Interview with Yanni Kuznia – Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press–a specialty press run by the amazing Bill Schafer–is easily my favorite publisher. Everything they do has an extra layer of quality to it. The paper. The art. The binding. When you get a book from SubPress, you automatically know it is worth the premium price you paid. In an age where ebooks seem to be holding us collectors hostage, SubPress comes out and reminds us that all is well. Recently I was fortunate enough to conduct a quick interview with Yanni Kuznia, who is the Director of Production over at Subterranean Press. I’ve always wanted to know more of what went on behind the curtain over at SubPress, and I figured our readers here at EBR would be equally curious. So here we go.
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Elitist Book Reviews: Yanni, tell us about yourself, and about Subterranean Press. This is your moment to indulge in a little bragging, both for yourself and the publisher.
Yanni Kuznia: Subterranean Press is a small press that specializes in signed, limited editions of genre fiction. We strive to make our books readable pieces of art.
I found my forever home at Subterranean Press in 2007. I started out doing work for Bill Schafer and Subterranean Press as a freelance proofreader and narrator. About six months later, Bill made me an offer for a full time job I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t know working in publishing, and specifically for SubPress, was my dream job, but here I am, still in love with my career and thankful that Bill took a chance on somebody with no formal training in publishing.
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Fiction River: Alchemy and Steam
I love the art of the short story, and always have. I’ve written a few myself, much to the conspicuous delight of mostly bored teachers and professors, leading me to believe I had “it” and would someday write something really fabulous. But in the real world, the “it” factor is oh-so-rare. I am happy to say that several of the stories in this anthology have at least a spark of brilliance and, in several cases, more than just a spark. Just look at the gorgeous cover art, hinting at the awesome content within!
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Seveneves
It’s been a while since I read a Stephenson book, and I was in need of his kind of storytelling. Smart, funny, character-centric, inventive, informative — his books, for me, stand tall and somewhat apart from so much of the other writing out there. This one pushed a lot of my buttons, but strained my patience quite a bit, too. It’s a novel for our times. A story of very-near Science Fiction that is about an apocalypse that we haven’t read before (e.g., planetary self-destruction, religious fruition). This one could happen tomorrow, and I think, for the most part, it could all feasibly happen. Made it personal for me and fun to boot.
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The Sleeping King
I can’t recall a time that I encountered a fantasy novel I didn’t enjoy on some level. Congratulations, THE SLEEPING KING (Amazon), you got that award.
How can I best describe this book? I know! A poem!
“Oh Sleeping King,
How thy premise intrigued me,
but upon inspection of the thing,
this heart screamed to flee.
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Ash and Silver
I’ve been waiting anxiously after the events of DUST AND LIGHT (EBR Review) to continue the series, and finally I can know what happened to Lucian in ASH AND SILVER (Amazon).
Turns out that his struggles in DUST were just the beginning.
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Giveaway: The Wheel of Time Companion
Update 11/24/15: Congratulations! The winner is Chris T from Minnesota. Your book will be on its way soon.
Today is my birthday and I’m feeling generous, so it’s one of you who get the brand spanking new book that arrived recently. You’ve read the books, all fourteen of them. You’ve visited the discussion boards. Maybe you even decided which Ajah you’d belong to… One lucky winner will be sent a copy of the WHEEL OF TIME COMPANION (Amazon), an 815 page book full of maps, pictures, and details about the people, places, and history of the famous Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
Lots of people had better enter because this book is so big it will require a box and extra postage.
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The Vital Abyss
Today is the day, and so I thought I’d drop this little review for the newest Expanse novella now. But today is the day that the first episode of SyFy’s series The Expanse airs on internet media. It still won’t officially premiere on the SyFy channel until the two-night release on December 14th/15th, but as of today you can watch the first episode on a pretty fair-sized group of online locations. So, if you’re as ridiculously excited to watch this thing as I am, you can now get a little taste of what is to come. But stick around and check out my review of this first, if you will. Cause if you’re a fan, you’re not going to want to miss this story either.
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Luna: New Moon
After getting a taste of all of the excitement surrounding the SyFy production of The Expanse, it came as no real surprise to me that other TV networks might want to try and jump on the proverbial band wagon. CBS recently announced that they are going to be producing a new TV series based on this novel, and thus I was more than a little intrigued to read this one and see just what kind of “competition” CBS would be trying to bring to the table.
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Airships of Camelot
The title AIRSHIPS OF CAMELOT (Amazon) pretty much gives away what this book is: a King Arthur and steampunk mashup. Usually I’d hesitate reading something like this, but since it was written by Robison Wells of VARIANT (EBR Review) fame, I was actually excited.
Turns out it’s a really fun read.
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The Last Witness
Yet another story that comes at a time just rife with new offerings from the fantasy author after a short hiatus. SAVAGES (EBR Review) and the serial novel THE TWO OF SWORDS (Amazon), are two full novels that were released just a few months apart from one another. This one is something more along the lines of a novella, but it’s also one that I didn’t expect given the recent outpouring of new material. Can’t say that I’m disappointed though. In fact, I was far from it.
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