Publications and Power Plays

Some literary contributions, a belated event mention, a few things I had nothing to do with, and - of course - a BBQ update.

Make-Believe and Artifice, by Rose Biggin, publishing September 9th from NewCon Press

Rose’s long-overdue inaugural collection. Fifteen absolutely brilliant stories from an immensely talented writer. I don’t really have the words to describe Rose’s work (awkward, what with contributing the book’s foreword), because she is - in the absolute best of ways - ‘all over the place’. She can channel styles and substances and tinker with form and format and flow, but somehow it is always uniquely and immediately Biggin-y. I have an immense amount of respect for her work, and beyond that, I really enjoy it. Highly recommended. 

Worlds of Wonder, edited by Daniel Hahn, publishing October 28th from Princeton University Press.

A book of essays about the ‘beloved classics of children’s literature’. I had the good fortune to contribute two of them, covering The Dark is Rising and The Sword in the Stone. It was a pleasure to write about both of these books, and even more of a pleasure to re-read them. The Dark is Rising is a funny ol’ book, and, despite being structured as your basic chosen-one-goes-on-a-scavenger-hunt fantasy, really breaks a lot of rules. The emphasis isn’t about a wondrous kingdom away, but on the layers of the fantastical history that can be found in rural Britain. The result is a quest that involves little-to-no-travel, just a little more attention to the world nearby. The other tricksy thing is that the protagonist has virtually no agency. Will is a lump. Things happen to him, or, more often, near him. He watches. In short, it is a fantasy where nobody goes anywhere or does anything, yet it is, undoubtedly, a glorious book.

The Sword in the Stone remains an absolutely glorious book, and truly as good as it gets. I’ve been mildly obsessed with the notion of Arthur and of ‘national myths’ and if/when the twain shall meet, so it is nice to have some of my ramblings on that topic in print. (Somewhat related, I’ve placed an extended review of The Bright Sword, so there will be more on that too.)

Most importantly, of course, I’m now a PRINCETON MAN. Right? That’s how this works? 

As I haven’t updated since Bradford Literature Festival (aka the best of all literature festivals), I held court for a flow of Very Geeky panels, with conversations about witches, vampires (Castlevania: Nocturne - which I recommend so much), and magical histories. Also a less geeky, very serious conversation about surveillance states. As always, what I love about BLF is the food the commitment to mixing people with different backgrounds and perspectives, so all of the conversations went to surprising and delightful places. I say this every year, but it is always true: it was great.

A nice writeup of the panel about Witches:

The phrase ‘midnight leech party’ was lifted from Kirsty Logan, talking about some occultish traditions. The panel agreed it’d be a great album title.

Not sure if I ever shared this, but here’s a conversation from the 2024 festival, chatting about cyberpunk with EJ Swift and Lauren Beukes:

If you’ll pardon the abrupt gear shift, I also did a podcast about stratcomms (I have NO idea why my bandwidth was garbage, but I look like I’m calling in from a maximum security penitentiary) and contributed to some reports on very serious topics. I am, after all, a Princeton Man.

Obligatory Shelfies update. We’re approaching the end of an entire year of Shelfies, which is pretty good for something we started on a whim. Recent contributors include Katiee Hui, Dan Berlinka, Adam Roberts and my dad. Yes, you read that right. Nepotism in publishing! We wanted someone for our July 4th Shelfie that would have a favourite shelf that was about America, and, frankly, there are few people that know more on that topic than my father. (That’s not nepotism, that’s objective truth.) there’s also a tantilising glimpse into his pin collection, which is, in person, terrifyingly impressive!

Finally, something I can’t claim any credit for at all:

My friend George Osborn’s book, Power Play: Video Games, Politics and the Battle for Global Influence, is now available for pre-order. Pre-orders, of course, make the world go round. So if you’re interesting in any of those topics (and if you’re reading this, I suspect you are), I suggest getting your copy now. I’ve had the pleasure of reading a few of the early chapters, and George’s work is provocative and accessible and a great deal of fun. If you’re a subscriber to his VGIM newsletter, you’ll know that already.

I have an uneven relationship with the Hugo Awards, in that, I don’t think very highly of them and they don’t think about me at all. But occasionally they (and by that, I mean the whole hand-wavey institution, voters and all) get something right.

In this case, it was ‘r/fantasy bingo’ being a finalist for Best Related Work this past year. Reddit has a bit of a nasty reputation, which is more or less reasonable: on one hand, it is the last place for actual human answers to questions on the internet. On the other hand, many of those humans are bog trolls. r/fantasy itself is a subreddit of almost four million fantasy fans. The moderation team has the unenviable task of wrangling millions of people who are united only by their love of dragons and somehow making it not a trashfire. The moderators are all volunteers, who give up their own time and peace of mind to try and make a space where people actually can talk about dragons without fear of being hassled by bog trolls. They do so very, very well. 

Beyond keeping the forum a safe and welcoming place, the moderators go a step further, and try to add some value with AMAs, resources, surveys and the occasional site-wide ‘virtual convention’. The annual r/fantasy Bingo is a long-running challenge that encourages people to read outside their comfort zone. It urges them to find books by LGBTQ+ authors, in translation, from small presses, or even (gasp) not fantasy. The prize for completing a bingo (or even a complete card) is nothing but pride, and there are no formal judging mechanisms beyond self-declaration. But tens of thousands of people participate; sharing recommendations and reviews on the way to ‘turning in’ multiple cards. The most common line is ‘I never would have tried this, but...’ It is one of the most successful discovery campaigns in SF/F today; responsible for broadening the horizons of readers and supporting midlist, forgotten, small press and marginalised authors along the way. 

r/fantasy didn’t win - although the excellent Speculative Whiteness did, so that’s forgivable. The four million strong r/fantasy needs the validation of the Hugos about as much as a shark needs a spoon. Frustratingly, it sounds like the ceremony itself was a bit of a disaster. I feel for all the finalists: that’s your moment (win or not), and it shouldn’t be ruined by bad tech / poor captions / ill-timed laughter / lack of rehearsal. 

Moderators are the invisible first-and-last-line of defense on the internet today. It is a thankless job, and projects like bingo go over and above on delivering it. So, in short: thank you. 

It has been strangely calm, settling back in to ‘ordinary’ BBQ after the competitions. That is, regular, but not continuous, backyard fires. I am, I think, a vastly better cook as a result of the 2025 sprint towards competing. I have also been thinking differently about cooking. The abstract idea of ‘competition’ gives me something to focus on, and encourages me to sharpen my skills in specific ways. 

I think that’s how my mind works. I exercise rigorously when I need to lose weight and have a specific target in mind. And the exercise class I enjoyed most was when I was boxing. I could connect the daily routine with the ultimate goal. Exercise more: weight lost. Exercise more: you punch harder (and hurt less). It isn’t gamification, per se - it is ‘tangibilisation’ (that’s a terrible word, sorry). There are real and positive consequences to my action that are relevant to my every life. Just (waves arms) ‘being healthy’ is unspecific and unmotivating. It is also, now that I think about it, a bit negative: being healthy is about preventing a worse thing, rather than taking steps towards a better thing. Perhaps there’s something behind SMART targets after all.

Anyway, to that end, I have, even in the ‘post-season’, tried to keep improving my BBQ skills - if at a slightly more sedate pace. To that end, I’ve taken a cooking class (with Migrateful, who are the best) to learn how to make dumplings. I’ve signed up for another (with Le Cordon Bleu, as one does, dah-link) to learn proper knife skills. And I spend a disturbing amount watching short videos on the Unilever Food Services app, which is - seriously - a hidden treasure. 

Because I will take any excuse to collect books, I’ve also been enjoying vintage cookbooks. I am particularly fond of the old spiral-bound ones that collect recipes from the ‘sisterhood of [fill in the blank] American religious organisation’. Some true treasures in there. I also came back from Bradford with a new translation of a very old Andalusian cookbook, and managed to tinker with that until I made a - if I say so myself - rather badass lamb dish. I’ll try to share it!

The other noteworthy success was some annoyingly glorious salmon. I say annoyingly because I am convinced that ‘being good at salmon’ is my Monkey’s Paw-style wish. ‘I want to master BBQ’ ... paw curls and (bamf) Jared is really good at fish. FISH! Why not ribs?! WHY, MONKEY PAW, WHYYYYY?! Anyway, curse or not, it was fantastic. I’ll share that too.

Anyway, we’ve got a few non-competition occasions coming up, not least of which is Thanksgiving. I’m excited about them. I feel like there’s a certain standard I’ve set for myself now. 

There’s also a non-food-related-but-BBQ-related thing coming up. I’m excited to share it when it is announced. Watch this space, as it is pretty ridiculous.

Go... (searches rapidly)... Tigers!