Inhuman Swill

Batter up! My pulpy new short story, "The Visitors at Wriggly Field," is now online as part of the Pulps series at ChicagoIn2012.org. It's probably my first sports story, and may well be my last, so I hope you enjoy it. (The illustration is by Frank Wu!)

The Pulps series supports Chicago's bid for the 2012 Worldcon. Earlier stories in the series, both in print and online, have been contributed by Frederik Pohl, Gene Wolfe, Mike Resnick, Phyllis Eisenstein, Roland Green, Richard Garfinkle, Lois Tilton, and others. I'm glad I hadn't read any of the earlier stories before I wrote mine, or I might have been too intimidated to produce.

The stories are an homage to Chicago's past as a home to many classic publishers of pulp science fiction. The guidelines we all were given were that:

• the hero must be square-jawed and dim-witted, with B.S. for his initials;
  
• the heroine must be smart, capable and beautiful, with the name Elaine Ecdysiast;
  
• the evil-genius villain must be dastardly and scenery-chewing, with the name D. Vice;
  
• and the story must be set at least in part in Chicago.
  

Even by those standards, I clearly went for the lowest common denominator. No, seriously. Frank chose wisely by not illustrating the story's climax.

We leave for Japan in a little less than ten hours. I'd better get some sleep!

Epidode #48 of "ShunnCast" is now available, in which Bill attempts to convince you to order his brand-new six-pack chapbook—only five bucks!—and a definition for the term "chapbook" itself is sought.

http://www.shunn.net/podcast?id=48

See also shunncast.

Here, if you're interested, is my Worldcon program schedule:

Sat 1200 Kaffeeklatsche
Participants: William SHUNN

Sat 1400 Religion In SF
Participants: Jessica LANGER, Kari MAUND, Robert Charles WILSON, William SHUNN
Though their pursuits are not mutually exclusive, religion and speculative fiction are almost anathema to one another. In SF, religion is ridiculed as superstition, derided as a pursuit of less advanced minds. Why is this kind of discrimination acceptable? Why are there not more proudly religious characters in SF?

Sun 1400 The Integration of Science and Religion in SF&F
Participants: Lisa C. FREITAG, Robert Charles WILSON, William SHUNN, Edward JAMES
Science Fiction is the literature of the humanist, the rationalist and the skeptic. As theoretical physicists look at the underpinnings of the physical universe, they see the presence of the hand of God. How do authors integrate religion and science? Can it only be done in fantasy?

If you'll be there, I hope you'll catch the Saturday panel or its Sunday rerun!

(Full programming schedule.)

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UPDATE:  I received an updated version of my schedule a short while ago, and I have edited this entry accordingly. A noon kaffeeklatsch was added on Saturday!

Epidode #47 of "ShunnCast" is now available, in which Bill reflects on sex and the modern Mormon missionary, with illustrations from his own post-Canada mission service. Live from Balticon, more or less!

http://www.shunn.net/podcast?id=47

See also shunncast.

FRIDAY
Derby, 10 PM
LIAR'S PANEL ON HOW TO GET PUBLISHED
Carol Berg, Joshua Palmatier, Laurence Schoen, William Shunn, Diane Weinstein

SATURDAY
Derby, 3 PM
HIGH TECH WAYS TO PROMOTE YOURSELF
Walter Hunt, Robert Jeschonek, Melissa Marr, Jana G. Oliver, Joshua Palmatier, William Shunn

SUNDAY
Salon F, 12 PM
PODCASTING AND MUSIC
Matthew Wayne Selznick, Jason Adams, Heather Welliver, William Shunn, Phil Rossi

Salon E, 4 PM
SOLO PODCASTING
Grailwolf, Command Line, Chris Merle, William Shunn, Mur Lafferty, Leann Mabry

MONDAY
10 AM
READING
William Shunn

Derby, 11 AM
VOICE ACTING AND PUBLIC SPEAKING
Cindy Shockley, JR Blackwell, Tee Morris, William Shunn, Rich Sigfrit, J.C. Hutchins, Renfield, Steve Wilson, Leann Mabry

So Laura and I went back to see our bowling-champion accountant last night to pick up our taxes. He met us rushing back from dinner at a neighborhood Italian place down the avenue. The news was so good that we went straight over to a bar called Dillinger's for celebratory beer and wings.

Of course, good news is relative, and in this case means the news was not nearly as bad as we feared it would be. We may still be able to afford to move to Chicago and go to Worldcon in Yokohama.

And of course, even if the news had been truly bad, we still would have gone to Dillinger's for consolatory beer and wings. They just wouldn't have tasted quite as good as the celebratory ones.

See if you can spot Scott Edelman, Bob Howe, and me (and maybe other people you know!) in this old segment from the premier episode of the Trio series Parking Lot. We're trying to be all erudite and shit while they intercut our interview clips with furries. It's pretty funny, and no less than what we deserve!

(Taped in 2003.)

Scott Edelman just sent me some photos he took at World Fantasy, one of which fairly screamed to be posted here.

( Not particularly inflammatory but might offend my mother )

Laura and I didn't take many photos at World Fantasy, but luckily the irrepressible John Klima did.





Klima and his Spilt Milk Press are bringing out my chapbook in May, but in the meantime you would be well served to snap up a copy of their first chapbook, The Sense of Falling by Ezra Pines. That link is to an old pre-order page, but rest assured that this slim volume is out and available and well worth your five measly bucks.

Had a great time in Austin. Laura and I caught up with several New York friends who have decamped to Texas in the last couple of years, saw Idiocracy (at last) at a movie theater that serves beer, drank more Shiner Bock than we ever hoped to in our wildest dreams, attended a plethora of great readings, managed to get lost more than once on the Capital of Texas Highway, ate ourselves silly, and at least met great folks like Evan McClanahan and Trent Hergenrader in person. I was very sorry to have arrived at the bar too late Sunday evening to meet up with ShunnCast listener Andrew Langston—my deepest apologies!—but I did arrive in time to meet by chance an editor who spoke enthusiastically about the novel proposal for Inclination that is on her desk.

So all in all, a splendid weekend, and I thank Laura for, as usual, keeping me out of the hotel room and on track.

Laura rolled out of bed remarkably early to go for a 17-mile run along the ocean shore, starting at Huntington Beach (part of her marathon training regimen). I took my sweet time getting up, making it down to Starbuck's by maybe 9:30. I sat and chatted with Jim Minz there for a few minutes, then with Brian and Trevor.

( More Saturday and Sunday )

A shamefully small set of our Worldcon photos is here.

Gordon and I pulled Laura out of the panel she was attending, and Laura immediately got on the phone with Shana. Turns out Ella had, according to Dan the Dogwalker, a terrible ear infection, and that she yelped when her ear was touched. She had also, according to Shana, beshat the entire apartment a couple of times over. As Laura flipped back and forth between consulting with Shana and consulting with Dan and calling our vet back in New York, Paul Melko happened along with a group headed for lunch. Laura forced Gordon and me to join the lunch group and leave the dog-worrying to her.

( More Friday afternoon and evening )

For a change of scenery, Laura and I went over to Hilton for breakfast. It was a touch better than at the Marriott. Then it was upstairs to the Lido rooms for my hour-long 10:00 am reading. But on the way we ran into—surprise!—our friend Gordon, who had mentioned something Wednesday about wanting to come down from L.A. to the con for the day but not being sure he could. It was very cool of him.

( More Friday )

Laura and I got up reasonably early Thursday. We were just sitting down at our table in the Marriott restaurant when something hit me in the back of the head. I looked down. A sugar packet lay on the floor at my feet. I looked around. Scott Edelman, Hurler of Sweets™, looking innocent, was sitting at a table in a nearby section a couple of feet higher than ours, behind a low wall. We went to the wall and said hello. Scott introduced us to his tablemate, Robert Silverberg, and we proceeded to have a pleasant little conversation over the wall with the tops of Scott's and I-Can't-Quite-Bring-Myself-to-Call-Him-Bob's heads. Eyes, but no mouths. And me mostly tongue-tied, being a Silverberg worshipper. (Who isn't?)

( More Thursday )

So I keep putting off my Worldcon report because I'm busy and it seems so daunting. So I'll break it up by day.

( Wednesday )

For those keeping score at home, I have my Worldcon schedule in hand:


Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 4:00PM

THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM (Room 201 C, ACC, 60-90 mins.)

How we get the news is changing before our eyes. Newspaper circulation is down dramatically. Online blogs and podcasts have put reportage in the hands of average citizens -- for both good and ill. Advances in camera and satellite technology make it simple for reporters to bring the public stories from the most far-flung parts of the planet. What will the future bring? And how will we know what to believe?
William Shunn(M), M. Christine Valada, Esq., Tom Galloway, Cory Doctorow, Paul Fischer

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006 5:30PM

THEATER, FANTASY, AND SCIENCE FICTION (Room 207 C, ACC, 60-90 mins.)

A discussion of fantasy and science fiction plays, today and through history.
Laura Frankos, Keith G. Kato(M), William Shunn, Lise Eisenberg

Thursday, August 24th, 2006 5:30PM

ADAPTING SF AND FANTASY FOR THE STAGE (Room 205 B, ACC, 60-90 mins.)

Today's SF and fantasy films rely heavily on computer generated characters and effects. How can you bring them believably to the stage? Or should you even try?
Steve Collins, William Shunn(M), Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Janet Wilson Anderson, Brian Coghill

Friday, August 25th, 2006 10:00AM

READING: William Shunn (Lido B, HILTON, 60 mins.)

Friday, August 25th, 2006 4:00PM

KAFFEKLATSCH: William Shunn (Kaffeklatsch #2, ACC, 60 mins.)

Yes, it's true—the little (M) means I'm moderating two of those panels. So come on out and watch my wife signal to me from the audience as to when I need to step in and say something. At least I'll have all the difficult stuff out of the way early, and be able to relax and enjoy the balance of the weekend!

The full Worldcon program schedule can be found here.

So Michael Libling and I left the Meet the Pros(e) Party last night at about a quarter to midnight, intending to hit the hotel bar for a real drink. We sat down and the young waitress came by.

"What can I get you gentlemen?"

"What do you have in the way of scotch?"

"Um, Dewar's, Grant's..."

"Single-malt?"

"Um ... would you like to see a menu?"

"Please."

The menu arrived and we scanned the pretty decent list of single-malts for a minute.

"Are you ready, gentlemen?"

"Yes, we'll have two Obans, one on the rocks, one neat."

"Um, we can't serve an on the rocks."

"Um, okay, then two Obans, neat."

"What's neat?"

"Straight."

"Oh, we can't serve it to you straight."

"Um, why not?"

"We can't serve that after eleven-thirty. It's an hour before last call."

"Is that the law?"

"It's the hotel policy here. Only mixed drinks, beer, and wine."

"Oh. Well, there wasn't much point bringing us a scotch list then, was there?"

[Exuent, chased by nothing]

Yes, here I am at Readercon 17, making a quick post from my lovely hotel room.

I met bobhowe at Logan Airport, each of us having flown their separately, and then we made the quick drive to Burlington together in a rented car. After checking into our rooms, we met in the hotel pub for some lunch and a couple of beers. We also chatted briefly there (and afterward at con registration) with Jeff Ford, Patrick O'Leary, Paul Witcover, and Scott Edelman.

(I had to stop at two beers, considering that I will be reading to an audience of hopefully multiple persons in about 90 minutes.)

At registration I was happy to see that this afternoon's schedule had been rearranged enough that Mary Turzillo and I will be reading consecutively instead of at the same time. Mary is reading at 4:00 pm, and I'm reading at 4:30 pm. If you're here, come on down! At Laura's suggestion, I will be recording my reading to the laptop for my podcast.

(Haven't seen Mary, or any other Blue Heaveners, yet. But I'm keeping my eyes open!)

Bob and I have scored at the freebie table. Paperback copies of Paul Park's A Princess of Roumania are there, as is a stack of what would appear to be genuine, musty-smelling first editions of Norman Spinrad's The Void Captain's Tale. Goooooaaaaalll!

Okay, time to toddle off to a panel.

(Interesting that "Fast Car" is the track that came up when I started playing music here. I'm having dinner with Geoff Landis and Mary Turzillo tonight, among other Clarion '85ers, and Tracey Chapman's mother sang at their wedding a few years ago.)

I've just received my Readercon schedule for this weekend:

Friday 4:30 PM. Reading (30 min.)
William Shunn reads from his novel-in-progress Inclination, a continuation of the novella of the same name that appeared recently in Asimov's.

Saturday 2:00 PM. Kaffeeklatsch

If you're attending, look for me!

I am confirmed as a program participant for L.A.con IV, the 64th World Science Fiction Convention. I don't know yet what I'll be doing on the program, but I will be at the con in Anaheim all five days, from August 23rd to 27th. I hope you will be too. (A lot of people don't like L.A. much, but I love it, as only someone who moved far away as a young child can.)

As a program participant, I get complimentary memberships for me and my wife. But since I had purchased one before getting added to program, I now have one Worldcon membership for sale. It can be yours for $175, which is exactly what I paid for it.

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UPDATE:  The membership is tentatively spoken for. If this changes, I will post about it again.