I'm in charge of the Guardian Books site for one day only – the power's already going to my head
Taking control ... the author Neil Gaiman. Photograph: Graeme Robertson
Hullo world.
Even as I write this the power is starting to go to my head. I get to edit the Guardian Books site for a day. This is a position of daunting, fairy godmother-like power. Damien G Walter muttered on Twitter that he would like to interview Harlan Ellison, and I waved my editorial wand and it happened. They spoke on the phone. Now I get to find out what they said.
The power … Things I was interested in, things I wanted to read about, things I wanted to hear, things I wanted to know: I just had to ask, and they happened.
There's a podcast: Damien investigates Weird London, Cory Doctorow, Jonny Geller and Henry Volans talk about the future of the book, and I read the story I wrote for the Guardian and World Water Day a few months ago, Down to a Sunless Sea. (It was only after the Guardian had accepted it that they pointed out it was untitled, and that I should call it something.)
There's a gallery: Dave McKean, my friend and occasional collaborator for over a quarter of a century (and how the hell did that happen?), shows us a few of his current projects.
I did a list, which was meant to be my top 10 books of myths (I would have pointed you all to Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths, for a start) but then transmuted into a list of some of my favourite mythical characters – and it was only while compiling that list that I realised most of my favourite males in myths are tricksters, while most of my favourite women are either stoic non-complainers or glorious villainesses, and I decided that there should be more lady tricksters in myths.
There's a live webchat coming.
And I'm going to have to come up with a good first line for a story – the kind that we start and see where a social media hive-mind takes it ...
Even as I write this the power is starting to go to my head. I get to edit the Guardian Books site for a day. This is a position of daunting, fairy godmother-like power. Damien G Walter muttered on Twitter that he would like to interview Harlan Ellison, and I waved my editorial wand and it happened. They spoke on the phone. Now I get to find out what they said.
The power … Things I was interested in, things I wanted to read about, things I wanted to hear, things I wanted to know: I just had to ask, and they happened.
There's a podcast: Damien investigates Weird London, Cory Doctorow, Jonny Geller and Henry Volans talk about the future of the book, and I read the story I wrote for the Guardian and World Water Day a few months ago, Down to a Sunless Sea. (It was only after the Guardian had accepted it that they pointed out it was untitled, and that I should call it something.)
There's a gallery: Dave McKean, my friend and occasional collaborator for over a quarter of a century (and how the hell did that happen?), shows us a few of his current projects.
I did a list, which was meant to be my top 10 books of myths (I would have pointed you all to Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths, for a start) but then transmuted into a list of some of my favourite mythical characters – and it was only while compiling that list that I realised most of my favourite males in myths are tricksters, while most of my favourite women are either stoic non-complainers or glorious villainesses, and I decided that there should be more lady tricksters in myths.
There's a live webchat coming.
And I'm going to have to come up with a good first line for a story – the kind that we start and see where a social media hive-mind takes it ...
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