Tag Archives: dime novels

Gears and God Discount

Posted on November 4, 2020 by nathanielwms

University of Alabama Press has given me permission to share the 30% off price reduction code we set up for the C19 conference with the public. That means anyone can buy Gears and God: Technocratic Fiction, Faith and Empire in … Continue reading →

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More Gears and God Book Reviews

Posted on February 17, 2020 by nathanielwms

I’m pleased to share two great book reviews of Gears and God: Technocratic Fiction, Faith, and Empire in Mark Twain’s America that came out recently. Both do a fantastic job of covering the book’s focus on how dime-novel science fiction … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain Forum Reviews Gears and God

Posted on October 26, 2018 by nathanielwms

As promised earlier, here is a link to the full text of John Bird’s review of Gears and God on the Mark Twain Forum.  Here’s an excerpt: Gears and God is important for the way it places Mark Twain’s works within … Continue reading →

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C19 in Albuquerque: A Great Conference

Posted on April 6, 2018 by nathanielwms

I got back from the biennial C19 conference last week. It was an excellent four-day event, with presentations from many scholars who focus specifically on American literature of the 19th century. That said, transnational approaches were in abundance, including my … Continue reading →

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My Book’s on Amazon Now

Posted on December 22, 2017 by nathanielwms

My publisher wrote to let me know that Gears and God is now available for pre-order at Amazon.  It gives the release date as July 10, 2018 (so just in time for Worldcon). You can read the publisher’s summary, the … Continue reading →

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Twain and Dime-Novel Science Fiction

Posted on October 18, 2017 by nathanielwms

If you’re interested in listening to my October 11, 2017 guest lecture on “Mark Twain and the Inventor Fiction Boom, 1876-1910” the audio is now available online. You can’t watch the slideshow that went with it, but there is a … Continue reading →

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Upcoming Mark Twain Lecture

Posted on September 1, 2017 by nathanielwms

Here are final details on my upcoming presentation at Elmira College’s “Trouble Begins” Mark Twain Lecture Series: “Mark Twain and the Inventor Fiction Boom: Technology Meets American Conceit, 1876-1910” Wednesday, October 11 at The Barn at Quarry Farm Elmira, NY … Continue reading →

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Dime Novel Sci-Fi at “God and the American Writer” Symposium

Posted on February 1, 2015 by nathanielwms

At the end of February, I’ll be presenting a paper on the Frank Reade, Jr. dime-novel inventor series at a special symposium on “God and the American Writer” sponsored by the American Literature Association. What do those early science-fiction stories–best … Continue reading →

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Jack Wright in D.C., Twain and Faulkner at ALA

Posted on May 22, 2014 by nathanielwms

I spent most of Wednesday reading two Jack Wright dime novels at the Library of Congress.  Both are great examples of proto-science fiction that imagines inventors making a difference in real-world affairs. In “Running the Blockade; or, Jack Wright Helping the Cuban … Continue reading →

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Articles Initiate Site Changes

Posted on July 8, 2013 by nathanielwms

I’ve changed a few items on this site.  Most significantly, I’ve added a “Teaching” page and copied that portion of my CV there.  This was done to make the CV shorter and more manageable. As I’ve said before, this site … Continue reading →

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You Sell Wonderment?

Posted on December 25, 2012 by nathanielwms

I write (mostly) speculative fiction, and I’ve taught science fiction classes at University of California, Davis, including a “Nostalgia and Desiderium” novels class covering pop music and science fiction tropes.  I will intermittently post material that encompasses those endeavors. Posts usually cover one or more … Continue reading →

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