fiction by paolo bacigalupi
Award-winning science journalist Michelle Nijhuis interviews me over at Grist Magazine. We have a conversation about the connections between the work she does as a science journalist and how I work as a science fiction writer… and how a lot of her articles directly inspire the stories I write.
If you go over to her website, she’s got tons of stories posted about everything from global warming to the impacts of invasive species. Great stuff.
Publishers Weekly has an interview with me up on their site. It’s a bit trimmed from the original conversation, but they do a good job of cutting to the chase. And their headline is astonishingly, indeed, almost embarrassingly generous. A starred review, and I’m a prophet… My ego expands– and then shrivels when I’m reminded that I still haven’t finished a certain novel.
Ah well. Back to work.
There comes a time when every author needs to admit that they need help. I have reached that moment.
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been working on a mini-site for PUMP SIX, putting up links to reviews, the cover info, and most importantly, I’m also putting up some sample stories for readers to test-drive what I write. But now I have a dilemma. What stories to post?
I’ve already got “The Tamarisk Hunter” up on the site. That’s a no-brainer. It’s already on High Country News’ site, so why not here, too? But that doesn’t seem sufficient to give people a good feel for my writing. So I’m wondering if anyone else has suggestions for some best-tastic story I could also post.
The gentleman of Night Shade have informed me that PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES printed last week and shipped to distributors. Which means that pesky message over at Amazon will soon be saying, “Your order will be shipping damn fast. Would you like fries with that?” instead of the rather limp “Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we’ll deliver when available.”
I expect that my first sight of the physical product will occur this weekend when I make my pilgrimage to San Francisco for the SF in SF reading. I can’t wait. I’m going to sleep with a copy, I swear it. Don’t tell my wife.
I’ve been thinking lately about reader trust. Broadly, as a writer, you have an obligation to hook a reader in your opening paragraphs and give them faith that you can deliver a good story. Seems obvious. But recently I’ve been thinking there are mitigating aspects to this.
While I was at MileHiCon a couple months ago, I did a reading: a thirty-minute session, mashed against another writer’s thirty-minute session. A nice group of people showed up and I decided to take them for a spin through my new novelette, “Pump Six.”
Okay, first a digression about readings: If you ever do a reading, make sure that you’ve practiced with your material. You’d think after writing and rewriting something fifteen zillion times, you’d be familiar with the material… but it just ain’t so. A reading is a performance, and that means the words bumbling out of your mouth are the only thing listeners can cling to. They can’t return to an earlier paragraph; they can’t slow down and pace themselves through your densely packed prose. If you aren’t grounded in the spoken rhythms and flow of the story, your listeners won’t have anything to hang onto. And it’s even harder because you haven’t necessarily written a story designed for live performance, so your audience will need a lot help, and you give it to them by knowing the direction of the piece, knowing where the emphasis and flow of the sentences is going, and by taking your time as you move through the story. It seems obvious, but…
John Scalzi has a wonderful rant about SFWA and Andrew Burt’s candidacy for president posted on his site. I also like what Charlie Finlay adds in the comments, by describing some of the problems SFWA faces beyond certain candidates themselves.
I myself let my SFWA membership lapse this year. It seemed like the organization couldn’t really address, nor was it interested in addressing, a lot of what Charlie outlines. The problems with the Nebula awards are particularly odd, because they seem like such simple things to fix… and yet. In any case, during an earlier stage in my life I decided that when something is dysfunctional, it’s better not to be involved with it. So I’m sitting it out while the organization decides what it’s really about. Hats off to those who have the time and energy to devote to the issue. They obviously have a higher threshold for pain than I.
PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES got a starred review from Publishers Weekly. They say:
“Bacigalupi’s stellar first collection of 10 stories displays the astute social commentary and consciousness-altering power of the very best short form science fiction” … “Deeply thought provoking, Bacigalupi’s collected visions of the future are equal parts cautionary tale, social and political commentary and poignantly poetic, revelatory prose.”
I also did an interview with them, but it doesn’t seem to be available online, so I’m still trying to track down a final version of it. In any case, it’s a happy moment.
Now, back to the novel.
Got a really good review from Fred Cleaver at The Denver Post for PUMP SIX.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8133831
I know I shouldn’t let this stuff affect me, but I still feel shiny.
I’m going to be doing a reading at SF in SF on Feb 23 along with Carter Scholz. We’ll be reading and doing a Q&A with Terry Bisson and then hanging around and chatting. If you’re in the area, you should come. It’ll be fun. Here’s the info from SF in SF’s flyer:
PAOLO BACIGALUPI
&
CARTER SCHOLZSaturday, February 23rd
Lounge /cash bar opens at 6:00 PM
7:00 PM readingsEach author will read a selection from their work
followed by Q&A moderated by author Terry Bisson.PAOLO BACIGALUPI
THE up-and-coming writer. A Hugo & Nebula nominee, Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut collection PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES from Nightshade Books demonstrates the power and reach of the science fiction short story. Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo’s work. Immensely interesting and readable, his work will grab you from the outset. Come join us for his only San Francisco appearance. Visit his website at http://windupstories.com/CARTER SCHOLZ
Carter Scholz’ wonderfully charming, playful, stylish and often experimental writings have been compared to the works of Thomas Pynchon, John Updike, and Thomas M. Disch. Carter Scholz has been publishing novels and short stories for 30 years. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed novel Radiance and the co-author of Palimpsest and (with Jonathan Lethem) Kafka Americana. His terrific short stories has been collected in The Amount to Carry. When not writing, Carter composes experimental computer music, and is a member of the Frog Peak Composers Collective. Frog Peak website at http://www.frogpeak.org/fpartists/fpscholz.htmlAuthors will schmooze and sign books afterwards.
Books available for sale (courtesy of Borderlands Books)
Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.
Come early and hang out in the lounge!Bar proceeds benefit Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California - learn more at www.varietync.org
Event takes place at
The Variety Preview Room
The Hobart Building, 1st Floor
582 Market St. @ Montgomery, San Francisco
Entrance to the Hobart Bldg. is between Citibank and QuiznosTake MUNI or BART instead of driving! Drive to your local BART station, and hop off at Montgomery St. Station, steps away from our front door.
Until 6PM, street metered parking is .25 per 5 mins
Phone (night of event) 415-572-1015
questions? Email sffilmvariety@yahoo.com
The other day, my 4-year-old son asked me, “Dad, are you done with your book yet?”
“No.”
He looked disappointed.
At first, I thought Anjula put him up to it, but apparently he’s just been listening to me bitch for so long that he’s picked up on the project. Now he keeps asking me how long I think it will take.
To make matters worse, I see that John Scalzi has apparently tunneled out from under the prison of ZOE’S TALE. Now I keep expecting Arjun to say, “You know, John Scalzi finished his…”
My new goal is the end of February. I am getting closer. Really.
"Stellar... consciousness-altering power." -- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
