My first meal of the Nebula Awards weekend was with comics legend Gerry Conway, who I’ve known for at least 48 years, since 1971 — when I was a comics fan of 16, and he was 19, and yet already a comics pro with credits on Phantom Stranger, Ka-Zar, and Daredevil. Our paths back then crossed in the basement of the Times Square branch of Nathan’s (which, alas, no longer exists) where the late Phil Seuling had organized a standalone dealers room without any convention programming dubbed Nathan’s Con, which was a test run for his future Second Sunday mini-cons.

Gerry and I have a lot of history in those 48 years, including his time as Marvel’s editor-in-chief when I worked in the Bullpen — though his tenure was only six weeks long, two of those weeks my honeymoon — a tenure you’ll hear us talk about during the meal which follows. He’s the creator of The Punisher, Power Girl, and Firestorm, and wrote a lengthy and at one point controversial run on Spider-Man. But he’s also worked on such TV series as Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Law & Order, and many others.

At Gerry’s recommendation, our meal took place at the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas, California, where I invite you to take a seat and eavesdrop on our longest conversation in 40 years.

We discussed how the comics business has always been dying and what keeps saving it, why if he were in charge he’d shut down Marvel Comics for six months, what it’s like (and how it’s different) being both the youngest and oldest writer ever to script Spider-Man, the novel mistake he made during his summer at the Clarion Writers Workshop, why he’s lived a life in comics rather than science fiction, what caused Harlan Ellison to write an offensive letter to his mother, the one bad experience he ever had being edited in comics (it had to do with the Justice League), the convoluted way Superman vs. Spider-Man resulted in him writing for TV’s Father Dowling Mysteries, how exasperation caused him to quit his role as Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief (while I was out of the Bullpen on my honeymoon), how he’d have been treated if he’d killed off Gwen Stacy in today’s social media world, and much, much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation — (more…)

And so we bid farewell to StokerCon — now that you’ve enjoyed the ear candy of the lightning-round StokerCon Donut Spooktacular plus John R. Little’s awesome burger — with Kathe Koja, one of this year’s StokerCon Guests of Honor.

Kathe’s debut novel The Cipher, for which she won a Bram Stoker Award, had a tremendous impact on the horror field — as much of an impact on horror, in fact, as William Gibson’s first novel Neuromancer did on science fiction — a tremendously rare thing for a debut. She’s also written historical fiction, such as her Under the Poppy trilogy, as well as a number of young adult novels, starting with Straydog in 2002, and most recently Headlong. Her short stories have been published in Asimov’s, Weird Tales, Realms of Fantasy, F&SF, and many other magazines, plus anthologies such as Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells and Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction. She is the founder of nerve, a Detroit-based immersive theatre company.

We snuck away during StokerCon to San Chez Bistro. Not only is this tapas restaurant well-reviewed and highly rated, but they’re also amazingly sensitive to the needs of their guests, so much so they have multiple full specialized menus — not just a Vegan menu, but ones for soy allergies, tree nut allergies, citrus allergies, shellfish allergies and more. It’s one of the most accommodating restaurants I’ve ever visited when it comes to food preferences. My one regret from my trip to Grand Rapids is that time didn’t permit me to experience the full dinner menu.

We discussed her love of immersive theater (and dissected her previous night’s performance at StokerCon), why her groundbreaking debut novel The Cipher will always be The Funhole in her heart, what caused her to move into the YA world after her dark adult novels and why it’s harder to write for a younger audience, how she accidentally wrote her Under the Poppy trilogy, the allure of writing historical novels, how being in the presence of Kate Wilhelm at Clarion changed her life, what she got out of her many collaborations with Barry Malzberg and others, plus much, much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at San Chew Bistro — (more…)

The first episode of Eating the Fantastic to be recorded during this year’s StokerCon — but not the first to be shared with you, as I uploaded Saturday’s late-night StokerCon Donut Spooktacular immediately upon returning home — was lunch with
John R. Little at The Cottage Bar & Restaurant, a local institution which has been around since 1927.

USA Today says they serve the best burger in Michigan. But what did John and I think of it? Well, for that, you’ll have to give this episode a listen.

John’s a four-time finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, starting back with his first novel, The Memory Tree, in 2008. He won the following year in the category of Long Fiction for “Miranda,” for which he also won a Black Quill Award. His short fiction has been published in Cavalier (his first, in 1983), Twilight Zone, Weird Tales, Dark Discoveries, and other magazines, plus anthologies such as You, Human and Haunted Nights. His most recent novel is The Murder of Jesus Christ.

We discussed how seeing his sister’s portable typewriter for the first time changed his life forever, the way he launched his career by following in Stephen King’s men’s magazine footsteps, why he’s so fascinated by time and how he manages to come up with new ways of writing about that concept, which writer’s career he wanted when he grew up and how buying a copy of Carrie changed that, the reason a science major has ended up mostly writing horror, the most important thing he learned from a night school’s creative writing course, which of his new novel’s controversial aspects concerned him the most during creation, and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at The Cottage Bar & Restaurant — (more…)

Readercon starts five weeks from tomorrow, and those who know me already know I’ll be there. I’ve attended every year since the con began in 1987, except for one notable exception.

The full schedule has now been released, so here’s the official programming on which you’ll be able to find me July 11-14 —

Saturday, July 13, 2:30 p.m., Salon C
Reading
I’ll be reading from “Opossums and Angels,” which was published in my recent collection Tell Me Like You Done Before (and Other Stories Written on the Shoulders of Giants). It’s an homage to both “The Screwfly Solution” and “The Women Men Don’t See,” my two favorite James Tiptree, Jr. stories, though I don’t think familiarity with either is necessary to enjoy mine.

Saturday, July 13, 3:00 p.m., Concierge Lounge
Kaffeeklatsch
with Ellen Datlow

Sunday, July 14, 1:00 p.m., Salon 4
From Seed to Story: How to Escape the Slush Pile
As Ann Leckie explained in a 2013 blog post, even great writers will have stories rejected if they write 7,000 words around an underdeveloped idea. So what kind of research should go into a short story? How much plot and exposition are called for? What questions should the writer be asking and answering before they even start writing? Panelists will explore various methods by which a story seed can be nurtured into something publishable.
with Martin Cahill, James Patrick Kelly, Benjamin C. Kinney, and Kenneth Schneyer

Of course, that’s not the only place you’ll be able to find me — should you happen to spot me in the bar or wandering the dealers room, don’t hesitate to say hi!

I hope to see you there.

I’d originally planned to break bread with Kaaron Warren — who like previous Eating the Fantastic guest Michael J. Walsh was one of my co-Guests of Honor at the 2018 World Fantasy Convention — during this year’s StokerCon in Grand Rapids. But since her con schedule and mine were so full it seemed as if there wouldn’t be any open overlap for us to sneak away, we got together for some stress-free time together when she stopped earlier in Washington, D.C. on her way to Michigan. We met at the Freer Gallery, and then wandered over for lunch at the Capitol Hill branch of Hank’s Oyster Bar, which opened in 2012.

I first met Kaaron slightly less than 10 years ago, at the 2009 Montreal Worldcon, where her novel Slights was one of the inaugural titles from Angry Robot Books. The publisher even had a robot rolling around the launch party! (It was not angry, however.) She’s published many more novels and stories since then, with one novel, The Grief Hole, winning all three of Australia’s genre awards — the Aurealis Award, the Ditmar Award, and the Australian Shadows Award. Her most recent novel is Tide of Stone. She’s published seven short story collections, the most recent being A Primer to Kaaron Warren.

We discussed how her recent Rebecca reread totally changed her sympathies for its characters, the disturbing real-life crime related to the first time she ever saw The Shining, the catalyst that gave birth to her award-winning novel Tide of Stone, how she came up with new angles for tackling stories about such classic characters as Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein, the way flea market bric-a-brac has led to some of her best ideas, the only correct method for preparing fairy bread, her go-to karaoke song, and much, much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at Hank’s Oyster Bar — (more…)

Regular listeners to Eating the Fantastic know that once a year, instead of serving up the usual well-researched one-on-one conversations which make up most of this podcast’s ear candy, I opt for total anarchy, plopping myself down in a heavily trafficked area of a con with a dozen donuts and chatting with anybody who’s game to trade talk for sugar and grease. It’s totally spontaneous, as I never know to whom I’ll speak until they pass by and their eyes light up at the sight of a free donut.

In 2016, you were invited to eavesdrop on the Readercon Donut Spectacular, in 2017 the Balticon Donut Extravaganza, and last year the Nebula Awards Donut Jamboree. Now it’s time for the StokerCon Donut Spooktacular!

Late Saturday night, I sat down with an assorted dozen from The Donut Conspiracy in Grand Rapids accompanied by the usual sign explaining the setup, and found no shortage of willing guests.

Join us as Michael Bailey describes his novel inspired by a fire which turned his home to ashes in seven minutes, Geoffrey A. Landis shares about the Sherlock Holmes/Jack the Ripper horror story he published in the science fiction magazine Analog, Brian Keene explains why he chose last weekend to finally reappear at an HWA event, Wile E. Young tells why he thinks of the Road Runner whenever a story gets rejected, Anton Cancre reveals which guest that weekend earned most of his squee, and Wesley Southard offers his schtick for selling books when stuck behind a dealers table at a con.

Plus Erik T. Johnson gives an unexpected (but perfectly logical) answer when asked about one of the perks of StokerCon, Patrick Freivald looks back on how his horror career began via a collaboration with his twin brother, Josh Malerman recounts how he replaced readings with full blown Bird Box interactive performances and how an audience of 85-year-olds reacted, Asher Ellis shares how the Stonecoast MFA program made him a better writer, Kennikki Jones-Jones discusses her Final Frame award-winning short film Knock Knock, Eugene Johnson celebrates his Bram Stoker Award win that night for It’s Alive: Bringing Your Nightmares to Life, and much, much more!

Here’s how you can dig into those donuts with us— (more…)

Get ready to eavesdrop on my lunch with science fiction writer Annalee Flower Horne — seen below about to start sipping a root beer float. Their short fiction has appeared in Fireside Quarterly, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mothership Zeta, and the Futurescapes Anthology, where they took first place in the inaugural Futurescapes Writing Contest. They also co-edit the feminist geek culture blog The Bias with Natalie Luhrs. In addition, the two of us have a tradition of riding a ferris wheel each year during the Baltimore Book Festival, about which you’ll hear us joking at the start of our meal.

At Annalee’s suggestion, we met at Mark’s Kitchen, which has been serving customers in Old Town Takoma Park since 1990. It had a comfortable family feel, and an extensive menu, one which seemed suitable for all tastes and dietary sensitivities.

We discussed the incident at their first con which was a catalyst for wanting to become a writer, the way a glare from Mary Robinette Kowal caused them to submit — and then sell — their first short story, how the intricacies of game design can teach fiction writers to write better, why writers shouldn’t complain when editors reject stories too quickly, the first story they wrote while angry (and what was learned from the experience), the cuss word they wish they’d thought of in time to get into their first published story, the novel-in-progress that’s a feminist take on The Demolished Man, how codes of conduct can (and should) help make fandom better, and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation at Mark’s Kitchen — (more…)

This May is going to be one of my busiest convention months ever, because three cons which usually occur in different months will instead take place this year on three consecutive weekends. First will come Stokercon in Grand Rapids (and I’ve already told you what I’ll be doing there), then the Nebula awards weekend in Los Angeles, and finally, Balticon 53 over the Memorial Day weekend.

The final Balticon schedule has just been posted, so if you’re in the mood to track me down and listen to my ramblings, here’s where you’ll be able to find me—

Recommend Me a Podcast
Friday, May 24, 5:00 p.m.
Whether you love podcasts about scifi and fantasy, gaming, history, comedy, or just want to know where to start when there’s so many out there, we’ve got you covered.
with Scott Roche, John Walker, and Ken Schrader

Sequential Art: From the Comics Page to the Big Screen
Friday, May 24, 8:00 p.m.
The comic was perfect, so why isn’t the movie an exact recreation? A discussion on how comics can and can’t be translated to the big screen.
with Dame Dahlia Cosplay, Charles Brown, and Alex Wittenberg

Captain Marvel and the Retconning of the MCU
Saturday, May 25, 2:00 p.m.
The story of Captain Marvel is set a decade before other films in the main MCU sequence, adding to and sometimes changing backstory of characters, organizations, and setting elements we thought we already knew. Did they get it right or wrong? What might have been done differently? Is there a chance that future MCU movies will also be set in the past?
with John Edward Lawson (moderator), Dame Dahlia Cosplay, Jack Clemons, and Keith R.A. DeCandido

How to Self-Edit That Lousy First Draft
Saturday, May 25, 8:00 p.m.
Panelists will discuss techniques four editing when you don’t have outside reader too help.
Joshua Bilmes (moderator), Jay Smith, Karen Osborne, Ian Randal Strock, and JL Gribble

Reading
Sunday, May 26, 9:00 p.m.
Not sure what I’ll be reading. I might make the audience choose!
with Michael M. Jones

If you attending the con, I look forward to seeing you there!

This latest episode of Eating the Fantastic — recorded at Mezcal Mexican restaurant in Owings Mills — quickly turns nostalgic, because guest Steve Stiles and I were the proverbial ships that passed in the night at mid-‘70s Marvel Comics. My first job there was as the associate editor for the company’s line of British reprint books, which was a department he only started working at the following year, once I’d already moved over to the Bullpen to work on the American originals.

Stiles may be best-known for the post-apocalyptic dinosaur-filled future of Xenozoic Tales, which he drew for eight years, but he’s also appeared in titles such as Death Rattle, Bizarre Sex, and Anarchy Comics for underground publishers like Kitchen Sink and Last Gasp. He’s also done kid-friendly work, though, like The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Royal Roy.

And so much more — like the fanzine art which has made him a 17-time nominee for the Hugo Award, with nominations spread over a 50-year period from 1967 to 2018, an award which he won in 2016.

We discussed what it was like to work at Marvel Comics in the mid-’70s, the ironic reason he no longer owns his Silver Age Marvels, the time he thought he’d gotten the gig to draw Dr. Strange (but really hadn’t), what it was like being taught by the great Burne Hogarth at the School of Visual Arts, his first professional art sale (and why it ended up hanging on Hugh Hefner’s wall), how his famed comic strip The Adventures Of Professor Thintwhistle And His Incredible Aether Flier was born, why he didn’t like being art-directed by Marie Severin, which current comics he keeps up with, what Robert Silverberg said to him when he won his first Hugo Award after 14 tries and 49 years, the phrase he most wants carved onto his gravestone, and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation over burritos, tamales, enchiladas, and some carne asada at Mezcal Mexican restaurant — (more…)

The fourth annual StokerCon is only five weeks away! I’ve been to the first three — in Las Vegas, Long Beach, and Providence — and I intend to be at the latest one in Grand Rapids as well.

If you’ll also be attending, here’s where you’ll be able to find me —

Rise of the Pod(cast) People
Thursday, May 9, 5:00 p.m-6:00 p.m.
Podcasting is growing into an entertainment powerhouse. Horror-focused podcasts have been around for over 10 years, new pods are entering the field, and nearly every pro-paying magazine has added a podcast as part of their platform. Formats range from audio magazines to horror news, film and book discussions, author interviews, fancasts, and fully-dramatized serials. How do creators distinguish themselves from the pack, get funding, and grow their audience? Are there opportunities for under-represented authors and subgenres? Aside from delivering pure, unadulterated fear directly to your brain, what other opportunities do podcasts offer the horror community?
with S. Kay Nash, Brian Keene, Tonia Thompson, Karen Bovenmyer, and Lisa Kroger

Librarians Day — Podcasting 101
Friday, May 10, 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Join award winning Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror writer and editor, as well as podcaster [Eating the Fantastic] Scott Edelman as he moderates a panel about those who have started their own successful podcasts and YouTube book channels. Already confirmed to appear is author and podcaster Brian Keene, as well as Lisa Quigley and Mackenzie Kiera, the team behind the popular Ladies of the Fright podcast.
with Mackenzie Kiera, Lisa Quigley, and Brian Keene

Reading
Saturday, May 11, 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
I haven’t yet decided which story to read. If you’re in the audience, I might ask you to choose!
with Marc Abbott and Steve van Patten

For an as yet unspecified hour or two, you’ll also be able to find me in the lobby handing out donuts! But there’ll be a catch …

As part of my Eating the Fantastic podcast, I’ve hosted one donut-related lightning-round episode each of the past three years — the Readercon Donut Spectacular, the Balticon Donut Extravaganza, and the Nebula Awards Donut Jamboree — and I’ve decided to record one again during StokerCon.

I won’t know when and where I’ll let the sugary anarchy reign, not until I’m on site and have scoped out the con, but if you want to be in on the action, follow my Twitter feed for an announcement once the con begins.

Hope to see you there!