Outer Alliance Podcast #15: Steampunk December (Part 2) December 30, 2011
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, Outer Alliance Podcast , trackbackIt’s the last OA Podcast episode for 2011!
We’re wrapping up the year with the second half of our Steampunk Extravaganza. Conni Covington and Natania Barron join me to talk about ConTemporal (a steampunk convention that’s happening in June of 2012 in North Carolina), Natania’s new book, Pilgrim of the Sky (a steampunk interdimensional travel adventure with a bisexual protagonist), and what steampunk is all about.
After the interviews, I read an excerpt of A Spell of Passion Or Fear by T.C. Mill (a gay steampunk romance in a dystopian Greek city, the Kalliopolis). This book is forthcoming, and we’ll update you as soon as we have more information on how you can order it.
Lots of good conversation and exploration of steampunk as a genre, as an aesthetic, and as a mirror of our current society in this podcast. And! We’d love to hear your take, too! If you have any thoughts, please share them in the comments. As an added bonus, each commenter will be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of two signed copies of Natania’s Pilgrim of the Sky.
To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post anytime through the 16th of January. We’ll be drawing the two winning names on the 17th. You don’t have to be a podcast listener to win, and any comment will get you a chance (one per person, regardless of how many comments you leave). You don’t have to have any deep thoughts about steampunk in order to win, though we’d be happy to see them if you do have some!
You can subscribe to the podcast RSS feed here or use this link to subscribe with iTunes. You can also hit play on the embedded player in this post and listen to the podcast on the web, or visit the individual episode page to download this episode as an MP3 without subscribing.
Notes:
Stuff I wanted to call to everyone’s attention
*The conversation about H.P. Lovecraft, which Nnedi Okorafor started, and which I posted about earlier in the month. I’d love to see more responses to this topic. If you have one, please share it!
*Catherine Lundoff’s collection of recommended QUILTBAG books first published in 2011–well worth a look, and also a great place to share your favorites.
Steampunk Stuff
*ConTemporal, the steampunk convention set on an airship which travels through space and time, which will be docking for the weekend of June 21st-24th 2012 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
*Studio Foglio, ConTemporal’s comics guests of honor.
*Cherie Priest, ConTemporal’s literary guest of honor (whose novel, Boneshaker, is one of Natania’s steampunk recommended reads).
*Sara Harvey and JoSelle Vanderhooft, literary guests at ConTemporal who have written and edited awesome steampunk stories with QUILTBAG content.
*Clay Griffin and Susan Griffith and John Claude Bemis, literary guests at ConTemporal who have written steampunk trilogies about vampires and American tall tales.
*Steampunk, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer, another recommendation from Natania
*“Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk)” is a Barbershop Quartet and rap video criticizing the trendiness of steampunk from a steampunk purist’s perspective.
*Natania’s Pilgrim of the Sky launch party is happening on the 28th of January in Durham, North Carolina.
Assorted Other Stuff
*Jennie Breeden, a comics guest at ConTemporal, who also takes a leafblower to kilt-wearers at Dragon*Con.
*Conni recommends Germline by T.C. McCarthy, even though it has nothing to do with steampunk or QUILTBAG themes. She just really liked it.
*Conni also recommends Broken and Fly Into Fire by Susan Jane Bigelow, noting that the main character of Fly Into Fire is a transwoman, but her being trans is not the main point of the story.
*The Society for Creative Anachronism (or SCA) is made up of people who are interested in historical accuracy in their medieval costumes and reenactments.
*John Henry is the American folk hero who raced a steam powered hammer and won.
*Natania mentioned The Biltmore Estate as a Victorian era anomaly for having state of the art indoor plumbing with pull chain toilets back when it was first built.
Comments»
No comments yet? With that juicy prize up for grabs? I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast, but even at risk of looking naïve here I’ll post this question now in case I don’t get a chance before the contest runs out.
I’ve long been in two minds as to whether Steampunk is a science-fictional or a fantastic sub-genre. (Leaving aside the issue of whether that’s a real distinction for the moment.) One of the defining steampunk texts is probably Gibson/Sterling’s Difference Engine, which, as well as being a bit crap and quite reactionary, is firmly in the “realistic” or sfanal what-if camp. A lot of steampunk seems to feature vampies and magicians and flagrant anachronism, though, which is clearly part of the aesthetic, and is much more fantastic than scientific. So I just wonder, is there still a movement leaning toward “hard” steampunk these days, or did that fall by the wayside?
That’s a great question, Djibril. I have no idea! I wonder if other commenters might weigh in.
I LOVE this blog(:
I’ve definitely seen steampunk listing more towards the fantastical than the “hard” – much more magic and aesthetic work than hard, cold application of steam or Victorian science to a “what if” scenario. It makes me wonder what Jules Verne and HG Wells might think of the genre’s turn.
Pilgrim of the Sky has been the only steampunk book this past year that’s sparked my interest. I sure hope it does well! Steampunk has so much potential.
Excellent! Do you want to be part of the Drawing, Michelle?
Tossing my hat into the drawing. Pilgrim of the Sky definitely sounds promising.
I think one of the strengths of Steampunk is that it blends science and magic so well. I’m definitely interested in being part of the drawing, as this book sounds interesting.
Just wanted to say that I think Pilgrim of the Sky has a gorgeous cover. Looking forward to reading it.
[...] days left to enter the drawing for a signed copy of Natania Barron’s Pilgrim of the Sky. Just comment on this post to get your name into the hat! Tags:cat rambo, Catherine Lundoff, Clarion, Lambda Literary, Lyda [...]
[...] the Sky, and how Maddie’s sexuality fits into the book as a whole; you can hear the interview here. (Additionally you have until the 16th to enter the contest for a signed copy of the book by yours [...]