This gift-giving season, we hope you’ll consider the following books recently authored and/or edited by SEMIOVOX’s Josh Glenn. Your loved ones will thank you, and so will Josh!

You will find your own lost objects flying back to you as you read about other people’s dearly departed things.

Jenny Offill

LOST OBJECTS: 50 STORIES ABOUT THE THINGS WE MISS AND WHY THEY MATTER (Hat & Beard Press, ed. Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker). This gorgeous book, introduced by Debbie Millman, is an adaptation of two “volumes” of nonfiction narratives and accompanying illustrations first published at SEMIOVOX’s sister site, HILOBROW — under the aegis of Josh and Rob’s Project:Object.

Here’s what they’re saying about LOST OBJECTS:

“The contributors to this book have imbued a palpable, living soulfulness into the items that have disappeared or were misplaced or given away. Now — here in this book — that love can be discovered all over again.” — Debbie Millman | “This ridiculously entertaining book performs a neat conjuring trick. You will find your own lost objects flying back to you as you read about other people’s dearly departed things. The conceit is ingenious and the beautiful illustrations make each writer’s ‘rosebud’ flare into radiant life again.” — Jenny Offill | “These micro-tales are the best of the short confessional. They leave you with that same wonderful feeling you sometimes get on one of those special nights in the corner of a bar with a few friends.” — Air Mail | “Filled with exotic and eccentric things, this book proves that discarding hoarded items is not always the best way to take existential control of our lives.” — The Daily Heller

LOST OBJECTS won’t be available in bookstores until January. However, one can order Lost Objects, along with limited-edition art prints, directly from Hat & Beard now. They will ship it immediately! Until December 25, the checkout code LOSTOBJECTS will take 20% off the price of either the book or a book/print combo.

LOST OBJECTS authors, in no particular order: Kate Bernheimer | Dan Piepenbring | Doug Dorst | Paul Lukas | Mimi Lipson | Lucy Sante | Nina Katchadourian | Matthew Sharpe | Claire Lehmann | Jessamyn West | Mandy Keifetz | M.R. Sauter | Amy Thielen | Stephen O’Connor | Alice Boone | Dante Ramos | Alex Balk | Chelsey Johnson | Susannah Breslin | Seth Mnookin | Dan Fox | Lisa Takeuchi Cullen | Michael Tisserand | Jeff Turrentine | Randy Kennedy | Geoff Manaugh | Joe Yonan | Laura Lippman | Ben Katchor | Neil LaBute | Miranda Mellis | Chris Piascik | Anita Kunz | Debbie Millman | Heather Kapplow | Lydia Millet | Ben Greenman | Leah Hennessey | Kathryn Davis | Mikita Brottman | Nathaniel Rich | Charles Glaubitz | Seth | Becky Stern | Mark Dery | Paola Antonelli | Sara Ryan | Alex Gerasev | Margaret Wertheim | Gary Panter

LOST OBJECTS artists, in the same non-particular order: Amy C. Evans | Josh Neufeld | John Holbo | Allison Bamcat | Mister Reusch | Kate Bingaman-Burt | Lisa Congdon | Glenn Jones | Karen Kurycki | Amanda Clarke | Emory Allen | Shayna Piascik | Heather Kasunick | Oliver Munday | Rick Pinchera | Joe Alterio | John Lowe | Rubi McGrory | Jennifer Heuer | Alex Eben Meyer | Linzie Hunter | Rose Wong | Jackie Roche | Andrew DeGraff | Max Temescu | Mariana Pita | Theo Ellsworth | Laura Didyk | Ben Katchor | Disa Wallander | Adam Goldberg | Chris Piascik | Anita Kunz | Debbie Millman | Matt Wuerker | Berta Vallo | Clara Selina Bach | Dean Haspiel | Dina Noto | Sarah Williamson | Ellen Rose | Charles Glaubitz | Seth | Monica Garwood | Kelli Anderson | Sophie Calhoun | Steve Lieber | Alex Gerasev | Armando Veve | Gary Panter

Neglected classics of early 20th-century sci-fi in spiffily designed paperback editions.

The Financial Times

Josh is editor of The MIT Press’s RADIUM AGE proto-sf reissue series, which launched this spring. Here’s what they’re saying about the series:

“Neglected classics of early 20th-century sci-fi in spiffily designed paperback editions.” — The Financial Times | “New editions of a host of under-discussed classics of the genre.” — Tor.com | “The best proto-science fiction novels and stories from 1900 to 1935.” — The Washington Post. | “Long live the Radium Age.” — Scott Bradfield, Los Angeles Times | “Shows that ‘proto-sf’ was being published much more widely, alongside other kinds of fiction, in a world before it emerged as a genre and became ghettoised.” — BSFA Review. | “A huge effort to help define a new era of science fiction.” — Transfer Orbit | “An excellent start at showcasing the strange wonders offered by the Radium Age.” — Maximum Shelf | “What’s incredible about looking back on the Radium Age is that you realize so many of the science fiction themes we think of as solidly contemporary — from post-humans and the singularity, to zombie-populated dystopias — actually got their start way back in the early 1900s.” — Ars Technica | “I didn’t know there was a Radium Age, but I’ve long loved the stories.” — Neil Gaiman.

The following RADIUM AGE series titles are now available!

Enter code MITPHoliday22 at checkout on PenguinRandomHouse.com’s RADIUM AGE series page for 20% off ALL titles published by the MIT Press, with free shipping until January 31, 2023. Terms and conditions apply.

• VOICES FROM THE RADIUM AGE, a collection of stories — originally published between 1905 and 1931 — by Arthur Conan Doyle, W.E.B. DuBois, E.M. Forster, William Hope Hodgson, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Neil R. Jones, and Jack London. Selected and introduced by Joshua Glenn. (Second volume forthcoming in 2023!) “For early SF buffs, this will be a substantial delight.” — Publisher’s Weekly. See this book at MIT Press.
• J.D. Beresford’s A WORLD OF WOMEN (1913, with new intro by Astra Taylor). “A World of Women opens with a complacent civilization in collapse. The cause? A deadly virus, albeit one that attacks only men. […] Even a century after its first appearance, A World of Women remains highly readable and still sadly pertinent.” — Michael Dirda, The Washington Post. See this book at MIT Press.
• H.G. Wells’s THE WORLD SET FREE (1914, with new intro by Sarah Cole & new afterword by Joshua Glenn). “After writing his pioneering scientific romances, H.G. Wells began a life-long project of writing utopian texts. This sustained and stubborn effort, over forty disastrous years, helped to shape a vision of a better world for those designing the postwar order. The World Set Free is a crucial novel in Wells’s amazing effort, and it’s great to see it in a new edition.” — Kim Stanley Robinson. See this book at MIT Press.

• E.V. Odle’s THE CLOCKWORK MAN (1923, with new intro by Annalee Newitz). “Odle’s novel tells the story of a time traveling cyborg who arrives in the 1920s, deconstructing gender roles along the way.” — Tor.com’s list of Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction. “Odle’s ominous, droll, and unforgettable The Clockwork Man is a missing link between Lewis Carroll and John Sladek or Philip K. Dick.” — Jonathan Lethem. See this book at MIT Press.
• J.J. Connington’s NORDENHOLT’S MILLION (1923, with new intro by Matthew Battles and new afterword by Evan Hepler-Smith). “I can’t think of a more timely moment to reissue Nordenholt’s Million, a chilling prediction of eco-catastrophe and the authoritarian regimes that can and do arise during such periods of chaos.” — Douglas Rushkoff. “I’ve been particularly looking forward to this installment of the series.” — Transfer Orbit. See this book at MIT Press.
• Pauline Hopkins’s OF ONE BLOOD (1902–1903, with new intro by Minister Faust). “Of One Blood returns in this new edition, celebrating a seminal work of Black speculative fiction. Over a century since its original publication, Hopkins’s classic remains as relevant today as ever.” — P. Djèlí Clark. “A fantastic reminder of the long (generally overlooked, ignored, and under-celebrated) legacy of Black speculative fiction!” — Arley Sorg, coeditor-in-chief of Fantasy and Senior Editor of Locus. See this book at MIT Press.
• Rose Macaulay’s WHAT NOT (1918, with new intro by Matthew De Abaitua). “A satire of Britain after World War One, where mental improvement has its own powerful government department. A cross between Brave New World and Orwell’s ‘Ministry of Truth’ — all delivered with a sly wit and arch tongue.” — Philippa Levine, Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History and Ideas, University of Texas at Austin. See this book at MIT Press.

All series covers illustrated and decorated by the cartoonist Seth.

Glenn and Kingwell don’t merely define different types of adventure — they offer one to their readers.

The Literary Review of Canada

THE ADVENTURER’S GLOSSARY (McGill-Queen’s University Press), Josh’s third collaboration with the philosopher Mark Kingwell and the cartoonist Seth, was published in late 2021. “Joshua Glenn, Mark Kingwell, and Seth combine their talents to embark on a grand linguistic adventure. Together they map out the power of language to help the explorer navigate a rich narrative.” — Ann Bancroft, first woman to trek to the North and South Poles. “I read The Adventurer’s Glossary with great interest and mounting enthusiasm; there is no book quite like it. I found surprises on nearly every page.” — Lucy Sante.

See this book at MQUP. Use code MQSP for a 30% holiday discount!

Here’s what they’re saying about THE ADVENTURER’S GLOSSARY:

“Drags the reluctant reader into the world of the curly wolf and discourages them from being a half-stepper.” — Times Literary Supplement (UK). “Takes the reader on a semantic journey sourced from the military, aviation, surfing, NASA, hip hop, comic books, extreme sports, gaming culture, and classic adventure literature.” — Quill & Quire. “Glenn and Kingwell don’t merely define different types of adventure — they offer one to their readers.” — The Literary Review of Canada. “A case for ‘adventure’ as a literary as well as a quasi-athletic genre and attitude, with a philosopher’s aerial approach, a set of literary recommendations, and a great deal of cultural history baked into a very skimmable A to Z.” — Stephanie Burt. “Packed with interesting trivia, philosophical musings, humour, and cartoons that’ll appeal to any adventure enthusiast.” — We Are the Explorers. “Looking for a gift for a word nerd and/or lover of adventure? Your quest ends here!” — BOING BOING.

Happy holidays!