On Translation Station

Translation Station by Don D'Ammassa

Now available for pre-order!

Actually, consider this available for order any day now as all we're doing right now is awaiting delivery from the printer. This is a great collection of stories. Aliens. Hyperspatial planes. Spaceships. The works. There is some mighty fine space opera and adventure happening here. Check out this table of contents:

"A Good Offense"
"Wormdance"
"Diplomatic Relations"
"Funeral Party"
"Getting with the Program"
"Translation Station"
"The Man Who Walked to Procyon"
"No Distance Too Great"
"Jack the Martian"
"Adding It Up"
"Actual Mode"
"Scrimshaw"
"Remotely Possible"
"Duck and Cover"
"Chronic Pain"
"Curing Agent"
"The Natural World"

At $13.95 that's a pretty good bargain. And don't forget...up until July 14th, orders for this book from our website enjoy FREE domestic shipping and greatly reduced international shipping. To order Translation Station by Don D'Ammassa, visit http://www.merryblacksmith.com/bookpages/translation.html.

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Developing News: We're getting closer to finishing Bud Webster's The Joy of Booking. Expect to see it sometime in June

Developing News: We're currently hammering out details on a couple of novels and, possibly, a collection of comics from one of the legends from the indie comic scene. Stay tuned for details.

Developing News: Child-Eyes by Sarah DeSimone with illustrations by Rose Sipperley is also nearing completion. Expect to see that sometime in June as well.

Developing News: Your humble publisher thinks he's an artist. Find out why at http://jdteehan.deviantart.com/. As he gets the hang of the DeviantArt website, certain prints will become available for order as well as some Merry Blacksmith swag.

Cheers!

News on upcoming news...

I really need to get better at updating the blog stuff. It seems unfair that all this great news of upcoming books has been laying fallow...waiting for the spring planting, as it were, when it could have been done weeks ago.

Well spring is now upon us, like it or not. Don't get me wrong. I'm so glad that winter is over, but now the yard is exploding forth with grass and brush that I now have to keep trimmed back lest they devour the house. And May has been a very rainy month thus far, so you can just imagine what I'm dealing with.

Bookwise, though, things are looking great. Over the next few days, I'm going to be releasing news on various Merry Blacksmith releases and other bits of news.

What's coming up?

How about news on Don D'Ammassa's incredible collection of science fiction? I asked for some space opera, and boy did I get some. I love these stories. Check out Translation Station details coming soon.

Also on deck is a new poetry collection from the Merry Blacksmith Press. Stay tuned for news on Child Eyes by Sarah DeSimone featuring artwork by Rose Sipperley. Truly great stuff and a fine addition to our poetry line.

In a month or two, look for the release of of an expanded and updated edition of The Joy of Booking by Bud Webster, author of the popular Anthopology 101 series. Bud's a long-time bibliophile and bookseller. This book will have all the ins and outs of the book dealing trade, useful in and of itself, but also useful for other types of dealers. Be on the lookout.

And I've been letting my art freak flag fly a bit lately, too. I may be sharing some info on that as well, and showcasing a few galleries and merch.

So like I said...lot's of stuff will be discussed and announced here over the next few days.

Don't miss out.

Newest promotion. Join the commotion.

We've been thinking lately on the matter of promotions. Each month, we usually have a title that enjoys free shipping for that entire month. This month, April, we have two titles. Albany: a Bio in Poemtry by Ben Ohmart, and Where I'm Coming From by Jay Walker. Why?

Because it's National Poetry Month and we've always enjoyed good poetry.

So until April 30, any orders for either of those titles through our website will receive FREE domestic shipping, or greatly reduced international shipping.

But that's not all. We've been thinking of other promotions.

To continue with the poetry theme for April, we've decided to open a short little raffle. Between now and midnight EST of April 30, you're invited to send in a rhymed couplet. Doing so will enter you into a raffle in which a randomly selected entree will receive a FREE copy of Albany or Where I'm Coming From.

You can submit your entry as a comment to this post (either on Facebook or Blogspot) or e-mail your entry in to info@merryblacksmith.com.

Good luck!

--John

p.s. Stay tuned for more Merry Blacksmith news coming up about a great new SF collection by Don D'Ammassa, and a new, updated edition of The Joy of Booking by Bud Webster, author of ther Locus-recommended Anthopology 101.

What news?

As the Merry Blacksmith Press nears its first anniversary, I'm honestly amazed at how great a year it's been. We've put out some very fine books, and they've all received great reviews. At this point in time, there are still a couple of days left to get Hugo nominations in. We think that Bud Webster's ANTHOPOLOGY 101 would make a fine addition to the Best-Related nominations list, and that Tim Pratt's very successful fourth Marla Mason novel, BROKEN MIRRORS, would likewise look great sitting there on the BEST NOVEL nominations list.

Just putting that little bug in your ear.

Earl Kemp will be appearing at the Los Angeles Paperback Show next week and he'll have copies of WHO KILLED SCIENCE FICTION on hand to autograph and sell. If drop by, don't forget to grab a flyer showcasing some of our other titles.

Back to awards for a sec...Merry Blacksmith author Connie Corcoran Wilson brings in two from eLit Awards with a Silver for IT CAME FROM THE '70s and a Gold for HELLFIRE & DAMNATION. Way to go! Connie will be appearing at the Wizard World Con in Austin, and at the New York Book Expo.

As far as new release go, don't forget that for the entire month of March, Bradley H. Sinor's incredible collection of fantasy stories, WHERE THE SHADOWS BEGAN & OTHER STORIES comes with FREE domestic shipping and greatly reduced international shipping.

As for upcoming titles, look for Ben Ohmart's ALBANY: An Autobio in Poemtry coming very soon.

And we have much more coming up over the next few months. Stay tuned for details including a special release planned for Renovation and one or two for next year's Chicon.

Yeah...it's a fun ride. It doesn't end here. We'll have more news on our other great titles coming up.

Cheers!

Some (but not all of the) New Titles for Spring

For the entire month of March, orders for Where the Shadows Began & Other Stories by Bradley H. Sinor will enjoy FREE domestic shipping and drastically reduced international shipping. If you haven't ordered yourself a copy yet, you don't know what you're missing. Consider tales that:

• A theatre where the play’s the thing and nightmares perform.
• Fog that, if you walk into, you will come out to find the world changed—and that you must face the greatest killer of an age.
• How the burden of legend, honor and the pain of love lost stretches down through the ages.
• The sands of a beach where choices made cannot be unmade.
• A tale as old as time—from an unexpected point of view.
• Who cleans up after the titans clash?

Brad's fantasy takes you into uncharted territories of wonder and possibility. It's a highly recommended read.

Speaking of great reads, coming soon is a fine collection of poetry from Ben Ohmart. In Albany: an Autobio in Poemtry, Ben takes a different approach to biography by presenting a series of poems which not only encapsulate his own experiences growing up, but which also envelope the reader in a shared experience. It's not often one finds poetry that talks about playing Frogger or Space Invaders as a child, or enjoying comic books or Star Wars action action figures (from the first trilogy). If you're a Merry Blacksmith reader, then you're probably a little bit of a geek and proud of it. Ben's one of us and it shows. Look for this book around the beginning of April.

Cheers!

Boskone and Corflu and fanac and fantasy

Heading off to Boskone this morning for a daytrip. In addition to dropping off some goodies at the freebie table, I'll be visiting some dealers with copies of Merry Blacksmith Press books and some flyers promoting our titles. It's been too long since I've visited a con, even for a day, so I'm very glad I was able to shoehorn this daytrip in.

I'm already making plans for more cons this year.

In other news, I'm happy to report that Earl Kemp's Who Killed Science Fiction? has been getting some great responses. The book debuted at this year's fanzine fan convention, Corflu, in Sunnyvale, California. Apparently most of the copies were sold within half an hour after opening the box on Friday night, and the rest were gone by morning, and orders taking advantage of the February free or reduced shipping have been nicely brisk. I donated a copy of WKSF and Anthopology 101 to the fan auction. The video feed cut before I could find out how much they went for, alas. Still, if they brought in their cover price, I'm more than satisfied. Every little bit helps to promote healthy fanac.

And speaking of fanac, stay tuned for new on a special fan anthology project coming soon.

And speaking of staying tuned...by the end of the month, Bradley H. Sinor's excellent fantasy short story collection, Where the Shadows Began, will become available. As usual, there will be special deals available when it's released into the wild.

Cheers!

Anthopology 101 on the LOCUS 2010 Recommended Reading List

I gotta say, I had a very pleasant bit of news this morning when Bud Webster e-mailed me to tell me that his book, ANTHOPOLOGY 101: Reflections, Inspections and Dissections of SF Anthologies, appears in the Non-fiction category of the 2010 LOCUS Recommended Reading List. That's pretty cool for Bud whose work on the Anthopology 101 column over the years has gotten him quite the reputation as a scholar, but also for our little press here.

So congratulations to Bud! And thanks for offering me your book to publish.

And in case you were not aware, you can read the Preface at our website.

And while I'm pointing out Merry Blacksmith titles on awards list...don't forget that Connie Wilson's Hellfire & Damnation is on the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Award. Granted, the ballot still lists the original publisher, Sam's Dot, but that's only fair because the Merry Blacksmith edition didn't come out until January of this year. That Connie selected The Merry Blacksmith Press when the Sam's Dot agreement ran out is very nice, and congrats to her for making the ballot.

You can read "Confessions of an Apotemnophile" for free.

So, yeah...it's a great first year.

Cheers!

--John

On Barsoom and Dublin

It's been about a year since The Merry Blacksmith Press got underway. Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of publishing new books, I wanted to do some tests with the printer, experiment with PayPal and generally do some dry runs. Before I started releasing new books, I did what so many other small publishers do and took a stab at some public domain titles. Obviously, I was happy with the results from the printer which is why I started hawking them on the website, and those four titles I started with are still listed in the catalog, and still available for order.

First up was A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Why? Partly because I started hearing noise again about a film version (anyone know whatever became of that?) but mostly because I was addicted to the Barsoom series when I was a kid. These were fun, action-packed stories with many of the sort of thing that are still popular today. Adventure, Romance. Massive battles. Airships. You know...the works.

After approving the first Merry Blacksmith publication, I went ahead and put together the next two in the series: The Gods of Mars, and its direct sequel, The Warlord of Mars. Every now and then I consider putting together an omnibus edition, but I see a lot of those around, and sometimes folks just need one of the three titles to replace an old, worn-out one. Even if I do decide to go with an omnibus edition, they will always be available as single volumes.

The Christmas before I started Merry Blacksmith Press, my wife had given me an old copy of James Joyce's Dubliners. Of all of Joyce's works, I had always found this the most accessible and enjoyable. This is one of those collections that I feel should be taught in every school or, at the very least, read by everyone at least once in their lives.

And given that "The Merry Blacksmith" is the name of a well-known Irish reel, and Joyce was a celebrated Irish writer, the fit seemed right.

Hence, the Merry Blacksmith Press edition.

Will I put out other public domain titles in the future? Probably. There are some science fiction adventure titles I've had my eye one--real pulp-era sort of yarns. I sometimes consider editions of books from early English literature, which was my major in college. I'm also open to suggestions.

My next post will be about more new releases, but today, I celebrate some classics.

Cheers!

And poetry, too

And you know...we also publish poetry.

It's true. Our most current offering is Jay Walker's long-awaited second book, Where I'm Coming From, a collection of poems that express the Rhode Island experience through the poet's eyes and heart. But Where I'm Coming From is not just a love letter to Rhode Island; it’s a declaration of the status of his emotional journey to the ultimate destination of peace, love & nakedness for all. Walker writes about everything from world issues to the aspects and events of his own life and art.

On the horizon, we're happy to be introducing a new volume of poetry from Ben Ohmart, Albany: An Autobio In Poemtry.

Stay tuned for samples from each.

Cheers!

--John

Hellfire and Damnation - Now Available!

Gotta love it when new books come out.

Another of our latest releases is Hellfire & Damnation, a collection of startling stories by Connie Corcoran Wilson. Some of these tales are based on real events which makes them all the more chilling. We're very happy that this book has been getting some Stoker Award buzz (it's been placing fairly high on the recommendation lists) and it's now available for order from its new publisher--us--at this page for only $10.95. Order through us before February 15th and receive FREE domestic shipping and reduced international shipping. After that, the book should also be available through Amazon or your local bookseller.

Best yet, you can read a sample story, "Confessions of an Apotemnophile" absolute free!

For more information on this book, you can also visit the author's website at www.hellfireanddamnationthebook.com.

Cheers!

What we're looking for in 2011.

With two of our three most recently planned titles out (Hellfire and Damnation by Connie Corcoran Wilson and Who Killed Science Fiction? Compleat and Unexpurgated by Earl Kemp), we're considering what to do next. We have one non-fiction book planned for, hopefully, late spring, and I'm in negotiations for a Very Special Reprint of a classic in skiffy fandom. Too soon to make any official announcements.

And we're always looking for more. Here is our current, ideal, "wish list" which will also be put up o our Submissions Guidelines page soon. In all cases, reprints will be cheerfully considered. All queries can be sent to submissions[at]merryblacksmith[dot]com.

Non-fiction

We would love to see some writing how-to books, particular of a genre nature.

Collections of literary commentary, history, or criticism would interest us. Take a look at Bud Webster's Anthopology 101 book for an idea of what we mean. This was one of our most popular books this past year and we'd love to see more.

Collections of fannish writing. Are you a fan writer with a backlog of past works from fanzines you think people would like to see bound up all in one? Why not? Are you a fanzine editor who might like to put together a best-of collection? Anyone have anything on the subject of the history of fandom? Let us know.

Review or interview books. These can be a slightly harder sell unless you have a good, unique hook or strong central theme. If I can get the same information from IMDB or Wikipedia, we're not interested, but if you have soemthing new and interesting to offer, by all means let us know.

Poetry

We will consider all poetry collection submissions. Genre and non-genre alike. That's no guarantee, mind you. But if we like what we see, we'd love to talk with you.

Fiction

We will happily consider fiction submissions, but some will have a better chance than others.

If you have reprint rights for novels that have since gone out of print, but for which you think still have a potential audience, go and make your pitch. We may even consider publishing an omnibus edition

If you're continuing a series that was dropped by another publisher, we'd like to see your pitch.

If you're a short story writer who has published in some of the major fiction magazines and are looking to publish a collection, let us know.

We'll consider all genres, although we've had a real strong yen lately for some good old fashioned space opera. Still, we'll look at everything.

Comics and Graphic Novels

We'd love to see some of these show up in our submissions pile. Surprise us.

The Details

We have a very strong "don't screw the author" policy. Our contracts do not try to retain electronic rights--just the print rights, and on a renewable one-year contract. While we do not offer advances at this time, we offer a generous royalty rate and offer author copies at a greatly reduced cost. We're a small publisher, so while we do some small advertising here and there, authors who can self-promote will have the greatest success.

Queries or e-mail submissions can be sent to submissions[at]merryblacksmith[dot]com. Other questions can be directed to info[at]merryblacksmith[dot]com.

Who Killed Science Fiction?

Who indeed? Well one way to find out who done did it (if it was in fact did done) is to read the book.

I'm very happy to announce that copies of Earl Kemp's Hugo award-winning work WHO KILLED SCIENCE FICTION? is now available for order. This edition is "Compleat & Unexpurgated" and contains updates from 1980 and 2002. Among its nearly a hundred contributors are such folks as Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, John W. Campbell, Hugo Gernsback, Horace Gold, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Hannes Bok, Howard DeVore, Robert Silverberg, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, and many more. This is one of the most significant and legendary works in the history of science fiction. Reading it, you feel like you're sitting in on a conversation among friends and family. There's serious discussion, and some not as serious.

As a fan and as someone with a strong interest in the history science fiction and fandom, this has always been one of the top books in my list of must-reads. I'm incredibly grateful to Earl for allowing me to come out with a print edition through the Merry Blacksmith Press. It's nice to be a small part of something as big as this.

In celebration of this release, I'm offering free domestic shipping and reduced international shipping from now through the end of February.

Also, a copy of this, along with Bud Webster's ANTHOPOLOGY 101, is being donated to the Corflu auction being held at Corflu 28 (February 11th through the 13th).

I won't be attending Corflu--this year, at least--although you might see me loitering around the Virtual ConSuite if they have it up this year. I will be hanging around Boskone on Saturday--mostly bothering dealers, but also checking out some of the programming. I'll probably have a copy in my hands, so feel free to ask to take a look.

I'll be the guy in the red fez.

Cheers!

--John

Starting a new blog. Welcome to it.

Howdy,

So another blog has entered the world. Smacked on the bottom and wailing out its existence, but if the delivery room is empty...does it make a noise?

It's too early in the morning for me to decide. I'll let it be my koan for the day.

In any case, this is the first entry to a blog dedicated to issues relating to The Merry Blacksmith Press, its books, events, authors and, occasionally, its publisher (that's me!).

I keep another occasional blog--a more personal one, but one oft ripe with news of work I'm doing in writing, editing and publishing in other venues. That can be found at JohnTeehan.com. At the writing of this, the site is in urgent need of an update, but I think I can manage to take care of that sometime within the next week or two. While here I'll be discussing some of the new titles we have coming out this year, over at the Other Blog I'll likely be doing a little of the same, but also talking about my work with the SFWA Bulletin, with a certain medical journal, a certain UK publisher, BearManor Fiction, and some other projects that I'm involved with.

But that's all Over There. HERE, it will be mostly Merry Blacksmith news, comments, discussions, and reviews.

So buckle in.