L. Frank Baum's mystical and magical Land of Oz has been re-envisioned again and again. Before the quintessential 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, which starred Judy Garland, there were nearly a dozen other movie versions made -- doesn't help the 'remakes suck' argument, does it? There are (at least) a couple more new takes coming, with Sam Raimi's Oz The Great and Powerful, and that terrible looking animated feature Dorothy of Oz, which actually boasts an impressive voice cast. There's also the direct sequel that Drew Barrymore was supposed to direct. And, of course, there's Todd McFarlane's long gestating (in his head at least) take on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz -- the toys are cool though at least.
While we wait for those movie adaptations to come skipping down the Yellow Brick Road, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen just sold the anthology Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond to Amazon's 47North imprint. Expect to see it available next February. Here's the press release teasing the new visions we can expect to see.
In this anthology, the editors have recruited some of today's most popular and talented young adult and fantasy writers and asked them to re-imagine L. Frank Baum's classic creation. In these stories, you will be reintroduced to the world of Oz, but it will be Oz as you've never seen it before. Ever wonder what Emerald City would look with an urban fantasy makeover? Perhaps you want to know the origin of Dorothy's slippers, or maybe you want to know what happened when the Wizard first came to the Land of Oz. What if Dorothy never went to Oz at all, or the Land of Oz was actually a dystopian nightmare? All these scenarios and many more will be found in Oz Reimagined.
At the helm of this project are John Joseph Adams-bestselling editor of more than a dozen science fiction/fantasy anthologies-and Douglas Cohen, former editor of Realms of Fantasy Magazine. Together, they will bring you stories by celebrated authors such as Orson Scott Card, Tad Williams, Jane Yolen, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Simon R. Green, David Farland, and many other terrific talents who have each reinvented Oz with their own unique visions. Along with a foreword by Gregory Maguire-renowned author of Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West-the anthology features a lineup not to be missed.
Baum's original Oz books were always published with beautiful interior illustrations. Given that, it seemed appropriate to do the same for Oz Reimagined. And so we commissioned artist Galen Dara to provide the cover and an original illustration for each story in the book.
Okay, they got some talent behind this. I'll definitely be checking it out when it hits. I'm sure we can expect a few of these to get small screen or big-screen adaptations down the line. Just make Zooey Deschanel star in it (like in the Oz set mini series Tin Man), and I'll preorder my ticket right now.