Most issues, I have a bit of a struggle trying to figure out what to talk about during the Editorial. I look for a common theme in the stories being presented, or try to tie in a current event that somehow, nebulously is reflected within the current issue. However, this issue provides me with a deluge of information which unfortunately means it will be shorter than I would like it to be, while being a bit bereft of the substance that I would prefer.
First, let me talk about the Summit for 2012. The annual Dargon Project Summit is one of my favorite times of the year. I feel a strong connection to the team that makes this project run, and being in their presence always fills me with excitement and energy for our organization. I have a great fondness for these authors, and it is a rare and wonderful time for us to get together. As was typical, this year’s Summit was one part administrative session and one part writing workshop, with a few doses of fun, games, and general silliness. On the fun side, we explored caves around the great lakes, watched a colonial rifle firing demonstration, took in the lake from a rather entertaining boat ride (part electrical, part sailing), learned a lot more about boats than we thought we would, and played the usual late night games of Carcassone and Catan. On the administrative side, we hammered out a lot of details: Summit attendance policy, code of ethics, guidance on the mentoring program, and several other bits. Finally, from the writing workshop, I think everyone made some good headway and / or finished their Summit challenge stories … with the exception of myself. 🙂 I discovered, right before the Summit began, that the timing of my intended piece was completely off from the challenge dates, and had to restart from the beginning. I’m still working on it. Dafydd, I’m certain, is unsurprised.
The next thing I want to talk about is a fantastic opportunity that has come our way. The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency sent me a communique. To say that I was honored to receive the letter from them would be an understatement – they are a very well regarded and prestigious agency. They believe that the authors and readers of DargonZine represent their target market for new talent, and have expressed their willingness to receive submissions from us. This is in no way a guarantee that anyone would immediately become an internationally famous author, but it is at least an opening to an agency, and that is no small thing in this industry. Their entire missive can be found below.
Meanwhile, on with the issue. Our stories this month come from two very different authors, as far as the Dargon timeline is concerned. Joe Carney is one of our newer authors, bringing Five Days in Winter to us as his second published Dargon story. Meanwhile, Dafydd provides us his four thousandth Dargon story (not really — but I’m counting over 70 published stories on our website, and I think there are a few others) in his rather excellent series Ol Tamboch Narhin, Thread 3.
Enjoy! -Jon
Dear readers,
We’re writing to introduce you to The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency and to let you know we are actively seeking clients in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. We are a full service agency, representing writers at every stage of their career.
The agency opened in 1984 and has always had an interest in both genres. We’re privileged to represent a number of top talents in science fiction and fantasy such as John Scalzi, Karen Miller, Sharon Shinn, Gail Z. Martin, Ian Douglas/Bill Keith, Kay Kenyon, Mel Odom, and the recently signed James Cambias for whom we just sold his first novel. We are also proud to represent the estate of Gandalf Grand Master Award winning author Andre Norton.
Our success in this area is not confined to the adult market, either. The agency has negotiated publication deals for young adult fantasies by Karen Miller, Mel Odom, Sharon Shinn, and Ed Willet as well.
We are a very active, successful seller of translation rights with agents in all foreign markets and a track record of approximately fifty new licenses per year. We also successfully license film rights, audio-book rights, e-book rights and rights for publication in the United Kingdom.
The ideal submission for us is an introductory letter, synopsis and the first three chapters of manuscript. We welcome electronic submissions to fantasy@ethanellenberg.com. We also welcome submission by mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for response. Please check our website (ethanellenberg.com) and follow the submission guidelines carefully.
We remain upbeat, active and committed to the highest standards of professional conduct and representation. We are members in good standing of the Association of Author’s Representatives and consistently receive high marks from all the top professional writers’ organizations. We look forward to your submission.
Sincerely,
Ethan Ellenberg, President Evan Gregory, Associate Agent
2 Comments
You’re not the only one who got that e-mail from Ethan Ellenberg. They blasted it out to pretty much every sf and fantasy site they could find!
Perhaps, but the surprising thing (for me) is that they even knew who we are. We may be the longest running fantasy zine on the net, but we’re also the most under-advertised zine.