Peter S. Beagle Fan Blog

No te pierdas el Rave de The Last Unicorn

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Nov 14: The Last Unicorn! with special guest Peter Beagle!

All confirmed for one and a half hour sets:

The Enchanted Forest:
Blix Cannon, Joshua G, Toxic Rainbow, Sausee, Guiseppe Paolo, Miss Mari

The Midnight Carnival:
Easy Ice, No Left Turn, No Komply (feat. Chris the Unicornist!), Vankmen, Somani, Bigg Will

Haggard's Castle:
Dulce Vita, Bam, Ill D Teh DJ, Easy Bay Jay, Aleks, Sychosis
plus a chill room and a special appearance by Peter S. Beagle, the creator of "The Last Unicorn"!
Map Point, Shuttle and UG rules are in effect.
Info line 510-698-6215$1 water and sno cones

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Tickets are on sale now!
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Hurry because we may sell out fast!

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And if you already have a Twilight Zone card, you will get $5 off at the door, or $6 in free drink coupons if you buy in advance.

¡Muchas novedades!

Éstas últimas semanas han estado cargaditas de noticias y newsletters que nos ponían sobre aviso de cantidad de datos y citas a tener en cuenta acerca de Peter S. Beagle.

Concretamente en la última newsletter del 1 de noviembre, nos anuncian que Peter ha sido nominado una vez más al World Fantasy Award. No es la primera vez que Peter cuenta entre los nominados. Ya en 1994 fue nominado por su novela The Inkeeper's Song. En 1998 participó con Giant Bones. En el 2000 fue nominada su novela Tamsin y este año, vuelve a estar en la lista de los posibles ganadores con Strange Roads, siendo la historia de "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel" una de las más fuertes que están entre los tops.

¡Desde aquí le deseamos a Peter mucha muchísima suerte y esperamos que esta vez se lleve el premio a casa, que bien que se lo merece!

Por otro lado, ya se anunció en la penúltima newsletter que Connor y Peter habían conseguido hacerse con unas cuantas copias más de la edición especial de The Last Unicorn y que volvería a estar disponible, ésta vez, para los primeros y más rápidos en enviar un e-mail para reservar tantos ejemplares como quisieran. Pues bien, en tan sólo 12 horas se agotaron todos los restantes ejemplares (y eso que valía 75 dólares el ejemplar!). 35 personas se quedan en lista de espera por si alguien de los 100 primeros que escribieron acaba finalmente fallando, así que todavía quedan esperanzas para aquellos que no fueron lo suficientemente rápidos.

Aun así, comentan en la newsletter que Connor y Peter han ideado un detallito especial (un premio de consolación) para aquellos que estaban interesados en adquirir el ejemplar pero que se han quedado desgraciadamente sin. :) Detallistas hasta más no poder. ¡Qué gran idea! :)

Y para finalizar este post, anunciamos que Peter tiene más de 50 nuevas historias preparadas (escritas en los últimos 5 años) para publicarlas próximamente. Para leer todos los títulos, clicar aquí.

En fin, todavía le queda mucha cuerda a Peter S. Beagle. ¡Y que nos dure mucho más el mejor escritor del mundo" :)

Newsletter The Raven : 1 de Noviembre 2009

Here we go...

WILL PETER FINALLY WIN A

WORLD FANTASY AWARD?

WE'LL KNOW LATER TODAY

THE NEW CHICAGO STAGE VERSION

OF THE LAST UNICORN

( WHAT PETER & CONNOR THOUGHT )

ALL OUT! NO MORE

EXTRA-DELUXE

LAST UNICORN HARDCOVERS

SHORT FICTION NEWS

UPCOMING APPEARANCES & EVENTS

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WILL PETER FINALLY WIN A WORLD FANTASY AWARD?

WE'LL KNOW LATER TODAY

The World Fantasy Award is one of the three big genre awards that a fantasy writer can win, along with the Hugo and the Nebula. For a quick backgrounder on it, nothing beats the Wikipedia article. Quoting from that...

"The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy. Since 1975, when they were first awarded, they have been handed out at the World Fantasy Convention...World Fantasy Award winners are chosen by a panel of judges, which differs every year... The World Fantasy Awards thus differ significantly in administration from other notable genre awards, such as Hugos or Nebulas. For the Hugos, the nominees and winners are chosen solely by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, while the Nebulas are awards for authors chosen by authors, specifically members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America...Because of the small number of judges for the World Fantasy Awards, and because they usually try to read very comprehensively in the field, selections for the awards are often eclectic."

Prior to this year, Peter has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award four different times. In 1994 his book The Innkeeper's Song was up for Best Novel, but lost to Lewis Shiner's Glimpses. In 1998 his collection Giant Bones lost to Brian McNaughton's The Throne of Bones. In 2000, Tamsin lost Best Novel to Martin Scott's Thraxas. And in 2006, the Last Unicorn follow-up novelette "Two Hearts" lost Best Short Fiction to George Saunders' "CommComm."

This year Peter managed a twofer: his three-story set Strange Roads is up for Best Collection, and the lead story from that book, "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel" is up for Best Novella.

The competition is fierce. Also up for Best Novella are "If Angels Fight" by Richard Bowes, "The Overseer" by Albert Cowdrey, "Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman, and "Good Boy", by Nisi Shawl. This year's other Best Collection contenders are The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford, Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link, Filter House by Nisi Shawl, and Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.

There's a lot of terrific work in those two lists, so even though we're pulling for Peter (obviously) the Award is guaranteed a great year no matter who wins.

The Award Banquet happens this afternoon at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose. Will Peter break his streak, or continue it?

Stay tuned. We'll know soon, and make the announcement (whichever way it goes) tomorrow.

THE NEW CHICAGO STAGE VERSION OF THE LAST UNICORN

WHAT PETER & CONNOR THOUGHT

On Saturday, October 17th, the Promethean Theatre Ensemble premiered their new stage adaptation of The Last Unicorn. The adaptation was written and directed by Ed Rutherford, and will play at the City Lit Theater in Chicago from now through November 14. Only two weekends left!

Here are positive reviews from Time Out Chicago, ChicagoCritic.com, and Centerstage Chicago.
Here's a negative one from NewCityStage.com.

And here's a picture from fairly early in the show, with the unicorn (Kyla Embrey) considering what to do now that she has learned she is the last of her kind in the world.

This picture is a good example of Rutherford's approach to the material: throughout the show the set never changes, the lighting is direct (but evocative), and the costumes and props are simple but symbolically appropriate. In its starkness, this production is reminiscent of some of the great experimental theater of the '50s and '60s. Where Rutherford shows off a fertile imagination is in his inventive use of simple components. To create a forest, his black-garbed actors enter and unfurl a canopy of green umbrellas. A dancer playing a deer joins them on stage...and when she hears hunters approaching, she opens another umbrella herself and freezes in place, becoming a "tree" just in time to avoid being spotted. (As Peter says in the book and film, "Creatures that live in a unicorn’s wood learn a little magic of their own in time, mainly concerned with disappearing.")

One of the most interesting of Rutherford's choices is how he presents the unicorn. Most previous stage adaptations have gone the "white leotard/spandex + horned headpiece" route, seeking as explicit a unicorn "look" as having a two-legged actress allows. By contrast, Rutherford dresses Kayla Embrey in a plain white shift, with a single white rose to symbolize both purity and her horn. In context this choice is actually quite radical, and sets the stage for some interesting later variations.

Not wanting to miss the trees for the forest, let's name names. From left to right, the umbrella-bearers above are Barbara Berndt, Caitlin Costello, Jessica Cluess, Laura Skokan, John A. Lewis, Christina Gorman, and Shawna Tucker. With only 14 people in the cast, nearly all play multiple roles and serve as part of the changing stage environment, as well.

Here the unicorn meets the butterfly, represented on stage by three actors, not one (from left to right: Laura Skokan, John A. Lewis, and Paul G. Miller). Rutherford and choreographer Kat Lieder present the butterfly's chaotic mind by having these three performers speak sometimes individually and sometimes in unison, all the while passing the butterfly wand-puppet back and forth between them as they spin round the stage (and the unicorn) in an elaborate set of quasi-gymnastic moves. This shot captures a relatively quiet early moment, but when the scene closes they actually scuttle backwards off stage in three different directions, chanting "It's you and me, moth! Hand to hand to hand to hand..."

The use of multiple actors to portray a single magical creature is a recurring motif in this production.

Mommy Fortuna (Barbara Berndt) sneers at her captive unicorn. More low-budget invention here: to represent Mommy's spell of illusion, Rutherford opts for a deliberately cheap-looking unicorn head with a battered blue candle for a horn. It's a great comment on both Mommy's skill and her questionable taste. Her "homemade horrors," indeed.

The unicorn extends her horn to free the Harpy Celaeno (Christina Gorman) from its imprisonment in the Midnight Carnival. Note how simply and effectively other cast members and basic props are used to create the impression of a cage.

Rutherford's decision to avoid a literal unicorn costume generates an obvious question — how do you present the unicorn's magical change into a human being when she already looks human? The effective answer: more symbolism. This photo shows the beginning of the second act, with Molly Grue (Shawna Tucker) and Schmendrick (Nick Lake) looking on as the unicorn becomes aware of her new form. The pure white shift is now covered over — though not completely obscured — by a black embroidered dress. The white slippers are now black. And the white rose "horn" has been burnt dead black and no longer has any petals. From a theatrical point of view this is a terrific choice, making it seem as though the unicorn has been shrouded in (and shadowed by) the darkness of King Haggard and his castle from the instant she became a mortal woman.

Speaking of King Haggard, above you can see Jack McCabe in the role. He gave a standout performance, effectively conveying Haggard's strength as well as his emptiness. In short: one scary, scary dude.

Here the Lady Amalthea and Prince Lír (Brian Pastor) have their first mutually romantic moment. Pastor and Embrey had great chemistry, and Pastor deserves praise for making his Lír particularly warm and personable. In other stage productions, the actors playing Lír have tended to present two-note characterizations, starting out Dorky and winding up Overtly Heroic. Pastor's Lír was more complicated than that: even when he was being heroic you could still see the unloved, untempered boy he had once been.

The unicorn, back in her own form, discovers that Lír has died trying to save her from the Red Bull (about half of which you can see in the background; there were at least six or seven red-cloaked performers involved in collectively presenting the Red Bull).

PETER'S TAKE ON THE PRODUCTION:

"I've always been a sucker for theatre: for me, it's like the old joke about good sex and bad sex — even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. I'll do a lot to give myself an excuse for being backstage, watching people make up, move scenery and sing scales. But stage adaptations of The Last Unicorn (and there have been a surprising number of one-shot nonprofit versions over the years) always make me extremely nervous, and I avoid them when I can. Including the one I wrote, over twenty years ago, they generally cling too close to the novel, and would have done much better as staged readings. Consequently, I was braced to be scrupulously polite about Ed Rutherford's production at Chicago's Promethean Theatre, and to get out of town as quickly as decently possible."I'm happy to report that I was taken completely by surprise. Ed's version turned out to be remarkably original, inventive, and theatrical in its nature, from the moment that hunted deer exploded onto the stage in the first scene to take shelter in a sanctuary forest of green umbrellas. Produced on a budget of approximately eighty cents, this one's a real play, faithful to the story, but never losing its nerve, never hesitating to seek out a dramatic and visual equivalent or parallel for something that cannot be staged, and was never meant to be. It's a remarkable experience that deserves to run beyond its closing date of 14 November, and I urge anyone within range of Bryn Mawr Avenue to make a point of seeing it. You won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't, and I fully expected to be. My thanks to Ed Rutherford, and to his uniformly excellent cast and crew. They've done my unicorn proud."

CONNOR'S TAKE ON THE PRODUCTION:

"In the eight years I've been working with Peter, I've either seen or heard of quite a few stage presentations of The Last Unicorn, ranging from elementary school shows all the way to a fairly large professional do-up in Germany. (That one never asked for permission, by the way: the producers just did whatever they did without ever getting in touch, and I only learned about the production by accident via Google.)

"Ed Rutherford's adaptation is the first one I thought was impressive enough to take further. After discussion with Peter, I've begun to talk with Ed about tweaking a few things and then officially offering this version to schools and theater companies around the world as the Peter-approved stage adaptation. I'm also trying to find a way to get the show filmed, with this cast, so we can share it with everyone via cable TV, DVD release, and video downloads. (I'm looking for backing on this right now: It won't cost very much and I believe it could be quite profitable, so any interested potential investors should email me at connor@conlanpress.com or call 650-728-8098.)

"This doesn't mean that we've put aside the dream of someday seeing a full-blown, rather spectacular Broadway musical version. Absolutely not. But that will come in its own due time, most likely after the film rights are finally untangled enough for a new screen adaptation to get made. Meanwhile, Ed Rutherford's approach deserves a wider audience, and Peter and I are going to do everything we can to see that show gets it."

The official promo page for the Promethean production is right here. Check it out for the performance schedule through the rest of the run, which ends November 14th, and to watch some video about the show.

You can order tickets here.

LOCATION: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago IL (on the second floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church).

ALL OUT!

NO MORE EXTRA-DELUXE HARDCOVER COPIES OF

THE LAST UNICORN

In the last RAVEN newsletter, we announced a chance for people to reserve the very last extra-deluxe copies of the recent hardcover edition of The Last Unicorn, made even more special by Peter including three handwritten pages from the first drafts of his new Schmendrick stories, and Connor's inclusion of a personalized unicorn sketch.

There were just over 100 copies left.

They were all spoken for inside 12 hours.
Wow!

So we are really and truly out now. Those of you who made the Reservation List know who you are, and have until 11/7 to complete payment so you can get your special book. Any copy that haven't been paid for by then will go to one of the 35 people on the Alternate List (the folks whose reservations came in after all the copies were spoken for).

The Alternate List folks know who they are, too — and by the way, Peter and Connor have cooked up something special just for you as a consolation prize. Even if you don't wind up replacing one of the Reserved Listers who changed their mind or didn't pay in time, you'll still have the choice of buying something special that no one else will ever have.

Meanwhile, scanning Amazon and ABEBooks.com and BN.com reveals 14-16 unsigned used copies of this hardcover Last Unicorn, going at prices ranging from $48.82 to $128.28. (The one new copy we spotted last week is now gone. It sold out of a San Diego store for over $240.) Someday there will be another hardcover edition of The Last Unicorn, but for now...

SHORT FICTION NEWS: RECENT AND UPCOMING STORIES

Peter never particularly thought of himself as a short fiction writer, but through a steady stream of cajoling and contracts, Connor has gotten him to change his mind. (There's just something about writing more than 50 new stories in less than five years that will do that to you.)
So far this year, three new stories have appeared for the first time:

In March, the online magazine Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show published "Vanishing" a story dealing with ghosts, shattered lives, and the shadow of the Berlin Wall. The text had to be toned down ever-so-slightly for the magazine's audience, but the original unexpurgated version will be available next year in a limited edition collection from Subterranean Press called Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle. Here's Kevin Wasden's illustration from OSCIGMS:

In April, "Up the Down Beanstalk" appeared in Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales, from Viking. (Full title of the piece: "Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers. Special to the Cumulonimbus Weekly Chronicle, as recounted by Mrs. Eunice Giant, 72 Fairweather Lane, East-Of-The-Bean, Sussex Overhead").

In October, Night Shade Books released Eclipse Three, third in a series of original anthologies edited by Jonathan Strahan. Peter appeared in Eclipse One with "The Last and Only, or, Mr. Moscowitz Becomes French," and in Eclipse Two with "The Rabbi's Hobby." Both of those stories were picked up for various Best Of The Year anthologies. We have high hopes that Peter's new Eclipse story, "Sleight of Hand," will join their number. It's a remarkable examination of loss, love, and the power of choice.
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In November, a wonderfully funny little story called "Oakland Dragon Blues" will appear in The Dragon Book, a Gardner Dozois/Jack Dann original anthology from Ace. The tale opens with an East Bay traffic jam caused by a rather worse-for-the-wear dragon that has fallen out of the sky and refuses to move, then goes on from there. Peter himself plays a part in this one, but telling you just how and why would give the game away. Here's a clue — readers of The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version (limited edition; now out of print) have already met this particular dragon.

Coming up in March is "Dirae," Peter's contribution to Warriors, the 736-page Gardner Dozois/George R.R. Martin original anthology from Tor Books. Anyone who thinks they already know the full range of Peter's writing is going to be shocked by "Dirae," which will certainly be one of the most original stories in the set.

April will bring another Ellen Datlow/Terri Windling anthology, The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People. This one is a book full of original stories about human/animal changelings, and for Peter's turn he presents a South Seas tale called "The Children of the Shark God."

In addition to these, we can look forward to even more new Beagle short fiction in 2010 and 2011.

Sold (but not yet scheduled) stories include "La Tune T'Attend" for Darrel Schweitzer's original anthology of werewolf tales; the very dark "Underbridge" for Ellen Datlow's anthology Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy; and "Kaskia" for Dozois & Martin's Star-Crossed Lovers. Also on the way for 2010 are a set of hardcover volumes (covering Shakespeare, Schmendrick, and Unicorns) that will each contain three new thematically-related stories and an original essay.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES & EVENTS

11/14/09 — Oakland, CAFIRST-EVER LAST UNICORN RAVEDetails to be announced, but we know it will have three rooms of music, plus food and beverages (and of course Peter), with DJs doing Last Unicorn-themed mixes and more. Should be a blast.
1/22-24/10 — Troy, MICONFUSION 2010, with Peter as Writer GOH Detroit-Troy Marriott200 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48084phone: 248-680-9797ConFusion 2010 website

3/21/09 — Mission Hills, CA31st ANNUAL VINTAGE PAPERBACK COLLECTORS SHOW & SALE9 AM to 4:30 PMGuest House Inn10621 Sepulveda Boulevard, Mission Hills, CA 91345phone: 818-891-1771admission: $5, parking free

4/2-4/10 — San Francisco, CAWONDERCONMoscone Center SouthPeter will be here for the big public launch of IDW's comic book adaptation of The Last Unicorn. More details as they develop. Moscone Center South747 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103phone: 619-491-2475WonderCon 2010 website

4/2-4/10 — San Francisco, CABAYCON 2010, with Peter as Writer GOH Moscone Center SouthPeter will be here for the big public launch of IDW's comic book adaptation of The Last Unicorn. More details as they develop. Moscone Center South747 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103phone: 619-491-2475WonderCon 2010 website

The Last Unicorn en el Teatro

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Y a continuación unas cuantas fotos de la gran obra representada en Chicago:
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Nuevas ediciones, nuevos títulos y una obra de teatro muy exitosa

Aunque un poco tarde, os comento novedades que publicó Peter S. Beagle a través de su última Newsletter, el pasado 16 de Octubre:

Para empezar, todo el mundo parece bastante feliz y contento con la obra de teatro The Last Unicorn, basada en la novela de Peter S. Beagle. Ed Rutherford se encargó de adaptar la obra al teatro, salvando grandes obstáculos con vestuarios sencillos y actores/actrices de calidad. Algunas críticas han sido un pelín duras pero en general, todo el mundo parece bastante satisfecho. Ciertamente, Connor Cochran (representante de Peter) y el mismo autor de la novela original dejaron sus impresiones en una de las tantas páginas que comentan el evento y aportan una crítica:

Posted by Connor Cochran on Wed, Oct 21, at 11:35am
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I'm Peter S. Beagle's business manager. Peter and I were at the opening night show and next day matinee, and I wanted to tell anyone who might be reading this page that he and I both loved it. Very imaginative, very inventive, and absolutely faithful to the spirit of Peter's work without being afraid to make changes as necessary to fit the space, the cast, the running time, and the specific needs of theater. We left Chicago very happy indeed.Read more: http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/theater/79749/the-last-unicorn-at-promethean-theatre-ensemble-theater-review#ixzz0V93KWM9c

Quien quiera leer más acerca de la obra, puede consultar el The Last Uniblog, donde podrá seguir todas las críticas y comentarios.

Otro asuntillo...

Hace un tiempo, los editores Barnes & Noble publicaron una edición especial de The Last Unicorn: la EXTRA-DELUXE HARDCOVER Edition. Pues bien, fue una tirada limitadísima que ofrecía, además de la historia "Two Hearts" en la misma edición, un prólogo de 33 páginas de Peter y para más felicidad, un extracto de una de las historias de Schmendrick que tanto se han anunciado (y que esperemos, se publiquen prontito junto con otras nuevas historias) + un dibujo realizado por Connor Cochran. Todo por 75 dólares el ejemplar.

Pues bien, había reservados en aquél entonces 50 ejemplares para este fin (con historia de Schmendrick + dibujo) los cuales se agotaron en un tiempo récord. Barnes & Noble, a pesar del éxito, no quisieron reeditar esta edición especial con lo cual, Connor buscó y rebuscó todas las tiendas de estos editores para comprar el stock y así poder ofrecer, finalmente otros 150 ejemplares más. Así que, el/la interesado/a tendrá que darse prisa si quiere adquirir esta edición tan especial. (Enviar peticiones a: contact@conlanpress.com).

Y lo mejor, reservado para el final: UN NUEVO TÍTULO!!!

MIRROR KINGDOMS es el nuevo título bajo el cual se han publicado 18 de las mejores historias escritas por Peter S. Beagle. Este proyecto encabezado por Jonathan Strahan (de Subterranean Press) promete más de 200.000 palabras que nos transportarán una vez más a los mundos de Leila, la mujer lobo, de Junko y Sayuri, y muchos muchos más. Hay dos ediciones (y dos precios), la más económica, 40 dólares.

Para más información, clicar aquí.

Newsletter The Raven : 16 de Octubre 2009

The latest news...

THIS WEEKEND:PETER WILL BE IN CHICAGO FOR A NEW STAGE VERSION

OF THE LAST UNICORN

ANNOUNCING THE ABSOLUTE LAST

EXTRA-DELUXE LAST UNICORN HARDCOVERS

(FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE)

PETER'S 52/50 PROJECT

REACHES THE HALF-WAY POINT

SUBTERRANEAN PRESS PUBLISHING LIMITED EDITION

MIRROR KINGDOMS: THE BEST OF PETER S. BEAGLE

UPCOMING APPEARANCES & EVENTS

please note this first-of-a-kind:

A LAST UNICORN RAVE IN OAKLAND THIS NOVEMBER

MORE THANKS FROM PETER TO HIS FANS

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NEW STAGE VERSION OF THE LAST UNICORN

OPENS THIS WEEKEND IN CHICAGO, RUNS UNTIL NOVEMBER 14

PETER WILL BE THERE TOMORROW NIGHT AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Several years ago Ed Rutherford, head of Chicago's Promethean Theatre Ensemble, staged a simple but inventive adaptation of Peter's classic short story, "Come Lady Death." But Ed's first love among Peter's creations has always been The Last Unicorn, so after getting permission for a one-time run he took on the task of writing, designing, and producing an entirely new stage version.

For months we have followed along as Ed posted web updates over at The Last Uniblog on his creative ideas, casting, mask-making, and other aspects of the show...and now, in less than 36 hours (as this is written), Peter will be in Chicago for Saturday's official opening night performance and Sunday's afternoon matinee. Should be lots of fun to see how it all finally comes together.

After both shows there will be an audience Q&A session, followed by book sales and signing. So if you live in reasonable reach of the Chicago area we hope you'll consider coming to one of this weekend's shows, to meet Peter and see what Ed and the Promethean crew have created.

Special note: At Sunday's show, Peter will be joined by Peter B. Gillis, formerly a writer for Marvel and DC Comics, and as of last week the chosen scripter for IDW's new comic book/graphic novel adaptation of The Last Unicorn.

The official promo page for the production is right here. Check it out for the performance schedule through the rest of the run, and to watch some video about the show.

You can order tickets here.

And for an extra bit of fun, here are Ed's "Cut Scene Comics" — quick cartoon pages dedicated to scenes, characters, and favorite bits of prose that had to be cut for one reason or another from the show's script. Apparently these cartoons will be posted in the lobby at the show itself.
LOCATION: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago IL (on the second floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church).

THIS WEEKEND'S SCHEDULE: Shows start Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.
Hope to see some of you there!

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THE ABSOLUTE LAST EXTRA-DELUXE HARDCOVER COPIES OF THE LAST UNICORN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE — EMAIL NOW TO GET THIS UNIQUE PERSONALIZED ITEM

Earlier this year, Barnes & Noble unexpectedly decided not to reprint their special deluxe hardcover edition of The Last Unicorn (the one that includes the full original novel, "Two Hearts," new introductions for both, and a 33-page interview with Peter). That caught us by surprise, and after talking about it we decided to do something cool with the last copies we had in stock — Peter would hand-write three pages of first draft from one of his new Schmendrick stories into each book (with each book getting a different three pages), and Connor would add an original unicorn sketch as well.

(The very first such sketch is over there on the right.)

At that time we only had 55 copies, so we decided the equitable thing to do was hold a drawing. People who wanted to buy these $75 books could put their name into a big hat, Peter would draw out 55 winning names, and that would be that.

Then two surprising things happened, in this order:

1) 237 people put their names in the hat. (!)

2) Barnes & Noble — after insisting for months that there were no more copies in the warehouse — shipped one last box out of the blue. On checking we were able to get reliable proof that this really was it, and they were now verifiably out of stock.

Event #1 meant we were going to have to disappoint 182 people. Which sucked.
But then event #2 came along, allowing us to cut that number down to 122 people...
...at which point Connor got one of his crazy ideas. B&N's warehouse might be empty, but what about all the B&N stores across America? Surely there were a few copies still out there on the shelves?

Thus began The Quest. Wherever Connor traveled, either with Peter or on his own, he made sure to hit every Barnes & Noble store he could find and buy up every copy he spotted, all to try and make sure that everyone who put their name in the hat could have one of the special jazzed-up Ultra-Deluxe copies, if they wanted. Peter was a witness to just how crazy it got: during the five-day August trip to Philadelphia and NYC, for example, Connor drove more than 700 extra miles so he could check different B&N outlets in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware.

But you know what? It worked. He managed to find enough copies for everyone.
In fact, he found more than enough copies before he finally stopped. Slightly over 100 more.
So we are making those available too — first come, first serve. The price is $75 plus shipping, and until they run out you can reserve as many copies as you want by emailing your reservation request and phone number to contact@conlanpress.com. Connor will call you in person to arrange payment, get your address, find out how you want Peter to personalize your copy, and also get a "concept cue" so your unicorn sketch will be uniquely yours.

These will obviously make pretty neat presents, if you want to get a copy for somebody you like (Christmas, anyone?). And they probably won't last long — we put a stack of 10 out at Dragon*Con as a test, and sold them all inside two hours. So if you're interested you should probably get your name in right away.

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PETER'S 52/50 PROJECT: 26 DOWN, 26 TO GO!

Peter has reached the midpoint of his year-long 52/50 Project, having written 26 original song lyrics and poems since his birthday back on April 20th. There have been a couple of close calls, but he hasn't missed a week yet...and as the subscribers know he's been creating an amazingly wide range of a material in the process: sad, funny, moving, and everything in between.

Here, for example, are the 10 pieces he's come up with since the last RAVEN newsletter, with links to sample sections:

08/10/09: "Hello, You"

08/17/09: "Survivor"

08/24/09: "Rhythm Section"

08/31/09: "Werewolf Blues"

09/07/09: "Singing for Grandpa"

09/14/09: "Mantra"

09/21/09: "The Ballad of Eleanor Roosevelt"

09/28/09: "The Egg Cream Song"

10/05/09: "I Want to be a Club Singer"

10/12/09: "Aggravating Woman"

That last one? That's the song that Captain Cully wrote about Molly Grue after she left him to go off with Schmendrick and the unicorn. "Werewolf Blues?" Exactly what it sounds like, and damn funny; while "Survivor" is a frightening, evocative poem inspired by a subscriber suggestion and Peter's memories of meeting a woman who barely escaped the Cambodian killing fields.

It's been an exciting half-year ride, with another half-year to go. If you aren't a subscriber yet, we hope you will join in. Here's what $25 will get you:

Everything already released to date, as beautiful PDF files.

Each Monday's new creation in your email inbox, as a PDF file, for the rest of the Project.
All 52 recordings in MP3 file format, starting in January, delivered by email as they are completed and mixed to Peter's satisfaction.

A 50% discount on any future CD, book, or DVD release of the Project materials.
To see what subscribers have been saying about the Project, click here and scroll down.

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LIMITED EDITION MIRROR KINGDOMS:

THE BEST OF PETER S. BEAGLE

COMING OUT FROM SUBTERRANEAN PRESS

Jonathan Strahan is one of the field's most capable editors, and Peter has taken great delight in writing a story for each one of his three original Eclipse anthologies from Night Shade Books. Well, earlier this year Jonathan proposed doing a big "best of" collection of Peter's stories. Subterranean Press agreed that it was a good idea, so we emailed every available Beagle story in the hopper to Jonathan, to see what he'd pick.

He finally settled on 18 stories totaling just over 200,000 words, and put them in the following order:

* Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros

* The Last and Only

* Come Lady Death

* El Regalo

* Julie’s Unicorn

* The Last Song of Sirit Byar

* Lila the Werewolf

* What Tune the Enchantress Plays

* Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel

* Salt Wine

* Two Hearts

* Giant Bones

* King Pelles the Sure

* Vanishing

* The Tale of Junko and Sayuri

* The Rock in the Park

* We Never Talk About My Brother

* The Rabbi’s Hobby

Mirror Kingdoms is 456 pages long, which Peter finds utterly shocking. It will have dustjacket art by Michael Wm. Kaluta, and Subterranean Press plans to release it this coming Februry in two hardcover forms: a 250-copy signed and numbered limited edition, and a $40 trade edition with a print run of no more than 3,000 copies, max, after which the title will go out of print.

[Subterranean Press logró convencer a Peter para crear una recopilación de las mejores historias de Peter S. Beagle, que se publica bajo el título Mirror Kingdoms. 456 páginas y más de 200.000 palabras nos esperan en este trepidante proyecto que ya se puede adquirir clicando en el link de abajo.]

You can get your copy directly from Subterranean here.

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UPCOMING APPEARANCES & EVENTS

10/17/09 & 10/18/09 — Chicago,

OPENING WEEKEND OF

PROMETHEAN THEATER ENSEMBLE'S

NEW STAGE PRODUCTION OF THE LAST UNICORN

8 PM on 10/17 [opening night!] 3 PM on 10/18

Peter will be speaking, plus doing audience Q&A and signing, after both shows City Lit Stage1020 W.

Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago IL 60660

phone: 773-293-3682

TICKETS: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/

MORE INFORMATION ON THE SHOW: The Last UniBlog

10/24/09 — Tulsa,

OKNIMROD LITERARY AWARDS CONFERENCE

FOR READERS AND WRITERS

2009

One-on-one writing workshops, master classes, panel discussions, readings

9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Allen Chapman Activity Center, The University of Tulsa

800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104

phone: 918-631-3080

http://www.utulsa.edu/nimrod/

11/14/09 — Oakland,

CAFIRST-EVER LAST UNICORN RAVE

Details to be announced, but we know it will have three rooms of music,

plus food and beverages (and of course Peter), with DJs

doing Last Unicorn-themed mixes and more.

Should be a blast.

1/22-24/10 — Troy,

MICONFUSION 2010, with Peter as Writer

GOH Detroit-Troy Marriott200 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48084

phone: 248-680-9797

ConFusion 2010 website

3/21/09 — Mission Hills,

CA31st ANNUAL VINTAGE PAPERBACK

COLLECTORS SHOW & SALE

9 AM to 4:30

PMGuest House Inn

10621 Sepulveda Boulevard,

Mission Hills, CA 91345

phone: 818-891-1771

admission: $5, parking free

4/2-4/10 — San Francisco,

CAWONDERCON

Moscone Center SouthPeter will be here for the big public launch of IDW's

comic book adaptation of The Last Unicorn.

More details as they develop.

Moscone Center South747 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

phone: 619-491-2475

WonderCon 2010 website

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MASCOT NEWS

Finn, the RAVEN office wondercat, is just over three years old now. But he still acts like a kitten half the time, so we thought we'd share a photo from the first week he was with us. Back then he could sit in the palm of one of our hands....

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MORE THANK

by Peter S. Beagle

I'm too swamped with story and book deadlines right now to do something special just for this RAVEN, but I promise to make up for that very soon. Meanwhile I'd like to once more give direct thanks to those people an author simply can't do without: devoted readers. My deepest respect and regard to all of you for buying and reading what I write, in turn enabling me to reduce the financial problems I've been facing and write that much more.

Your support is appreciated more than I could ever possibly say, though I will continue to try.

— Oakland, October 2009

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SINCE THE LAST RAVEN NEWSLETTER...

NEW 52/50 SUBSCRIBERS

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NEW BOOK, DVD, & ART BUYERS

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THANKS!

Todo lo habido y por haber de Peter S. Beagle

Gracias a la web Fantastic Fiction, la Web No Oficial de Peter S. Beagle y la web de Green Man Review, podemos ofreceros, de forma resumida, todos los títulos y colaboraciones de Peter S. Beagle. Para que no os perdáis ni un pequeño detalle, ni un minúsculo escrito, os dejo con la lista:

NOVELAS E HISTORIAS (publicadas y por publicar):

- A Fine and Private Place (1960)
- The Last Unicorn (1968)
- Leila, the Werewolf (1974)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights (1982)
- The Folk of the Air (1986)

- The Inkeeper's Song (1993)

- In the Presence of the Elephants (1995)

- The Unicorn Sonata (1996)

- Tamsin (1996)

- Fantasy short stories

- A Dance for Emilia (2000)

- The Last Unicorn : The Lost Version (2007, en proceso nueva edición)

- I'm afraid you've got Dragons (2007, en proceso)

- Summerlong (2007, en proceso)

- Sweet Lightning (2008, en proceso)

OMNIBUS:

- The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle (1978)