House Of Leaves with Ed Wilson

Explicit content warning

06/06/22 • 129 min

Chronscast - The Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Podcast

This episode we finally open that door of the Chronscast household we'd not dared to open before and plunge into the abyssal labyrinth that is Mark Danielewski's maddeningly epic debut novel, House Of Leaves. A book that defies conventional categorisation, it's been described as a horror, a literary piece, a puzzle, and even a love story. We're joined on this subterranean literary odyssey by renowned literary agent Ed Wilson. Ed is the director of the Johnson & Alcock literary agency, representing a vibrant and developing list of fiction and non-fiction, from new and debut writers to established, bestselling and award-winning authors.

With Ed we gleefully dip down the House Of Leaves rabbithole, discussing ergodic literature, innovation in writing, the perils of overanalysing texts, and the Manic Street Preachers. We also chat about the submissions process and navigating the slush pile, and the options open to authors and agents.

Elsewhere, The Judge gives a sumptuous talk on the use of clothing in worldbuilding, and the effects that clothing can have on society, and our writing. We'll hear the winning entries to May's 75-word challenge, and April's 300-word challenge, written by Oliver Helm and Victoria Silverwolf respectively, and we get an unexpected phone call from an ex-President of the United States, whose home extension has gotten out of hand and seems to lead to the belt of Orion.

Join us next month when we'll be joined by literary agent John Jarrold to talk about Rob Holdstock's winner of the 1984 World Fantasy Award, Mythago Wood.

Index

[00:00 - 52:54] Ed Wilson Interview Part 1

[52:54 - 54:07] Voicemail 1

[54:08 - 1:08:28] The Judge's Corner

[1:08:28 - 1:09:10] Voicemail 2

[1:09:11 - 1:12:31] Writing Challenge Winners

[1:12:32 - 1:13:43] Voicemail 3

[1:13:44 - 2:07:31] Ed Wilson Interview Part 2

[2:07:32 - 2:09:36] - Credits

Join us next month when we'll be joined by literary agent John Jarrold to talk about Rob Holdstock's winner of the 1984 World Fantasy Award, Mythago Wood.

Index

[00:00 - 52:54] Ed Wilson Interview Part 1

[52:54 - 54:07] Voicemail 1

[54:08 - 1:08:28] The Judge's Corner

[1:08:28 - 1:09:10] Voicemail 2

[1:09:11 - 1:12:31] Writing Challenge Winners

[1:12:32 - 1:13:43] Voicemail 3

[1:13:44 - 2:07:31] Ed Wilson Interview Part 2

[2:07:32 - 2:09:36] - Credits

Previous Episode

WATCHMEN with Tade Thompson

On this episode of Chronscast we're joined by award-winning SF author Tade Thompson to talk about WATCHMEN, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's comic-book masterpiece that skewers the superhero genre using its own architecture. Tade is the author of numerous novels, including the critically acclaimed sci-fi novel Rosewater, the first in his award winning WORMWOOD TRILOGY, Making Wolf, and most recently Far From the Heaven, and the Molly Southbourne series. He has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Nommo Award, the Kitschies Golden Tentacle award, and the Julia Verlange award, and been shortlisted for the Hugo Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the British Science Fiction Association Award, and the Shirley Jackson Prize.

We talk about how WATCHMEN reflects contemporary 1980s existential anxieties around the Cold War nuclear annihilation, and how it skewers the absurd braggadocio of the superhero genre. We dig down into the weeds of the book, picking apart the characters, their differing pathologies, and whether salvation lies in a masked figure. We ask how the genre can innovate from here, and why WATCHMEN endures. We also touch on the free spiritedness of Manga, writing fractured timelines as seen in Rosewater, and how the creation of narratives builds a psychological bridge between art and clinical practice.

The Judge gives us the second part of her talk on defamation, reminding us the usually the only winners of such altercations are the lawyers - so watch out! Elsewhere we hear Starship, Christine Wheelwright's excellent winning entry to the April 75-word writing challenge, and Superman has an axe to grind with Pine Marten Man... or is he just jealous?

Further Reading

You Better Watch Yourself
Superfolk
The Kryptonite Kid
Quack This Way
Where Are You Now, Batman?
Join SFF Chronicles for free

Join us next time when we'll be joined by Ed Wilson, literary agent and director of the Johnson & Alcock literary agency. Ed will walk with us through the labyrinth that is Mark Danielewski's mad millennial monster story House Of Leaves.

Index

[00:00:00] Tade Thompson Interview Part 1
[1:04:03] Voicemail 1
[1:05:10] The Judge's Corner
[1:18:03] Voicemail 2
[1:19:00] Writing Challenge Winner
[1:21:02] Voicemail 3
[1:22:00] Tade Thompson Interview Part 2

Next Episode

Mythago Wood with John Jarrold

We're joined by one of the kings of UK science-fiction and fantasy, the literary agent John Jarrold, to talk about Rob Holdstock's majestic 1984 novel Mythago Wood, winner of the World Fantasy Award.

Over a career spanning almost fifty years John has become one of the leading lights and champions for British genre fiction, and a household name within that community. In the publishing industry he has run three SFF imprints: Legend at Random House; Earthlight at Simon & Schuster, and Orbit books, where one of his authors was none other than Rob Holdstock. These days he runs the John Jarrold Literary Agency, with and continues to be a hugely influential and popular figure in the industry and SFF community.

We talk about the peculiar Englishness of Mythago Wood, with respect to its post-war setting, which informs the damaged male characters at the heart of the book and how this in turn has an impact on the representation of the female characters present. We also touch upon the cycle of myth and history, the myth of the hostile brothers, and Holdstock's wonderful writing style.

John brings his enormous experience to bear as we talk at length about the publishing industry and how it has changed over the last fifty years. He is armed with great anecdotes, and the list of people he's worked with over the years read like a Who's Who of international SFF.

Elsewhere Damaris Browne dishes up some salacious details on how to handle the issue of privacy, and how to approach using real-life people in your stories (spoiler alert: very, very carefully). Christine Wheelwright reads Weeping Willows, her winning 75-word entry from June's writing challenge, and the trees in Slish Wood are not - I repeat not - of interest to the CIA.

Join us next month when our guest will be the novelist, poet and essayist Naomi Foyle, who'll be talking with us about Jo Zebedee's alien invasion-cum-prison break thriller Inish Carraig .

Further Reading

There'll Always Be An England in Mythago Wood

Index

[0:00:00 - 49:15] John Jarrold Interview Part 1

[49:16 - 50:24] Voicemail 1

[50:25 - 1:05:10] The Judge's Corner

[1:05:16 - 1:06:14] Voicemail 2

[1:06:15 - 1:07:20] Writing Challenge Winner

[1:07:21 - 1:08:36] Voicemail 3

[1:08:37 - 2:02:12] John Jarrold Interview Part 2

[2:02:13 - 2:04:18] Credits and Close