“Predecessor” in Conjunctions: Betwixt the Between
I’m thrilled to say that Conjunctions just took my rather nightmarish story “Predecessor” for their latest volume, which editors Bradford Morrow and Brian Evenson describe as “Postfantasy fictions that begin with the premise that the unfamiliar or liminal really constitutes a solid ground on which to walk.” You can pre-order it now. Other contributors include:
Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, La Tête (translated from the French by Edward Gauvin)
Ben Marcus, Secret Breathing Techniques
Joyce Carol Oates, Uranus
China Miéville, From The City & the City
Elizabeth Hand, Hungerford Bridge
Robert Kelly, The Logic of the World
Shelley Jackson, Flat Daddy
Rob Walsh, Dr. Eric
Scott Geiger, A Design History of Icebergs and Their Applications
James Morrow, Bigfoot and the Bodhisattva
J. W. McCormack, POIUYT!
Jedediah Berry, Ourselves, Multiplied
Jonathan Carroll, The Stolen Church
Edie Meidav, The Golden Rule, or, I Am Trying to Do the Right Thing
Karen Russell, Dowsing for Shadows
Julia Elliott, Feral
Michael J. Lee, The Next Country
Micaela Morrissette, The Familiars
Patrick Crerand, A Man of Vision
Stephen Wright, Brain Jelly
Jon Enfield, BiotekaKF
Stephen Marche, The Personasts: My Journeys Through Soft Evenings and Famous Secrets
Theodore Enslin, The Spirit of a Lark
Stephen O’Connor, Disappearance And
March 17, 2009 at 11:40 am
Congrats!
March 17, 2009 at 11:40 am
“Postfantasy” – bloody hell, the genre mill’s ground out another one. Wondering what on earth that entails.
March 17, 2009 at 11:45 am
Alex: I don’t think you can make a movement out of “postfantasy”. So it’s preferable to something like new wave fabulists, I think. But it’s true that there’s something liberating about a brand of fantasy where you’re not really having to *explain* because certain things are taken for granted within the story. Like, where many a story stops is where a postfantasy story starts, I think. This is a crude approximation of a definition, and I’m sure that the editors will talk about it much more intelligently in their introduction. As I’m just speculating as to what they really mean by it. But, in a way, this is what Leviathan 3 was supposed to be about. Yes, sense of wonder or horror or whatever. But what then?
Jeff
March 17, 2009 at 12:31 pm
[...] VanderMeer excitedly reports that he has a story in the new issue of Conjunctions. So does Elizabeth Hand. The list of [...]
March 17, 2009 at 12:32 pm
More evidence that Conjunctions is one of the best literary magazines around. A few other outlets, such as Tin House, have shown that they’re sympathetic to a number of approaches, but I don’t think anyone’s been as consistent in this regard as Morrow is. And without sacrificing quality in the name of openness, either. Although being so open just adds to the potential quality, I guess.
Aside from your story, Jeff, I’m particularly glad to see Stephen Marche’s name on that list. Judging by his first couple of books, he seems to be ready to stake out new territory for himself.
March 17, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I need to see about subscribing to that magazine. Been thinking about it, off and on, for a few years now. Thanks for reminding me why I ought to. And of course, congrats! :D
March 17, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I’m never disappointed by Conjunctions. It’s the only fiction mag I subscribe to.
March 17, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Order placed. Now it’ll be the third mag to which I’m subscribed, after WT and EV.
March 17, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Congrats!
March 18, 2009 at 3:15 am
By saying “postfantasy” I think they are just playing on “post-modernism”…Basically it is saying this isn’t what most people would think of when they think of “fantasy”.
Anyhow, congratulations :)
March 18, 2009 at 6:04 am
Phwoar. Most excellent.
March 18, 2009 at 6:40 am
Brendan: No, I don’t think that’s what they’re doing. :)
June 13, 2011 at 7:42 pm
I just read “Predecessor.” Actually, I’ve read it five times now. I think that I am missing the point of this story. Can someone enlighten me? Why does the woman have keys? Who (or what) is the great man? Are the protagonists dead?