The Steampunk Bible and Steampunk Slideshow
(Check out this Steampunk slideshow with text I put together, commissioned by Film In Focus to coincide with their updates on the animated film 9, featuring two great pieces by John Coulthart among other goodies. And then check out their other slideshows–some really great stuff.)
I believe I’ve mentioned this project briefly before, but it’s official-official, so…I’ve sold The Steampunk Bible to Abrams Image in New York City. It’s meant to be the quintessential pictorial and textual look at Steampunk, from all angles–movies/books/comics, fashion, art, makers, the green tech element, international Steampunk, and much more–making sure to capture the “punk” as well as the “steam”. It will be a beautiful book-as-object, too. I’ll be doing additional research and interviews for the book during my book tour this fall. Publication is scheduled for late next year.
In addition to thanking my agent, Howard Morhaim, I’d like to thank Leslie Henkel, a publicist at Abrams, as well as Matt Staggs, whose nudges started a chain of events. Also thanks to editors Maxine Kaplin and David Cashion at Abrams–the whole process so far bodes well for not only a great book but a great experience. Finally, thanks to Jake Von Slatt of the Steampunk Workshop for mentoring, friendship, and much else–truly an extraordinary guy.
August 27, 2009 at 10:14 am
Very very incredibly cool! Congratulations!
August 27, 2009 at 10:51 am
That is fantastic! Congratulations!
August 27, 2009 at 11:31 am
What a spectacular project! I can’t wait to see the results.
I can’t help experiencing a twinge of discomfort about “Steampunk” being the catch-all term for all the different movements you describe in the slideshow. It seems to me that true steampunk requires an element of anxiety and even dread about technology that isn’t present in much of the nostalgic work that’s followed the original novels and stories that inspired the moniker. You touched on this a few times in your slideshow, of course.
Maybe I’m just trying to close the barn door long after the mechanical horses have fled. The punk aesthetic started out with a strong strain of nihilism, but today it also features a forward-thinking DIY element, and I don’t have a problem using the same word for the whole shebang.
August 27, 2009 at 11:50 am
James: I think I do more than just touch on it. Also, I explain that there’s no real movement now. Instead, it’s an “aesthetic”–a kind of toolbox–and it’s actually more powerful that way. In any event, all of this will be dealt with in the book, so your discomfort level will be very low. I think that’s the advantage of having someone like me do it–I’m familiar with the subculture and the sub-genre, but not part of it. So I can provide good perspective. The bottom line is, though, there’s all this really cool stuff being done, and regardless of how you categorize it, the creation of this stuff is being driven by people’s belief in “Steampunk” as an idea.
August 27, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Jeff – that’s awesome news. Abrams is an excellent imprint, and the book is going to be gorgeous.
August 27, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Oh, you’re right, Jeff. It’s all cool stuff, and I’m keen to see a comprehensive look at the whole subculture. And you’re right, you more than touched the subject–I chose the wrong word there. I was just expressing that it’s interesting that the word “steampunk” still doesn’t feel quite right to me as a catch-all, whereas the word “punk” no longer generates the same discontent. Probably a function of the differing ages of the terms (and my relative distance from each subculture).
August 30, 2009 at 8:21 am
Wonderful slideshow!
March 10, 2010 at 12:36 pm
[...] world and a better approach to technology. I am looking forward to Jeff VanderMeer’s upcoming The Steampunk Bible for more erudition–and [...]