Heh. I didn’t realize the quirkiness of today’s date until I just typed in today’s headline.
- Vandermeer on postmodern techniques in fantasy. “A postmodern technique used in a ‘fantastical setting’ often supports the milieu, even if those same techniques used with a modern-day setting can seem artificial or distracting from the reality of place.”
- Jason Mittell on Lost‘s best season. Hear hear, especially re: denying infinity.
- DC Comics’ Gregory Noveck on the transmediation of Batman. I can’t wait for this.
- Disney and Pixar: the power of the prenup. Don’t miss the contrasting descriptions at the end of Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda.
- NYT on Ray Kurzweil. “God is a hacker, not an engineer.” – Francis Crick
- Has the time come to close the book on women-only literary prizes? Yes, or else it’s time for men-only literary prizes. And white men-only literary prizes.
- Winterson and Selfe on the idea of home. “Why be happy when you could be normal?”
- Powazek at BEA. Derek makes his usual excellent points, and Sigler demonstrates more proof of the Doctorow model of publishing.
- Sagmeister on design for non-designers. Remembering how important sabbaticals are.
- Where will we find literature’s Radiohead? I’d argue we already have.
- It’s hard out there for a literary novelist. Damn, only 3,000 copies sold?
- Pop fiction unaffected by lit crit demise. “As a first-time novelist whose book came out in paperback, lacks a thinly disguised evil publishing diva, and does not have ‘Calamity Physics’ in the title? Sadly, I won’t be affected.” Ha!
- Publishers, techies love each other up. Old news, apparently new to publishing.
- Chabon and Ford on why genre tags don’t matter. Chabon is my new hero.
- Amanda Rose Smith. “Like film music without the film.” Haunting and beautiful.
- Where are the men? Choire Sicha wonders at the hip young pretty literati boys…
- Maybe they’re too pretty? …And Galleycat posits it’s because they haven’t come into their crow’s feet yet.
- Disney forms graphic novel division. “Some of these exciting publications will be inspired by films and characters in the vast and storied Disney library, while other original graphic novels are sure to spark great ideas for future Disney classics.” Translation: spinoffs and an IP factory.
- The Ghost Story Society. Way too cool.
- Cat turns into a woman in Port Harcourt. Witchcraft!
- In praise of the chapbook. I still think shorter texts are the way to go, moving forward.