The New Weird - Ann VanderMeer [167]
European Editor Perspectives on the New Weird
SHORT ESSAYS BY MARTIN SUST, MICHAEL HAULICA, HANNES RIFFEL, JUKKA HALME, AND KONRAD WALEWSKI
IN OUR TRAVELS IN 2006 throughout Europe, we found many "echoes" of New Weird, and many different ways in which it worked as a stimulus to both publishing and other writers. For this reason, we asked editors from the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Finland, and Poland to respond to questions about New Weird, with the results published herein as short essays. ― THE EDITORS
Martin Šust, editor, anthologist, and writer
CZECH REPUBLIC
As foreign rights assistant and book editor at Laser Books, Martin Šust runs imprints such as New Weird and New Space Opera. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the Czech edition of THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION and also works for the Czech SF/F magazine PEVNOST. In addition to editing three New Weird anthologies, he has edited an anthology of British New Space Opera called THE FIRES OF STARS, with an American volume called THE DUST OF STARS scheduled for next year. He has won nine awards from the Czech Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Šust can be contacted atmartin.sust@seznam.cz.
"CREATING NEW WEIRD TO WORK FOR US"
I believe that the New Weird movement started as a provocation, and a good one, but its success may have scared the creators themselves. Several great internet discussions caused a big stir by asking questions like "Is there really such a movement?" with many different answers. But in the end, however, there was only one real answer: "Maybe!"
"Maybe!" is good enough for publishers and readers because genre fiction needs movements ― real ones or fake ones, it doesn't matter. Especially since there haven't been any movements for twenty years, and everyone knows that we need some great movement every twenty years ― the Golden Age with changes in the vein of J. W. Campbell; New Wave with struggles against the taboos, led by Michael Moorcock and Harlan Ellison; Cyberpunk where science fiction cross-pollinated the old approaches with new ideas, a la William Gibson and Bruce Sterling; and, finally, New Weird with its crossing genres and fighting spirit a la China Miéville. All movements need only to urge readers and writers toward change while containing strong personalities to start off.
So we have something like a movement and years pass. Now we can judge: Is it something like a real movement or not? And damned if the answer remains only "Maybe!" There are some strong arguments for both sides of this issue, and we all know them. But for me, as an editor (and forgive me for being so outspoken), there is only one important thing: It seems that the readers are grateful for the chance to read something fresh and new, something that isn't boring like ordinary fantastic literature. With authors like China Miéville, Ian R. MacLeod, Steph Swainston, K. J. Bishop, Jeff VanderMeer, Hal Duncan, or Jay Lake, we created an imprint (and two anthologies) full of new ideas and new attitudes. Maybe it's not really new for fantastic literature, but it is new for our readers. Yes, maybe we only want to see the connections between these authors and nothing like New Weird actually exists, but here in the Czech Republic we now have an imprint of great titles (all with covers by British art genius Edward Miller) ― and, for us, this is one big and unforgettable result of New Weird.
For the first time we can publish very good fiction in one great book line, with the most successful titles helping the others. The result? All of the books in this line have sold well, meaning we can branch out and buy a few experimental titles as well. For the first time also we have something interesting enough to attract a foreign artist, and with his helpfulness we have created something really extraordinary in the "look" of the books. For the first time we, as a small foreign publisher,