A look at the aborted Best American Fantasy 4 shortlist and where these authors are today (Part II)

This is what I said last month when I was doing a follow-up on the authors I had selected for consideration for the later-cancelled Best American Fantasy 4 anthology:

It was around 18 months ago that the decision was made to put the Best American Fantasy series on hiatus.  I was the new series editor at the time and I had just compiled a list of 66 print (and a couple of online) works (Alan Swirsky I believe handled all but a handful of the online submissions)  that I thought were worthy of the guest editor Minister Faust's consideration for the final list of 20-25 titles.  Glancing over that list, I found that there were several emerging voices to go with the more established writers and I thought that it might be a good idea to make a post listing these authors and recent publications, in case a few want to check out their works.  Order is based on the listing I did in August 2010, which was by order of story read:

Now, later than I had planned, here is the second half of "what have they done" post:

32.  Viet Dinh.  He has had several stories published in several leading literary journals/magazines and has been working on a novel that apparently hasn't been published yet.

33.  Stephen Marche.  Marche's most recent book was How Shakespeare Changed Everything, published in 2011.  He has had other novels and stories published in years prior. I have an e-book edition of Shining at the Bottom of the Sea to read in the future.

34.  Traci O. Connor.  Connor published her debut short fiction collection, Recipes for Endangered Species, in May 2010.  May order this shortly.

35.  Adam McOmber.  He has a blog, plus his debut collection This New & Poisonous Air was published in 2011. His debut novel, The White Forest, which seems to already have comparisons to Erin Morgenstern and Sarah Waters, comes out in September.  I see his Amazon page notes the shortlisting for BAF 4, which is very cool.  I bought an e-book edition of This New & Poisonous Air to read later.

36.  A.C. Wise.  Wise also has a blog, which lists her published stories, but no indication there if she's had a story collection published yet. 

37.  Teresa Milbrodt.  I reviewed her debut collection, Bearded Women, back in November 2011.

38.  Karen Russell.  Russell's Swamplandia! (which I read, mostly enjoyed, but didn't write a formal review) came out in February 2011.  She was chosen as one of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" writers during the summer of 2010.

39.  B.R. Smith.  Could not locate a blog, but did notice that he's working on a novel, based on the short bio at the end of his "Caregivers," which is the story I chose for consideration.

40.  Joe Meno.  Meno is an established author, who had two books come out since early 2010.  I bought his collection Demon in the Spring and his novel The Great Perhaps came out in 2011.

41.  Judith Cooper.  Her "Sister Light-of-Love Love Dove" appears in the anthology New Stories from the Midwest.  Could not find more information when I searched.

42.  Kelly Luce.  Luce has a blog that highlights her work.  No collections published since early 2010, however, although her 2008 book, Ms. Yamada's Toaster, is available on Amazon.

43.  Gilbert Allen.  This is the only information I could find on him.  It seems to be out of date, as nothing is listed after 2007.

44.  Sean McMullen.  Interesting, as I seem to have listed an Australian SF writer here, but his site does list his works.

45.  Wayne Wightman.  Wightman has released several of his short fictions in e-book format over the past year.  This link will take you to his Amazon page.

46.  Elizabeth Hand.  Hand is an established writer who has two novels coming out this year:  Available Dark, released last week, and a possibly YA-marketed novel, Radiant Days, coming out in April.

47.  M. Rickert.  Rickert is an award-winning SF/F short fiction writer, whose latest collection, Holiday, came out in December 2010.

48.  Damian Dressick.  Dressick has a site and apparently his debut collection, Fables of the Deconstruction, was to be published in late 2011 by Spire Press, but I haven't yet found a link to where I could purchase it, as it is not on Amazon.

49.  Anthony Farrington.  Could not find a site/blog for him and it seems he has no collections or novels released.

50.  Melanie Rae Thon.  Thon has had several books published, including a novel (The Voice of the River), which I've purchased as an e-book, and a story collection (In This Light), that came out in 2011.

51.  Debbie Urbanski.  Could not find information as to whether or not she has had any collections or novels released.

52.  James B. Pepe.  Could not find information as to whether or not he has had any collections or novels released, although I did see he received an Honorable Mention for Best Horror of the Year, vol. 2.

53.  Richard Parks.  Parks has had several collections and other short fiction and novels released in both print and e-book formats over the past few years.  Here is a link to his Amazon page that highlights this.

54.  J.W.M. Morgan.  Morgan has a site that lists his publications, but no collections nor novels listed there.

55.  Blake Butler.  I reviewed Butler's excellent There is No Year back in July 2011.

56.  Brad Modlin.  Modin is a poet and writer, but no collections seem to have released yet.

57.  Adam Peterson.  Could not find any definite news as to whether or not he has had a collection or novel released.

58.  Micah Rieker.  No information on whether or not he has had a collection or novel released, but there is a little bit on Cincinnati Review about his short stories published there, plus his inclusion in an anthology linked to above in Judith Cooper's entry.

59.  Laura C.J. Owen.  Owen has a site that lists her publications, but no collections or novels.

60.  Tabaré Alvarez.  I found a short bio sketch that lists Alvarez's publications through 2009, but nothing newer than that.


Hopefully, some of these authors and their works will lead to further explorations by readers here.  While I am still sad that BAF had to be discontinued, hopefully this look back at the longlist I developed will underscore the reasons why Ann and Jeff VanderMeer and the original BAF series editor, Matt Cheney, felt it was important to have this anthology series founded in the first place.  Even though BAF 4 will not be, the first three volumes are out there for readers to discover other authors (and some of the ones mentioned in these posts of mine also appeared in those volumes) and perhaps new favorites.

A look at the aborted Best American Fantasy 4 shortlist and where these authors are today (Part I)

It was around 18 months ago that the decision was made to put the Best American Fantasy series on hiatus.  I was the new series editor at the time and I had just compiled a list of 66 print (and a couple of online) works (Alan Swirsky I believe handled all but a handful of the online submissions)  that I thought were worthy of the guest editor Minister Faust's consideration for the final list of 20-25 titles.  Glancing over that list, I found that there were several emerging voices to go with the more established writers and I thought that it might be a good idea to make a post listing these authors and recent publications, in case a few want to check out their works.  Order is based on the listing I did in August 2010, which was by order of story read:

1.  Leah Bobet.  Her debut novel, Above, comes out on April 1, 2012.  I see she has a blurb from Emma Donoghue, whose Room I thought was an excellent novel.  Pre-ordered this.

2.  Kelly Barnhill.  She has released a few children's/YA novels (the latest being 2011's Mostly True Story of Jack, which was an Amazon Best of Month for August 2011).  Just purchased the e-book edition, as I am kicking myself for overlooking this when it was released.

3.  Peter Beagle.  Beagle has written several classic novels and short stories.  His latest collection, Sleight of Hand (2011), is a must-read for those who either haven't read his recent output or want to discover a new author.

4.  John Langan.  Langan has twice been nominated for the International Horror Guild Award for short fiction.  I thought his debut collection Mr. Gaunt & Other Uneasy Encounters was excellent.  Just purchased his 2010 debut novel, House of Windows, as an e-book.

5.  Ander Monson.  Monson is an established essayist, poet, and occasional fiction writer.  His latest work, the July 2010 poetry collection, The Available World, looks promising (but I'm a poetry lover at heart).

6.  Antonia Clark.  No readily-found collections or books.

7.  Robert Mayette.  He has appeared in a few magazines, but no collections or books.

8.  Rachel Swirsky.  Swirsky has been nominated for the World Fantasy, Hugo, and Nebula awards in the past two years, winning the 2010 Nebula Award for "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window."  Her stories appear regularly on Tor.com and they have appeared in several anthologies.  Her debut collection, Through the Drowsy Dark, was released by Aqueduct Press in 2010, which I recommend as a starting place before reading her excellent new pieces.

9.  N.K. Jemisin.  Jemisin's works, both short fiction and her novels alike, have been nominated for the major SF/F awards over the past two years.  Her upcoming novel, The Killing Moon, comes out in May 2012.

10.  Eric Schaller.  Schaller is both an illustrator and a writer.  His stories have appeared in several magazines, but I didn't find any collections or novels that had been released.

11.  Christian Moody.  Moody appeared in Best American Fantasy 2 and in other anthologies, but no separate collection was found during a search.

12.  Julee Newberger.  No collections or novels were found.

13.  Matt Bell.  Bell has helped edit at Dzanc Books, appeared in Best American Fantasy 2, and his 2010 collection, How They Were Found, was reviewed here back in late 2010.

14.  Deborah Schwartz.  No information was found as to any collections or novels.

15.  Fred McGavran.  See the comments to this post for what he has had published.  Looks interesting.

16.  Benjamin Percy.  Percy released both a novel and his second collection, Refresh, Refresh, in late 2010. 

17.  Aimee Bender.  Bender has written several collections of fiction and her latest novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, was released in 2010.

18.  Brian Beglin.  No information found in regards to collections or novels.

19.  Saladin Ahmed.  Ahmed has been a finalist for the Campbell and Nebula Awards and his debut novel, The Throne of the Crescent Moon (which I'm currently reading and will be reviewing shortly) comes out in a week in the US and I think later in the UK.

20.  Catherynne M. Valente.  Valente has had several award-winning and nominated short fiction and novels released in the past couple of years.  Her latest novel, The Folded World (November 2011), I would highly recommend to those who are even remotely familiar with the Prester John myth.

21.  Michael Blumlein.  Blumstein was nominated in years past for the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker award, but he hasn't had any new collections or novels released since 2005.

22.  Eugene Mirabelli.  Mirabelli has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Nebula Award for his fiction and according to his website, he has a new novel, Rento, the Painter, coming out later in 2012.

23.  Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig.  Ya-Chu Cowhig released a drama, Lidless, in late 2010.

24.  Jenny Boully.  Boully's latest novel, not merely because of the unknown that was stalking toward them, was released in June 2011.  Just ordered a copy (not on Amazon)

25.  Joe Celizic.  Celizic has appeared in several anthologies, but no separate collections or novels.

26.  Christopher Boucher.  Boucher's debut novel, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, was released in August 2011.  Tempting to add that to the other purchases I've made.

27.  Deirdra McAfee.  McAfree has had several other stories published, but no separate collection or novel.

28.  Amit Majmudar.  Majmudar has released at least one poetry collection and a debut novel, Partitions (June 2011), the latter of which I read and enjoyed last year.

29.  Will Kaufman.  Could not find any definitive news on any collections or novels he may have had released since 2010.

30.  Joan Connor.  Connor's most recent collection, How to Stop Loving Someone, won the 2010 Leapfrog Fiction Contest and was published in book form in September 2011.

31.  L. Annette Binder.  Binder's debut collection, Rise, comes out later this year.  She is a previous Pushcart Prize winner.


Since this is taking longer than I had expected, I'll do the second half in 2-3 days.  So far, it's been pleasant to discover all of the accolades and awards several of these writers have enjoyed.  Hopefully, this will inspire some of you to investigate their works further and perhaps purchase/read a few.

BAF, no more, alas

I knew this was coming, but it still is a bit saddening to see the Best American Fantasy series discontinued.  There are a combination of factors that led to this and although I wish it could have somehow continued, it just couldn't, for reasons Jeff alludes to in his post.

But I am not by nature someone who dwells overlong on the past.  Rather, I like to emphasize lessons learned and joys experienced.  During my nearly eight months as series editor for BAF, I have had the opportunity to get to know several editors for the academic journals, literary magazines, as well as those whose publications were oriented more specifically toward speculative fiction readers of all stripes.  Later this weekend, I am going to try and contact as many of the publications that sent us materials and thank them for the materials that they provided.  Their contributions, whether it be a simple mailing or suggestions on particular stories that may be of interest, all those were greatly valued.

I had already completed the first half of my job as series editor when the news arrived.  And while I do not know which stories the guest editor for BAF 4, Minister Faust, would have chosen for the final publication, I can at least share the 65 stories that I had sent him (Alan Swirsky had another 25-30 that were also forwarded to him; perhaps I can find that list and post those URLs later).

These are some damn fine stories in a wide variety of styles.  Following the example set forth in the first three BAF volumes (Matthew Cheney being the series editor, with Ann and Jeff VanderMeer being the guest editors for the first two volumes and Kevin Brockmeier for BAF 3), the lines between the speculative and the mundane, between dream and "reality," between all those little "invisible borders" that we throw up to delineate matters, all these lines were smudged, crossed, transgressed, or perhaps even erased in the stories listed below.  Their publishers are also listed; many of these issues can be ordered online, and some were originally posted online.  The order in which they are listed is quasi-chronological, based on which publications I read first over the first six months of 2010.  Feel free to take this as a guide to great short fiction published between May 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010:

1.  Leah Bobet, "Six" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)

2.  Kelly Barnhill, "Open the Door and the Light Passes Through" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)

3.  Peter Beagle, "Dirae" (Warriors)

4.  John Langan, "City of the Dog" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2010)

5.  Ander Monson, "Decidicousness:  The Mechanism" (Ninth Letter, Fall/Winter 2009-10)

6.  Antonia Clark, "How to Shoot a Tomato" (Mipoesias, September 2009)

7.  Robert Mayette, "Prison of the Gnome" (Mipoesias, September 2009)

8.  Rachel Swirsky, "A Memory of Wind" (Tor.com, November 2009)

9.  N.K. Jemisin, "Non-Zero Probabilities" (Clarkeworld Magazine, September 2009)

10. Eric Schaller, "The Sparrow Mumbler" (New Genre, #6)

11. Christian Moody, "Horusville" (Best New American Voices 2010)

12. Julee Newberger, "Calvin Makes His Escape" (Gravity Dancers)

13. Matt Bell, "The Cartographer's Girl" (Gulf Coast, Winter/Spring 2010)

14. Deborah Schwartz, "Music in the Storm" (Gulf Coast, Winter/Spring 2010)

15. Fred Gavran, "The Reincarnation of Horlach Spencer" (Harvard Review, #37)

16. Benjamin Percy, "The Tree" (Ecotone, #8)

17. Aimee Bender, "The Color Master" (Cincinnati Review, 7.1 Summer 2010)

18. Brian Beglin, "Something Ancient" (Cincinnati Review, 7.1 Summer 2010)

19. Saladin Ahmed, "Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)

20. Catherynne M. Valente, "The Secret History of Mirrors" (Clockwork Phoenix 2)

21. Michael Blumlein, "California Burning" (Asimov's, August 2009)

22. Eugene Mirabelli, "Love in Another Language" (Not One of Us, #42)

23. Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, "Monkeys of the Sea" (Glimmer Train #74 Spring 2010)

24. Jenny Boully, excerpt from "not merely because of the unknown that was stalking towards them" (Gulf Coast, Summer/Fall 2009)

25. Matt Bell, "A Long Walk, with Only Chalk to Mark the Way" (Redivider, vol. 7, issue 2)

26. Joe Celizic, "Reborn" (Redivider, vol. 7, issue 2)

27. Christopher Boucher, "Maryland" (Redivider, vol. 7, issue 2)

28. Deirdra McAfree, "The Shield of the Norns" (The Georgia Review, Fall 2009)

29. Amit Majmudar, "Azazil" (The Kenyon Review, Fall 2009) (Note: TKR is serializing this in 5 issues, I think)

30. Will Kaufman, "Eris Sink Pluto" (Kaleidotrope, April 2010)

31. Joan Connor, "Cassie Bunyan's Yarn: A Short Tale" (Green Mountains Review, XXII, #2)

32. L. Annette Binder, "Halo" (Green Mountains Review, XXII, #2)

33. Benjamin Percy, "Terminal" (Ninth Letter, Fall/Winter 2009-10)

34. Viet Dinh, "Stomp Tokyo" (Ninth Letter, Fall/Winter 2009-10)

35. Stephen Marche, "What Rought Beast" (Ninth Letter, Spring/Summer 2010)

36. Traci O. Connor, "Starla and June" (Gargoyle 54)

37. Adam McOmber, "Of Wool" (Ascent, Winter 2009)

38. A.C. Wise, "A Mouse Ran Up the Clock" (Electric Velocipede 19)

39. Teresa Milbrodt, "Cyclops" (Indiana Review, Summer 2009)

40. Ben Marcus, "The Moors" (Tin House 42)

41. Karen Russell, "The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach" (Tin House 41) Note: She was chosen as one of The New Yorker's "20 under 40" writers

42. B.R. Smith, "Caregivers" (Witness XXIII, 2010)

43. Joe Meno, "Birdmen of Mars" (Redivider, Spring 2009)

44. Judith Cooper, "Sister Light-of-Love Love Dove" (Shenandoah, Winter 2009)

45. Kelly Luce, "Wisler" (The Southern Review, Autumn 2009)

46.Gilbert Allen, "Ecumenical Bedding" (The Southern Review, Autumn 2009)

47. Sean McMullen, "The Art of the Dragon" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, August/September 2009)

48. Wayne Wightman, "Adaptogenia" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, June/July 2009)

49. Elizabeth Hand, "The Far Shore" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 2009)

50. M. Rickert, "The President's Book Tour" (Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 2009)

51. Damien Dressick, "Accrual" (Gargoyle 55)

52. Anthony Farrington, "Oh, You Turtledoves, All You Birds under Heaven, Come Help Me" (The Kenyon Review, Spring 2010)

53. Melanie Rae Thon, "Lost Children" (The Southern Review, Spring 2009)

54. Debbie Urbanski, "Taken" (The Southern Review, Spring 2010)

55. Benjamin Percy, "The Mud Man" (The Southern Review, Winter 2010)

56. James B. Pepe, "I am Enkidu, His Wild Brother" (Sybil's Garage, #6)

57. Richard Parks, "The Queen's Reason" (Lady Churchhill's Rosebud Wristlet #25)

58. J.W.M. Morgan, "Superfather" (Lady Churchhill's Rosebud Wristlet #24)

59. Blake Butler, "Our Anniversary, Repeated" (Redivider, vol. 7, #1)

60. Brad Modlin, "Dark Gray Door" (Indiana Review, 31.2)

61. Aimee Bender, "Among Us" (The New Dead)

62. Adam Peterson, "Blood Work" (The Cincinnati Review, 6.2)

63. Micah Riecker, "The Drowned Girl" (The Cincinnati Review, 6.2)

64. Laura C.J. Owen, "The Execution Trick" (American Short Fiction, Winter 2009)

65. Tabaré Alvarez, "The Translation of the Bones" (ep;phany, Fall/Winter 2009)


Yes, some authors were repeated on this list (and possibly a misspelling here and there, as my penciled notes were smudged a bit), largely because I could not decide which one of theirs was the best, so I left it up to Minister Faust to decide.  In addition, I sent Minister a copy of Conjunctions 52:  Betwixt the Between because the entire issue dealt with eligible stories and I didn't want to write down half of the ToC and still perhaps overlook a few.   If you have further questions about the stories themselves, feel free to ask, although I won't say much beyond "Well, I enjoyed the story and thought it would complement the other stories being considered on this longlist that I constructed for the guest editor to winnow down until the final 20-25 were chosen."

So yeah, working on this was a mostly fun experience.  What I learned, I'll probably detail in another post in the next few days, but for now, just look up these stories and authors and give them a chance, okay?

BAF Magazines and Journals received March 17-19

Lately, I've received several email responses from magazine and lit journal editors in response to a recent request for copies of their publications for possible consideration for Best American Fantasy 4.  Several have been very prompt and courteous and I've started to receive boxes of materials beginning on Wednesday and continuing through today, with several others expected by the end of next week.  I just wanted to take a bit of time to thank the following people whose publications I have received:

Jeanne M. Leiby, the Editor and Director of The Southern Review.  In addition to the three volumes pictured above, she also sent me photocopies of some of the stories appearing in the Spring 2010, which will be available on April 1.

Anne McPeak, the Managing Editor of A Public Space.  Like Leiby before her, she helpfully suggested stories that might best fit what we are looking for in BAF4.  I will read and find out shortly.

Also appearing in this picture but not legible are the March 15, 2010 and March 22, 2010 issues of The New Yorker, to which I have a subscription.

Richard Peabody is the chief editor for both Gargoyle and Gravity Dancers, which showcases the short fiction of Washington, D.C.-area female writers.  Very curious about the volumes sent here.

Christian Moody is not only an editor at The Cincinnati Review, but one of his stories, "In the Middle of the Woods," appeared in Best American Fantasy 2.  He also sent me a copy of Best New American Voices 2010, guest edited by Dani Shapiro, as he has a story appearing in there that he hopes will be considered for BAF4.

While I obviously can make no promises as to how many, if any, stories from these publications will be sent on to Minister Faust, the guest editor for BAF4 to consider, I just thought it would be common courtesy to acknowledge in photo and (this time at least) in writing the assistance I received from these editors.  There are several others who have emailed me in recent days saying that they are sending me works as well and I will acknowledge them next week in a separate post.

There are many ways to eat a Reese's...and to read for excellent stories

Over the course of this year, I plan on writing occasional posts about my experiences helping edit the Best American Fantasy 4 anthology.  Little that I say will be directly about a particular work or author, nor will I try to claim any more credit than being a sort of glorified slushpile reader who selects interesting possibilities for the guest editors to consider.  However, I do believe that if I do post occasionally on this topic, I might find myself learning more about the process than I had consciously realized, not to mention that readers might learn more and perhaps have things to share that might make the process easier to understand for all.  Plus, it's all in the name of publicizing an anthology series that I've supported since the first volume debuted in 2007 (and now for shameless plug time:  Unreal Real:  Best American Fantasy 3 should now be in stores.  It is certainly shipping from Amazon and other online retailers).

One of the hardest parts about being an anthology reader/reprint editor I've learned so far is that with the plethora of solid to good stories out there, that it often becomes difficult to find something that is "special."  Even a good story can be overwhelmed by the mass of similar stories.  I've kept a reading log of the magazines and journals that I've read so far this year for BAF4.  The count is now 15, about to reach 16, after I finished two issues of Not One of Us, plus nearly finishing New Genre and starting Ep;phany earlier today.  I probably have read around 175-200 short stories already.  Discounting the 2/3 or more that aren't "fantasy" enough (broad as I might define the term), I still have well over 50 stories that I have not written down already for the longlist for further consideration.  Oh, and I should add that I expect to read (and re-read) about another 3-4 dozen lit journals, print magazines, and some e-zines over the next three months. 

Burnout might be a problem.  After all, there is that old saw about how familiarity breeds contempt, except I would replace "contempt" with a very blasé attitude. To combat this story fatigue, I have taken to interspersing story collections, either in Spanish, Italian, or in English translation, from some of (in my opinion, of course) the greatest short fiction writers of the past century or so.  I read Roberto Bolaño's four story collections last month and his "visceral realist" style was a welcome break from the more speculative works I had been reading.  Moreover, the mood and atmosphere evoked in several of his stories helped remind me of that certain "it" factor that can help a story rise above the solid competence to something that sticks in one's memory longer than a few minutes.  Those are the stories I've looking for, the ones that can be remembered. 

I'm currently reading Italo Calvino's t-zero, which arrived in the mail today.  There is a certain elan about his prose that enlivens even the more mundane tales.  Style isn't everything, but it certainly can be part and parcel of what constitutes a memorable, great story.  While I'm certainly not reading for stories that resemble Bolaño or Calvino's in style or form, reading such tales reminds me just what it is about reading for a "best of" series can and perhaps should be about:  finding intriguing, memorable tales that don't necessarily fit into a square or round peg hole, but which might just contain the kernel of something exciting and alluring to the reader.  Hopefully, the stories that I'm currently sifting through to forward onto BAF4 Guest Editor Minister Faust to consider will live up to the lofty ambitions I noted above.  Until then, there's always more than just one way to read for excellent stories, no?

Best American Fantasy 4 readings plus assorted Book Porn

Today I received a large box full of lit journals, genre magazines, and all sorts of fictions in-between that straddle those invisible borders between the Fantastic and the Speculative.  Best American Fantasy co-creators Ann and Jeff VanderMeer sent to me over two dozen magazines and journals that are eligible for consideration for Best American Fantasy 4.  As new series editor, I get the fun task of reading through each of these (and several more) to narrow it down to 75-100 possible stories for the guest editor, Minister Faust, to select from for final addition to BAF 4 (which will be released in early 2011, for those who are eager to place their pre-orders).  I thought it would be a good idea to highlight the magazines and journals being considered with pictorials and name references.  So here goes:

On Spec, Fall 2009; The Mississippi Review Poetry Series (2010); Catherynne M. Valente, Under in the Mere (2009; short fiction); Green Mountains Review (vol. XXII, no. 1, 2009); American Short Fiction, Spring 2009; New Genre, Issue Six (2009); The Florida Review, Summer 2009; American Short Fiction, Winter 2009.

Harvard Review, 36 (2009); Witness, vol. XXII (2009); New England Review, vol. 30, no. 3 (2009); The Southern Review, Summer 2009; The Kenyon Review, Fall 2009; The Kenyon Review, Winter 2010.

Electric Velocipede, Fall 2009; Glimmer Train Stories, 73 (2009); Ecotone:  The Brutality Issue (2009); The Cincinnati Review, Winter 2010; Stefanie Freele, Feeding Strays (2009).

Here are some "extras" that the VanderMeers sent me (well, one is a duplicate copy of what I received from F&SF a couple of weeks ago) for my "leisure reading," if such a thing will exist before June.  Several of these certainly will be read in short order and will be listed in my magazine/journal reading list (said list excludes my readings of various non-fiction magazines, I ought to add).

Here are several books that I received from the Penguin Group/DAW and from Night Shade Books.  Will browse through the Datlow anthology (which appears to be a reprint one) to see if any stories are eligible for BAF4, but the others will have to await a free weekend, if that, for reading.

More books from the Penguin Group/DAW and one from Orbit US.  Like I said above, if read, these will have to await a weekend free from BAF4 readings.

Offerings from Night Shade and from Tor/St. Martin's Press.  The New Dead will be read for BAF4, the Erikson I read last year when I imported the book in hardcover form from the UK, the Teppo books will be read in my free time, and I have no idea when or if I'll get to the Maberry book.

Recent purchases (or at least those I had on hand).  Learning both Serbian and Attic/Koine Greek, thus the grammar, as well as The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (and the deuterocanonical works).  Oh, and some Calvino and Eco in Italian to balance out the Aristophanes in dual Attic Greek/English translation.  Not a bad haul.  These are to be read/studied over several months.


Think these are enough readings to occupy me for a couple of weeks at least?

In lieu of book porn, here's magazine/journal porn for you voyeurs

Part of the reason (besides my sore right wrist) that's kept me from blogging as much this month is that I'm now starting to receive magazines and journals for consideration for Best American Fantasy 4.  Thought I might acknowledge receipt of some of these, so pictured above are several issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction, as well as the Fall/Winter 2009-10 issue of Ninth Letter (University of Illinois), and the January 18, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, which I purchased with my own money (I have my more recent copies of The Atlantic at work, as I do read these two magazines regularly).

Will note that there have been some good stories, including several that would have been considered if they weren't so completely non-fantastical in nature.  Perhaps at a later date I'll discuss/review some of those stories, just so mimetic fiction can get more love at this joint.

New Category, New Place for Blogging

Been very, very busy the past couple of days (oh, and I'm posting this early in the morning because I crashed after work, in case you're wondering at the time stamp here).  Between work-related and (now) anthology-related readings, not much time for blogging.

Do want to note two things, however, both of which are related. The first is that after the official announcement that I was the new series editor for Best American Fantasy (well, at least for BAF4), the previous series editor (who is still a consultant), Matthew Cheney, added me to the team list for the Best American Fantasy blog.  In the near future, I will be making posts there related to the anthology series, with only brief mentions or links here, so I suggest people bookmark the link above and visit it in the near future, as hopefully there will be some interesting content to be posted there (of course, this depends on whether or not I am interesting, no?).

Secondly, there is a new category of links.  Although I'm not going to duplicate in full the list that will be available on the BAF blogroll, I did want to highlight just a few of the magazines (and e-zines) and lit journals that I read and will be reading heavily these next few months.  I will be adding a few more here, but a fuller list will be found at the BAF blog.  Do check these out, as many post original content there and perhaps you'll get a jump on reading a story that might just make it into the BAF series before any of us editors get around to reading it...

So yeah, while the pruning will still continue here and there, there will be added, new content to make up for it.  Now back to wondering just how much of that damn snow I'll have to deal with on Thursday...

Best American Fantasy 4 reading period announced, plus a new series editor

I only have enough time to provide the link, but for those wanting to know more about the reading period for Best American Fantasy 4, plus the new series editor, be sure to click on the link here.


Tengo que muy loco....

I have a very cool announcement to make

I've sat on this for a few days now, but since it's now been made public, I can go ahead and share with you that I've been asked to be an assistant editor (along with Fábio Fernandes) for the Best American Fantasy anthology series, starting with BAF4, which will be published in 2011 and cover 2010. Fábio and I will be working with Latin American (Spanish and Portuguese alike) stories that have been translated into English.

Needless to say, this is a dream opportunity, since for the past few years, I have found myself hoping to one day get to help edit an anthology of Latin American fiction, particularly of the speculative variety.

For more details, be sure to read Jeff VanderMeer's post on the matter.