As per usual for me and Readercon, my Readercon experience didn’t begin at Readercon. Instead of flying to Boston and bussing it to Burlington, I flew to Providence for a morning with Paul Di Filippo and Deb Newton, which this year also meant some pre-con time with Liz Hand and Michael Dirda. We got a tour of the new Di Filippo/Newton castle and ate a Chinese/Thai lunch before heading out mid-afternoon.

Because programming wasn’t starting until 8:00 p.m., the afternoon and evening was spent in the usual lobby schmoozing followed by a massive dinner for 15 with me and Liz at the heads of the table (though I guess one of us was really the foot) and 13 others between us, including Howard Waldrop, Rose Fox, John Clute, Graham Sleight and many others.

But then—a quandary. My 9:00 p.m. reading was scheduled against one of the two panels I most wanted to see at the con, “The Influence of the Scott Meredith Literary Agency.” Luckily, there was a solution. I decided my iPhone had a sufficient microphone to record me reading solo, and yielded over my Flip camera to Paul Di Filippo so he could record the Meredith panel. Which meant I could be in two places at once.

And now, you can also be in two places at once.

So first, here’s my reading of “Things That Never Happened,” which will be out later this year or early next in an issue of Postscripts.

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I’ve been so busy recently—what with work, overnight visitors in our home nine of the past ten nights, and three barbecues in eight days—that I haven’t really had time to think about the fact that on Sunday at Readercon, I’ll get to see Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Jeff VanderMeer, or Karen Joy Fowler get stoned during the Shirley Jackson Awards ceremony for having written the Best Single-Author Collection of 2010. (As you can tell, I’m not terribly optimistic about my chances of winning for What Will Come After.)

But today I won something that reminded me of what’s coming up while at the same time putting it all in perspective—I won a reader. And a wildly enthusiastic reader at that, who wrote, not just a review, but a lengthy “unbarred squeeing session.”

Over on her blog, teenybuffalo had this to say, among other things:

I bought the book because I’d enjoyed one of his stories, “The Last Supper”, in a horror anthology I found at Arisia. It’s about the end of the zombie apocalypse. Edelman manages the difficult trick of being gentle and crushingly sad while writing a viewpoint character who has about one thought and two emotions. Chalk up another story for my small set of favorite zombie protagonists. It was enough to get me to buy his collection—all zombies, all the time. Nine pieces, all good, some brilliant. Of the stories, I’d select the title piece and “Live People Don’t Understand” as standouts. …

… as the introduction is keen to point out, Edelman was writing literary zombie mashups long before Pride and Prejudice and Zombies hit the shelves. I’d add that everything in the collection is a heck of a lot better-written and wittier than P&P&Z. Well, comparisons are odorous. These are damn fine stories.

And if you’d like to check out those “damn fine stories” for yourself, remember—now that PS Publishing has put out my collection as an ebook, you can be reading them in minutes. Here’s how.

On May 19, 1983, I sent my short story “Namestealer’s Journey” to Dragon magazine. I only submitted a few stories to that magazine while it was alive, because I tended not to write its particular brand of fantasy.

Here’s what I received back on June 21.

“Namestealer’s Journey” was eventually published in Lari Davidson’s magazine, Potboiler.

Work, the holiday weekend, and multiple overnight guests prevented me from posting my roundup of dream tweets from last month, and as I peruse the list below, I find that many of them surprise me, leaving me thinking, “Did I really dream that?” Maybe I should always wait longer before collecting them, so they seem as strange to me as they might seem to you.

In any case, I dreamt about Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Stephen Colbert, David Tennant, Cory Doctorow, and who knows, maybe you …

June 2011

I dreamt I gave myself a crappy haircut, with a reverse Mohawk that went sideways from ear to ear, and I asked @tinytempest to fix me up. 30 Jun

I dreamt I climbed to the roof of a school via a ladder bolted to the side of the building and discovered Stephen Colbert being interviewed. 29 Jun

I dreamt I took a bus to a church, but before I could exit, a priest came and blessed the bus, which promptly turned around and headed home. 29 Jun

I dreamt I wore an old timey spacesuit, and got both my head and arm stuck inside the helmet. I tried to extricate myself as Irene watched. 29 Jun

I dreamt I was having dinner with George R.R. Martin and Connie Willis when the first copy of the last book in his series arrived for him. 28 Jun

I dreamt I was trying (and failing) to find Irene in the Chicago Loop area, fruitlessly jumping on and off elevated trains calling her name. 27 Jun

I dreamt I surreptitiously recorded a performance of a play. The management threatened me, but the actors were thrilled and wanted copies. 27 Jun

I dreamt I dropped by an office I haven’t worked at since 1996. My old coworkers handed me memos and expected me to get right back to work. 26 Jun

I dreamt I watched a Big Bang Theory episode with Larry King. I grew angry because he complimented the leads but failed to mention my cameo. 25 Jun

I dreamt Peter O’Toole was performing the Eucharist, and even though I’m Jewish, I was tempted to partake, because, hey, it’s Peter O’Toole! 25 Jun (more…)

A few final tweaks have been made to my schedule for Readercon 22, which will be held July 14-17 in Burlington, Massachusetts. My reading has been pushed back an hour, meaning more of you might make it since it’s no longer the first item on the schedule Thurday, plus I’m going to take part in the Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza, where I’ll be declaiming Mark Twain’s “The War Prayer” in honor of this year’s dead Guest of Honor.

Here’s the revised schedule:

Reading
Thursday, July 14
9:00 p.m. NH
Edelman reads “Things That Never Happened,” a short story to be published in Postscripts magazine. [Since my reading will be one of the first things that occurs when the con starts at 8:00 p.m. on a Thursday night, I expect a low turnaround. So don’t disappoint me by showing up!]

Writing Within Constraints
Friday, July 15
12:00 p.m. RI
with Elaine Isaak, Michael Aondo-verr Kombol, John Langan, David Malki (leader), and Madeleine Robins
Whether it’s writing on a theme for an anthology, writing on assignment or commission, or simply imposing rules to jump-start your creativity, writing within constraints can be an incredible way to defeat “the tyranny of the blank page.” We discuss the rewards and challenges of starting with someone else’s idea.

Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza: Special Readercon Edition
Saturday, July 16
7:00 PM F
with Matthew Cheney, Theodora Goss, John Kessel, Eric Rosenfield (moderator), Delia Sherman. Eric Rosenfield and Brian Francis Slattery
The Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza Series will be orchestrating an INCREDIBLY FANCY SONIC ART EXPERIMENT consisting of ESTEEMED LITERARY PERSONAGES reading prose, poetry, criticism, and other TEXTUAL OBJECTS in short bursts one after another accompanied by LIVE, IMPROVISED MUSIC. The intent is to create a kind of unbroken MOSAIC of what Readercon FEELS LIKE. Come witness our spectacular SUCCESS and/or FAILURE.

The Shirley Jackson Awards
Sunday, July 17
11:00 a.m. G
In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. 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. The awards given in her name have been voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors, for the best work published in the calendar year of 2010 in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology. [Well, that’s how the con describes the Shirley Jackson Awards. The way I think of it—this is the hour during which I’ll learn which other writer’s collection has beaten What Will Come After in the Single-Author Collection category. Because since I’m up against Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Jeff VanderMeer, and Karen Joy Fowler … well .. let’s just say I’m won’t be bothering to write an acceptance speech.]

Kaffeeklatsch
Sunday, July 17
12:00 a.m. Vin
with James Morrow

See you in a dozen days!

Looks like “Things That Never Happened,” a short story of mine which will be published soon in Postscripts magazine, won’t be the only bit of fiction I’ll be reading at Readercon this year. I’ll also tackle Mark Twain’s famous short story “The War Prayer.”

How did this come about? Blame Eric Rosenfield, he of the Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza. I’ve been invited to take part in a special edition of that reading series, to be held before the Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose Competition.

Let Eric explain:

Saturday July 16th, before the annual Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose Competition, Wold Newton will be engaging in an INCREDIBLY FANCY SONIC ART EXPERIMENT consisting of ESTEEMED LITERARY PERSONAGES (yes, YOU), reading prose, poetry, criticism or anything else you want, in short bursts one after another accompanied by LIVE, IMPROVISED MUSIC. The goal is to create a kind of unbroken MOSAIC of what ReaderCon FEELS LIKE.

To that end, I am inviting YOU ALL, should you choose to accept it, to READ for approximately FOUR MINUTES apiece. You may read ANYTHING YOU
HAVE WRITTEN, in ANY GENRE, FORM or MODE. You may also DANCE or SING or MAKE A GENERAL RUCKUS as you see fit. You may also DISCUSS WITH multitalented musical maestro Brian Francis Slattery what sort of musical musicness you would like to accompany YOU.

Rather than toot my own horn, I’ve decided to honor this year’s Memorial Guest of Honor, Mark Twain.

I last read “The War Prayer” aloud in high school during the Vietnam War. Seems like it’s about time to do it again!

Whispers was one of the most respected horror magazines of the ’70s and ’80s, and I always hoped I’d someday submit something that would be found acceptable by editor and publisher Stuart David Schiff. Unfortunately, as with so many other wonderful magazines, Whispers ran out of somedays.

The story Stu passed on, “The Man Who Would Be Vampire,” was eventually purchased by Crispin Burnham and published in a 1988 issue of Eldritch Tales.

Once I made my mind up that I’d be attending last weekend’s Stoker Awards banquet, I decided to bookend the event with two unrelated lunches—one on Thursday with the Junior High School drama teacher who changed my life, the other on Sunday with Mirthful Marie Severin, with whom I worked a lifetime ago in the Marvel Comics Bullpen. But I ended up spontaneously having another lunch that had absolutely nothing to do with the Stokers, and for that I blame Jeff Strand.

Jeff had joined me in Austin at the Salt Lick as I attempted to recreate an episode of Man v. Food, and is now hooked on the show, so he joined me again—this time with his wife Lynne Hansen and friend Sally Bosco—as I worked my through a Long Island Man v. Food quest, visiting Ciao Baby and the International Delight Cafe. And during dinner Friday night, we swapped stories of our favorite restaurants, which of course led me to talking about Shopsins. That’s Shopsins of the infamous rules and the dizzying, ever-changing menu, where I’ve eaten (among other things) brisket in cherry gravy and slutty cakes (that is, pumpkin, peanut butter, and pistachio pancakes).

Surprisingly, I began to fall in love with Shopsins not by eating there, but from the documentary I Like Killing Flies, which I watched on a whim on IFC. And as soon as I saw it, I thought, this sounds like my kind of place.

Here are a couple of clips from the documentary that’ll give you an idea of the tone of the restaurant and the personality of owner Kenny Shopsin.

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Readercon 22 will be held July 14-17 in Burlington, Massachusetts, and not only is it the 22nd Readercon, it’s MY 22nd Readercon. Yes, that’s right. I’ve attended every one since the first in 1987. It’s long been my favorite convention.

One way I know it that is my review of this year’s supposedly final program reveals there’ll be several dozen panels, readings, and presentations I want to attend, a bounty which never happens at any other con—and which would require me stepping into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum to pull off.

So until I can go through the grid and nail down my first choices for those hours when I wish I could be in two places at once, the only programming I’m 100% sure you’ll be able to find me at is my own.

Which is …

Reading
Thursday, July 14
8:00 p.m. NH
Edelman reads “Things That Never Happened,” a short story to be published in Postscripts magazine. [Since my reading will be one of the first things that occurs when the con starts at 8:00 p.m. on a Thursday night, I expect a low turnaround. So don’t disappoint me by showing up!]

Writing Within Constraints
Friday, July 15
12:00 p.m. RI
with Elaine Isaak, Michael Aondo-verr Kombol, John Langan, David Malki (leader), and Madeleine Robins
Whether it’s writing on a theme for an anthology, writing on assignment or commission, or simply imposing rules to jump-start your creativity, writing within constraints can be an incredible way to defeat “the tyranny of the blank page.” We discuss the rewards and challenges of starting with someone else’s idea.

The Shirley Jackson Awards
Sunday, July 17
11:00 a.m. G
In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. 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. The awards given in her name have been voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors, for the best work published in the calendar year of 2010 in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology. [Well, that’s how the con describes the Shirley Jackson Awards. The way I think of it—this is the hour during which I’ll learn which other writer’s collection has beaten What Will Come After in the Single-Author Collection category. Because since I’m up against Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Jeff VanderMeer, and Karen Joy Fowler … well .. let’s just say I’m won’t be bothering to write an acceptance speech.]

Kaffeeklatsch
Sunday, July 17
12:00 a.m. Vin
with James Morrow

See you in three weeks!

As soon as I learned that this year’s Stoker Awards banquet was going to be held on Long Island, I decided to make the most of it. And one way I did that was by bookending the event with lunches that had absolutely nothing to do with the primary reason for my trip.

I planned a Thursday lunch with Frank Cama, the Junior High School drama teacher who changed my life, and I planned a Sunday lunch with Marie Severin, the Marvel Comics artist who’s the funniest, nicest lady I ever met in the business. (Don’t worry—Irene won’t mind in the slightest that I said that.)

As the time for my lunch with the Mirthful one drew near, signs indicated to me that Fate was not indifferent to my trip, and very much wanted us to spend time together.

For example:

1) I was asked to present one of HWA’s two Lifetime Achievement Awards to Al Feldstein. The fact that Feldstein was an editor at EC Comics also meant that he was … Marie’s boss.

2) A couple of days before I was to head off to Long Island, I was contacted by Sean Howe, author of an upcoming history of Marvel Comics in the ’70s. He gave me the phone number of fellow Bullpenner Stu Schwartzberg so I could pass it on to Marie the next time I saw her … which Sean had no idea was only going to be a few days later.

3) I had dinner Friday night with (among others) William Freedman, who’s married to the niece of one of Marie’s high school classmates. We’d met online when he reached out to tell me about his encounter with Marie Severin and how she drew on his walls, and he retold that tale at our dinner party.

4) Sunday morning at the hotel, while noodling around online, I discovered that one of Marie’s most famous covers was on display as part of a comics exhibit at an Istanbul museum. Since Marie doesn’t do the Internet, this meant the only way she’d ever know about this honor was if I showed her that pic on my iPad.

You’d think those would be enough reasons to prove the universe was smiling at my encounter with Marie, but no, there was an even more astonishing one … (more…)