Lewis Shiner
Encyclopedia
Lewis Shiner is an American
writer.
Shiner began his career as a science fiction
writer, identified early on with cyberpunk
, and later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and fantasy
elements. He was formerly a resident of Texas
(and a member of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop
), and now lives in North Carolina
.
Several of his novels have rock music
as a theme or main focus, especially the musicians of the late 1960s; for example, Shiner's 1993 novel Glimpses considers the great never-recorded albums of The Doors
, Brian Wilson
, The Beatles
and Jimi Hendrix
. Say Goodbye: The Laurie Moss Story (1999) focuses on a fictional up and coming female musician and her subsequent fall back down. Slam (1990) is immersed in skate punk
and anarchist culture. Perhaps because novels with music as a major theme are not generally considered mainstream genre material, his work has frequently been overlooked.
In July 2007 Shiner created the web site Fiction Liberation Front (FLF) as a venue for his short stories. The stories are released under the Creative Commons license
and are available in HTML
and PDF formats. He has written a small
manifesto explaining why he did this.
On July 22, 2007, The News & Observer
began publishing a weekly column by Shiner, titled "Graphic Scenes", about comics
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer.
Shiner began his career as a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer, identified early on with cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
, and later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
elements. He was formerly a resident of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(and a member of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop
Turkey City Writer's Workshop
Turkey City Writer's Workshop is a peer-to-peer, professional science fiction writer's workshop in Texas. Founded in 1973 and still ongoing today, it was consciously modeled after the east coast Milford Writer's Workshop...
), and now lives in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Several of his novels have rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
as a theme or main focus, especially the musicians of the late 1960s; for example, Shiner's 1993 novel Glimpses considers the great never-recorded albums of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Say Goodbye: The Laurie Moss Story (1999) focuses on a fictional up and coming female musician and her subsequent fall back down. Slam (1990) is immersed in skate punk
Skate punk
Skate punk is a sub genre of punk rock, originally a derivative of the West Coast hardcore punk scene, that is named after its popularity among skateboarders and association with skateboarding culture. Skate punk most commonly describes the sound of melodic hardcore bands from the 1990s with an...
and anarchist culture. Perhaps because novels with music as a major theme are not generally considered mainstream genre material, his work has frequently been overlooked.
In July 2007 Shiner created the web site Fiction Liberation Front (FLF) as a venue for his short stories. The stories are released under the Creative Commons license
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
and are available in HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
and PDF formats. He has written a small
manifesto explaining why he did this.
On July 22, 2007, The News & Observer
The News & Observer
The News & Observer is the regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle area of the U.S. State of North Carolina. The N&O, as it is popularly called, is based in Raleigh and also covers Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The paper also has substantial readership in most of the state east of...
began publishing a weekly column by Shiner, titled "Graphic Scenes", about comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
.
Novels
- Frontera. Riverdale, NY, USA: Baen, 1984 (paper). ISBN 0-671-55899-4
- Deserted Cities of the Heart. New York, NY, USA: Doubleday, 1988. ISBN 0-385-24637-4
- Slam. New York, NY, USA: Doubleday, 1990. ISBN 0-385-26683-9
- Glimpses. New York, NY, USA: William Morrow & Co., 1993. ISBN 0-688-12411-9 (World Fantasy AwardWorld Fantasy AwardThe World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
winner) - Say Goodbye. New York, NY, USA: St Martin's, 1999. ISBN 0-312-24110-0
- Black & White. Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-59606-171-2
- Dark Tangos. Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1596063969
Collections
- Nine Hard Questions about the Nature of the Universe. Eugene, OR, USA: Pulphouse PublishingPulphouse PublishingPulphouse Publishing was an American small press publisher based in Eugene, Oregon and specializing in science fiction and fantasy. It was founded by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch in 1988. The press was active until 1996...
, 1991. No ISBN (Author's Choice Monthly #4) - The Edges of Things. Baltimore, WA, USA: Washington Science Fiction Association, 1991. ISBN 0-9621725-2-9
- Twilight Time. Eugene, OR, USA: Pulphouse Publishing, 1991. No ISBN
- Private Eye Action As You Like It with Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
. Holyoke, MA, USA: Crossroads Press, 1998. ISBN 1-892300-02-8 - Love in Vain. Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2001. ISBN 1-931081-14-X
- Shades of Gray (chapbook available with the signed, numbered limited edition of Black and White). Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2008.
- Love in Vain (Australian edition, includes previously uncollected novellas "Perfidia" and "Primes"). Greenwood, WA, Australia: Ticonderoga PublicationsTiconderoga PublicationsTiconderoga Publications is an Australian independent publishing house founded by Russell B. Farr in 1996 and now run by Farr and Liz Grzyb. The publisher specialises in collections of science fiction short stories.-History and current:...
, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9803531-0-5 - Collected Stories. Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59606-252-8
- Widows & Orphans (chapbook available with the signed, numbered limited edition of Collected Stories). Burton, MI, USA: Subterranean Press, 2009.
Editor
- Modern Stories #1 (April, 1983): A self-published fanzineFanzineA fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
featuring original fiction by William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
, Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
, and Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, among others. - When The Music's Over (anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
featuring alternatives to warWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
) (Nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best AnthologyWorld Fantasy Award for Best AnthologyThis World Fantasy Award is given to the fantasy anthology voted best by a panel of judges, and presented each year at the World Fantasy Convention.-2004:WFC 2004 was held in Tempe, Arizona...
)
Comics
- Time Masters (with Bob Wayne) Art by Art ThibertArt ThibertArthur "Art" Thibert is a comic book artist, primarily known as a freelance inker, although he has a substantial résumé as a penciler and has even written some comics...
and Jose Marzan Jr.Jose Marzan Jr.José Marzán, Jr. is an American comic book writer and artist. Over his career he has worked on many titles including Action Comics, Final Night, Marvel Comics Presents, Nightwing and Y: The Last Man....
(DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
February 1990 - September 1990) - "Scales" Art by Carlos Kastro (adaptation of the short story of the same name) in Omnibus: Modern Perversity (Blackbird Comics January 1992)
- The Hacker FilesThe Hacker FilesThe Hacker Files is a twelve issue DC Comics mini-series published from August 1992 to July 1993. It was written by Lewis Shiner and illustrated by Tom Sutton.-Publication history:...
Art by Tom SuttonTom SuttonTom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
(DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
August 1992 - July 1993) - "Steam Engine Time" Art by Doug PotterDoug PotterDoug Potter is a creator who has worked in the comics industry. In recognition of his work, he was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best New Talent in 1990.-References:...
(adaptation of the short story of the same name) in Wild West Show (Mojo PressMojo PressMojo Press is a now-defunct small press which primarily published science fiction, horror, and western books and graphic novels between 1994-1999.-History:...
1996)