The third in our audiobook series of speculations about cities, ecosystems, and the intersection of human and non-human ambition, Metatropolis: Green Space, will be coming out this month. You can pre-order it from this page. 

Green Space takes up the story of the Metatropolis world a generation after the last set of stories. This time, we've got some of the best talent in current SF: the inestimable Jay Lake and Ken Scholes are editing and contributing, and as well Seanan McGuire, Toby Buckell, Mary Robinette Kowal and Elizabeth Bear also supplied stories. Oh, and me too. This is the most complex and audacious Meta yet; I think you'll be impressed. 

The first Metatropolis audiobook, published by Audible.com, edited by John Scalzi and authored by myself, Elizabeth Bear, Toby Buckell and  Jay Lake,  was a roaring success--if you consider two subsequent print editions plus a Hugo nomination successful. The sequel, Metatropolis: Cascadia, did even better, garnering the project an Audie Award. Now we're proud to announce a third installment in the series, Metatropolis: Green Space, because, we just haven't exhausted all the amazing possibilities of this future.

Cascadia was edited by the inestimable Jay Lake, and for Green Space it'll be him and Ken Scholes doing duty. Like Cascadia, Green Space will be graced with a work by the amazing Mary Robinette Kowal and joining us, Seanan McGuire. Of course Jay, Ken and  the usual suspects from the first volume will also contribute (excepting John Scalzi, who's too busy riding the wave of RedShirts--more power to him). 

We're going even further into the future this time, to track down the implications of the bizarre yet possible world we developed in the previous two volumes. This will be an audiobook project too, of course. The details, of course, are secret, but watch this space for announcements as we draw closer to the publication date.

...Although I'll reveal one thing: my contribution, this time, will not be another Gennady Malianov story. I have other plans for him, in a nearby publishing ecosystem affiliated with The Mongoliad...

I just received word from Audible.com that our followup to Metatropolis, Metatropolis: Cascadia has won the 2012 Audie Award for Best Original Production!

The Audies have been awarded annually by the Audio Publisher's Association since 1996. The gala award ceremony for this year's awards was held last night.

Metatropolis: Cascadia is a collection of novella-length works, written by myself, Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Tobias S. Buckell, Elizabeth Bear and Ken Scholes, and set in the world of Metatropolis. It embraces and extends the ideas of the first anthology, and in its audiobook incarnation, the stories were read by cast members from Star Trek.

So, if you've been thinking lately that you want to listen to an award-winning story of mine that's read in a particularly gonzo faux-Russian accent by Jonathon Frakes, Cascadia is the best place to go.

Jay, Mary, Toby, Bear, and Ken: thank you, and congratulations.

Nominated again! This time it's for Metatropolis: Cascadia, the second audiobook project set in the near-future world of the Cities. This volume features stories by me, Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elizabeth Bear, Ken Scholes, and Toby Buckell. You might remember that the first Metatropolis was nominated for a Hugo Award, so this continues the tradition and it's pretty exciting!

Here's the full roster of nominees under the Best Original Work category:

• Macbeth: A Novel by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson, narrated by Alan Cumming (Audible, Inc.)
• METAtropolis: Cascadia by Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elizabeth Bear, Ken Scholes, Karl Schroeder, and Tobias S. Buckell, narrated by Rene Auberjonois, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton (Audible, Inc.)
• The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Vol. 3 by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane, narrated by Stacy Keach and a full cast (Blackstone Audio)
• Prayers: A Personal Selection by various authors, narrated by Michael York (eChristian, Inc)
• Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, narrated by Alessandro Juliani (Audible, Inc.)
• The Witches of Lublin—Collector's Edition by Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom, narrated by Ellen Kushner and a full cast (SueMedia Productions)

Finally.  We've been sitting on this piece of news for months now; it's a relief to be able to tell you that the new SF audiobook, METAtropolis: Cascadia (sequel to the Hugo-nominated METAtropolis) will be narrated entirely by Star Trek alumni!  I'm delighted to have Jonathon Frakes narrate my contribution, "Deodand."  I've been a fan of Frakes's vocal work ever since he played David Xanatos on the animated series Gargoyles.

Having these actors perform our stories adds an extra element of fun to an already playful and innovative project.  Here's the complete lineup, in order of appearance:

• THE BULL DANCERS by Jay Lake
  Narrated By: Rene Auberjonois (“Odo”)
• WATER TO WINE by Mary Robinette Kowal
  Narrated By: Kate Mulgrew (“Capt. Kathryn Janeway”)
• BYWAYS by Tobias S. Buckell
  Narrated By: Wil Wheaton  (“Wesley Crusher”)
• CONFESSOR by Elizabeth Bear
  Narrated By: Gates McFadden (“Dr. Beverly Crusher”)
• DEODAND by Karl Schroeder
  Narrated By: Jonathan Frakes (“Cmdr. William Riker”)
• A SYMMETRY OF SERPENTS AND DOVES by Ken Scholes
  Narrated By: LeVar Burton (“Geordi La Forge”)

The world gets stranger; and as it does, the people of Cascadia increasingly band together against the pressures and threats represented by the rest of the world.  In METAtropolis: Cascadia, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ken Scholes, and I have teamed up to bring you a kaleidoscopic view of the future Northwest. Nominally a sequel to our Hugo-Award nominated audiobook METAtropolis, this venture into the future of the Pacific Northwest is edited by Jay Lake.  

What's the connection between this volume and the previous one?  Well, here's a hint, from the official description of the project:

As the mid-20^th Century approaches, the Pacific Northwest has been transformed -- politically, economically, and ecologically -- into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. The End of Days seems nearer than ever. And the legend of the mysterious Tygre Tygre looms large.