Lancelot Schaubert — Thanks for joining us, Gordon Linzner. When you were growing up, what was the speculative fiction that dominated your imagination?

Gordon Linzner — Hard to narrow down, after so many decades. I’d say initially authors like Isaac Asimov, Fred Pohl, and far too many others to name, I learned to read early on, to the point where my kindergarten teacher sometimes had me read aloud to the class. Most of my earliest work I can recall had an s-f bent, although I would not have been sophisticated enough to copy styles as much as concepts. I also enjoyed fantasy, from Peter Pan to Alice in Wonderland, but particularly the work of Fritz Leiber. His Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series drew me into writing more swords & sorcery tales in the sixties and seventies than any other genre I tackled.

LS — I don’t know Leiber. Tell me more about him. What are his tales like?

Gordon Linzner — You are indeed missing out, then. The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series, following the adventures of a mismatched pair of heroes, set the stage for that particular sub-genre as far as I was concerned. Far more than Robert E. Howard or Michael Moorcock, to mention just two other examples. I enjoyed their work as well, but Leiber drew me in the most, with the tall, powerful, yet romantically inclined Fafhrd and his unlikely cynical partner teamed up in a world ultimately revealed as one of many variations. These tales inspired me so much so that many of the early issues of my fan magazine, Space and Time, featured my own sword and sorcery series, along with spinoffs of the same. I was especially pleased to also feature in that same magazine work by up and coming writers such as Charles R. Saunders.

Leiber, of course, is also well-known for his science fiction and horror stories, the latter, and served as my inspiration early on to spread out into other genres (even mysteries!).

Lancelot Schaubert — Did you watch any TV / Movies in the genre that really stuck out early on?

Gordon Linzner — Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone would be the most obvious, especially with its variety of themes and genres, There were a number of genre anthology shows in the 50s and 60s, such as Outer Limits. Shows like The Adventures of Superman, Lost In Space, and the Prisoner fed this eager teenage mind a plethora of possibilities. I was also fond of (at the time) reruns of radio shows such as The Shadow, the Green Hornet, and CBS Mystery Theater. Films that particularly stick in my mind from that era include Forbidden Planet, Day the Earth Stood Still, Carnival of Souls, and Them! I’m leaving out many others, at the risk of turning into this interview into a small wikipedia. In most cases I cannot point to any particular motif or style having influenced me, but all helped to create a particular mindset for my writing.

Lancelot Schaubert — Sort of a compost heap

Did you ever read Danse Macabre by King? This gives me similar vibes.

Gordon Linzner — I haven’t, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll be looking it up. When I established Space and Time Magazine, while still in high school, one of my intentions was to mix genres as much as possible. I even established two more (short-lived) zines, Edgar (a comic strip character) and Now to Deal With You! The latter was mostly reviews, so I could concentrate on keeping S&T filled with as much fiction as possible. I even established a book line! After forty years, I finally had to give it all up. Happily, the magazine was continued by Hildy Silverman for another dozen years, and is now in the hands of Angela Yuriko Smith, while the books were turned over to my friend Faith L. Justice, who’d been publishing her own historical novels under the Raggedy Moon Press imprint.

LS — Who were some of the big names you got to work with? Who was the most delightful to hear from? And which story was your favorite you published?

Gordon Linzner — They mostly weren’t big names when I started publishing them. The only exceptions of those already known I think of as already famous were Jack Ketchum and Andrew J. Offutt. I’ll flip through a list of some I published between 1964 and 2004 who later became much better known, and I’m sure I’ll also miss more than a few: Kevin J. Anderson. Charles de Lint, Darrell Schweitzer. Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Josepha Sherman, David C. Smith, Robert Weinberg, Janet Fox, William H. Pugmire, Ron Fortier, Edward P. Berglund, Karen Deeds Jarvis, Steve Eng, Robert D. San Souci, Neal Wilgus, Chet Gottfried, Scott Edelman, Gene Day, Marcia Martin & Eric Vinicoff, Andrew Darlington, Joey Froehlich, John Alfred Taylor, Denise Dumars, Richard L. Tierney, Steve Rasnic Tem, A.K. Molnar, Ardath Mayhar, Jeffrey Goddin, Karen Shapiro, Bentley Little, Bruce Boston, John Gregory Betancourt, Phyllis Ann Karr, Lois Tilton, Jeffrey Ford, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Richard L. Tierney, Gabriel S. de Anda, Corinne de Winter, Charlee Jacob.

And that’s just scratching the surface. It was a pleasure to receive work from all these contributors, and more; I could hardly point to one or two above the others. And one favorite story out of forty years’ worth? Can’t be done. Flipping through the contents pages for this list at first I paused a few times, tell myself maybe this one, then come across another I also remembered particularly fondly.

LS — Wonderful. Did you ever have any inside baseball talks about the craft with any of them that stuck out?

Gordon Linzner — Not directly, that I recall. I met very few of my contributors. And there was no internet back in the 60s and 70s. Nonetheless, I did learn a lot as a self-taught teenage editor. Sometimes, for instance, the way a writer handled a particular scene or character told me I should do something similar, My favorite unexpected learning curve, though, was finding a bit in a contributor piece that didn’t quite work, suggesting possibilities to the author, and realizing I’d been making the same missteps in my own work! Teacher and student at the same time! I highly recommend this learning experience,

LS — Yeah, editing has helped me grow. Though I have a ton to learn. Did you know Harlan?

Gordon Linzner — We met a few times briefly at conventions, got along well enough, but I can’t say I really knew him.

LS — Any stories? I’ve heard some doozies about him.

Gordon Linzner — No personal ones, Sorry.

LS — You’ve done a ton of conventions too. How have they changed over the years?

Gordon Linzner — I haven’t noticed much change. There’s some changes due to improved technology; especially during the height of COVID, we had some panelists joining us online. And it’s easier to track down other attendees with phones, etc. You’ve always had conventions in which some of the staff are more technologically up to date, but on the whole, they’ve always just been fun.

LS — What are some of the best programs you remember?

Gordon Linzner — Specifics over the past half century? Memory’s not that good, but I can generalize. I prefer being on writing programs where we discuss different aspects of the craft, rather than concentrating on one or two authors (not that I can’t enjoy attending some of those). The ones where we’re running through the best tv of the year, for example, are fun as well as challenging. Most of all, in general, I like moderating, even though it sometimes means cutting back on what I would say to allow the options to the other panelists. I like to think I learned some of that skill watching the rare panels where the moderator just lets one or two of the members ramble on.

There was also one moderator in particular who seemed distracted, yet, whenever one of us started fleshing things out, accused us of going off topic. Not mentioning names, just wouldn’t sign up for future panels with that moderator no matter how much the topic interests me. Haven’t seen that person at cons for a while, though.

LS — Hope that wasn’t me, but apologies if so. What makes a great moderator?

Gordon Linzner — That bad moderator definitely wasn’t you.

LS — Haha. Have we been on a panel together? I thought we had.

Gordon Linzner — Probably. Obviously if moderating one should know something about the topic, but also have a feel for what your fellow panelists know. If one of them goes on for too long, or making too many self-promotional references, you need to, politely of course, cut them off. If another is too silent, reluctant to jump in when others are going back and forth, you should specifically draw them out. Also, often a panel is described in a way that makes it a starting point for an interesting discussion, and if you keep steering back to the original it just repeats itself. On the other hand, you should also ensure that it doesn’t get too far astray. And keep track of time so the audience can get their questions in. I’ve met a few participants who prefer not to moderate, just because of all the juggling involved, but I like the challenge, even if I have to sometimes skip or truncate my own comments because I’ve already gotten a panelist to say the same thing.

LS — For sure. What was the inspiration for your story in Of Gods and Globes III?

Gordon Linzner — Obviously, the anthology’s premise, but beyond that… occasionally running into musicians in subways, playing to induce tips from patrons waiting for their train, but a lot from my days of doing sound work, especially at the Olde Tripple Inn on 54th Street (closed years ago with the owner’s retirement). Not that actual job, for story purposes, but to give atmosphere to the main plot. The space as described in the story was a different bar, located down the block, for logistic purposes, but in my head I knew where I was. And of course dealing with so many different bands – and performing in my own – helped give me a mix-and-match feel to the fictional place.

LS — You’ve run sound often. Where all have you done it?

GL — The biggest was the Tripple. Then there was a place in Tribeca for a while. And the Human Karaoke Experience Band hired me just to do their sound, at places that didn’t have their own sound crew (they’ve been retired a few years now). Yet another of my side gigs that have passed on.

LS — I tell folks to say whatever they want of the commander in Chief, but don’t piss off the sound guy. Were you ever devious to any mean performers?

GL — Not that I’m aware of. Most of the bands I worked with were good with me. And I recall one in particular, at the Tripple, whose leader didn’t quite trust me, but when he found me doing the sound at another site they were playing he admitted to being misinformed.

LS — Haha, that’s hilarious. Good on him for fessing up

You run sound for the Fantastic Fiction readings. Do any of the readings stick out to you?

GL — Off the top of my head I’m afraid not. Well, there’s one reader who runs through without pause and has to be interrupted (he knows this, and actually requests being cut off). And they are audio recordings; I sometimes adjust the mic when they start, and though it’s nice to be acknowledged, no one else will see what I did. As a general rule, though, at live readings, even with just audio recordings, I suggest the reader look up at the audience from time to time, even if the lighting means you can’t see the audience. Keep on a thumb on the page if you’re worried about losing your place. If you know the next line without reading, even better.

LS — Do you find natural performers do a better job than the average fictioneer?

GL — That seems too broad a generalization, Some writers can be so into their work the readings flow naturally. One or two are so pleased with themselves that listening to them can actually grow annoying. Again, I mention no names.

LS — Hahahaha. I suppose that’s the case for actors too. Those who are aware that they’re acting verses those who pretend to be someone else.

Really just shows that ego is the enemy.

Fans of your work: what will they like about this piece in OGAG III?

GL — Strong female characters. A bit of snark here and there, mostly good natured. Corvis the crow; he was fun to write. And, I hope, a feel of what it’s like to live in New York, as mortals or immortals. This has, after all, been my home for almost my entire life. So far; got a bit more life to go.

LS — One more question: how do you feel about the emergence of the Linzner awards?

GL — Unexpected and flattering, Given the source – Angela Yuriko Smith and her team at Space and Time Magazine – I very much look forward to seeing the first year’s winners (and assume, of course, that my own stories are not, should not, be included in the running).