Editing Mark Z. Danielewski (section)

===''The Fifty Year Sword''===
After the publication of ''House of Leaves'', Danielewski worked on two projects in tandem: his second novel ''[[Only Revolutions]],'' and a novella,  ''[[The Fifty Year Sword]]'', an "adult ghost story". Danielewski created the book itself with the Dutch artist [[Peter van Sambeek]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/spooky-lit-mark-z-danielewskis-the-fifty-year-sword/|title=Spooky Lit: Mark Z. Danielewski's The Fifty Year Sword|last=Shatkin|first=Elina|date=October 16, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Magazine|access-date=April 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/219725/the-fifty-year-sword-by-mark-z-danielewski/|title=The Fifty Year Sword|date=October 16, 2012|website=Penguin Random House|publisher=Pantheon|access-date=April 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40154.The_Fifty_Year_Sword|title=The Fifty Year Sword|last=Danielewski|first=Mark Z.|website=Goodreads|access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> The [[Recto and verso|recto]] pages of the book are empty<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=The Fifty Year Sword|last=Danielewski|first=Mark Z. Danielewski|publisher=De Bezig Bij|year=2005|isbn=978-9023418771|location=Amsterdam}}</ref> except for page numbers and van Sambeek's art.<ref name=":13" /> The Dutch publishing house [[De Bezige Bij]] published 1000 first editions on October 31, 2005,<ref name=":13" /> and 1000 second editions on October 31, 2006.<ref name=":13" /> Little is actually known about the inspiration for the story, or the exact time period during which it was written.

====Pantheon edition and theatrical collaborations====
In 2010, Danielewski announced that he would do a stage performance of ''The Fifty Year Sword'', the first of which were on October 31, 2010 at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater ([[REDCAT]]) in Los Angeles.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web|url=http://www.redcat.org/event/mark-danielewski|title=Mark Z. Danielewski: The Fifty Year Sword|last=Danielewski|first=Mark Z.|date=October 31, 2010|website=www.redcat.org|publisher=REDCAT|access-date=April 11, 2016}}</ref> There were two back-to-back sold-out performances that night.<ref name=":19" /> The production featured music, five people reading the words of the five speakers in the novella (including [[Betsy Brandt]], who played [[Marie Schrader]] on ''[[Breaking Bad]]''),<ref name=":20" /> and shadow casting by Christine Marie.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/j6-CwyTBnTI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160630132043/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6-CwyTBnTI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6-CwyTBnTI|title=Mark Z. Danielewski's The Fifty Year Sword – 2010|last=Danielewski|first=Mark Z.|date=November 6, 2010|website=www.youtube.com|publisher=youtube.com|access-date=April 11, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite web|url=http://laist.com/2010/10/27/mark_z_danielewskis_the_fifty_year.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105190240/http://laist.com/2010/10/27/mark_z_danielewskis_the_fifty_year.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2017|title=Mark Z. Danielewski's 'The Fifty Year Sword' to Make Its US Debut at REDCAT on Halloween|last=Staff|date=October 27, 2010|website=www.laist.com|publisher=LAist.com|access-date=April 11, 2016}}</ref> On October 31, 2011, Danielewski produced a slightly modified production back to back at REDCAT again.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web|url=http://laist.com/2011/10/27/shadowcaster_christine_marie.php#photo-1|title=Shadowcaster Christine Marie Will Create 40-Foot Shadows During 'The Fifty Year Sword' This Halloween|last=Reverte|first=Michele|date=October 27, 2011|website=www.laist.com|publisher=LAist.com|access-date=April 11, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140609032853/http://laist.com/2011/10/27/shadowcaster_christine_marie.php#photo-1|archive-date=June 9, 2014}}</ref> There was live music by Partch Ensemble percussionists Matthew Cook and T.J. Troy, as well as  Christine Marie's shadow casting and five actors reading.<ref name=":21" /> The two performances were again sold out.<ref name=":21" />

In 2012, Pantheon released another edition of ''The Fifty Year Sword''. This edition of the book includes more than 80 hand-stitched illustrations, new typography, and textual changes that were developed thanks to the REDCAT productions.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski|url=http://knopfdoubleday.com/2012/08/23/the-fifty-year-sword-by-mark-z-danielewski/|website=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|publisher=Knopf Doubleday|access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref> Pantheon organised a book tour to support it, and thanks to an ARC Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation,<ref name=":22">{{cite web|last1=Boog|first1=Jason|title=How Mark Z. Danielewski Scored The Fifty Year Sword|url=http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/mark-z-danielewski-christopher-oriley-scored-the-fifty-year-sword/60113|website=GalleyCat|date=16 October 2012 |access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref> the production of ''The Fifty Year Sword'' went to five cities around the United States in conjunction with the book release tour for the Pantheon release of ''The Fifty Year Sword''. These performances, smaller in production than the REDCAT performances, featured different actors at every city, including ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' alumnus [[Darrell Hammond]] in New York.<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3166970-snl-alum-darrell-hammond-has-joined-the-cast-of-the-fifty-year-sword-at SNL Alum Darrell Hammond Has Joined the Cast of THE FIFTY YEAR SWORD at St. Joseph's College on Monday, Oct. 22]. Goodreads. 20 October 2012.</ref> Pianist [[Christopher O'Riley]],  a longtime friend and fan of Danielewski, also toured for these performances.<ref name=":22"/> The final performance of the tour, on October 31, 2012, was another back-to-back, sold-out production at REDCAT.