home news music verse nonfiction fiction links

F O G G E R Y :   N E W S

D o i n g s   a n d   U n d o i n g s

New chapbook from Small Beer Press  

Foreigners,
and Other Familiar Faces


Nine Stories
by Mark Rich
Small Beer Press
Chapbook No. 5


  Fiction from 1993-1999
from publications including SF Age
and the Full Spectrum anthology series
to small-press zines Talebones, Nova,
and Tales of the Unanticipated . . .
plus three never-before-published stories
of speculative fiction:
"Take Me," "Kiss of the Wood Woman,"
and "Wrong Door"

h a p p e n i n g   s t u f f   a c r o s s   t h e   s p e c t r u m

Special Guest: Diversicon 2004
  On Oct. 6, writer friend and fellow used-book-guy Dave Christenson wrote to tell me of an official place for me at next year's Diversicon, in Minneapolis, Minn.:
 "The Diversicon voting membership and chair Eric Heideman met yesterday and picked you as their first choice for Special Guest for next year's con," he said.
  The convention will take place Aug. 13-15 at the Days Inn next to the Mall of America. Guest of honor will be S.P. Somtow, whom Martha and I briefly met in Winnipeg some years ago, and whose company we truly enjoyed.
  I promptly accepted the invitation. Although I was often a "guest" of the Massachusetts convention Readercon, this is the first true convention-guest invitation I have received.
  Christenson is features and Web editor for The Old Times. Heideman is editor of Tales of the Unanticipated. My thanks to Robin Wille, who threw my name in the hat. (Posted 11 Oct. 03)

Review: Too Celestial Lane
  Bluejack.com has reviewed the Talebones-appearing story "Too Celestial Lane."
  "It's clear there was more going on here than your reviewer is equipped to take in. The story was nicely cryptic, told from the point of view of an old man still in the grip of memories from the War (WWII)," the review starts. " . . . it's a darkly written tale, filled with resonance, mystery, and provocative thematic connections between disparate elements."
  The full review appears at Bluejack. (Posted 11 October 03)

The School of Old Men
  Short story "The School of Old Men" appears in the current issue of Tales of the Unanticipated: No. 24, July 2003-July '04, with an illustration by Rodger Gerberding and Suzanne Clarke. Gerberding is long-time art editor of TOTU.
  To order: $10 postpaid, checks payable to TOTO INK. Address: Tales of the Unanticipated, P.O. Box 8036, Lake Street Station, Minneapolis, Minn. 55408. (Posted 22 August 03)

Too Celestial Lane
  Short story "Too Celestial Lane" appears in the current, summer issue of Talebones.
  It also appears in the "Fiction Preview" section of the magazine's website, which you can find here.
  The story would not have come into being without a familiarity with the works and life of Cyril Kornbluth. It is neither pastiche nor fictional biography, however. (Posted 12 August 03)

Conversations in Miniature
  The review "Conversations in Miniature: the Genre Poetry of Ian Watson and Michael A. Arnzen" was posted 4 Aug. 03 to the webzine Strange Horizons. The review can be found here. At a later point, the review will become part of the magazine's archives. (Posted 12 August 03)

Foreigners, and Other Familiar Faces
  Although my bibliography now includes over eighty published short stories and forty vignettes, only one short-story collection has preceded the new one just released as Chapbook No. 5 from Small Beer Press. One that was to precede it, The Sound of Dead Hands Clapping, has been indefinitely delayed due to difficulties at Stone Dragon Press.
  Check here at Small Beer Press for details about the new chapbook, some biographical errata, and ordering.
  Small Beer is a wondrous engine of speculative fiction publishing, ably guided by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link. They released Foreigners, and Other Familiar Faces in time for Wiscon, late in May of this year. The chapbook's official publication date was June.
  With typical swiftness, I am announcing publication here on my website in July. (Posted 8 July 03)

Asleep in the Arms of Ambience
  Talebones, edited by Patrick and Honna Swenson, has accepted short story "Asleep in the Arms of Ambience" for publication in its Fall issue.
  Since my short story "Too Celestial Lane" is appearing in the Summer issue, due out this month after being delayed from June, this will mean back-to-back appearances in that magazine.
  Talebones earlier published works of mine including vignette "Exfoliation" (Winter '96, reprinted now in Foreigners, and Other Familiar Faces) and short stories "Perdito's Children" (Fall '97) and "Zothique Mi Amoir" (Spring '99).
  I just noticed, no doubt belatedly, that Patrick has posted photographs from World Fantasy 2002 on his Fairwood Press/Talebones site, including one of Martha and me. (Posted 8 July 03)

Visit the newsgroup.
Return to Mark Rich home page.

fiction music artwork verse nonfiction editing links