Last Friday I read from “Lyes” in my collection Skin Deep Magic as a part of the Lambda Literary Finalist Reading series. A friend snapped the photo above.
PHOTO: A photo of me reading in New York City
Gidney at the World Horror Convention; Tanith Lee panel
I will be at the World Horror Convention in Atlanta next month (May 7-10). I was invited to moderate a panel on WHC’s Lifetime Achievement Winner Tanith Lee. It is an unexpected honor. Lee will not be there, due to health reasons. (She is intensely private, but this information has ‘leaked’). I will also be on another panel.
My schedule is as follows:
FRIDAY, MAY 8:
10-11 AM Panel: Dancing With Darkness: A Tribute to HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Tanith Lee – DUNWICH
Moderator: Craig Laurence Gidney. Panelists: Ellen Datlow, Naima Haviland, Mandy Slater, Lisa Tuttle
1-2 PM Panel: WORLD HORROR: Different Visions: African-American Spec-Lit From Afro-Futurism to Beloved – SARNATH
Moderator: Balogun Ojetade. Panelists: Jeff Carroll, Gerald Coleman, Crystal Connor, Craig Laurence Gidney, John Edward Lawson
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The Elephant in the Room: On the Hugo Awards
Much has been written about the current unpleasantness in the Science Fiction and Fantasy fan community. The TL;DR version is that two groups of right wing blowhards ballot stuffed the Hugo Awards. The first group uses dogwhistle language—they are against “Affirmative Action Fiction” (works that feature trans or gay or ethnic minorities characters, and believe that women should be a hero’s reward). The other group is not subtle about about their contempt. They include a White Supremacist editor and an author known more for his unhinged homophobic rants is nominated six times(!) The message they are sending is quite clear.
Other people have written about this issue—including George R.R. Martin and John Scalzi and Mary Robinette Kowal. I agree and support their efforts and suggestions.
But here’s the thing for me. and frankly, the elephant in the room.
I don’t feel safe. I’ve been called the n-word and the f-word in public more times than I can count. And where I live is perhaps the bluest of blue cities—Washington DC. I have no desire to pay my hard earned money for the pleasure of being insulted by a bunch of people who despise my very existence. Elimination rhetoric is only a hairsbreadth away from violence. I’ve seen it way too many times. I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way. I’ve got to wonder about how many gay people, or fans of color will actually show up to Worldcon, and frankly, any other con as long as these toxic people are going to attend.
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BOOK BIRTHDAY: “The End of the End of Everything” by Dale Bailey
Happy Book Birthday to my colleague (we did a workshop together) Dale Bailey’s new collection of speculative fiction, The End of the End of Everything. His work is filled with poetic, Bradburyesque prose, keenly observed characters and inventive plots that range from time travel stories to alternate history to apocalyptic horror.
My author interview with Bailey will appear sometime soon.
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My interview with Forrest Aguirre, author of “Heraclix & Pomp”
The Washington Independent Review of Books posted my interview with Forrest Aguirre, whose excellent historical fantasy novel, Heraclix and Pomp: A novel of the Fabricated and the Fey deftly weaves a tale of esoteric magic, horror, whimsy and romance against the backdrop of the late days of the Holy Roman Empire.
You can read the interview here.
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The Wiz is coming to TV as a live broadcast play!
NBC will be doing a live broadcast of The Wiz in December. I loved the play and the movie (which was a huge flop). The movie introduced me to the legend that was Lena Horne, who bought the house down with her rendition of “Home.” Lena as Glinda the Good Witch features in my coming out/ diva worship fable, “Circus Boy Without A Safety Net.” Here’s hoping that NBC doesn’t make a mess of the show as they did with Peter Pan!
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Book Birthday: “Daydreamers” by Jonathan Harper
Happy Birthday to my friend, colleague Jonathan Harper’s debut collection, “Daydreamers.” It’s been getting some great buzz. Harper and I not only share publishers (Lethe Press), we also live relatively near each other (DC Authors represent!). I’ve heard him read from the collection and can assure you that his fiction is full of humor, and excellent characterization.
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GoodReads List for Speculative Authors of Color
I’ve started a GoodReads list of speculative fiction by authors of color. Feel free to add more books: https://t.co/r2PDw56dzM
— Craig L Gidney (@ethereallad) March 18, 2015
I tweeted yesterday about the GoodRead list I started about Speculative Fiction Authors of Color. I’d like to see it grow into a crowd-sourced resource for folks who support diverse fiction.
The link is here.
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Pagan Poetry: Story Notes for “Inscribed”
When I was in fifth grade, we studied Greek Mythology . The text we used was Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. I think the teacher cleaned-up the myths up, taking out all the naughty bits, but she sparked my interest in mythology in general. Because of this interest, I got another, more comprehensive salacious book at a yard sale for 25 cents. That was the birth of my obsession.
What cemented my obsession, though, is an obscure children’s novel, called The Gods in Winter by Patricia Miles. The teacher read the novel aloud to us a couple of times a week. It’s set in 1950s Britain and retells the story of Persephone and Demeter. The POV characters are kids, after their parents hire a mysterious nanny who always seems to be looking for her lost daughter. The mythic echoes in the story are full of wonder and terror, I remember being haunted by expertly invoked angst of the nanny (who, of course is Demeter/Ceres in disguise).
“Inscribed” is a kind of skewed homage to that book. It’s set in the present-day, and concerns the esoteric research of Byron Davies, a kind of Robert Graves-styled academic, and the legacy he leaves for his son, Simon, who isn’t interested. It’s a kind of Oedipal tale about fathers and sons, betrayal and alchemy. The figure of Hermes—as psychopomp, magician and trickster—is woven throughout the story.
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Rebel Satori Press is offering a 25% discount on Skin Deep Magic
The Rebel Satori Press website is offering a 25% discount on Skin Deep Magic until the end of this month (3/31/15). The coupon code and website information are below.
Craig Laurance Gidney 
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