FICTION: THE ELDER GODS

• “The Long Last Night” by Brian Lumley
• “Momma Durtt” by Michael Shea
• “The Darkness at Table Rock Road” by Michael Reyes
• “The Runners Beyond the Wall” by Darrell Schweitzer
• “Drain” by Matthew Jackson
• “The Thing in the Cellar” by William Blake-Smith
• “Found in a Bus Shelter at 3:00 am, Under a Mostly Empty Sky” by Stephen Gracia

FICTION: UNTHEMED

• “To Be a Star” by Parke Godwin
• “The Empty City” by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• “Abbey at the Edge of the Earth” by Collin B. Greenwood
• “Alien Abduction” by M. E. Brines

POETRY

• “Mummified” by Jill Bauman
• “In Shadowy Innsmouth” by Darrell Schweitzer
• “The Country of Fear” by Russell Brickey
• “Country Midnight” by Carole Buggé

DEPARTMENTS

• The Eyrie
• The Den
• Lost in Lovecraft

SPECIAL RAY BRADBURY SECTION

• “The Exiles (Original Version)” by Ray Bradbury
• “My New Ending to Rosemary’s Baby” by Ray Bradbury
• “Personal Memories of Ray Bradbury” by Marvin Kaye
• Review of “Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury” by James Aquilone
• “Remembrance” by Ray Bradbury

Subscribe to or buy an ebook of Weird Tales here.

This year’s Guests of Honor were Mike Resnick, Story Musgrave, Rowena Morrill, Jane Frank, Peggy Rae Sapienza, Sy Ligergot, Peter Sagal and toastmaster John Scalzi.

Best Novel

Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)

A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline by Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown by China Miéville (Macmillan UK / Del Rey)
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

Best Novella

“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s September/October 2011)

“Countdown” by Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction November/December 2011)
“Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s June 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA)

Best Novelette

“Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)

“The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s July 2011)
“Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
“Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog December 2011)
“What We Found” by Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)

Best Short Story

“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March/April 2011)

“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld April 2011)
“The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick (Asimov’s April/May 2011)
“Movement” by Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s March 2011)
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Best Related Work

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz)

Jar Jar Binks Must Die…and Other Observations about Science Fiction Movies by Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books)
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story

Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)

Fables Vol 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)

Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Doctor’s Wife” (Doctor Who), written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)

“The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech,” Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
“The Girl Who Waited” (Doctor Who), written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Community), written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

Best Editor, Short Form

Sheila Williams

John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan

Best Editor, Long Form

Betsy Wollheim

Lou Anders
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Lesley Groell
Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Best Professional Artist

John Picacio

Dan dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Michael Komarck
Stephan Martiniere

Best Semiprozine

Locus edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.

Apex Magazine edited by Catherynne M. Valente, Lynne M. Thomas, and Jason Sizemore
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed edited by John Joseph Adams
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney, Kris Dikeman, and Avram Grumer

Best Fanzine

SF Signal edited by John DeNardo

Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
The Drink Tank edited by James Bacon and Christopher J Garcia
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, et al.

Best Fan Writer

Jim C. Hines

James Bacon
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
Steven H. Silver

Best Fan Artist

Maurine Starkey

Brad W. Foster
Randall Munroe
Spring Schoenhuth
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne

Best Fancast

SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente

The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
SF Signal Podcast, John DeNardo and JP Frantz, produced by Patrick Hester
StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

E. Lily Yu

Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Karen Lord
Brad R. Torgersen

Lee Moyer won Best Cover Illustration: Magazine for Weird Tales, Winter 2010/2011 (below)

Moyer beat out Facundo Diaz for Clarkesworld, July 2011; Laura Diehl for Fantasy, August 2011; Carly B. Sorge for Apex Magazine, September 2011; and Dariusz Zawadski for Fantasy, May 2011. Check out a gallery of the cover images here.

Other Chesley Award winners included Tom Kidd (Best Cover Illustration: Hardback Book for Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, Subterranean Press), Matthew Stewart (Best Cover Illustration: Paperback Book for The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells, Night Shade Books) and Irene Gallo (Best Art Director for Tor).

The Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award went to Jean Giraud, “Moebius.”

For the full list of winners go to Tor.com.

Art is by David “Sideshow Monkey” Hartman, whose credits include Rob Zombie, Image Comics, “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” and “Bubba Ho-Tep.”

World Fantasy Award Ballot

Novel
• Those Across the River, Christopher Buehlman (Ace)
• 11/22/63, Stephen King (Scribner; Hodder & Stoughton as 11.22.63)
• A Dance with Dragons, George R.R. Martin (Bantam; Harper Voyager UK)
• Osama, Lavie Tidhar (PS Publishing)
• Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)

Novella
• “Near Zennor”, Elizabeth Hand (A Book of Horrors)
• “A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong”, K.J. Parker (Subterranean Winter 2011)
• “Alice Through the Plastic Sheet”, Robert Shearman (A Book of Horrors)
• “Rose Street Attractors”, Lucius Shepard (Ghosts by Gaslight)
• Silently and Very Fast, Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA Press; Clarkesworld)

Short Fiction
• “X for Demetrious”, Steve Duffy (Blood and Other Cravings)
• “Younger Women”, Karen Joy Fowler (Subterranean Summer 2011)
• “The Paper Menagerie”, Ken Liu (F&SF 3-4/11)
• “A Journey of Only Two Paces”, Tim Powers (The Bible Repairman and Other Stories)
• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld 4/11)

Anthology
• Blood and Other Cravings, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Tor)
• A Book of Horrors, Stephen Jones, ed. (Jo Fletcher Books)
• The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Harper Voyager US)
• The Weird, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Corvus; Tor, published May 2012)
• Gutshot, Conrad Williams, ed. (PS Publishing)

Collection
• Bluegrass Symphony, Lisa L. Hannett (Ticonderoga)
• Two Worlds and In Between, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Subterranean Press)
• After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer)
• Mrs Midnight and Other Stories, Reggie Oliver (Tartarus)
• The Bible Repairman and Other Stories, Tim Powers (Tachyon)

Artist
• John Coulthart
• Julie Dillon
• Jon Foster
• Kathleen Jennings
• John Picacio

Special Award Professional
• John Joseph Adams, for editing – anthology and magazine
• Jo Fletcher, for editing – Jo Fletcher Books
• Eric Lane, for publishing in translation – Dedalus books
• Brett Alexander Savory & Sandra Kasturi, for ChiZine Publications
• Jeff VanderMeer & S.J. Chambers, for The Steampunk Bible

Special Award Non-Professional
• Kate Baker, Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan & Sean Wallace, for Clarkesworld
• Cat Rambo, for Fantasy
• Raymond Russell & Rosalie Parker, for Tartarus Press
• Charles Tan, for Bibliophile Stalker blog
• Mark Valentine, for Wormwood

So here’s what’s going on:

The first Weird Tales issue by our company, Nth Dimension media, has gone to press, and will be in your mailboxes by the end of February. It’s edited by Ann VanderMeer, has art direction by Stephen H. Segal, and is quite beautiful. Here’s the cover.

Stephen worked with our artist, Dave Buchwald (known in the graphic design world for creating the covers of 2600 Magazine), to create this cover, and we think it represents a style we will use for the near future. It features the new/old logo, an intriguing symbol by Jeff Wong (www.JeffWong.com), and a stunning piece of art by Aurielien Police.  The layout achieved what was most important to me – an emphasis on art, while keeping the writer in the forefront.

Did your subscription lapse? Well, you will not escape this issue. As a thank you to our passionate supporters, we are extending everyone’s subscription for TWO issues. So watch your mailbox, and let me know what you think.

I’d like to say a enormous thank you to Ann, Stephen, Paula and John and Carla from Wildeside for their help during this transition, and for taking this magazine as far as they did. I am very grateful that Ann is staying on as a contributing editor, and Stephen and John have made themselves available as consultants.

Now we must take the next step.

I’ll be responding to comments, so comment away, and check this space for more updates in the next few days.

Kaye is the latest in a series of distinguished editors who have guided “The Unique Magazine” through nearly nine decades. Under the direction of current editor-in-chief Ann VanderMeer the publication earned a Hugo Award, the most prestigious honor in the sci-fi world.

Publisher Harlacher plans to have VanderMeer edit one final issue before turning over the reins to Kaye in early 2012. Kaye says he is “interested in continuing and expanding the splendid work” of VanderMeer. “When I take over the helm,” he adds, “I hope Ann will continue her involvement as a consulting and contributing editor.”

Kaye describes his own vision for Weird Tales as “Janus-faced,” honoring the long history of the publication while continuing its legacy of discovering new and unusual fiction. Content will feature works of well-known, midlist and new writers, and a few reprints of classic stories.

Beginning in February 2012 each issue will have a theme, though Kaye states, “the usual assortment of stories and poetry will be included along with tales that fit the governing conceit.”

The new Weird Tales will be open to nearly all sorts of genre fiction, including absurdist humor, fantasy, horror, mystery and surrealism. “The only kind of story that probably won’t fit would be neo-realism,” says Kaye, “though even there I’m willing to be convinced otherwise.”

Kaye, the author of sixteen novels and editor of over 30 genre fiction anthologies, has a long personal history with Weird Tales. Fascinated by the “creepy-looking” magazine that his sister Dorothy brought into their Philadelphia home, he was an avid fan by the age of nine. He edited two anthologies celebrating the magazine’s distinctive brand of fiction: “Weird Tales: the Magazine That Never Dies,” published in 1988, and “The Best of Weird Tales: 1923,” published in 1997. Kaye also edited H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, which will remain an ongoing portion of Weird Tales.

No novice to the world of fantasy and horror, Harlacher is the co-director of “Nightmare,” an interactive theatre experience widely recognized as New York’s most horrifying haunted house. This year’s motif, a creepy rendition of familiar fairy tales, has been described by Fangoria horror magazine as “entirely spooky and full of nasty, nasty fun…imaginative, and yes, hilarious and repulsive.”

Weird Tales was launched in 1923 as a showcase for writers of speculative and alternative fiction – in other words, stories that were too bizarre to be published anywhere else. It launched the careers of such authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert E. Howard; even Tennessee Williams made his first sale to Weird Tales. The original magazine folded in 1954, but resurfaced over the years in the form of reprint anthologies, original magazines and paperback editions. Weird Tales has been printed regularly since 1988, when it was resurrected by editor-publishers John Gregory Betancourt, Darrell Schweitzer and George H. Scithers.

For more information, contact Terry Kaye at weirdtalespr(at)gmail(dot)com.

I also helped with tables selling WT at many conventions over the last few years. I was privileged to meet some contributors and talk to many readers and subscribers. “I can’t afford them all,” a customer might say, looking at the array of eye-catching Segal-designed covers. “Which do you recommend?” Or “Really, should I subscribe? Small press is so…iffy…but…” Or we might just chat about Weird Talesoverall.

I also got to hear, firsthand, how delighted folks were with the new look, the new approach to “weird”, the whole “coolth” exuded by the most recent incarnation of the magazine. I know there were those who wanted the old “red W logo” and the older style of fiction…but enthusiasm is all I ever heard directly from readers. I recall one dealer complaining the new issues did not sell as well as the “red W logo”; it seems the collectors didn’t want them. Well, wahoo! Who wants to be collected? No publication’s value should gauged by the numbers of copies being slid, unopened, into a protective Mylar bag in hopes of accruing worth. The value of Weird Tales came from being read and enjoyed and influencing the genre. Under Ann and Stephen, it did just that.

I am a huge fan of the original pulp version of Weird Tales. Its true value came from being read and enjoyed and and not only influencing the genre, but creating several genres. What we all owe Farnsworth Wright who published H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Seabury Quinn, and others is incalculable. Dorothy McIlwraith published the “young guns” of the day, including Ray Bradbury, Manly Wade Wellman, Fritz Leiber, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Another innovation for a pulp magazine was WT‘s use of interior graphic art and atention to design. (This tradition was renewed and refreshed by Stephen and then continued by Mary Robinette Kowal.) The pulps as a whole paid little attention to illustration, but beginning in 1926, artists like Hugh Rankin, Vincent Napoli, Harold DeLay, the incredible Virgil Finlay, Hannes Bok, Harry Ferman, and Boris Dolgrov create indelibly weird images. Farnsworth Wright created a unique interior design for “the unique magazine” in a an era when layout (I think it was called “make-up”) of such a magazine was rarely considered.

And then there was the cover art—most memorably that of Margaret Brundage. When I was assigned to do an article on her for the “Uncanny Beauty” issue, I felt I made a discovery. Outside of my personal feelings about her art, it seems everything ever written about Brundage’s work was written by guys (yup, all males) viewing it through eyes clouded by youthful libidos and/or later prejudices both good and bad. Looking back at all of her covers, I felt I found a new way to appreciate her work. (You can download a PDF of that article, if you wish. Sorry, I think this version is minus proofreading, so forgive the errors!)

Just as with the stories, not all of the illustrations or covers were great. Some were downright bad, of course. But what we remember in the end is the good stuff. And that’s what I will remember about my small role in the ongoing history of Weird Tales—the good stuff. (And if you’d like to know more about the past history of WT, read Robert Weinberg’s The Weird Tales Story.

For the present history, thanks must go to to John Betancourt of Wildside who revived the magazine with George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer in 1988, then re-revived it in 2005. Without his love of WT , his investment in it, and support of Stephen and Ann, there would never have been the chance to make it into the magazine it became.

As for myself, like Ann, I’ll still be involved in the weird in a variety of ways. One project of particular interest to you may be a forthcoming anthology: New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird. It presents some of the best of twenty-first century Lovecraftian fiction. (It’s dedicated to Ann, by the way.)

Meanwhile, I look forward to the eventual publication of the last issue we put together—the book reviews may be a bit outdated, but, oh well—and offer my best wishes and hopes for success to Marvin Kaye and his partner. Marvin Kaye loves Weird Tales and I’m sure he will serve it well in his own fashion, just as we’ve all tried to do in ours.

If you are interested in keeping up with future weirdness from me, check the Prime Books site and sign up for the mailing list, RSS, and Twitter feed there.

Paula Guran

I have had very positive meetings with the new publishers of Weird Tales and I have good expectations for the future of the magazine. I am happy to announce that Issue #359, (with fiction from Conrad Williams, Joel Lane, Tamsyn Muir, Tom Underberg, Leena Likitalo, Stephen Graham Jones and Evan Peterson – and an interview with & artwork from Richard A. Kirk), will be published; however there are no firm dates yet. And I plan on adding my own editorial to welcome the new editors. We continue to talk and spectacular things are sure to come out of these discussions – this can only be good for the Weird Tales audience and community.

Again, many thanks. Please stay tuned for more news soon.

It’s been a very busy summer here in Weird-land. I just got back from a short mini-tour plus a week of teaching at Shared Worlds (the teen writing camp). The students are all fans of Weird Tales (naturally) and just might be the next generation of weird writers! Jeff and I also had a few book events to celebrate The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. Putting the final touches on The Weird anthology (more news on that later), which will be released in October. And on Sunday, August 21 we’re planning a big Cabinet/Steampunk/Weird extravaganza here in Tallahassee with guest artist Carrie Ann Baade. So if you live in or near Tallahassee, please come join in the festivities! (Ray’s Steel City downstairs from 4-7pm).

No one should be surprised that we’re behind in our reading. So very sorry about that. This is one of the reasons we allow simultaneous submissions. We want to make sure that each story is given the attention it deserves and be fair to the writers. Sometimes this means you might wait longer than 8 weeks…we just had no idea the number of stories submitted would be so high. Thanks so much for your continued patience.

And speaking of submissions, we’re closing on September 1, 2011 to avoid an overstock situation (but will re-open January 1). So please get your submissions in before then. The portal will close on that day.

Thanks for keeping it Weird!