Michael G. Williams

Last updated
Michael G. Williams
Born North Carolina, U.S.
Pen nameKlarion
OccupationWriter, podcaster, information security
Education University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Appalachian State University
GenreQueer science fiction, horror
Notable awards Manly Wade Wellman Award
Website
michaelgwilliamsbooks.com

Michael G. Williams is an American author, podcaster, and speaker who writes queer-themed science fiction, horror, and urban fiction novels and short stories. [1] [2] His novel, Fall in Autumn, won the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award. [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Williams grew up in a remote part of Appalachia in Western North Carolina. [5] [6]

He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a member of the social and literary fraternity St. Anthony Hall and the music fraternity Mu Beta Psi. [2] [1] [7] He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Appalachian studies at Appalachian State University. [2]

Career

Author

Williams wrote The Withrow Chronicles, a vampire suburban fantasy series set in North Carolina. [2] Perishables, the first book in this series, won the 2012 Laine Cunningham Novel Award. [5] [8]

His gay science fiction, detective novel, A Fall in Autumn, received the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award from the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation (NCSFF). [3] [4] [9] This juried competition included more than eighty titles. [4] The NCSFF writes, "Fall in Autumn features staggering world-building in technology, culture, and religion; an amazing, living, breathing, dying, flying city; a private eye for the science fictional ages; and a mystery with plenty of twists and turns that add up to a truly stunning book which reflects on human and artificial human nature, past, present, and future." [4]

Williams also wrote the Servant/Sovereign trilogy, an urban fantasy series of novellas set in San Francisco. [10] His short stories have been included in a number of anthologies, and he also helps develop tabletop role-playing games. [10] [2] In addition, he reviews comics under the name Klarion for the website Pink Kryptonite. [5]

Speaker

Williams was a speaker at ConGregate 2, a speculative fiction convention, on July 10 through July 15, 2015, in High Point, North Carolina. [11] [12] He participated in panel discussions, including "Defining Rogues and Scoundrels," "The Evolving Role of Authors," "Successful Self-Publishing: Tricks and Traps," "What Horror Should We Be Reading," "The Location Next Door," "The Cross Appeal of Niche Genres," "Beyond Spandex Studs," "Other Loves," and "Tail End in Seat." [11] Williams also gave two readings of his works. [11]

From July 14 through July 16, 2017, he was a literary speaker at the dual event ConGregate 4 / DeepSouthCon 55. [13] He was a panelist for " Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K): The Reboot," "Heroes, Anti-Heroes, Villains," "Writing from Different Perspectives," "Creating Magic," and "The Dichotomy Between Good and Evil." [13] He also gave the presentation "I'll See Your Again in 25 Years" and "Java & Pros", the latter with author William C. Tracy. [13]

Williams was also a guest speaker for ConGregate 5 in July 2018, participating in the panel for "Diverse Voices In Creative Expression," "What Should I Be Reading," "Black Panther Deconstructed," "Writing Local," "Balancing Act: Life & Creative Work," "Critter in SF," "Build an Alien," "Home Recording on the Cheap," "Novellas: The Wave Of The Future," "Discover Discovery," "Silver Anniversaries on The Silver Screen," and "And Then The Thief Said…" [14]

June 2021, Williams was a literary guest speaker at the ConCarolinas. [15] He participated in the panels "21st Century Privacy and Security," "The New Media Primer," "Let's Make a Campaign," "Real Social Media," "When Art Surpasses the Artist," "Hell is Othering People," "Writing Paranormal and Fantasy with Non-Traditional Romantic Pairings," and "Who is Your Favorite Dracula?" [15]

On July 2, 2021, he was the guest speaker on the Wrote Podcast. [16] He discussed "empowering queer voices" and "relating the queer experience through horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy." [16] On July 9 and 10, 2021, he was again a literary speaker at the dual ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. [17] He participated in "Explaining the Unexplainable," "State of the Federation," "Appalachian Speculative Fiction," and "Sci-Fighters: Ultimate Visual Showcase." [17] He also did a reading of his work and presented "Arcane Carolinas Presents: Strange Skies Over Chimney Rock." [17]

On June 11, 2022, Williams was a speaker for the WriteHive Annual Conference, the world's largest free virtual writing conference. [18] [1] He participated in the panel discussions "Body Positive Representation in Fiction," "LGBTQ+ Rep in Historical Settings," and "Joy is Resistance: The Need for Joyful Stories by Marginalized Creators." [1]

He is scheduled to be a literary guest speaker at ConGregate 8 in July 2022 with the panels "This Wasn’t the Dystopia I Ordered: Post-Pandemic Storytelling," "Telling the Future through Science Fiction," "The Factual Places Behind Fictional Stories," "Stories of Joy & Resistance: Marginalized Communities in Speculative Fiction," "Saving the Day While Getting Stepped On: The Antihero's Anti-Journey," "Queer Fiction on the Rise," "How Did It Hold Up," "Is Horror Back? Did It Ever Leave?" and "Science Fiction: Broken Todays or Better Tomorrows?" [19] He will also record his podcast Arcane Carolinas at the Con with Charlie Mewshaw. [19]

Williams is also scheduled to be the guest of honor at the Ret-Con Literary and Fandom Convention in February 2023. [2]

Podcasts

Arcane Carolinas

Williams and Charlie Mewshaw co-host the podcast Arcane Carolinas, exploring legends and myths of North Carolina and South Carolina . [6] The two met when they both worked for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [6] Since its start in the fall of 2020, Arcane Carolinas has expanded to include a fanzine, live events, trading cards, and clothing. [6] In addition, an Arcane Carolinas book was released in 2023 for which Williams authored the foreword. [20]

Although they have been approached by sponsors and podcast networks, Williams and Mewshaw want their podcast to remain independent as long as possible. [6] However, they have been in discussions with several production companies about turning the podcast into a television show. [6]

On January 12, 2023, Arcane Carolinas won the WRAL Voter's Choice Award in the podcast category. [21]

In October 2023, Beaufort County, South Carolina's public television station BCTV debuted a series title Sea Island Spirits. [22] The programming is based on different haunts in the Beaufort County area, sharing the history behind the most famous buildings, superstitions, and folklore. [22] Appearing under the Arcane Carolinas banner, Williams and Mewshaw were featured in the first and third episodes (The Lands End Light, and Bottle Trees respectively). [23] [24]

Data@Rest

Williams works in information security, serving as the network team lead at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [25] With his former co-worker Charlie Mewshaw, currently chief information security officer at Fayetteville State University, Williams produces the podcast Data@Rest. [25] Data@Rest was started by the duo in 2019 and is released by the university's Information Security Office on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the web. [25]

Social Distancing Radio

Williams hosts and produces Social Distancing Radio where he reads fiction and interviews writers. [2]

Awards

Publications

Novels

Withrow Chronicles

  • Perishables: (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN   978-1946926098 [5]
  • Tooth & Nail (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN   978-1946926104
  • Deal with the Devil (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN   978-1946926111
  • Attempted Immortality (Falstaff Books, 2017) ISBN   978-1946926128
  • Nobody Gets Out Alive (Falstaff Books, 2019) ISBN   978-1645540045

The Flying City of Autumn

Novellas

Servant/Sovereign trilogy

Short story anthologies

Articles

"The Elusive Book Publishing Process: A Little Risk, a Little Reward." Open Source, September 26, 2012. [26]

Personal life

Williams lives in Durham, North Carolina with his husband. [2] [8] He has resided in the Research Triangle area since 1992. [5] He serves as the historian of the Xi chapter of St. Anthony Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Edward Wagner</span> American writer (1945–1994)

Karl Edward Wagner was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He wrote numerous dark fantasy and horror stories. As an editor, he created a three-volume set of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian fiction restored to its original form as written, and edited the long-running and genre-defining The Year's Best Horror Stories series for DAW Books. His Carcosa publishing company issued four volumes of the best stories by some of the major authors of the so-called Golden Age pulp magazines. He is possibly best known for his creation of a series of stories featuring the character Kane, the Mystic Swordsman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manly Wade Wellman</span> American novelist

Manly Wade Wellman was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Unknown and Strange Stories, Wellman is best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary Weird Tales and for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, which draw on the native folklore of that region. Karl Edward Wagner referred to him as "the dean of fantasy writers." Wellman also wrote in a wide variety of other genres, including historical fiction, detective fiction, western fiction, juvenile fiction, and non-fiction.

Yandro was an influential science fiction fanzine published from 1953-1986 by Buck and Juanita Coulson. Over that period, they published 259 issues, the final issue not being distributed until 1991. The headquarters was in North Manchester, Indiana. Yandro's content covered a broad spectrum of topics. It won the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1965, and was a nominee for the Hugo Award 10 years in a row, from 1959 through 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Willis (author)</span> American author

Dan Willis is an American author of young adult and other fantasy novels in the Dragonlance series created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. He lives in Utah.

<i>Sherlock Holmess War of the Worlds</i> 1975 novel by Manly Wade Wellman

Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by American writers Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman. A sequel to H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, it was published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H. G. Wells's 1897 extraterrestrial invasion story with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger characters. The book is composed of stories originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mur Lafferty</span> American podcaster and writer

Mur Lafferty is an American podcaster and writer based in Durham, North Carolina. She was the editor and host of Escape Pod from 2010, when she took over from Steve Eley, until 2012, when she was replaced by Norm Sherman. She is also the host and creator of the podcast I Should Be Writing. Until July 2007, she was host and co-editor of Pseudopod. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the Escape Artists short fiction magazine Mothership Zeta until it went on hiatus in 2016.

Andrew James Hartley is a British-born American novelist, who writes fiction for children and adults. He also writes thrillers as Andrew Hart.

<i>Swords Against Darkness II</i>

Swords Against Darkness II is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Andrew J. Offutt, the second in a series of five anthologies of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Zebra Books in September 1977.

<i>What Dreams May Come</i> (Wellman novel)

What Dreams May Come is a fantasy novel by American author Manly Wade Wellman. It is the second of three books featuring supernatural investigator John Thunstone. The book derives its title from a line in Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be..." soliloquy.

<i>Heroic Visions II</i>

Heroic Visions is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in July 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Mewshaw</span> American novelist

Michael Mewshaw is an American author of 11 novels and 11 books of nonfiction, and works frequently as a travel writer, investigative reporter, book reviewer, and tennis reporter. His novel Year of the Gun was made into a film of the same name by John Frankenheimer in 1991. He is married with two sons.

Edmund R. Schubert is an American author and editor best known for his work in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, though some of his short stories are mysteries, including one that was a preliminary nominee for an Edgar Award in 2006 for Best Short Story. In 2015 he was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Editor but subsequently withdrew himself from consideration due to the block voting tactics which had been used to shape the ballot, stating that "I can't in good conscience complain about the deck being stacked against me, and then feel good about being nominated for an award when the deck gets stacked in my favor. That would make me a hypocrite." He has also written for and edited several business magazines.

Avalon Books was a small New York-based book publishing imprint owned by Thomas Bouregy & Company.

"Nine Yards of Other Cloth" is a fantasy short story by American writer Manly Wade Wellman. Originally published in the November 1958 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, it was nominated for, but did not win, the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

<i>Giants</i> (anthology) 1985 science and fantasy fiction anthology

Giants is an anthology of themed fantasy and science fiction short stories on the subject of giants edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh as the fifth volume in their Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy series. It was first published in paperback by Signet/New American Library in November 1985. The first British edition was issued in trade paperback by Robinson in July 1987.

<i>Magicats!</i>

Magicats! is a themed anthology of fantasy short works edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in June 1984. It was reissued as an ebook by Baen Books in March 2013. It has also been translated into Dutch.

Michael A. Rothman is an American engineer and writer of science fiction, epic fantasy, and techno thriller novels. His fiction books are generally published under the name M. A. Rothman. He holds over 1000 patents worldwide, and is one of the primary architects of the UEFI standard. He has co-authored two books and six papers about the standard.

Christopher Ruocchio is an American space opera and fantasy writer and an assistant editor at Baen Books. He is best known for his Sun Eater series, the first of which earned him the 2019 Manly Wade Wellman Award. The second book in the series, Howling Dark, was nominated for a 2020 Dragon Award. He has co-edited four genre anthologies, and authored a Thor story for Avengers #750.

Richard Falkner was an American state legislator in North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives for two terms from 1868 to 1871.

Thomas Jefferson Pitchford Sr. was a state legislator in North Carolina. He represented Warren County, North Carolina in the North Carolina House of Representatives and for several terms in the North Carolina Senate. He was a Democrat. He proposed a bill to make it possible to enslave free blacks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Michael G. Williams". WriteHive Conference. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Guest of Honor: Michael G. Williams". Ret-Con. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "Williams Wins 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award". Locus. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Announcing the Winner of the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award". North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Exert from 'Perishables,' the 2012 Winner of The Blotter Magazine's Laine Cunningham Novel Award" (PDF). The Blotter: 5–15. July 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Venutolo-Mantovani, Michael (2022-04-27). "'Arcane Carolinas' Podcast Hosts Charlie Mewshaw and Michael G. Williams Share an Obsession with the Unexplained". INDY Week. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  7. ↑ "Alumni on the Move" (PDF). The Review. St. Anthony Hall (Winter): 11. 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Blotter Magazine Announces with Pride the Winners of the 2012 Laine Cunningham Novel Award" (PDF). The Blotter: 4. July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Announcing the Shortlist for the 2021 Manly Wade Wellman Award". North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  10. 1 2 "Announcement/Giveaway: Through the Doors of Oblivion, by Michael G. Williams". Queer Sci-Fi. 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  11. 1 2 3 "Michael G. Williams's Schedule for ConGregate 2: Scoundrels and Rogues". ConGregate 2015. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  12. ↑ "What is ConGregate?". ConGregate. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  13. 1 2 3 "Michael G. Williams's Schedule for ConGregate 4/DeepSouthCon 55". ConGregate 4 / DeepSouthCon 55. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  14. ↑ ConGregate Five (PDF). ConGregate Productions. 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Michael G. Williams's schedule for ConCarolinas 2021". ConCarolinas 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  16. 1 2 Bastian, Vance (2021-07-02). "Michael G. Williams". WROTE Podcast. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  17. 1 2 3 "Michael G. Williams's schedule for ConGregate 7 / DeepSouthCon 59". ConGregate 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  18. ↑ "WriteHive Annual Conference". WriteHive Con. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  19. 1 2 "Schedule: Michael G. Williams". con-gregate.com. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  20. ↑ Mewshaw, Charlie; Williams, Michael G. (2023-08-27). Arcane Carolinas: Folklore, Urban Legends, and Tales of Modern Weird from the Carolinas. Independently published. ISBN   979-8-8566-9362-0.
  21. ↑ WRAL (2022-08-05). "2022 WRAL Voters' Choice Awards". WRAL.com. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  22. 1 2 "New Series Sea Island Spirits Premieres on BCTV". www.beaufortcountysc.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  23. ↑ Sea Island Spirits Episode 1 Lands End Light , retrieved 2023-11-01
  24. ↑ Sea Island Spirits Episode 3 Bottle Tree , retrieved 2023-11-01
  25. 1 2 3 "UNC-Chapel Hill Information Security Office Releases Podcast's Fifth Season". University of North Carolina Information Technology Services. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  26. ↑ Williams, Michael G. "The Elusive Book Publishing Process: A Little Risk, a Little Reward". Open Source. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  27. ↑ "St. Anthony Hall Donates Autograph album from the 1860s". For the Record. University of North Carolina Libraries. October 9, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.