The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities will catalog many rare and peculiar objects — but it seems like it'll be such an artifact in its own right. The book boasts a veritable bestiary of great authors... possibly including you!
A "loose sequel" to the already published Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases, the Cabinet of Curiosities will come out in 2011 from Harper Collins. As its title suggests, the book features art and storytelling that details some of the weirdest fantastical objects in Lambshead's collection. And the writers and illustrators attached to the project include some of the most fearless explorers in the remotest jungles of storytelling. According to editors (and io9 contributors) Jeff and Ann VanderMeer:
Contributors will include Mike Mignola, Greg Broadmore, China Mieville, Holly Black, Naomi Novik, Minister Faust, Alan Moore, Cherie Priest, Michael Moorcock, Tad Williams, Jake Von Slatt, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Jeffrey Ford, Gio Clairval, Garth Nix, Stepan Chapman, Michael Cisco, Will Hindmarch, Ekaterina Sedia, Reza Negarestani, Lev Grossman, Ted Chiang, Carrie Vaughn, Kelly Barnhill, Helen Oyemi, and several more. John Coulthart will be doing a lot of art for, with additional work by Jake von Slatt, Eric Orchard, Yishan Lee, Eric Schaller, and others.
Jeff and Ann VanderMeer write on their blog that they're unable to hold a regular open submission period for this book, because of the "specific nature of the fiction being commissioned." But the back of the anthology will feature a micro-fiction selection, consisting of "a list, with descriptions, of items from Dr. Lambshead cabinet that are not described in the stories." Entries must include the name of the object and a fanciful description, plus your name — and the whole shebang can't be more than 150 words. You can post the entries in the comments section on the VanderMeers' blog entry, and the deadline is Sept. 7.
There are already around 40 entries, including Kublai Khan's Tears, an Anti-Matter Powered Light Bulb, the Overthrop Living Bra... and Shatner's Toupee. So what are you waiting for? Fame and notoriety can be yours! [Ecstatic Days via SFScope]