Chris Cevasco

Originally uploaded by slushgod.

At the June KGB, a bunch of my friends and I presented Chris Cevasco with this “Good Luck at Clarion” gift. We kept the photos secret until now, so that his Clarion buddies wouldn’t see the shirt before he unveiled it at the workshop. But now that it’s been unveiled (and he’s been savaged), I figured it was time to share. Here’s another one.

And what’s that you say?  You would like to get yourself one of those shirts?  Well, due to popular demand, I’ve set up a Spreadshirt.com shop where you can buy one just like it.  Now available in a wide variety of colors and styles!  Go shop!  Come on, you know you want one.

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This just in: John Langan has informed me that since he was not given a reading slot at Readercon, he plans to hold a guerilla reading, featuring both him and his fellow F&SF contributor Laird Barron (in which, I imagine, they will compete to see who can instill more nightmarish imagery in the as-yet-unformed dreams of the audience). Room and time are unknown, so be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for details!

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Ahoy Matey!

Originally uploaded by slushgod.

Look, it’s me in my pirate regalia.

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We paid out cash money for the following this month: a literary, somewhat anti-literature fantasy from William Browning Spencer (returning to the pages of F&SF after too long an absence!); another new story from the prolific Robert Reed (perhaps his best since “The Sleeping Woman”); a new Gaunt & Bone adventure from Chris Willrich; a sequel of sorts to “The Tribes of Bela” by Albert Cowdrey; a cyberpunk crime story from Alexander Jablokov; and an unorthodox tale of the Red Planet from Ruth Nestvold.

All this, plus: a new slush survivor, by the name of S.L. Gilbow, who debuts with a “Lottery”-esque tale of social SF; and…the F&SF debut of Susanna Clarke, author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, who will grace our pages (in the December issue) with a tale of John Uskglass.

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An announcement: I’ll be guest-editing the Summer 2007 issue of Shimmer!  Here’s some verbiage from Shimmer‘s website:

Pirates! The word evokes the high seas, deep space and bootleg software. Be honest, who hasn’t wanted to be a pirate? Think of plunder, booty — Avast!

The MS Shimmer has been captured by the Dred Pirate John Joseph Adams, first-mate of the Fantasy & Science Fiction. For the Summer 2007 issue, our pages will be filled with pirate stories. What better way to celebrate National Talk Like a Pirate Day?

What kind of pirates? All kinds — fantasy, science fiction, contemporary, historical, futuristic, high seas, deep space — if it’s got pirates and it’s speculative fiction, Captain Adams wants it. The usual Shimmer guidelines apply, but with pirates.

Bring us your pirate stories for Summer 2007, the Pirate Issue.

Submission porthole: December 1, 2006-January 31, 2007.

Send submissions to submissions@shimmerzine.com with “Pirate Submission: Title” in the subject line.

Links

Ye scurvy sea-dogs need some inspirin’? Here are some links to get ye started.

Watch the History Channel’s series on pirates, beginning July 9.

Can’t think of a name for your pirate vessel? Check out this pirate ship name generator.

Read some sobering information on the connection between pirates and global warming in this Open Letter to Kansas School Board.

Brush up on your pirate words and phrases.

And don’t forget Bloodthirsty Pirate Tales.

If we be missin’ some links, or if ye have more questions, fire a cannon over our fo’c’s’le at midnight, or send e-mail to info@shimmerzine.com.

Arr!

ETA May 23, 2019: The internet is forever, and thus 13 years after posting this, this page was made useful by a teacher doing a lesson on pirates. One of the students discovered an interesting page on pirate dentistry, and thought it would be a good addition to this list of pirate facts, and I thought that was super cute that she thought to ask the teacher to alert me to the link, so I’m dutifully adding it to this repository of pirate facts.

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I’ll be attending Readercon this year, which is held July 7-9 at the Burlington Mariott, Burlington, Massachusetts.

The programming was announced today. I’m only scheduled for one panel, but I still get in for free, so I have no problem with that. Here’s my panel description:

Sat 12:00 F Everybody Dies
Adams, Disch, Hanger (+M), Lewitt, Meacham, Morrow
There’s a small body of fiction in which all of humanity (or at least every character in the story) dies or is fated to die (Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, James Morrow’s This Is the Way the World Ends), or will die without producing children (Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). These stories are dramatically different from the much more common tales in which almost everybody dies. What kinds of things can be said in these stories that can’t be said in their less grim cousins?

What about all of you readers out there? Anyone else going? Readercon rules, so if it’s possible for you to make it, you should register now.

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