PART HUMAN. PART MACHINE. ALL SOLDIER.

Decades ago, Starship Troopers captivated readers with its vision of a future war in which power armored soldiers battled giant insects on hostile alien planets. Today, with the success of Iron Man, Halo, and Mechwarrior—and with real robotic exoskeletons just around the corner—the idea of super-powered combat armor and giant mecha has never been more exciting and relevant.

Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams brings you the first-ever original anthology of power armor fiction. Join leading SF authors Jack Campbell, Brandon Sanderson, Tanya Huff, Daniel H. Wilson, Alastair Reynolds, Carrie Vaughn, and others as they explore the limits of what a soldier of the future might become—with the aid of the right equipment.

Imagine power armored warriors battling at the bottom of the sea, or on nightmarish alien worlds, or in the darkest depths of space. Imagine armor that’s as smart as you are, armor that might keep on fighting even after you’re no longer willing … or able.

The possibilities are endless, but some facts remain constant: The soldier of the future will be fast. The soldier of the future will be deadly. The soldier of the future will be ARMORED.

For more, see this article on io9 about the anthology.

An anthology to be published by Baen Books in April 2012. Now available for pre-order.

Table of Contents

• Foreword— Orson Scott Card
• Introduction— John Joseph Adams
• The Johnson Maneuver — Ian Douglas
• Hel’s Half-Acre — Jack Campbell
• Jungle Walkers — David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell
• The Last Run of the Coppelia — Genevieve Valentine
• Death Reported of Last Surviving Veteran of Great War — Dan Abnett
• The Cat’s Pajamas — Jack McDevitt
• Find Heaven and Hell in the Smallest Things — Simon R. Green
• Power Armor: A Love Story — David Barr Kirtley
• The Last Days of the Kelly Gang — David D. Levine
• Field Test — Michael A. Stackpole
• Trauma Pod — Alastair Reynolds
• Contained Vacuum — David Sherman
• You Do What You Do — Tanya Huff
• Nomad — Karin Lowachee
• Human Error — John Jackson Miller
• Transfer of Ownership — Christie Yant
• Heuristic Algorithm and Reasoning Response Engine —  Ethan Skarstedt & Brandon Sanderson
• Don Quixote — Carrie Vaughn
• The Poacher — Wendy N. Wagner & Jak Wagner
• The Green — Lauren Beukes
• Sticks and Stones — Robert Buettner
• Helmet — Daniel H. Wilson
• The N-Body Solution — Sean Williams

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This year’s World Fantasy Convention is being held in San Diego, October 27-30, at the Town and Country Resort/Convention Center.

Here’s where you’ll be able to find me during the convention:

Friday

Reading : John Joseph Adams
When: Friday, 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
Where: Pacific 6/7
What: I’ll be reading “Three Deaths” by David Barr Kirtley, from my anthology Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom.

Mass Autographing
When: Friday, 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Where: Town and Country/San Diego
How: Pen, Pencil, Crayon, Blood, whatever you prefer.

Saturday

Reading: The Way of the Wizard (group)
When: Saturday, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Where: Suite #TBD
Who: Genevieve Valentine, Wendy N. Wagner, Christie Yant, Vylar Kaftan, John R. Fultz, Rajan Khanna.

Reading: Fantasy Magazine (group)
When: Saturday, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Where: Suite #TBD
Who: Laura Anne Gilman, Cory Skerry, Kat Howard, Marissa K. Lingen, Tim Pratt, Brooke Bolander, Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Sunday

World Fantasy Awards Banquet
When: Sunday, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Where: Town and Country
Why: I’m up for two World Fantasy Awards!

***

You can probably also find me at my wife’s events throughout the weekend. Hope to see many of you at the con!

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• In my last post, pre-Worldcon, I was merely engaged. Now I am a (ludicrously happily) married man (and stepdad!). Read the Official Wedding Report on my lovely wife’s blog. (Here’s the Official Proposal Report, in case you missed that.)
• Today I received Advance Review Copies of my forthcoming anthology, Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, which is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in February. Word on the street is that the ARCs will be given out in the World Fantasy Convention goodie bags, to attendees.
• I’m currently wrapping up work on Armored, an anthology of powered armor and mecha, forthcoming from Baen Books in April. I’ll be turning in the manuscript to my editor sometime in the next couple of days.

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The Reno Gazette-Journal has a nice article about Worldcon (which is in Reno this year), in which I’m quoted extensively:

“When you’re really into something like science fiction or fantasy when you’re growing up, it can be really isolating,” Adams said. “It’s really great to have an outlet like this because you go there, and you’re like, ‘Wow, these are my people.’ It’s really easy to feel comfortable there. You know, you can go to the parties, and you’re not going to be standing awkwardly in the corner because everybody in the room is going to have something in common with you.”

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Worldcon (Aug. 17 -21) is coming up this week. I’ll be arriving Wednesday evening, and departing early Sunday afternoon. If you’re looking for me and you can’t find me, email me or message me on Twitter or something–I’m sure I’ll still be obsessively checking both throughout the entire convention.

Here’s where you’ll be able to find me:

Panel: Fantasy and Horror in the New Century
When: Sat 11am – 12pm
Where: D03 (RSCC)
Who: Scott Edelman (M), John Joseph Adams, Susan T. Casper, Ellen Datlow, Nick Mamatas

What to look for and where to find on the darker side of literature.

Autographing

When: Sat 1pm – 2pm
Where: Hall 2 (RSCC)
Who: John Joseph Adams

Panel: Editing Anthologies
When: Sat 3pm – 4pm
Where: A09 (RSCC)
Who: David Malki! (M), Jennifer Brozek, John Joseph Adams, Ellen Datlow

How do editors approach anthologies?  Do they just call their friends, or do they (or their assistants) plow through slushpiles?  Do the “Best ofs” present special issues?

Pre-Hugo Reception
When: Sat 6pm – 8pm
Where: Capri (Peppermill)
Who: Hugo nominees and their guests

Hugo Award Ceremony
When: 8pm – 10pm (approx.)
Where: Tuscany Ballroom (Peppermill)

Reading: John Joseph Adams
When: Sun 11:30pm – 12pm
Where: A14 (RSCC)
Who: John Joseph Adams

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I’m a bit late in posting about this, but I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been nominated for TWO World Fantasy Awards! My anthology The Way of the Wizard is up for best anthology, and I’m up for the Special Award (Professional), the catch-all category for people working in the industry.

The full list of nominees is below the cut. (more…)

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I’ve just gotten the go ahead to post the cover and cover copy of my forthcoming anthology Under the Moons of Mars:  New Adventures on Barsoom (formerly titled The New Adventures of John Carter of Mars).

Readers of all ages have read and loved Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars series since the first book, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1912. Fans have marveled at the adventures of John Carter, an Earthman who suddenly finds himself on a strange new world: Mars. Now, in time for the 100th anniversary of that seminal work and the release of a Disney feature film, comes an anthology of original stories featuring John Carter of Mars, in brand new adventures. Collected by veteran anthology editor John Joseph Adams, this anthology features a forward by Tamora Pierce, stories and original art from titans of literature and illustrations such as Peter S. Beagle, Garth Nix, Charles Vess, and many more, plus a glossary of Mars by Richard A. Lupoff.

Note: This book is not licensed or authorized by, or in any way affiliated with, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. or any other entity associated with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.

The anthology is to be published by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers in February 2012. It’s now available for pre-order.

And here’s the full table of contents:

• Foreword by Tamora Pierce
• Introduction by John Joseph Adams
• The Metal Men of Mars by Joe R. Lansdale
  • Illustrated by Gregory Manchess
• Three Deaths by David Barr Kirtley
  • Illustrated by Charles Vess
• The Ape-Man of Mars by Peter S. Beagle
  • Illustrated by Jeremy Bastian
• A Tinker of Warhoon by Tobias S. Buckell
  • Illustrated by Chrissie Zullo
• Vengeance of Mars by Robin Wasserman
  • Illustrated  by Misako Rocks
• Woola’s Song by Theodora Goss
  • Illlustrated by Joe Sutphin
• The River Gods of Mars by Austin Grossman
  • Illustrated by Meinert Hansen
• The Bronze Man of Mars by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
  • Illustrated by Tom Daly
• A Game of Mars by Genevieve Valentine
  • Illustrated by Molly Crabapple
• Sidekick of Mars by Garth Nix
  • Illustrated by Mike Cavallaro
• The Ghost of the Superstition Mountains by Chris Claremont
  • Illustrated by John Picacio
• The Jasoom Project by S. M. Stirling
  • Illustrated by Jeff Carlisle
• Coming of Age in Barsoom by Catherynne M. Valente
  • Illustrated by Michael Wm. Kaluta
• The Death Song of Dwar Guntha by Jonathan Maberry
  • Illustrated by Daren Bader
• Appendix: A Barsoomian Gazetteer, or, Who’s Who and What’s What on Mars by Richard A. Lupoff

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“Arvies” by Adam-Troy Castro has won the storySouth Million Writers Award, which goes to the best short story of at least a 1,000 words first published in an online publication. That makes “Arvies” Lightspeed‘s first award-winning story–congrats to Adam-Troy Castro! [Read the story over at Lightspeed.]

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This year’s World Fantasy Award nomination period is still open. The 2011World Fantasy  Awards will be presented in San Diego, CA during the World Fantasy Convention (October 27-30). Deadline for nominating online is May 31.

Anyone who has a supporting or full membership from the 2010 World Fantasy Convention, or the upcoming 2011 World Fantasy Convention may nominate works. If you didn’t attend World Fantasy last year, and you don’t plan to attend this year, you can still nominate by purchasing a supporting membership.

Already registered? Go and nominate your favorite works! (Note: You may email your ballot to the award administrator, Rodger Turner, to the email address listed on the nomination ballot.)

Here’s a list of works I edited that are eligible in the various World Fantasy categories. Linked titles are available to read online for free. (Note that the World Fantasy categories are slightly different than the Nebulas and Hugos in regard to word counts: World Fantasy considers a Novella to be 10,000-40,000 words and Short Story to be 10,000 words or less, whereas the Nebulas and Hugos divide those categories differently, and have a third category (Novelette) in between.)

Titles annotated with DATLOW, HORTON, GURAN, or JONES indicate that the story in question has been selected for inclusion in the editor’s best-of-the-year anthology.

Novella (10,000 – 40,000 words)

• Feeding the Feral Children—David Farland (The Way of the Wizard)
• Life So Dear Or Peace So Sweet—C. C. Finlay (The Way of the Wizard)

Short Story (under 10,000 words)

• Dating in Dead World—Joe McKinney (The Living Dead 2)
• Alone, Together—Robert Kirkman (The Living Dead 2)
• The Price of a Slice—John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow (The Living Dead 2)
• When the Zombies Win—Karina Sumner-Smith (The Living Dead 2) ^{DATLOW, JONES}
• Zombie Gigolo—S. G. Browne (The Living Dead 2)
• The Other Side—Jamie Lackey (The Living Dead 2)
• And the Next, and the Next—Genevieve Valentine (The Living Dead 2)
• Pirates vs. Zombies—Amelia Beamer (The Living Dead 2)
• Everglades—Mira Grant (The Living Dead 2)
• Steve and Fred—Max Brooks (The Living Dead 2)
• The Anteroom—Adam-Troy Castro (The Living Dead 2)
• Mouja—Matt London (The Living Dead 2)
• The Mexican Bus—Walter Greatshell (The Living Dead 2)
• Who We Used to Be—David Moody (The Living Dead 2)
• Last Stand—Kelley Armstrong (The Living Dead 2)
• Flotsam & Jetsam—Carrie Ryan (The Living Dead 2)
• Reluctance—Cherie Priest (The Living Dead 2)
• Tameshigiri—Steven Gould (The Living Dead 2)
• The Summer Place—Bob Fingerman (The Living Dead 2)
• The Days of Flaming Motorcycles—Catherynne M. Valente ^DATLOW
  (The Living Dead 2 / Dark Faith)
• He Said, Laughing—Simon R. Green (The Living Dead 2) ^GURAN
• Are You Trying to Tell Me This is Heaven?—Sarah Langan (The Living Dead 2) ^GURAN
• Lost Canyon of the Dead—Brian Keene (The Living Dead 2)
• Good People—David Wellington (The Living Dead 2)
• The Skull-Faced City—David Barr Kirtley (The Living Dead 2)
• Zero Tolerance—Jonathan Maberry (The Living Dead 2)
• The Orange-Tree Sacrifice—Vylar Kaftan (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Sorcerer Minus—Jeffrey Ford (The Way of the Wizard)
• Too Fatal a Poison—Krista Hoeppner Leahy (The Way of the Wizard)
• So Deep That the Bottom Could Not Be Seen—Genevieve Valentine
  (The Way of the Wizard)
• Street Wizard—Simon R. Green (The Way of the Wizard)
• Card Sharp—Rajan Khanna (The Way of the Wizard)
• Endgame—Lev Grossman (The Way of the Wizard / Borders.com)
• The Secret of Calling Rabbits—Wendy N. Wagner (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Magician and the Maid and Other Stories—Christie Yant
  (The Way of the Wizard) ^HORTON
• Love is the Spell That Casts Out Fear—Desirina Boskovich (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Trader and the Slave—Cinda Williams Chima (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Go-Slow—Nnedi Okorafor (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Ereshkigal Working—Jonathan L. Howard (The Way of the Wizard)
• Mommy Issues of the Dead—T. A. Pratt (The Way of the Wizard)
• Family Tree—David Barr Kirtley (The Way of the Wizard)
• One Click Banishment—Jeremiah Tolbert (The Way of the Wizard)
• The Thirteen Texts of Arthyria—John R. Fultz (The Way of the Wizard)

Special Award, Professional

John Joseph Adams (for editing: The Living Dead 2, The Way of the Wizard)

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