Pub Fiction AKA Bar Tales

i.e. published fantasy and science fiction stories set in bars

I love pub fiction (AKA bar tales AKA club stories AKA tavern tales AKA whatever combination you can think up of "place where people go to drink" plus "storytelling") - I don't know why. I've been meaning to put together info on various contributors to this genre for a while and now I've finally done it. (I also like Science Fiction Mysteries. Maybe I'll do a page for them next.)

A note about this page: most of these books are bundles of short stories - so the section on Books are generally collections by the same author while Anthologies are by various authors. Stories may be found in either of the above category, or on their own (in other collections). At the very bottom are pub tales of which I've heard, but have not yet seen good info. I am in the midst of researching them (when I have the time). If you know anything about them, feel free to email me. -kjc AT apocalypse DOT org

Clean copy here, with limited comments.

Books

Bar: Callahan's
Author: Spider Robinson
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
Time Traveler's Strictly Cash
Callahan's Secret

Bar: Mary's Place
Author: Spider Robinson
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

The Callahan Touch
Callahan's Legacy
Callahan's Key

Bar: The White Hart
Author: Arthur C. Clarke
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Tales From The "White Hart"

Bar: Gavagan's Bar
Author: L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Book(s):

Tales From Gavagan's Bar

Bar: The One-Eyed Crow
Author: Dennis L. McKiernan
Genre: Fantasy
Book(s):

Tales From The One-Eyed Crow: The Vulgmaster
Tales of Mithgar

Bar: Bullfinche's Pub
Author: Patrick Thomas
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Book(s):

Murphy's Lore: Tales from Bullfinche's Pub
Murphy's Lore: Fool's Day
Murphy's Lore: Through The Drinking Glass

Bar: Cowboy Feng's
Author: Steven Brust
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille

Bar: The Outpost
Author: Mike Resnick
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

The Outpost

Note that Mr. Resnick dedicated this book to the Outpost's progenitors: Rick's Cafe Americain (undoubtedly from Casablanca), The Monkey Bar (possibly from the short-lived TV series Tales of the Gold Monkey), Gavagan's Bar (see above), Joe the Angel's City Hall Bar (from the stories of Craig Rice (pseudonym of Georgiana Ann Randolph)), Wallace's (FOUND IT! See "Chance Purdue"), The White Hart (see above), Tchoka's (the bar in Resnick's own piece, The Soul Eater), and Draco Tavern (see below).

Bar: Slab's Tavern
Author: John Gregory Betancourt
Genre: Fantasy
Book(s):

Slab's Tavern and Other Uncanny Places

Bar: The Billiards Club
Author: Lord Dunsany
Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Book(s):

The Jorkens Quintet (the original collections of the Jorkens short stories):

The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens
Jorkens Remembers Africa
Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey
The Fourth Book of Jorkens
Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey

The Collected Jorkens Volume 1
The Collected Jorkens Volume 2
The Collected Jorkens Volume 3

Bar: Psychoanalytic Alliance luncheon club AKA Pshrinks Anonymous
Author: Janet O. Jeppson
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

The Mysterious Cure

Bar: "the club" (attended by narrator Brigadier Donald Ffellowes)
Author: Sterling Lanier
Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Book(s):

Peculiar Exploits of Brigadier Ffellowes
The Curious Quests of Brigadier Ffellowes

Bar: Wallace's
Author: Ross H. Spencer
Genre: Hard-boiled detective
Book(s):

The Dada Caper (1978)
The Regis Arms Caper (1979)
The Stranger City Caper (1980)
The Abu Wahab Caper (1980)
The Raddish River Caper (1981)


Collected in:

The Compleat Chance Purdue

Bar: the Gaff and Slasher Inn
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Genre: Fantasy
Book(s):

The Innkeeper's Song
Giant Bones (1993)

Bar: the Inn of the Last Home
Author: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Larry Elmore (contributors and editors)
Genre: Fantasy (note that these are sourcebooks for the DragonLance fiction and gaming universe)
Book(s):

Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home: The Complete Krynn Source Book
More Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home

Bar: The Anglers' Rest
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Genre: Humor
Book(s):

The World of Mr. Mulliner (the collected 42 stories told by Mr. Mulliner in The Angler's Rest)

Bar: The Union Club
Author: Isaac Asimov
Genre: Mystery
Book(s):

The Union Club Mysteries (the collected 30 mystery stories told by Griswold, EXcluding both the fantasy tale "Getting Even" (noted below) and the very first mystery story (I don't know its title), printed in Gallery magazine but not, so far as I know, collected due to Asimov's not being happy with it.)

Bar: Diamondback Jack's
Author: Allen Steele
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Sex And Violence In Zero-G, from MM Publishing

Bar: The Draco Tavern
Author: Larry Niven
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

The Draco Tavern

Bar:
Author:
Genre:
Book(s):

Anthologies (various authors)

Editor(s): George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Tales From The Spaceport Bar
Another Round At the Spaceport Bar

Editor(s): Robert Lynn Asprin
Genre: Fantasy
Book(s):

Tales From The Vulgar Unicorn

Editor(s): Kealan Patrick Burke
Genre: Horror
Book(s):

Taverns of the Dead

Editor(s): Denise Little
Genre: Science Fiction
Book(s):

Cosmic Cocktails

Stories (requires that there be more than one set in any given bar)

Bar: The Draco Tavern
Author: Larry Niven
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"The Subject Is Closed"
"Grammar Lesson"
"Assimilating Our Culture, That's What They're Doing"
"The Schumann Computer"
"The Green Marauder"
"The Real Thing"
"War Movie"
"Limits"
"Table Manners" (originally "Folk Tale")
"One Night at the Draco Tavern"
"The Heights"
"The Wisdom of Demons"
"Smut Talk"
"Ssoroghod's People"
"The Missing Mass"
"The Convergence of the Old Mind"
"Chrysalis"
"The Death Addict"
"Storm Front"
"The Slow Ones"
"Cruel and Unusual"
"The Ones Who Stay Home"
"Breeding Maze"
"Playhouse"
"Lost"
"Losing Mars"
"Playground Earth"

FINALLY, all the Draco Tavern stories have been collected (including one unpublished tale) in a booked called The Draco Tavern (what else?). It's a TOR paperback, ISBN-13: 9780765347718. Note: Good info on The Draco Tavern stories at http://www.larryniven.org/reviews/draco_tavern.htm.

Bar: The Union Club
Author: Isaac Asimov
Genre: Fantasy
Stories:

"Getting Even"

Bar: The Union Club
Author: Isaac Asimov
Genre: Mystery
Stories:

"No Refuge Could Save"
"The Telephone Number"
"The Men Who Wouldn't Talk"
"A Clear Shot"
"Irresistible to Women"
"He Wasn't There"
"The Thin Line"
"Mystery Tune"
"Hide and Seek"
"Gift"
"Hot or Cold"
"The Thirteenth Pagen"
"1 to 999"
"Twelve Years Old"
"Testing, Testing!"
"The Appleby Story"
"Dollars and Cents"
"Friends and Allies"
"Which is Which?"
"The Sign"
"Catching the Fox"
"Getting the Combination"
"The Library Book"
"The Three Goblets"
"Spell It!"
"Two Women"
"Sending a Signal"
"The Favorite Piece"
"Half a Ghost"
"There Was a Young Lady"

Bar: The Billiard's Club
Author: Lord Dunsany
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"Strategy At The Billiard's Club"
""

NOTE that in 2004/2005, the Lord Dunsany stories were collected in three hardcover volumes: The Collected Jorkens Volumes 1, 2, and 3. They were originally collected into 5 books: The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens, Jorkens Remembers Africa, Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey, The Fourth Book of Jorkens, and Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey.

Bar: Slab's Tavern
Author: John Gregory Betancourt
Genre: Fantasy
Stories:

"On The Rocks At Slab's"
"Well Bottled at Slab's"
"Cleaning Up at Slab's"
"On the Scent at Slab's"
""

Bar: Psychoanalytic Alliance luncheon club AKA Pshrinks Anonymous
Author: Janet O. Jeppson
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"The Mysterious Cure"
"The Hotter Flash"
"A Million Shades of Green"
"August Angst"
"Seasonal Special"
"The Beanstalk Analysis"
"A Pestilence of Psychoanalysts"
"Consternation and Empire"
"The Noodge Factor"
"The Ultimate Biofeedback Device"
"The Curious Consultation"
"The Time-Warp Trauma"
"The Horn of Elfland"

Bar: "the club" (attended by narrator Brigadier Donald Ffellowes)
Author: Sterling Lanier
Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy
Stories:

"Fraternity Brother"
"His Coat So Gay"
"His Only Safari"
"The Kings of the Sea"
"The Leftovers"
"Soldier Key"
"Ghost of a Crown"
"And the Voice of the Turtle..."
"A Father's Tale"
"Commander in the Mist"
"Thinking of the Unthinkable"
"The Brigadier in Check - and Mate"

As noted above, these stories are collected in Peculiar Exploits of Brigadier Ffellowes and The Curious Quests of Brigadier Ffellowes.

Bar: no specific bar - the stories are all told by the narrator's unnamed Mad Friend
Author: G. C. Edmondson
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"The Misfit"
"From Caribou to Carrie Nation"
"The Galactic Calabash"
"The Sign of the Goose"
"The Country Boy"
"The World Must Never Know"
"The Third Bubble"

Note, these are collected in the book Stranger Than You Think (bound along with The Ship That Sailed the Time Stream).

Bar: The Rook's Branch Tavern
Author: Jeff Cates
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"Getting a Toehold in the Belt" (#1)
"The Lost Dutchman's Asteroid" (#2)
"Sojourner" (#3 & #5 - printed twice in the same magazine)
"A Second Line of Defense" (#4)
"Vineland Two" (#6 part 1)
"The Challenger" (sold but unpublished)
""

Bar: Diamondback Jack's
Author: Allen Steele
Genre: Science Fiction
Stories:

"Free Beer & The William Casey Society"
"The Return of Weird Frank"
"Sugar's Blues"
"The Flying Triangle"

NOTE that the stories are all currently in print in Sex And Violence In Zero-G, MM Publishing, Decatur GA, 1999

Bar:
Author:
Genre:
Stories:

""
""

Stuff I've Heard About (but don't have or haven't completed research on yet):

UPDATE: 12 December 2006 - I found it! Turns out they put together an actual book, rather than an issue devoted to the topic. The book's called Taverns of the Dead. (ORIGINAL NOTE: Cemetery Dance magazine & publishing house is going to be putting out an anthology about horror/dark fantasy stories set in an inn, pub or tavern... browsed the site, didn't see any mention, will look harder soon. 2/21/2003)