Bordertown lives.: seanan

Bordertown lives.

For all that I argue constantly that urban fantasy is one of the oldest genres, and that those of us who write it are the descendants of Lily Fair and should be afforded the same respect as the children of her better-known sisters, Snow White and Rose Red, the fact remains that urban fantasy as we know it right now, today, is a relatively recent beast. It developed slowly, lurching and slithering its way out of the jumble of general fantasy and into its current position.

A lot of the classics* of the urban fantasy genre were published during the 1980s, and many of them fell out of print during the same time period. They were like thieves in the night, only instead of sneaking into your house and stealing all your stuff, they snuck into your head and planted ideas like seeds. Maybe they didn't germinate overnight. Maybe they took years, or decades, to begin sprouting. But they did sprout, and the flowers they grew into spread more seeds, until the genre itself began to grow.

I was too young to really appreciate what was going on during those beginning days, but I already read voraciously, and several of those strange flowers have been a part of my mental landscape for as long as I can remember. Jack of Kinrowan. War for the Oaks. Gossamer Axe.

Bordertown.

Bordertown was a modern-day Neverland, a place where the lands of humanity and the fae collided, with magic and science at continual war with one another. It was a place for teenage runaways, filled with music and madness, and there were times when I, as a pre-teen nerd girl who never felt like she really belonged anywhere, practically ached with the longing to find that magic doorway that could get me there. In Bordertown, I would find friends, and adventures, and stories, and maybe I'd get hurt, but I'd do it in a place that hurt everyone, not just the ones who didn't quite fit in. In Bordertown, I could make the rules, and break the rules, and take the rules for whatever they were worth. All I had to do was find the door.

I knew even then that Bordertown was just a story, but it was a beautiful story, and stories have power. I read every Bordertown tale I could find with the same voracious need, and when they stopped coming, I started looking further afield. When I met Ellen Kushner last year in Australia, I told her that I wrote urban fantasy because I'd come too late to write Bordertown, and the genre as it exists now was as close as I could get.

Those original books are sadly out of print now. For thirteen years, the doors to Bordertown have been closed.

The doors to Bordertown are opening again on May 23rd. Welcome to Bordertown is a gorgeous, glorious anthology of all-new stories and poems set in that magical place, written by an incredible assortment of authors, and because the authors and editors are clever, you don't need to know anything but what I've told you here to appreciate it. Bordertown is where the magic is. Bordertown is where the music is. Bordertown lives.

In the meanwhile, you can read three of the original stories on the website; you can begin exploring this world; you can fall in love the way I did when I first heard the city's name, and the way I did again when I went to Boston and was handed an advance copy of the new map. Bordertown lives.

Now step into the story and find out why so many of us have loved this world so fiercely, so cleanly, and for so very, very long.

Bordertown lives.

I missed it so much.

(*Defining "classics" as "things without which the genre would not occupy the shape it occupies today," not based on popularity or staying power or even, in some cases, quality.)

eilan

April 20 2011, 21:22:12 UTC 6 years ago

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Jack of Kinrowan.
The fact that you have read Charles de Lint and LOVE him has me in AWE over here.
He's my favourite UF author. He's probably my favourite author period. I have an autographed copy of Jack of Kinrowan, and I guard it carefully. I try to tell everyone I can about the awesomeness that is de Lint, because more people need to appreciate the magical worlds he creates with his words.

copperwise

April 20 2011, 21:43:13 UTC 6 years ago

AND he's one of the original Bordertown authors, and his new story in Welcome to Bordertown is GORGEOUS. And have you seen his new videos? I <3 Charles.

April 20 2011, 21:47:12 UTC 6 years ago

Sadly, I have never read the original Bordertowns.. I feel like I'm missing something great.

Charles is phenomenal. I follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and adore the fact he only lives an hour from me. I haven't managed to meet him yet, but I'm sure someday I'll make it out to an event he's at, if only to tell him how amazing he truly is!

deakat

April 20 2011, 22:17:47 UTC 6 years ago

If you're only an hour away, you should come to his book sale this year. I'm crossing my fingers that it won't rain again and cut it short, as it has the past two years.

April 20 2011, 23:55:25 UTC 6 years ago

I definitely should. I assume he posts about it on his Twitter/Facebook? I'm all about Book Sales, and ones with Charles de Lint? Definitely.

*does an anti-rain dance*

lianneb

April 21 2011, 21:33:16 UTC 6 years ago

Oh definitely. He sells review copies he gets through the year, so there's lots of books, some of which haven't even come out yet.

April 22 2011, 01:56:45 UTC 6 years ago

Do you know about when he usually holds it? And where?

April 22 2011, 14:28:36 UTC 6 years ago

Well, usually in his driveway here in Ottawa. It is, after all, a garage sale. However, he and his wife have built their dream house out in the woods, so I'm not sure where it will be held this year (he says to watch his website). Usually it's in June. Mid-Junish.

April 22 2011, 14:58:35 UTC 6 years ago

Fantastic, I appreciate the info!

seanan_mcguire

April 21 2011, 01:32:48 UTC 6 years ago

I love de Lint. The man is a genius when he's on his game, and he's on his game so much of the time it's scary.

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