Skyboat is proud to publish THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY: A TRIBUTE COLLECTION edited by Robert Silverberg and Grania Davis, with Afterwords by Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.
After publishing THE BOSS IN THE WALL, A TREATISE ON THE HOUSE DEVIL by Avram Davidson & Grania Davis and DR. GRASS by Grania Davis (visit our blog post for more details!), we Skyboaters decided to go all-in.
38 short fiction stories spanning the decades. Introductions from renowned writers. Multi-voice narration by an ensemble of eight audiobook stars. Clocking in at over 23 hours, THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY: A TRIBUTE COLLECTION is an audiobook not to be missed.
In producing this audiobook, Skyboat had the privilege of working with Seth Davis, the son of Grania Davis and the administrator of the Avram Davidson and Grania Davis estates. Seth is committed to preserving their legacy and, as we share that goal, we wholeheartedly welcomed Seth’s input throughout the recording process. We are pleased that his podcast, The Avram Davidson Universe, will feature select short stories from THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY audiobook, in addition to a broader discussion about Avram’s life.
And what a life it was. But don’t take our word for it. Instead, dive into the THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY and you will find over two dozen tributes from his friends and fans — including many names you’ll recognize!
Forewords by Robert Silverberg and Grania Davis. Story Introductions by Robert Silverberg, Damon Knight, Poul and Karen Anderson, F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, Gregory Benford, Alan Dean Foster, Guy Davenport, John M. Ford, Melisa Michaels, John Clute, Peter S. Beagle, Martha Soukup, Kate Wilhelm, Gregory Feeley, Eileen Gunn, Bill Pronzini, Frederik Pohl, Henry Wessells, Spider Robinson, Ursula K. Le Guin, James Gunn, Thomas M. Disch, Ed Ferman, Jack Dann, Gene Wolfe, Harlan Ellison, Richard A. Lupoff, Ethan Davidson, Mike Resnick, Lucius Shepard, William Gibson, Gardner Dozois, Grania Davis, Michael Swanwick, F. M. Busby, Forrest J. Ackerman, Algis Budrys, Darrell Schweitzer, Ray Nelson. Afterwords by Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.
“Containing 38 of Davidson’s best pieces of short fiction and story-introductory tributes to him by nearly that many of his colleagues, this is necessarily a stout volume. Since Davidson possessed a willingness to listen only to his muse and an almost stereotypical lack of business sense, much of his work was out of print before his death in 1993. For readers who may not have heard of any of the stories herein except “Or All the Seas with Oysters” and “Manatee Gal, Won’t You Come Out Tonight?” this book contains revelations. It is a safe bet that it will be a pleasure to almost all readers, even if no two of them end up with the same listing of favorite stories. Davidson had one of the most original imaginations in the history of American sf and fantasy–genres he did not worry much about distinguishing from each other–and deserves to be enjoyed by generations of ordinary readers rather than left to the dubious mercy of sf academics.” —Roland Green, Booklist
Avram Davidson (1923–1993) was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and crime fiction. Davidson was born in Yonkers, NY and and served in the Navy during World War II. His life work includes 19 novels and over 200 short stories, all of which have been widely recognized for their wit and originality.
Grania Davis (1943-2017) wrote four novels, including Dr. Grass (1978). She was married to author Avram Davidson from 1962 to 1964 and collaborated with him on several works including The Boss in the Wall (1998) and Marco Polo and the Sleeping Beauty (1987). After Avram’s death in 1993, Grania co-edited collections of his stories, including The Avram Davidson Treasury (1998, with Robert Silverberg) which won the 1999 Locus Award for best collection.
Robert Silverberg’s first published story appeared in 1954 when he was a sophomore at Columbia University. Since then, he has won the prestigious Nebula Award five times and the Hugo Award five times. In 1999 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and in 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their Grand Master Award for career achievement. He remains one of the most imaginative and versatile writers in science fiction.
Avram’s spectacular, wide-ranging, genre-bending writing, not to mention the personal stories from literary luminaries, require the very best narrators to bring this collection to life. We assembled an ensemble of eight narrators: Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Orson Scott Card, Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Kate Orsini, Mirron Willis and Justine Eyre.
Check out THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY playlist featuring samples of three narrators on Skyboat’s SoundCloud!
“Not merely a treasury, it’s a genuine treasure. Some of its pages will carry you away to strange seas and shores, others will show you the marvelous within the seemingly ordinary, and just about all of them will take your breath away. But that’s what magicians do.” —The Washington Post Book World
THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY: A TRIBUTE COLLECTION
Edited by Robert Silverberg and Grania Davis. Afterwords by Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.
Read by Stefan Rudnicki, John Rubinstein, Orson Scott Card, Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Kate Orsini, Mirron Willis and Justine Eyre.
Avram Davidson was one of the great original American writers of this century. He was erudite, cranky, Jewish, wildly creative, and sold most of his wonderful stories to pulp magazines. They are wonderful.
Now his estate and his friends have brought together a definitive collection of his finest work, each story introduced by an SF luminary: writers like Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, Poul Anderson, Gene Wolfe, Guy Davenport, Peter S. Beagle, Gregory Benford, Thomas M. Disch, and dozens of others. This is a volume every lover of fantasy will need to own.
THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY: A TRIBUTE COLLECTION
SkyCast
Foreword by Robert Silverberg – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Foreword by Grania Davis – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
THE FIFTIES
Introduction to My Boy Friend’s Name is Jello by Robert Silverberg – read by Stefan Rudnicki
My Boy Friend’s Name is Jello – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to The Golem by Damon Knight – read by Paul Boehmer
The Golem – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to The Necessity of His Condition by Poul and Karen Anderson – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
The Necessity of His Condition – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre – read by Paul Boehmer
Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Now Let Us Sleep by Gregory Benford – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Now Let Us Sleep – read by Orson Scott Card
Introduction to Or the Grasses Grow by Alan Dean Foster – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Or the Grasses Grow – read by Paul Boehmer
Introduction to Or All the Sea Oysters by Guy Davenport – read by Paul Boehmer
Or All the Seas with Oysters – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Take Wooden Indians by John M. Ford – read by Paul Boehmer
Take Wooden Indians read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to Author, Author by Melisa Michaels – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Author, Author – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Dagon by John Clute – read by Paul Boehmer
Dagon – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Ogre in the Vly by Peter S. Beagle – read by Paul Boehmer
Ogre in the Vly read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to The Woman Who Thought She Could Read by Martha Soukup – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
The Woman Who Thought She Could Read – read by Stefan Rudnicki
THE SIXTIES
Introduction to Where Do You Live, Queen Esther? by Kate Wilhelm – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Where Do You Live, Queen Esther? – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Introduction to The Sources of the Nile by Gregory Feeley – read by Paul Boehmer
The Sources of the Nile – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction and Afterword to The Affair at Lahore Cantonment by Eileen Gunn – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
The Affair at Lahore Cantonment – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Revolver by Bill Pronzini – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Revolver – read by Paul Boehmer
Introduction to The Tail-Tied Kings by Frederik Pohl – read by Paul Boehmer
The Tail-Tied Kings – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to The Price of a Charm; or, The Lineaments of Gratified Desire by Henry Wessells – read by Paul Boehmer
The Price of a Charm; or, The Lineaments of Gratified Desire – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Sacheverll by Spider Robinson – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Sacheverell – read by Paul Boehmer
Introduction to The House the Blakeneys Built by Ursula K. Le Guin – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
The House the Blakeneys Built – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to The Goobers by James Gunn – read by Paul Boehmer
The Goobers – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to The Power of Every Root by Thomas M. Disch – read by Stefan Rudnicki
The Power of Every Root – read by Stefan Rudnicki
THE SEVENTIES
Introduction to Selectra Six-Ten by Ed Ferman – read by Paul Boehmer
Selectra Six-Ten – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to Goslin Day by Jack Dann – read by Paul Boehmer
Goslin Day – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman by Gene Wolfe – read by Paul Boehmer
Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Afterword to Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman by Harlan Ellison – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to And Don’t Forget the One Red Rose by Richard A. Lupoff – read by Paul Boehmer
And Don’t Forget the One Red Rose – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to Crazy Old Lady by Mike Resnick – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Crazy Old Lady – read by Kate Orsini
Introduction to “Hark! Was That the Squeal of an Angry Thoat?” by Mike Resnick – read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Hark! Was That the Squeal of an Angry Thoat?” – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Manatee Gal, Won’t You Come Out Tonight by Peter S. Beagle – read by Paul Boehmer
Manatee Gal, Won’t You Come Out Tonight – read by Mirron Willis
Afterword to Manatee Gal, Won’t You Come Out Tonight by Lucius Shepard – read by Paul Boehmer
Introduction to Naples by William Gibson – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Naples – read by Stefan Rudnicki
THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES
Introduction and Afterword to Full Chicken Richness by Gardner Dozois – read by Paul Boehmer
Full Chicken Richness – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction The Hills Behind Hollywood High by Grania Davis – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
The Hills Behind Hollywood High – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
Introduction to The Slovo Stove by Michael Swanwick – read by Stefan Rudnicki
The Slovo Stove – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Two Short-Shorts: Revenge of the Cat-Lady and The Last Wizard by F.M. Busby – read by Stefan Rudnicki
The Last Wizard – read by Paul Boehmer
Revenge of the Cat-Lady read by Justine Eyre
Introduction to While You’re Up by Forrest J. Ackerman – read by Stefan Rudnicki
While You’re Up – read by John Rubinstein
Introduction to The Spookbox of Theobald Delafont De Brooks by Algis Budrys -read by Paul Boehmer
The Spookbox of Theobald Delafont De Brooks – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Introduction to Yellow Rome; or, Vergil and the Vestal Virgin by Darrel Schweitzer – read by Paul Boehmer
Yellow Rome; or, Vergil and the Vestal Virgin – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Afterword to Yellow Rome; or, Vergil and the Vestal Virgin by Ray Nelson – read by Paul Boehmer
Afterword by Ray Bradbury – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Afterword by Harlan Ellison – read by Stefan Rudnicki
Looking for more? THE BOSS IN THE WALL, A TREATISE ON THE HOUSE DEVIL and DR. GRASS are now available on audio. (For additional details on these titles, visit our blog post!) And don’t forget to purchase your copy of THE AVRAM DAVIDSON TREASURY: A TRIBUTE COLLECTION today!
