Nosh on deli with Barry N. Malzberg in Episode 29 of Eating the Fantastic
Originally published at Scott Edelman. Please leave any comments there.
My trip to Manhattan to record episodes of Eating the Fantastic started off with Ellen Datlow and a Ukrainian lunch, followed by Craig Engler and a BBQ dinner. And now, at the request of this episode’s guest, it’s time for deli at Ben’s New York Kosher Delicatessen.
My guest loves Ben’s more than any other NYC deli, and who am I to turn down Barry N. Malzberg, who among other things, was winner of the first John W. Campbell Award for his novel Beyond Apollo, and both a Hugo and Nebula Award finalist for stories I published when I was the editor of Science Fiction Age magazine?
One unusual aspect to this episode is that it features as mere onlooker a writer deserving of his own episode someday-Paul Di Filippo, who felt compelled to come along and witness this recording. After all, the first of his more than 100 published stories was a Malzberg homage!
Barry and I discussed why being able to sell his first drafts was so important at the beginning of his writing career, how his debut short story collection came to be published under the pseudonym K. M. O’Donnell, what it was like to edit both Amazing and Fantastic magazines during the late ’60s, the identity of his greatest discovery during his years at the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, what’s up with the long-promised movie version of Beyond Apollo, how Harry Harrison could have (but didn’t) shut down the filming of Soylent Green, and more.
Here’s how you can nosh with us-
1) Subscribe at the iTunes store, where all 28 previous episodes may also be downloaded.
2) Download the episode via the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss to the device of your choice.
3) Or click to listen right here via the embed below.
Here’s what we dug into during this episode-
Matzoh ball soup
Stuffed derma
French fries
My open-faced brisket sandwich and potato pancake
Barry’s chicken salad sandwich
Paul’s corned beef sandwich
Apple strudel
Be sure to check back two weeks from now so you can sit down to dinner with multiple World Fantasy Award-winning writer Richard Bowes.
And remember-if that two-week wait between episodes is too much for you, and you’d like to help shorten it, why not sign on for a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon? I can’t afford to pick up the pace on my own, not with the travel, bandwidth, and meal costs associated with the show, but if the initial goal is met, I’ll be able to up the frequency of the show from biweekly to once every 10 days. So I’d be extremely grateful for your support as I attempt to capture all the amazing creators out there. (As you’ll see, there are, of course, perks for all patrons.)
If you’re the kind of listener who’d prefer to make a one-time donation, however, to help me keep bringing you these breakfasts, lunches and dinners, you can use paypal.me/eatingthefantastic.
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Thanks for listening!