Meet Terry Bisson!

Terry Bisson Author
Terry Bisson Author		The May '97 Q&A His Bio Bisson's Home Page. Get His Books

BIO

Terry Bisson is the author of five novels, most recently PIRATES OF THE UNIVERSE, and a short story collection, BEARS DISCOVER FIRE & OTHER STORIES. His short story "Bears Discover Fire" swept every honor in the SF field in 1990-91, including the Nebula and Hugo Awards.
Bisson wrote the novelizations of several motion pictures including William Gibson's JOHNNY MNEMONIC and Luc Besson's forthcoming THE FIFTH ELEMENT. He created THE NO-FRILLS BOOKS in 1981 and co-authored CAR TALK WITH CLICK AND CLACK, THE TAPPET BROTHERS in 1991. He helped put together Mumia Abu Jamal's LIVE FROM DEATH ROW in 1995. Last year he completed the sequel to A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ for the estate of Walter M. Miller, Jr. It will be published by Bantam in October 1997 as SAINT LEIBOWITZ AND THE WILD HORSE WOMAN. He also edited FREE FALL, the 60's memoir of film star/activist Peter Coyote, which is searching for a publisher at present.
Bisson writes: "I am very pleased to be CYBERCON'S May Guest of Honor. I would love to talk with readers about these and other projects--or just about SF and literature in general."
More information--and several complete stories!--are available on TB's website (link below).

Questions & Answers

Q: Thanks for the story "They're Made out of Meat" on your website. Though I've not seen this anywhere else before, I wasn't surprised to read on your site that this story has shown up elsewhere, sans your name. How do you feel about the ongoing conflict between those who feel that all information on the Internet should be free and an author's very real concerns about copyright?

Bisson: I tend to think stuff should be free, but credited. I was more flattered than anything else when "Meat" started showing up on usenet humor mailing lists, etc. For book authors such as myself, it's not such a conflict. I think that even when people can read a story online they will still buy it in a collection; some people will always prefer books because they're pretty, portable and fun to hold and handle. Copyrights are like national borders--I can see why they are necessary but I hope they are gradually being phased out. Imagine.

Q: Who is your favorite author, and what is your favorite book?

Bisson: Of course it shifts around over time. And there are many kinds of books. But I would give you three:
R.A. Lafferty, OKLA HANNALI
Boswell, LIFE OF JOHNSON
Cecilia Holland, JERUSALEM

Q:Terry, what kind of car is that in your photo?

Bisson:Finally, a serious literary question.
It's a 1971 Volvo.

Q:If you had the opportunity to write a novel with one author, living or dead, who would it be?

Bisson:Oddly enough, I get a lot of opportunities like that. I completed the sequel to A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ for Walter M. Miller, Jr after his death. Which means I wrote the last 120 pages. And I'm also getting to work with Jane Austen, sort of--adapting Pride and Prejudice for Classics comics. And I'm working with Karen Joy Fowler, Rosaleen Love and Maureen McHugh on a make-it-up as you go "round rob in" for Omni (on their website).
But to answer your question more directly, I would say Stephen King. Then I would make a LOT OF MONEY.

Q:What is the one story you wish YOU had written?

Bisson:I suppose that question means, what is your favorite story? When I read a short story I like, I am just glad somebody wrote it, not envious of the person who did. In other words, I am a reader just as much as a writer. My absolute favorite short story would most likely be one by R.A. Lafferty, probably BOOMER FLATS because of the "open" ending. It's unfortunately hard to find these days.

Q:"What is a rucky rooter? "....and do you plan on spending any more time writing anything like *10:07:24* at any further length...in book format...?

Bisson:A rucky rooter is a play on Rudy Rucker, one of my favorite SF writers, who often writes about weird aspects of time and space. I like to do short shorts like 10:07:24 whenever I think of an idea. No plot, no characters, just a single concept. More like a joke structurally than a story. I just sold one to Fantasy and Science Fiction. I do one a year or so.

Q:I noticed that the prepublication information about the sequal to _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ doesn't have your name credited anywhere. Is this a marketing decision by the publisher, and what's your opinion about it?

Bisson:It's more the Miller estate (family) than the publisher. When the arrangement for me to finish the book was made, Miller was still alive. He did not want to share the credit, understandably, since he had written some ninety percent of Wild Horse Woman. On the ending, I worked from his outline and notes, and of course with his characters and setting. My job was to assume his voice and remain invisible, and I think I succeeded. I am credited on the inside (thanked by the Miller estate), and I'm fine with that.

Q:Please excuse my ignorance on this...I read your article on Mumia Abu-Jamal and then did a search on Yahoo on his name and couldn't quickly find any information on the status of his case. Can you update or tell me where to look?

Bisson:There are lots of sites, but one of the better ones is run by Refuse and Resist http://www.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/

BIO
Terry Bisson is the author of five novels, most recently PIRATES OF THE UNIVERSE, and a short story collection, BEARS DISCOVER FIRE & OTHER STORIES. His short story "Bears Discover Fire" swept every honor in the SF field in 1990-91, including the Nebula and Hugo Awards. Bisson wrote the novelizations of several motion pictures including William Gibson's JOHNNY MNEMONIC and Luc Besson's forthcoming THE FIFTH ELEMENT. He created THE NO-FRILLS BOOKS in 1981 and co-authored CAR TALK WITH CLICK AND CLACK, THE TAPPET BROTHERS in 1991. He helped put together Mumia Abu Jamal's LIVE FROM DEATH ROW in 1995. Last year he completed the sequel to A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ for the estate of Walter M. Miller, Jr. It will be published by Bantam in October 1997 as SAINT LEIBOWITZ AND THE WILD HORSE WOMAN. He also edited FREE FALL, the 60's memoir of film star/activist Peter Coyote, which is searching for a publisher at present. Bisson writes: "I am very pleased to be CYBERCON'S May Guest of Honor. I would love to talk with readers about these and other projects--or just about SF and literature in general." More information--and several complete stories!--are available on TB's website (link below).
Questions & Answers
Q: Thanks for the story "They're Made out of Meat" on your website. Though I've not seen this anywhere else before, I wasn't surprised to read on your site that this story has shown up elsewhere, sans your name. How do you feel about the ongoing conflict between those who feel that all information on the Internet should be free and an author's very real concerns about copyright?	Bisson: I tend to think stuff should be free, but credited. I was more flattered than anything else when "Meat" started showing up on usenet humor mailing lists, etc. For book authors such as myself, it's not such a conflict. I think that even when people can read a story online they will still buy it in a collection; some people will always prefer books because they're pretty, portable and fun to hold and handle. Copyrights are like national borders--I can see why they are necessary but I hope they are gradually being phased out. Imagine.
Q: Who is your favorite author, and what is your favorite book?	Bisson: Of course it shifts around over time. And there are many kinds of books. But I would give you three: R.A. Lafferty, OKLA HANNALI Boswell, LIFE OF JOHNSON Cecilia Holland, JERUSALEM
Q:Terry, what kind of car is that in your photo?	Bisson:Finally, a serious literary question. It's a 1971 Volvo.
Q:If you had the opportunity to write a novel with one author, living or dead, who would it be?	Bisson:Oddly enough, I get a lot of opportunities like that. I completed the sequel to A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ for Walter M. Miller, Jr after his death. Which means I wrote the last 120 pages. And I'm also getting to work with Jane Austen, sort of--adapting Pride and Prejudice for Classics comics. And I'm working with Karen Joy Fowler, Rosaleen Love and Maureen McHugh on a make-it-up as you go "round rob in" for Omni (on their website). But to answer your question more directly, I would say Stephen King. Then I would make a LOT OF MONEY.
Q:What is the one story you wish YOU had written?	Bisson:I suppose that question means, what is your favorite story? When I read a short story I like, I am just glad somebody wrote it, not envious of the person who did. In other words, I am a reader just as much as a writer. My absolute favorite short story would most likely be one by R.A. Lafferty, probably BOOMER FLATS because of the "open" ending. It's unfortunately hard to find these days.
Q:"What is a rucky rooter? "....and do you plan on spending any more time writing anything like 10:07:24 at any further length...in book format...?	Bisson:A rucky rooter is a play on Rudy Rucker, one of my favorite SF writers, who often writes about weird aspects of time and space. I like to do short shorts like 10:07:24 whenever I think of an idea. No plot, no characters, just a single concept. More like a joke structurally than a story. I just sold one to Fantasy and Science Fiction. I do one a year or so.
Q:I noticed that the prepublication information about the sequal to _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ doesn't have your name credited anywhere. Is this a marketing decision by the publisher, and what's your opinion about it?	Bisson:It's more the Miller estate (family) than the publisher. When the arrangement for me to finish the book was made, Miller was still alive. He did not want to share the credit, understandably, since he had written some ninety percent of Wild Horse Woman. On the ending, I worked from his outline and notes, and of course with his characters and setting. My job was to assume his voice and remain invisible, and I think I succeeded. I am credited on the inside (thanked by the Miller estate), and I'm fine with that.
Q:Please excuse my ignorance on this...I read your article on Mumia Abu-Jamal and then did a search on Yahoo on his name and couldn't quickly find any information on the status of his case. Can you update or tell me where to look?	Bisson:There are lots of sites, but one of the better ones is run by Refuse and Resist http://www.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/

NOVELS BY TERRY BISSON