Out of the Woodwork 133.
Fantastic Literature - setting the standards for out of print on-line bookselling.

Welcome to our newsletter, it contains up to the minute news and gossip as well as awards details and items requioring help from the collective consciousness. If you wish to contribute please do so!

The Times had a wide selection of authors for its feature on the 50 best British writers since 1945. In reverse order.

Michael Moorcock at 50, Rosemary Sutcliff at 49, Julian barnes at 44, Philip Pullman at 43, J K Rowling at 42, Iain Banks at 38, Ian McEwan at 35, John Fowles at 30, Alasdair Gray at 29, Alan Garner at 28, J G Ballard at 27, Mervyn Peake at 18, Anthony Burgess at 17, Roald Dahl at 16, Ian Fleming at 14, Salman Rushdie at 13, C S Lewis at 11, Angela Carter at 10, J R R Tolkien at 6 , Doris Lessing at 5, Ted Hughes at 4, William Golding at 3 and George Orwell at 2, andPhilip Larkin topped the poll (but no Terry Pratchett?) - full story

Woodwormers reply:

Thanks for the newsletter. What sad news about Fraser. Happy New Year vibes and hugs. Oh yes, the news about Peter Jackson is very good indeed.
Cheers,
Amy

Fred Oliver e-mailed us: And happy new year to you guys. May you sell many books in 2008!

Speaking of space opera, I just got a wonderful new book from Haffner Press called Lorelei of the Red Mist. (Perhaps the most evocative title ever.) It's a collection of Leigh Brackett tales from "Planet Stories" and follows another Brackett anthology called Martian Quest. If you're not familiar with Haffner Press, you might want to check out their website. They're in the process of publishing the complete works of Jack Williamson - all 75 years of it.

Thanks for contacting fantastic Literature - we welcome all information, news and views

One for the collective consciousness:

Hello, Someone advised me that you may be able to identify, or have identified books from just plot outlines. I have a book that I read as a child that I do not remember the author or title to. It is science fiction and the plot is something like: The world has a virus/infection that reduces the lifespan of humans. A group of human\'s live in a dome-city to escape this virus. Everyone outside the city is really young, roam in gangs, and reproduce at a very young age. One girl inside the city is immune to the virus, she was brought to the city as a baby. A doctor has been harvesting her eggs for tests. Thank you for any help you might be able to give. -Chris - if you can help e-mail us

and how about this!

I\'m wondering if you could help me. I have a book coming out this summer. \"Invasion of the Dog People: The strange but true story of New York\'s poop scoop law.\" I\'m looking for a cover illustration. Are you aware of any films, past or present, probably science fiction, that would have the kind of illustration I\'m looking for? Specifically looking for images of people transformed into dog-like beings. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks. Michael Brandow (e-mail)

Among those signing copies will be BASIL COPPER, editor/co-designer STEPHEN JONES, artists RANDY BROECKER and LES EDWARDS, co-designer MICHAEL MARSHALL SMITH and publisher PETER CROWTHER. Special Guests (subject to commitment) include legendary anthology editors HUGH LAMB, MICHEL PARRY and DAVID A.
SUTTON.

Basil Copper became a full-time writer in 1970. His first story in the horror field, 'The Spider', was published in 1964 in THE FIFTH PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES, since when his short fiction has appeared in numerous collections and anthologies, and been extensively adapted for radio and television. Along with two non-fiction studies of the vampire and werewolf legends, his other books include the novels THE GREAT WHITE SPACE, THE CURSE OF THE FLEERS, NECROPOLIS, THE BLACK DEATH and THE HOUSE OF THE WOLF.
Copper has also written more than fifty hardboiled thrillers about Los Angeles private detective Mike Faraday, and has continued the adventures of August Derleth's Sherlock Holmes-like consulting detective Solar Pons in several volumes of short stories and the novel SOLAR PONS VERSUS THE DEVIL'S CLAW.

Concluding three years' extensive research, multiple award-winning editor and writer Stephen Jones was given unprecedented and unrestricted access to the books and papers of renowned British macabre and crime writer Basil Copper.

The result is BASIL COPPER: A LIFE IN BOOKS, a unique and in-depth study of the author and his works. Not only does this volume contain the most comprehensive Working Bibliography ever compiled of Basil Copper's productive output - including Macabre and Supernatural Novels and Collections, the "Solar Pons" series, the "Mike Faraday" series, Short Fiction and Novellas, Media Adaptations, Unpublished Works and much more, enhanced with commentary by the author himself - but it also features several rare and obscure articles covering everything from Arkham House creator August Derleth to a brief history of Count Dracula.

There are also a number of short stories, most of them original to this volume, ranging from his very first published work back in 1938 to a brand-new "Mike Faraday" detective adventure, along with a complete television script based on M.R. James' classic horror story 'Count Magnus'.

With an in-depth look at the author's life and career by acclaimed ghost story editor Richard Dalby, and Basil Copper's inspirational Guest of Honour speech from the 1977 British Fantasy Convention, BASIL COPPER: A LIFE IN BOOKS is illustrated with numerous cover reproductions, artwork and unique personal photographs.

If you want a copy please let us know and we will order for you! - e-mail us

Boston, MA (January 2008) — In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Award has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, “The Lottery.” Her work continues to be a major influence on writers of every kind of fiction, from the most traditional genre offerings to the most innovative literary work. National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem has called Jackson “one of this century’s most luminous and strange American writers,” and multiple generations of authors would agree.

The Shirley Jackson Award will be voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors. The awards will be given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.

Locus Reports Philip K Dick Award finalists:

Nominees for this year's Philip K. Dick Award, given annually for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States, have been announced. First prize and any special citations will be announced on Friday, March 21, 2008 at Norwescon 31 at the Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport in SeaTac, Washington. The list here is alphabetical by author.

Grey, Jon Armstrong (Night Shade)
Undertow, Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain, Minister Faust (Del Rey)
Nova Swing, M. John Harrison (Bantam Spectra)
Gradisil, Adam Roberts (Pyr)
Ally, Karen Traviss (Eos)
Saturn Returns, Sean Williams (Ace)

SFWA announces Nebula Award preliminary ballot.

Novels
Ragamuffin, by Tobias Buckell
(Tor, Jun07)

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon
(HarperCollins, May07)

Species Imperative #3: Regeneration, by Julie E. Czerneda (full PDF on Private Edition)
(DAW, May06)

Vellum: The Book of All Hours, by Hal Duncan
(Del Rey, Apr06 (Macmillan hardcover Nov05 (UK)))

The Accidental Time Machine, by Joe Haldeman
(Ace, Aug07)

The New Moon's Arms, by Nalo Hopkinson
(Warner Books, Feb07)

Mainspring, by Jay Lake
(Tor, Jun07)

Odyssey, by Jack McDevitt (full PDF on Private Edition)
(Ace, Nov06)

The Outback Stars, by Sandra McDonald
(Tor, May07)

Strange Robby, by Selina Rosen (full PDF and hardcopy offer on Private Edition)
(Meisha Merlin Publishing Jul06)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
(Scholastic Press, Jul07)

Rollback, by Robert J. Sawyer
(Analog, Feb07 (serialized in Oct06 through Jan/Feb07 issues; Tor book, Apr07))

Blindsight, by Peter Watts (free Creative Commons versions)
(Tor, Oct06)

Novellas
"The Helper and His Hero," by Matt Hughes
(F&SF, Mar07 (Feb07 & Mar07))

"Fountain of Age," by Nancy Kress
(Asimov's, Jul07)

"Stars Seen Through Stone," by Lucius Shepard
(F&SF, Jul07)

"Kiosk," by Bruce Sterling
(F&SF, Jan07)

"Memorare," by Gene Wolfe
(F&SF, Apr07)

Novelettes
"The Children's Crusade," by Robin Wayne Bailey (link to Private Edition)
(Heroes in Training, Martin H. Greenberg and Jim C. Hines, Ed., DAW, Sep07)

"A Flight of Numbers Fantastique Strange," by Beth Bernobich (link to Private Edition)
(Asimov's, Jun06)

"Things That Aren't," by Michael A. Burstein and Robert Greenberger (link to Private Edition)
(Analog, Apr07)

"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," by Ted Chiang
(F&SF, Sep07)

"Sister of the Hedge," by Jim C. Hines (link to Private Edition)
(Realms of Fantasy, Jun06)

"The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs Of North Park After the Change," by Kij Johnson (link to Private Edition)
(Coyote Road, Trickster Tales, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Ed., Viking Juvenile, Jul07)

"The Sun God at Dawn, Rising from a Lotus Blossom," by Andrea Kail (link to Private Edition)
(Writers of the Future Volume 23, Algis Budrys, Ed., Galaxy Press, Sep07)

"Safeguard," by Nancy Kress
(Asimov's, Jan07)

"Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders," by Mike Resnick
(Asimov's, Jan08)

"Tonino and the Incubus," by Peg Robinson
(Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, WS & LWE, Ed., Oct06 (Fall06 issue -- #2))

"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter," by Geoff Ryman
(F&SF, Nov06)

"The Fiddler of Bayou Teche," by Delia Sherman (link to Private Edition)
(Coyote Road, Trickster Tales, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Ed., Viking Juvenile, Jul07)

"Not of this Fold," by William Shunn (link to Private Edition)
(An Alternate History of the 21st Century, Spilt Milk Press, Sep07)

Short Stories
"Unique Chicken Goes In Reverse," by Andy Duncan (link to Private Edition)
(Eclipse 1: New Science Fiction And Fantasy, Jonathan Strahan, Ed., Night Shade Books, Oct07)

"The Padre, the Rabbi, and the Devil His Own Self," by Melanie Fletcher
(Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, WS & LWE, Ed., Oct06 (Fall06 issue -- #2))

"Always," by Karen Joy Fowler
(Asimov's, May07 (apr/may07 issue))

"For Solo Cello, op. 12," by Mary Robinette Kowal (link to Private Edition)
(Cosmos, Mar07 (Feb/Mar07))

"Titanium Mike Saves the Day," by David D. Levine (link to Private Edition)
(F&SF, Apr07)

"The Story of Love," by Vera Nazarian (link to Private Edition)
(Salt of the Air, Prime Books, Sep06)

"Captive Girl," by Jennifer Pelland
(Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, WS & LWE, Ed., Oct06 (Fall06 issue -- #2))

Scripts
Children of Men, by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby
(Universal Studios, Dec06)

Pan's Labyrinth, by Guillermo del Toro
(Time/Warner, Jan07)

The Discarded, by Harlan Ellison and Josh Olson (script on Private Edition)
(Masters of Science Fiction, ABC-TV, Apr07)

Blink, by Steven Moffat (script on Private Edition)
(Doctor Who, BBC/The Sci-Fi Channel, Sep07 (Aired on SciFi Channel 14 Sep07))

The Prestige, by Christopher Nolan and Jonathon Nolan
(Newmarket Films, Oct06 (Oct 20, 2006 -- based on the novel by Christopher Priest))

V for Vendetta, by Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski
(Warner Films, Mar06 (released 3/17/2006 -- Written by the Wachowski Brothers, based on the graphic novel illustrated by David Lloyd and published by Vertigo/DC Comics))

World Enough and Time, by Marc Scott Zicree and Michael Reaves (script on Private Edition)
(Star Trek: New Voyages, http://www.startreknewvoyages.com, Aug07 (Aired 8/23/07))

Andre Norton Award
Vintage: A Ghost Story, by Steve Berman
(Haworth Positronic Press, Mar07)

Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst
(Penguin Razorbill, Jun07)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
(Scholastic Press, Jul07)

Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog, by Ysabeau S. Wilce
(Harcourt, Jan07)

Dept of smug self satisfaction (continued)

Hello!
Both of my orders have arrived safe and sound!
I am VERY pleased, as allways!
I will be placing a new order tomorrow!
But this time I will have to have them sent to me at my work address since my wife is starting to complain that I'm ordering "too many smelly old books!!" LOL

Thanks and take care.
Doug

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