Ian Stoba

January 1, 1997

Dear Daniel Pinkwater,

Not all that long ago I saw something in the Powell Books web site that got my attention right away. I think it was a misprint, but I still like the idea. They listed for sale a book by you called _The Hoboken Chicken Emergencyclopedia_. As far as typos go, I think this was a cool one.

It made we wonder; have you ever thought about having someone do an annotated edition of some of your novels? It could be sort of like a Pinkwater reader’s guide, pointing out that _Lizard Music_ contains a pretty complete early plot treatment of _Fat Men From Space_ and takes place in the same town as the Snarkout books. Part of the fun of reading one of your books is chasing down all the references to the other books and spotting the recurring characters that hide in the shadows.

With the set of five novels being published this year maybe you could even get some snooty university press to publish it. That way you might actually make some money selling it to university libraries. What do you think?

There are times when my whole life seems to be an emergencyclopedia. Not that I don't enjoy every minute of it. (See my response below). A university press? Like regular publishers aren't ghastly enough?