Mannerpunk
Episode 88 of The Coode Street Podcast, featuring Ellen Kushner, focuses largely on audio books, but also brought up a sub-genre I’d never hear of: Mannerpunk. It’s also known as Fantasy of Manners, which is more familiar sounding but less ear grabbing. Wikipedia has a more useful entry than The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. The first audio book they discuss, Kushner’s Swordpoint is an example of this genre.
While NOT mannerpunk, if I understand things correctly, the audio book of Welcome to Bordertown sounds like it’ll be a pretty spectacular production. Poems that were really song lyrics have been realized in song. Neil Gaiman reading his poem. An original score. Male and female readers as fit each story in the collection. This is probably the first audio book I’ve ever eagerly awaited.
