12/21/06 THU:
---Here today from Earthling:

Braunbeck, Gary A. HOME BEFORE DARK: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories, Volume 2, Earthling, 9/05, 1st edn, one of 515 SIGNED copies, new in dj 45.00

Hirshberg, Glen AMERICAN MORONS: Stories, Earthling, 10/06, 1st edn, (dazzling and haunting tales of the uncanny; horror as it should be writ), new indj 24.00

Knight, Brian KING OF SOULS, Earthling, 3/06, 1st edn, one of 300 SIGNED copies, (chilling story; dark and foreboding and extremely well done; Tim Waggoner intro; 55 pages), new 14.00

Simmons, Dan SONG OF KALI: 20th Anniversary Edition, Earthling, 11/05, one of 415 SIGNED copies, BOXED, (adds new introduction by author), new in dj 75.00

Strand, Jeff PRESSURE, Earthling, 8/06, 1st edn, (thriller; well-written coming-of-age tale; you do not want to miss this book under any circumstances; foreword by Michael Prescott), new in dj $25

Tomblin, Erik RIVERSIDE BLUES, Earthling, 8/05, 1st edn, one of 315 SIGNED copies, (an original novella of dark fiction; James Newman intro; 112 pages), new 14.00

Williams, Conrad THE UNBLEMISHED, Earthling, Halloween/06, 1st edn, one of 515 SIGNED copies, (an apocalyptic nightmare narrated with great vigour, clarity and stylishness; steel yourself for some higeous sadism; VanderMeer intro; afterword by author), new in dj 45.00

---Back in stock:

Braunbeck, Gary A. GRAVEYARD PEOPLE: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories, Volume 1, Earthling, 6/03, one of 776 SIGNED copies, new in dj 40.00

12/20/06 WED:
---Better get blogmail sent out. I think I will delete some material, such as publisher’s emails announcing books I don’t have yet. To see this stuff and maybe other things, blogmail recipients might try visiting the blog itself. There are links there too. Recently the blog got a bit of a facelift, when it was migrated over to a new version of Blogger. I think it now looks better and has better functionality, although I still strive for the austere look. The search feature seemed to work when I tried it, and having the archives reconfigured and at the bottom of the page I think is much better.

12/18/06 MON:
---Back in stock from Arkham House:

Cannon, Peter (ed) LOVECRAFT REMEMBERED, Arkham House '98, 1st edn, (all the major shorter memoirs, together with some rare contemporary glimpses from the amateru press before the master fantasist made his mark in Weird Tales, including early criticism; an invaluable trove of first-hand information on literary hero), new in dj 32.95

Joshi, S.T. (compiler) SIXTY YEARS OF ARKHAM HOUSE: A History and Bibliography, Arkham House '99, (essential reference tool; exhaustive updating of 30 Years of Arkham House), new in dj 25.95

Lovecraft, H.P. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, Arkham House, corrected 9th, (second in three-volume set of definitive Lovecraft; James Turner intro), new in dj 27.95
---DAGON and Other Macabre Tales, Arkham House, corrected 9th printing, (third in three-volume set of definitive Lovecraft; supercedes all previous edtitions; S.T. Joshi [ed]; T.E.D. Klein intro), new in dj 27.95
---THE DUNWICH HORROR and Others, Arkham House, corrected 11th printing, (first in three-volume set of definitive Lovecraft; authoritative texts; S.T. Joshi [ed]; Bloch intro), new in dj 27.95
---THE HORROR IN THE MUSEUM and Other Revisions, Arkham House, Corrected Fifth Printing, (supplementary collection to the three-volume critical edition; includes all known revisions and collaborations undertaken by Lovecraft on behalf of his friends and clients; S.T. Joshi [ed]), new in dj 27.95
---MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS, Arkham House ('95), 1st edn, (literary criticism, philosophical speculation, political jeremiads and inimitably eccentric travelogues, etc.), new in dj 34.95

Ruber, Peter (ed) ARKHAM'S MASTERS OF HORROR: A 60th Anniversary Anthology Retrospective of the First 30 Years of Arkham House, Arkham House '00, 1st edn, (with historical notes; required reading for every collector of horror fiction), new in dj 32.95

12/16/06 SAT:
---Here today from PS Publishing:

Heidel, R. Andrew DESPERATE MOON: Three Collections, PS, 9/06, 1st edn, one of 700 total SIGNED copies, (collection of prose and poetry that defies categorization; includes Beyond the Wall of Sleep, previously published as a chapbook in 1998; Harlan Ellison introduction), new in dj 45.00

MacLeod, Ian R. PAST MAGIC, PS, 10/06, 1st edn, one of 700 total SIGNED copies, (author’s third story collection, his strongest yet; Jack Dann introduction), new in dj 45.00

---There are 200-copy deluxe slipcased editions of the above. If you want me to try to get you these, let me know.

---And from Stark House:

Rabe, Peter MY LOVELY EXECUTIONER / AGREEMENT TO KILL, Stark House Noir Classics, 11/06, 1st thus, (Two Complete Thrillers; reprints Fawcett Gold Medal paperback originals from 1957 & 1960; adds A Personal Recollection by Max Gartenberg, Noir and Gestalt: The Life of Peter Rabe by George Tuttle [1990], and Peter Rabe by Donald E. Westlake [1999]; ISBN: 1933586117), new 19.95

12/15/06 FRI:
---Word from PS Publishing:

Hi everyone!

One week to Christmas and things are not slowing down.

Nicky and I were in London last week at the British Fantasy Society's annual pre-Christmas drinks gig – we had a wonderful time, not least because Steve Jones presented me with our International Horror Guild Award, which POSTSCRIPTS received for Best Periodical. Fantastic! Thanks to Steve for picking up the Award on our behalf.

Now, on to business. Just in are: Ian MacLeod's PAST MAGIC, Chris Roberson's THE VOYAGE OF NIGHT SHINING WHITE, Robert Reed's FLAVORS OF MY GENIUS and Robert Charles Wilson's JULIAN. Expected today (Friday 15 December) is the paperback edition of POSTSCRIPTS #9 and Steven Utley's WHERE OR WHEN, while, next Wednesday, the paperback edition of Liz Hand's ILLYRIA (this year's Christmas special - free to all subscribers of POSTSCRIPTS!) should be landing. Alas, because of postal delays with the signing sheets, the hardcovers of ILLYRIA and POSTSCRIPTS will not be available until the first week in January – sorry about any disappointment.

Also coming in January – but near the end of the month and possibly even into February – are THE MERMAIDS by Robert Edric, PROMISED LAND by Jack Dann, TWELVE COLLECTIONS & THE TEASHOP by Zoran Živković, THE SCALDING ROOMS by Conrad Williams and HEREAFTER, AND AFTER by Richard Parks.

We're well on the way in putting together POSTSCRIPTS #10, too. This will be a big bumper issue -- around 120,000 words instead of the usual 60,000, with eight pieces from Mike Marshall Smith (around 30,000 words) and stories from Ramsey Campbell, Rick Hautala, Nancy Kilpatrick, Tim Lebbon, Lucius Shepard, Tom Tessier, Steven Erikson, Connie Willis and several more.

This issue will have a higher price-tag than usual - £12/$20 for the unsigned trade hardcover copy and the usual £25/$50 for the signed one (not unreasonably, I reckon) - but it'll be sent to existing subscribers for the usual price (ie. £6/$10 for the unsigned and £25/$50 for the signed). We're also planning a 100-copy slipcased hardcover edition to be signed additionally by all the artists involved – that's John Picacio, Jim Hannah, Dave Kendall, Randy Broecker and Wayne Blackhurst.

I can also now formally announce THE LEES OF LAUGHTER'S END, the third in Steve Erikson's 'Korbal Broach and Bauchelain' novella series. The book will be introduced by James Barclay and will be available in three states: an unsigned trade hardcover (1,000 copies @ £12/$20); a signed dust-jacketed hardcover (500 copies @ £25/$45); and a signed and slipcased dust-jacketed hardcover additionally featuring BLOOD FOLLOWS and THE HEALTHY DEAD (100 copies @ £75/$135). This title will go very quickly indeed – in ALL states! -- so make sure of your copy by pre-ordering immediately.

The new novella takes place immediately following the events of BLOOD FOLLOWS so the slipcased edition's running order will be BLOOD then LAUGHTER then HEALTHY. The books will be available at the World Horror Convention in Toronto.

Nick Gevers and I have been sorting through the POSTSCRIPTS inventory (around 290,000 words not counting the big World Horror issue) and allocating stories to issues. Thus we've pretty much finalised the line-ups for the summer and autumn 2007 issues. We've also placed stories against the winter 2007 and spring 2008 issues (we're aiming to do another bumper issue to tie in with that year's WorldCon, summer 2008 and, the following year, yet another one to tie in with World Fantasy Convention 2009 – keep checking the website for more details as and when).

And finally, one small piece of last-minute news: just yesterday we head back from Ian MacLeod's agent that we're going to be publishing Ian's new novel, THE SONG OF TIME – it'll be scheduled for summer 2008. Yay!

And that's about it. All that's left is to wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas holiday period and a fantastic new year. May every one of you get every single thing you feel you deserve... and then some! From all of us here at PS, many thanks for your continuing and hugely valued support – you're the best in the world!

Look after each other... and happy reading!

Pete

---It’s hard to keep track of what all I have pre-ordered from PS Publishing and what I need to actually order that I haven’t already. I have ordered what people pre- and special-ordered from me, but for other titles, if you want them from me better let me know.

---Couldn’t even find ads or listings in the NY Times for the new movie The Prestige. I did see Michael Caine on Tavis Smiley touting the flick--and it sure sounds good. What I wanted to find out was if it was based on the Christopher Priest novel as I suspected. Indeed it is. If I’d read the book, as I have wanted to, I would have already known.
---Later: finally saw a listing in the Des Moines Register's Datebook. The movie is showing at "Billy Joe's Pitcher Show", the local last-run place. Sir Michael was probably pushing the DVD release. Preview I saw was probably on a DVD from Netflix--not necessarily a new release. Somehow I missed the buzz for this movie when it first came out.

12/14/06 THU:
---Spent today (part of it) re-doing Grasshoppers & Wild Honey: Chapters 1 & 2 to the same size as the other Lafferty booklets I have produced. The old format (half letter size) would have required me to make a trip to my old printer for stapling and trimming. Since he is never open on Saturdays and I am without an automobile during the week, I was seeking an alternative. I am pleased with how it turned out. It brought back old times: making a little dummy booklet, finding a glue stick, trying to keep from laying pages upside down, standing at the copier (drowned out by Sonic Youth--now as then), cutting open pages with my trusty letter opener, etc. In fact, I am almost psyched enough to want to get going again with further booklets in the series. I realize that part of what brought me up short back then may have been the change in format size. I really like the smaller booklets, shoddy as they may be (according to Gardner Dozois). They fit in the hand and open nicely, lending themselves to actual reading, rather than fear of damaging an investment. And finding well-wrought writing in such a DIY setting I found to be quite appealing.
---Maybe I went to the larger size because about that time text for me was getting blurry and small print was getting hard to read. I thought it was because of staring at the computer screen, because after sessions at the monitor was when the blurriness seemed (temporarily) to occur. At bit later, of course, a pair of reading glasses brought pages back into focus and I could read again. How wonderful that was! But meanwhile I had moved on from publishing booklets. With bookselling and everything else, I didn’t feel I could produce product that passed muster and give authors the promotion they (felt they or should feel they) deserved. Before, it was just like a cheapo stunt I did to get a little free advertising when I could get my publications mentioned or reviewed someplace. When I started being taken somewhat for legit I felt like I had to either actually be legit or move on. I moved.
---Now I kind of feel like doing a bit of it again. Still not quite legit, though. Mine was the original print-on-demand technology. My saddle stapler still works, having survived a couple eight-foot drops to the floor. The copier I have seems to be able to handle two-sided legal size paper--at least when humidity levels are low. But I’m not even sure I still have the rights to keep publishing the In a Green Tree novels. I need to try to find out about that. Until then, maybe I can fit a few text inputting sessions into my schedule.
---Now that I've reduced the size of the G&WH 1&2 booklet, price is dropped to $3.50 from $4.50.

12/13/06 WED:
---Here today from Arkham House:

Smith, James Robert & Stephen Mark Rainey (eds) EVERMORE: An Anthology, Arkham House '06, 1st edn, (Poe and his legacy comes to life in new and unprecedented ways), new in dj 34.95

12/11/06 MON:
---Word from Aio:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Zoran Zivkovic's 'Seven Touches of Music' Wins Design Award
Aio Publishing Takes Top Design Honors for its Second Consecutive Year

Charleston, SC – Aio Publishing Company’s book design for its hardcover edition of World Fantasy Award-winning Zoran Zivkovic’s mosaic novel Seven Touches of Music took top honors in its category at the 55th Annual Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show on November 9th.

The design won the Award of Excellence in the General Trade Category. The Book and Media Show honors excellence in the planning, supervision, and execution of the physical and visual aspects of publishing in all genres across fourteen U.S. states. The General Trade Category heads the list of thirteen award categories.

Prior to winning the award, the author and publisher both won kudos from reviewers and readers. “The finished version of Seven Touches of Music is a masterpiece of understated style and elegance... the whole product oozes quality," wrote reviewer and founder Cheryl Morgan of Emerald City in a review of the novel. "This book, Aio is saying, is not just a collection of stories; it is a work of art." Editor Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column wrote, “Aio has managed to create a package every bit as striking as the writer's work, no small feat when it comes to a writer as distinguished and talented as Zivkovic."

Book printer McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., which prints more than 6,000 titles per year and manufactured Seven Touches of Music as well as Aio author Ian R. MacLeod's novel The Summer Isles, which took top honors in the general trade category at the 2005 Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show, nominated the book for the award. The book retails for $23.95.

The design was produced in-house by Aio publisher Tiffany Jonas and art director Patrick Jonas. It was the company’s second book design. Incorporating a supple European-styled, premium-grade Skivertex cover in a deep charcoal color custom-mixed for this book, foil embossing in black and green, and ridged black end sheets as well as black-edged interior paper, like other books at the publishing house the novel was produced using animal-friendly materials and recycled, acid-neutral paper.

“Cheryl Morgan has it exactly right—at Aio we strive to present fine works of speculative fiction to readers in designs befitting the high quality of the stories themselves," said Tiffany Jonas. "We're enormously gratified to think we may have succeeded with Zoran's novel. It was very a tall order indeed to develop a design that would do justice to his very innovative work."

"Zoran has been called one of the world's greatest living fantastists," agreed Patrick Jonas. "He's often compared with the masters of not only speculative fiction but literary fiction and fiction as a whole: Stanislew Lem, Italo Calvino, Franz Kafka. To be considered to have framed his work in a design worthy of it is a tremendous compliment."

Seven Touches of Music is the first in a three-book series bringing Zoran's work to a wider readership in the United States and Canada, where his books have not previously been widely available. Mosaic novels Impossible Encounters and Steps Through the Mist will round out this particular selection. The design of the two books will be similar to that of Seven Touches of Music to allow a closely matched set for Zivkovic collectors and readers.
__________________________________________________________________________________

About The Chicago Book Clinic The Chicago Book Clinic was founded in 1936 to encourage excellence in publishing by providing a platform for educational, social and professional interaction of its members. Its members are professionals in book and media publishing, printing, editorial, design, and all business aspects of the publishing industry. For more information, see www.chicagobookclinic.org or call (773) 561-4150.

About Aio Publishing Co., LLC Aio Publishing Company was founded in January 2004 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dedicated to broadening speculative fiction bookshelves by adding works of a literary and sociological strain, the company seeks to publish complex, satisfying fiction in a high-quality format encompassing visually striking covers, quality paper, graceful typesetting, and innovative design. Its flagship novel, a limited edition of World Fantasy Award winner Ian R. MacLeod’s The Summer Isles was followed by novel Nocturne by first novelist Jus Neuce in 2005, and 2006 saw the publication of Canadian author/artist Dana Copithorne's debut novel The Steam Magnate and World Fantasy Award-winning author Zoran Zivkovic’s mosaic novel Seven Touches of Music. The company has received top honors for book design at the Chicago Book and Media Show each year it has published books. For details about the company and its books and authors, see www.aiopublishing.com.

---Another book to put on my list of things to get! I believe it was published in September but somehow I missed learning about it until now.

---Comment rec’d:

I like the design of that AIO book you blurb in your blog. And this
guy sounds like someone I should try. I think I'd like to start with
the PS collection, though: IMPOSSIBLE STORIES

http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/cat/is.asp

The entire contents of the AIO collection is contained in this
omnibus (admittedly without the exquisite packaging) along with a lot
more material, so the PS $45 hardcover edition just sounds like a better deal to me.

12/08/06 FRI:
---Word from Gauntlet:

Gauntlet Press will release in trade paperback a forthcoming RAY BRADBURY title THE DRAGON WHO ATE HIS TAIL. This chapbook will be given to customers who purchase MATCH TO FLAME: The Fictional Path to Fahrenheit 451, available in the Spring. The trade paperback, however, will be available in November. Unlike the chapbooks we normally offer, this is a 6 x 9 trade paperback, perfect bound with a full-color cover. It will be available in January with a cover price of $14.95. The 72-page book contains:

The previously unpublished short story, "The Dragon Who Ate His Tail" "…To the Future", which appeared just once in Collier's in 1950, and has never appeared in a Bradbury collection

Screenplay pages from "Fox and The Forest" (Bradbury's original title for "To The
Future" "Sometime Before Dawn" (an earlier version than the one that appeared in "Cat's Pajamas"): Typeset "Sometime Before Dawn": Facsimile Original Bradbury drawings appear throughout the book

There will be just 1000 copies printed, with 750 earmarked for those who purchase MATCH TO FLAME.

If you're interested in THE DRAGON WHO ATE HIS TAIL... Let us know how many copies you want

---I certainly ought to get an order out to Gauntlet, but first...

12/02/06 SAT:
---I have been having trouble with my creditcard processing terminal, so I’ve been trying to get people who usually use MC/Visa to pay by Paypal or send money someplace where I owe money instead of to me, as a stopgap until I figure out what course of action to take to get my processing back up. I sure don’t want to have to buy an new terminal...

12/01/06 FRI:
---I think I forgot to mention last week that I have filled up Covershots 8 folder, so now can offer that in CD-R. It comprises some 1175 JPEG images or books both not-yet-catalogued and listed on half.com.