Posted by Martin Paul Eve on 2022-04-04

Orbit is proud to announce the publication of a special issue on Mark Z. Danielewski’s pentalogy The Familiar, perhaps the most remarkable and audacious project in American fiction in the twenty-first century so far. A truly unique blend of various textual, visual, material, and medial features, these novels were published to considerable critical and popular acclaim, although the series was “paused” after its first “season.” The eight essays in this collection aim to offer a variety of perspectives on The Familiar for academic and non-academic readers alike. The introduction to this special issue also includes a link to a current bibliography of Danielewski criticism. Readers are invited to correct or add to that list so that it can be kept up to date and as complete as possible; furthermore, Orbit welcomes submissions on Danielewski’s work. Finally, the collection includes a ninth contribution: an original piece by Mark Z. Danielewski that offers, among other things, a glimpse of Season 2.