The Bujold Nexus

Lois McMaster Bujold List FAQ

Last-Modified: 27 Oct 2013
Version: 4.1.0
Compiled and maintained by: Michael Bernardi and Nancy Barber (lmb-faq@dendarii.com)


I. List Etiquette and Conventions

On- and off-topic material

  1. Why was the Lois-Bujold Mailing List list created?
  2. What kinds of messages are considered off-topic?
  3. Are discussions of the list itself off-topic?
  4. Why are off-topic messages a concern? I see them all the time.
  5. What should list users do if a message they are about to post is off-topic?
  6. What other rules are there regarding off-topic messages?
  7. What is an off-topic marker?
  8. May I use variants of "OT:", like "OT", "(OT)" or "ot"?
  9. What if a thread comes back on-topic?
  10. I know my message had "OT:" on it, but it disappeared! What happened?
  11. Why not just moderate the list?
  12. Are any topics forbidden on the list?

Spoilers

  1. What are spoilers?
  2. When is it OK to discuss spoilers on the list?
  3. How should posts with spoilers be marked?
  4. How long are spoiler warnings necessary?
  5. Is there another place where I can discuss spoilers freely, especially prior to the material becoming publicly available?

Quoting

  1. What is the list convention for quoting?
  2. How much quoting is too much?
  3. Why is excessive quoting a problem?
  4. What can I do to avoid excessive quoting?

List Conventions, Abbreviations, and In-Jokes

  1. Someone called "pizza" on my last post! What do they mean? What should I do?
  2. What does ObBujold mean?
  3. What does WLW mean?
  4. What are some other abbreviations used on the list?
  5. Why do people substitute * for the vowels in certain words?
  6. What does FILK: mean?
  7. What does FIC: mean?
  8. What is meant by "Watsonian" and "Doylist"?
  9. How long can my .sig file be?
  10. What's the problem with a period on a line by itself?
  11. What is a "Bryant of books"?
  12. Who is Yeltar? What is Bujoldia? Bujoldar? And what's this about "we're all going to die"?
  13. What is meant by a squid on the mantlepiece?
  14. Who are the OT Thug, the Quote Pixie, the Birthday Tixie, and the Question Apsara?
  15. How do I bring my birthday to the attention of the Birthday Tixie?
  16. How do the List Questions work? How do I suggest a question to the Question Apsara? What is an Apsara, anyway?
  17. What is Sherwooding, or a Sherwooded post?
  18. I'm getting list mail in digest format. Are there any special things I should be aware of before I reply to a message?
  19. What does MCF mean in the subject line of a post?
  20. What does "textev" mean?

II. Pointers to More Bujold Stuff

  1. Where can I find more information about Lois herself? Is there a photograph of her available?
  2. How can I contact Lois Bujold?
  3. Is there a collection of quotes from Lois Bujold's books?
  4. Are there Web sites with Lois Bujold content?
  5. Are there Web sites with more information about the Lois-Bujold Mailing List?
  6. Is there a Bujold mailing list for fans living in my area?
  7. Are there other Internet discussion groups for Lois's work?
  8. What was Miles' Minions?
  9. What is "Winterfair Gifts" and how can I get a copy?

III. Publishers and Merchandising

  1. Who are Lois's publishers?
  2. Are there audiobooks of Lois's works?
  3. Are there other books and publications related to Bujold and her works?
  4. Can I get Bujold T-shirts and other neat stuff?
  5. Is any Bujold filk available on CD?

Other Lois Bujold FAQs

Lois-Bujold Mailing List Administrivia FAQ (how to subscribe, set list options, filter mail)

Plot FAQ (plot questions, pronounciation guides)


I List Etiquette and Conventions

On- and off-topic material

1. Why was the Lois-Bujold Mailing List list created?

The list exists for discussions of topics closely related to the award-winning writing of Lois McMaster Bujold.

2. What kinds of messages are considered off-topic?

If a message does not contain any material directly related to Lois' work, it is considered off-topic. General discussions of writing and publication are off-topic, since they do not pertain specifically to her work.

3. Are discussions of the list itself off-topic?

No.

4. Why are off-topic messages a concern? I see them all the time.

Sometimes the list generates hundreds of messages every day, and a large percentage of them are off-topic. Not all list users have the time or the interest to read off-topic posts. Also, an excess of off-topic posts slows down the list server, which can disrupt ON-topic discussions. Keep in mind that the list and archive is provided FREE by Melanie Harper, as a service to SF fans. Mel too is a fan, but using her server's resources for off-topic conversations is not very courteous. Most importantly, an excess of off-topic messages will dampen the enthusiasm of the people who keep the list running, which could ultimately result in the list's demise.

5. What should list users do if a message they are about to post is off-topic?

Most importantly, consider sending it off-list, especially if only a few people appear to be interested. If you feel that the message should be sent to all list users, you should start the message subject with an off-topic marker.

6. What other rules are there regarding off-topic messages?

Off-topic threads should not continue for more than 3 days after the original seed message. Changing the name of an off-topic thread does not reset the 3-day clock. People who post unmarked or "late" off-topic messages may get a message from the OT Thug, one of Mike's Minions. On the other hand, those who add or remove the OT marker appropriately as a thread moves off- or on-topic may get kudos from the OT Thug.

7. What is the off-topic marker?

An off-topic marker is the text "OT:" (without the quotes) inserted into the subject header of a message. This indicates that the message is off-topic. The off-topic marker makes it easy for people to avoid off-topic discusssions if they so choose, by using a filter in their e-mail client.

If there is an "Re:" or "Fwd:" in the subject line, simply replace "Re:" or "Fwd:" with "OT:" to prevent subject headers from becoming long and redundant (such as "Re: OT: Fwd: Miles").

8. May I use variants of "OT:", like "OT", "(OT)" or "ot"?

No. Mail filters are very literal, and filtering won't work if users have to guess every possible variant of the marker. Also, some variants may cause valid mail to be discarded unintentionally. For example, filtering "ot" may cause the message "Re: Bothari" to be discarded. The official marker must be unique enough to avoid accidents. Please don't use variants.

9. What if a thread comes back on-topic?

Simply remove "OT:" from the subject header.

10. I know my message had "OT:" on it, but it disappeared! What happened?

Some e-mail clients (particularly Outlook Express) may clip markers from the Subject line of posts, to avoid having them pile up (such as "Re: Fwd: Re: Cazaril and the gods"). If your e-mail client is prone to this, you can place the "OT:" at the END of the subject line instead of the beginning and foil it.

11. Why not just moderate the list?

Moderating a list of this size is a monumental task, and few people have time for it. Also, many list users consider the off-topic discussion an integral part of the list itself. Because of the conscientious nature of the Bujold list's users, off-topic markers have proven to be an excellent substitute for a moderator.

12. Are any topics forbidden on the list?

By consensus, the only forbidden topic on the list is U.S. politics. Other emotionally charged issues such as abortion and gun control are not absolutely forbidden, but great care should be taken to keep any discussion calm, factual, and, if at all possible, on-topic. Pizza will be called very quickly if these guidelines are violated.

Spoilers

1. What are spoilers?

A spoiler is anything which gives away a plot point (or any other detail) of a work before the entire work is publicly available. Some people don't care about spoilers, but others would prefer to know nothing about a work until they can read the whole thing. Properly indentifying messages which contain spoilers is a list courtesy for those who dislike them.

2. When is it OK to discuss spoilers on the list?

Discussion may appear on the list, suitably marked (see next item), as soon as ARCs (Advanced Reader's Copies) appear. ARCs may be first spotted by listees who are also reviewers and thus are sent copies by the publisher, or may appear on eBay or similar venues. Baen Books frequently releases eARCs (digital ARCs) of their titles: these count as ARCs for purposes of spoiler discussion.

3. How should posts with spoilers be marked?

Spoiler warnings are in 2 parts. First, put "SP:" in the Subject line of any post containing spoilers. As with the Off-Topic Marker (OT:), no variants of the spoiler marker are allowed. The second part of the spoiler warning is to leave 12-15 lines above and below the spoiler material so that those who read the digest version of the list can see where the spoiler begins and ends. These should not be blank lines, as some programs will telescope those--the best spoiler space is a short sentence or phrase written vertically (one letter per line). Do not use periods this way, as a period on a line by itself will cause the remainder of the message to be truncated by some mail servers.

When replying to a spoilered post, the guidelines on quoting apply--quote only the material necessary to give context for your comments. Be sure to preserve the leading and trailing spoiler space, and to remove any trailing footer on the post you are replying to. If your reply removes all the spoilers from the post, remove the SP: from the Subject line and the spoiler space from the message body. Do not use a Subject such as "No SP:" or "SP: removed", as such a message would still be filtered by e-mail clients looking for "SP:".

4. How long are spoiler warnings necessary?

Any discussion should have spoiler warnings for two months after the date of first publication. (Discussion of sample chapters and other fragments should always be spoilered.) Decision of the exact date of publication is the prerogative of the list owner.

5. Is there another place where I can discuss spoilers freely?

The YahooGroups mailing list, bujold-spoilers, was set up for discussion of Bujold's work within the spoiler period. With the change in list policy (Sept. 2006) to allow on-list discussion as soon as ARCs appear, the main difference between the lists is that Bujold-Spoilers does not required tags and spoiler space. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Bujold-Spoilers list has been inactive since August 2006.

Quoting

1. What is the list convention for quoting?

Quoting refers to quotes of other people's posts to the list. It does not refer to quoting of Lois McMaster Bujold's material, although excessive quoting of that should be avoided too, for other obvious reasons.

List convention is to use either interleaved (preferred) or bottom-posting, not top-posting. In interleaved, the different parts of the reply follow the relevant parts of the original post: in bottom posting the reply follows all of the quoted material. Interleaved posting is strongly preferred because it follows the natural flow of ideas (read the edited original material, then the response), and helps remind people to trim the material they quote.

2. How much quoting is too much?

If less than 50% of the lines in a message are original material, it should not be posted to the list.

Posting a long post in its entirety with a one-liner of agreement is singularly uncouth.

3. Why is excessive quoting a problem?

It is redundant, it takes up hard disk space, and it takes up download time, just like off-topic discussions.

It also makes your valuable contribution harder to read and assimilate.

4. What can I do to avoid excessive quoting?

Remove irrelevant lines and replace them with a notation like "<snipped>", if necessary - or paraphrase the whole thing. Be careful to correctly attribute the text you quote or paraphrase to the original poster. You can replace <snipped> at the beginning or end of text with an ellipsis (...).

Never include headers and sig. files unless they are relevant to your post.

Quotes which have long lines should be edited to less than 70
characters
so that the resulting quotations, after line cutting, which can
occur in
a number of e-mail programs, does not cause the final quoted text
to look
like this.

Nested quotes should be edited to identify the "speakers", rather than relying on multiple >>>>s. e.g:

JB > Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.
SC > Barbrhu, barbrhu, barbrhu, barbrhu, barbrhu.
RS > Brouhaha, brouhaha, brouhaha, brouhaha, brouhaha.

The Quote Pixie (James Bryant) has had a number of posts from people telling him that the discipline of minimising quotes is useful in producing posts which are themselves more succinct. Details of the Quote Policy can be found on the Web.

List Conventions, Abbreviations, and In-Jokes

1. Someone called "pizza" on my last post! What do they mean? What should I do?

In December 2001, Marna Nightingale used "Pizza?" in a post as an example of a polite way of saying, "No thanks, but I'd like to remain friends. Why don't we get some pizza?" when a friend proposes sexual intimacy. "Pizza?" was quickly adopted as a code word used to defuse a potentially heated discussion without fault on either side, as in "Let's drop the subject and stay friends."

A call of "Pizza?" indicates that the caller felt the language in a post or posts was becoming inflammatory. Note that pizza is not to be called on a subject preemptively (as in, "I think this is a dangerous subject to discuss"). The actual language being used must be getting heated, or loaded so that a heated exchange seems likely, or headed flameward. A post which includes a pizza call should be so noted in the subject line, in addition to the current subject. Pizza requests should not include content about the subject, just the elements (a) this is a pizza call, and (b) a neutral naming of the topic or a repeat of the problem thread's subject line, if that uniquely identifies it.

If three people call for pizza on a thread, list discussion of it should cease immediately. Remember, however, that e-mail arrives erratically and some people read the list in digest format, so a few posts may arrive after three calls for pizza are made.

If you feel that your comments were not, in fact, headed into a sensitive area, it is recommended that you discuss this OFF-LIST with the people who called pizza. If they agree the topic may be re-introduced to the list.

2. What does ObBujold mean?

This phrase migrated from Usenet and from other mailing lists. ObBujold means an "Obligatory Bujold" reference, in an attempt to bring an off-topic thread back into the fold.

3. What does WLW mean?

WLW stands for Write, Lois, Write. This mantra was coined to encourage Lois to continue writing her "Next Thing".

4. What are some other abbreviations used on the list?

Abbreviations of titles of Bujold's books:

DD = Dreamweaver's Dillemma
SoH = Shards of Honor
TWA = The Warrior's Apprentice
BoI = Borders of Infinity
BiA = Brothers in Arms
EoA = Ethan of Athos
ACC = A Civil Campaign
CVA = Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
CoC = Curse of Chalion
PoS = Paladin of Souls
HH = The Hallowed Hunt
TSR = The Spirit Ring
TSK = The Sharing Knife
TSK:B = The Sharing Knife: Beguilement
TSK:L = The Sharing Knife: Legacy
TSK:P = The Sharing Knife: Passage
TSK:H = The Sharing Knife: Horizon

WGW = Wide Green World, the world of The Sharing Knife books
5GU = Five Gods Universe, used by some to refer to the world of the Chalion books

LMB is a common shorthand for Lois McMaster Bujold.

Most of the remaining acronyms are Netspeak, such as
LOL = Laughing Out Loud
OTOH = On The Other Hand
IIRC = If I Recall Correctly
FAQ = Frequently Asked Question
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLOLASTC = Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud And Scaring The Cats
AKICIF = All Knowledge Is Contained In Fandom

AKICOTL = All Knowledge Is Contained On The List, and for off-topic queries, AKICOT:L (list variants of AKICIF)

More can be found in this Internet slang dictionary, or this list of text and chat abbreviations.

5. Why do people substitute * for the vowels in certain words?

Several list members receive list messages through servers that run "nannyware"--software which filters out messages that contain certain forbidden words. Substituting * for the vowels in curse words or anything likely to trigger such nannyware will allow your messages to get through. Other means of disguising such words (such as spelling them backwards, as "dratsab") will also work, as long as listees can figure out the intended word.

Other terms might not trigger nannyware, but might be picked up in Internet searches and lead trollers to the list. G*n c*ntr*l and ab*rt**n are most commonly disguised.

Finally, in a long-standing list joke that originated in a somewhat heated discussion on the relative merits of Bujold's characters and David Weber's Honor Harrington novels, some listees commonly write "D*v*d W*b*r" and "H*n*r H*rr*ngt*n".

6. What does FILK: mean?

Filk is folk music on science fiction topics. A FILK: tag on a message to the lois-bujold list gives fair warning that the message contains Filk, so that list members can avoid it or seek it out as desired. If a filk song is written to the tune of an existing song, a "TTTO" note ("to the tune of") is appreciated.

An archive of Bujold filk may be found on The Bujold Overflow site.

7. What does FIC: mean?

FIC: identifies messages which contain fan fiction, that is, stories written in Bujold's universes by others. The FIC: tag warns all those who loathe the genre, warns Lois since she's interested in not reading them, and alerts those fanfic lovers on the list.

An archive of Bujold FanFic may also be found on The Bujold Overflow site.

8. What is meant by "Watsonian" and "Doylist"?

The terms Doylist and Watsonian derive from the Sherlock Holmes stories. Doylist is from Arthur Conan Doyle, the author, and Watsonian from Doctor Watson, the narrator in the stories. The terms are most often applied to explanations of inconsistencies between (or even within) books or stories in a series.

A Doylist explanation discusses inconsistences or plot in terms of why the author did things that way. Lois Bujold's Doylist explanation for some inconsistencies is "the author had A Better Idea" in the later book.

A Watsonian explanation discusses the inconsistency or plot point from the perspective of the story. Inconsistencies might be explained by a character lying or being unaware of all the facts.

9. How long can my .sig file be?

Your .sig should be as short as possible: four lines is a suggested maximum, but one or two lines is even better. Unlike Usenet, your .sig in an message to the list takes up space in every recipient's mailbox, and shows up in addition to the 3 lines added by the list server to every message. Please be considerate and keep your .sig short. That cute graphic or quotation may be appreciated on first usage, but will grow annoying to others with your later posts.

10. What's the problem with a period on a line by itself?

A period on a line by itself is the SMTP mail protocol marker for "end of message". While some mail servers look for occurances of periods alone and buffer them, other mail servers will truncate all of the message after the line with the period.

11. What is a "Bryant of books"?

The Bryant is a unit of books, originally used by Pouncer (Jeff Melcher) in April 1998 and named for listee James M. Bryant. The original size of the Bryant was 5000 books, which was something less than the size of James Bryant's library at the time. Shortly thereafter, the Bryant was re-defined as 1000 books.

In May of 1999, the current OT Thug, Jeff Parker, proposed an expanded set of measures for books, based on the (fictional) castle library of the late Sir James Bryant, which were adopted with some modifications by other listees. Those units are:

1 Bryant (B) = 4577 books
1 Habryant = 2289 books
1 Sitter (or Rhoom) = 1104 books
1 Dinky = 161 books
1 Wallshel = 23 books
1 Bedside = 17 books

The 4577-book Bryant is now generally referred to as the Old English Bryant, and the 1000-book Bryant as the metric Bryant.

12. Who is Yeltar? What is Bujoldia? Bujoldar? And what's this about "we're all going to die"?

In December 1997, Doug Muir postulated that the alien known as Yeltar-3, a lurker on the Bujold list, abducted all the members of the list to populate a colony on Bujoldia (Digest 971215-1037). Bujoldia is an Earth-like planet, Yeltar provides some basic tools, but the listees, collectively, have to have the necessary skills to survive. Much discussion ensued on the probable survival of the colony as various bits of information on the biology, geology, and other facets of Bujoldia was trickled out. Despite many listees' arguments, Doug continued to maintain that "we're all going to die" in less than a year. Eventually the hidden identity of Doug as Yeltar-3 was revealed (Digest 971223-1067). Debra Fran Baker's twenty-years-later tale in Digest 971219-1054 provides a nice summary, with Doug's "Bite us Yeltar" addition later in the same digest.

In the midst of the Bujoldia discussion (Digest 971217-1046), Elizabeth Twitchell countered with a decription of another colony planet, Bujoldar. Bujoldar is a central library world, and is well stocked with chocolate and pecans (as Pat Wrede states these are necessary if we hope to attract Lois herself to the planet). Many listees immediately declared their preference for Bujoldar.

Revivals of the Bujoldia/Bujoldar discussions have occurred periodically, most recently in June 2002.

13. What is meant by a squid on the mantelpiece?

A squid on the mantelpiece is a reference from the Turkey City Lexicon, a document that defines terms of use in science-fiction writing workshops. The squid is contrasted with Chekhov's quote about pistols over the mantelpiece, which addresses the point that a plot element should be deployed in a timely fashion and with proper dramatic emphasis.

When list discussion tackled the topic in February 1999 Pouncer dragged the squid to Barrayar, and a squid has been periodically placed on the mantel of Vorkosigan House since.

14. Who are the OT Thug, the Quote Pixie, the Birthday Tixie, and the Question Apsara?

These are the List Creatures, also known collectively as Mike's Minions (Mike being Michael Bernardi, the list owner). See the OT FAQs for the role of the OT Thug and the Quoting FAQs for the Quote Pixie. The Birthday Tixie sends birthday greetings to list members. The Question Apsara poses "List Questions"to promote on-topic discussion.

More information on the original List Creatures may be found in the piece A Short Listory.

15. How do I bring my birthday to the attention of the Birthday Tixie?

Send your birth date (year is optional) in a message to the list and the Birthday Tixie will add you to the list. Be sure to use a subject for your message that will alert the Birthday Tixie to look at the message: "Attention Birthday Tixie" or something similar should work.

16. How do the List Questions work? How do I suggest a question to the Question Apsara? What is an Apsara, anyway?

List Questions are sent out periodically by the Question Apsara, and are marked 'LQ #nn:'. (An Apsara is a female nature spirit in Hindu mythology.) Discussion for any question continues as long as people are interested, and a new question is not the cut-off for responses to any old questions. List Questions are sent out at the Question Apsara's discretion, and may be suspended when other on-topic discussion is active.

Questions may be submitted by any list member. Email your suggestion to the Question Apsara offlist at tora@dendarii.com. Include whether you'd like to be credited with the question or if you'd rather be anonymous.

17. What is Sherwooding, or a Sherwooded post?

Early listee Anton Sherwood frequently consolidated his single-topic replies to posts from many people into one message, often paraphrasing the material to which he was responding to save space. In July 1998, Paula Sanch used "Sherwood" as an adjective to describe this type of post, and the phrases "a Sherwooded response", "a Sherwood", and "Sherwooding" entered the list vocabulary.

Sherwooded posts on multiple unrelated topics are difficult to handle for those who read by subject, and should be avoided if possible.

18. I'm getting list mail in digest format. Are there any special things I should be aware of before I reply to a message?

Yes. You should always replace the digest subject line with a meaningful subject. If you are replying to a post, the best option is to copy the subject of that message and paste it into your subject line.

Be sure to delete the rest of the digest from your reply.

Remember that you are reading messages later than list members who receive messages directly. Before you reply, please read the entire digest or check the current messages on the Web to see if your point has already been made. Also consider this lag time before posting to a thread which may have been called for exceeding the 3-day limit or which may have been pizza'ed.

19. What does MCF mean in the subject line of a post?

MCF stands for "My Cat Fluffy", and was initially coined as a complaint about posts on the personal trivia of listees. MCF most specifically refers to posts about the lives, deaths, and so forth of listees' cats, though posts on dogs, other pets, and minor events in the lives of listees themselves can also fall into the category.

MCF, removed from its pejorative beginnings, has become a convenient list marker for posts which relate to personal matters in the lives of listees that other listees might prefer to skip. Its use is optional. MCF posts without significant on-topic content should be marked OT:

20. What does "textev" mean?

Text evidence. That is, material in published writings (generally Bujold's, on this list) that back up the assertion being made.


Pointers to More Bujold Stuff

1. Where can I find more information about Lois herself? Is there a photograph of her available?

Biographical information

Bibliographical information

The Photo Archive, with pictures from fan gatherings and some posed portraits

2. How can I contact Lois Bujold?

If you have a general question, consider posting to the Lois-Bujold Mailing List or to the MilesToGo forum on Baen's Bar. Lois reads both of these and sometimes will respond, or your question perhaps can be answered by other Bujold fans. She is also blogging at Goodreads, which has a message system in addition to blog commenting. You can send email to lois@dendarii.com.

3. Is there a collection of quotes from Lois Bujold's books?

Mike Bernardi has created a random quote or "fortune cookie" file from the Vorkosigan books. Various programs can use this file to provide a quotation to appear on your computer screen on start-up, or to incorporate as a .sig into your e-mail messages. A Web random-quote generator that uses this file is available on The Bujold Nexus.

Example quote:

Maybe we ought to send him to the salt mines for two weeks every year, to keep him happy and content with his regular job.
-- Miles wonders about Gregor's state of mind
   (Lois McMaster Bujold, The Vor Game)

The Vorkosigan wiki also has a quotes page for the Vorkosigan books.

4. Are there Web sites with Lois Bujold content?

Lois McMaster Bujold's official Web site is The Bujold Nexus. She also has a blog and author page on Goodreads, and posts on the Bujold list and on the MilesToGo forum at Baen's Bar.

Additional material is at the Bujold Nexus Overflow Site (cover art, filk, fan art, fan fiction, etc.)

The Vorkosigan wiki, spearheaded by Karen Hunt, contains a great deal of detail on the Vorkosigan books.

Listee Bo Johansson's science-fiction Web pages have links to some of his fan art and to his "Vorkosigan ComConsole" and "Quintarian Web Browser", skins for some versions of popular Web browsers.

The Bujold Nexus has links to other web pages with Bujold related material.

The Lois McMaster Bujold Webring

5. Are there Web sites with more information about the Lois-Bujold Mailing List?

Official information on the mailing list, including the FAQs, is maintained at The Bujold Nexus.

6. Is there a Bujold mailing list for fans living in my area?

Several mailing lists have been set up for geographic areas, generally for the purpose of arranging MiniLoisCons (meetings of Bujold fans, sometimes on the occasion of Bujold visiting that area). The exceptions are LMB-UK and Barrayar, which are general discussion groups for fans in Britain and Ireland, and for French-speaking fans, respectively. Activity on all of these lists is sporadic.

Australia:
   LMB-Oz
Britain and Ireland:
   LMB-UK
Atlanta:
   Bujold-Atlanta
Boston:
   Bujold-Boston. To subscribe, send email to: bujold-boston-subscribe@lists.ckdhr.com
   also a YahooGroup: BostonMiniLoisConCentral
France/French-speaking fans:
   Barrayar
Minneapolis:
   MplsMiniLoisCons
Portland:
   Bujold-portland
San Francisco Bay:
   LMB-SFBay. To subscribe, send email to: lmb-sfbay-subscribe@berthillier.net
Seattle:
   Bujold-seattle
Washington, DC:
   DC-Dendarii

7. Are there other Internet discussion forums for Lois's work?

Lois's Goodreads page provides a blogging tool with commenting capability. The Goodreads blog replaced her MySpace page when MySpace eliminated blogs.

The Baen Books Web Site has a forum/newsgroup devoted to Lois in Baen's Bar. Lois frequently posts there in her "Miles To Go" conference. Baen's Bar can also be accessed via a news reader: ask on the Bar or see their help pages for details.

Lois's Goodreads blog posts and book reviews are copied to a Facebook fan page by admins Tora and Nancy. Lois does not post there herself.

The Internet Book Database of Fiction hosts a Lois McMaster Bujold Official Author Discussion Forum.

Several LiveJournal communities are focused on Lois's works:

More inactive email lists:

8. What was Miles' Minions?

Miles' Minions was a short-lived official Lois McMaster Bujold Appreciation Society. The Dendarii Dispatch was the newsletter of Miles' Minions and was last published in 1998. The fan club and newsletter are inactive. Past editions of the newsletter are available on the Web.

9. What is "Winterfair Gifts" and how can I get a copy?

"Winterfair Gifts" is a novella-length story set during Miles' and Ekaterin's wedding. The novella was published in a SF/romance crossover anthology edited by Catherine Asaro called Irresistible Forces. Other authors in the anthology are Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, Jennifer Roberson, Deb Stover, and Catherine Asaro. The anthology was originally scheduled for February 2003, but was postponed by the publisher to February 2004 (for Valentine's Day) in order to make a stronger publicity push. The February 2004 release was a trade paperback: in January 2006 a mass-market paperback was released.

The novella alone is available as an ebook from Amazon (and other vendors) and as an audio version by Blackstone Audio. It was also included in the anthology Miles in Love.

Because of the delay in the U.S. publication, "Winterfair Gifts" was published first in early 2003 as a stand-alone version in Croatian.


Publishers and Merchandising

1. Who are Lois's publishers?

Publisher Web Sites (many have sample chapters of some books):

Baen Books (Vorkosigan series print editions, some e-books as Webscriptions)
HarperCollins/Eos (now HarperVoyager) (Chalion books; The Sharing Knife)
Tor (Women at War, edited by Bujold)
Blackstone Audiobooks (audiobooks; see below)
NESFA Press (Dreamweaver's Dilemma, hardcover editions of books originally published as paperbacks)
The Science Fiction Book Club (lower-cost editions, must be a member of the book club to purchase)
Easton Press (high-end leather-bound editions sold as part of a subscription series, not available for individual purchase: copies turn up on eBay occasionally)

Lois has released most of her backlist as direct placement ebooks (some links will also show publisher-placed titles):
Amazon Kindle US | Kindle UK |Apple iTunes store (US) | iTunes UK | B&N Nook

2. Are there audiobooks of Lois's works?

Currently, unabridged audiobooks are being produced by Blackstone Audiobooks and are available as downloads at Downpour.com, library editions, and some consumer editions on CD. Blackstone MP3 downloads are also available from venues such as Audible.com and iTunes. The stand-alone novel The Spirit Ring was produced by Brilliance Audio in 2012. Earlier audiobooks were unabridged multiple-reader editions produced by The Reader's Chair, and were available on cassette tape and some MP3-format CDs. The Reader's Chair is now out of business, though copies of their editions may occasionally show up used on sites such as eBay and Amazon.

Blackstone Audio
Title Reader ISBN (MP3 CD) Date
Chalion books
The Curse of Chalion Lloyd James 0-786-18559-7 July 2004
Paladin of Souls Kate Reading 0-786-18263-3 February 2005
The Hallowed Hunt Marguerite Gavin 978-1-4332-0105-9 March 2007
The Sharing Knife books
The Sharing Knife, Vol. 1: Beguilement Bernadette Dunne 1-4332-0624-5 July 2007
The Sharing Knife, Vol. 2: Legacy Bernadette Dunne 1-4332-0780-8 September 2007
The Sharing Knife, Vol. 3: Passage Bernadette Dunne 1-4332-3494-1 April 2008
The Sharing Knife, Vol. 4: Horizon Bernadette Dunne 1-4332-3596-X July 2009
Vorkosigan books
Shards of Honor Grover Gardner 1433231921 May 2009
Barrayar Grover Gardner 1-4332-3201-4 December 2009
The Warrior's Apprentice Grover Gardner 0-786-17953-4 September 2005
The Vor Game Grover Gardner 0-786-18021-9 June 2005
Cetaganda Grover Gardner 978-0-786-17511-6 May 2006
Brothers in Arms Grover Gardner 978-0-786-17108-8 January 2007
Borders of Infinity Grover Gardner 1-4332-3206-5 June 2010
Mirror Dance Grover Gardner 978-1-4332-0570-5 June 2007
Memory Grover Gardner 1-4332-0115-8 March 2007
Komarr Grover Gardner 1-4332-0259-9 May 2007
A Civil Campaign Grover Gardner 1-4332-0710-5 September 2007
"Winterfair Gifts" Grover Gardner 1-4332-5019-4 July 2008
Diplomatic Immunity Grover Gardner 1-4332-1315-1 January 2008
Cryoburn Grover Gardner 1-4516-3750-0 October 2010
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance Grover Gardner 1-4708-0786-6 November 2012

 

Brillance Audio
Title Reader ISBN (MP3 CD) Date
The Spirit Ring Jessica Almasy 1-4805-6383-8 February 2012

 

The Reader's Chair
Title Readers ISBN Date
Falling Free Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 0-9624010-9-9 April 1996
Shards of Honor Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-00-4 December 1996
Barrayar Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-01-2 December 1997
The Warrior's Apprentice Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-02-0 December 1997
The Vor Game Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-03-9 October 1998
Cetaganda Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-04-7 August 1998
Ethan of Athos Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-05-5 September 1999
Borders of Infinity Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-06-3 May 2000
Brothers in Arms Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan 1-885585-07-1 December 2000
Mirror Dance damaged in production; never released

 

3. Are there other books and publications by or related to Bujold and her works?

4. Can I get Bujold T-shirts and other neat stuff?

Two vendors offer authorized Bujold merchandise.

SoftWear Toys and Tees (run by former list member Steve Salaba)

Pegasus Publishing

5. Is any Bujold filk available on CD?

Several filk CDs are available which include Bujold filk songs. Visit the Bujold Filk Archive and look toward the bottom of the page for links to pages for the filk authors' pages. Both Echo's Children and Tom Smith have CDs available.


FAQ History
Date Modifications
27 Oct 2013 Version 4.1.0 Added interleaved posting to Quotes; updated audiobooks; freshened OT and removed inactive comments on OT Thug, spoilers, list acronyms; changed MySpace page to Goodreads, checked and updated links. Consolidated mention of several inactive email lists including star_creche. Added "related works".
27 July 2008 Version 4.0.0 Updated audiobooks; freshened OT, spoilers, list acronyms; added forbidden topics, 'no Parthian shots' to pizza call, Question Apsara, MySpace page, BostonMiniLoisConCentral, LiveJournal, IBDoF forum, MCF, textev; removed bujold-list.info links; moved publishers listing
19 Dec 2006
Version 3.9.1
Changed spoiler page URL, birthday information
17 Sept. 2006
Version 3.9.0
Revised Spoiler FAQ to allow posts from date of ARC, added acronyms, updated publisher list, revised audiobooks, link check, revised "other lists" lists.
Sep 2003
Version 3.8.0
Added How can I contact LMB?, Winterfair Gifts, list creatures, Birthday Tixie, Sherwooding, bujold-spoilers, special digest considerations, Bo Johansson's Web pages, availability of NESFA EoA.
May 2003
Version 3.7.0
Revised "pizza" and Reader's Chair, added squid on the mantlepiece.
Oct 2002
Version 3.6.0
Added French mailing list, "pizza", bujold-list.info, and Yeltar, removed MD from Reader's Chair offerings.
Jun 2002
Version 3.5.1
Corrected credit for Old English Bryant
May 2002
Version 3.5.0
Added Bryant, geographic lists, and star_creche FAQs. Changed Dendarii Dispatch URL. Changed spoiler tag to SP:.
Jan 2002
Version 3.4.1
Added "periods on a line" and .sig length FAQs.
Jan 2002
Version 3.4.0
Added more detail to spoiler FAQs, added additional online resources (some moved from Admin FAQ), added FILK, FIC, Doylist/Watsonian, general editing. Incorporated the Off-Topic FAQ into the list FAQ because of the significant overlap. Revision by Nancy Barber.
Dec 1996 List FAQ further split to produce three FAQs.
Mar 1996 FAQ split into two parts.
8 August 1994 FAQ initially compiled by Michael Bernardi.

Credits:

General FAQ material was supplied by Lois McMaster Bujold, Locus, Greg Slade, Suford Lewis, Michael Bernardi, and other members of the Lois-Bujold Mailing List. The change to Question and Answer format is due to Greg Slade.

The OT: FAQ material was compiled by Paul Freitas, after discussions by Michael Bernardi, Greg Slade, Paula Matuszek, Bror Heinola, Jeff Parker, James Bryant, and Paul Freitas.

Especial thanks to Melanie Dymond Harper (mel@herald.co.uk) for hosting the LOIS-BUJOLD list, the Web site at dendarii.com, and the list archive site.

Suggestions for material to be included in this document should be sent to lmb-faq@dendarii.com.

This file may be freely distributed provided that it remains unedited from its current form. Sections may be quoted for reference providing its source is given. It may be printed for personal use.

© 1994-2013 by Michael Bernardi and Nancy Barber.

Webpage design by Michael Bernardi, mike@dendarii.co.uk


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Last updated: 27 Oct 2013