Oh, what a time I had at the WorldCon! One of the highest of the highlights was meeting up with Gavin Grant and Kelly Link, the dynamic duo behind Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, a literary zine without equal.
Apparently, we're starting a new literary movement, at the behest of Gardner Dozois, and I've been appointed ideologue. We spent some time yesterday coming up with names for this movement, and my favorite (though certainly not the final answer) is "The Enhusiastics" — the opposite of the Stoics. Here's what I think The Enthusiastic movement is about: A recognition that genre writing is not a professional endeavor (since the odds of earning a living at licensing one's work are slim to gaillard); a consequent breaking down of the artificial divide between "pro" and "amateur" venues for our work; a belief in partnering with our readers as distributors of our work (instead of suing the pants off them); and a committment to self-distributed work, via zines, blogs and posted works. Enthusiastics aren't opposed to old ways of doing things, they're in favor of new ways.
The thing I like best about the name "Enthusiastics" is all the potential for cool schisms:
- The Diminished Enthusiastics
- The Unbridled Enthusiastics
- The Tempered Enthusiastics
- The Visible Enthusiastics
You get the picture. Here's the link to Small Beer Press, Kelly and Gavin's publishing empire. Link Discuss
