ellen_datlow

I was GOH at Fantasticon in Copenhagen, along with Alastair Reynolds. I had a very nice time and was taken to two museums by Lars Ahn Pedersen, walked up and down the streets, saw a LOT of contstruction (as can be seen), visited Tivoli and saw a vain peacock in full display, and visited the zoo. A full, satisfying trip.


http://tinyurl.com/ctkh2bj

I hadn't been for two years running and had a fantastic time this year. Fiction GOH were China Miéville and Kelly Link. (and we saw the alligator)

http://tinyurl.com/7jsouka

This is really just an all-around update.

I realize that most people who know me don't think of me as an introvert but I generally feel like one. (And yes, I've looked up "psychological definitions/characteristics")

The reason I feel this way is that as happy being alone --although what does "alone" mean when I'm awash in sensation that constantly impinges on my consciousness, even at home. When I'm home I listen to music, mostly jazz-on the radio or when WBGO isn't playing something I like then on pandora. I interact with my cats when we all feel like it, I post online and read newsgroups and otherwise participate on the social networks. So I guess I rarely am "alone." Editing, just like writing, is a solitary job. I love it. ( Read more... )

I know I'm the female equivalent of the "johnny come lately" but I haven't been online since Saturday afternoon.
I had a ball at the Stoker weekend and not only because Nick and I won the anthology award for Haunted Legends along with Joe R. Lansdale's wonderful "The Folding Man" from the book). The panels were smart and fun, interviews with the guests of honor illuminating, and the weekend itself well-organized. Also, I was able to meet and/or hang out with Dacre Stoker, great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker, Joe Hill, Gary Wolfe, Peter and Susan Straub (Gary, Peter, and Susan and I had a delicious Italian meal at the Rialto restaurant), Scott Edelman, who after the Stokers drove me and Gary Frank to an ice cream parlor he discovered the night before. I partook and I should not have. Delicious but my eyes were most definitely bigger than my stomach. Caught up with Kelly Laymon, Doug Clegg, Lisa Morton, Vince Liaguno, Rocky Wood, and so many others. I enjoyed meeting some of the new faces, who are members or are thinking of joining. And I thank Stephen Graham Jones and Brad Carpenter for sharing a cab with me to Westbury station (and Stephen for lugging my garment bag up the stairs of the station).


Superior Achievement in a NOVEL

A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (Doubleday/Orion)


Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL (Tie)

BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)

THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)



Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION

INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)


Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION

“The Folding Man” by Joe R. Lansdale (from HAUNTED LEGENDS)


Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY

HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)


Superior Achievement in a FICTION COLLECTION

FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)


Superior Achievement in NON-FICTION

TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)


Superior Achievement in a POETRY COLLECTION

DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)

Got home tonight after an uneventful flight (although everything seemed to be delayed by hours from Laguardia, so I suspect I was lucky). I ran into Devi Pillai of Hachette and agent Ginger Clark on the flight--I hadn't seen them at all at Denvention...which was the big problem of the con. Too big, too spread out, the convention space was abominable--lousy acoustics and even within the convention center everything was totally spread out seemingly from one end of the huggggee hall to the other.

The panels I was on were not bad, but I think I'm done with the resurgence of the non-theme original anthology panel now. Attempting to stay on track --discussing "original non-theme anthologies" just doesn't seem very productive. Either someone insists on taking up more than half the panel on the history of that kind of anthology, or someone starts talking about reprint anthologies, or it moves back into theme anthologies or a marketing panel. Which was never my intention. Oh well. Presumably some sf/f historian will analyse why there has been a resurgence in the past 3 or so years.

The pre-Hugo party was in a sad-looking set of rooms but the snacks were tasty and the post Hugo party was sumptuous. The food was fantastic!

I was tired the entire convention and never stayed up past 1:30 or so --Pat Cadigan and I were sharing a room at the Courtyard Marriott downtown which was just off the 16th street mall's free tram, which helped hike to the convention center but in heels we often took cabs. Even if we'd stayed at the Hyatt next to the center, while there was a nice bar in that lobby where everyone seemed to hang out--the party hotel was several blocks away at the Sheraton. And for two evenings in a row there were monsoon rains. I'm glad that I saw those people I did see but there are tons more that I saw only the last night or not at all. Thank god for cell phones--I'm glad I set up most of my meals in advance.

Karen Haber and I spent a couple of hours antiquing on stretch along Broadway. At the last minute Greg and Astrid Bear joined us, but only after we threatened Greg with death if he interfered or whined about our shopping...He was very good -in fact, I was impressed with his shopping skills ;-) Karen scored some interesting items and so did I --I found two Japanese wood block prints of unknown date. They were from an estate with a large number of prints--some by recognizable names and most with no prices on them. The material had been bought by a dealer and hadn't been appraised yet. I was impressed by a series of prints, many of which were of workers...and obviously all by the same artist. One of the two I was interested in had a tag of $40 on it, which I thought very odd. Astrid and Greg liked a more modern one by another artist and that had no tag on it. We brought them downstairs and the women who ran the mall said they'd just come in, the owner hadn't priced them but she was coming over soon...would we wait? We finished browsing and the woman had arrived. She looked at the prints we wanted and told the Bears that she couldn't sell that one yet. She further said that whatever prices were on the prints were the original prices from 37 years before (long story of where they came from). So I'm figuring, oh great 1) I can't buy them and 2) even if I could they're probably at least double if not triple what's marked which would mean 3) I couldn't buy them ;-)...But... she said I could have them for $40 each. So of course I bought them. Perhaps Greg and Astrid will get the one they wanted....Now to figure out where to hang them once they're framed.

But finding out just before I left for Denver about the WFA nominations helped assuage the pain ;-)

I've been asked to answer questions at the Virtual Conflux site (the physical Conflux is taking place in Canberra, Australia). I attended in person a few years ago and it was a marvelous convention. I'm delighted to attend virtually this year. Anyone can sign up to participate here at the Conflux forum .

I will be responding to questions awaiting me Saturday morning and will continue to answer them periodically as long as they're asked.

Oz is about 12 hours ahead of the east coast of the US for anyone interested.

Here's the entire schedule (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Saturday August 2

12 noon – Glenda Larke
1pm – Chris Barnes
2pm – Gillian Polack
3pm – Bruce Gillespie
4pm – Cat Sparks
5pm – Stephen Hunt
6pm – Peter Strong
7pm – Karen Miller
8pm – Fiona McLennan
9pm – Maxine McArthur
10pm – Sharyn Lilley
11pm – Karen Herkes
12 midnight – Ellen Datlow

Sunday August 3rd

1am to 6am – break
7am – Sherwood Smith
8am – Nicole R Murphy
9am – Jonathan Strahan
10am – Kaaron Warren
11am – Sean Williams
12pm – Kevin J Anderson
1pm – Phil Berrie
2pm – Jackie French
3pm – Jack Dann
4pm – Simon Haynes
5pm – Marianne de Pierres

I had a very good time and will definitely attend again-although not next year as I'm toastmaster at Conquest the same weekend.

I seem to have missed the virus that spread around the con like wildfire but I guess I could still come down with it. Keeping fingers crossed.

The flight back started so-so --with a 25 minute delay. I knew that Madison skies were windy but not too windy, and that NYC was having thunderstorms. Well, after 2 hours of flying it turned out that NYC had closed its airports and so we circled high up and far away for awhile....and awhile...and longer. Finally, it was announced that we were running out of fuel, ground control didn't know when the airports around NYC would reopen (supposedly even the trains were stopped) and so we were diverted to Hartford, Ct to refuel and wait. It was about 7pm by then (we were supposed to have gotten in around 5:30.) I had lots of cheese curds and a very good bread I'd picked up at the market Saturday so at least had food to keep me from getting overly grumpy.

We were allowed into the small Hartford terminal to wait but there was NOTHING open --not even drink machines. Everyone from the plane (crew and passengers) were remarkably congenial and calm about the whole thing. So we waited there about 45 minutes waiting to hear the news about whether the airports were reopened.

They were, we reboarded, sat on the plane for about half an hour and then came an announcement...the crew told us that they were informed that they were legally not allowed to fly any longer--they'd all hit their limit (well, it was 8 ours from our original departure, who knows how long they were working before that). They wanted to go to NYC as much as we did and it was only 25 minutes away but no-go.....so we disembarked again and this time were told that the airline would give us vouchers for taxis to LaGuardia.

The passengers started getting together into groups of three whose destination were nearby so we could have the cabs take us to the city rather than the airport where we'd just have to cab in into the city. So....we got vouchers (of $295 --if you want to know the cost of a cab from Hartford to Manhattan) and I found two other women going into Manhattan-and downtown. So we piled into the cab at around 10:45 pm and got to Manhattan about 12:45 or so , with a stop at a gas station enroute so we could use the bathroom and get some food.

Boy was it good to be home after that.

I usually travel to London annually in the winter when the fares are down, staying with my second family (the Clutes) in Camden Town and visiting with them, La Cadigan, Paul McAuley, Rob Holdstock Kim Newman, and hordes of other Londoners and those in other counties/countries passing through (like Lisa Tuttle from Scotland and/or Caroline Oakley from Wales and/or Maura McHugh from Ireland).

Well, after returning from Japan I was thinking that I just couldn't afford it this January/February...but then I got an email from American Airlines telling me to "use my miles'! And I discovered that I had plenty of miles to get me to London....so London here I come! I'll be going February 4-16th. I'll even make a tiny bit of moolah by talking to some students--an in informal, interview-type situation.

I've come to realize that I could probably make some decent money if I wasn't terrified of public speaking (you didn't know that about me, did you?). Sure, I can participate in panel discussions and writing workshops and I have no problem at all being interviewed. But to stand up in front of an audience/class and give a talk or a speech...um--no way no how. (I still have nightmares about forgetting lines. ) Oh well. I may just rationalizing my fear, but I think it's a good thing to accept what you do well and what you don't.

Nearer future, I'm going to be at Capclave in October (already mentioned), Saratoga Springs for WFC in early November, Florida for a few days mid-November, for my parents' 60 anniversary party, Maine for a week in December visiting Liz Hand. So traveling a lot, which I do enjoy.