the return of John M. Ford!!!!

[cahn]

Google knows too much about me. Way too much. I joke with people that I could easily be replaced by a google-bot and no one would ever know (I guess I'm pretty predictable, at that).

Anyway, this morning I woke up to Chrome helpfully proffering me an article about John M. Ford.

Me: John M. Ford?
Chrome: Yes! We here at google think you'll like it, given your extensive googling on John M. Ford and his books in the last several months.
Me: That's because I was doing this reread... never mind. Um, but he died more than a decade ago and his books are out of print, so this must be an old article?
Chrome, holding out article patiently: No, it's from 4 hours ago. From Slate.
Me: So, like, a retrospective. Why is Slate printing something like that?
Chrome: Just click on it, OK?

Guys. GUYS. This person, Isaac Butler, went down the rabbit hole, reconnected Ford's estranged family and his editors, and although (as he says) we'll never know the whole story it appears there was at least some miscommunication, and
1. His books are coming back in print, starting in 2020!!
2. A new book of stories/poems/Christmas cards/uncollected material will be published!!!!
3. Aspects, Ford's never-published epic, is getting published in 2021!!!!!!!

This is just about the best early Christmas present the world (and Isaac Butler, and Tor, and Ford's family, and of course John M. Ford himself) could have given me <33333333

(OK, and thanks Google. You win again.)

Comments

[ambyr]

Unfortunately, because Tor is part of Macmillan and many public library systems are currently boycotting Macmillan ebooks, they won’t be easily accessible ebooks :-(.

[kore]

Ahhh CRAP. I wish it were possible somehow to donate e-books to libraries.

[ambyr]

I mean, they’re boycotting Macmillan because Macmillan is refusing to allow libraries to circulate frontlist ebook titles, so donations aren’t really going to help. Writing a letter to Macmillan protesting their anti-library business practices might, though!

[kore]

oh yes GREAT idea! i burned 3 fingers and my typing time is severely limited tho....maybe i will handwrite them one.

[ashkitty]

My local library sent out a thing to their patrons saying "this is what you should say to Macmillan, and why" so the libraries are definitely on top of things. I hope it works! I am pretty much always on libraries' side in everything. ;)

[cahn]

:( I hadn't even thought about that. (I didn't know Tor was part of Macmillan either, I should have known that!) I was mostly thinking about buying them.

The funny thing -- well, actually it's not funny at all -- is that I rarely get ebooks from the library any more anyway, because I've learned that anything that is even close to a frontlist title has such a long waiting list that it's much quicker to request the paper book.