Dogs contest winners!

I am delighted to announce the winners of the Dogs photo contest. Congratulations to Maisy, Charlie, and the supremely vicious Lookmen. Oh, and their photographically talented persons too, all of whom live in the UK (where the especially dangerous canines reside). Here's what they won:

Thanks to everyone who entered - you have some killer dogs.

How much is that doggie in the window?

Tachyon is proud to present the very scary book trailer for Nancy Kress's new biothriller Dogs. This comes courtesy of Tachyon's multi-talented publicist Matt Staggs; I've always wondered how Matt could get so much done in a day, and now I know. He's haunted by terrifying images of killer pets and thus cannot sleep. Matt, it's only fiction...

Bicoastal events for the very cool

I don't mean you're not cool if you don't go to these. Or that you're not cool if you don't live on one of the coasts. Some of my best friends...OK, this isn't going well. Should you be geographically enabled to attend one (or both!) of these two events, count yourself lucky and check 'em out.

Tonight in San Francisco:
SF in SF movie night.
Galaxy Quest and Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Oh yeah.)

The Variety Preview Room
582 Market St. @ Montgomery
1st floor of The Hobart Bldg.
Lounge and cash bar open at 6:30PM. Movies start at 7PM.
Free Admission! Free Popcorn!
As always, all proceeds to benefit the Variety Children’s Charity.

Thursday in New York City:
Comic Book Defense League Benefit Mashup
Cory Doctorow Meets DJ Spooky

Cory (author of Content) to read from Little Brother; DJ Spooky (experimental artist Paul Miller) to read from Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. *And* DJ Spooky to play the after party. You either know how cool that double bill is (and are going) or you need to go find out.

Thursday, August 21
7:30 PM
The Helen Mills Theater
137-139 West 26th Street, NYC
$20 donation, order tickets through the CBDLF

After party:
Sutra Lounge
16 1st Ave (at 1st Street)
After party benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
$10 donation to the CBLDF or free with pass from the Mashup.

Romanian Weird

Here's a sneek peek at the cover of the Romanian edition of the New Weird (yes, that's the *Romanian* edition - cool, eh?). They did a great job - creeeeepy.

Many thanks to the estimable Horia Ursu, editor at Millenium Press, for doing a fantastic job with Jeff and Ann VanderMeer's first Tachyon anthology. We hope to work with you again soon, Horia.

Steampunk Art and Design Exhibit

If you are summering in the Hamptons (and why wasn't I invited?), you can go see the world premiere of this swank exhibit of Steampunk art and design. Happy to see the (obviously manadatory) inclusion of Steampunk visionary Jake von Slatt.

Even as someone pretty familiar with the form, I'm amazed by the art and also amused that steampunk is described as "a new art medium." Um...

Stress!

No, the good kind. Tim Powers' gothic tour de force The Stress of Her Regard is now available in its first new edition since 1994. *Plus* it's a great big (432 pages) AFFORDABLE $14.95 trade paperback that is gorgeous inside (by Jacob McMurray) and out (by Ann Monn, who is also a very talented abstract photographer).

So no more fear of losing pages from your dog eared, rubber banded old mass market or paying through the nose for that first hardcover edition (how would one do that? Ew.).

Happy Birthday, Bookgasm

Three things we love about Bookgasm, which celebrates its third birthday today:

1) They are one of the best online review outlets for genre books, in both the quality and quantity of their reviews (disclosure: yeah, they review our books - they review lots and lots of books.).

2) They have a fantastic website. Seriously, I am almost jealous. Well organized *and* hip. Practically as good as ours.



3) Their adorable new logo, which totally rocks.

Hooray for Bookgasm - and congratulations to Rod Lott and your awesome reviewers. The genre is darned lucky to have you.

Get in, get out

It's shocking but true. Or is it?

Entertainment Weekly gives grades. In their reviews. Like the author is still in college. Thomas Disch, who never finished college, at least got an A- for The Word of God.

Narrowing an entire book (movie, etc.) to a grade and a capsule review is dangerously reductive. The reviewer inevitably oversimplifies a complex work (like say the third Mummy film). But is simplicity a bad thing in the hands of a clever reviewer? As a busy, impatient reader (OK, an impatient person), I've found EW's reviews of Tachyon books to be succinct in a really good way.

If you want to know what what really turns off review readers, take a peek at the recent debate on Jeff VanderMeer's blog.

I'm also partial to the San Francisco Chronicle's resident arts critic, the cute little guy in the chair. He may be sleeping, attentive, applauding, jumping out of his chair, or MIA, having stalked out of the theater in disgust, his tiny Poirot-esque bowler hat indignantly discarded. J'accuse, Brendan Fraser!

Do you really finish reading lengthy reviews? Or even this post? Hey, where'd you go?

Ellen Klages nominated for the World Fantasy Award

Congratulations to Ellen Klages on her World Fantasy Award nomination for her much (and now increasingly) lauded Tachyon short story collection Portable Childhoods. Her latest book, White Sands, Red Menace, a sequel to her Scott O'Dell Award-winning novel, The Green Glass Sea, will be out this October. Pick up all three, you won't regret it.