Description: Join Underland Press to celebrate the weird and the wonderful with readings by acclaimed authors Jeff VanderMeer, Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, and Jeff Johnson. With art by Benjamin W. Burch and music by DJ Santo, along with crepes, wine, and beer at the Press Club, we’ll stay and talk fantastic lit ’till the management kicks us out.

When: Friday, November 6. Readings start at 5:30
Where: The Press Club, 2621 SE Clinton Portland, OR 97202

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Please join me for readings, discussion, Q&A, and signing at Borders Bookstore (511 Boylston Street), along with Paul Tremblay and David Anthony Durham.

“VanderMeer’s stark tone is brutally powerful at times, and his deft mix of genre-blurring style with a layered plot make this a joy to read.” – Publishers Weekly

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Columbus Circle Borders Bookstore in New York City (10 Columbus Circle) – CITIES REAL AND UNREAL: Readings and discussion with World Fantasy Award winners Jeff VanderMeer and Jeffrey Ford, and BLDGBLOG creator Geoff Manaugh, moderated by Beatrice.com’s Ron Hogan. What do writers take from the real world when creating their fantastical creations? What does the real world take from fantasy? A playful exploration against the backdrop of one of the world’s great cities! VanderMeer’s new noir phantasmagoria, Finch, takes place in a once-prosperous failed city-state and features a detective who must navigate its many ambiguities to solve a double murder. Manaugh’s BLDG BLOG BOOK from Chronicle Books is a biography of the city through essays and interviews. Ford has written about both historical and fantastical cities in his many critically acclaimed novels and stories. Come out to celebrate the squalor, the possibilities, and the madness of cities.

(Erm, and we’ll probably all go out to a pub or bar afterwards…)

“VanderMeer’s stark tone is brutally powerful at times, and his deft mix of genre-blurring style with a layered plot make this a joy to read.” – Publishers Weekly

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I’ll be reading from Finch and talking about Finch and Booklife at Brookdale Community College (765 Newman Springs Road), in the Student Life Center (SLC), Room–Navesink I. Jeffrey Ford teaches at Brookdale. Should be a fun gig.

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I will be doing an event at Plymouth State’s Lamson Library & Learning Commons (in the Commons Cafe) from 6pm to 7:30pm, with my friend and City of Saints illustrator Eric Schaller. The library is running an exhibit of my work from October 15 to November 23, which includes highlighting the work Schaller has done for my books. The event will be part reading, part discussion, part Q&A. (Thanks to Matt Cheney.)

Here’s the official description of the event:

Which came first; the story or the illustration? When you think about the illustrated stories that you’ve read, whether they have been in the form of a graphic novel, a picture book, or comic strip–you might ask yourself this question. In an exploration of the collaborative process between an illustrator and author, Plymouth State University presents Illustrating VanderMeer: a glimpse into the collaborative works of Author, Jeff VanderMeer and Illustrator, Eric Schaller, October 15 – November 23 at Lamson Library. Join us on November 23rd from 6pm – 7:30 pm for an event in the Commons Cafe, where you will have the opportunity to meet the author and illustrator and hear VanderMeer talk about, read from, and sign his recently published books Finch and Booklife. The PSU Bookstore will make copies of both books available for sale at this event.

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A reading from Finch, and discussion, with Glen Hirshberg, at Cal State, San Bernardino. (No doubt with anecdotes from visiting the Fellow Earthlings Center, and its meerkats, earlier that day.) Tentative time, 6pm, English Department events room in the UH Building.

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At MIT on November 19th in room 4-231, I’ll be presenting a lecture on Booklife, followed by a discussion and reception. The discussion will be with Kevin Smokler of BookTour.com.

Booklife: The Private and the Public in Transmedia Storytelling and Self-Promotion

Fictional experiments in emerging media like Twitter and Facebook are influencing traditional printed novels and stories in interesting ways, but another intriguing new narrative is also emerging: the rise of “artifacts” that, although they support a writer’s career, have their own intrinsic creative value. What are the benefits and dangers of a confusion between the private creativity and the public career elements of a writer’s life caused by new media and a proliferation of “open channels”? What protective measures must a writer take to preserve his or her “self” in this environment? In addition to the guerilla tactics implicit in storytelling through social media and other unconventional platforms, in what ways is a writer’s life now itself a story irrespective of intentional fictive storytelling? Examining these issues leads naturally to a discussion on the tension and cross-pollination between the private and public lives of writers in our transmedia age, including the strategies and tactics that best serve those who want to survive and flourish in this new environment. What are we losing in the emerging new paradigm, and what do we stand to gain?

Presented in conjunction with Futures of Entertainment 4

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I’ll be talking to a couple of classes there, one about publishing, with Underland’s Victoria Blake, and then doing a reading from Finch in the evening: 7 p.m., in Eaton Hall, Room 209.

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I’ll be at Clayton Books talking about Finch and about Booklife and giving attendees a little teaser of the all-day Booklife workshop. Clayton is about an hour’s drive from San Francisco.

EXPLORING YOUR BOOKLIFE: In this new age of social media award-winning writer Jeff VanderMeer, the author of Booklife: Strategies & Survival Tips for 21st Century Writers, shows you how to achieve a sustainable career and sustainable creativity. The workshop touches in holistic fashion on both your Public Booklife and your Private Booklife. From dealing with white noise and “open channels” to multi-tasking your creativity, distinguishing process from habit, and rediscovering passion in your writing, this workshop is all about balance and working smarter. The workshop addresses questions like “How can thinking strategically about your career actually enhance your private writing time?” and “What types of promotion or networking enhance your life and which turn you into a dog chasing its own tail?” For beginning and intermediate writers. Whether you’ve just started submitting your work or have a couple of books published, this workshop will provide valuable strategies for enhancing your Booklife.

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I’ll be reading as part of the SF in SF series from my novel Finch, among other things. Expect a “professional cockroach” anecdote, too. (With S.G. Browne.)

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