The Living Dead has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology! This is a tremendous honor, and I’m hugely thrilled.
Visit the World Fantasy Awards web site for the full list of nominees.
io9 has a rave review of Federations:
“Federations aims to be an anthology of short stories about interstellar civilizations — think Star Trek, Star Wars, or Isaac Asimov‘s Foundation series. But really, most of the stories in this collection are just classic space opera, with only a little discussion of the challenges and joys of multi-planetary collaboration. There’s quite a lot of space war, a fair bit of first contact, and a dash of deep-space exploration. And that turns out to be a more thrilling experience, in many ways, than a more tightly thematic collection of stories about deep-space alliances might have been. … Federations is definitely one of those anthologies that offers something for everyone. … Whether they’re taking us to deep-space battles, showing us uneasy collaboration between vastly different races, or satirizing the very idea of a benign interplanetary alliance, the stories in Federations mostly keep a very human perspective on the hugeness and strangeness of a galaxy teeming with life. And that’s reason enough to sign on to its galactic charter.”
My vampire anthology By Blood We Live is now on sale, and so I’m launching the anthology’s website, which features the complete text of 8 stories from the book.
Here’s the cover copy:
Vampires. They are the most elegant of monsters—ancient, seductive, doomed, deadly. They lurk in the shadows, at your window, in your dreams. They are beautiful as anything you’ve ever seen, but their flesh is cold as the grave, and their lips taste of blood. From Dracula to Twilight, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to True Blood, many have fallen under their spell. Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams brings you 33 of the most haunting vampire stories of the past three decades, from some of today’s most renowned authors of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
Charming gentlemen with the manners of a prior age. Savage killing machines who surge screaming from hidden vaults. Cute little girls frozen forever in slender bodies. Long-buried loved ones who scratch at the door, begging to be let in. Nowhere is safe, not mist-shrouded Transylvania or the Italian Riviera or even a sleepy town in Maine. This is a hidden world, an eternal world, where nothing is forbidden…as long as you’re willing to pay the price.
By Blood We Live is 245,000 words of the best in vampire fiction. Thirsty? By Blood We Live will satisfy your darkest cravings…
And here’s the URL: www.johnjosephadams.
My next anthology, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is coming out in September, but I’m launching the site for that now as well:
Sherlock Holmes is back!
Sherlock Holmes, the world’s first—and most famous—consulting detective, came to the world’s attention more than 120 years ago through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels and stories. But Conan Doyle didn’t reveal all of the Great Detective’s adventures…
Here are some of the best Holmes pastiches of the last 30 years, twenty-eight tales of mystery and the imagination detailing Holmes’s further exploits, as told by many of today’s greatest storytellers, including Stephen King, Anne Perry, Anthony Burgess, Neil Gaiman, Naomi Novik, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, and many more.
These are the improbable adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where nothing is impossible, and nothing can be ruled out. In these cases, Holmes investigates ghosts, curses, aliens, dinosaurs, shapeshifters, and evil gods. But is it the supernatural, or is there a perfectly rational explanation?
You won’t be sure, and neither will Holmes and Watson as they match wits with pirates, assassins, con artists, and criminal masterminds of all stripes, including some familiar foes, such as their old nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
In these pages you’ll also find our heroes crossing paths with H. G. Wells, Lewis Carroll, and even Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and you’ll be astounded to learn the truth behind cases previously alluded to by Watson but never before documented until now. These are tales that take us from the familiar quarters at 221B Baker Street to alternate realities, from the gaslit streets of London to the far future and beyond.
Whether it’s mystery, fantasy, horror, or science fiction, no puzzle is too challenging for the Great Detective. The game is afoot!
And the URL is www.johnjosephadams.
For those of my fans and/or stalkers in the Montreal area, and others planning to attend Worldcon, here’s my programming schedule:
When: Thu 12:30
Location: P-511BE
Title: I Read the News Today
Session ID: 176
All Participants: Brad Templeton, julie c andrijeski, John Joseph
Adams
Moderator: julie c andrijeski
Description: How has the war on terror been reflected in onscreen SF?
Do those aliens represent al-Qaeda or us? Does SF provide a means to
discuss these matters indirectly?
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Media
AV/Internet request: None
When: Fri 10:00
Location: P-518A
Title: When did SF Conquer the Mainstream?
Session ID: 483
All Participants: Daryl Gregory, Fred Lerner, Julie McGalliard, Kathy
Morrow, John Joseph Adams
Moderator: Julie McGalliard
Description: Once upon a time, very little science fiction was to be
found that didn’t appear either as a novel of ideas with a dash of
action (Wells, Rosny) or a juvenile yarn with a dash of ideas (Verne,
E. E. Smith). Today, science fiction runs the entire gamut from the
pulpish to the mainstream (Chabon, McCarthy) and ideas may be served
up wholesale in many other media.
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Literature in English
AV/Internet request: None
When: Fri 14:00
Location: P-Autographs
Title: John Joseph Adams Signing
Session ID: 1232
All Participants: John Joseph Adams
Moderator: <Not Available>
Description: John Joseph Adams Signing
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Autographs
AV/Internet request: None
When: Fri 21:00
Location: P-513B
Title: Vampire Rules–and How to Recognize Them Without a Mirror
Session ID: 724
All Participants: Inanna Arthen, Jennifer Williams, Karen Dales,
Victoria Janssen, John Joseph Adams
Moderator: Victoria Janssen
Description: Are there vampire rules that writers MUST follow? Some
experts and enthusiasts discuss vampires, including eastern vs western
vampires.
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Creative Writing
AV/Internet request: None
When: Sat 15:30
Location: P-513A
Title: “Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over.”
Session ID: 631
All Participants: Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Kij Johnson, John Joseph
Adams, Liz Gorinsky
Moderator: Kij Johnson
Description: That was The Onion’s headline when George W. Bush took
office, and, in many respects, it was an accurate piece of SF-nal
prediction. What use has sf made of the George W. Bush presidency, and
the War on Terror in particular?
Duration: 1:30 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Literature in English
AV/Internet request: None
When: Sun 14:00
Location: P-516E
Title: From A to Zombies
Session ID: 862
All Participants: Eric Gauthier, Adeline Lamarre, John Joseph Adams
Moderator: Eric Gauthier
Description: Lend us your brains — we’ll find out why zombies are so
cool.
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: Bilingual
Track: Teen Programming
AV/Internet request: None
When: Sun 22:00
Location: P-511CF
Title: The Living Dead
Session ID: 393
All Participants: Jason Bourget, Jeanne Cavelos, Seanan McGuire, John
Joseph Adams
Moderator: Jeanne Cavelos
Description: Forty years after George Romero gave us “Night of the
Living Dead,” his zombies still walk among us in remakes, new films
from Romero himself, and astonishing recent movies from others ranging
from “Shaun of the Dead” to “28 Weeks Later.” Why is this SF/horror
subgenre so enduring? What are its classics and which are merely the
walking dead?
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: Media
AV/Internet request: None
When: Mon 9:00
Location: Outdoors
Title: Stroll With The Stars – Monday
Session ID: 7
All Participants: Lawrence M. Schoen, Stephen H. Segal, Stu Segal,
Frank Wu, John Joseph Adams
Moderator: Stu Segal
Description: A gentle, friendly 1 mile stroll with some of your
favorite Authors, Artists & Editors. Leaving daily 9AM, from the
Riopelle Fountain outside the Palais (corner of Ave Viger & Rue de
Bleury), returning before 10AM.
Duration: 1:00 hrs:min
Language: English
Track: The Light Programme
AV/Internet request: None
The Sacramento Book Review reviews Federations:
“For this anthology of twenty-four stories, editor John Joseph Adams tasked some of the brightest luminaries of speculative fiction to write stories of vast, galaxy-spanning empires and the people that live in them. … By mixing writers with great experience in with newer authors, Adams captures both the feel of the old pulp magazines and the practical elements of the ever-changing science of astronomy and space travel. … Editor Adams has collected both the finest writers and their finest tales in the definitive volume of vast, epic, interstellar Federations.”
Bibliophile Stalker reviews Federations:
“It’s a testament to the strength of the editor when a mixed anthology–one that features both reprints and original stories–features a consistent selection that one has trouble discerning which is which (or ceases to care about identifying them). Federations is one of those anthologies where I open the book and each story is a treat. … Federations is an accessible science fiction anthology and features both recognizable and refreshing elements of the genre. … [O]ne of the more enjoyable books I’ve encountered in quite some time”
BookPage Magazine reviews By Blood We Live:
“More than anything, this anthology demonstrates that the vampire is not only undead but mutable, and in the best writers’ hands, a tool for analyzing our mortal frailty and resilience in the teeth of unadulterated evil and unimaginable love.”
So sorry about that Twitter weekly roundup (which has been since deleted). That’s not what I wanted it to do.
I’ll be attending Readercon next weekend (July 9-12, in Burlington, Mass.). Here’s my schedule:
Friday 7:00 PM
Salon F: Autographing
Friday 11:00 PM
Meet the Pros(e) Party
Saturday 12:00 Noon
VT: Group Reading
Federations Group Reading (60 min.)
John Joseph Adams (host) with K. Tempest Bradford, Robert J. Sawyer, Allen Steele, Catherynne M. Valente,
Genevieve Valentine
Readings from the original and reprint anthology (cover blurb: “Vast. Epic. Interstellar.”) edited by Adams and published by Prime Books in January.
Sunday 1:00 PM
Salon A: Panel
We Won, We Lost. John Joseph Adams, Michael A. Burstein, F. Brett Cox (L), Paul Di Filippo, Robert Killheffer, Michaela Roessner
[Greatest Hit from Readercon 12.] It’s an sf world. Our once-visionary iconography is now commonplace. The present turns into the future even before we wear it comfortably, let alone wear it out, and this sense of constant change is now the common currency of our culture rather than our precious private truth. And yet the sf readership shrinks, or at least gets older, every year; as sf media ascends (and merges with real life), the written sf word seems ever more irrelevant-and certainly wins no greater prestige for its creators than in the past. Maybe this has nothing to do with sf, but just reflects the death of reading (a development we perhaps ironically foresaw). But maybe somehow the contents of sf, the accidents, have conquered mass culture, but some crucial part of the form, the essence, has been left behind. Is it an sf world after all? Or just a holographic simulation of one?
ALSO, in addition to these programming items, it looks like I might just be hosting a con-sanctioned Rock Band party in one of the con rooms after hours, sort of as counter-programming to the inevitable Mafia games.
I’ll be speaking at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society on July 17. If you’re in the area, drop by! The event is free and open to the public. They will have copies of my books on hand to sell and for me to sign. Here’s the press release about the event.
The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society
The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society brings in a professional writer, artist, editor, or some other kind of mover and shaker in the Science Fiction genre, nearly every month.
July’s guest will be:
John Joseph Adams
Friday July 17th at International House 3701 Chestnut St. Phila. PA 9:00 PM
John Joseph Adams is the editor of the anthologies Federations, The Living Dead, Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. Forthcoming work includes the anthologies Brave New Worlds, By Blood We Live, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He is also the assistant editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Adams also works as a freelance writer. He is currently a blogger for Tor.com, and he has written reviews for Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. His other non-fiction has appeared in: Amazing Stories, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, Locus Magazine, Novel & Short Story Writers Market, Science Fiction Weekly, SCI FI Wire, Shimmer, Strange Horizons, Subterranean Magazine, and Writer’s Digest.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The University of Central Florida in December 2000. He currently lives in New Jersey. His website is www.johnjosephadams.com.
The event is free and open to the public. There will be books on hand for purchase and signing.
Past guests include:
Forrest J. Ackerman, Poul & Karen Anderson, Catherine Asaro, Terry Bisson, Jeff Bredenberg, Lois McMaster Bujold, P.D. Cacek, Ray Cannella, Jack Chalker, David A. Cherry, C.J. Cherryh, Hal Clement, Greg Costikyan, A.C. Crispin, Tony Daniels, Peter David, John DeChancie, Samuel Delaney, Vincent DiFate, Gardner Dozois, George Alec Effinger, Bob Eggleton, Lloyd Eschbach, Mark Fabi, Jan Howard Finder, Leslie Fish, Phil & Kaja Folio, Esther Friesner, Gregory Frost, Craig Shaw Gardner, Marty Gear, David Gerrold, Alexis & Dolly Gilliland, Charles Grant, James Gurney, Laurell K. Hamilton, Elizabeth Hand, David Hartwell, Bruce Jensen, Janet Kagan, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Angela Kessler, Todd Kimmell, Eric Kotani, Nancy Kress, Ellen Kushner, David A. Kyle, Warren Lapine, Jonathan Lethem, Shariann Lewitt, Kelly Link, Don Maitz, George R.R. Martin, Lisa Mason, David Mattingly, Julian May, Jack McDevitt, Maureen McHugh, Catherine Mintz, Stuart Moore, James Morrow, Larry Niven, John Norman, Rebecca Ore, Severna Park, John Passarella, Frederik Pohl, Andrew I. Porter, Tom Purdom, Roman A. Ranieri, Mike Resnick, Mark Rogers, Steve Saffel, Pamela Sargent, Felicity Savage, Robert Sawyer, Charles Sheffield, Joan Slonczewski, Allen Steele, Michael Swanwick, Shane Tourtellotte, Bob Walters, Martha Wells, Janny Wurts, Stephen Youll, Timothy Zazhn, George Zebrowski
PSFS: www.psfs.org
Philcon: www.philcon.org
I’ll be guest-curating the New York Review of Science Fiction reading series in July. See the press release below for details!
The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings
&
The South Street Seaport Museum
PRESENT
Readings from Federations
K. Tempest Bradford
Allen Steele
Genevieve Valentine
Guest Curator
John Joseph Adams
Tuesday, July 7th — Doors open 6:30 PM
$5 suggested donation
South Street Seaport Museum
12 Fulton Street
(directions and links below)
Usually our season runs through June, but when editor John Joseph Adams approached us with the opportunity to celebrate his new science fiction anthology, FEDERATIONS, we couldn’t resist adding an extra date to the season.
FEDERATIONS From Star Trek to Star Wars, and from Dune to Foundation, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast interstellar societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies. The stories in Federations continue that tradition, and therein you can find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, George R. R. Martin, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Harry Turtledove, and many more. To learn more about the anthology (or read several complete stories from the book), visit the anthology’s Web site, https://www.johnjosephadams.com/federations.
K. Tempest Bradford’s fiction has appeared in Sybil’s Garage, Electric Velocipede, Podcastle, and Strange Horizons. She also contributes non-fiction essays and columns to Tor.com, Fantasy Magazine, and the Carl Brandon Society blog. Her Web site is http://ktempestbradford.com/
Allen Steele is the two-time Hugo Award-winning author of the novels Orbital Decay, Lunar Descent, Chronospace, Spindrift, and many others. Over the last several years, he’s been focusing on writing and expanding his Coyote milieu, of which his story in Federations is a part. The most recent novel in the Coyoteverse, Coyote Horizon, came out in March, and will be followed by Coyote Destiny. Steele is also a prolific writer of short fiction, with four published collections, and a new one—The Last Science Fiction Writer—on the way. His stories have appeared in the magazines Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Omni, Science Fiction Age, and in numerous anthologies. His Web site is http://allensteele.com.
Genevieve Valentine’s fiction has appeared in or is forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Journal of Mythic Arts, Fantasy Magazine, Farrago’s Wainscot, Sybil’s Garage, and Escape Pod. She is a columnist for Tor.com and Fantasy Magazine. Her appetite for good costumes and bad movies is insatiable, obsessions she tracks on her blog, http://glvalentine.livejournal.com.
John Joseph Adams is the editor of the anthologies Federations, The Living Dead, Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. Forthcoming work includes the anthologies Brave New Worlds, By Blood We Live, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He is also the assistant editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and a columnist for Tor.com. To learn more, visit his Web site at https://www.johnjosephadams.com/.
—
The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series is wrapping up its 19th season of providing performances from some of the best writers in science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, etc. The series takes place the first Tuesday of every month at the South Street Seaport Museum. We have been known to move from one venue to another within the museum, so check each time. We are currently at 12 Fulton Street on the 4th Floor. Admission is by a $5 donation. If circumstances make this a hardship, let us know and we will accommodate you. The producer and executive curator is radio producer and talk show host Jim Freund.
—
WHEN:
Tuesday, 7/7/9
Doors open at 6:30 — event begins at 7
WHERE:
The South Street Seaport Museum
12 Fulton Street — 4th floor
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=12+fulton+street,+ny
HOW:
By Subway
Take 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, or M to Fulton Street; A and C to
Broadway-Nassau. Walk east on Fulton Street to Water Street
By Bus
Take M15 (South Ferry-bound) down Second Ave. to Fulton Street
By Car
From the West Side: take West Street southbound. Follow signs to FDR
Drive Take underpass, keep right – use Exit 1 at end of underpass. Turn
right on South Street, six blocks.
From the East Side, take FDR Drive south to Exit 3 onto South Street
Proceed about 1 mile.
By Boat
http://nywaterway.com/ferry/terminals/wallstreet.asp
LINKS:
http://hourwolf.com/nyrsf
http://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/
—
Coming up:
Our 20th Anniversary Season!
—
The New York Review of Science Fiction magazine is celebrating its 20th year!
Subscribe or submit articles to the magazine!
New York Review of Science Fiction
PO. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY, 10570
NYRSF Magazine: http://nyrsf.com