Three links

[dolorosa_12]

I watched the recording of a Zoom conversation with Samantha Shannon, hosted by a Canadian independent bookshop. In it, she covers her two current series of books, but far more interesting to me is the discussion of the work involved in reissuing The Bone Season, ten years after it was first published, with heavy edits of the structure and content. This book — Shannon's debut — was written when she was 19 and published when she was 21, and she has apparently long been dissatisfied with it. She was given an opportunity that few authors are — to republish an 'anniversary edition' with the significant editorial changes that I mentioned. This has then necessitated lighter editing and subsequent reissuing of later books in the series (all of which will come out in May next year), meaning there are going to be two different versions of the first few books in the series existing simultaneously (and apparently confusing to read if you swap between the versions). I find the whole thing fascinating.

Watch on YouTube

The next literary livestream I'll mention is happening later this week — 7pm British summer time on Friday — and is a British Library-hosted conversation between Natalie Haynes and Susan Cooper (later to be joined by Simon McBurney and Robert MacFarlane, who adapted The Dark Is Rising as a radio play last year). You can book tickets to view the Zoom conversation on the British Library website.

Finally, snickfic is hosting a no-frills friending meme — follow the link to participate.

Comments

[kore]

Oh that really is neat! I cannot WAIT for that Susan Cooper convo.

[dolorosa_12]

It should be excellent!

[svgurl]

Thanks for sharing the friending meme! :D

[dolorosa_12]

You're welcome!

[merit]

Very rare opportunity! And brave of her to take it up after so long, and how much the books mean to people.

And of course - what will this mean for Yuletide nominations next year? :P

[dolorosa_12]

I know, right? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing happening before (copyediting to fix typos, or 'updating' books after the fact to remove elements that are at odds with contemporary sensibilities, yes, but allowing an author to correct things that felt clunky or badly written with hindsight is definitely rare).

And of course - what will this mean for Yuletide nominations next year? :P

Ha! Well, if someone writes my Bone Season request this year, I won't need to request it again next year for the eleventh year running... But you're right, it would mean having to clarify that I don't care which version of canon is used by the author as the basis for their fic.

[windancer]

The edited Bone Season books thing is interesting. Not sure what to make of it, honestly.

[dolorosa_12]

I for one am pretty cynical about it. I don't doubt that Samantha Shannon was dissatisfied with the books in their original state, and what author is going to turn down the chance to correct all the rookie mistakes of their debut novel — with the full support and backing of the publisher, gorgeous new covers, marketing fanfare and all? But it does seem like a cynical moneygrab on the part of the publisher — sell more copies of books from a decade-old series (to people who didn't buy them the first time around but discovered Shannon's writing through her second series, to people who already own copies of the original versions but want the complete, 'correct' versions), get that series back in front of the eyes of readers whose attention may have wandered due to the long time it's taken to complete, and with a long wait still to go for the fifth book, etc.

So while I find it interesting on an intellectual level to hear her talk about the exercise of updating previously published books, I won't be buying the new editions, and my feelings about the whole thing are decidedly mixed.