Will Shetterly lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, Emma Bull, and their cats, Toby the Terror of the West and Barncat, aka Barnaby, Barnabas, and Stopthat. He writes novels, short stories, comic books, and screen plays.
When he was a boy, he lived at a tourist attraction called Dog Land that inspired a semi-autobiographical novel, Dogland. Publishers Weekly called it “A deceptively simple story, rich with complex characters and timeless themes.” Ellen Kushner, host of public radio’s Sound & Spirit, said it is “A masterwork. A particularly American magic realism that touches the heart of race and childhood in our country; it’s 100 Years of Solitude for an entire generation of American Baby Boomers, and deserves the widest possible audience.”
Though he knows it is far from his best work, he is proud that he wrote Captain Confederacy, the first black female superhero who had a series of her own published by a major comics company. (Epic Comics is a division of Marvel Comics.)
He thinks the world would be a wonderful place if more Christians tried to live like Jesus, more Buddhists tried to live like Buddha, more Muslims tried to live like Muhammad, more Jews tried to live like Moses, and more Hindus tried to live like the saints who inspired Gandhi. He considers himself a metatheist.
One year, he worked on his parents’ trading post at Rat Rapids, Ontario, where his duties included carrying 100 pound bags of wild rice. You would think that would make him hate it, but it’s one of his favorite foods.
In 1994, he ran for Governor of Minnesota and finished third in a field of six.
It really isn’t worth watching Toxic Zombies for his very brief appearance at the end. But it is worth baking Shetterly’s Finest-Kind Cookies.
For a longer autobiography:
1. working boy
• a note for updating my curious life in the US class system
Awards
- The Gospel of the Knife. Finalist for the World Fantasy Award.
- Elsewhere. Winner, Minnesota Book Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Books
- Cats Have No Lord. Ace Books.
- Witch Blood, Ace Books.
- The Tangled Lands. Ace Books.
- Elsewhere. Harcourt Brace, Tor Books. Winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- Double Feature (story collection, with Emma Bull). NESFA Press.
- Nevernever. Harcourt Brace, Tor Books. One of the International Reading Association’s 20 favorite books of US teenagers.
- Dogland. Tor Books.
- Chimera. Tor Books.
- Thor’s Hammer. Random House.
- The Gospel of the Knife. Tor Books.
Stories
- “A Happy Birthday” Liavek: The Players of Luck, Ace Books.
- “Danceland” (with Emma Bull) Bordertown, Terri Windling, ed., Signet and Tor Books.
- “Bound Things” Liavek, Ace Books.
- “Six Days Outside the Year” Liavek: Grand Festival, Ace Books.
- “Nevernever,” Life on the Border, Terri Windling, ed., Tor Books.
- “Time Travel, the Artifact, and a Significant Historical Personage,” Xanadu, Jane Yolen, ed., Tor Books.
- “Oldthings,” Xanadu 2, Jane Yolen, ed., Tor Books.
- “The Princess Who Kicked Butt,” A Wizard’s Dozen, Michael Stearns, ed., Harcourt Brace; Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Seventh Annual Edition, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds., St. Martin’s Press.
- “Brian and the Aliens,” Bruce Coville’s Book of Aliens: Tales to Warp Your Mind, Bruce Coville, ed., Scholastic.
- “Dream Catcher,” The Armless Maiden, Terri Windling, ed., Tor Books.
- “Taken He Cannot Be,” Peter Beagle’s Immortal Unicorn, Peter Beagle et.al., eds., HarperPrism.
- “Secret Identity,” Starfarer’s Dozen, Michael Stearns, ed., Harcourt Brace.
- “Splatter,” The Sandman Book of Dreams, N. Gaiman & E. Kramer, ed., Harper Prism.
- “Little Red and the Big Bad,” Swan Sister, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds., Simon & Shuster.
- “Black Rock Blues,” The Coyote Road, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds., Viking.
Anthologies
- Liavek (edited with Emma Bull), Ace Books.
- Liavek: The Players of Luck (edited with Emma Bull), Ace Books.
- Liavek: Wizard’s Row (edited with Emma Bull), Ace Books.
- Liavek: Spells of Binding (edited with Emma Bull), Ace Books.
- Liavek: Festival Week (edited with Emma Bull), Ace Books.
Non-fiction
- “My Life, So Far,” Something About the Author Vol. 106, Alan Hedblad, ed., Gale Group.
Comic Books and Graphic Albums
- “In Charge” Grimjack #39, First Comics.
- Captain Confederacy #1 – #12, SteelDragon Press. (White male Captain Confederacy.)
- Captain Confederacy #1 – #4, Epic/Marvel Comics. (Black female Captain Confederacy.)
- “Home is a Hard Place” Open Space #3, Marvel Comics.
Screenplays and a TV series bible
- Nightspeeder. A feature-length science fiction script (written with Emma Bull). Commissioned by Perfect World Ent.
- William Tell, a feature-length historical adventure script (written with Emma Bull and Don Helverson). Optioned by Robert Greenwald; now available.
- Masters of Earth, a TV series bible (written with Emma Bull). Commissioned by SciFi Channel.
Hello, Mr. Shetterly! My name is Mar and I’m a student from Puerto Rico. I’ve read two of your books, Elsewhere and Never Never. I enjoy them so much that I’ve been reading them once a year since I was 15. I feel that every time I read them I discover more to each story. I really enjoy the style and the creativity with which you wrote the novels. Punk/Hippie elves high on dragons milk? Ha, I thought it was hilarious, especially back when I was 15. Just thought I would drop by and let you know how much I enjoy reading your work. At least the stuff that I’ve managed to unearthed thus far from the black hole of books that is Border’s. =P
Take care!
Mar
Mar, glad to hear it! If you haven’t found it already, look for Emma Bull’s Finder. It uses some of the same characters, and it’s great.
I can’t find an email address for you on the site. I wanted to draw your attention to Class is not a footnote – it sounded right up your alley.
Will:
Great bio. I can attest to all the parts that affirm you are principled, highly moral, smart as smart gets, and fun to work with. My time with you and Emma was one of the most exciting and optimistic moments I ever had in Hollywood. Now that I am a working screenwriter, as well as a teacher, I can tell you that dreaming was much more fun with you and Emma to dream with. I miss you every day.
I hope you are both loving the bejesus out of Arizona, because Los Angeles feels very lonely without the two of you. Sometime, please, come give me two hours. One hour I want to sing along with Emma and play guitars off the cuff, like in our writing breaks at your old apartment. And the next hour I want to go for delicious tea or coffee and just dream out loud again. Maybe we’ll accidentally find ourselves collaborated on some adventurous romp through history. I take my students on adventurous romps through history every day, and, though they are great fun, they would be outstanding with you two leading the way!
Very cool to read about you, especially since I know how awesome you both are.
Donzo
Larry, I should put the email somewhere it’s easier to find. It’s shetterly at gmail.com.
Donzo, great to hear from you! Man, we miss you and L.A. and the church! Well, we continue to plan to return someday– We love Arizona, but it ain’t the same.
I’m just about finished my 7th or 8th reading of Witch Blood (my tattered copy has followed me through 7 moves over the past 20 years or so – Rifkin Wanderer) and though I periodically scour the ‘nets looking for word of a possible sequel this time I thought the direct approach was best …
[Gets down on bended knee]
Please Mr. Shetterly [Rifkin Diplomat], please tell me that Witchhold is almost complete and will be published within the next few years … [Hopes Mr. Shetterly doesn't notice how I oh so cleverly sidestepped the question of whether a sequel would even be written - Rifkin Trickster].
[Dusts knees off and gets up slowly with various creaks and cracks - Rifkin Infirm]
“We found it, of course. But that’s another story.”
I’m sure there are many people who would love to hear that story.
Thanks for the as-close-to-perfect-as-I’ve-seen 197 pages and here’s hoping for at least another 197.
[Now I have to go talk to a man about a giant talking raccoon and another story that is not finished]
John, sorry not to answer sooner! Taxes added to the fun of a busy week.
Would you be the fellow who writes me every year asking for a sequel? I really would like to do it someday, and the occasional reminder makes it more likely that’ll happen.
And it’s always great to hear from anyone who’s read one of my books more than once!
Will,
In response to number 6 above, that would be me sending the yearly request/ reminder for a Witch Blood sequel… You will be receiving it again shortly.
Best wishes.
S
Sean, if I do the sequel, I promise, it’ll be dedicated to you. Maybe not exclusively to you, but you are a Hero of the Revolution, and I appreciate it.
My annual reminder went out to you last week. As always, I look forward to your response and will set my reminder for the same time next year.
Sean
Sean, meaning in the mail?
Hey, i’m from Australia and i’m 16. I received Elsewhere and NeverNever ages ago and never got around to reading them, but finally started on Saturday. It’s Monday, I’ve finished them both, and i love them!
the writing style is incredible, the worlds are extremely imaginative, and the pictures in my mind are awesome. thanks heaps for such a great read.
I want to become a film director when I’m older– this is my first choice for a film-adapted novel.
thanks again,
Jonno.
Jonno, glad to hear that! It’s a great time to go into film. Good luck!
Enjoyed reading your modest proposal for Boing Boing. It seemingly went WHOOSH over Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s head.
Thanks for not dumbing down your rhetoric.
I’m writing a book about the history of Fanning Springs and other nearby areas within the Tri-county region, and was excited to find out you and your family were connected to Dog Land. I’ve heard of it, but didn’t know or have any of its history. I’d be honored if you would be willing to contribute any information and pictures about it and your family’s involvement there.
Sincerely,
David Metts
David, I’m afraid what’s up on the Dog Land page is pretty much all I’m aware of, but if I think of anything, I’ll blog it. You’re welcome to quote anything I’ve posted on the web.
Hi, Will. It’s…well, quite a coincidence to find your page! I also live in Tucson and I am the Co-Coordinator of something called the Respect for Democracy Campaign, which is trying to build a movement to close the National Endowment for Democracy. It’s a joint project of the Alliance for Global Justice, which is an umbrella group for several peace and justice groups. My real job is working for one of those groups called the Campaign for Labor Rights. Here’s a link to an article I just had published called “Change and Regime Change: What the 2008 Democratic Landslide Means for the National Endowment for Democracy”. It’s at http://narconews.com/Issue55/article3405.html .
Back in the Spring of ‘04, I got started in all this as the facilitator of a labor and solidarity activist coalition that went to the AFL-CIO convention to try and end labor’s relationship with the NED. This was an outgrowth of the Latin America Solidarity Coalition’s working group on the National Endowment for Democracy, which I was also coordinating. Without going into great detail, ultimately, this all led to the founding of the Respect for Democracy Campaign. You can look over what we’re doing with that by visiting http://www.respect4democracy.org .
Of course, I’m well aware of the relationship of John McCain with the NED and the IRI, and we’ve done a lot of work around exposing the IRI, which is the most far right of all the NED sub-groups.
I was just doing some searches about the NED when I stumbled across your page. I haven’t had a lot of time to read it all, but am impressed, and finding out you’re in Tucson is quite a coincidence.
I was glancing over some of what you have written about religion in general, and about Jesus and Christianity, as well. I actually got a Religion major, with a focus on studies of the historical Jesus and the earliest years of the gospel movement (a term I like to use to distinguish it from the development of imperial Christianity). I agree with what you said to the effect that if most followers of religions actually tried to emulate their founders, we’d all be a lot better off. I don’t call myself an atheist (although if I have to accept some definitions of “God” and the “divine”, than atheism might well apply to what I do and don’t believe) and I have great respect for the many wonderful people and movements that have come out of religions fighting for the rights of the poor–like the liberation theologies of Latin America. However, I’m also of the opinion that, despite such, if religion disappeared from the world today and left no traces behind, it would probably be better for the world many, many respects!
I’m also an avid reader and have not run across your writings as of yet, but am now inspired to look them up and spend a little time with your written word!
Please get in touch! I travel a good deal with my job, but would love to meet you for coffee some time. It sounds like we have a few overlapping interests!
I also have a band that sometimes plays in town called Caliche con Carne. You can check out some of our tunes at myspace.com/calicheconcarne .
Are you a Unitarian? Do you know my friends Lois Putzier and Jerry Wharton? They both attend the Unitarian church in town some times. Lois is an ex-con–spent a few months in prison for her act of civil disobedience against the Army’s School of the Americas/School of Assassins. Unitarian or no, she is an atheist; and atheist or no, she’s a real saint.
Drop me a line!
James Jordan
Another quick note: Just looked at the article behind Dogland. I grew up about 300 or 400 miles north of you, in the mountains between Birmingham, Alabama and Chatanooga, Tennessee. My father’s side of the family comes from a long line of Southerners who included supporters of the underground railroad, people who fought for the Union, and people who spoke out against Jim Crow. While I lived in Crossville, Alabama, an African-American family tried to move into our all White town and was run out withing two weeks by the KKK and like-minded people. That same year, they burnt all the crops of a man down in the valley who had hired Black workers and was paying them one of the better wages in the area. I’m proud that my parents (my father was a pastor and band director and Mom was an English teacher) spoke out publicly against these hate crimes. After that year, we moved to Chicago where I finished high school and college. Sadly, I learned that racism is not just a Southern phenomena by any means.
James
It appears my first post didn’t publish for some reason. I wanted you to know I stumbled across your website while doing some research on the National Endowment for Democracy. I was surprised to learn you live in Tucson, as do I. I am the Co-Coordinator of the Respect for Democracy Campaign to close the National Endowment for Democracy. I just had an article published you might be interested in called “Change and Regime Change: What the 2008 Democratic Landslide Means for the National Endowment for Democracy”. You can read it at http://narconews.com/Issue55/article3405.html .
I’d love to hear from you, meet for coffee or something some time.
James Jordan
James, sorry your first post got caught in the spam filter. (It’s tied to the number of links. WordPress’s default is two, I think, and I increased it a little, but not enough.)
Definitely must meet you sometime! The next couple of weeks are crazy, but things should settle down after that.
Have you met Mary Adams? She did, I think, a year in prison for civil disobedience.
Hi, Will. Is Mary Adams who they call Walking Mary from Bisbee? If so, I’ve met her and think highly of her! By the way–I’m also traveling the next couple of weeks. In fact, I’m mostly going to be gone until about the 23rd of April (with a short stint back in Tucson between the 22nd of March and April 1st. I’ll drop another line when I get back.
James
Yep, Walking Mary, an inspiration to us all. Have some great travelling!