The Writer and the Critic

Bouncing back refreshed and rejuvenated from their Moving House hiatus, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond launch into an almost inevitable post-move discussion about books, hoarding books, culling books, having enough books to fill a garage and too many to ever read in one lifetime, whether any of this should possibly be seen as A Problem Which Must Be Remedied, and how digital books might save the world, or at least their storage-related sanity. Just saying.

They then, with much girding of loins, move on to tackle the two books up for discussion this month: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (beginning at 14:15) and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (43.25). Kirstyn warns about the dangers of broken noses while Ian references this interview with David Foster Wallace by Charlie Rose.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:25:15 for some brief final remarks.

There will be another brief break in April while Ian and his lovely Jules bring their second child into the world, but The Writer and the Critic will be back again in May. Promise! For that episode, Ian has recommended Some Kind of Fairytale by Graham Joyce, while Kirstyn has chosen Feed by M.T. Anderson. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

This last episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2012 sees your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, sink their teeth into non-fiction. But first they give a friendly shout-out to the brand spanking new podcast from Sean Wright, Adventures of a Bookonaut -- to which you should all go and listen right now -- as well as the entertainingly erudite Ambling Along the Acqueduct blog. (Kirstyn's brand spanking new novel, Perfections, might also garner a wee mention.) The duo then become embroiled in a debate about critics and authors and whether one person can or even should wear both hats, as well as whether or not critics need to take the feelings of authors into consideration -- regardless of what kind of spiffy headwear either of them might be donning at the time.

The books up for discussion this month are Evaporating Genres, a collection of essays by Gary K. Wolfe (beginning 35:20), and James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, a biography by Julie Phillips (1:03:50). This thoughtful essay by Jonathan McCalmont is mentioned and, in the spirit of Alice Sheldon, Ian promises to begin writing Letters of Appreciation to authors whose work he has enjoyed. We will follow him up on this next year!

There are no real spoilers here but if you have skipped ahead, then please tune back in at 1:39:50 for some closing remarks and (belated) holiday well-wishes.

And now for the sad news ... The Writer and the Critic is on hiatus for a couple of months and won't be back until March 2013. The good news is that will give you plenty of time to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Hopefully it will give Kirstyn and Ian plenty of time as well!

Thanks to everyone who listened to The Writer and the Critic during 2012. Ian and Kirstyn love you all to bits and look forward to talking at you a whole lot more in 2013!

This month on The Writer and Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, are delighted to bring you Part the Second of their special eBook Extravaganza. Wasting absolutely no time on formalities, the duo roll up their sleeves and get straight into the discussion of their listener-chosen titles.

The books on the table for this episode are: The Black God's War by Moses Siregar III (at 2:15) the mark), The Silence of Medair by Andrea K Höst (42:30) and Paintwork by Tim Maughan (1:08:30).  During the discussion, Ian mentions an article on "Writing About Rape" that Jim Hines wrote for Apex Magazine back in January 2012. While this isn't available online, Jim Hines has written two similar pieces which can be found on his blog, along with other useful resources on the subject.

If you've skipped forward to avoid spoilers, please tune back in at 1:33:35 for a thoughtful discussion of self-publishing, reading in general and concluding remarks about the last two episodes.

Changing gears, next month will see the first non-fiction edition of The Writer and the Critic. Ian has recommended Evaporating Genres, a collection of essays by Gary K. Wolfe, while Kirstyn has picked James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, a biography by Julie Phillips. Read ahead and join in the non-fictional fun!

This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, present Part the First of their special eBook Extravaganza! Yes, that's right ... unable to condense the discussion of six books into less than three hours, they have wisely decided to split the podcast into two episodes. You're welcome, listeners.

After some brief introductory remarks, Kirstyn and Ian jump straight into the dissection of the first three books up on the block: Angelfall by Susan Ee (at the 3:20 mark), Anticopernicus by Adam Roberts (32.15) and The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer (1:01:20). Along the way, Kirstyn recommends this series of philosophical reviews of Anticopernicus by Rich Puchalsky for further reading, while Ian notes a discussion of difficulty in fiction by Adam Roberts, which was in turn inspired by a 2009 essay by John Lanchester. Sarah Diemer's thoughtful explanation of why she chose to self-publish her books can be found here.

For those who've been skipping ahead to avoid spoilers, you can tune back in around 1:30:20 for a very quick wrap-up.

Next month, in Part the Second of the eBook Extravaganza, Ian and Kirstyn will discuss the last three books as chosen by listeners:

They'd love to hear your feedback on all the eBooks they've discussed!

This month brings the first fresh recording of The Writer and the Critic since the massive  pre-record-a-thon back in June. Yours hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, welcome themselves back into the slightly rusty saddle with a brief catch-up on what they did during their break ... which seems to have been a whole bunch of extracurricular reading and podcasting! Kirstyn confesses to the reading slump in which she currently finds herself bemired, while managing to provide a a handle of capsule reviews along the way. Ian discusses his short story ennui as well as taking the opportunity to plug episodes of Last Short Story and the Martian Drive-In Podcast in which he appeared. Podcast floozy, thy name is Mond.

The books tabled for dissection this month are Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (beginning around 21:40) and Osama by Lavie Tidhar (at 1:06:10). There are many, many spoilers, including detailed discussions of both endings. Be warned! For supplemental listening, Ian and Kirstyn both highly recommend this episode of Galactic Chat in which Sean Wright interviews Kate Forsyth about the research and writing of Bitter Greens.

If you've skipped ahead, please back around the 1:53:00 mark -- yes, it's another loooooong podcast -- for some final remarks and listener feedback.

Next month is the special Writer and Critic eBook Extravaganza! Ian and Kirstyn will endeavour to read and discuss the following six -- yes, SIX -- originally self-published eBooks as recommended by their listeners:

Unlike other books featured on the podcast, Ian and Kirstyn will also be commenting on the format, practical readability and publication standards of these six titles in the context of a broader discussion of e-publishing -- and they have given each other permission to abandon any book they find a struggle for whatever reason. Join them for what should be a most entertaining, engaging and edifying episode!

This month's episode of The Writer and the Critic is the last of those recorded around Continuum 8 back in June, wherein your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, invite themselves back to the hotel room of the highly esteemed Drs Brain, Angela Slatter and Lisa L. Hannett, for literary fun and merriment. The finer points of name pronunciation and resultant avoidance of the wrath of angry grannies is duly noted, followed by some candid behind-the-scenes chat concerning Angela and Lisa's co-written mosaic novel, Midnight and Moonshine, due for release from Ticonderoga Publications in November 2012 and available for pre-order right now. There might also be significant -- but highly esteemed -- blushing.

Discussion then moves on to the the two books selected for dissection on the podcast. Angela's pick was Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore (begins around the 26:00 mark) while Lisa chose Galore by Michael Crummey (59:00). Scalpels are sharpened and edifying evisceration is conducted with much exuberance.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, come back around 1:33:00 for some final remarks.

Next month, the podcast is back in real time with Kirstyn choosing Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth for discussion and Ian bringing Osama by Lavie Tidhar to the table. This time, as the novels were picked three months in advance, neither of the pair has actually read their selection ... so anything might happen. Read ahead with them and join in the spoilerific fun!

Recorded back before Continuum 8 in June but still fresh as the proverbial daisy, this episode of The Writer and the Critic sees your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, joined by editor and fellow podcaster Jonathan Strahan. The trio try not to ramble too much about a variety of topics, from off-the-cuff commentary and its resultant fallout, to gender and science fiction, to the role of gatekeepers, to some possibly self-indulgent behind the scenes snippets from the world of podcasting. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Galactic Suburbia, Last Short Story and, of course, the Notes from Coode Street podcast are all mentioned.

At around the 28:40 point, Kirstyn then manages to herd them onwards to the novel Galveston by Sean Stewart, which Jonathan recommended for all of them to read. Galveston was a joint winner (along with Declare by Tim Powers) in 2001  of  the World Fantasy Award, a year in which Jonathan served on the relevant awards jury. That's how much he loves this book.

They then move on to the official novels for the podcast, Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (beginning at 54:55) and The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan (around the 1:22:00 mark). Ian confesses to having watched the marvellous trailer for The Drowning Girl around thirty times while reading the book and thinks you should watch it at least once or twice! In a tangential discussion about semi-autobiographical fiction, the title of the pertinent Catherynne M. Valente story that Kirstyn fails to remember is "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time".

Listeners might also like to check out the recent Notes from Coode Street episode in which Caitlín R. Kiernan is interviewed and talks about The Drowning Girl, as well as previous Writer and Critic episodes in which Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor and The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan were featured. Don't forget to tune back in to this episode at 2:13:45 for some very brief closing remarks!

Next month will bring another pre-record from June, with very special joined-at-the-brain guests Angela Slatter and Lisa L. Hannett. As with their previous double-barrelled guest podcast with Alison Goodman and Kelly Link, Ian and Kirstyn decline to nominate books of their own to talk about and instead will focus on the two recommendations from their guests: Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore and Galore by Michael Crummey. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

This episode of The Writer and the Critic is recorded LIVE in front of an actual audience at Continuum 8, the National SF Convention, with two very, very special guests: authors extraordinaire Alison Goodman and Kelly Link. Your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, talk with Alison about her new project, a dark supernatural Regency trilogy which may or may not involve gowns, bonnets and a large bloody knife. Kelly reaffirms her love of short fiction -- recommending "The New Mother" by Lucy Clifford along the way -- while reluctantly confessing that she might be considering writing a novel of her own. Certainly, if Holly Black has anything to do with it!

Because  reviewing four books in a single podcast would be an act of no small madness, Kirstyn and Ian wisely decide to leave the recommendations for this month to their guests. Alison has chosen The Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey (discussion begins at 17:50) while Kelly has brought along The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (48:20).

Inspired by the online exploits of Jim C. Hines, Ian attempts to reconstruct the pose illustrated on the cover of The Crystal Singer. He does rather a marvellous job:

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please tune back in around 1:16:50 for final remarks. Kelly would also like to make two additional recommendations that listeners might enjoy, The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss and the Flora Segunda series of books by Ysabeau Wilce.

(photo: Art Bébé Promotions)

Next month's episode features yet another special guest, editor and fellow podcaster, Jonathan Strahan, who has recommended Galveston by Sean Stewart for Ian and Kirstyn to read.

Ian has picked Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor while Kirstyn has chosen The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan. It will possibly be their longest podcast ever. Okay, okay, it's already been recorded and, yes, it is definitely their longest podcast ever. Make sure you bring along a comfy chair!

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BREAKING NEWS!

You are now listening to a multi-award-winning podcast -- a fact which Kirstyn and Ian did not yet know while recording this episode. Because this episode was in fact recorded before the awards were announced. We're not living that much in the future! But Ian would explode if he had to wait until the next recording to announce that The Writer and the Critic has won both Chronos and Ditmar Awards for Best Fan Publication. Ian and Kirstyn are ever so chuffed, and would like to thank all their listeners as well as everyone who voted for them. (They would also like to apologise to Galactic Suburbia for being so shocked and overwhelmed that they failed to notice the GS standing ovation in the back row. They promise to ovate in an upright posture the next time GS wins an award so they too can be blissfully ignored. It's only fair.)

But yes, awards! Look! Proof! Plus a random monkey!

In collaboration with Twelfth Planet Press and recorded live at the beautiful Embiggen Books in Melbourne, The Writer and the Critic is delighted to present a special podcast dedicated to the critically acclaimed Twelve Planets series of short story collections.

Join host Ian Mond as he interviews Twelve Planet authors Deborah Biancotti, Narrelle M. Harris, Deborah Kalin, Margo Lanagan, Rosaleen Love, Kirstyn McDermott, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Lucy Sussex and Kaaron Warren, along with publisher Alisa Krasnostein. It's a fun, informal conversation which -- and this is how you know it's not an official Writer and Critic episode -- goes for less than 50 minutes! You're welcome.

This month on The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond spend some time discussing the results of the recently announced Aurealis Awards. Ian valiantly attempts to pry a little out-of-school talk from Kirstyn, who convened the Horror judging panel, but Kirstyn just as valiantly resists the spilling of any beans. Well, mostly. You know how persistent Mondy can be.

And from the Department of Filthy Lucre, Kirstyn and Ian are pleased to announce the opening of a brand spanking new Writer and Critic Zazzle Store from which their loyal listeners can purchase all kinds of yummy merch! Okay, there's just one design available right now, but it's very classy. Inspired by last episode's conversation about stick figures, which was in turn inspired by listener feedback from Mark Webb, Kirstyn has designed a female stick figure logo which is now splashed across shirts, badges, stickers, mugs and a whole heap of other swag. Why is the stick figure female? The more important question is, why is it male? Go on, you know you want one.

Around the 26:20 mark, discussion turns to the first of the two books for the podcast, Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti, which Ian recommended. Ishtar, an anthology from Gilgamesh Press which includes a novella by Deb, is tangentially mentioned and garners a bonus mini-review from Kirstyn. At 45:00 they switch over to Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (also known as The Brides of Rollrock Island outside of Australia), which was Kirstyn's pick. Ian mentions this review of the book by Abigail Nussbaum and, for listeners wanting to know more about the writing of the novel, Kirstyn suggests watching this interview with Margo. Sea Hearts was expanded from a highly acclaimed novella of the same name, which can be found in the X6 anthology from Coeur de Lion Publishing.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please check back in at 1:25:10 for final remarks and some exciting -- and exhausting! -- announcements about future episodes. Kirstyn and Ian would also like to thank the wonderful Charles Tan for creating a Pinterest board of all the books they have review on the podcast so far. There's really quite a lot of them!

Next month, The Writer and the Critic hits the road once more to record its second live podcast in front of an audience at the Continuum 8: the National Science Fiction convention in Melbourne. Their very, very special guests will be Alison Goodman and Kelly Link, who have recommended The Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey and The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater respectively. (Ian and Kirstyn have wisely decided not to choose books of their own because, well, four people talking about four books in less than two hours would be a frantic kind of madness.) Read ahead and join in the fun!