Fans of John Scalzi’s “Old Man” universe, rejoice! There’s a long short story set in his signature world, one that explores the inner reaches of Jane Sagan, one of the series central characters.

Those waiting for their forthcoming Old Man’s War fix in the form of The Last Colony will be especially interested in The Sagan Diary, as it takes place in between The Ghost Brigades and Colony. Sagan features a full color cover and a number of black-and-white interior illustrations by Bob Eggleton.

Signed Limited:

$45

Trade HC:

$20

When author Tad Williams received copies of his book Rite, he noticed a very unusual printing error in the book: in italicized text, the letter “v” had gone missing. Tad informed us of the error, and we set out to understand how this error had happened. For some reason, this error only occurred in the printing process itself; as our outside proofer can tell you, the page proofs of the book had all “v”s in the right place. Subterranean, our proofer and our printer are still looking into what went wrong, so we can avoid this sort of problem in the future.

If we had been able to catch this error during the early stages of the printing process, naturally we would have stopped the run and made a correction. At this point, however, 90% of the print run has been sold; recalling and reprinting is, at this late date, a moot point. Be that as it may, I am aware that any error in our books reflects on all the work we do, and ultimately I am responsible for making sure that every book we print and sell meets our high standards. I take full and personal responsibility for this printing error.

I want to apologize to Tad Williams for this printing error; it’s marred what is otherwise a truly wonderful book. Tad has been nothing less than a gentleman through this entire process, and I’ve been grateful for his courteousness. I hope to be able to make this up to him in the future.

I also want to apologize to Subterranean’s readers. We slipped. I will, and Subterranean will, do what we can to make sure this is one slip that won’t happen twice.

Sincerely,

William Schafer

The work of almost every New Orleans writer has been irrevocably split into two periods: pre-Katrina and post-Katrina. As Poppy Z. Brite writes in the foreword to this new mini-collection, Antediluvian Tales, “After the events of 2005, I couldn’t see pairing stories I’d written before the flood with those I’d written after; for better or worse, my life, my outlook, and, necessarily, my work has changed forever… These are literally antediluvian tales, stories written before August 29, 2005… Whatever else they may be, the stories in this little collection now seem almost impossibly innocent to me.”

Antediluvian Tales contains five stories of the Stubbs family, the New Orleans clan whose adventures Brite has chronicled in her popular Liquor novels and other works. Two more stories revisit the author’s fictitious alter ego Dr. Brite, the coroner of New Orleans. Completing the book is “The Last Good Day of My Life,” a nonfiction look at the changes the past two years have wrought on Brite, filtered through a reminiscence about a day she spent knocking around Cairns, Australia.

Any reader who loves New Orleans will treasure these antediluvian tales for the city that exists in them: a city that will never again exist in its pre-Katrina form, but which cannot be killed by hurricanes, floods, or governmental neglect as long as its artists continue to chronicle and cherish it.

The Limited Edition of Antediluvian Tales will include a bonus chapbook, H.O.G., the first “novel” Poppy Z. Brite wrote, when she was 12 years old, with a cover illustration by the author.

Limited: 400 signed numbered copies with bonus chapbook: $45
Trade: fully cloth bound hardcover: $25

Booklist has taken note of John Scalzi’s You’re Not Fooling Anyone… and they’ve been most kind, meaning we underestimated demand and the 500 signed first edition copies will likely sell out rather quickly.

Without further ado, from Booklist: “More than 50 bite-sized chapters are sorted into four sardonically headed sections. Sardonic? Well, “Writing Advice; or, Avoiding Real Work” and “Science Fiction; or, Don’t Skip This Chapter, You Damned Writing Snobs” are two of them. The former title covers tips for aspiring writers about the publishing business and the growing market for online material, while the latter skewers the persistent notion that sf is second-rate literature. The smorgasbord of other topics ranges from whining writers to amusing anecdotes about Scalzi’s own literary influences. Whether advising how to handle rejection or debunking concerns over online book piracy, Scalzi writes with irresistible panache, making his insights into the writing business as entertaining as they are instructive.”

We’ve just finished shipping the initial orders of Jack Vance’s mammoth compendium of science fantasy stories, and the trade edition is over 80% sold out, with more copies moving quickly. The limited edition will take another 4-6 weeks as we wait for the already ordered slipcases to arrive. (The lettered edition is 3-4 months off. Traycases take forever to manufacture and arrive.)

Signed Limited:

$125

Trade HC:

$38

Orson Scott Card’s magnum opus, Saints, has just received a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly. Here’s a taste: “Best known for his fantasy fiction (Ender’s Game, etc.), Card does an excellent job of depicting the Dickensian horrors of England undergoing industrialization in the early 19th century as well as the early trials of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints as experienced by his heroine, Dinah Kirkham…Not just for the LDS faithful (the author is himself a Mormon), this ambitious novel will appeal to anyone interested in a sensitive examination of the roots of religious feeling.”

We’re proud to announce the limited edition of Farewell Summer, Ray Bradbury’s dazzling sequel to Dandelion Wine.
The Subterranean Press edition is printed in two colors, bound in a premium cloth, and housed in a custom slipcase (numbered edition) or traycase (lettered edition). In addition, both the Limited and Lettered Editions contain material not included in the trade hardcover.

Signed Limited:

$125

The trade edition of our mammoth (over 230,000 words) Jack Vance Treasury is in stock and shipping. In his recent Sci Fi Weekly review — where he gave the Treasury a grade of A+ — Paul di Filippo writes “Jack Vance’s artistry is undeniable, never more so than when arrayed as here… Thanks to the intelligent choices of Dowling and Strahan, this volume admirably displays his unparalleled way with language and narrative, serving as the perfect tome for old-time fans and newcomes alike.”

Though best known for his epic series, Tad Williams is also an accomplished practitioner of the short form. Rite: Short Work gives ample evidence of this, as it contains a knockout novella later expanded to novel length (”Child of an Ancient City”); riffs on the great fantasist Michael Moorcock (”The Author at the End of Time,” “Go Ask Elric”), along with excursions into some of his most popular creations and beyond. At over 140,000 words, Rite is essential for every Tad Williams fan and fantasy aficianado. Each tale features a full-page black-and-while illustration by Mark A. Nelson. (Check out samples of the artwork at the Rite page.)

Early next week we’ll be sending Subterranean #6 to the printer, this issue featuring the following original stories, as well as Dorman T. Shindler’s regular review column:

– “The Long Dead Day” by Joe R. Lansdale
– “Chartreuse Mansions” by Mike Resnick
– “Zero Summer” by Caitlin R. Kiernan
– “Take Your Daughter to Work” by Livia Llewellyn
– “Finding Piper” by Cherie Priest
– “Limerent” by Elizabeth Bear
– “The Tenth Muse” by William Browning Spencer
– Featured Artist Gallery, interview and appreciation: Edward Miller

Ellen Datlow has turned in her guest edited issue (#7) of the mag, so look for a full table of contents on that one soon. As has been rumored, Subterranean will me morphing onto our website following issue eight — it’s simply taking too much time out of our ever-increasing book schedule to keep it up as a dead tree project — though we’ll be running a ton of Free fiction, reviews, and columns between now and publication of issue 8, including multiple short stories by Joe R. Lansdale, John Scalzi, and a long novella by Lucius Shepard.