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If you’ve cleaned your goggles this morning, you may have noticed something a little different about Tor.com. Namely, there’s a shiny new logo and masthead at the top of this page. The fancy duds mark an exciting development for our little website: October 2009 is Steampunk Month on Tor.com.

I have a strong suspicion that this pronouncement has prompted some of our readers to sigh, “Steampunk! That’s so [1987/1990/2008]!” But there are just as certainly others who are saying, “Steampunk? What the heck is steampunk?” There’s no simple definition that works for everyone—at our staff meeting the other day, we wound up reverting to that old saw about pornography—but I usually start off with something along the lines of “a Victorian-influenced speculative fiction subgenre set in a world where steam power is still in common use; and the aesthetic derived thereof.” But for the full story, I strongly recommend you to Cherie Priest’s formidable “Steampunk FAQ.”

One thing that almost everyone can agree on is that steampunk is really damn cool. So cool, in fact, that a half-joking suggestion at a meeting several months ago has turned into one of the biggest events in Tor.com’s history, incorporating nearly a dozen new bloggers, original fiction, scads of giveaways, and So. Much. More.

Here’s a list of just some of the things in store during Steampunk Month:

<!– Alternate list style
Steampunk wallpapers!
An absurd amount of giveaways, including books, posters, buttons, costume elements, and gadgets.
–>

Here’s a running tab of what’s already been posted:

10/1: “Steampunk Month on Tor.com” (this post) by Liz Gorinsky
10/1: “Interview with Steamcon Vice Chair Diana Vick” by Jason Henninger
10/1: “Has Anybody Seen the Bridge? George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge by Lou Anders
10/1: “How Stubby, the Tor.com rocket, became the H.M.S. Stubbington by Irene Gallo
10/2: “Hello and Good Morning (Technically, Here in West Coast Time)” by Cherie Priest
10/2: “The Post-Modernity of Steampunk” by Jaymee Goh
10/3: “Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Steampunk Edition: ‘Jasper Morello,’ ‘The Aeronaut,’ and ‘The Gentleman’s Duel'” by Irene Gallo
10/5: “The world is not enough…but it is such a perfect place to start” by G. D. Falksen
10/5: “What’s the Soundtrack of Steampunk?” by Brian Slattery
10/6: STORY: “Zeppelin City” by Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn, illustrated by Benjamin Carre
10/6: “The art of Leviathan, part 1: An interview with Scott Westerfeld” by Irene Gallo
10/6: “Steampunk as Subculture” by Jaymee Goh
10/6: “Announcing Discounts on the Tor.com Store for Steampunk Month!” by Pablo Defendini
10/7: “Prescription: Zombies” by Cherie Priest
10/7: “Four Reasons to Watch League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Genevive Valentine
10/7: “Steampunk 101” by G. D. Falksen
10/8: “The Past (and Future) of Steampunk Music” by Joshua Pfeiffer
10/8: “Steampunk Gaming: Getting in the Mood” by David Pucik
10/9: “No Elitism Please, We’re Steampunk” by Jaymee Goh
10/11: “Steampunk Plot Bunnies for Adoption” by Jaymee Goh
10/12: “In An Alternate World, I Could be ‘Cosmic Goddess'” by Jaymee Goh
10/12: “The art of Leviathan, part two: Interview with Keith Thompson” by Irene Gallo
10/12: “All this stuff totally happened (except for how it didn’t)” by Cherie Priest
10/12: “A Few of My Favorite Things: Top Steampunk Media” by Joshua Pfeiffer
10/13: “Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan by Megan Messinger
10/13: “An Interview with James Ng” by Jaymee Goh
10/13: “Get Your Steam On: Steampunk Events the World Over” by Liz Gorinsky
10/13: “Tor.com’s Steampunk Meetup” by Management Services
10/13: “Steampunk goes viral: Riese the Webseries” by John Ottinger III
10/13: “Steampunk has taken over Oxford” by Evelyn kriete
10/14: “The Steampunk Office” by G. D. Falksen
10/14: “Living the Vita Steampunk: Whisper Merlot” by Jaymee Goh
10/12: “How to steam up your old goth wardrobe” by Cherie Priest
10/15: “Lovelace and Babbage at the Museum of the History of Science” by Management Services
10/16: “An Ode to Lady Ada” by Jaymee Goh
10/16: “Gears Good Enough to Eat” by Megan Messinger
10/16: “The Revolution Will Not be Telegraphed: The Sociopolitical side of Steampunk” by Joshua Pfeiffer
10/19: “There is Totally Punk in Steampunk” by Jaymee Goh
10/19: “Cog Ex Machina” by Lou Anders
10/20: STORY: “The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday” by G. D. Falksen, illustrated by David Malki
10/20: “Wallpaper giveaway: Eric Freitas” by Irene Gallo
10/21: “Steampunk Needs a Shot of—Wait for It—Romance” by Heather Massey
10/21: “Catching Up With Steampunk Artist Dan Hillier” by Geoffrey H Goodwin
10/21: “Everybody Line Up!: Berít New York” by Jaymee Goh
10/22: “Wallpaper giveaway: Thom Tenery” by Irene Gallo
10/23: “Tor.com Announces the Steampunk Month Photo Contest!” by Liz Gorinsky
10/23: “Crafting the Continuum Bracelet: A DIY How-To” by Chrononaut Mercantile
10/23: “New Lit! About Sir Thomas Riley” by Jaymee Goh
10/25: “A New Car With Some Old-Fashioned Hardware” by Megan Messinger
10/26: “Steampunk Wardrobe Customizations for the Lazy, the Poor, or the Crafty” by Cherie Priest
10/26: “Speed Weed Comes Clean: Steampunk and NCIS: Los Angeles” by Jeff VanderMeer
10/26: “Experiments in Comics with Sydney Padua” by Jaymee Goh
10/26: “The Steampunk Bible Wants You!” by Pablo Defendini
10/27: “The Roundtable of DOO- I mean, of Race and Steampunk” by Jaymee Goh
10/27: “Wallpaper giveaway: Jon Foster and Boneshaker by Irene Gallo
10/28: “Gogglicious: A Steamcon Report” by Jason Henninger
10/28: “Steampunk Blogging, aka Tit-Tat” by G. D. Falksen
10/28: “The Steampunk Cold War, Part One: The Pax Europaea, or, ‘Tommy’s got my bank account, Ivan’s got the bomb'” by G. D. Falksen
10/28: “With this Steam-Powered Prosthetic Arm, I Could Be As Strong as…a Normal Person” by Jaymee Goh
10/28: “Can Dirigibles Slouch Along? Can They Saunter?” by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer
10/28: “The Brooklyn Indie Market goes Steampunk” by Genevive Valentine
10/28: “Bioshock: Social Sci-Fi in a Steampunk Veneer?” by David Pucik
10/29: “How to Convert an Ordinary Suit Coat into a Tail Coat” by Evelyn kriete
10/29: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, And It’s Going to Eat You” by Megan Messinger
10/29: “The Steampunk Cold War, Part Two: The Great Game, or ‘the British are still in Afghanistan'” by G. D. Falksen
10/29: “Making the Tor.com Steampunk Month letterpress poster” by Irene Gallo
10/29: “Wallpaper giveaway: Gregory Manchess” by Irene Gallo
10/29: “A Moment for My DIY Peers” by Jaymee Goh
10/19: “Was Poe Steampunk?” by S. J. Chambers
10/30: “Wallpaper giveaway: H.M.S. Stubbington” by Irene Gallo
10/30: “The Steampunk Cold War, Part Three: The Dreadnought Arms Race, or ‘Kaiser Wilhelm gets a boat'” by G. D. Falksen
10/30: “Return to the Written Word” by Jaymee Goh
10/30: “An Interview with Scott Westerfeld on Barking Spiders, Steampunk, and All Things Leviathan by Joe Monti
10/31: “Steampunk anime: Steamboy” by Eugene Myers
10/31: “The Steampunk Cold War, Part Four: Alliances of Convenience, or ‘Autocracy is like democracy if you say it in Russian'” by G. D. Falksen
10/31: “Thanks To All At Once, and To Each One” by Management Services

Giveaways

10/1: “George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge Giveaway!” by Torie Atkinson
10/7: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Filigree Clockwork Ring” by Torie Atkinson
10/9: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker by Torie Atkinson
10/19: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Jeweled Windup Bird Ring” by Torie Atkinson
10/20: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: James Blaylock’s The Ebb Tide by Torie Atkinson
10/21: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Modded Book Locket Necklace” by Torie Atkinson
10/22: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Kage Baker’s The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Torie Atkinson
10/23: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Chet Phillips’ Steampunk Monkey Cards” by Torie Atkinson
10/26: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Socks from Sock Dreams!” by Torie Atkinson
10/27: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: $40 Gift Certificate to Retroscope Fashions” by Torie Atkinson
10/27: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Stephen Hunt’s The Court of the Air and The Kingdom Beyond the Waves by Torie Atkinson
10/28: “Steampunk Blogging: tit-tat for a giveaway!” by Torie Atkinson
10/28: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Antique Watchwork Swarovski Crystal Pendant” by Torie Atkinson
10/29: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Sweet Libertine Set of Eyeshadows” by Torie Atkinson
10/29: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Jay Lake’s Mainspring and Escapement by Torie Atkinson
10/30: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Steampunk Keyhole Plate Pendant” by Torie Atkinson
10/31: “Steampunk Month Giveaway: Jeweled Spider Brooch” by Torie Atkinson

Finally, lest you think we’ve just caught on to this whole steampunk craze, here are some highlights from Tor.com’s existing steampunk coverage:

Happy Steampunk Month! Keep it brassy.


Liz Gorinsky is an editor at Tor Books. She is spending way too much time these days attempting to fine-tune her steampunk publisher costume before Steamcon.

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