Jump to content

Nick Mamatas: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 59: Line 59:
Satire is also a significant element of Mamatas's fiction. [[Ed Park]], writing for his online [[The Los Angeles Times]] review column, described Mamatas's [[Under My Roof]]—a short novel about the formation of a [[microstate]] on [[Long Island]]—as an "accurate, fast-moving satire that transcends mere target shooting by virtue of its narrator, Daniel’s 12-year-old son Herbie." <ref>{{cite web|url=http://theunarchivable.blogspot.com/2007/11/review-of-brian-aldisss-harm-and-nick.html|title=Review of Brian Aldiss's HARM and Nick Mamatas's UNDER MY ROOF|date=April 2007|publisher=[[latimes.com]]}}</ref> A starred review in [[Publishers Weekly]] for the same title also highlighted the satirical elements in the work, declaring: "A big-bang ending caps the fast-paced novel, and there's much fun to be had watching Mamatas...merrily skewer his targets."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-933368-43-6|title=Fiction Review: Under My Roof|date=December 18, 2006|publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]]}}</ref>
Satire is also a significant element of Mamatas's fiction. [[Ed Park]], writing for his online [[The Los Angeles Times]] review column, described Mamatas's [[Under My Roof]]—a short novel about the formation of a [[microstate]] on [[Long Island]]—as an "accurate, fast-moving satire that transcends mere target shooting by virtue of its narrator, Daniel’s 12-year-old son Herbie." <ref>{{cite web|url=http://theunarchivable.blogspot.com/2007/11/review-of-brian-aldisss-harm-and-nick.html|title=Review of Brian Aldiss's HARM and Nick Mamatas's UNDER MY ROOF|date=April 2007|publisher=[[latimes.com]]}}</ref> A starred review in [[Publishers Weekly]] for the same title also highlighted the satirical elements in the work, declaring: "A big-bang ending caps the fast-paced novel, and there's much fun to be had watching Mamatas...merrily skewer his targets."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-933368-43-6|title=Fiction Review: Under My Roof|date=December 18, 2006|publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]]}}</ref>


Mamatas's nonfiction work includes essays on publishing, digital culture, and politics. A [[Village Voice]] piece on the [[Otherkin]] phenomenon<ref name="elvenlikeme">{{cite journal| title=Elven Like Me| first=Nick| last=Mamatas| journal=The Village Voice, New York| month=February 20| year=2001| volume=46| issue=7| pages=35| url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0107,mamatas,22273,8.html}}</ref> is cited as one of the earliest national publications on the subculture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Fn-Sh1nv7pQC&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=mamatas+otherkin&source=bl&ots=R0eGEYHqfF&sig=X0y8LiqE_y24otcRVaVJE467pzE&hl=en&ei=YurBTZfkNaPciALoyLCfAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=mamatas%20otherkin&f=false|title=The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English|date=2006|publisher=[[The McGraw-Hill Companies]]}}</ref> His essay about his settlement with the [[RIAA]]<ref>{{cite web|http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-03-01/music/meet-john-doe/|title=Meet John Doe|date=March 1, 2005|publisher=[[Village Voice]]}}</ref> for file-sharing, has been cited in several [[law reviews]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/flr74&div=20&id=&page=|title=The Place of the User in Copyright Law|date=2005-2006|publisher=[[Fordham Law Review]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/cwrlrv55&div=47&id=&page=|title=Comment: Copyright's Public-Private Distinction|date=2004-2005|publisher=[[Case Western Reserve Law Review]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/fiulawr3&div=11&id=&page=|title=Leave Them Kids Alone - A Proposed Fair Use Defense for Noncommercial P2P Sharing of Copyrighted Music Files|date=2007-2008|publisher=[[Florida International Law Review]]}}</ref>, as it is a relatively rare first-person account of the process of settlement with the RIAA. Essays from [[The Smart Set]], [[Village Voice]], and [[The Writer]] and [[Tim Pratt]]'s fanzine '''Flytrap''' were compiled, along with original material, into the writing handbook [[Starve Better]] in 2011, published by [[Apex Publications]]<ref>{{cite web|http://www.apexbookcompany.com/starve-better/|title=Starve Better|date=2011|publisher=[[Apex Publications]]}}</ref>. His essay "The Term Paper Artist" originally from [[The Smart Set]], about his experiences as an academic ghostwriter for pay, has been discussed on [[National Public Radio]], and reprinted in a pair of textbooks, both published by [[Nelson Education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hed.nelson.com/nelsonhed/instructor.do?product_isbn=9780176501877&disciplinenumber=307&maintab=About_the_Book&subtab=Table_of_Contents|title=Table of Contents: Essay Essentials|date=2011|publisher=[[Nelson Education]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://hed.nelson.com/nelsonhed/instructor.do?pagefrom=search&disciplinenumber=415&product_isbn=0176503625|title=Canadian Content, 7th Edition|date=2011|publisher=[[Nelson Education]]}}</ref>
Mamatas's nonfiction work includes essays on publishing, digital culture, and politics. A [[Village Voice]] piece on the [[Otherkin]] phenomenon<ref name="elvenlikeme">{{cite journal| title=Elven Like Me| first=Nick| last=Mamatas| journal=The Village Voice, New York| month=February 20| year=2001| volume=46| issue=7| pages=35| url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0107,mamatas,22273,8.html}}</ref> is cited as one of the earliest national publications on the subculture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Fn-Sh1nv7pQC&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&dq=mamatas+otherkin&source=bl&ots=R0eGEYHqfF&sig=X0y8LiqE_y24otcRVaVJE467pzE&hl=en&ei=YurBTZfkNaPciALoyLCfAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=mamatas%20otherkin&f=false|title=The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English|date=2006|publisher=[[The McGraw-Hill Companies]]}}</ref> His essay about his settlement with the [[RIAA]]<ref>{{cite web|http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-03-01/music/meet-john-doe/|title=Meet John Doe|date=March 1, 2005|publisher=[[Village Voice]]}}</ref> for file-sharing, has been cited in several [[law reviews]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/flr74&div=20&id=&page=|title=The Place of the User in Copyright Law|date=2005-2006|publisher=[[Fordham Law Review]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/cwrlrv55&div=47&id=&page=|title=Comment: Copyright's Public-Private Distinction|date=2004-2005|publisher=[[Case Western Reserve Law Review]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/fiulawr3&div=11&id=&page=|title=Leave Them Kids Alone - A Proposed Fair Use Defense for Noncommercial P2P Sharing of Copyrighted Music Files|date=2007-2008|publisher=[[Florida International Law Review]]}}</ref>, as it is a relatively rare first-person account of the process of settlement with the RIAA. Essays from [[The Smart Set]], [[Village Voice]], and [[The Writer]] and [[Tim Pratt]]'s fanzine '''Flytrap''' were compiled, along with original material, into the writing handbook [[Starve Better]] in 2011, and published by [[Apex Publications]]<ref>{{cite web|http://www.apexbookcompany.com/starve-better/|title=Starve Better|date=2011|publisher=[[Apex Publications]]}}.</ref> His essay "The Term Paper Artist" originally from [[The Smart Set]], about his experiences as an academic ghostwriter for pay, has been discussed on [[National Public Radio]], and reprinted in a pair of textbooks, both published by [[Nelson Education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hed.nelson.com/nelsonhed/instructor.do?product_isbn=9780176501877&disciplinenumber=307&maintab=About_the_Book&subtab=Table_of_Contents|title=Table of Contents: Essay Essentials|date=2011|publisher=[[Nelson Education]]}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://hed.nelson.com/nelsonhed/instructor.do?pagefrom=search&disciplinenumber=415&product_isbn=0176503625|title=Canadian Content, 7th Edition|date=2011|publisher=[[Nelson Education]]}}</ref>


==Major works==
==Major works==

Revision as of 00:16, 5 May 2011

Nick Mamatas
OccupationNovelist, Short Story Author, Essayist, Editor
NationalityUnited States
Genrehorror, fantasy, science fiction, personal essay

Nick Mamatas (born February 20, 1972) is an American author and editor. His third novel, Sensation, will published in May 2011 by PM Press, and in July a collaboration with Brian Keene, The Damned Highway will be released.

Biography

Nick Mamatas was born on Long Island, New York and attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook and New School University. He is also a graduate of the MFA program in creative and professional writing at Western Connecticut State University, which he attended only after publishing a number of books, short stories and articles.

Mamatas funded his early writing career by producing term papers for college students.[1][2]

Mamatas' non-fiction work has appeared in Razor Magazine, The Village Voice, and various Disinformation Books and BenBella Books' Smart Pop Books anthologies.

His short novel Northern Gothic (Soft Skull, 2001) was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction in 2002.[3] In 2007, a signed/limited hardcover edition, illustrated and with a slipcase, was published in German by Edition Phantasia.

His first full-length novel, Move Under Ground (Night Shade Books, 2004/Prime Books, 2006), combined the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. This novel was nominated for both the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel[4] and the International Horror Guild Award for Best First Novel in 2005, and made the Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List for books published in 2004.

In 2006, Move Under Ground was one of the first books to be published in paperback by the German publisher Edition Phantasia. In early 2007 he decided to distribute it online for free under a Creative Commons license.

His most recent novel Under My Roof (Soft Skull, 2007) has been published in both Germany and Italy in addition to its American publication. The German edition was nominated for the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for science fiction originally published in a foreign language. It came in last place in the voting.

In August 2006, Mamatas was named co-fiction editor of Clarkesworld Magazine. In August 2008, he left Clarkesworld and began working for Viz Media to edit Haikasoru, the firm's line of Japanese science fiction, fantasy, and horror in translation. Clarkesworld's 2008 issues earned it a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Mamatas, along with editor Sean Wallace and publisher Neil Clarke, were named as the magazine's principals. The three were also nominated for the World Fantasy award for Clarkesworld in the nonprofessional special award category, also for the 2008 issues. Three years after leaving Clarkesworld, Mamatas was nominated for the Hugo award in the category of Best Editor, Long Form in 2010 [5], for his work with the Haikasoru imprint of Viz Media.

Mamatas edited the posthumous collection of short fiction, Queen of the Country, by dark fantasist D. G. K. Goldberg in 2008.

A collection of short fiction, You Might Sleep..., including a new novella, was published in March 2009.

"The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft," written by Mamatas and Tim Pratt, was nominated for the Stoker award for achievement in Short Fiction in March 2009.[6]

Mamatas co-edited the original horror anthology Haunted Legends with Ellen Datlow in 2010; the book won the Black Quill Award in the anthology category, and has also been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology[7] and the Shirley Jackson Award.

Career and Themes

Mamatas is most known for his horror and dark fiction, but claims broad influences.[8] Writer Laird Barron described the short fictions in You Might Sleep... as running "the gamut of science fiction, fantasy, metafiction, horror, generic lit, to the realms of the effectively unclassifiable."[9]

The Internet Review of Science Fiction, reviewing You Might Sleep, contends that "J.D. Salinger [is] an obvious but unacknowledged influence" and also compares the work of Mamatas to "Lewis Carroll with an ISP, Mishima hammering out his death poem on a Blackberry or Harlan Ellison hyped up on crystal meth..." while suggesting a certain immaturity to Mamatas's themes: "Despite his tremendous gifts, Mamatas dares little. One wonders how he would handle more profound materials, how his narrative sorcery might encompass (for example) bereavement, real tragedy or loss of self through enlightenment or love." [10]

A thematic touchstone for Mamatas is H.P. Lovecraft. His novel Move Under Ground, which combines Lovecraftian and Beat themes, was declared one of the best Cthulhu Mythos stories not written by Lovecraft by Kenneth Hite in the book Cthulhu 101. Mark Halcomb of the Village Voice reviewed the book and its peculiar meshing of Lovecraft and Kerouac, writing, in part:

In fact, Kerouac's "bebop prosody" and the Cthulhu mythos dovetail nicely, and what seems at first like literary stunt-casting actually gives Mamatas room to recast the Beats' fall from grace in fanciful terms unhindered by their tricky psychology, the strictures of reality and realism—or lingering platitudes.[11]

Publishers Weekly reviewed Move Under Ground, discussing the novel's "credible pastiche" of Kerouac's voice and declared the book "sophisticated, progressive horror..."[12]


A number of his short works, such as the novelette "Real People Slash" and the flash fiction "And Then And Then And Then", also explicitly combine Lovecraftian themes with the voices of non-fantastical literature. The short story "That of Which We Speak When We Speak of the Unspeakable", first published in the anthology Lovecraft Unbound is a pastiche of Lovecraft and several of the works of Raymond Carver. The Damned Highway combines a character based heavily on Hunter S. Thompson and Lovecraftian themes.

Satire is also a significant element of Mamatas's fiction. Ed Park, writing for his online The Los Angeles Times review column, described Mamatas's Under My Roof—a short novel about the formation of a microstate on Long Island—as an "accurate, fast-moving satire that transcends mere target shooting by virtue of its narrator, Daniel’s 12-year-old son Herbie." [13] A starred review in Publishers Weekly for the same title also highlighted the satirical elements in the work, declaring: "A big-bang ending caps the fast-paced novel, and there's much fun to be had watching Mamatas...merrily skewer his targets."[14]

Mamatas's nonfiction work includes essays on publishing, digital culture, and politics. A Village Voice piece on the Otherkin phenomenon[15] is cited as one of the earliest national publications on the subculture.[16] His essay about his settlement with the RIAA[17] for file-sharing, has been cited in several law reviews[18] [19] [20], as it is a relatively rare first-person account of the process of settlement with the RIAA. Essays from The Smart Set, Village Voice, and The Writer and Tim Pratt's fanzine Flytrap were compiled, along with original material, into the writing handbook Starve Better in 2011, and published by Apex Publications[21] His essay "The Term Paper Artist" originally from The Smart Set, about his experiences as an academic ghostwriter for pay, has been discussed on National Public Radio, and reprinted in a pair of textbooks, both published by Nelson Education.[22] [23]

Major works

Novels

Short story collections

Anthologies

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Editor

References

  1. ^ "The Term Paper Artist", article in The Smart Set by Nick Mamatas
  2. ^ "The Paper Market". On the Media. 2008-11-28.
  3. ^ "2001 Bram Stoker Award Nominees and Winners". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  4. ^ "2004 Bram Stoker Award Nominees and Winners". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  5. ^ "The 2011 Hugo nominees". Renovation SF: The 69th Annual Hugo Awards.
  6. ^ "2008 Bram Stoker Award Nominees and Winners". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  7. ^ "2010 Bram Stoker Award Nominees and Winners". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  8. ^ "A Career In Thrashing Around All Night". Apex Book Company. April 2009.
  9. ^ "On You Might Sleep by Mamatas (or I come not to praise Caesar but deliver the goods on Caligula)". Imago1, Laird Barron's LiveJournal. September 2009.
  10. ^ "With Cautious Anticipation A review of You Might Sleep... by Nick Mamatas". The Internet Review of Science Fiction. May 2009. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 27 (help)
  11. ^ "Beat Happening". Village Voice. May 25, 2004.
  12. ^ "Fiction Review: Move Under Ground". Publishers Weekly. April 12, 2004. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-892389-92-3" ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Review of Brian Aldiss's HARM and Nick Mamatas's UNDER MY ROOF". latimes.com. April 2007.
  14. ^ "Fiction Review: Under My Roof". Publishers Weekly. December 18, 2006.
  15. ^ Mamatas, Nick (2001). "Elven Like Me". The Village Voice, New York. 46 (7): 35. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ "The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English". The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2006.
  17. ^ "Meet John Doe". Village Voice. March 1, 2005. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-03-01/music/meet-john-doe/" ignored (help)
  18. ^ "The Place of the User in Copyright Law". Fordham Law Review. 2005–2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  19. ^ "Comment: Copyright's Public-Private Distinction". Case Western Reserve Law Review. 2004–2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  20. ^ "Leave Them Kids Alone - A Proposed Fair Use Defense for Noncommercial P2P Sharing of Copyrighted Music Files". Florida International Law Review. 2007–2008. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
  21. ^ "Starve Better". Apex Publications. 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://www.apexbookcompany.com/starve-better/" ignored (help).
  22. ^ "Table of Contents: Essay Essentials". Nelson Education. 2011.
  23. ^ "Canadian Content, 7th Edition". Nelson Education. 2011.
  24. ^ Nick Mamatas's Livejournal Entry about editorial job at Viz Media

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Nick_Mamatas&oldid=427496344"