Read The Best of Electric Velocipede Online
Authors: John Klima
The Best of Electric Velocipede
- A Brief History of Electric Velocipede
by John Klima - Introduction
by Shane Jones - Fling But a Stone
by Mark Rich - Mrs. Janokowski Hits One Out of the Park
by William Shunn - A Keeper
by Alan DeNiro - Indicating the Awakening of Persons Buried Alive
by Liz Williams - In the Frozen City
by Chris Roberson - The Spigot
by Heather Martin - A Taste for Flowers
by Jay Caselberg - The Chiaroscurist
by Hal Duncan - The Way He Does It
by Jeffrey Ford - Milk and Apples
by Catherynne M. Valente - Dr. Black and the Village of Stones
by Brendan Connell - The Dogrog Phenomenom
by Richard Howard - How the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth
by Rachel Swirsky - Recipe for Survival
by Sandra McDonald - Wool and Silk and Wood
by Shira Lipkin - The Oldest Man on Earth
by Patrick O’Leary - Notes on the Dissection of an Imaginary Beetle
by Jonathan Wood - The Death of Sugar Daddy
by Toiya Kristen Finley - The Bear Dresser’s Secret
by Richard Bowes - The Lost Technique of Blackmail
by Mark Teppo - When the Lamps are Lit
by KJ Bishop - Daughters of Fortune
by Cyril Simsa - ∞°
by Darin Bradley - Patience
by E. Lily Yu - The Art Disease
by Dennis Danvers - Heaven Under Earth
by Aliette de Bodard - Cutting
by Ken Liu - The Night We Drank Cold Wine
by Megan Kurashige - A Faun’s Lament
by Michael Constantine McConnell - Glass Boxes and Clockwork Gods
by Damien Angelica Walters - The Irish Astronaut
by Val Nolan - Melt
by Cislyn Smith - The Beasts We Want to Be
by Sam J. Miller - The Carnival Was Eaten, All Except the Clown
by Caroline M. Yoachim - Acknowledgements
- About the Contributors
- About the Editor
The Best of Electric Velocipede
Edited by John Klima
The Hugo Award-winning
Electric Velocipede
ran for twelve years, publishing twenty-seven issues over the course of its run. The magazine was nominated four years in a row for a World Fantasy Award. Its stories appeared in Gardner Dozois’ and Jonathan Strahan’s year’s best anthologies and were also shortlisted for the Sturgeon and Tiptree Awards.
The Best of Electric Velocipede
showcases a breathtaking thirty-four pieces of high quality work published during its run. If you’ve never read the magazine, you’re in for a treat. If you’re already a fan, you’ll find all your favorites and a lot of great writing that deserves a second look. With a foreword by editor John Klima and introduction by Shane Jones.
Stories and poetry by:
Mark Rich • William Shunn • Alan DeNiro • Liz Williams • Chris Roberson • Heather Martin • Jay Caselberg • Hal Duncan • Jeffrey Ford • Catherynne M. Valente • Brendan Connell • Richard Howard • Rachel Swirsky • Sandra McDonald • Shira Lipkin • Patrick O’Leary • Jonathan Wood • Toiya Kirsten Finley • Richard Bowes • Mark Teppo • KJ Bishop • Cyril Simsa • Darin C. Bradley • E. Lily Yu • Dennis Danvers • Aliette de Bodard • Ken Liu • Megan Kurashige • Michael Constantine McConnell • Damien Angelica Walters • Val Nolan • Cislyn Smith • Sam J. Miller • Caroline M. Yoachim
Praise for
The Best of Electric Velocipede:
Like a brilliant blended whisky selected from 12 years of prize-winning distillations, many flavors and tastes of story combine here to form an anthology that must be savored from the first to the last word.”
—Garth Nix, author of
Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
Electric Velocipede
’s best-of has plenty of juice, plenty of meat, ample servings of intoxicating liquor—and it finishes off with a sinister sweetness. Read it if you want to sample some of the best work from new and established writers in the last twelve years.”
—Margo Lanagan, author of
Tender Morsels
John Klima’s indispensable
Electric Velocipede
was a personal inspiration for me and an inexhaustible source of literary delights: the best of this ’zine is very good stuff indeed.”
—Tim Pratt, author of
Dead Reign
Electric Velocipede
’s exceptional legacy of sharp storytelling collected here reminds how short stories hone many of our field’s top talents, and how many great voices were nurtured between this plucky magazine’s covers.”
—Tobias Buckell, author of
Hurricane Fever
What a fabulous collection, in every sense of the word!
Electric Velocipede
was one of the most important ’zines of the early twenty-first century, and this collection shows why. I don’t know how it managed to publish so many of the best and most innovative writers in fantasy, but if you want to read stories that will tie your brain in knots and wring out your heart, here they are—eccentric, daring, real, and deeply true.”
—Theodora Goss, author of
The Thorn and the Blossom
Other books edited
by John Klima
Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories
Happily Ever After
Glitter & Mayhem
(with Lynne M Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas)
The Best of Electric Velocipede
A Fairwood Press Book
November 2014
Copyright © 2014 John Klima
Introduction Copyright © 2014 Shane Jones
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Fairwood Press
21528 104th Street Court East
Bonney Lake,
WA 98391
Cover illustration & design by
Thom Davidsohn
Book design by
Patrick Swenson
ISBN13: 978-1-933846-47-7
First Fairwood Edition: November 2014
Printed in the United States of America
Electronic Version by Baen Books
To Shai
Because you supported
this crazy bike ride
from start to finish
Copyrights
“Fling but a Stone” © 2002 by Mark Rich.
Electric Velocipede
#2
.
“Mrs. Janokowski Hits One Out of the Park” © 2003 by William Shunn.
Electric Velocipede
#4
.
“A Keeper” © 2004 by Alan DeNiro.
Electric Velocipede
#6.
“Indicating the Awakening of Persons Buried Alive” © 2004 by Liz Williams.
Electric Velocipede
#6.
“In the Frozen City” © 2004 by Chris Roberson.
Electric Velocipede
#7.
“The Spigot” © 2005 by Heather Martin.
Electric Velocipede
#8.
“A Taste for Flowers” © 2005 by Jay Caselberg.
Electric Velocipede
#9.
“The Chiaroscurist” © 2005 by Hal Duncan.
Electric Velocipede
#9.
“The Way He Does It” © 2006 by Jeffrey Ford.
Electric Velocipede
#10.
“Milk and Apples” © 2006 by Catherynne M. Valente.
Electric Velocipede
#11.
“Dr. Black and the Village of Stones” © 2007 by Brendan Connell.
Electric Velocipede
#12.
“The Dogrog Phenomenon” © 2007 by Richard Howard.
Electric Velocipede
#13.
“How the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth” © 2007 by Rachel Swirsky.
Electric Velocipede
#13.
“Recipe for Survival” © 2008 by Sandra McDonald.
Electric Velocipede
#14.
“Wool and Silk and Wood” © 2008 by Shira Lipkin.
Electric Velocipede
#15/16.
“The Oldest Man on Earth” © 2008 by Patrick O’Leary.
Electric Velocipede
#15/16.
“Notes on the Dissection of an Imaginary Beetle” © 2008 by Jonathan Wood.
Electric Velocipede
#15/16.
“The Death of Sugar Daddy” © 2009 by Toiya Kirsten Finley.
Electric Velocipede
#17/18.
“The Bear Dresser’s Secret” © 2009 by Richard Bowes.
Electric Velocipede
#17/18.
“The Lost Technique of Blackmail” © 2009 by Mark Teppo.
Electric Velocipede
#19.
“When the Lamps Are Lit” © 2009 by KJ Bishop.
Electric Velocipede
#19.
“Daughters of Fortune” © 2010 by Cyril Simsa.
Electric Velocipede
#20.
“∞°” © 2010 by Darin C. Bradley.
Electric Velocipede
#21/22.
“Patience” © 2010 by E. Lily Yu.
Electric Velocipede
#21/22.
“The Art Disease” © 2011 by Dennis Danvers.
Electric Velocipede
#23.
“Heaven Under Earth” © 2012 by Aliette de Bodard.
Electric Velocipede
#24.
“Cutting” © 2012 by Ken Liu.
Electric Velocipede
#24.
“The Night We Drank Cold Wine” © 2012 by Megan Kurashige.
Electric Velocipede
#25.
“A Faun’s Lament” © 2012 by Michael Constantine McConnell.
Electric Velocipede
#25.
“Glass Boxes and Clockwork Gods” © 2012 by Damien Angelica Walters.
Electric Velocipede
#25.
“The Irish Astronaut” © 2013 by Val Nolan.
Electric Velocipede
#26.
“Melt” © 2013 by Cislyn Smith.
Electric Velocipede
#26.
“The Beasts We Want to Be” © 2013 by Sam J. Miller.
Electric Velocipede
#27.
“The Carnival Was Eaten, All Except the Clown” © 2013 by Caroline M. Yoachim.
Electric Velocipede
#27.
A Brief History of Electric Velocipede
John Klima
A
round the turn of the century I sat in a cramped convention room while Gavin Grant and Kelly Link exhorted to us that every single person in the room could start their own zine. Gavin and Kelly had been publishing
Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
for a number of years and had recently founded Small Beer Press; they knew what they were talking about. They were making a cool zine that was unique, quirky, and full of great stories.
It wasn’t the first time I thought about starting a magazine, but it was the first time the idea stuck. I kept hearing Gavin’s voice, “Every single person in this room can start their own zine” over and over again. I had just left working in publishing full time and missed it terribly. And now I knew what to do about that.
In short order Alan DeNiro, Kristin Livdahl, and Christopher Barzak started
Rabid Transit
, Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe started their
Say…
series, William Smith started
Trunk Stories
, and Mark Rudolph started
Full Unit Hookup
.
And I started
Electric Velocipede
.
Other than the perennially fantastic and still in publication
LCRW
,
Electric Velocipede
had the longest run of all those involved. We ran for twelve years publishing twenty-seven issues in all.
We won the Hugo in 2009 for Best Fanzine. We were nominated four years in a row for a World Fantasy Award. We’ve had stories shortlisted for the Sturgeon Award and the Tiptree Award.
We had a great run. We survived this long because we got consistently great work from writers and artists. Nearly every issue started with an email to the issue’s contributors where I told them it was the best issue to date, and in general it was true. The last issue really cemented what I wanted
Electric Velocipede
to become over its twelve-year run.
This anthology showcases the high-quality work we published over the years. If you’ve never read the magazine, you’re in for a treat. If you’re already a fan, you’ll still find a lot of great stuff in here that you’ve never read before.
We’ve had a great run. Enjoy yourself.