First, an awesome review at SF Site, which sends me into the snow with a glad heart:
Every tale told by the narrator brims with the stuff of life. At turns poetic, sumptuous, beguiling and numinous, the tales are interspersed by sly glimpses of the growing relationship between the storyteller and her prince. The overall effect is to make reading In the Night Garden as close to a genuinely magical experience as it’s possible to get, and elevates the work above most other contemporary fantasy. One day in the not too distant future, it could easily come to be regarded as a literary classic. Savvy school librarians should add it to their lists right now. Cover to cover, this is an astonishing work which reinterprets and redefines the definition of a modern classic fairytale.
Bolding mine. Hell yes.
And a note to say I AM going to make it to Boskone, though out of the house a little later this morning than I’d like. ETA to NYC is 5:30 pm. Boston via Nerd Caravan Friday, ETA 8 pm. I need an “on the road” icon.
My cell is 440-991-6438. No crazies plz. Call if you want to get together. My schedule is as follows–that’s right, I have three readings. Please come to one?
Sat 11:00am
Kaffeklatsch
Susan Shwartz
Christopher Stasheff
Catherynne M. Valente
Sat 12:00 noon
Jumping the Quark: When SF Series Lost It
The term “jumping the shark” is used to describe the moment when a TV
crosses the line from good to silly. Our panelists describe when
SF TV
shows (or movie series) crossed that line, “jumping the quark” (to
steal a phrase from SFX magazine).
Bob Devney
Colin Harris
(M) MaryAnn Johanson
Timothy Liebe
Catherynne M. Valente
Sat 3:00pm
The Fantastic and the Mundane: A Look at Urban Fantasy
What is urban fantasy? A discussion of definitions dealing with what
is essentially another umbrella term: we have vampires, werewolves,
wizards, elves, ghosts and more all falling under the concept of
urban
fantasy or authors identifying themselves as urban fantasy
writers. Is
it new? Who is writing it? Some people self-identify as urban
fantasy writers. Some think of themselves as something else. And
some reject the categorization. Is Neil Gaiman urban fantasy?
Margaret Atwood? Anne Rice? What makes them different or same as
Simon R. Green, Jim Butcher or Laurell K. Hamilton?
(M) Elizabeth Bear
Mark Del Franco
Catherynne M. Valente
Andrew Wheeler
Sat 6:00pm
Broad Universe Reading
Victoria McManus
Jennifer Pelland
Jessica Reisman
Melissa Scott
Catherynne M. Valente
Morven Westfield
Phoebe Wray
Sat 7:00pm
Bed Time Stories for the Young and Old
Catherynne Valente reads from her latest book, The Orphans Tales: In
the Night Garden.
Catherynne M. Valente
Sat 10:00pm
The Dark Ascent: Contemporary Horror
If quality is any measure, the horror genre may once again be rising
from the grave. Do dark times hinder or help horror? What themes are
becoming frighteningly fashionable: gore or ghosts? Kinky sex or the
straight supernatural? We’ll discuss old stalwarts plus dark new
stars such as Caitlin Kiernan, Holly Phillips, M. Rickert, Laird
Barron, Joe Hill, and some of our own panelists.
(M) F. Brett Cox
Adam Golaski
John Langan
Darrell Schweitzer
Catherynne M. Valente
Sun 12:30pm 0.5 hours
Reading
Catherynne M. Valente
Sun 2:00pm
Autographing
Mark Del Franco
Allen M. Steele
Catherynne M. Valente
See you there!
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