Hitting up FOGcon 10 MARCH 6-8 at the Walnut Creek Marriott? So is Elwin Cotman, who will have copies of The Jack Daniels Sessions EP (& possibly Hard Times Blues if they get there in time) you can buy off him.
He’s also doing these panels & reading (probably from the new one, Dance on Saturday, which comes out in June from Small Beer Press):
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Hitting up this scifi & fantasy convention in Boston? So is Elwin Cotman, author of The Jack Daniels Sessions EP & Hard Times Blues. Here’s what this year’s guest of honor Elizabeth Hand had to say about the latter.
With its intoxicating blend of rock and roll and the supernatural, crazed religion and visionary prose, Hard Times Blues is a wild ride down the same shadowy American sideroads traveled by the likes of Cormac McCarthy, Greil Marcus and Samuel R. Delany. A marvelous collection by a strikingly original new voice in contemporary fiction.
Here’s the full schedule & where & when you can find Elwin:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15
3:00 PM (free to public)
The Other Others in Urban Fantasy
Elwin Cotman, Nicholas Kaufmann, Clea Simon, Leigh Perry (M), John Langan
Harbor II · 50 min · Panel
Urban fantasy sections in bookstores are filled with zombies, werewolves, and especially vampires (sparkly and otherwise) almost to the exclusion of other entities. Indeed, too many times those creatures define urban fantasy. But there are a plethora of other fantastical beings from the myths and legends of Europe — and every other continent. Authors like Seanan McGuire and Laura Anne Gilman revel in the variety, using it to populate the back streets of their chosen cities. Let’s join them (and our panelists) to explore the road less traveled.8:00 PM
Speculative Films for the Ages
Bob Devney (M), Gillian Daniels, Garen Daly, Elwin Cotman, Daniel M. Kimmel
Marina 4 · 50 min · Panel
Star Wars and 2001 are perennial front-runners in the list of greatest SF/F/H films of all time. Would you include The Beast from 20, 000 Fathoms, since it inspired Godzilla? The Matrix? Blade Runner? And how about non-Western films? Come ready with your roster — and your reasons — to challenge the choices of our film-buff panelists.9:00 PM
Where Do Elves Come From?
Sarah Smith, Melanie Meadors (M), Elwin Cotman, John Clute, Greer Gilman
Marina 3 · 50 min · Panel
Elves have their roots deep in northern European folklore, and their branchings support much of modern fantasy literature. Why? What makes elves so interesting? Are there different kinds of elves? Are Tolkien’s elves — beings who are almost preternatural humans — different in kind from cute Victorian elves, or from the grimmer elven folk of Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword? And what about the modern elves that appear in the night in many urban fantasies — why are they there? What’s the significance of a separate magical or supernatural race of human-like beings?SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16
11:00 AM
Autographing: Shannon Chakraborty, Elwin Cotman, Christopher Golden, Fonda Lee
Christopher Golden, Elwin Cotman, Shannon Chakraborty, Fonda Lee
Galleria – Autographing · 50 min · Autographing2:00 PM
The History of Black Horror
Tonia Thompson (M), Elwin Cotman, Kenesha Williams, Errick Nunnally, Grady Hendrix
Harbor II · 50 min · Panel
Black horror didn’t start with Get Out (2017), and this horror film didn’t put black horror on the map — but it was a wake-up call to Hollywood and book publishers that there are financial rewards for working with black creators and their horror projects. From Linda Addison to Jordan Peele or newer novelists such as Justina Ireland or Victor LaValle, black horror is a rich source of fiction and film entertainment, but it wasn’t always that way. The history of black horror ranges from blaxploitation films to secondary characters who rarely make it into the second chapter. Let’s chat about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going in the realm of black horror.6:30 PM
Boskone Book Party
Brenda W. Clough, Erin Underwood (M), Cerece Rennie Murphy, Isadora Deese, Christopher Paniccia, Steve Davidson, Suzanne Palmer, S.L. Huang, Clea Simon, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple, Julie C. Day, Karen Heuler, Jeff Hecht, KJ Kabza, Grady Hendrix, Kenneth Rogers Jr., Clarence Young, Elwin Cotman
Galleria – Stage · 50 min · Event
Come join the fun at Boskone 56’s Book Party — and meet the presses and authors who have new books coming out at the con! This is your chance to see what’s new from writers you already love, as well as those you have yet to discover.SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17
11:00 AM
Reading by Elwin Cotman
Elwin Cotman
Independence · 25 min · Reading
THIS SATURDAY…
Looking for stuff that’s a little out of the ordinary? This is the fair for you!
FREE FOR ATTENDEES!
BAR & KITCHEN WILL BE OPEN!
ENJOY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT!
SCORE GENTLY USED AND NEW UNIQUE ITEMS!-Clothing/shoes/accessories
(vintage/retro, drag, costumes, goth, punk, steampunk, medieval, fetish…and more!)
-Unique/handmade jewelry
-Rare/occult/horror themed books/movies
-Occult/horror themed games/toys/collectibles
-Underground music
-Offbeat/horror themed crafts
-Unusual handmade art/decor
Karen Lillis will be there slinging small press books, so make sure you buy all of them. Looking for specifically occult/horror-themed tales to tingle your mind & blow your spine? Check out the great Elwin Cotman’s collections The Jack Daniels Sessions EP & Hard Times Blues!
UPDATE:
Karen says,
This Saturday from 4-8pm I’ll be selling books with my pop up bookstand in Lawrenceville at the FREAKY FLEA Market, held at Cattivo on 44th Street. I’ll be bringing the freakier end of my indie book collection, but let’s be honest, my collection doesn’t need to be tweaked that much. From edgy feminist fiction to addiction memoirs to dark poetry to saloon zines to urban speculative fiction to apocalyptic novels to queer sci fi to obsession stories to working class bohemian narratives, my bookseller’s taste runs left of center.
The Freaky Flea features all kinds of DIY vendors, selling vintage and handmade items. Admission is free, there will be live entertainment, and kitchen and bar will be open during the sale.
CATTIVO is at 146 44th Street, two blocks off Butler (toward the river).
The Facebook event page has some previews of what other vendors are bringing:
Hope to see you there! If you can’t come but you are in the market for a summer read, you can always let me know what kind of book you’re looking for. Small Press Roulette is always open, and I’m also adding some collectible items to my online store as well.LATEST PUBLICATIONS
If you haven’t caught my latest bookstore memoir excerpts, please enjoy:
Susan Sontag Wants the Manager, Richard Hell Needs the Bathroom Key at LITHUB
A Clerk in the House of Poetry at THE BROOKLYN RAIL
Some People Who Led to My Self Publishing at CABILDO QUARTERLY (ask me for a paper copy of this great broadsheet if you want one)
Coming soon: The Uses of Sidewalks in Bookselling in KULCHUR Magazine (A new print mag out of Cleveland)
THIS THURSDAY…
InsideStorytime SUPERPOWERS at The Armory Club on Thursday, April 21st at 7:00 pm – (Please note the venue change — this event will now take place in the downstairs room under the Armory Club, 1799 Mission Street @ 14th Street.) InsideStorytime SUPERPOWERS will feature Seanan McGuire (INDEXING: REFLECTIONS), Charlie Jane Anders (ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY), Daryl Gregory (HARRISION SQUARED), Elwin Cotman (HARD TIMES BLUES), and Jessica May Lin. With guest MC Dhaya Lakshminarayanan. Borderlands will be on hand to sell books; do not miss this irresistible lineup!
Provided we make it there intact, Six Gallery Press will be representing at #AWP16 this weekend. Sharing scenic table 558 will be 6GP scribblers Daniel McCloskey (A Film About Billy), Elwin Cotman (The Jack Daniels Sessions EP, Hard Times Blues), & Robert Isenberg (Wander), plus Jess Simms of nascent literary institution The Haven.
In addition to books by this sick crew, we’ll have recent selections from Ally Malinenko, Che Elias, Joseph Musso Jr., Chuck Kinder, Don Wentworth, & Jason Baldinger, plus a selection of hits from the back catalog.
We’ll also have books by a duo of fellow Pittsburgh small presses, Low Ghost & Coleridge Street, featuring the poetic stylings of Adam Matcho, Scott Silsbe, Bob Pajich, & John Grochalski, PLUS the Good Noise! anthology by Thrasher Press, featuring even more Pittsburgh poets writing on musical themes.
Feel free to visit us & buy all the books so we don’t have to lug them all home on the Greyhound!
So far, 2015 has brought some very nice articles about/by Six Gallery scribblers:
A Film About Billy reviewed & Dan McCloskey interviewed by Rachel Mennies for PANK Magazine.
Jonathan Moody interviewed by Melody Nixon for The Common.
Elwin Cotman writes about (sometimes inadvertently) writing about Pittsburgh for Grist.
Ally Malinenko has been doing a lot of excellent blogging lately; this post also links to three recently-published poems.
These folks are all working on fantastic-sounding new projects, by the way. If you’re not familiar with them, check out their previous work!
Lafayette’s Hard Times Bluesman Elwin Cotman is East Coasting once again.
TONIGHT at 7, he’ll perform with Adam Dalva, Sally Wen Mao, & Henry Mills at the Mellow Pages Library in Brooklyn.
TOMORROW NIGHT at 7, he’ll perform with Rasheedah Phillips & Oki Sogumi at Revolving Bookcase in Philly.
& SATURDAY, 11/8 at 10AM, he’ll do a solo reading at the World Fantasy Convention in Arlington.
Elwin also had two pieces in Black Gate over the summer:
“My Inspiration: Black Canaan“, about the Robert E. Howard novel that planted the seed of “Assistant” in The Jack Daniels Sessions EP,
& “Record of Lodoss War and Subtle Subversions“, in which he revisits the anime classic.
Starbursts of talent! Devastating satire! Hang on, clichéd bloodbath? That bloodbath was expertly drawn!
Check it:
In Books and Booze episode 78 we are joined with Elwin Cotman to discuss his collection Hard Times Blues. His collection is the only place you’ll find conversational fodder to include social issues, fairy stories, folk lore, references to The Bible, music, and history. We also talk about Elwin’s influences (and exactly how From Dusk Til Dawn affected him), book tours, Four Loko, drunken self-tattooing, and, as always, more!
After touring to promote Hard Times Blues (which you can read about over at Black Gate), Elwin has returned to professor-mode. But in a few weeks he’ll be hitting the road again to hang out & panel at the (downtown) omaha lit fest. Here’s a description of the panel:
Saturday, October 19 / 2:30
Experiments: Writing around the mainstream.
Authors talk about risk, invention, small-press publishing, dangerous subjects, and the literary underground. Panelists include: Elwin Cotman, author of Jack Daniels Sessions EP: A Collection of Fantasies; Brion Poloncic, author of Xanthous Mermaid Mechanics (published by Journal of Experimental Fiction); and Thom Sibbitt, who explores sex, death, and drugs in his novel The Turnpike.
Six Gallery Press 