Dispatches From Smaragdine: February 2008
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In Smaragdine, all of the major newspapers and websites have posted their lists of the best books and stories
published in the country over the past year. This it is time for writers not included on these lists host elaborate parties at
which they are expected to pretend to cry and to seek comfort from their friends. Usually, though, it's all in aid of promoting their
next project. Jeff takes time out to talk to Gregory Frost, author of Fitcher's Brides and his newly released Shadowbridge.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: October 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
It is that time in the Smaragdine four-year cycle to commemorate their great military leader Saloment III so things are quiet.
During this hiatus, Jeff takes some time to interview Peter Crowther of PS Publishing on what he has in store for us
and how his publishing house has evolved.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: September 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
As September passes in Smaragdine, it is time for the Dance of Synchronicity which takes the form of a sabre dance and ensuing battle
among the twenty best novelists deemed so by the Ministry of Culture. Following the post-dance revelry, Jeff took some time
to interview Jacob Weisman, publisher of Tachyon Publications.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: August 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff is back after a little ruckus involving a weasel, an iguana, a golf cart along with some Smaragdine soldiers, a debtors' prison
and a chicken farm. Things have calmed somewhat so he has had time to interview David Anthony Durham, author of
Acacia which has received a lot of well-deserved praise for being "literary quality" heroic fantasy.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: June 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In Smaragdine, it is summer and the weather is hot. Jeff and his buddies run afoul of the Smaragdine Navy.
The result gives him time to reflect on Solaris, a new publisher and what they have coming for readers.
George Mann, the Solaris Editor passes along a few teasers on what we can expect in the next year or so.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: May 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In this month's column from Smaragdine, Jeff learns about how Elizabeth Hand's books
got published in translation and why she is so popular. He has read two of her new titles, Generation Loss
and Illyria and provides us with a brief excerpt from Generation Loss.
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Dispatches From Smaragdine: April 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
Since March is the most boring month in Smaragdine, Jeff decided we needed a special treat.
Felix Gilman has signed a two-book deal at Bantam. But Jeff had already met and interviewed him.
Now we get an excerpt from Felix's new novel. Jeff also has had time to do a lot of reading and
he has given us capsule notes on what is teetering on his "up next" pile.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: March 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In this month's column from Smaragdine, Jeff is forced to participate in the annual rites of Backwards Month and
provides an interview with Nick Mamatas who talks about his new novel, Under My Roof.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: February 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In this month's column from Smaragdine, Jeff marvels at the annual Steve Aylett Literary
Parade held in late January. So intrigued by this event and the foofaraw surrounding it, Jeff takes some time to interview
this literary hero of the Smaragdine inhabitants and reviews his new books, And Your Point Is?: Scorn and Meaning in Jeff Lint's Fiction
and Fain the Sorcerer.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: January 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In this month's column from Smaragdine, Jeff attends the giant Logorrheic Coelacanth migration and celebration,
provides an interview with Salon Fantastique's editor, Ellen Datlow.
and, in his spare time, gives us a fiction review of Grey, a first novel by Jon Armstrong.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: December 2006
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
In this month's column from Smaragdine, Jeff attends one of the November Awards ceremonies,
provides both a video and digital interview on France and the Interstitial Movement with
Sebastien Guillot, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman and, in his spare time, gives us
fiction reviews of books by Jay Lake and Matthew Hughes.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: Finnish Fantasies, a (Small) Publishing Magnate, Parlayed Treasures
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
"In November, the brutal heat of the Smaragdine summer is usually gone for good and the city becomes giddy
with the crisp month or two before the brutal winter. From the storied, overly marbled downtown with its
mainly Central Asian embassies and state houses to the discos and merchant kiosks of the Palisade, Smaragdine
is a friendly, more relaxed place.
But it's also a long way from home, and so I thought I'd start this monthly column to tell
you about the books that find their way to my mailbox here, and to comment on any exotic and strangely
beautiful subjects or artifacts."
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