May 26, 2008

The draft of Hextacy is complete! I'm going to be in Vancouver from May 30-June 7 for the Night Child book launch, among other things, so come by Little Sister's Books on June 5 at 7pm to say hi.

May 21, 2008

Today, I turned 29. How did that happen? As an added birthday present, I was also happy (and surprised) to learn that I'm the 2008 recipient of the Governor Generals Gold Medal, awarded to the top doctoral student at my alma mater. Go me!

May 15, 2008

Just got my first real copy of Night Child today, and it looks awesome! The release date is still May 27, and the book launch is at Little Sister's, June 5, at 7pm. I should be getting more copies soon, and then I can finally send them out to folks as promised. Should have the draft of Hextacy in by the end of the month, and then it's on to Book 3 and possibly some other projects.

In other news, my collection of essays on the work of LGBT grad students has also been picked up by a publisher, and I'm psyched about that as well!

April 28, 2008

Sorry abour the delay in updates.  But the new website is up and running (thanks to Mike Prete and Vertex Designs), and Night Child comes out in a month!  To say I'm freaking out a bit would be an understatement.

There's going to be a launch for the book at Little Sister's bookstore in Vancouver, June 5, at 7pm.  If you're in the area, do drop by (Davie & Bute Streets).  Little Sister's is Vancouver's oldest and premier LGBT-Q bookstore, and it's about to be sold.  So come by and let the owners, Jim and Janine, know what a wonderful job they've done for over 25 years.

In other news, I just signed a contract with Lexington Publishers for an edited collection of academic essays on teen fantasy fiction, called A Dragon Wrecked My Prom:  Teen Wizards, Mutants, and Heroes.  Look for it in 2009 (I'll post the Amazon link when there is one).  This website also links to my blog, Occult Special Investigator, where I post book reviews, videos, interviews, updates, and political rants.  Do check it out.

August 9, 2007

Well, I've defended my dissertation (now I'm 'Doctor Battis'--Sweet!), handed my thesis in to the library (it was stamped by the scary thesis lady), I'm almost done packing up the apartment, and I move to New York in EIGHT DAYS. I'm terrified, elated, queasy, possibly aroused, and basically freaking out every second of every day. I'll be living in Brooklyn for 2 years while I work on a new academic book (on at-risk LGBT youth and gay teenlit) and teaching classes on literature and media studies at the City University of New York. I only know a few people in the city, so look me up if you're there! Also, I'll be in Philly in November and the Windy City in December.

July 13, 2007

My Farscape book is now available in Canada and the US through Palgrave. Check it out HERE

Also, although it's a bit too early to tour for NIGHT CHILD, I will be attending popular culture conferences in Philadelphia (Mid-Atlantic Pop Culture Association, Nov 2-4) and Chicago (Modern Languages Association, Dec 26-30) this year, so feel free to seek me out and chat.

July 6, 2007

My new blog is up. Check it out HERE

Also, the website appears to be working, so I won't be updating the format too much. This is how it will look for the next few months at least, until it migrates to jesbattis.com

July 3, 2007

The website is still a work in progress. Email me with any suggestions. I'm also playing with other titles for "Night Child," so if you can think of anything, do let me know. At the moment, the release date for NC is Spring 2008, approximately 30/05/08. As soon as I have a cover image, I'll post it.