Larry Segriff at CYBLING at Windycon

November 12 - 14, 1999
Hyatt Regency Woodfield, Schaumburg, IL
http://www.doodler.com/windycon/

Larry Segriff
November 13, 1999
4:30 PM CT

Larry Segriff's Web Site.

Larry Segriff

Segriff, Anthology Editor and Author of several SF novels aimed at the youth market, will be joining us to talk about his Science Fiction and newest projects.

The Windycon '99
Q&A

Techyo Hi Larry! Glad you could join us!
Cybling ALIEN DREAMS ('98, Baen) was give the Hal Clement Award for Excellence in Young Adult SF in August. How important is it for SF authors to concentrate on younger readers?
Larry Segriff Speaking only for myself, I think it's absolutely vital to focus on younger readers. Sitting here at this con only reinforces that. Many people have already commented on how our fan base is growing older every year, and this is supported by the fact that Locus' audience is also aging every year. I think it's very important that SF look to the younger readers, to try and bring in a new generation of fans. Also, and again this is speaking personally, I have a great fondness for writing for this audience. I go back to my own early days as a reader, and the books that made me want to read. Books like Eleanor Cameron's THE MUSHROOM PLANET series.
Cybling Are you going to continue the DREAMS series?
Larry Segriff Absolutely. I'm currently working on the third book (working title is WARRIOR DREAMS) that I'm scheduled to deliver to my publisher around the end of the year.
Cybling Thanks Larry. Larry...You've edited several anthologies with Martin Greenberg and Ed Gorman. We're all familiar with writers collaborating, but editors collaborating is something else. How does this work?
Larry Segriff Different editors bring different strengths to each project. In some cases, certain editors bring a cachet all their own, and books edited by them tend to have a higher perceived value in the market. In my case, most of the books with my name on them were ideas that I came up with and pitched to Marty. The exceptions to that are the books we did with Ed Gorman. Those were, for the most part, books that Ed did with Marty before I came to Green Bay. At that time I was working as Ed's editorial assistant/first reader, and did a lot of work on those anthologies. Putting my name on those books was Ed's way of acknowledging that and thanking me.
Cybling What projects do you have in the works now?
Larry Segriff We delivered a fantasy anthology to DAW a few months ago with the working title of SPELL FANTASTIC. That's scheduled to come out some time next year. We're also currently doing two SF anthologies, both of which are somewhat in the same vein as the SPACER DREAMS/ALIEN DREAMS books. One is called GUARDSMEN. Its focus is modern day space opera...stories like those told by E. E. "Doc" Smith,
Techyo LOL just bought the first Grey Lensman book. [G]
Larry Segriff but with an eye toward today's readers. The other one we're calling FUTURE FRONTIERS. It's fairly hard SF, with all the stories set in one frontier or another --anything from far-off worlds, to cities on the ocean floor, to virtual reality.
Cybling Larry...when you think of what you "do"...do you think of yourself primarily as an editor or as an author?
Larry Segriff Good question...and the answer will depend on when you ask me. When I'm at the office, I'm an editor. When I'm at home--which is where I do most of my writing--I'm an author. Here at a con like this, I guess I generally see myself as an author...primarily because I come out of fandom, and I attended many, many cons just like this one, dreaming of the day when I have my own work in print.
Cybling Cool! Larry, I've heard that one of the most trying parts of editing is when one has to reject the work of friends. Is there anything else about editing that would convince editors-to-be to look for a different form of employment?
Larry Segriff Unfortunately, yes. Money, for one thing. Writing as a whole is not a profession you get into if you're trying to get rich. It does happen...I just wouldn't count on it. There are other difficulties, too, but I have to say that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
Cybling Larry...I've noticed that some of the Anthologies you've worked on have been Mysteries. Do you write in this genre as well?
Larry Segriff Yes. In fact, my first published story was a mystery. I'd been writing SF and fantasy for years (ten, actually, but that's another story) without selling anything. Then I went to work for Ed Gorman. He'd read some of my work, and was very supportive, and he kept trying to convince me to try my hand at a mystery. I'd grown up reading mysteries, and I have to admit that I was interested in writing them...some day, but like I told Ed, I had yet to find success in *one* genre; I wasn't about to tackle another. He kept after me, though, and one day he called me up to tell me that Marty had just sold three mystery anthologies, and that he wanted me to submit a story for each one. I did, and with great trepidation took the first one over to Ed. Well, what he hadn't told me was that he was the co-editor of that particular anthology. I expected him to set the piece aside and read it at his leisure. To my surprise--and considerable dismay--he read it right in front of me. When he'd finished, he looked up and said, "Good piece. We'll buy it." When I was still actively writing short stories (something that's harder for me to do these days now that I'm working for Marty), I wrote and sold mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories.
Techyo Do you or editors in general tend to distance yourself from other authors because of the rejection factor?
Larry Segriff I can't speak for other editors. For myself, no, not at all. When we reject a work, we're doing exactly that: rejecting the story, not the author. There's nothing personal about it. In fact, I'm pleased to say that I've become good friends with many of the people who frequently submit to us.
Techyo Good to hear. I'd hate to hear people would loose friendships or become more internal. [G]
Cybling mbingb asks: What's the plot of the third book? I'm assuming that's in the DREAMS series.
Larry Segriff All I'll say right now is that it involves an enemy ship, a threat to the Michelangelo, and a love interest for Jamie. For more, you'll have to wait until the book comes out [g].
Cybling Okay...let's give Larry a round of applause and thank him for joining us today!
Techyo Thanks Larry!
* Cybling applauds Larry

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