Oz Reimagined

INTERVIEW: Douglas Cohen Interviewed by the Odyssey Writing Workshop

Doug Cohen — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:39:49 +0000

Douglas Cohen has been interviewed by the Odyssey Fantasy & Science Fiction Writing Workshop, which he attended back in 2000. You can read the interview here.

NEWS: “The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz” Now Available on PodCastle

Doug Cohen — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:17:11 +0000

“The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz” by Rae Carson and C.C. Finlay is now available in free audio form on the PodCastle website. The story is read by Nick Podel and was first recorded for the Brilliance Audio Books version of Oz Reimagined. You can listen to the story here.

EVENT: Douglas Cohen Attending LunaCon

Doug Cohen — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:00:10 +0000

Oz Reimagined co-editor Douglas Cohen will be attending this year’s LunaCon in the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook, NY from March 15th-17th. On Sunday the 17th, he will be available to sign your copies of Oz Reimagined from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in the Westchester Assembly Room. And from 2:00-3:00 p.m. that day, he will be participating in a panel about the Wizard of Oz called Oz: The Great American Fantasy. This panel will be taking place in Westchester Ballroom A2.

Douglas will also be participating in a variety of events unrelated to Oz:

Saturday the 16th at 10:30-11:00 a.m. in the Bartell room: Douglas will be giving a reading of one of his own published stories.

Saturday @ 12:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Panel: Game of Thrones: TV vs. Books in Westchester Ballroom A2: Oh, you know I’ll have something to say at this one!

Sunday @ 10:00-11:00 a.m. Panel: Memory of WOT in Westchester Ballroom A3: Apparently I’m moderating this one …even though I didn’t request it and don’t want to …I’m kind of stuck now though. I’ve never moderated a panel in my life. Should be interesting!

NEWS: Oz Reimagined Covered in USA Today

Doug Cohen — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:55:18 +0000

USA Today has run a story in their print and online editions about new Oz media. Oz Reimagined was included in the article. You can read the article here.

REVIEW: Tor.com

Doug Cohen — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:00:19 +0000

Tor.com reviews Oz Reimagined: “Oz Reimagined is, admittedly, a more adult take on the source material, building on a century of sequels, spinoffs, reimaginings and illegitimate literary offspring, but it’s a heck of a read. If The Wizard of Oz is a book for children, Oz Reimagined is the book for when children grow up. ”

It mentions “the magnificence of this anthology,” and among other individual compliments, it cites Theodora Goss’s tale as “a strong story, well-suited for the anthology’s mission,” and Jonathan Maberry’s story as “brilliantly whimsical.” [review]

EVENT: New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Tonight

Doug Cohen — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:00:33 +0000

The New York Review of Science Fiction will be hosting a reading for Oz Reimagined tonight in New York City. Reading stories from the anthology will be Ken Liu, author of “The Veiled Shanghai,” and Robin Wasserman, author of “One Flew Over the Rainbow.” The reading starts at 7:00, with doors opening at 6:30. Further details about the event can be found here.

NEWS: Oz Reimagined Covered in the Los Angeles Times

Doug Cohen — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:00:02 +0000

The Los Angeles Times has written a feature article about the forthcoming movie, Oz the Great and Powerful. Oz Reimagined is covered as well, with co-editor Douglas Cohen quoted in the article. You can read the article here.

NEWS: Huffington Post and Tor.com Run Gregory Maguire’s Oz Reimagined Foreword

Doug Cohen — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:58:42 +0000

Gregory Maguire’s entire foreword to the Oz Reimagined anthology is now available online for free. You can read it at the Huffington Post, or you can read the same version at Tor.com.

NEWS: Co-Editors Blog on Amazon.com’s Omnivoracious about Oz the Great and Powerful

Doug Cohen — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:00:32 +0000

Over on Amazon.com’s book blog, Omnivoracious, co-editors John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen have blogged about Oz the Great and Powerful, Disney’s forthcoming prequel movie to the beloved MGM classic, The Wizard of Oz. You can read the entire post here.

FEATURE: Galen Dara on Illustrating Oz

Doug Cohen — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:00:58 +0000

When John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen approached me about doing cover art for an anthology of re-imagined Oz stories, my first reaction was complete excitement. It wasn’t until I began reading the stories that reality began to set in; the real challenge would be coming up with an image that would honor the Oz legacy while also representing the amazing diversity the authors brought to the collection. The settings range all over the place, including futuristic dystopias, military war zones, and a dream-walk through a steampunkish Shanghai, just to name a few. Some never leave Kansas. Some are in an Oz that no one could have anticipated. And the cast of characters! Not all of the stories include versions of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin man and the Lion. Those that do are often retold in such creative ways that the ways they are different are not always initially obvious. You can see the challenge.

So there was a lot of preliminary sketching and back and forth with John and Doug as we discussed such things as whether or not the Emerald City would be the best setting, which characters to include, and always, how to indicate the re-imagined aspect of it all. We ultimately came up with the idea to select variations from several of the stories to represent the four main characters. For example, the candy goth Dorothy is pulled from Robin Wasserman’s “One Flew Over the Rainbow.” The Tin Man is from David Farland’s cyber-magical “Dead Blue.” The Scarecrow is derived from Tad Williams’ vision of a virtual reality Oz. The Lion, well, I liked the Lion just so (though there’s an awesome array of lion-ish interpretations in this anthology). As we went along, it was decided that the since the journey was key to so many of the stories, we opted for the Yellow Brick Road instead of the Emerald City as the setting. So it goes, until the final cover was created. It was a wonderful process to be involved in and I’m honored to be a part of this incredible collection. For your entertainment, here are a few preliminary concept sketches and the evolution of Dorothy’s outfit.

The Twister–early concept art for the cover

The Yellow Brick Road–more early concept art for the cover

Early concept art for Dorothy and company

Early sketch of Dorothy and the gang in the Emerald City

Another sketch of Dorothy and the gang in the Emerald City

Early sketch with basic design of Dorothy and the gang on the road

Accessorizing Dorothy

The whole gang on the road with Emerald City in the background

Final art for cover without the design