Thursday February 02, 2006

Short Fiction: Report from Ichtonyia

The news that advertising agency J. Walter Thompson has set up shop in Afghanistan reminded me of a short piece of speculative fiction I wrote years ago. “Report from Ichtonyia” tells the story of a small, isolated country that is suddenly consumed by the advertising business. I’ve posted it here in its entirety.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where fiction fits into the blog world. I have been fortunate to have my stories published in some nice journals—including McSweeney’s, One Story, and the Land-Grant College Review—but what happens to them then? Usually, not much. They are forgotten.

Inspired by Cory Doctorow and Francis, I’m going to put out an e-book next month to release some of those previously published stories. Consider this the beginning of that experiment. I know that longer formats don’t fare as well as, say, pithy diagrams in blogland, so if you read it and like it, pass it on. (It prints out real nice, too.)