February 23, 2016
A Round Table on World Building
I had the great pleasure of “moderating” this panel on world-building over at the 49th Shelf! Panelists Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Leah Bobet, Corey Redekop, Kate Blair, and Adam Lewis Schroeder gave their perspectives on some world-building questions I fielded, with great results.
Writers, this goes above and beyond your usual “how to build a magic system” panel. These are some smart, literary speculative fiction writers with some really interesting insights on how a speculative world works, at its heart. I really recommend giving it a read!
February 8, 2016
Apologies to Clockwork Canada
I’m here to fess up. I have been a tremendously terrible person.
Last month, I went to a launch of Exile Editions’ latest anthology, Playground of Lost Toys (ed. Colleen Anderson & Ursula Pflug.) I didn’t really want to go. Lost Toys? I imagined an anthology of creepy dolly stories. And who were those editors, anyway? I went to the launch because I had friends in the anthology – sorry guys – that’s it.
I should have known better.
I’ve been familiar with Exile as a Canadian publisher for years, but up until a few years ago, I’d thought of them as a literary small press. They published Morley Callaghan and George Elliott Clarke; Leon Rooke and Daniel David Moses. Good ‘ol Canadian Literature. Not, frankly, my hat, but stuff we dutifully stocked at the store.
Then, out of nowhere, they published Dead North, an anthology of Canadian zombie stories. I thought this was super-weird, coming from Exile, but the cover art was so good that I overcame my boredom with zombies and bought it. I was pleasantly surprised: Dead North was a solid mix of literary and speculative fiction, zombie stories that did more work than just being gory thrill-rides. Then came Fractured, stories of the Canadian post-apocalypse. Another subject I thought had been done to death, but Dead North was good enough that I opted to give the creative team a chance. Fractured was another very solid book, managing to present original, literary work despite the well-trod path it started on.
Then came Playground, and, like I said, I thought the subject was silly. Despite loving the previous two anthologies, I let my prejudice rule my head. Toys are dumb! It’s probably all going to be horror, anyway. The publisher obviously doesn’t know anything about speculative fiction! Rawr, I am a jerk!
Well, the launch was amazing, for starters. Six readers, great stories, and one impromptu Bowie serenade. The food was good, there was beer, and my friends were there. I bought the book to be generous, but I read through it in two days. Fully half the stories made me laugh out loud, and I am a tough customer. The book was great. It looked so stupid (again, sorry) but it was great.
I learned my lesson, right? Ha ha! Ha! Ha.
About a year ago, Exile put out a call for their next anthology: Clockwork Canada. Yep, Steampunk. And – you’d think I would know better by now – I rolled my eyes. Like, Steampunk, guys. Doesn’t Exile know this has been done to death? I know, I am the worst. Not a generous bone in my body. Only after I spoke with the editor, Dominik Parisien, did I even consider submitting, because he assured me they were looking for “Canadian alternative history of all kinds,” not just your usual airship stories. Yah, after four amazing anthologies, I still needed a tête-à-tête with the editor to convince me to even think about it.
Oh my God, am I ever glad I did. Dominik bought my offering, “La Clochemar” (no doubt because he had no idea what an asshole I had been about the whole Exile project,) and Exile managed to get us this ridiculously beautiful cover (right.) I am alongside some absolutely brilliant writers inside – writers who were probably far less diva about the whole thing than I was. All in all, the book seems set up to be another brilliant addition to what has been a brilliant series of speculative/lit short story anthologies. I… well, I am very excited.
Exile, Dominik – I am so, so sorry. You’ve never let me down! And look, people – here’s my pitch: we won’t let you down either. This is gonna be great.
You can pre-order Clockwork Canada now! It’s slated for release in early May 2016. Available from:
You can also drop us a note at our Goodreads page.
(Sorry!)
July 30, 2015
The Last of my Hugo Reviews
This month was a slog, but I made it in just under the deadline! The voting for the 2015 Hugo Awards closes tomorrow, Friday, July 31st. Cast your ballot! If you don’t know what to vote for, consider what I have to say about the short fiction categories. I’ve reviewed them all, lastly the novellas, at Apex Magazine.
July 9, 2015
Reviewing the Hugo Nominees: Best Novelette
It took me forever to slog though them, but Apex has published my reviews of the Hugo nominees for Best Novelette. Novelettes are… long. So, maybe I’m saving you some time, here.
June 29, 2015
Every day I’m publishin’
June 2015: I have to remember this month. It has been a serious banner month for me as a writer, and I’m only just beginning to really digest it all!
I’ve had two stories published!
The second, “The Posthuman Condition,” is in the Summer 2015 issue of Kaleidotrope. This is the story of Jesse, an unpaid intern at a transhumanist nightclub, having the worst night of her life. It lands somewhere between splatter horror and cyberpunk with a dose of myth thrown in. TW: suicides. “The God of Post-Man: Who Chooses the Posthuman Condition? A Folly by Jesse Bauman. And Friends.”
I’ve also sold three short stories this month!
I have sold my alt-history Revolutionary-era Quebec novelette, “More Heat Than Light,” to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. This will be my second appearance in F&SF and I’m OVER THE MOON about it. Publication date unconfirmed, but possibly early 2016.
I sold another alt-history, “Eleusinian Mysteries,” to Luna Station Quarterly.This is the story of a Javanese-Dutch mapmaker who discovers a map of a city on the moon, and a secret Dutch East India Company plan to travel there. Publication date September 2015.
The third sale is still a secret, but I hope the TOC will be announced soon! I like having announcements. This is a thing I could serious get used to…
June 4, 2015
Reviews: June 4th 2015
I’m partial to crazy critters, and there are some real doozies on display in the stories I reviewed this week at Apex Magazine! Read ’em and shiver…
April 9, 2015
Reviews: April 9th 2015
I love “visceral, gut-level, swashbuckling fun” stories and the good news is there are a lot of them in my “niche, academic, overtly to the Left in ideology” playground. Wondering where? Look no further*!
* Do look further, but look here too.
March 31, 2015
Interview @ the F&SF Blog!
The F&SF blog has posted an interview with me about my piece “La Heron”. This one was really fun to answer and gave me a chance to rant a little about women in martial cultures, high vs low literature, the total plausibility of brawling nuns, and so on. Anything pique your interest? Comment here or there! I like discussions.
March 26, 2015
Reviews: March 26th 2015
Once again, I’ve reviewed some interesting shorts over at Apex Magazine. Parents beware, this time around….
March 25, 2015
Mind Meld!
Over at SF Signal, me and about a hundred other people gave up our thoughts on our favourite (recent) short fiction! It’s a big article, but the key is to look for those stories and writers who merited multiple recommendations…