Despite the delayed start, UFO9 is coming this holiday season. Check out yet another awesome cover by Tomasz Marosnki and click here to be notified of when the Kickstarter campaign launches (later in June):
We will open to unsolicited submissions once the campaign funds.
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Publishing | 
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
“The big idea behind The Middling Affliction is actually three middling ideas stacked on top of each other, in a noir-sleuth trench coat.” Thus opens my guest blog post for John Scalzi’s Whatever blog. Huge thanks to John for hosting me, and if you’d like to check out the post, you can read it here:
There are several other cool recent links I must share (so please bear with me!)
I was on Alan R. Warren’s syndicated NBC radio show House of Mystery, and you can listen here:
Finally, DC Gomez hosted me on her Amazon show The Book Corner:
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
The book is live! You can buy it in bookstores, online, and in all three formats (print, ebook, and audio.) And if you need an extra reason to do so, here are a few more reviews to sway you!
https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/middling-affliction-conradverse-chronicles
https://primmlife.com/2022/05/26/review-the-middling-affliction-by-alex-shvartsman/
https://www.anthonycardno.com/blog/2022/5/6/book-review-the-middling-affliction
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
Here’s my Balticon schedule and where you can find me if you happen to be in Baltimore, MD this coming weekend!
https://schedule.balticon.org/#part/14503
Most importantly, there will be a launch party celebrating the upcoming release of The Middling Affliction on Saturday! Come join us for food, drink, and giveaways, meet the publishing team at Arc Manor/Caezik, be among the first to buy a copy and if you do, you’ll be entered into an extra-special giveaway! What sort of rare and precious artifact might you win? Stop by the Caezik Press booth any time starting Friday afternoon to find out!
2 Comments | Event Appearances | Tagged: balticon, book launch | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman
Loads of news and links to share, with more coming as I ramp up publicity for THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION. Here goes:
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
As we release date approaches, there will be many, many #Conradverse posts. Brace yourselves.
First, we have an updated cover. The awesome art by Tulio Brito is still the same, of course, but but the book now has the series title and a very kind blurb from the bestselling author of the Nightside series, the Deathstalker series, and the Drood books Simon R. Green (who, along with Mike Resnick, is largely responsible for how the young-me processed and the not-so-young me eventually wrote humorous urban fantasy.) Here’s what the cover will look like when the book hits store shelves:
Second, OrangeSky has revealed the narrator for the audio book in the preorder listings, so I guess I’m allowed to talk about it. The book will be narrated by the film, TV, and theater actor Patrick Boylan and I can’t wait to hear his interpretation of Conrad and the gang!
Third, both the audiobook and the ebook are available for preorder. Better yet, you can snag them at a discount! The audiobook is $14.99 which, if you buy audiobooks, you already know is a bargain. But Amazon has it up for preorder at the rock-bottom price of $11.02 (I guess the $0.02 is for the option to share your thoughts as a review afterward.)
What’s more, the ebook is on sale as well. You can preorder it for $4.99 instead of the regular price of $6.99 upon release.
Preordering helps a lot, as it drives the book up Amazon’s charts and convinces them to stock more copies upon release. So, if you haven’t already, please grab a copy here in your favorite format:
If Amazon isn’t your preferred marketplace, rest assured the book will be available in all the usual places, too, either as a preorder or upon release!
1 Comment | Publishing | Tagged: Conradverse, OrangeSky, The Middling Affliction | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman
I’ll be at Heliosphere in New Jersey this Saturday and Sunday. Here’s my schedule: https://heliosphereny.org/?speaker=alex-shvartsman
Saturday, March 26
11:30am-12:45pm – Books-n-Brews: Alex Shvartsman and Mike McPhail
1:30pm-2pm – Autographs – Session 2
2pm – 3:05pm – Readings with Keith DeCandido, Alex Shvartsman, and Chris Burke
Sunday, March 27
10am-11:15am – Judging a book by its cover panel
2:20pm-3:30pm – Before you sign on that dotted line… panel
If you’re not attending Heliosphere, you can also hear my (prerecorded, since I can’t be in two place once) reading for the Vital anthology event. It’s free to watch online, details are here:
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
There’s a fabulous review of THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION over at Publishers Weekly and I’m so very stoked. It’s a treasure trove of great pull quotes to paste onto books, marketing materials, and possibly my forehead:
“Shvartsman delivers a laugh-out-loud, snarky adventure, throwing out pop culture references and wry observations with dizzying frequency.”
“Shvartsman takes a kitchen sink approach to urban fantasy, packing enough plot into this volume to span a whole series.”
“His supernatural New York City is vibrant and authentic, and Conrad fits right in with wisecracking fan favorite heroes like Harry Dresden and Simon Canderous.”
“A thoroughly satisfying romp.”
At the moment, my grin can be seen from space.
Meantime, the audiobook is now available for preorder from all the usual platforms, and you can preorder it for as little as $11, which is super inexpensive for an audiobook! Or just throw a credit at it on Audible. Both paperback and audio can be found here, and I expect the ebook preorder will join them soon.
Meantime, my translation of another century-old Yefim Zozulya story, “The Living Furniture” is live in the current issue of F&SF. And a new translation of “Incommunicado” by Andrej Kokoulin will appear in a forthcoming issue of Analog.
Finally, a new issue of Future Science Fiction Digest is now live. It features the following stories, as well as my editorial on the invasion of Ukraine.
“A Friend on the Inside” by Will McIntosh (USA)
“Four-Letter Word” by Alexy Dumenigo (Cuba), translated by Toshiya Kamei
“Rat’s Tongue” by Xing Fan (China), translated by Judith Huang
“Vagrants” by Lavie Tidhar (UK)
“The Sweetness of Berris and Wine” by Jo Miles (USA)
“Paean for a Branch Ghost” by Filip Wiltgren (Sweden)
Cover art: Oleksandr Kulichenko (Ukraine)
Cover design: Jay O’Connell (USA)
Comments Off on Publishers Weekly Reviews AFFLICTION, and Other Good News | Acceptances & Publications | Tagged: Analog, Conradverse, F&SF, Future SF, Publishers Weekly, The Middling Affliction | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman
Thrilled to announce that the audio rights to THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION were picked up by Orange Sky in a deal negotiated by Susan Velazquez of Jabberwocky Literary.
I’m being told the audio will likely be published alongside other formats on May 31!
1 Comment | Acceptances & Publications | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman
The Rosetta Archive anthology has been published! Edited by Alex Shvartsman and Tarryn Thomas of Future Science Fiction Digest, it features a selection of notable science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, which were translated into and first published in English in 2020. This anthology features the winning entry and the stories shortlisted for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Rosetta Awards. Cover art and design is by K.A. Teryna.
The following stories are included:
ROESIN by Wu Guan, translated from the Chinese by Judith Huang
WHALE SNOWS DOWN by Kim Bo-Young, translated from the Korean by Sophie Bowman
THE GREEN HILLS OF DIMITRY TOTZKIY by Eldar Safin, translated from the Russian by Alex Shvartsman
RAISING MERMAIDS by Dai Da, translated from the Chinese by S. Qiouyi Lu
MATER TENEBRARUM by Pilar Pedraza, translated from the Spanish by James D. Jenkins
VIK FROM PLANET EARTH by Yevgeny Lukin, translated from the Russian by Mike Olivson
BIOGRAPHY OF ALGAE by Martha Riva Palacio Obón, translated from the Spanish by Will Morningstar
THE POST-CONSCIOUS AGE by Su Min, translated from the Chinese by Nathan Faries
JUST LIKE MIGRATORY BIRDS by Taiyo Fujii, translated from the Japanese by Emily Balistrieri
THE WITCH DANCES by Thiago Ambrósio Lage, translated from the Portuguese by Iana Araújo
FORMERLY SLOW by Wei Ma, translated from the Chinese by Andy Dudak
MENOPAUSE by Flore Hazoumé, translated from the French by James D. Jenkins
THE MOLE KING by Marie Hermanson, translated from the Swedish by Charlie Haldén
THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE IN A BOX by Chen Qiufan, translated from the Chinese by Emily Jin
NO ONE EVER LEAVES PORT HENRI by K.A. Teryna, translated from the Russian by Alex Shvartsman
COUSIN ENTROPY by Michèle Laframboise, translated from the French by N. R. M. Roshak
THE CURTAIN FALLS, THE SHOW MUST END by Julie Nováková, translated from the Czech by the author
Here are some of the best ways to obtain a copy while supporting Future Science Fiction Digest:
Other options:
Paperbacks will be available worldwide via the Ingram catalog as of Monday, February 28.
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Posted by Alex Shvartsman
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 