Last night, just before I went to bed, I learned that a recent story from Kaleidotrope (Will Kaufman’s “Eris Sinks Pluto,” April 2010) had been named to the editor’s shortlist for the next Best American Fantasy volume. This isn’t the same thing as it being included in the volume, or even necessarily among the honorable mentions, but it was one of several stories selected by series editor Larry Nolen and passed on to the volume editor, Minister Faust. I thought it was exciting news.
Of course, in the same breath, it was announced that the series, sadly, won’t be continuing. The volume, with or without Will’s intriguing story, won’t be printed.
Oh well. C’est la vie.
Today, on the other hand, was just a regular Friday around here. Went to work, came home around 2 o’clock, did some light grocery shopping, and put together my new kneeling chair. I’ve sat in it a little, but I think it’s still going to take some getting used to. My back has actually improved quite a bit in the weeks since I bought the chair, but we’ll see.
And that, such as it was, was my Friday.
What a shame about Best American Fantasy…maybe they’ll reconsider. Or issue an ebook instead. Still, awesome that it was nominated.
I saw the picture of your new ejection seat, er, kneeling chair. Interesting.
In one of the blogs reporting it, maybe Jeff Vandermeer’s, I think someone suggested the ebook route, and it was implied that this really wasn’t an option. The problem is, the costs of physically printing a book are relatively low compared to the overall costs of paying authors, editors, and marketing. The thing I liked about BAF was that it cast a very wide net — and would be casting it even wider, in theory, with the upcoming new volume.
There are still lots of “best of the year” anthologies out there. Although it does sometimes seems like the ones friendliest to Kaleidotrope and the like are the ones that close up shop.
And the chair actually feels a lot less precarious than it looks. I think I need more cushioning for my shins, but I never feel in danger of falling off.