Out of the Woodwork 200 June 2013 - Bicentennial Issue - see below for details of a special celebratory discount.
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Welcome to our newsletter, it contains up to the minute news and gossip as well as awards details and items requiring help from the collective consciousness. If you wish to contribute please do so! All of these stories and images have appeared previously on our Facebook page which is usually updated daily - when we take a break from cataloguing the books!

To celebrate our 200th edition of OotW we have decided to offer a 15% discount on all orders over £10 for 5 days starting now - to thank you for your support and contributions over the years. Simply order and use the voucher code OOTW200 to get the discount at the shopping cart.

Contents:-

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. has announced the recipients of the 2012 Nebula Awards - we have the full details
A rare Superman comic discovered in wall of abandoned house in Minnesota - amazing story
Daleks sing Gangnam Style - so funny that it actually hurts
Amazon has announced that fan fiction authors will be able to sell some of their work on the firm's Kindle e-book platform
A record price has been set at auction for a rare illustrated Harry Potter book.
Unwanted books consigned to the shelves of charity shops have been rescued by a Cambridge bookseller and turned into works of art
A treasure trove of literary first editions collected by an English teacher has sold at auction in Edinburgh for a total of £226,000
Amazon UK paid £2.4m tax last year, despite £4bn sales - support your local internet seller who pays full UK taxes!
Peter James has stood down after two years chairing the Crime Writers’ Association, to be replaced by Alison Joseph, full story and picture
A one-of-a-kind phaser rifle used by William Shatner in the second pilot episode made for the original Star Trek series sold for $231,000 at an auction

Join us Facebook and get lots of up to daily news updates direct from Fantastic HQ. All of the above stories have appeared on our Facebook page

One for the Collective consciousness. Nothing to report you are all obviously content with the situation.

Obituaries: Ray Harryhausen, visual effects master, died at aged 92. Trevor Bolder, bassist in David Bowie's 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, has died from cancer at the age of 62. Jack Vance has died at the grand old age of 96 - details below
Department of Smug Self Satisfaction - what our kind customers have to say about the fantastic experience!
Silly Stuff. Some of the entertaining images we've found during the last few weeks - plenty more on our facebook page.

Latest new arrivals - "The Failed Cities" by Matt Wallace in a signed limited edition from Murky Depths, "Spin" by Nina Allan (TTA Press Novella) as well as Interzone 246 and Black Static 34. We also have copies of "Tales of Obscenity" from SST Publication and "The Green Book" from Swan River Press. Last but not least the amazing Arthur Machen Master of the Weird Tale from Centipede Press - what a marvellous publication that is.

External Blinks:

In Arthur Machen's supernatural stories, the everyday city landscape of London is portrayed as an illusion, hiding a mystical world. The writer John Gray considers what they teach us about the limits of perception. BBC magazine
10 of popular culture's best Machiavellian characters - BBC magazine
The winners of the Aurealis Awards have been announced
Game of Thrones will end in Season 7 - according to Io9
The Guardian poses the question - will Stephen King ever be admitted to the literary elite along with John Le Carre and his ilk?
Police were called in when a long-running dispute between the two groups spilled over into the dark side at a sci-fi convention - the force were called - acording to the Mirror
Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's new book borrows its title and theme from Dante's Inferno, an account of the Italian poet's imagined journey through hell. Writer and church historian Stephen Tomkins gives a 10-point tour of the underworld. BBC magazine
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels are cult classics of 20th Century English literature. Writer and philosopher John Gray considers what they tell us about the nature of the modern world. BBC magazine
The Guardian SF review: The Peacock Cloak by Chris Beckett, The Best of all Possible Worlds by Karen Lord, Fuse by Julianna Baggott,
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman, The Grim Company by Luke Scull, Ganymede by Cherie Priest

Amazon has announced that fan fiction authors will be able to sell some of their work on the firm's Kindle e-book platform. Fan fiction is literature inspired by popular books, films and TV shows, written by enthusiasts. Publication outside of blogs and online fanzines is often difficult because of copyright issues. A deal with a TV division of Warner Brothers enables fan fiction based on three TV series to be self-published. The three series are Gossip Girls, The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars, under the arrangement between Amazon and Alloy Entertainment, owned by Warner Brothers Television Group BBC story

A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with annotations and drawings by author JK Rowling, has sold for a record price. After a bidding war between two buyers the book sold for £150,000, a new record for a printed book by Rowling. It was part of a sale of annotated first edition books by 50 UK and Commonwealth writers. BBC story

Unwanted books consigned to the shelves of charity shops have been rescued by a Cambridge bookseller and turned into works of art for a literature festival. Justin Rowe started carving up the pages of old books as a hobby in 2010, using a small rotating-bladed scalpel. Some of his art is now taking centre stage at the British Academy's free literature week celebrations in London. Mr Rowe "lifts" illustrations from "junk books" to create scenes and illuminated installations. BBC story

A treasure trove of literary first editions collected by an English teacher has sold at auction in Edinburgh for a total of £226,000. Bruce Ritchie, from Stirling who died in October 2012, owned first editions of classic works such as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843). The lot also contained The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908) and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. BBC story

Some of the first editions in the sale

History Of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749) - £1,700

The Rape Of The Lock by Alexander Pope (1714) - £1,800

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843) - £2,700

Prufrock by TS Eliot (1917) - £3,600

The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908) - £1,200

Dubliners by James Joyce (1916) - £3,800

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (1945) - £1,600

Amazon's UK subsidiary paid just £2.4m in corporate taxes last year, the online retailer's accounts show, despite making sales of £4.3bn. The tax bill was almost as much as the £2.5m in government grants Amazon received over the same period, according to a Companies House filing. The taxes are relatively low compared to sales because the company earns its profits in Luxembourg. Labour MP Nick Smith described Amazon's tax contribution as "pathetic". BBC story

Peter James has stood down after two years chairing the Crime Writers’ Association, to be replaced by Alison Joseph.
Alison was handed the traditional Creasey Bell, named for the CWA’s founder, during its Diamond Jubilee conference held over the last weekend in April. Alison said, “Peter James has been a wonderful Chair. He has been extremely hard-working and committed. In his time as Chair he has succeeded in raising the CWA's profile, not only in this country but internationally too. He’ll be a hard act to follow.”

A one-of-a-kind phaser rifle used by William Shatner in the second pilot episode made for the original Star Trek series sold for $231,000 at an auction conducted by Julien's. The price is the second-highest paid at auction for a prop from the 1960s edition of Star Trek, surpassed only by the $304,750 a collector laid out for the captain's chair in 2008. A miniature special effects model of the enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation sold for $576,000 in 2006. Hollywood reporter

One for the collective consciousness:- and once again nothing to report on! Peace and tranquility prrevail.

Obituaries:

SF Grand Master Jack Vance, 96, died May 26, 2013 in Oakland CA. Vance was one of the most influential SF authors of the postwar period, and his visionary imagination and sophisticated, often playful use of language inspired countless SF writers, including Avram Davidson, Harlan Ellison, Matthew Hughes, George R.R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, and Gene Wolfe. His landmark Dying Earth sequence, set in the far future, began with collection The Dying Earth (1950) and continued with novel The Eyes of the Overworld (1966), Cugel’s Saga (1983), Rhialto the Marvelous (1984), and several related stories. Vance redefined the nature of planetary romance with his Big Planet (1952), and continued exploring that universe in sequel Showboat World (1975). Locus story. Guardian - tributes pour in

Visual effects master Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion wizardry graced such films as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, has died aged 92. The American made his models by hand and painstakingly shot them frame by frame to create some of the best-known animated sequences in cinema. His death in London was confirmed to the BBC by a family representative. "Harryhausen's genius was in being able to bring his models alive," said an official statement from his foundation. "Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray's hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right." BBC story

Trevor Bolder, bassist in David Bowie's 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, has died from cancer at the age of 62. In a statement, Bowie remembered him as "a wonderful musician" who had been "a major inspiration for whichever band he was working with". His death was announced by rock band Uriah Heep, who called him "a world-class bass player. BBC story and video

Department of Smug Self Satisfaction.

1. Excellent service. Book well packaged and in advertised condition. It was dispatched and delivered a lot quicker than expected.(Amazon UK)

2. I am very pleased with the service I received with this purchase! Even though out of print, my order was promptley filled with a first edition printing which is in EXCELLENT condition! I am now enjoying the first book in this trilogy, and I am looking forward to my future purchase's through Fantastic Literature Limited (Amazon US)

3. Very good item, excellent quality, was sent in about 3 days from England to Italy. I could not be more satisfied. I thank Fantastic Literature UK Ltd a lot! (Amazon It)

4. Considering that the package originated in the UK, it arrived well ahead of the estimated delivery date. The item was extremely well packaged and was in excellent conidition. The quality of the book actually exceeded our expectations. Would order from this company again without hesitation (Amazon Ca)

Silly stuff; Some of the more amusing pictures we've found on the internet over the past month

New arrivals for your delectation:- 

	THE FAILED CITIES by Matt Wallace (Murky depths) signed limited edition. The House of Murky Depths is proud to announce it will be producing a special limited hardcover edition of the underground sci-fi noir classic that New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler calls, “... an examination of the human spirit, a darkened mirror that reflects the true nature of the struggle, not only for survival, but for civilization. For order information and price click on the image
	SPIN by Nina Allan (TTA Press) “Nina Allan’s re-imagining of the Arachne myth, with its receding overlays of the modern and the antique, creates a space all its own. The scene is clean and minimal, the light Mediterranean, the story seems musing and sad: but by the last two pages, Spin has you in a grip that persists long after you put it down” M. John Harrison For order information and price click on the image
	INTERZONE 246 edited by Andy Cox (TTA Press) The May–June issue contains new fiction by Steven J. Dines, Jess Hyslop, Nigel Brown, Aliette de Bodard, Priya Sharma, Lavie Tidhar, Georgina Bruce, and James White Award winner Shannon Fay. The cover art is by Jim Burns, and interior colour illustrations are by Richard Wagner, Martin Hanford, David Gentry, Vincent Sammy, and Wayne Haag. All the usual features are present For order information and price click on the image
	BLACK STATIC 34 edited by Andy Cox (TTA Press) The May–June issue of Black Static contains new fiction by Nina Allan, Joel Lane, Ilan Lerman, Andrew Hook, Sean Logan. The front and back cover art is by Ben Baldwin, and interior illustrations are by Ben again, Martin Hanford, Tara Bush, Joachim Luetke, and Richard Wagner. Comment by Stephen Volk and Lynda E. Rucker For order information and price click on the image
	TALES OF OBSCENITY edited by Paul Fry (Short, Scary tales Publications) The magazine of erotic and horror fiction. Includes: In Remembrance" by Jennifer Loring "First Love" by Angeline Hawkes "Suck on This, Bitch!" by Ty Schwamberger "Sacrificing Virgins" by John Everson* "Obsession" by Jeremy Terry "Daddy's Got You" by M.R. Gott "The Way I Love You" by Christopher Fulbright "Alan and Christine" by J. F. Gonzalez For order information and price click on the image
	THE GREEN BOOK 1 edited by Brian J Showers (Swan River Press) Aimed at a general readership, The Green Book features commentaries, articles, and reviews on Irish Gothic, Supernatural and Fantastic literature. Certainly favourites such as Bram Stoker and John Connolly will come to mind, but hopefully The Green Book also will serve as an introduction to Ireland's other notable fantasists: like Fitz-James O'Brien, Lafcadio Hearn, William Allingham, Sheridan Le Fanu, Cherio, Mrs. Riddell, Harry Clarke, Lord Dunsany, Elizabeth Bowen, Mervyn Wall, Conor McPherson . . . this list is by no means exhaustive For order information and price click on the image
	ARTHUR MACHEN - Master of the Weird tale (Centipede Press) ltd ed of just 200 slipcased copies The largest collection of Arthur Machen stories ever collected in one volume, including original artwork by Matthew Jaffe, a new introduction by T.E.D. Klein, and a new afterword by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Contents include The Great God Pan, the complete Three Imposters, “The White People,” and many more. A complete PDF of the contents is available on request. Bound in cloth with a full cloth slipcase. The edition is limited t0 200 signed and numbered copies, and the book is signed by T.E.D. Klein, Matthew Jaffe, and Caitlín R. Kiernan For order information and price click on the image

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