Snopes, led by the indomitable Nathaniel Tower, have seen fit to include “The Duck” in the semiannual print journal, despite its lowly second-place finish.

You can buy the book on Lulu and get a print copy.

You can download a PDF version of it right here for the low, low cost of free.

Or you can get a Kindle copy sometime soon, just check this site to see if it is available.

So thank you Bartleby Snopes, and thank you dear readers. I hope you enjoy the fine collection of fiction in Bartleby Snopes 12, which includes work by Damon Barta, Andrew Bockhold, Jackson Burgess, Christopher Cassavella, Heather Clitheroe, Dusty Cooper, Rob Essley, Chris Fradkin, Jon Fried, Jill Gewirtz, J.D. Hager, Laurie Jacobs, Michael Janairo, Anna Lea Jancewicz, Mark Jaskowski, Danielle Kessinger, Edward Lando, Greg Letellier, Amanda Hart Miller, Michael Morshed, Justin Nguyen, Hun Ohm, Ryan J Ouimet, June Sylvester Saraceno, John Timm, Ian Woollen, and Leslee Renee Wright.

First impression: MaddAddam in development for HBO

Today’s news that HBO will be adapting Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy comes with mixed feelings.

That it is HBO? Awesome, because that will mean the three novels (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam) will get space and time to unfold and be more fully realized than they probably could be as one, or even three, feature films, and definitely more fully than if they were to be developed for network TV.

Of course, there is the worry that my imagined Toby, Amanda and Zeb (my favorite characters in the trilogy, and characters who don’t appear until the second novel), aren’t the ones who will appear on the screen.

And then there’s Darren Aronofsky. I think he’s strange, brilliant and, too often, brutal. Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain were all hard to get through. The Wrestler was more toned down, and frequently humorous, which made it more effective. But Black Swan? Hugely overrated, melodramatic (without an emotional core) and shallow.

I haven’t seen his Noah yet, but it does make an interested parallel considering the second book in Atwood’s trilogy is “The Year of the Flood.”

So will his vision of MaddAddam be open to the rich humor of Atwood’s dystopian world — from the explicit satire of fast food “secret burgers” (they’re secret because you don’t know what the meat comes from) to the heartbreaking irony of how so many members of the apocalyptic cult God’s Gardeners actually survive the apocalyptic “waterless flood”?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, please read my review of “Oryx and Crake” and stay tuned for my reviews of “Year of the Flood” and “MaddAddam.”

 

 

Help Joe Hill help Sci-Fi & Fantasy

An intriguing string of tweets earlier this week:

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That’s right, after all these years, the “Best American …” series will finally start to showcase the best in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and you can help guest editor Joe Hill by sending him recommendations for stories via this webpage: http://submissions.johnjosephadams.com/basff/submit/.

‘Angela and the Scar’ called a ‘standout’ tale in ‘Long Hidden’

In case you didn’t know, the anthology of all-new short fiction “Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History” comes out on Friday, May 9, 2014.

A review from RT Books says the editors “have assembled some superstar-powered stories,” and then it goes on to point out three “standout tales” out of the 27 in the volume. And, yes, the story I wrote, “Angela and the Scar” is one of those standout tales.

Thanks!

Read the full review here http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/long-hidden

UPDATE: Mark your calendars: Long Hidden, the anthology, is on its way

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UPDATE: Change of date and time (see below)

The anthology “Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History,” which includes one of my short stories (“Angela and the Scar”), has a release date: May 9, 2014.

Where can you buy the book? Check out the publisher’s page, Crossed Genres. The trade paperback edition is $19.95, and it is 363 pages. In addition to my story, it includes stories by some big-name writers such as Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias. For a complete list of authors, check out my earlier post.

And while you’re at it, you may also want to kick in some bucks for the Crossed Genres Magazine’s current Kickstarter Campaign.

But wait, there’s more!

A book release party will be held at 9 pm Saturday, May 10, at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 236 E. 3rd St., New York, New York 4 pm Saturday, May 10, at Alice’s Arbor, 549 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Here’s the event page on Facebook. So if you’re in NYC, please go to the event and buy a copy. (Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend, as my day job is taking me to a conference at Yale.)

Continue reading →

In which I get interviewed about my short story ‘The Advanced Ward’

Veterans of the Future Wars book coverI have a short story in a new anthology of military sci-fi called “Veterans of the Future Wars.”

In conjunction with the release of this new book, I was interviewed by the publisher about myself, books, writing and the story behind the story, among other things. After years of being a journalist, it was fun to be on the other side — answering questions instead of asking them.

Read the full interview (it is a little long) at http://martiningham.blogspot.com/2014/03/author-interview-michael-janairo.html

 

Broad Universe Wikipedia Project

What a great idea!

K. A. Laity

Hey kids! Want to help raise the visibility of women writers of the fantastic? With trumpet’s blare, let me unveil:

broadspectrumA Broad Universe Project for Women’s History Month: Women Authors on Wikipedia!

Women artists made a concerted effort recently to get more of them written into history.  More people turn to Wikipedia than to any other source. Women are still largely missing unless they are the few really big names in history. Here’s Mary Shelley’s page. It’s fairly comprehensive, but there aren’t enough 20th C women with the same detail. Comprehensive is great, but every little bit helps.

Only 2% of the users edit Wikipedia. A huge percentage of them are male. And as time goes on fewer people are doing any editing, so diversity is bound to be an issue.

This is a great way for members who want to be more active in promoting ALL…

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‘Long Hidden’ update: Giveaway on Good Reads and cover blurb news

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This is getting real. The anthology Long Hidden, which is now up on Goodreads.com and includes one of my short stories, can be yours in a giveaway going on right now on Goodreads.

Go enter the giveaway at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20642659-long-hidden.

Also check out the book jacket copy. The blurb mentions five of the 27 stories in the anthology — including mine. Can you guess which one?

In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again – from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman’s desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers.

These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today’s finest authors – including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias – reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history

A few tiny steps toward publication(s)

Big day yesterday as, within an hour of each other, I got the ARC (that’s advanced reader’s copy) of the Long Hidden speculative fiction anthology that includes a short story of mine AND a request to do an author interview for Veterans of the Future Wars anthology that includes a different short story of mine.

With the ARC, I get to proof my story one more time. With the interview, I get to talk about me.

These are small steps in the publishing process, but add a sense of fun and anticipation.