Прясно-прясно от пощата ми: бюлетинът за Питър и всичко Бийгълово. 🙂 Едно от нещата, които трябва да почнем да си превеждаме по-нататък – в тайната стая “Помоооощ!” съм писал повече. Тук само ще обобщя новините с по едно изречение.
(Ако някой иска да се абонира за бюлетина директно, да ми пише – ще дам инструкции.)
~ ~ ~
HUGE NEWS!
RADICALLY IMPROVED 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DVD OF THE LAST UNICORN — BUY IT FROM CONLAN PRESS TO HELP PETER! (release date February 6th)
But it was really, really bad…
Well, that’s not a problem any more. Thanks to a lot of hard work by Peter and Connor, and a great crew at Lionsgate Entertainment, on February 6th there will be a brand-new 25th Anniversary DVD edition of The Last Unicorn…and this time it is gorgeous: digitally remastered video, digitally remastered sound (with available 5.1 audio track), widescreen picture, extras that include a featurette with a video interview of Peter, greatly improved packaging in a shiny printed-foil slipcase (click the cover image to see a bigger version of the artwork)…a terrific improvement in every way. Here’s the official press release with all the details (pdf).
BUT PLEASE NOTE: Granada Media (the English company that owns The Last Unicorn) is still not paying Peter anything from this film. Not a cent. And he won’t get anything from the new DVD, either, except for copies purchased through Conlan Press.
A hearty thank you to the folks at Lionsgate, who are as upset over Peter’s situation as we are. To help him out they set up Conlan Press as a special sales outlet. If you buy the new DVD from anywhere else, Peter gets nothing. But if you buy it from Conlan Press, more than half the money goes straight to Peter and his projects…one of which is the legal fight to force Granada Media to pay the nearly half million dollars in royalties that they owe him. (And isn’t that wonderfully appropriate.)
So here are some important requests, as plain as we can make them.
- If you want to get the new DVD, buy it through Conlan Press. Two versions are available: an unautographed copy for $14.98 (same as Amazon!), and a personally autographed copy (signed in three places) for $24.98.
- Buy it soon, please, because Peter definitely needs the help right now.
- Spread the word! If you know anyone who loves the movie — or who you think might love it, now that there’s finally a good version they can see — make sure they know that only Conlan Press purchases will help Peter.
There are slightly more than 5,700 people getting this newsletter. Some of you have bought the DVD already, for which Peter sends his personal thanks. If all the rest of you reading this were to click on the link below and buy the new DVD, then Peter’s very serious personal and family financial problems would vanish overnight. Every one of them. So please give it some thought. Through this simple action you could get something to treasure and completely change Peter’s life, ending his troubles and making it possible for him to focus completely on just writing more wonderful books and stories for the world to enjoy.
Order your copy of THE LAST UNICORN 25th Anniversary Widescreen DVD today!
– – –
На 6-ти февруари анимационният “Последен еднорог” излиза в нова DVD версия, значително по-добра от предишната (и с подобаващи изненади, например интервю с Питър). Уви, Питър отново няма да получи никакви пари от Гранада Медия, които държат правата над филма – гнусна история, за която ще разкажа повече по-нататък, като натрупаме критична маса… освен ако не поръчаме DVD-то директно от Conlan Press, компанията на настоящия му агент (и хубав Човек) Конър Кокран. Така че, ако искате да си имате оригинален анимиран еднорог преди другите – линкът за поръчки е горе.
Аз обаче ви съветвам да не бързате. Може да се уговорим с Конър (поддържам активна връзка с него) за една масова поръчка за филми и книги през февруари – която хем ще ни стигне по-сигурно, хем ще излезе по-евтино. (Понеже, unicorn lover that I am, 15 долара не са ми точно по джоба – пък и на мен ми се е дощял автограф… ;))
~ ~ ~
UPDATE: LAST UNICORN AUDIOBOOK & HARDCOVER COLLECTOR’S EDITION OF “TWO HEARTS”
The manufacturing problems that delayed the Conlan Press CD audiobook editions of THE LAST UNICORN (and the free illustrated hardcover collector’s edition of TWO HEARTS) have now been solved, and all orders should be shipping by late March or early April.
There are still around 1100 of the 3000-copy collector’s edition of TWO HEARTS that aren’t yet reserved through pre-order. After Conlan Press ships the existing orders, any copies still left will go on direct sale at $40 each — the same price that right now will buy both TWO HEARTS and the 8-CD audiobook (which all by itself is a $40 value). If you haven’t yet made your reservation, time is running out on this great deal. You can make an order here.
– – –
Ако искате пълната аудиокнига “Последният еднорог”, (четена от Питър…удоволствието е огромно, лично съм пробвал глава първа и втора :)) в комплект с илюстрованото издание на “Две сърца”, новелата, която… засега ще оставя да тъне в мистерия *хихик*, поръчвайте, докато има ;), преди средата на март.
Същата забележка като горе – ако наистина ви се искат, ще пусна една вест, в която всеки да си каже поръчките, ще ги съберем накуп и ще пратим….и ще чакаме заедно. 🙂
~ ~ ~
“TWO HEARTS” MAKES PRELIMINARY NEBULA BALLOT
To Peter’s complete shock, last September “Two Hearts” won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette. (His essay about that experience can be found at the end of this newsletter.) Then it got nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction, but unfortunately lost to George Saunder’s “CommComm.”
Now “Two Hearts” has made the Preliminary Nebula Ballot for Best Novelette, which means it is one step closer to possibly winning a Nebula Award from the assembled members of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
The way it works is that the list of eight preliminary nominees will be whittled down to a final set of five, which should be announced in March, and then after another vote a final winner will be announced at the Nebula Awards Weekend in NYC this May 11-13.
Here are the Nebula novelette nominees. Fingers crossed for Peter!
- “The Language of Moths,” by Chris Barzak (Realms of Fantasy, April 2005)
- “Two Hearts,” by Peter S. Beagle (F&SF, Oct/Nov 2005)
- “A Key to the Illuminated Heretic,” by Alyx M. Dellamonica (Alternate Generals III, 2005)
- “Second Person, Present Tense,” by Daryl Gregory (Asimov’s, Sep 2005)
- “Do Neanderthals Know?” by Robert J Howe (Analog, Dec 2005)
- “Little Faces,” by Vonda McIntyre (SCI FICTION, 23 Feb 2005)
- “Journey into the Kingdom,” by M. Rickert (F&SF, May 2006)
- “Walpurgis Afternoon,” by Delia Sherman (F&SF, Dec 2005)
– – –
“Две сърца”, мистериозната новела на Питър, се е класирала сред осемте предварителни кандидата за наградата на американските фантасти писатели Небюла за 2005 г. Ето какво рече kalein по тоя въпрос на едно друго място:
Re: Nebula 2006 – предварително гласуване
И моят любимец е там. 😀 Само Вонда Макинтайър я зная за Майстор от другите в категорията му… ама то нищо не значи, нали англоезичният свят прелива от все по-добри, все по-млади (все по-непревеждани и непреводими :() пишещи…
Да, стискаме палци, Питър! 🙂
~ ~ ~
NEW DISTINCTION FOR THE LINE BETWEEN — ALL ELIGIBLE STORIES NOW HONORED
Last summer Tachyon Publications put out Peter’s new story collection, The Line Between. It was his first collection since 1997, and only his third, ever…and except for about 400 words, everything in it was written after 1999. It included “Two Hearts,” which was great, but it also had several new things that were showing up in print for the first time.
Well, all of those new items have now been selected for one or more of the major “Best Fantasy of the Year” anthologies. Which means that every single eligible fantasy story in the book has earned that distinction: “Two Hearts” and “Quarry” prior to the collection’s release, and “Salt Wine,” “El Regalo,” and “Four Fables” afterward. (The other big fantasy story in the book, “A Dance for Emilia,” was originally released in 1999 as a small book, and is too long to have been considered for any of the “Best of” sets.)
Peter thought The Line Between was a pretty good set of stories, but how many other collections have ever pulled off this particular distinction? There can’t be many.
If you want a copy, you can buy it from Amazon, or get a personally autographed copy from Conlan Press.
– – –
Всеки от фентъзи разказите в новия сборник на Питър The Line Between (даже няма да се опитвам с превод… ;)) е бил номиниран за включване в някоя от северноамериканските антологии “Най-доброто фентъзи на годината”. (Освен “Танц за Емилия”, който е по-дълъг и не отговаря на изискванията за публикуване в антология.) Линкът е за поръчки на сборника в оригинал.
Познавачи, я кажете – чували ли сте за друг такъв сборник? Наистина ми стана интересно…
~ ~ ~
RECENT & UPCOMING RELEASES
(тука имаше снимки на кориците, ама ние си имаме политика да не слагаме такива… :DDD)
Four items to report. (Click on any of the pictures above to see a bigger image.)
- “Chandail,” an Innkeeper’s World story delving into the early history of Swordcane Lal, is now available in Salon Fantastique, a trade paperback edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, You can buy it from Amazon here.
- This week Subterranean Press is shipping its signed-and-numbered limited edition hardcover, The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version. This limited hardcover edition (only 1000 copies) brings to print for the very first time Peter’s incomplete and extremely different first attempt at his classic story, and includes a context-setting introduction and afterword written by Peter just for this book. You can order it from Subterranean here.
- On May 1st, “Barrens Dance” — another new Innkeeper’s World story — will appear in Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy, a Berkeley Books hardcover edited by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann. You can pre-order it from Amazon here.
- Also in May, Tachyon Publications will be bringing Peter’s first novel, A Fine and Private Place, back into print. This new trade paperback edition contains the definitive text of the book, as edited and adjusted by Peter (finally fixing errors introduced by the first publisher that have been bugging him for 47 years). It also features a lengthy new afterword, and a gorgeous photographic cover by Ann Monn, who traveled from California to New York so she could take her pictures at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, the actual place that inspired Peter to write the book in the first place. You can either pre-order at Amazon or reserve an autographed copy from Conlan Press.
– – –
През следващите месеци очакваме два нови разказа от света на Ханджията (За “Песента на ханджията”, най-разтърсващият роман на Бийгъл, да съм споменавал нещо? Тц, тц. Срамота… *хихик*), ново издание на “Чудесно и интимно място”, първият роман на Питър (още преди “Еднорога”, да :)) и “Изгубеният еднорог” – или как е тръгнала еднорогата ни, преди да намери пътя си към “Последният еднорог”. Последното със сигурност ще е любопитно за свръхпочитателите на автора, изследователите и всички, които се вълнуват от пътешествията, а не от крайните им цели. Аз се изкушавам, и заради собствените си пишещи копнения (и пътешествия ;)), ама да видим…
~ ~ ~
WRITING NEWS
- Peter recently sold a short story to Ellen Datlow’s and Terri Windling’s untitled Fairy Tale Villains anthology, which will be published by Viking in May, 2008. The story’s full title is “Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers – Special to the Cumulonimbus Weekly Chronicle, as recounted by Mrs. Eunice Giant, 72 Fairweather Lane, East-Of-The-Bean, Sussex Overhead.”
- He’s also working on two new books, about which much more next time: I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons, a YA novel for Firebird; and Sweet Lightning, a 1950’s baseball fantasy for Tachyon Publications.
– – –
В по-далечно бъдеще ще видим разказ на Питър в антология, посветена на злодеите в приказките (а неговите са сред малкото, които все още успяват да ме сгърчат, и то не от смях), и два нови романа, за които ще разберем повече в следващия брой на бюлетина.
~ ~ ~
FILM NEWS
- There’s a ton of feature film discussion on three fronts — The Last Unicorn, Tamsin, and Peter’s not-yet-released novel Summerlong — but nothing settled enough to make any public statements about. Stay tuned.
- Negotiations with Granada Media regarding the problems with the animated version of The Last Unicorn are ongoing. We’ll make an announcement as soon as we can. In the meantime, please check out the details at Conlan Press’s YouCanHelp page and, if you feel like it, join the people from 36 different countries who have expressed their support for Peter.
– – –
По отношение на филмите – много слухове, нищо сигурно. Тръпнем в очакване (без да затаяваме дъх, да? :/).
Преговорите с Гранада Медия за неизплатените авторски права към Питър продължават. Скоро (само превеждачите да дадат по едно рамо) и ние ще дадем лептата си за каузата; който знае английски, да се задейства отсега. 😉
~ ~ ~
Следва списък с участията на Питър в северноамерикански фантастични събори през следващите месеци – нито един от нашата страна на Голямата вода, уви; и снимка на суперсладкия му, белокозинест, разноок котак късметче.
(Ей затова си струва да се абонирате направо за бюлетина и да не зависите от своеволията – и ограничения времеви и китков ресурс – на вашия скромен домакин. 😉
~ ~ ~
HUGO AWARDS AND OTHER ASTONISHMENTS
by Peter S. Beagle
And it’s been a really nice Worldcon, hasn’t it? You’ve met personal heroes like Janis Ian and Jane Espenson — utterly unpretentious delights, both of them — and you hadn’t seen your blessed Star Trek: TNG guide and guru Melinda Snodgrass in thirteen years, and you finally got to meet Gordon Van Gelder — and Betty’s here somewhere, Betty Ballantine! What do you want, for God’s sake?
I want a Hugo!
Damn, I want one stinking, lousy Hugo!
And I shouldn’t even be thinking like this — not when I’m going to have to get up early tomorrow morning and catch a flight back to the Bay Area, arriving in time for my mother’s memorial. She died on 24 June, at the age of 100, and if I admit she’s gone, I’m going to have to admit how horribly I miss her, so I’m putting that off until the convention’s over. I’ll get to grieving, when it’s time.
I was fine through the whole weekend, and I made it most of the way through the awards themselves. Calm, funny, modest, gracious (I do gracious the way Mariano Rivera does the cut fastball), happy to be here…hell, I believe it myself, that’s how slick I am. I don’t know how many times I told how many people what a thrill it was just to be nominated. And it was, and I meant it, and I wouldn’t have missed Worldcon for anything, and everyone’s being so nice to my girlfriend and me, and I want a damn Hugo!
The drinks at the pre-awards reception were appallingly overpriced for the minimal alcohol involved, but the munchies were quite good (for anyone’s future reference, there’s very little I won’t do for smoked salmon). Peggy and I sat with my Tachyon publisher, Jacob Weisman, who spent a good deal of time warning me very precisely about specific things not to trip over on the way to the stage — cables and tricky steps and odd humps in the floor. I didn’t pay a lot of attention: what for, when a nominee’s reserved seat is as close as I’m going to get to the stage? That’s all right, I’m cool — just being nominated is good. Keep saying it.
Wow, it really is like the Oscars — an MC (Connie Willis is charming — Harlan’s doing the Harlan Show — wish I could get my beard like Bob Silverberg’s); presenters, envelope and all. Best New Writer…Best Fan Artist…Best Fanzine…Best Semiprozine (where does Charlie Brown put them all?)…Best Professional Artist…It’s going to be a long night. Wish those drinks hadn’t been so expensive.
And there, suddenly onstage to accept an award for a lifetime’s work as editor and publisher, looking the way queens are supposed to look, her white hair set off by her gold lame dress — there’s Betty Ballantine, nearly 87 years old and quite possibly the most beautiful woman I ever knew. I haven’t seen her since Ian’s death, and as I stare at her now I’m flooded by memories of the hilltop house in Bearsville, manuscripts stacked everywhere…the mark of the ball-lightning that rolled through the kitchen…Ian’s eyebrows…a poet reading us a story in the living-room…me swimming out to the raft in the pool, holding a glass of champagne for someone…another century, another world.
Best Professional Editor…Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form…Long Form…Best Related Book…
Getting scary now.
Not that I care, since I’m not going to win, but suppose I do, and it turns out to be a sort of Pity Award…like I’ve been around all this time, let the poor old guy have one — he’s probably got six months to live anyway. Would I hurl it scornfully back in their faces, I wonder? Probably couldn’t lift it to throw, old and frail as I am. Just have to accept it — not that it’s going to happen. That’s a good story of Howard’s.
Best Short Story…Best…
Oh, God, here it comes. Not that I care…
And then it’s the envelope, and my name being read out, but I was braced for another name, so it doesn’t make sense, and I’m on my feet, but I’m frozen, and Peggy is screaming, “You won! You won! He won!” and trying to shove me forward and hug Jacob Weisman at the same time, and all I can think, starting toward the stage, is, don’t trip, don’t you dare fall on your ass, take it slowly. Everyone in that auditorium was a lot older by the time I got up there. Me included.
I actually remember what I said, pretty much, clutching that beautiful aluminum suppository to my bosom. My voice may have been a little wispy, but I do think my diction was pure Masterpiece Theatre. “My publisher gave me excellent directions about getting up here without tripping over stuff, but he didn’t tell me anything about how to get back down, so I guess I’ll just have to wing it.” Then I added, from the bottom of an overflowing heart, “I can think of only one thing I’d rather have around the house than this wonderful award…and that would be the wonderful Betty Ballantine.” I’m old. I can say stuff like that and get away with it. There are, after all, compensations.
After that, it was all embraces — including one from my old Berkeley bookstore friend Tom Whitmore, the only one who predicted the triumph of “Two Hearts” — and a lot of phone calls from people kvelling in distant places (to kvell, in Yiddish, is to celebrate another person’s success), and almost enough sushi and sake, courtesy of the Japanese group who will be hosting Worldcon next year. And in time it was a matter of getting back to the hotel room and packing for the flight home to Berkeley…and the memorial.
I got through it. That’s all.
But a couple of days ago I went to have my car’s emissions valve tested, and to get the Little Old Lady herself registered. The sprightly young woman who ran the test herself turned out, in conversation, to be a lifelong fan of The Last Unicorn (“I’ve read it to pieces — it’s been my favorite book since I was little and hated to read!”); and the young man in the office, who’d looked me up on the Internet while we were settling the bill, came running out yelling, “Jesus Christ, you won a Hugo!”
See, some days I know I’m good, and it doesn’t take a trophy to remind me. Trophies are a fine thing, and I’m proud — and still breathless — to have this one; but it’s moments like that that make you feel, in the words of Jean Hagen’s klaxon-voiced screen siren in Singing In The Rain, that “it ain’t all been in vain fer nothin’.” Moments like that are to save for those other moments when I don’t know whether I’m any good at all.
– – –
…чудно есе, да?…
…Ама вие защо седите и ме гледате така? Аз да не съм Питър С. Бийгъл – или Касапина от Казичене – че да мога да ви го предам с едно изречение?
*смея се със стаено предизвикателство към превеждачите*