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realthogOne of the lesser known but perhaps more important projects underway in sf at the moment is the preparation of the third edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, this time under the editorship of Peter Nicholls, John Clute and David Langford. The new edition, which is already approaching twice the wordcount of the second edition (to which I devoted several years of my life), is to be an online publication; I'm not certain of the proposed publication date, and I'm not sure anyone yet is.
What I do know, though, is that a couple of weeks ago I was approached by Clute and Langford with the commission to write the art/illustration strand of the new encyclopedia, and you can bet that -- honoured and flattered like you wouldn't believe -- I accepted with some alacrity. When we were putting together the second edition this was something I could not have done: my knowledge of f/sf art was in those days pretty woeful, despite the efforts of artist close friends like Ron Tiner to enlighten me. Since then, of course, I've had the powerful education of running Paper Tiger for a few years.
So, if you're an extensively published sf artist, expect sometime in the new year to be getting a questionnaire from me; if you're not an artist, well, I'll probably corner you in a bar somewhere and weep on your shoulder about the travails of dealing with artists. "They're not like us, you know . . ."
More seriously, this is going to be a joy. I'm almost nervous of getting started on it.
What I do know, though, is that a couple of weeks ago I was approached by Clute and Langford with the commission to write the art/illustration strand of the new encyclopedia, and you can bet that -- honoured and flattered like you wouldn't believe -- I accepted with some alacrity. When we were putting together the second edition this was something I could not have done: my knowledge of f/sf art was in those days pretty woeful, despite the efforts of artist close friends like Ron Tiner to enlighten me. Since then, of course, I've had the powerful education of running Paper Tiger for a few years.
So, if you're an extensively published sf artist, expect sometime in the new year to be getting a questionnaire from me; if you're not an artist, well, I'll probably corner you in a bar somewhere and weep on your shoulder about the travails of dealing with artists. "They're not like us, you know . . ."
More seriously, this is going to be a joy. I'm almost nervous of getting started on it.
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 11:45 am (UTC)I certainly hope it's going to be fun!
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 11:44 am (UTC)Thanks for the kind words, James, although I'm not sure they're merited!
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 11:41 am (UTC)There's more than a mention of Savoy Books in the 2nd edn of the SFE: a cross-reference entry sends the reader to the entries on Britton and Butterworth, where the venture is discussed.
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:41 am (UTC)And happy holidays!
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Date: 2009-12-23 11:46 am (UTC)Happy hols to you, too, Charles!
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Date: 2009-12-23 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 06:19 pm (UTC)I'm not sure "fun project" is quite the term -- encyclopedia work is astonishingly demanding -- but thanks anyway.
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Date: 2009-12-23 12:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 06:22 pm (UTC)sounds like a wonderful project
This is what I told myself the last time, when setting up for the second edition of the book . . . All over by Christmas, I thought.
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Date: 2009-12-23 03:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-23 06:25 pm (UTC)a daunting project
Indeed. I'm trying not to think too much about it until after the start of the new year . . .
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:02 pm (UTC)(On a completely different subject. Gail and I went out last night, and for various reasons I ordered a glass of The Macallan. I got Gail to take a sip and she said it tasted like Sterno. Oh dear.)
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Date: 2009-12-23 06:18 pm (UTC)a glass of The Macallan. I got Gail to take a sip and she said it tasted like Sterno
I can understand your embarrassment.
On the other hand, to look on the bright side, in the future it means you can buy yourself as much Macallan as you want without ever having to share.
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Date: 2009-12-23 04:53 pm (UTC)the travails of dealing with artists. "They're not like us, you know . . ."
Ha! right.
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Date: 2009-12-23 06:26 pm (UTC)This project sounds like a blast!
I'm not sure that's quite the term I'd have used: "hard slog" would be more appropriate.