Hah! Five for five! The best part is that, once I was done with my selections (which I made based on who I thought were the most recognizable names on the list), I looked them over and thought 'huh, no women.'
(By the way, Torque Control appears to be eating my comments. Any idea why?)
I had no input into what names did or didn't go on the cover, though I have no objection to the ones they've chosen. The first thing to remember, when you look at things like this, is that this book is only being published in the United States. The only reason to put names on the cover is to sell the book. Nix is the biggest selling author in the book, both in the US and the UK, and by some order of magnitude, so he was always going to make the cover. Beagle and Sterling are both well-established, enormously respected authors. They too are something of no-brainers for the cover. After that, it could have gone either way
( ... )
Thanks for the comment and yes, I knew the selection of names would be a marketing decision. It just struck me because as I went through my blog-reading this morning I saw the contents first and got excited about new stories by McHugh, Jones, Lanagan, and Sterling -- in that order. So, even knowing that I am very far from a typical bookstore browser, and that I am not in the country where the book is being marketed, to then see that the cover only mentioned one of the authors I was most interested in was a bit of a surprise.
I too realised right away that it was a gender thing. I voted approximately for the 5 names I thought were the biggest, although I think missed Beagle. If I'd be voting for the 5 names I'm most excited about, I'd go for: Terry Dowling Jeffrey Ford Kathleen Ann Goonan Margo Lanagan Bruce Sterling but of course that would mostly be nonsense in terms of selling a book. I guess so would Lanagan now that Jonathan points out that it's solely for the US market (I could also tell it was Jonathan's collection right away), but I still think the publisher could've included at least one female name - a few are pretty big!
Also, I am _much_ more likely to pick up a collection based on the cover if it lists the names of ALL the contributors (there are plenty of designs which allow this). Or at the very least all the names are on the back. I--and I suspect most readers, those I could be wrong--will not necessarily buy a book for a short story by one author I like. I want to at least feel like the anthology has a bunch of worthwhile stories, whether I'm ever going to read them or not. If I only recognized Ysabeau's name, for instance, then I'd just read it in the shop!
See, no, that doesn't work. Every product has an intended market. Gotta identify the reader. What that cover looks like, to me, is they are targeting the Old Skool Manly Fiction of Ideas and Rocketships, with a little existential angst on the side. Now, this interpretation is not actually supported by the list of constributors, many of whom do not fall into that category so much. I see a disconnect between the editorial decision-making and the marketing department.
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(By the way, Torque Control appears to be eating my comments. Any idea why?)
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No idea. I've rescued it, though.
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If I'd be voting for the 5 names I'm most excited about, I'd go for:
Terry Dowling
Jeffrey Ford
Kathleen Ann Goonan
Margo Lanagan
Bruce Sterling
but of course that would mostly be nonsense in terms of selling a book. I guess so would Lanagan now that Jonathan points out that it's solely for the US market (I could also tell it was Jonathan's collection right away), but I still think the publisher could've included at least one female name - a few are pretty big!
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Heh, yes, I could probably have guessed too. :)
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...not that that's ever happened before. *g*
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