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cassandraclare · 2 months

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New publishing announcement!

Hi guys!

I know it’s been a long time since there’s been news about The Wicked Powers. I’ve actually been sitting on information for a long time because I was not allowed to talk about it. It was making me pull out all my hair, so I am super glad to be able to share the following announcement with you: The Wicked Powers is scheduled for publication, and will be published by Walker Books in the UK and Random House in the US.

There’s a bunch more about this announcement, including the announcement of a brand-new YA romantasy series I’ll be doing called In Fire Foretold. That will be published by Pan Macmillan in the UK (same people who published Sword Catcher) and by Random House in the US.

I know there will be a lot of questions about what my schedule is, why things are coming out when they are, whether I have anything coming out next year (Yes, The Ragpicker King, the sequel to Sword Catcher, and also for those who participated in the Kickstarter, those four books) and the overall future of everything Shadowhunter-related. So I will be doing followup announcements to address all that stuff, but first, here are both press release from my publishers in the US and then in the UK with all the info!

GLOBALLY BESTSELLING FANTASY PHENOMENON CASSANDRA CLARE TO PUBLISH FINAL TRILOGY IN THE ‘SHADOWHUNTER CHRONICLES’ AND NEW DUOLOGY WITH ALFRED A. KNOPF BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS First book in THE WICKED POWERS to release in Spring 2026

(New York, NY, April 5, 2024)—Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will publish five new books from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Clare, whose novels have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, been translated into 43 languages, and published in more than 60 countries. The new publications will begin in Spring 2026 with the first book in THE WICKED POWERS trilogy, the sixth and final series in Clare’s 23-book, young adult fantasy franchise The Shadowhunter Chronicles. Also slated for publication with Knopf is a brand-new YA romantasy duology, IN FIRE FORETOLD. The news was announced today by Melanie Nolan, VP and Publisher, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, who acquired North American rights from Suzie Townsend and Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media in a highly competitive auction. Michelle Frey, Senior Executive Editor, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, will edit both series.

Cassandra Clare mesmerized readers across the globe with the publication of City of Bones (2007), the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, and was quickly dubbed the “New Queen of Fantasy” by the Wall Street Journal. The Mortal Instruments became the basis for the far-reaching Shadowhunter Chronicles, an intricately drawn world that has seen global success and has been adapted into both a feature film and television show. The books follow the Shadowhunters, a secretive race of humans born with angel blood, whose mission is to eliminate the demons that plague the Earth. Knopf’s first publishing collaboration with Clare, THE WICKED POWERS (Spring 2026), will follow Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn, and Drusilla Blackthorn from The Dark Artifices series as they are drawn into the final massive conflict between the demons and the angels.

IN FIRE FORETOLD is a pulse-pounding YA romantasy duology set in a new world with entirely new characters. The story centers a young woman who must learn to control her dangerous magical abilities in order to save her kingdom, all while finding herself torn between two brothers—the kingdom's princes, born to a cursed royal bloodline. The publication date for IN FIRE FORETOLD, as well as news of additional books to come from Cassandra Clare and Knopf, will be announced.

Says Cassandra Clare: "I am delighted to have Knopf and Penguin Random House as my publishers for this last trilogy in the Shadowhunters world. They truly understand what it means—both for the story and for my readers—to wrap up such an epic tale that has been told over so many years. I'm also excited to be launching my next YA series — a kickass portal fantasy that contains a ton of things I love, from a bold and reckless heroine to a magical wasteland filled with terrifying monsters that must be fought, to a love triangle with two very unusual cursed princes. I can't wait for us to bring these stories to the world."

Says Michelle Frey: “Cassandra Clare is a beloved author whose work has a massive following for good reason: she sucks you into a fully imagined world and never lets go until the last, satisfying page. I have long admired Cassie and am thrilled to be working with her on both the delectable final trilogy in the Shadowhunter Chronicles and the heart-stopping new love triangle she has dreamed up with IN FIRE FORETOLD.”

Random House Children’s Books (rhcbooks.com) is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and nonfiction, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

UK/AUS/NZ:

Walker Books will publish three new books, the final trilogy in Shadowhunter Chronicles, the first coming in Spring 2026.

Separately, First Ink will publish a brand new YA duology, introducing readers to a fantastical new world of Clare’s creation, filled with enticing new characters and heart-racing action. With sales figures for Cassandra’s novels exceeding 40 million copies worldwide, translated into 43 languages and published in more than 60 countries, these are exciting and major acquisitions for both publishing houses.

Walker will launch THE WICKED POWERS in Spring 2026 with the first book in the trilogy, The Last King of Faerie. THE WICKED POWERS is the final instalment of Clare’s 23-book, young adult fantasy series, Shadowhunter Chronicles.

THE WICKED POWERS (Spring 2026), will follow Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn, and Drusilla Blackthorn from The Dark Artifices series as they are drawn into the final massive conflict between the demons and the angels. The novel marks the beginning of the final trilogy in Clare’s globally beloved series.

Cassandra Clare Says about THE WICKED POWERS: "I’m thrilled to be taking this momentous step in the Shadowhunter chronicles with Walker! They published City of Bones in 2007 and now we will be bringing this huge epic to a close together. With their creativity and dedication, I know they’ll do it justice."

Denise Johnstone Burt says: “We at Walker are immensely proud to have been Cassie’s publishers from the very beginning, when City of Bones launched the Shadowhunters into the world. Since then Cassie has become one of the most beloved writers in YA fantasy all over the world, and with very good reason. Her world-building and character portrayal are absolutely second to none and her books never fail to mesmerise her fans. I am delighted that we will be returning to the world of Shadowhunters once again in THE WICKED POWERS, and know Cassie will bring the Chronicles to a conclusion with her trademark brilliance and consummate style.”

First Ink will publish IN FIRE FORETOLD, a pulse-pounding YA romantasy duology set to delight all fans of Cassie Clare. UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired by Samantha Smith, Publisher of First Ink and Macmillan Children’s Books’ Fiction, Non Fiction and Picture Book List, from Danny Baror and Heather Baror-Shapiro at Baror International. The duology will be a super lead title for First Ink and will launch with a significant multi-channel communications campaign including national media, influencer and fan events [HBS1] and multimedia advertising.

IN FIRE FORETOLD sees the launch of a brand new world and set of entirely new characters for Clare. The story centres on a young woman who must learn to control her dangerous magical abilities in order to save her kingdom, all while finding herself torn between two brothers - the kingdom's princes - born to a cursed royal bloodline.

Cassandra Clare says about IN FIRE FORETOLD: “I’m so excited to be publishing IN FIRE FORETOLD with First Ink. This story contains so many things I love- it’s a portal fantasy that swings between worlds, where the gritty LA streets exist alongside a dangerous magical world filled with deadly monsters - and a uniquely tough heroine who’s ready to do battle on all sides. Not to mention some gorgeous princes with shady pasts. I know how much Pan Macmillan loves fantasy and how well they publish it so I’m thrilled for this partnership."

Samantha Smith, Publisher at First Ink, says: “Cassandra Clare is a phenomenon author who has delighted and surprised her millions of readers across the world for decades now. As a huge fan of both her YA Mortal Instruments series and latest adult fantasy Sword Catcher, I cannot wait for her to turn her formidable pen to a new, heart-stopping series in In the Fire Foretold and could not be more excited to welcome her onto the First Ink list”

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, Managing Director at Macmillan Children’s Books, says: “ Welcoming Cassandra Clare to First Ink with a brand new fantasy world is very exciting - both for us and her fans. Her storytelling is second to none and her new duology on our list is the perfect partner series to her brilliant publishing that sits on our Tor list at Pan Macmillan.”

About Walker Books

Home to books for all ages, Walker Books publishes many award-winning authors, illustrators, and literary franchisesincluding Anthony Horowitz, Angie Thomas, Cassandra Clare, Lucy Cousins, Anthony Browne, Patrick Ness, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, and Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford. Walker Books is part of the vibrant international Walker Books Group that includes Walker Books Australia; Candlewick Press and Walker Books US in America and Walker Productions.

About Pan Macmillan

At Pan Macmillan we publish a broad and vibrant range of books for audiences of all ages, from dazzling bestsellers to influential prize-winners; books to inspire lifelong readers and listeners to enduring classics for generations to come. The fourth largest UK publisher, we pride ourselves on publishing successfully and sustainably and are committed to working together to positively impact culture and society at large.

#press releases #they're just written like that #shadowhunters #the wicked powers #the ragpicker king #cassandra clare #the last king of faerie #twp

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vkelleyart · 5 months

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Deal Announcement: WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON (Erewhon, Spring 2025)

If you've been with me on Tumblr for a while, then you may already be familiar with this title and been waiting for this particular update, and all I can say is thank you endlessly for patiently sticking it out with me! I am so incredibly pleased to announce that WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON has been acquired by Diana Pho at Erewhon Books/Kensington Publishing as an illustrated adult historical fantasy!

Tor.com has published a blush-inducing article which features some insights from me about what inspired the story, reactions from Hugo Award-winning editor Diana Pho on what drew her to the book, a downright tear-jerking endorsement from the incomparable TJ Klune, and my original concept art of Benny & Río. I hope you'll take a moment to read it at the link below!

This project is the culmination of a lifelong dream to write and illustrate my own books, and there are no words to convey the depth of my gratitude to Diana for the gift of seeing it be delivered as an illustrated adult work. Infinite thanks must also go to my unstoppable agent Saritza Hernandez, my phenomenal critique partners Anna Racine and Mark Duplane, and the many experts who generously and enthusiastically donated their time and resources in the middle of lockdown to help me bring 1911 Brooklyn, NY to life, including:

Virginia Sanchez-Korrol –– Professor Emeritus of Puerto Rican & Latino Studies, CUNY Brooklyn College

David Sharp -- President, The Waterfront Museum

Jamie Salen, David Favaloro, & Lana Rubin –– Marketing Director, Director of Curatorial Affairs, & Collections Manager (respectively), The Tenement Museum

Adam Realman -- Artistic Director, The Coney Island Circus Sideshow

More details about WTTHTM's release will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, thank you all again for believing in this story and supporting it when it was just a humble MerMay fic. I can't wait until you meet Benny and his beloved Río in print in 2025!

#wtthtm #benny and rio #brio!#when the tides held the moon #deal announcement #tj klune #erewhon books #kensington books

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dduane · 7 months

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Judging books by their covers

Having spent the morning reading the notes on this post (and reading them, and reading them...), I realized I really needed to get to grips with a piece of work I'd been avoiding.

Some of you may remember me mentioning that the Young Wizards website's longtime ISP went out of business suddenly in July, necessitating the site's hasty relocation to a new home. In the process a lot of its internal URLs ceased to operate correctly, meaning that files weren't displaying. (As I was quickly reminded when looking for the original David Wiesner art for So You Want To Be A Wizard at 01:30 last night.)

Anyway, I just wound up spending the day rescanning book covers for the Young Wizards publication history page, and was reminded of some favorites while getting the work done. (And a note for the interested: if there's any particular cover from an English-language edition of the YW books that interests you, or you think the sight of one might jog your memory somehow, that page is where you'll find the images. Use the tabs under the header image to take you through the history of publishers and artists.)

Meanwhile, being reminded of what happened to the covers for So You Want To... alone is both funny and a bit sobering. Styles change, formats change, art directors change. Sometimes the covers get a lot better, and sometimes they, uh, don't. Look at the difference in styles alone among these, for example.

Most of the time the writer gets to take what they're given, and like it. Sometimes, though, they get to give advice.

Here, for example, is one time that happened.

This is for the UK hardcover of the first of the Feline Wizards books. The artist, Mick Posen, is a cat person... and he insisted on having pictures of the cats who inspired the NY worldgating team before he started painting. Just look at these three, especially Rhiow there in the foreground. Is this a hero, or what? :)

Here's one that caused a little controversy.

The question of the day: Is Nita wearing anything? And if so, what?

The art won Greg Swearingen a silver Spectrum Award for that Deep Wizardry painting. But he and my then-editor on the series, Michael Stearns, apparently got into it a little regarding a conflict between the text and the necessities of painting a YA cover. If I remember correctly, I think Greg was holding out for "She's not wearing anything in the text in this situation, she just turned human again after changing back from being a whale, she shouldn't be wearing anything here!" and Michael was saying "But the parents, what if we freak out the parents...!" ...Eventually it seems like some kind of compromise was achieved. Swirly light = magic, or something. (shrug) Not my problem. It's a lovely cover.

About this one I have, well, mixed feelings. At this end of time, the art looks clunky. Yet this is also my first bestseller. When the SF Book Club published this omnibus, Support Your Local Wizard quickly set records as their single most-requested item of all time for new members just signing up. Its print run ran to more than 250,000 copies, and it remained constantly in print until the Book Club itself ended.

I've always been fond of this one for Deep Wizardry, and also of the one the artist, Neal McPheeters, did for the Dell Yearling and Dell mass market paperback editions of So You Want To... . There's a solid quality to both of them, but the second one in particular, that appeals to me.

(For those in the notes on that other post who reacted immediately to Kit's antenna: This is one of the reasons why it features—along with one of Nita's wands from the rowan tree Liused—on all the covers of the revised/updated Young Wizards New Millennium Editions. I've seen a lot of memories jogged by its appearance.)

...Do I have a favorite favorite one of all these covers? As usual, it's hard to pick. But I have to admit that I smile, at the moment, when looking at this one—Greg Swearingen’s art again—since in a couple of weeks it'll be the fortieth anniversary of So You Want To Be A Wizard's publication.

We'll see what the publisher does for the fiftieth. :)

#Young Wizards #Young Wizards series #covers

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bcacstuff · 4 months

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Timeline 10 October - December 2023

For completeness and to consult when there’s discussion about his whereabouts. In addition to the previous timelines.

Timeline 10 covers 3 October 2023 - 17 December 2023

For previous dates see timeline 9

On 3 October he's back in NYC as he's invited as special guest for the event of TKOQ-us on October 4th. He's spotted doing a photoshoot for Departures. The next day pics appear, disappear and reappear again spotting him at Cafe Select with the editor of Departues, all taken on 3 October.

4 October he's at the Keepers of the Quaich event, many pics and videos are posted afterwards. (see my archive for more posts).

On 5 October more kilt and press. Followed by a video shoot at Two Doors Down on October 6th. Presumably he went after the weekend on a vacation. (see below, 25 October).

On 18 October he's on Fallon Tonight mixing cocktails, definitely recorded that same day.

On 19 October he's a guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show which airs on Tuesday 24 October. All while his fandom is shocked about a mistake he made.

20 October more promo for Access Hollywood at 30 Rock NYC, though it's said to air next month it's available on Youtube the next day

On 25 October he posts a video showing his comped vacation at Four Seasons Nevis clearly a latergram as he posts the same day a video in his garden which appears to be RT as he flew back the day before.

While Graham posts a pic of signing the books at Waterstones in London on 30 October, Sam posts the next day a video doing so. A combined video shows they're not signing the books together at the same time.

1 November he's at the Bafta screening of TCND, some more pics and videos and an impression. Two trailers are released a couple of days later on.

2 November he's at The Rake Anniversary XV party Claridge's Artspace, London

5 November the first book event at the McEwan Hall in Edinburgh, pics and video and 6 November the second one at the Barbican in London. At the airport in Edinburgh he was spotted by 2 fans.

7 November the book is released, articles in tabloids and a podcast are published.

We lose track after the book release, he posts on sm on odd times as of 10th of November indicating a timezone in the eastern part of the world. At some point Nepal is speculated. 2 or 3 days he seems to be completely of the grid, when he comes back he's a lot on sm. In een interview published later on he talks about planning a trip to Everest. After 21 November he seems to be back in UK.

On 23 November a story recorded at Waterstones, Tottenham road London is posted, but it's hard to tell if this was or wasn't a latergram.

On 29 November he posts a story, showing back in the studio and captioned OL S8 Prep

The next day, 30 November he posts a video showing the trailer from LA on a plane apparently to NYC. Which is later on confirmed by another video and story and a post from Alex for St. Andrews Day. He's recording promo and visiting his friends bar.

1 December he's spotted at a bar and on 3 December he posts a video at the Metlife with AN watching the NY Jets game. Another pic of him, AN and Peter L is posted on 5 December, recent though posted a bit later.

Friday 8 December he's scheduled for The One Show on BBC1. Some videos and pics are posted. Same day we learn he's scheduled on radio 4 Saturday Live on December 9. In the evening he attends Rusell Tovey's Talkart anniversary party at Toklas restaurant London

The Sunday brunch show on Channel 4 apparently got canceled, instead he appears on Graham Nortons Radio Show on Sunday 10 December

The first of the announced book events on Sunday 10 December is at Hatchard's St. Pancras, London. Many pics and video's are posted by fans

Wednesday 13 December he posted a story from London and a post showing he signed books at goldsborobooks (Cecil Ct.).While the story is from the weekend, the booksigning is RT as later on a fan posts a fan pic, saying she met him on 13 december, showing the same shirt as in the book signing.

On Friday 15 December he posts a video from the costume department at the studio in Glasgow.

On Sunday 17 December he signs books at Waterstones in Glasgow and stopped by for social_bite.

Other timelines:

Pre Hawaii timeline

Timeline 1 August 2020 Timeline 2 September 2021 Timeline 3 February 2022 Timeline 4 August 2022 Timeline 5 October 2022 Timeline 6 January 2023 Timeline 7 April 2023 Timeline 8 June 2023 Timeline 9 August 2023

#timeline #october 2023 #november 2023 #december 2023

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harvardfineartslib · 11 months

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Happy Birthday to Anni Albers who was born on this day in 1899. Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a textile artist, designer, printmaker, and educator known for her pioneering graphic wall hangings and weavings.

Beginning in 1970, Anni Albers filled her graph-paper notebook regularly until 1980. This publication is a facsimile of her only known notebook which shows her working process.

The notebook follows Albers's deliberations and progression as a draftsman in their original form. It reveals the way she went about making complex patterns, exploring them piece by piece, line by line, in a visually dramatic and mysteriously beautiful series of geometric arrangements.

Anni Albers : Notebook 1970-1980 Editor, Lucas Zwirner ; afterword, Brenda Danilowitz. New York, NY : David Zwirner Books, [2017] HOLLIS number: 990152251350203941

#AnniAlbers #ArtistsBirthday #BOTD #WomenArtists #HarvardFineArtsLibrary #Harvard #HarvardLibrary #fineartslibrary #harvard library #harvardfineartslib #FineArtsLibrary

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wyrmfedgrave · 3 months

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Pics: Inspiring HPL.

1. Irvin S. Cobb - American writer, editor, humorist & columnist hailing from Paducah, Kentucky¹.

He was the highest paid staff reporter on the NY World newspaper².

Irvin would write 60+ books & around 300 short stories.

Some of which were adapted into silent movies. And, 2 of his later tales were actually filmed, by the famed John Ford³, during the 1930s!

2. Cobb's "dark side" (horror works) of the otherwise lighthearted comedian & the story in question.

3 & 4. Comedic frontpieces(?) for books by Cobb. The 2nd even boasts an Abraham Lincoln quote!

5. Cover to Cobb's collection of other authors's short horror tales.

6. Inside art from Fishhead's ending...

1913 Addendum -

Intro: Irvin Cobb's infamous short story "Fishhead" is set in the back- wood bayous of the vast Reelfoot Lake⁴.

Plot: The tale concerns the murder of a local outcast freak by "poor whites."

With its surprise Jaws⁵-like ending, this gruesome work reminds readers of an issue of EC comics⁶!

Criticism: Lovecraft lauded Cobb for, "... Carrying on our (own) spectral tradition is the gifted... humorist, I.S. Cobb, whose works... contain some finely (made) weird (tales)."

Of the plot, Howard stated that, "Fish- head" (is) an early achievement, ... banefully effective in its portrayal of (an) unnatural... hybrid idiot & the strange fish of an isolated lake."

Lovecraft further opined, "It is (my firm) belief... that... few short stories of equal merit have been published anywhere (else)..."

Legacy: Cobb's "Fishhead" is seen as a major influence on Lovecraft's own "Shadow Over Innsmouth."

Robert M. Price⁷ noted that, "What (Howard) found revolting was the idea of interracial marriage (&) of different ethnicities mating, (thus) 'polluting' the (white? human?) gene pool."

Fishhead is supposedly "the son of a Negro father & a halfbreed Indian mother." It's never mentioned what her other half was from...

This is the same premise behind HPL's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."

Except that Lovecraft calls them Deep Ones & has a whole city that's been 'turned'...

More when we get to this story...

Notes:

1. Paducah, as 1 out of 9 U.S. Creative Cities, is a haven for thinkers, artists & creators!

Architectural Digest recognizes this city's historic district as 1 of the most beautiful main streets in America.

There are 20 downtown blocks listed in the National Register of Historic Places!

Weird Shit: Paducah's nickname is "The Atomic City."

This was because it was once the U.S.'s only uranium plant, making atomic bombs for our Defense Department...

2. The NY World newspaper began (in 1860) as a leading voice for the US Democratic Party.

But, once under Joseph Pulitzer, it became a pioneer in "yellow journalism."

Catching readers's attention with sensational (sex, sport & scandal) news stories.

This raised their circulation past the 1 million mark!!

Best known for being among the 1st to publish daily comic strips.

They actually created "Hogan's Alley", "Everyday Movies", "Little Mary Mix- up" & "Joe Jinks!"

Merged with The NY Telegram in 1931.

Revived - online - in 2011 by Columbia U. But, hasn't had any new content since 2016...

3. John Ford was an American movie director who won Oscars for "The Informer", "The Grapes of Wrath", "How Green Was My Valley" & "The Quiet Man."

The best of his many Westerns are "The Searchers", "Stagecoach" & "My Darling Clementine."

4. Reelfoot Lake is a real lake best known for its shallowness - about 5½ feet on average.

It's located in western Tennessee &, strangely enough, no swimming is allowed there...

The lake is named after an 1800's Chickasaw warrior with a deformed leg...

Reelfoot Bayou, with its cypress trees, flows out of the lake to join the Obion River - which runs straight to the Mississippi.

5. "Jaws" is, of course, director Steven Spielberg's 1st international master- piece.

And it doesn't need any hype, from me, for you to see it again!

97% on Rotten Tomatoes!!

Enough said...

Make it so!

6. E.C. Comics was an American publisher specializing in horror, crime, dark fantasy & sci-fi comicbooks.

William Gaines printed mature tales of war, adventure, satire, etc...

Noted for its stories high quality, shock endings & progressive social awareness.

Among the themes that EC creators touched upon are: racial equality, anti- war sentiments, nuclear disarmament & even early environmentalism!

Sadly, official censorship forced EC to focus on its "Mad" magazine - which became it's greatest success!!

EC has just been revived, by Oni Press, on this past February of 2024!!

Good times guaranteed...

7. R.M. Price is an American biblical scholar, author & an authority on H.P. Lovecraft.

His works include: "Deconstructing Jesus", "The Reason Driven Life", "The New Lovecraftian Circle", "World War Cthulhu", "The Disciples of Cthulhu", "Arkham Detective Agency", "The Da Vinci Fraud", "The Apartheid State in Crisis" & more great stuff!!

Price was the editor of the greatly lamented Crypt of Cthulhu, Midnight Shambler & Eldritch Tales fanzines.

He even edited a whole series of Mythos anthologies for Chaosium.

Today, Price is editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism!

Busy little tentacle, ain't he...

#hpl bio #history #aside #inspiration #weird fiction

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banffcentrelibraryandarchives · 6 months

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Artist Book Display for November 2023. Toiletpaper Volume II: Platinum Collection. Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari. Bologna, ITA: Damiani Editore. 2015. Sculls' Angles : A Novel. Michael Miranda. Toronto, ON: Parasitic Ventures Press. 2015.

WYSIWYG: 2004 fall Poetry Colloquium. Regina, SK: Sage Hill Chapbooks. 2004.

Survival: A Strobic Guide. Michael Turner. Vancouver, BC: Canlit Classics in Transition. 1997.

Safety Gear for Small Animals. Bill Burns. New York, NY: 303 Gallery. 1994.

Qaani Lore. J.W. Curry. Toronto, ON: Unfinished Monument Press. 1985.

The Page-Turner's Sister. Jean McKay. Stratford, ON: Trout Lily Press. 1999.

White Shadows. Christian Boltanski. Houston, TX: Bayou Books. 1992.

Pornography in the Urban World. Jean Gagnon; translated by James Boake & Jeanluc Svoboda. Toronto, ON: Art Metropole. 1986.

#artists' books #banff centre #books and libraries #library displays #book art #zines

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1ddystopianfest · 7 months

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A little guide on how to build a dystopian world, includes a questionnaire to help you build your universe ☺️

#1ddystopianfest #writing resources

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harryandmeghansussex · 1 year

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Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is a feminist, champion of human rights and gender equity, and global role model. Her lifelong advocacy for women and girls remains a constant thread she weaves through both humanitarian and business ventures. She is noted as one of the most powerful and influential women in the world, topping lists such as TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People, The Financial Times’ 25 Most Influential Women, Variety Power of Women, and British Vogue’s Vogue 25. She and her husband, Prince Harry have also been the recipients of the NAACP President’s Award as well as the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. Meghan’s global impact, and strong stance on resilience, equality, and compassion through action, have made her one of the most iconic public figures of this generation.

Born and raised in Southern California, Meghan attended Los Angeles based all-girls Catholic School, Immaculate Heart, which she continues to support as an alumna, before moving to Chicago to attend the prestigious Northwestern University. While there, she double majored in Theater and International Relations, and went on to intern at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as to study abroad in Madrid, Spain. After graduation, Meghan turned her focus to the entertainment industry, landing her big break as a lead actor on the hit series, ‘Suits’ which she starred in for seven seasons. During her time off between filming, Meghan travelled to Rwanda, India, and across the globe working on humanitarian missions, and serving in key roles such as: UN Women’s Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership, a World Vision Global Ambassador, and a leading Counsellor to One Young World, where she inspired youth and women around the world through her passionate advocacy and hands-on approach to being of service. She also travelled to support the military community on a USO Tour, visiting six military bases in seven days including Bagram, Afghanistan. In 2018, Meghan married Prince Harry, becoming The Duchess of Sussex.

An accomplished writer, she has contributed pieces to publications in the UK, US, and Ireland, and parlayed that skill into the creation of the successful lifestyle website, ‘The Tig’, where her thoughtful and inspiring op-eds cultivated a global fanbase. The Duchess of Sussex was the first guest editor in the history of British Vogue for their July Issue in 2019, which was the fastest selling copy in the history of the publication. She and Prince Harry founded The Archewell Foundation in 2020 to support communities in need at a micro and macro level, in both moments of crisis as well as for long term aid. At The Archewell Foundation, they hold the value that charitable work should not simply be ‘a handout, but rather a hand held’, a phrase which Meghan first coined when supporting UK charity Smart Works, of which she is patron, that uplifts and prepares underserved women to enter the workforce. Meghan and her husband also founded and oversee production company, Archewell Productions and podcasting arm, Archewell Audio. In 2022, Meghan launched ‘Archetypes’, a record-breaking podcast exploring the labels that try to hold women back; ‘Archetypes’ debuted at Number 1 in The US, UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and topped the charts as the Number 1 podcast in 47 countries, demonstrating her unparalleled global reach. After its first season, Archetypes was awarded was awarded The People’s Choice Award in the podcast category.

She is a NY Times Best Selling author, publishing her highly celebrated children’s book, ‘The Bench’, and “Together: Our Community Kitchen” a publication she spearheaded with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen in the UK, who were displaced after the tragic Grenfell Fire. True to her character, The Duchess of Sussex mobilized to turn pain into purpose, working alongside this dynamic group of women to help them heal, grow, and develop their own business enterprises in the face of adversity. In addition to topping the NY Times Bestsellers list, “Together,” also debuted as number one on the UK’s Sunday Booklist, with proceeds going to the Kitchen. Meghan’s influence in fashion has been coined “The Meghan Effect” with items selling out within hours of her wearing them. Her ‘effect’ has transcended fashion, shifting cultural conversations as seen with her op-ed for the NY Times “The Losses We Share.” The piece detailed a heartbreaking personal loss which spiked the conversation surrounding miscarriage to the highest it had been spoken of in over two decades at the time of publishing.

Meghan is a passionate advocate for mental health and family care, the holistic support of women and children’s rights, and the immeasurable value of one’s self worth. Her core belief that representation matters, and her connection to community through the lens of learning, healing, and inspiring have helped define her as a cultural catalyst for positive change. Meghan resides in California with her husband and their children Prince Archie Harrison and Princess Lilibet Diana, and their three dogs.

#meghan markle #duchess of sussex #meg x public speaking

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garadinervi · 1 year

Photo

Temporary Monuments: The Work of Rosemary Mayer, 1977-1982 [Soberscove Press, Chicago, IL, 2018], Marie Warsh (editor), talk presented by Soberscove Press, NY Art Book Fair, New York, NY, September 22, 2018

(image: Rosemary Mayer, Some Days in April (from Temporary Monuments) installed at the property of Bruce Kurtz, Hartwick, New York, during the week of April 17, 1978. © The Estate of Rosemary Mayer, New York, NY)

#art #talk #photography #catalogue #catalog #rosemary mayer #marie warsh #soberscove press #ny art book fair #estate of rosemary mayer #2010s

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pleasantlyinsincere · 2 years

Text

When was the Two Virgins night, May 3rd vs May 19th 1968?

Since the topic of when the Two VIrgins night supposedly happened comes up every now and again, here’s a post argueing the two dates and giving, in my opinion, the most plausible timeline for May 1968.

May 19th 1968 seems to be the most widely accepted date today (e.g. Wikipedia, Beatles Bible…) to put John and Yoko’s first night together. Since none of these websites gives any source or reason for the date, I started trying to find out how people got there. I looked through quite a few Beatles books to try to find a clue where and for what reason it was first introduced.

Surprisingly it wasn’t dated at all for a few decades. From what I could find, the first mention happened by Barry Miles in Many Years from now nearly 30 years after the Two Virgins night . Here’s a list of which books place the date when, sorted by publishing date: (I didn’t look at interviews, magazines or other sources.)

John Lennon. One Day at a Time, Anthony Fawcett (‘76): May 1968

The Beatles Forever, Nicholas Schaffner (‘77): May 1968

A Twist of Lennon, Cynthia Lennon (‘78): no date given, placed before the NY trip

Shout!: The True Story of The Beatles, Philip Norman (‘81), no date given

The Ballad of John and Yoko, The Editors of Rolling Stone (‘82): May 1968

John Lennon. In My Life, Pete Shotton/Nicholas Schaffner (‘83): May 1968

The Love You Make, Peter Brown/Steven Gaines (‘83): no date given

Lennon. The Definitive Biography, Ray Coleman (‘84); May 1968

The Beatles. Day by Day (‘87), Mark Lewisohn: no mention

The Lives of John Lennon, Albert Goldman (‘88): no date given, Cyn leaving for Greece “just two weeks after her return from India”

The Lost Lennon Tapes, Radio Show, a few weeks after NY and a few days prior to May 22 (Added in edit)

In My Life, John Lennon Remembered, Mark Lewisohn/Kevin Howlett (‘90): May 1968

A Day in the Life, Mark Hertsgaard (‘95): exact date is unknown, sometime in the latter half of May 1968

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles (‘97): May 19 1968 (they Jesus meeting on the 18)

The Beatles. Off the Record, Keith Badman (‘00): May 19 1968

John, Cynthia Lennon (‘05): no date given, placed before the NY trip

The Beatles. The Biography, Bob Spitz (‘05): no date given, places after the NY trip

John Lennon. The Biography, Philip Norman (‘08): May 18/19 1968 (also places Cyns Greece holiday and the NY trip at the same time)

The Beatles Diary, Barry Miles (‘09): May 19 (Cynthia's return on 26th May)

Lennonology, Chip Madinger/ Scott Raile (‘15): May 3 “almost certainly”

Arguements and timeline behind the cut, because this got annoyingly long.

As you can see most authors didn’t date it any further than sometime in May 1968. Even by 1995 Hertsgaard still wrote that the exact date wasn’t known. Two years later however Barry Miles put it down as being May 19 and from then on more authors went with it.

If anyone has come across an earlier mention of the May 19 date, or someone explaining how they arrived at that date, please share. I would be really interested in that.

Disappointingly Barry Miles doesn’t give any reason why dated it as May 19. It’s easy to refute his assurance that the Jesus meeting happened on the 18, though. Every source I read for that puts all four Beatles there. However Ringo and George were in Cannes at the time and only returned on the 19. Therefore Miles certainly is wrong giving that date.

Here is Ringo and Mo dancing on the evening of May 18 in France:

On May 19 Ringo and George returned from Cannes. The same day George and Pattie travel to Liverpool to go to a christening. It is possible that they could have traveled back to London the same day, for George to go to the Apple meeting. It just sounds very stressfull.

For the Two Virgins night to happen Cyn has to be in Greece at the time traveling with Jenny, Alex, Donovan and Gypsie. Magic Alex is with John and Paul during their New York business trip. They return to London on May 16. We can already exclude Philip Norman’s timeline of the NY trip and the Greece holiday happening at the same time, because Alex can certainly only be at one place at the time.

It is possible that Alex kept his bag packed and he left with Cynthia for Greece on May 17. A two week holiday would mean that they returned on May 31, while Miles dates it to being 26 May. (If they didn’t immediately leave and only left a day or two later, the return day should move also.)

Jenny Boyd however has another court date on the 16. Originally when everyone returned from India her passport was taken, so that she wouldn’t flee the country, after drugs had been found in her apartment. She had it returned for a trip earlier that month but I don’t know if she was then allowed to keep it, or only got it back after her case was decided in June. It is therefore questionable, if she could travel around this time.

On May 22 John and Yoko already have their first public outing attending the Apple tailoring opening. This seems contradictory to the fact that Pete Shotton remembers that during the Greece trip John got angry at their housekeeper Dot for alerting Cyn to Yoko being at Weybridge. If he didn’t want her yet to know, posing for the press would undermine that goal. It would make more sense, if at this time Cyn already knew about the affair.

Cynthia recalls that after her return from Greece and finding Yoko at her home, she moved out for a few days to Alex and Jennys place, before returning to try to reconnect with John again and only then leaving for Italy with Julian and her mother. I assume we should ascribe about a week for this to happen. So even if she already returns from Greece on May 26, after (at the most) nine days instead of two weeks, the earliest it would make sense for her to leave again for Italy would be June 2nd or 3rd. This is supposedly another two week vacation. However Cynthia already sent a telegram home on June 6, that they’ll return on Sunday June 9. That doesn’t match with the alleged lengths of the holiday, which in this case would be barely a week.

Other aspects not quite fitting in:

during the time Cyn is back at Weybridge and supposedly settling again with John, the White Album recordings start with Yoko being in the studio

Pete Shotton travels with John and Yoko looking at a house on June 1. Also unlikely if Cny is still there.

the Italy holiday is listed on the Lennon household expenses for May

Yoko already requested her bank to send a summary of her account to Pete Shotton on May 13

John and Yoko joint art exhibition Four Thoughts is promoted as such in the International Times on May 24 and has its opening night on May 28 or June 2 (date is debated). Unlikely for them to go public in that way and find the time to prepare an exhibition together, if at the same time Cynthia is returning home to settle again with John.

In Lennonology Chip Madinger and Scott Raile have worked out an alternative date for the Two Virgins recording night, they feel almost certain about. They place it on May 3. To me the most compelling reason they give, is fitting in Cynthia’s Greece vacation with Jenny Boyds limited possibilities to travel.

(May 1) Finally, solicitor David Jacobs returned to court today on behalf of Jenny Boyd to request the return of her passport, as "she wants to go to Rome this weekend" (more specifically, her paramour Donovan was scheduled to perform in concert there on Saturday). Her request was granted, but only on the condition that she return to Britain no later than Monday, May 6th.

Jenny Boyd, Donovan and possibly Gypsie were in Rome that weekend in early May and it’s easy to confirm the date of the concert online. With Jenny needing a special permission to travel from court, it seems unlikely that she made multiple trips during that month.

Going with that date, would mean that Cynthia and Alex could have left for Greece around April 25th alone. (That’s also roughly two weeks after returning from India as Goldman implies.) On the way home, they then met up with Jenny and Donovan in Rome and flew home together on May 5th. Thereby placing John and Yoko’s first night together a few days prior. If it has to be exactly the 3rd is debatable.

This date fits more nicely with:

Cynthia quite consistently remembering her finding John and Yoko together happening before John left for New York.

makes more sense this way for Yoko to send her banking account infos by May 13th, if they were already sure about their relationship by that point

Cynthia and Julian leave for Italy around May 20, being absent for John and Yoko to go out together in public to the Apple tailoring event, in the studio, collaborate on their art show and to go house shopping and making the planned return date of June 9 more realistic

And here is a simplified version if my ongoing work-in-progress ‘68 timeline from John’s return from India to early June for a better understanding how everything would fit together:

#team may 3rd #ridiculously long niche interest beatles post #i'm really curious now why miles put the date there #did he work it out somehow and not tell readers or was it for narrative reasone?#thoughts in progress #i'm sorry if this isn't very readable i am tired

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davidmariottecomics · 7 months

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How I Got Here

Hello,

And happy birthday to me! I got you a present! It’s a blog!

Thanks for joining me for what ought to be a somewhat unusual blog. This one’s both addressing something I’ve been asked many many times and, with luck, maybe helping me sort out a few things for myself. I’m going to be honest… I started writing this in like a fit of imposter syndrome (it’s not just a Sonic mini-series) and depression.

I struggle a lot with my confidence. I think I’m pretty good at what I do and at being a good person, but y’know, between mental illness often not being in line with reality and living and working in the same place most of the time now with a lot of my socialization being online or just through text and just sometimes really burning out from the stresses of my everyday–both personally and professionally–it’s hard. It is hard to be a person right now. It is hard to reasonably do almost anything.

That’s maybe getting away from the point, so to try to bring us back on track… I am a person in a small industry working in what is in some ways an even smaller subsection of that industry–freelancers, people creating comics on their own, outnumber the people working behind the scenes at comic companies making comics many times over. When you have a job like mine, where I work in comics and I work on some beloved properties and I have hiring power and the ability to help people get their foot in the door, you’re frequently asked how you got there? What was your path to success? How’d you become an editor or writer or artist or whatever?

The answer is always different for each person you ask, but a central thread seems to tie us all together: determination, some level of hard work over years, and a whole lotta luck.

So, this is how I’ve ended up where I am.

The Early Advantage

A disclaimer for this whole update: I am an old man (ish–let me have it, it’s my birthday). So, let it just be said that I’m working off of old information. Some combination of half-remembered facts, family lore, and stories from my childhood, that may or may not be fully accurate as I’m not fact-checking them and I may not have always fully understood.

But let’s start when I was very little. Itty-bitty even. One of the first people to know that I had been born–not the first, but certainly within the first couple dozen–was my dad’s boss… Then Wildstorm founder, and now DC Comics publisher, president, and CCO, Jim Lee. Not a bad guy to know practically from birth if you’d eventually like to get into comics. Not that I work with him, but I do and have worked with some former Wildstorm folks and I think this is very indicative of the advantage I had growing up.

So, from birth practically, I was steeped in comics and books. My dad was working at Wildstorm, where he worked in marketing and then in editorial and did his fair share of writing. My mom co-owned Mysterious Galaxy, the San Diego genre-fiction bookstore institution. I was frequently in spaces with people who would later be my peers.

It also meant that I had a lot of access that other people never had or will. I remember being in the Wildstorm offices some days as a kid, and a few years later, in the old IDW ones too. I got to go to DC back in the NY years a couple times. I got to talk to heavyweights in comics and pick their brains and look ‘em in the eye and tell them that some day I’d have their jobs. I got to grow up surrounded by comics and books and the people who made them and to get some real insight to how they work. But, I knew that to make it, I’d still have to work for it, because I saw how hard the people in my life worked too.

One specific story from that time that I think is kinda fun: I was in probably first or second grade and I did that assignment a lot of kids do about “what do you want to be when you grow up?” And while I was probably more in the know than a lot of kids at that age, I wasn’t entirely clear on the nuances of writer vs. artist vs. cartoonist. I knew comics were made by people, and that sometimes the people did one thing and sometimes they did everything, but I wasn’t super clear on what made the difference. And I remember starting that assignment wanting to describe being a writer like my dad, but not fully being able to uncouple the idea of doing the art too. And after it, when I had a clearer picture of what the distinctions were, I think that’s when I really settled into wanting to be a writer.

Gifted Kid

Do you have a period in your life that you struggle to remember? I find that to be the case with a lot of my childhood. It’s one of those things that’s probably nothing, right? The older we get, the less we remember from our youth, and the more it gets filtered down to key events and details–the things that have some major significance or that have been told to or by us enough time we feel we can’t help but remember them. But sometimes I do worry about it. I worry that hindsight isn’t as 20/20 as we say it is and that there are things that’re just slippery–that some part of me thinks I should remember, or that sometimes my mom will talk about like I do remember–but that I just don’t. And when I don’t remember these things, well, it’s frustrating even if it’s not a big deal.

Like, does it matter that I don’t remember the time in my life when I primarily wore sweatpants and cowboy boots? No, though I am retroactively embarrassed for myself. I remember wearing sweatpants–to bed or when exercising, same as I do now, though otherwise I primarily wear jeans (as an aside, since we’re getting personal this time around, my butt has gotten too big and keeps tearing my jeans in the back). And I certainly remember wearing cowboy boots–which I just don’t do anymore. I don’t have a pair, but I do still have a lot of love for a good pair of boots in the right setting. But in spite of how little I know it matters in the grand scheme of my life, I also know that it makes me worry that I can’t remember something like that–the same way I worry when I can’t remember anything. I was talking with Becca recently about feeling like my memory was worse and was it an effect of getting covid and not realizing it, and as they pointed out, it’s probably mostly the fact that I’ve been stressed out kinda non-stop for like… 3 ½ years.

Can you tell I wrote that while feeling more depressed? Anyway, to the topic at hand, what I do remember from this time in my life and that is relevant to how I got to where I am, is that I was a gifted student. I know I have a few international regular readers, so I’ll elaborate in case your school system is substantially different. When we moved from bustling San Diego to the middle of nowhere, Arizona, I went from private school to public school and two very different educational standards. I remember, as an obnoxious, snotty kid, saying at some point that it seemed like the expectations for me through 6th grade in Arizona weren’t any different than the expectations I had already met and exceeded in San Diego in 4th grade.

Shortly after I started at my first AZ school, I tested for gifted and talented and was found to be gifted. What that actually meant was that I tested really well. I had a higher reading level than my peers. I needed more of a challenge in my work–again, likely largely influenced by different standards coming in, and which I think I must’ve gotten, but truth be told, with a small staff in a small town, I don’t really remember getting that much extra attention or challenge to my assignments. I wasn’t a super genius needing to skip a bunch of grades and ready to do complex physics or whatever, but I was needing a little more because I could handle it.

Then I went to high school. I traveled about an hour each way every day because I needed to go to the bigger high school in the bigger town because they had the most honors and AP classes–a way of continuing that “gifted” education and receiving early college credit because of it. There, I ended up having a similar experience. When I graduated, I wasn’t valedictorian or salutatorian, but I was in the top percentile of my class and got to give a speech. It was… a high school graduation speech, alright.

My point, such as it is, is that I spent years working in a school system that kept telling me I was smart–or succeeding in a way my peers weren’t, needing resources that they didn’t–and then rewarding me for good performance. With the benefit of hindsight, sure, it probably wasn’t great that I was being told I was special and different and tying a lot of my self-worth to academic performance, but hey, that’s the American school system for ya!

The critical story from this time period I know I’ve told before. I think it was the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, so when I was really starting to look at colleges and get out applications. I was at San Diego Comic-Con and was at a party with former DC writer, editor, president and publisher, Paul Levitz (one of the people that in my childhood I had once told I would have his job someday). I was talking with Paul about my college plans because I knew that he did some teaching on the side and, well, I figured it’d be good to know how to move forward so I could get his job someday. And I told him that I had been looking at schools with strong creative writing programs and journalism programs and what few schools offered comics programs and he told me that his advice as a person who taught creative writing was you can’t be taught creativity. You can be taught how to refine your writing, and there are some programs that put the emphasis on focusing your skills and helping you improve your storytelling, but there are a lot of people who enter creative writing hoping it’ll foster their creativity, and you can’t teach an imagination. His advice was to pursue something that I would be able to write about–things that I could know and always refer back to as a basis for ideas. I decided to pursue journalism because I had some stories that–fingers crossed, might still get told someday–I thought knowing the real ins and outs would be helpful for. I also figured, journalism is about learning how to research and learning other people’s stories and how to tell them. It ended up being a good fit.

College Daze

It’s kinda funny. I’ve been in comics for 7 years now. Celebrated my 7th IDW anniversary in late August. Most of the people I know and interact with on a regular basis are comics creators, or other creators, artists, readers, fans, people in the community at large. But sometimes I get that shock of no matter how mainstream comics may seem, for a lot of folks, they’re still a novelty. Like when I got my haircut last and the stylist had no real idea what my job was. And without a doubt through my own doing, I had a reputation even through college as “comic guy” because both to people with a shared interest and people who barely knew me, that was the fact they knew about me.

College was probably the first time in years that I had made a full comic. And the ones I made were not very good. But, over my years there, I took a few classes that involved comics heavily (including a really amazing comics geography class that was examining comics as a tool of non-fiction storytelling) and in the course of those, made a couple little comics. Y’know, one or two page things as assignments, but something that I had to write and draw and letter all by myself. Having to do that made me really start to think about the tools of making comics. I had never stopped reading comics, I had never stopped thinking about comics, I had to read Understanding Comics and the other Scott McCloud books like 5 times for different classes, but I had so fully bought into being a writer that I hadn’t tried to make my own comics really in a long time.

I had a couple false starts as a writer. I had a series I was working on with my dad that ultimately didn’t go forward and my only regret about that is not having had the chance to work with my dad. I did a comic script as my honors thesis. I got a surprisingly good grade on it considering how weak I think it is. I have not chosen to revisit it because in hindsight, it was not a good script and was a pretty flawed premise.

But what I really got into in college was editing. In my journalism classes, and working on the Daily Wildcat, I got to spend some time learning editorial skills and in the trenches. And, as it turned out, for as much as I loved writing for myself, I also was pretty good at helping other people find their stories, find their angles, clean up and clarify their copy, check their facts, etc. It was also around that point–and around the point of my first *real* job in the home department at Dillards that I realized editorial also had the perks of regular paychecks and healthcare.

I didn’t focus on editorial in an official capacity. It’s not like I have a degree in journalism with an emphasis on editorial or anything, but I knew it was something I was increasingly interested in pursuing and really busted my chops to try to get good at it. For as difficult as it is to bust out an article in a daily paper because someone blew their deadline or turned in something unpublishable, it is actually far harder to adjust on the fly in comics because I can’t just write something and plug it in.

The other major influence on me and comics in college is, of course, it’s where I met and fell in love with Becca. When we first met, they liked comics, but had largely given up on that part of their ambitions. Like, they were a political science major that had danced around also doing theater because they loved acting and maybe wanted to be a politician and maybe wanted to be an actor and maybe wanted to be something else, but being an artist, much less a comic artist was not a thing they were really thinking. And now, that’s what they do and what they work on so much of the time and with me sometimes and y’know, I could not do what I do now without them in my corner and vice-versa, I don’t think.

My Real Secret to Success: A Broken Car

Those are the factors that really led me to comics. I grew up in it. I had connections. I learned about it myself and in school and throughout my life, and was rewarded for the work I put into learning about comics and learning everything else. I fell in love, and I fell in love with editing. And so I graduated with a journalism degree with a minor in gender and women’s studies and was ready to face the world… by briefly kind of illegally living in my friend’s back bedroom for a few months because I was unemployed and unemployable!

In the middle of the hot Arizona summer, I get a message from my friend Shannon Denton. He’s working on the Alan Tudyk webseries Con Man and they’re shooting the finale and need people for a fake comic convention and he’s heard Becca’s interested in acting. It’d be background stuff, but it could be a little something–a first step, first gig in LA. Plus, we’d get to see each other!

And so, 4th of July weekend, Becca and I drive out to LA for filming! Now, to backtrack (and forward and sideways) a little… I have not great luck with cars. My first car of my own was an old family car that was gifted to me and was rear ended only a few months into owning it. It was messed up–not actually undrivable, probably, but the extent of the damage was more than the rest of the car was worth, so it was deemed totalled. And because it was a car of little value, I took my little payout and bought another crappy car. It was fine for what it was. Except when it started giving me the check oil light. I took it in to get the oil changed and apparently brought it to the dumbest, worst mechanics in town. I say this because…

Back to LA. We’ve been there a couple of days, but the car’s starting to drive a little funny and make some funny sounds and the check oil light’s back on. So, we stop at a mechanic and say “hey, can you look at this? I just had it in the shop!” And the mechanic looks at it and does his whole thing and says that whoever looked at it last screwed me over. The cap to the oil tank was shattered, so it wouldn’t screw in properly and the car could no longer safely hold oil and the oil that had been in it had now gotten into all sorts of other parts of the engine and the engine would have to be replaced, which once again, would’ve been more than the value of the car.

Now, stepping back again for one second. We’re staying with our friend Henry Barajas while we’re in LA. And while I’m at Henry’s place, I see a job posting for an editor gig at IDW (I would later learn that it was to replace John Barber). I go through it and I’m not qualified at this point. But, Henry encourages me to apply, so ultimately he’s like making dinner and conversation with Becca while I sit at his kitchen table and fill out this application, certain I’m not going to get the job.

The mechanic sees the AZ plates and asks if we’re local or if we’re staying with anyone. I tell him that my mom lives in San Diego. He says super, that’s about as far as you can go. You cannot drive back to Arizona with this car, it will not make it there. And be careful if you’re driving this down to San Diego. Becca and I do it. We drive it down, park it in the driveway of my mom and stepdad’s place, and that’s where the car died and was eventually picked up and donated from. But through some pretty convenient timing, I hear back from IDW. I am right, I’m not qualified for the editor position. But they haven’t yet posted that they’re also looking for an editorial assistant–a ground-level opening. And if I can make it there, I can do an interview with Chris Ryall. So it was that my car dying set me up to be in San Diego and do the interview.

It went well. Chris and I knew each a little, from my dad’s time at IDW, though obviously very different with me as an adult rather than a kid. It went well, and I eventually went back to AZ and waited to hear back. I got to San Diego Comic-Con and very nervously approached the IDW booth one day and talked to Chris and he said I had it, just had to finish up the paperwork on their end, and within a month, I had signed the papers and started at IDW.

And now I’m here. I've been trained by amazing people and have worked with so many fabulous creators (and still have such a wishlist of people I'd like to work with one day). I spend 5 days a week (though honestly, sometimes it seems like more) doing editorial work, and trying to write on top of and between that. I’ve got a couple comic series under my belt and lots of stories I’d still like to tell. And I bust my ass every day to bring people comics. Being in editorial, it is a sometimes frustrating job. A job that does not get a lot of credit. And a very difficult job. But it’s my job, and the highs are the best thing in the world.

I still struggle. I think that’s evident, even in how I tell my story about whether I’m actually justified in being here and doing this and if I’m any good at it. I told a friend recently that I have an easier time inviting my peers to my wedding than asking them if they’d like to work on a silly little story with me because for some reason, it feels like that’s going to be a bother or they’re not going to treat me as a serious creator. But that’s my comics story and I expect there’ll be a lot more to come from me in the future.

Thanks for reading. Amended features below!

David

What I enjoyed this birthday: Birthday cards, gifts, art, and messages! People who bought my Kofi mystery bundles (last call)! People who subscribed to my Patreon (mystery bundles til Halloween at $10+, plus a Wreckers #1 script dissection coming this weekend)! People who sent me $$$ because it's my birthday because, boy, I need 'em (see Kofi link above...)! Blank Check (Podcast), Solve This Murder (Podcast) , Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), One Piece (Manga), Pokemon Violet (Video game), The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (Book), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video game), The Traitors (TV show), Mothership (This funky space "tiki" bar in town! It's themed around having crashlanded on an alien planet, so like half the bar is what's left of your ship and the other half is like the natural cave formation and the weird irridescent plant life and stuff. It's really cool).

New Releases today (10/18/2023): No new books from me this week. :C But maybe spend the money you would've spent today on a mystery bundle or Patreon membership or something in my shop or something from Becca (remember, there's even more on Becca's Patreon and itch and other things accessible via their contact page)!

Or put your money to something good like the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, Doctors Without Borders, or UNRWA. It's hard because a lot of this money is anticipatory given the situation in Gaza (and the West Bank) and at time of writing, resources are being extremely restricted, if getting through at all. Or if you want to feel like you're having more immediate action, there're still plenty of ways to give for relief in Ukraine, which is also still under siege.

Or if money is a big ask, which, like, I get it, maybe you can give some time to something important. The Jewish Voice for Peace Action has made an easy to fill out form to write your representatives to encourage defunding and deescalating the Palestinan genocide. You can still submit your comments on "Generative AI" to the copyright office (they've actually extended the submission period). You can write to your reps to tell them to stop KOSA. You can get involved with your local library, or attend a legislative session of some sort, or otherwise take action in what you believe in because, again, things are bad right now and there is so much evil and injustice to stand up against, be it book bannings (and publishers giving in to extremists) or transphobia or worker exploitation or all of the above!

Announcements: It is my birthday. See above!

Pic of the Birthday: I will post actual birthday pictures when I have them, so this weekend's blog. In the meantime, final plug for my bundles!

#comics #comics editorial #personal story #breaking into comics #happy birthday #birthday boy #comics for sale

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gabrielferaud · 29 days

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i am so aggressively unsurprised by finding out that the ny times best seller list is chosen by editors and not based on sales like i swear every shitty book you can find out there is a ny times best seller it’s insane that there are still people who even care about the title

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ingek73 · 1 year

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Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex

She and her husband, Prince Harry have also been the recipients of the NAACP President’s Award as well as the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. Meghan’s global impact, and strong stance on resilience, equality, and compassion through action, have made her one of the most iconic public figures of this generation.

In 2018, Meghan married Prince Harry, becoming The Duchess of Sussex.

She and Prince Harry founded The Archewell Foundation in 2020 to support communities in need at a micro and macro level, in both moments of crisis as well as for long term aid. At The Archewell Foundation, they hold the value that charitable work should not simply be ‘a handout, but rather a hand held’, a phrase which Meghan first coined when supporting UK charity Smart Works, of which she is patron, that uplifts and prepares underserved women to enter the workforce. Meghan and her husband also founded and oversee production company, Archewell Productions and podcasting arm, Archewell Audio.

In 2022, Meghan launched ‘Archetypes’, a record-breaking podcast exploring the labels that try to hold women back; ‘Archetypes’ debuted at Number 1 in The US, UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and topped the charts as the Number 1 podcast in 47 countries, demonstrating her unparalleled global reach. After its first season, Archetypes was awarded The People’s Choice Award in the podcast category.

Meghan’s influence in fashion has been coined “The Meghan Effect” with items selling out within hours of her wearing them. Her ‘effect’ has transcended fashion, shifting cultural conversations as seen with her op-ed for the NY Times “The Losses We Share.” The piece detailed a heartbreaking personal loss which spiked the conversation surrounding miscarriage to the highest it had been spoken of in over two decades at the time of publishing.

Meghan resides in California with her husband and their children Prince Archie Harrison and Princess Lilibet Diana, and their three dogs.

#meghan markle #duchess of sussex #archewell

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aegor-bamfsteel · 1 year

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Do you any idea of the purpose of the- basically all east of essos?? Some people believe the Others are going to come from the Grey Waste somehow, bcs idk the Five Forts standing ground there like the wall.

To be honest i don't know how this part of the world have something to do with westeros and D@ny, i don't think she going to defend the land from the Others in the East when the story begs for her to balance the scale by being The Fire Menace.

Perhaps is only worldbuilding from Grrm, with traces of terror like h.p lovecraft.

Also it's funny how you can turn the map to the side and d@ny is like going "south" to westeros like the Others.

GRRM discussed the purpose of those places East of Qarth in a 2022 podcast (transcript by kellyvela):

GRRM: I think I invented half those lands, of course, because of the map book, you know, we did Lands of Ice and Fire a few years ago. These are the secrets of publishing that'll probably shock your listeners who think it's all real, but, so we've done The World of Ice and Fire, which had done well, and so my published said this to me, "oh wait, let's do a map book,” the maps are very popular, oh, okay, that sounds fun, we'll do a map book. So I had these maps that I'd hand drawn on typing paper, you know, and I'd been adding to them over the years, and so, I had, you know, I not only had the north and the south, but I had a little, little stuff from the free cities and I sent them all to Bantam and they blew them all up and said, well it is nice, but when we blow up to poster sizes, they're kind of blank, can you like put in more stuff? You know, cities and rivers and mountains and stuff, so, you know, so I did, I went back and I put in a lot more stuff, and, you know, of course, as I'm putting in stuff, that fucking muse in the back of my head is thinking, oh, this is good, yeah, look at that, that'd be a story there, oh, that might be, that'd be interesting, you know, and I'm venting all this damned stuff, and I send it to them and it goes pretty much as far as Qarth, you know, I've done all this and that's fine, and then my editor calls me up and said: “Well, this is great, but we noticed something, there's this scene where the Qartheen Xaro Xhoan Daxos gives Danny a big tapestry of the entire world on it. And I said, yeah, I remember that scene, yeah. "Qarth's in the middle." Yes, Qarth's in the middle. "Well, it's only on the edge of your maps, the readers are gonna wonder what's on the other side of Qarth. So could you do more maps to fill out the rest, and you've mentioned these places let's see them." So, you know, so now I'm doing maps that, you know, and I know Asshai had to be on it, there had been mentioned many times, and a few mentions of Yi Ti and Leng, so I'm putting them in and then, you know, I'm, what are the cities named? What are the mountains named? You know, at a certain point, my brain was rotting. So I started stealing things from Lovecraft and, you know, Carcosa, which is actually from Robert W. Chambers's The Yellow King, but Lovecraft borrowed it, and, oh, that's a good name for the city. I'll put in Carcosa. I'll put in Leng of course, I made it an island, it's a plateau in Lovecraft, a horrible Plateau, but it seemed a good name that would ring. I did tell you the truth, I didn't know that anybody would even notice, but there it is. And, you know, then at some point, I guess I thought I can't just have Asshai with nothing but sea below, there should be another, so, I put in a little corner of all those there. And still, of course, you've noticed that there's still more maps. So, you know, I do get whether what's beyond the Grey Wastes and what's, what is the shape of all those? What is that? And you know, I don't know. If I live to 105, and the story takes us there, or one of these other shows takes us there. I will make up stuff that hopefully will be good stuff if my muse cooperates and throws up some fun stuff for me.

From this quote, aside from a few mentions of certain places (Asshai as a city of dark magic), GRRM didn’t know about those lands until he had to come up with a map book (not published until after ADWD). The idea that the Others will come from the Gray Waste doesn’t seem like it’ll pan out in canon, because GRRM doesn’t seem to really know what’s there (and certainly thinks the characters in the main series won’t go there) beyond some references to other works like Lovecraft. There’s some foreshadowing for Dæny going west to Volantis and probably Pentos (rather than east of Qarth), as well as destroying the Yunkish army in Meereen. It’s implied in TWOIAF that there were children of the forest and giants in North Essos, so maybe there were Others in the Gray Waste (although the Five Forts analogous to the Great Wall of China are supposed to keep out “raiders” analogous to the people called the “Xiongnu”) ; but I don’t think that will be relevant to the main series, which GRRM has stated (for better or worse) is centered on Westeros.

#ask #opinion #asoiaf

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