Album Zutique — Jeff VanderMeer

The first of a planned series of pocket books (5 x 6.7 and under 200 pages) mainly focused on surreal and decadent literature. Jeff VanderMeer will serve as series editor and the editor of the first number. Thereafter, VanderMeer will enlist guest editors to edit subsequent numbers of this series. The emphasis will be on nonfiction as well as fiction. For purposes of continuity, each volume will have the same basic layout, with the typography used as the "cover art" and a different color scheme for each book.

History/Background: "Zutique" was a writers' group extant during the Decadent period in France (late 1800s). It included Verlaine and Rimbaud. Accounts indicate that "Album Zutique" was an open journal or blank book in which members of the writers' group would scribble down stories and poems. The book was kept at a café where those who frequented the café could read it.

Contents:

"A Guide to the Zoo," Stepan Chapman
"The Beautiful Gelreesh," Jeffrey Ford
"The Toes of the Sun," Rhys Hughes
"My Stark Lady," D.F. Lewis
"Python," Ursula Pflug
"Free Time," James Sallis
"The Scream," Michael Cisco
"Dr. Black in Rome," Brendan Connell
"Lights," D.F. Lewis
"Mortal Love," Elizabeth Hand
"A Dream of the Dead," Steve Rasnic Tem
"A Hero for the Dark Towns," Jay Lake
"The Catgirl Manifesto," Christina Flook
"Eternal Horizon," Rhys Hughes
"Maldoror Abroad," K. J. Bishop