not so much said the cat

November 18, 2023

Happy birthday to the incredible Michael Swanwick

Rick Klaw birthday, blog birthday, cigar-box faust and other minatures, gravity's angels, michael swanwick, michael swanwick's field guide to the mesozoic megafauna, not so much said the cat, tales of old earth, the dog said bow, the postmodern archipelago

One of the most acclaimed science fiction and fantasy short story writers of his generation, Michael Swanwick won an extraordinary five Hugo Awards in six years (1999-2000 and 2002-2004). His stories also garnered World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, Asimov’s Readers’ Awards, Locus, and SF Chronicle awards. Swanwick‘s acclaimed novels include In The Drift (1985), Vacuum Flowers (1987), Jack Faust (1997), Bones of the Earth (2002), The Dragons of Babel (2008), Dancing with Bears (2011), Chasing the Phoenix (2015), The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019), and City Under the Stars (2020 with Gardner Dozois). Swanwick’s Stations Of The Tide (1991) won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel.

The many collections of Swanwick’s numerous acclaimed short tales include GRAVITY’S ANGELS (1991), TALES OF OLD EARTH (2000), CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINATURES (2003), MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA (2004), THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW (2007), The Best of Michael Swanwick (2008), Solstice Fire (2013), Season’s Greetings (2014), NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT (2016), The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus (2020), and The Best of Michael Swanwick: Volume Two (2023). Omni, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum number among the many venues with Swanwick’s short fiction. He contributed to the serialized The Witch Who Came in from the Cold (2017).

A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Science Fiction, he previously published the controversial essays on the state of the science fiction and fantasy fields: “The User’s Guide to the Postmoderns” (1986) and “In the Tradition…” (1994). Both essays were collected in THE POSTMODERN ARCHIPELAGO (1997). Other non-fiction includes Being Gardner Dozois: An Interview by Michael Swanwick (2001), What Can Be Saved from the Wreckage?: James Branch Cabell in the Twenty-First Century (2007), Hope-in-the-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees (2009), October Leaves (2010), Hunting the Phoenix (2015), Being Gardner Dozois (2018 with Gardner Dozois) and ‘She Saved Us From World War Three’: Gardner Dozois Remembers James Tiptree, Jr. (2020).

All of us at Tachyon wish the extraordinary and amazing Micheal a spectacular birthday.

February 14, 2023

Tachyon well represented at Boskone 60

Rick Klaw blog, Events adam stemple, boskone, boston, burn, falling in love with hominids, James Patrick Kelly, Jane Yolen, michael swanwick, nalo hopkinson, Naseem Jamnia, not so much said the cat, the bruising of qilwa, the last tsar's dragons, the scarlet circus

Guest of Honor Nalo Hopkinson, Naseem Jamnia [Virtual], James Patrick Kelly, Adam Stemple, Michael Swanwick, and Jane Yolen will all be attending Boskone 60, February 17-19 in Boston, MA.

Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story

Cover for THE BRUISING OF QILWA by Naseem Jamnia — Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story

Brought to you by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA), Boskone is an annual science fiction convention, the oldest in New England. NESFA is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation and both NESFA and Boskone are run and put on entirely by fan volunteers.
What isBoskone?

Cover art by Anabelle Gerardy
Design by Elizabeth Story

Boskone offers a massive selection of readings and panels. To find any of these authors, check out the entire schedule.

November 18, 2022

Happy birthday to the incredible Michael Swanwick

One of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation, Michael Swanwick won an extraordinary five Hugo Awards in six years (1999-2000 and 2002-2004). His stories also garnered World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, Asimov’s Readers’ Awards, Locus, and SF Chronicle awards. Swanwick‘s acclaimed novels include In The Drift (1985), Vacuum Flowers (1987), Jack Faust (1997), Bones of the Earth (2002), The Dragons of Babel (2008), Dancing with Bears (2011), Chasing the Phoenix (2015), The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019), and City Under the Stars (2020 with Gardner Dozois). Swanwick’s Stations Of The Tide (1991) won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel.

The many collections of Swanwick’s numerous acclaimed short tales include GRAVITY’S ANGELS (1991), TALES OF OLD EARTH (2000), CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINATURES (2003), MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA (2004), THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW (2007), The Best of Michael Swanwick (2008), Solstice Fire (2013), Season’s Greetings (2014), NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT (2016), The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus (2020). Omni, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum number among the many venues with Swanwick’s short fiction.

All of us at Tachyon wish the extraordinary and amazing Micheal a spectacular birthday.

November 18, 2021

Happy birthday to the incredible Michael Swanwick

Rick Klaw birthday, blog cigar-box faust and other minatures, gravity's angels, michael swanwick, michael swanwick's field guide to the mesozoic megafauna, not so much said the cat, tales of old earth, the dog said bow-wow, the postmodern archipelago

One of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation, Michael Sw a nwick won an extraordinary five Hugo Awards in six years (1999-2000 and 2002-2004). His stories also garnered World. Swanwick‘s other acclaimed novels include In The Drift (1985), Vacuum Flowers (1987), Jack Faust (1997), Bones of the Earth (2002), The Dragons of Babel (2008), Dancing with Bears (2011), Chasing the Phoenix (2015), The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019), and City Under the Stars (2020 with Gardner Dozois). Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, Asimov’s Readers’ Awards, Locus, and SF Chronicle awards. Swanwick’s Stations Of The Tide (1991) won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel.

The many collections of Swanwick’s numerous acclaimed short tales include GRAVITY’S ANGELS (1991), TALES OF OLD EARTH (2000), CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINATURES (2003), MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA (2004), THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW (2007), The Best of Michael Swanwick (2008), Solstice Fire (2013), Season’s Greetings (2014), NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT (2016), The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus (2020). Omni, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum number among the many venues with Swanwick’s short fiction.

A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Science Fiction, he previously published the controversial essays on the state of the science fiction and fantasy fields: “The User’s Guide to the Postmoderns” (1986) and “In the Tradition…” (1994). Both essays were collected in THE POSTMODERN ARCHIPELAGO (1997). Swanwick contributed to the serialized The Witch Who Came in from the Cold (2017).

All of us at Tachyon wish the extraordinary and amazing Micheal a spectacular birthday.

September 23, 2021

Join Peter S. Beagle and Michael Swanwick at Capclave 2021

Rick Klaw blog, Events capclave, cigar-box faust, in calabria, michael swanwick, not so much said the cat, peter s beagle, summerlong, the dog said bow-wow, the overneath

Tachyon authors Peter S. Beagle and Michael Swanwick are attending Capclave 2021 in Rockville, Maryland, October 1-3.

Sponsored by the Washington Science Fiction Association, Capclave is a small relaxed literary convention with a program that usually focuses on the short fiction form. Guests of Honor and other notable authors, editors, artists, and fans of the short fiction form will explore the creation and enjoyment of short fantasy and science fiction genre stories.

Both Beagle and Swanwick will be participating in many of Capclave’s large selection of readings, signings, and panels.

Friday Oct 1

7PM

I’ve Done My Research & You’re Going to Like It

Participants: Mark Huston, Alan Smale (M), Michael Swanwick, Darcy Wold
Writers will often do extensive (and possibly even excessive) background research in the service of worldbuilding, character development and setting description. How much of this research is safe to include in the final story? How do you avoid pulling the readers down the rabbit hole of unneeded detail? What can you do to make the results of your research intriguing and entertaining, rather than boring?

Saturday Oct 2

11AM

Non-Traditional Protagonists

Participants: Peter S. Beagle, Mary Fan, Aliza Greenblatt, J. S. Kelley, Jennifer Povey (M)
The typical protagonist is an unmarried young white male (or more recently female). But what about protagonists who don’t fit this mold. What about older characters, non-white characters, and characters with disabilities or handicaps? How does changing the protagonist change the story? And are there stories that require such a character to be told?

1PM

Yesterday’s Tomorrows and Today’s Futures

Participants: Eric Flint, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Sarah Pinsker, Michael Swanwick, David Walton (M), Ted Weber
Writers of SF’s golden age considered the year 2021 to be the distant future. How does our present compare with what they envisioned? What did they get right and wrong? Why did they imagine this future world as they did? What did they never imagine changing and what unconscious assumptions proved to be completely incorrect? How are today’s writers making similar mistakes with the unconscious assumptions about today’s world? What futures might emerge from our own day?

2PM

All Writing is Political

Participants: Natalie Luhrs, Michael Swanwick, Caias Ward, Joy Ward, A.C. Wise (M)
Some critics say SF, Fantasy, and Comics have become too political. Has there been a change in the political content from the days of Brave New World, 1984, and Starship Troopers? Should entertainment be free from politics? Is it even possible? When something claims to be apolitical, what is it actually supporting? How can we be more conscious of the political implications of our own work?

3PM

Guest of Honor Interview — Peter S. Beagle

Ghost Stories

Participants: Tom Doyle, Dina Leacock, Darrell Schweitzer (M), Michael Swanwick, A.C. Wise
Humans have been telling ghost stories since the first campfire. Peter S. Beagle has ghosts in ‘A Fine and Private Place’ and ‘Tamsin’. What is so attractive about ghosts? How are ghosts used in fiction – both in scary stories and non-horror fantasies? Are ghosts more important in cultures with religions focused on the afterlife? What are some of the best ghost stories in fiction? Do you believe in ghosts and if so why?

4PM

Author Reading — Michael Swanwick

Sunday Oct 3

11AM

A Century of Robots

John Ashmead (M), Jennifer Povey, Michael Swanwick, Joy Ward
The play RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots) premiered in January 1921. This play was the first to use the word robot for a scientifically created mechanical worker. Why has the concept of robots been so popular? How have robots evolved in fiction?

Convincing Fantasies

Participants: Scott H. Andrews, Peter S. Beagle, Leah Cypess, Karlo Yeager Rodriguez, Jean Marie Ward (M)
Some fantasies ring true while others just lie flat. What makes some fantasies work and others not? Is it the background? The magic system? The political or economic structure? Or the writing? What can writers do to make their worlds more convincing?

February 2, 2021

Tachyon well represented at Boskone 58

Rick Klaw blog, Events adam stemple, alastair reynolds, boskone, Carrie Vaughn, content: selected essays on technology creativity copyright and the future of technology and the future of the future, cory doctorow, driftwood, Ellen Datlow, James Patrick Kelly, Jane Yolen, julie dillon, kitty's mix tape, marie brennan, michael swanwick, nesfa, nightmares: a new decade of modern horror, not so much said the cat, slow bullets, the last tsar's dragons, the very best of kate elliott

Marie Brennan, Ellen Datlow, Julie Dillon, Cory Doctorow, James Patrick Kelly, Alastair Reynolds, Adam Stemple, Michael Swanwick, Carrie Vaughn, and Jane Yolen will all be attending the virtual online convention Boskone 58, February 12-14.

Brought to you by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA), Boskone is an annual science fiction convention, the oldest in New England. NESFA is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation and both NESFA and Boskone are run and put on entirely by fan volunteers.
What is Boskone?

Guest of Honor: Joe Abercrombie
Official Artist: Julie Dillon
Special Guest: Sheree Renée Thomas
Musical Guest: Marc Gunn
NESFA Press Guest: Ursula Vernon
Hal Clement Science Speaker: Mike Brotherton
Hal Clement Science Speaker: Christian Ready

Boskone offers a massive selection of readings and panels. To find any of these authors, check out the entire schedule.

November 18, 2020

Happy birthday to the incredible Michael Swanwick

One of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story writers of his generation, Michael Sw a nwick won an extraordinary five Hugo Awards in six years (1999-2000 and 2002-2004). His stories also garnered World. Swanwick‘s other acclaimed novels include In The Drift (1985), Vacuum Flowers (1987), Jack Faust (1997), Bones of the Earth (2002), The Dragons of Babel (2008), Dancing with Bears (2011), Chasing the Phoenix (2015), The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019), and City Under the Stars (2020 with Gardner Dozois). Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, Asimov’s Readers’ Awards, Locus, and SF Chronicle awards. Swanwick’s Stations Of The Tide (1991) won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel.

The many collections of Swanwick’s numerous acclaimed short tales include GRAVITY’S ANGELS (1991), TALES OF OLD EARTH (2000), CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINATURES (2003), MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA (2004), THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW (2007), The Best of Michael Swanwick (2008), Solstice Fire (2013), Season’s Greetings (2014), NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT (2016), The Postutopian Adventures of Darger and Surplus (2020). Omni, Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction, New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum number among the many venues with Swanwick’s short fiction.

All of us at Tachyon wish the extraordinary and amazing Micheal a spectacular birthday.

June 30, 2020

Celebrate Tachyon’s 25th anniversary with the incredible Michael Swanwick

Rick Klaw blog 25th anniversary, cigar-box faust and other minatures, gravity's angels, michael swanwick, michael swanwick's field guide to the mesozoic megafauna, not so much said the cat, tales of old earth, the dog said bow-wow, the postmodern archipelago 0

“Twenty-five years! Can it possibly be that long? I was involved with Tachyon Publications from its earliest years. Back then, the staff consisted of Jacob Weisman, his dog, and (I think) only one employee.

Jacob published my work in chapbook format. I wrote introductions to his more substantial books. Somewhere along the line, he started publishing my short story collections. Now, every so many years, he calls me up and asks, “Don’t you have enough short fiction for another book?” I pull up the files and count and, if the numbers come up short, write new material to cover the gap.

Somewhere along the line, our relationship became so close that I was invited to Jacob and Rina’s wedding. I saw them pledge their troth to each other with a modified version of the Green Lantern oath.

All that matters a great deal to me. Less so to you. To you, what matters is that all the while Tachyon has been carefully selecting books to publish, that all those books were worth publishing and most worth cherishing, that they’ve never stooped to putting out the merely popular over the worthwhile, that a quarter of a century after they began they’re still saving the world one book at a time.”
— Michael Swanwick

January 3, 2020

Experience a conversation between the sensational Michael Swanwick and the legendary Samuel R. Delany

Rick Klaw blog, Events american science fiction: eight classics novels of the 1960s, Ann Monn, conversatin with the rosenbach, elizabeth story, michael swanwick, not so much said the cat, philadelphia, samuel r delany, the dog said bow-wow, the rosenbach 0

Samuel R. Delany (photo: Tom Kneller) and Michael Swanwick (Mike Van Helland)

In conjunction with the new Library of America publication of American Science Fiction: Eight Classic Novels of the 1960s, five-time Hugo Award-winner Michael Swanwick and science fiction Grandmaster Samuel R. Delany participate in a Conversation With The Rosenbach on Thursday, January 9, 6PM at The Rosenbach, 2008-2010 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA.

A series of informal, intimate talks given by literary and cultural luminaries, In Conversation With The Rosenbach delves into fascinating histories, intellectual curiosities, and inspiring ideas. Each program offers audience members a chance to join the conversation after the talk and share their own thoughts and questions.

Seating is limited; advance registration is strongly recommended.

Sponsored by Pamela and Peter Freyd

Conversation With The Rosenbach
Thursday, January 9, 6PM
The Rosenbach
2008-2010 Delancey Place
Philadelphia, PA.

November 18, 2019

Happy birthday to the incredible Michael Swanwick

Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized birthday, elizabeth story, freddie baer, gravity's angels, michael dashow, michael swanwick, michael swanwick's field guide to the mesozoic megafauna, not so much said the cat, stephanie law, tales of old earth, the dog said bow-wow, the postmodern archipelago

Photo: Beth Gwynn

One of the most acclaimed science-fiction and fantasy short-story
writers of his generation, Michael Swanwick won an extraordinary five
Hugo Awards in six years (1999-2000 and 2002-2004). His stories also
garnered World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, Asimov’s Readers’
Awards, Locus, and SF Chronicle awards. Swanwick’s Stations Of
The Tide (1991) won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel.

His other acclaimed novels
include In The Drift (1985), Vacuum Flowers (1987),
Jack Faust (1997), Bones of the
Earth (2002), The Dragons of Babel (2008), Dancing with Bears (2011), Chasing the Phoenix (2015), and The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019). The many collections of Swanwick’s numerous
acclaimed short tales include GRAVITY’S ANGELS (1991), TALES OF OLD EARTH (2000), CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINATURES (2003), MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA (2004), THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW(2007), The Best of Michael Swanwick
(2008), Solstice Fire (2013), Season’s Greetings
(2014), and NOT SO MUCH SAID THE CAT (2016).

Omni,
Penthouse, Amazing, Asimov’s Science Fiction,
New Dimensions, and Full Spectrum number among the many
venues with Swanwick’s short fiction. A frequent contributor to the
New York Review of Science Fiction, he
previously published the controversial essays on the state of the
science fiction and fantasy fields: The User’s Guide to the
Postmoderns (1986) and “In the Tradition…” (1994). Both essays
were collected in THE POSTMODERN ARCHIPELAGO (1997). Swanwick
contributed to the serialized The Witch Who Came in
from the Cold
(2017).

All of us at Tachyon
wish the extraordinary and amazing Micheal a spectacular birthday.

For more information on NOT SO MUCH, SAID THE CAT, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info on GRAVITY’S ANGELS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Michael Dashow

For more info on TALES OF OLD EARTH, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Michael Dashow

For more info on CIGAR-BOX FAUST AND OTHER MINIATURES, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Freddie Baer

For more info on MICHAEL SWANWICK’S FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

For more info on THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Ann Monn

For more info on THE POSTMODERN ARCHIPELAGO, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Michael Dashow

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