Double Feature is a collection of thirteen pieces of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by Boskone 31's Guests of Honor, Emma Bull and Will Shetterly. Among the works assembled here are a set of six individually-authored short stories for their own shared world, Liavek, as well as their collaboratively written novelette, "Danceland Blood," which is set in the Borderlands shared world.
Included are three additional works by Emma Bull: "A Bird That Whistles," a touching prequel to her novel War for the Oaks, and two fine essays on the writer's craft: "Why I Write Fantasy" and "Wonders of the Invisible World: How I Came to Write War for the Oaks."
This anthology also contains two additional works by Will Shetterly: "Captured Moments," his first science fiction short story, and "Time Travel, the Artifact, and a Famous Historical Personage," a horror story.
The introduction is by Boskone 31 guests Patrick Nielsen Hayden, a professional editor, and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, the author of Making Book. The book also contains brief biographies of Emma Bull and Will Shetterly, including a list of their published work.
Double Feature was first published in a limited hardcover edition of 1000 copies, of which the 10 lettered and the first 175 numbered are autographed and boxed, and the remaining are numbered. The full-color wrap-around dustjacket art is by Nicholas Jainschigg, Boskone 31's Official Artist and winner of the 1993 Gaughan Award. The trade papaerback edition was published in 1999. The frontispiece is by Merle Insinga, a five-time Hugo Award nominee.
The Authors
Emma Bull was born in Torrance, California, in 1954. She has degrees in English Literature and Composition from Beloit College in Wisconsin. In 1976, she moved to Minneapolis, where she worked for a time as a journalist and graphic designer net. Her novels include both fantasy such as Finder and the renowned War for the Oaks (a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society Award), and science fiction such as Falcon and Bone Dance (nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and received the Philip K. Dick Award second honors).
Emma Bull is also an active musician. She is a member of Cats Laughing, a Minnesota-based psychedelic folk-rock band, and Flash Girls, a duo performing contemporary and traditional folk.
Will Shetterly was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1955. He received a BA in English Literature in 1976 from Beloit College in Wisconsin. After a short fling at an acting career in the late '70s (he appeared briefly in the sub-B-grade horror flick Toxic Zombies), he moved to Minneapolis where he now lives with his wife Emma Bull. His novels include Cats Have No Lord, Nevernever, and Elsewhere (which received the Minnesota Book Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction). He was also a candidate in the 1994 election for Governor of Minnesota.
Together, they created the Liavek shared world and edited five anthologies. They founded SteelDragon Press in 1983 as a venue for publishing comic books and limited edition quality hardcover books, and have published works by Steven Brust, Barry Longyear, Larry Niven, and Jane Yolen.
Table of Contents
- Introduction Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden
- Visionary (poem) Emma Bull
- Why I Write Fantasy (essay) Emma Bull
- Captured Moments (previously unpublished story) Will Shetterly
- Rending Dark (Liavek story) Emma Bull
- Bound Things (Liavek story) Will Shetterly
- Badu's Luck (Liavek story) Emma Bull
- A Happy Birthday (Liavek story) Will Shetterly
- The Well-Made Plan (Liavek story) Emma Bull
- Six Days Outside the Year (Liavek story) Will Shetterly
- A Bird That Whistles (story, prequel to War for the Oaks) Emma Bull
- Time Travel, the Artifact, and a Famous Historical Personage (story) Will Shetterly
- Danceland Blood (Borderlands story) Emma Bull & Will Shetterly [originally titled "Danceland"]
- Wonders of the Invisible World (essay) Emma Bull
- Emma Bull Bibliography & Biography
- Will Shetterly Bibliography & Biography
Interior illustration by Merle Insinga:
Cover art by Nick Jainschigg illustrating "Danceland Blood", Interior illustration by Merle Insinga illustrating "A Bird That Whistles"
Printing History
Trade hardcover state, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", x+264pp., ISBN: 0-915368-99-4, LC 93-086987, 815 numbered copies of the trade edition, $10.75 in advance and at the convention, $17.95 afterwards, February 1994. out of print!
Boxed hardcover state, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", x+264pp., ISBN: 0-915368-54-4, LC 93-086987, 175 numbered copies of the boxed edition, signed by the author and the artist, $18.00 in advance and at the convention, $30.00 afterwards, 10 lettered presentation copies, February 1994. out of print!