Rudy Van Gelder
Today I learned that Rudy Van Gelder is receiving a National Endowment for the Arts grant: http://www.nea.gov/national/jazz/jmCMS/master.php?id=2009_05
I’ve never met Mr. Van Gelder (in fact, the photo in that post makes the first time I’ve ever seen his likeness) and growing up, I was told we weren’t related. But a few years ago, I spoke with a first cousin of Rudy’s and he said he knew my grandfather and that we distantly related. I believe the closest we could be related is third cousins, once removed.
But I thought it was using our distant connection to note that one of the great jazz producers has gotten some of the recognition he deserves.
F&SF is going bimonthly
The March 2009 issue will be the last monthly issue. Starting with the April/May 2009 issue, we’ll be publishing one issue every two months. Each issue will be 256 pages (16 pages longer than our last Oct/Nov issue) except for this year’s anniversary issue, which will be a jumbo.
Subscribers don’t need to take any action. If your current sub expires with the April 2009 issue or with the May 2009 issue, your sub now expires with the April/May 2009 issue.
We’ve made the change because rising costs—especially postal costs—and the current economy put us in a position where we either had to raise our rates severely or cut back somewhere. Given the state of the economy, I decided a cutback in frequency made the most sense. We’ll lose a little more than 10% of our content this year, but we should be in a great position for the coming years.
I know it’s a big change and it will take a little while to get used to it, but I think it will work out fine. Thank you all for your support.
Donald E. Westlake, R.I.P.
Donald Westlake died yesterday at the age of 75.
He was a giant of the mystery field, master of the comic caper. I met him a couple of times and he struck me as being a wonderful guy. I also thought his reviews in the NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW were usually excellent.
He published a couple of stories in F&SF when Avram Davidson was editor: “The Question” (with Laurence Janifer) and “Nackles,” which was published under his “Curt Clark” pseudonym.
The world is a smaller place without him.
Dreams with Sharp Teeth update
A subscriber let me know that Netflix lists the Harlan Ellison documentary as releasing on 5/26/09. Amazon.com has the same date: http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Sharp-Teeth-Harlan-Ellison/dp/B001NKWLBW
I’m biased but I think the film is well worth watching. You can read my thoughts on the documentary here: http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/2008/gvg0809.htm
I don’t see any info on the producer’s site, but there is plenty of material on it about the movie itself. Just don’t go there if you have dial-up unless you’re prepared to be patient: http://www.creatvdiff.com/harlan_ellison.php