January 1, 2008
Dear All,
Several new projects are coming to fruition! Here's a brief rundown:
* I'm delighted to have a story running in the Winter/Spring Issue of Subtropics, the excellent journal published by the University of Florida and edited by the great David Leavitt. The issue also contains new work by Roy Kesey and Chris Bachelder, two fine writers I feel confident you're going to be hearing a lot more from over the next few years.
* I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to a future session of Jaime Clarke's very nifty Talk Show column at Fanzine. This is where a bunch of different writers take turns answering the same series of smart, thoughtful questions, and where I try my best to appear smart and thoughtful. I'm not sure when exactly my show is going to be up, but it will be soon, and in the meantime, you should check out the archives, which have a lot of cool stuff.
* For almost a year now my friend John McNally and I have been constructing a short story anthology of unprecedented peculiarity, containing irresistible, possibly dangerous levels of spandex and heroism. The book is called Who Can Save Us Now? and it's all about superheroes. More specifically, we asked a group of our favorite writers to create their own superheroes, and a write a short story about them. The results have been funny and surprising and totally awesome. Participants include Tom Bissell, Kelly Braffet, Elizabeth Crane, David Haynes, J. Robert Lennon, Jim Shepard, George Singleton, Scott Snyder, Jennifer Weiner, David Yoo, and many other luminaries. If ever the planet were ripe for a little caped assistance, I think we can all agree that it's now! Anyway, as we roll the book out there will be events, contests, parades, etc. Moreover, with any luck, at some point John will be tricked into dressing up as a superhero. Check back here for more developments, and please treat yourself to a gander at the brilliant artwork of Chris Burnham, who will be providing illustrations for Who Can Save Us Now?
Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Aside from the faith-affirming events of October, i.e. the fearless march of a certain Boston club to the shining vault of baseball heaven, 2007 doesn't seem to have been one of our best. Here's wishing that 2008 is more peaceful, more generous, and a lot less hot.
Cheers,
Owen