Don’t ask me how this happened, but a clerical error appears to have occured as a result of which I and my wife have been invited to the star-studded international extravaganza that is the Emirates Festival of Literature in Dubai. Perhaps in a freezing garret flat somewhere an important literary author called Jon Obercrombie is frothing with rage at being overlooked. Or perhaps they were after Marcus Sakey? Anyway, whatever the mistake, I have the e-tickets now, and I’m not letting go of them, god damn it! They have somewhere towards 100 writers there, including little-known persons like Martin Amis, Alexander McCall Smith, and Kate Mosse, but I’m still number one on their list of authors. Alphabetical order, you say? Number one is still number one, say I.
We’ll be there throughout, from Thursday 10th to Saturday 13th, and I’m not honestly sure where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing on the whole, but I’ve got a one hour slot at 10am on Saturday 13th, during which I’ll be giving an hilarious little talk about cliches in fantasy, doing a reading, taking questions, and signing anything presented to me. So if any of you should happen to be there, do drop by, I shall be delighted to have some kind of an audience. Even if they are there to hear about Obercrombie’s latest plumbing of the depths of the human condition…
22 comments so far
Don't get assassinated!
Well, you can be assured of one member of the audience. I still wish i could find a copy of Best Served Cold here(I left mine back in the States)…
Or perhaps u will have merchandise?
Regardless, i'm very excited to meet ya.
Suggest you claim the Jon Obercrombie persona and start writing those 'human condition' books as well. He could be your equivalent of Iain 'no M' Banks for mega-literary stuff.
sounds fabulous. And I am sure it wasn't an error, but hold on tight to the tickets in any case 😉
Curse you, you will live to regret this!!!!!
Jon Obercrombie
they make you sound like a bit of a nerd ……………"Born in Lancaster, England, on the last day of 1974 he spent much of his time at school playing computer games, rolling dice, and drawing maps of places that don't exist."
I have spent years trying to subvert the cliches of literary fiction. I have written many gritty narratives for the Hampstead novel; stories of tired professors and dinner parties and affair. All these years and no one pays me the slightest bit of attention, apart from the kind people of the Emirates Festival of Literature in Dubai.
And now, of all people, some "genre" writer steals my first moment in the spotlight. A plague on your house, Abercrombie.
I take it back , there is no "they"….you wrote it yourself didn't you ……."Joe has worked as a freelance film editor on a dazzling selection of documentaries, music videos, and concerts for artists ranging from Barry White to Coldplay but now spends most of his time writing edgy yet humorous fantasy novels. Meet the writer of whom SFX said ‘Modern fantasy doesn’t get much better than this.’
is it just me, or when YOU say things like "plumb the depths of the human condition" does it sound kind of dirty? like it's not the literary plumbing but the, er, literal. in a manner of speaking. one too many reads of the Abercrombie's Guide to How People Really Get It On, assuredly…. 🙂
It's good to see Fantasy represented there. I see Garth Nix is also on the list (loved Sabriel). Darran Shan too: the Cirque du Freak guy – YA Vampire stuff. To be honest I couldn't finish the book of his I bought, but then I probably am getting on a bit now. Sob.
Have fun!
Wow! Nice to see you moving on up!
I'm Jon Obercrombie and so's my wife!!
Hey Joe! Ever seen The Third Man? You know, the bit where Holly Martins has to give a speech about the modern novelist? And he dries up completely because he writes Westerns and has no idea what any of the questions mean? And then thugs working for the Racketeers come in and he has to run from them through the bombed out shell of post-war Vienna?
Hope it turns out better than that!
MRC
Joe, at this point any kind of info u could give me would be appreciated.
I've sent them emails, tried calling them, and i get nothing outta them.
Are u bringing a couple of books to sell?
Is this whole thing open to the public, besides the discussions?
In short, what the hell will be going on???
Ross,
I wasn't going to be bringing books myself (bit hefty on the weight allowance). I'd like to think there'll be some there, but I couldn't swear to it. Sorry to be not much help, but I don't really know more than you about exactly how it will work as I haven't been before. So if there's nothing on the website, fraid I don't really know either…
The human condition you say. I work in a secondary school, I get to see the human condition every day in every way, and enjoy dark fantasy to cheer me up.
As one of my kids might ask,"You know where you can stick your human condition…..".
Bryce
Before They are Hanged – russian edition http://www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/5012752/
I look forward to your forthcoming novel on betrayed Saudi princes and Oil magics in a huge oasis city featuring an enormous tower that casts a shadow over everything!
*eyeshift*
Have a blast, Joe. (I'm not jealous . . . really!)
Give our best to the king, and don't steal anything.
Hey Joe, it's Rebecca, (Paul's daughter that you see like once every 5 years lol) just thought i'd take a look at the site! Look at you being invited to festivals and giving speeches haha! Hope to see you soon!
Hey Joe! Loved the talk, and the readings!
I was there, and I can dutifully report that, at the book signing afterwards, Joe's queue was much longer than that for James Meek!