I’m pleased to announce that my novelette “Caesar’s Children: A Tale of Pluritopia,” about a world of utopias on the verge of cataclysmic war, is now available in a French language translation in Jean-Marc Lofficier’s anthology Les Compagnons de l’Ombre 19 from Rivière Blanche.
A couple weekends ago, I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 Dum-Dum convention hosted by the Chicago Muckers chapter of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, being asked to give a talk on Philip José Farmer’s Khokarsa/Ancient Opar series. I’d like to thank Joan Bledig and Jim Hadac for inviting me to speak at the con, and everyone else for the warm welcome and fun time. Here are some pictures from the weekend.
The Dum-Dum 2016 logo by award-wining artist Douglas Klauba.
My table in the huckster room. (I sold all of my stock but a couple books!) (Photo courtesy of Jason Scott Aiken)
Cathy Wilbanks (archivist at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.) and me with copies of my latest books. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Wilbanks)
Michael A. Hatt speaks about his book, TARZAN SLEPT HERE: EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS AND THE COLDWATER CONNECTION (Mad Kings Publishing)
Another shot of me in the huckster room. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Wilbanks)
With Ray Le Beau in the huckster room. (Photo courtesy of Ray Le Beau)
The audience gathers for my talk on Ancient Opar.
Giving my talk on Philip José Farmer’s Khokarsa and Ancient Opar. (Photo courtesy of Jason Scott Aiken)
Kaffeeklatsch with Guest of Honor Mike Resnick.
Bob Garcia giving his presentation on artists who illustrated the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Doug Ellis giving a presentation on ERB’s works published in pulp magazine.
Author Michael A. Sanford speaking on his new novel, TARZAN ON THE PRECIPICE.
The Dum-Dum banquet on Saturday night gets underway.
Joan Bledig and Greg Phillips presenting a $500 check to the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest on behalf of The Muckers (ERB was a resident of Oak Park, Illinois).
Bob Garcia giving his Guest of Honor speech.
A panoramic shot of the banquet as Mike Resnick gives his Guest of Honor speech.
Jim Sullos, president of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., accepting the Golden Lion Award from Joan Bledig.
Jim Sullos with his Golden Lion Award.
Mike Resnick accepting his Golden Lion Award.
“Tarzan Meets the Oparian” by Clyde Caldwell was on display at Bill Kamper’s table in the huckster room. Caldwell, of course, also illustrated the cover of the 1981 DAW Books reprint of HADON OF ANCIENT OPAR, so it was a treat to see this painting in person.
Last week I flew out to Columbus, Ohio to attend my fifth consecutive PulpFest, which also played host to FarmerCon XI, the annual Philip José Farmer convention. As usual, I had a blast reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Here are a few photos from the con:
The welcoming banner.
At the Meteor House table signing copies of BLOOD OF ANCIENT OPAR, which was released at the con.
We sold a lot of copies at the show!
At the Meteor House table unpacking copies of Sean Lee Levin’s new releases, CROSSOVERS EXPANDED, Volumes 1 and 2. From right to left: Paul Spiteri, Sean Lee Levin, Win Scott Eckert, and Mike Croteau.
The Thursday night FarmerCon dinner at Max & Irma’s (we also had a much larger FarmerCon pizza party/dinner in the food court area of the hotel, not pictured).
The FarmerCon panel on Collaborating with Philip José Farmer. Pictured from right to left, with the titles of our collaborations with Phil: Paul Spiteri (“Getting Ready to Write”), me (THE SONG OF KWASIN, “Kwasin and the Bear God”), Win Scott Eckert (THE EVIL IN PEMBERLEY HOUSE), and Danny Adams (THE CITY BEYOND PLAY, DAYWORLD: A HOLE IN WEDNESDAY). Photo courtesy of ThePulp.Net.
One of the highlights at the con was when Mike Croteau of Meteor House presented me with artist Bob Eggleton’s concept sketch of the cover of BLOOD OF ANCIENT OPAR. Photo courtesy of Danny Adams.
Another highlight was when Mike ushered me over to a dealer’s table where the original (and uncropped!) cover art for IRONCASTLE by J. H. Rosny (translated and retold by Philip José Farmer) was on display. Sadly, the $10,000 it was going for was out of my price range.
A panoramic shot of the PulpFest dealer’s hall.
I’ll be attending PulpFest in Columbus, Ohio from Thursday, July 21 to Sunday, July 24. If you’re at the con, please stop by the Meteor House table, where I’ll be signing copies of Blood of Ancient Opar, which debuts at the show (otherwise shipping in early August). I’ll also be at the following events:
FRIDAY, JULY 22:
1:00 – 4:15 PM — New Fictioneers Readings — (I’ll be reading from Blood of Ancient Opar and The Song of Kwasin; see the full schedule on day of show for the exact time of my reading)
7:00 – 7:40 PM — FarmerCon XI — Collaborating with Philip José Farmer (moderator Paul Spiteri with authors Danny Adams, Christopher Paul Carey, and Win Scott Eckert)
Jason Aiken has posted a very positive advance review of Blood of Ancient Opar over at Pulp Crazy. Here’s an excerpt:
This is a tale of heroic fantasy skillfully brought to life through the pen and mind of a writer intimately familiar with the source material. Blood of Ancient Opar hearkens back to classic sword and sorcery adventures of the past while displaying a mastery of modern fiction writing. One thing thing is for sure, readers familiar with Opar will never look at the lost city the same way again.
Read the full review here.
I recently had the pleasure of returning to Pulp Crazy, this time to talk about Blood of Ancient Opar and also to read aloud the book’s first chapter. Check it out on the embedded YouTube video below or download the mp3 audio file from Pulp Crazy’s website here.
Meteor House has kindly shared with me the cover wraps for Blood of Ancient Opar, which debuts in July at PulpFest (otherwise shipping in early August). Cover art by Bob Eggleton, design by Keith Howell.
Signed limited hardcover edition:
Signed limited paperback edition:
