Awhile ago I got the strangest e-mail message from World Fantasy Award-winning author (and old friend) Jeff Vandermeer. It read:
Who is Last Drink Bird Head? Story, anecdote, 500 words. Don't Think: just write.
And I did. My story was but one of a long list of short-shorts that now appear in Last Drink Bird Head: Flash Fiction for Charity — with all proceeds going to proliteracy.org.
The results are pretty astounding, ranging from hilariously surreal to pensively chilling to deeply touching. The publisher writes: “Last Drink Bird Head is a blues musician, a performance artist, a type of alcohol, a town in Texas, and even a song sung by girl scouts in Antarctica. Contributors include Peter Straub, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Brian Evenson, Henry Kaiser, Gene Wolfe, Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, Rikki Ducornet, Holly Phillips, Stephen R. Donaldson, K.J. Bishop, Michael Swanwick, Ellen Kushner, Daniel Abraham, Jay Lake, Liz Williams, Tanith Lee, Sarah Monette, Conrad Williams, and Marly Youmans.” …over 80 writers in total! The design of this collectible is great (it even features a neat flipbook in the margins) and the cover art by Scott Eagle is phenomenal.
And if you preorder this book (shipping early November from Wyrm Publishing) you not only get a $5 discount, and a warming of the cockles of your heart for being charitable, but your book will also arrive signed by some of the contributors.