Recipes for Disaster by Deb Geisler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
Walter Jon Williams is an author, traveler, kenpo fiend, and scuba maven. He lives with his wife Kathleen Hedges on an old Spanish land grant in the high desert of New Mexico, and is the author of nineteen novels and two collections of shorter works. After an early career as a historical novelist, he switched to science fiction. His first novel to attract serious public attention was Hardwired (1986), described by Roger Zelazny as "a tough, sleek juggernaut of a story, punctuated by strobe–light movements, coursing to the wail of jets and the twang of steel guitars." In 2001 he won a Nebula Award for his novelette, "Daddy's World."
Walter's subject matter has an unusually wide range, and includes the glittering surfaces of Hardwired, the opulent tapestries of Aristoi, the bleak science–tinged roman policier Days of Atonement, and the pensive young Mary Shelley of the novella "Wall, Stone, Craft," which was nominated for a Hugo, Nebula, and a World Fantasy Award.
The fantasy Metropolitan, which was nominated for a Nebula Award, begins a sequence continued in a Nebula– and Hugo–nominated second novel, City on Fire. Of these works, Norman Spinrad wrote, "There's a Jules Verne solidity to it, all girders and ductwork and massively clanking machineries, a Victorian feel of iron and stone and steam somehow, beautifully and cunningly rendered… not only a well–realized work but a hopeful landmark of sorts…"
His latest works include The Praxis, the first of a series of far–future novels, and Destiny's Way, a contribution to the New Jedi Order series. Walter has also found time to earn a fourth degree black belt in Kenpo. When he's not at his desk, he is to be found in various exotic parts of the world, often underwater.
Sharyn November's official title is Senior Editor, Viking Children's Books/Puffin Books. She edits hardcover fiction, primarily for teenagers, at Viking; her authors there include Charles de Lint, Meridith Ann Pierce, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, and Elizabeth E. Wein. She has two Finalists for the 2003 World Fantasy Award – Charles de Lint's Waifs and Strays (collection) and Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's The Faery Reel.
Her paperback acquisitions for Puffin include four Newbery Honor Books, eight National Book Award Finalists (and one Medalist), and two Printz Honor Books (and one Medalist).
She is also editorial director of Firebird, a paperback reprint imprint designed specifically to appeal to teenage and adult readers of fantasy and science fiction. Firebird launched in January 2002. Its many authors include Lloyd Alexander, Pamela Dean, Charles de Lint, and Robin McKinley – a full list can be found at the Firebird website.
On the web page she created especially for Minicon 39 Deb Geisler describes herself as "a 45–year–old fan who lives 20 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, works on conventions, has edited books for NESFA Press, and has a deep and abiding loathing for the color pink."
Deb has an equally deep and abiding love for a good hack. She frequently mentions the "Chairman's Discretionary Practical Joke Fund" for Noreascon 4, the 2004 Worldcon. This is sure to yield some interesting results, given that she herself is the chair of that convention.
Deb has already submitted several recipes for her Rune Press chap–book, which is being published in honor of her Minicon GoHship. Two recipes—"Flamingo Flambé" and "Sweetrolls for Confidence" — are included on her web page, as is more of a taste fo the treat that's in store for all of us when we welcome her to Minicon.
Recipes for Disaster by
Deb Geisler
is licensed under a
Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
Minicon is sponsored by The Minnesota Science Fiction Society.