The Art of Space: The History of Space Art
From the Earliest Visions to the Graphics of the Modern Era by Ron Miller forewords by Carolyn Porce and Dan Durda Before the publication of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and Around the Moon (1869), literary journeys to the moon and planets were almost exclusively limited to allegory, fantasy or satire. […]
Excerpt: Alphabetical by Michael Rosen
“e is for e. e. cummings” In about 1960, my father showed me some poems by e. e. cummings. (Note: not E. E. Cummings.) For a while, I felt dislocated, at a loose end. The point about our conventions of print is that they tell you where you are, without telling you. That simple little […]
Excerpt: The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell
The hybrobus stopped right beside the river checkpoint, like Rauden said it will. The driver wore a mask. They generally check your Pass real good when you go out of state, but this guy didn’t even look—just took my bus coupon and off we go. I guess whatever bad thing someone from where I’m from […]
Excerpt: The Descartes Highlands by Eric Gamalinda
Mother and I always sat out in the backyard whenever the moon was full. It seemed bigger and brighter in Westchester, where there was not much else to see. Among the dark patches of the moon were the peaks of the Descartes Highlands, where the Apollo 16 mission scooped samples of rock and soil. You […]
Interview: Alejandro Zambra, Author of My Documents
Shelf Unbound: What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example the boy coming of age in the title story, with typewriter and computer metaphors throughout? Alejandro Zambra: I think that literary genres are like shirts you can put on, but they always feel a little uncomfortable. In a certain way, […]
Interview: Joshua Harmon, Author of History of Cold Seasons
Shelf Unbound: What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example the sisters who think their older brother keeps a girl tied up in the woods in “Rope”? Joshua Harmon: My stories typically begin with an image or incident (drawn from life or imagined) or sometimes a phrase. “Rope,” however, began […]
Excerpt: The Science of Shakespeare: A New Look at the Playwright’s Universe written by Dan Falk
Shakespeare’s audience did not have to look far to see the stars: A wooden canopy projected out over the stage, and its underside—known as “the heavens,” was decorated with brightly painted stars and constellations. It served its purpose in Hamlet, for example, when the prince refers to “this brave o’erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted […]
Interview: Tony Daniel, Author of Savage Trade (Star Trek: The Original Series)
Shelf Unbound: Star Trek: The Original Series: Savage Trade reintroduces the Excalbians, first seen on televisionin 1969 in season 3. Describe the Excalbians and why you chose to focus your novel on them. Tony Daniel: The episode is called “The Savage Curtain.” The Excalbians were the aliens who turned themselves into Abraham Lincoln, Genghis Khan, […]
Interview: Laura Prichett, Author of Stars Go Blue
Shelf Unbound: You first wrote about Colorado ranchers Ben and Renny in Hell’s Bottom, Colorado, in which they were dealing with the immediate aftermath of their daughter’s murder. Stars Go Blue is set many years later, with the couple having been living estranged from each other on opposite sides of the ranch but now being […]
Interview: Sandra Newman, Author of A Country of Ice Cream Star
Shelf Unbound: You’ve written an extraordinarily literary dystopian novel. What drew you to a dystopian theme? Sandra Newman: Well, technically, The Country of Ice Cream Star isn’t a dystopian novel. There is no one government in it, and thus no opportunity for a truly dystopian situation to develop. I mean, if you can just walk […]