The Lizard of Oz is humorous fantasy for children (fourth grade and up) and for adults who share stories with them. I self-published it in 1974. That edition went through three printings, selling over 6,000 copies, at a time when self-publishing was a rarity. I have now rewritten that story, making major improvements. Instead of publishing it as an eBook and/or print-on-demand, I’ve decided to post that new edition here, one chapter per week, in hopes of reaching a wider audience. And I’ll be linking to YouTube videos of me reading each chapter out loud.

In addition, I plan to post at Medium an article about my 1974 self-publishing adventure, as well as an appendix (“Food for Thought”), indicating literary and mythical sources of characters and themes. I also have a children’s play and a radio script based on this book.

Reviewers said of the self-published first edition:

Library Journal — “An intriguing and very entertaining little novel”

Booklist — “a snappy hip fable”

Aspect — “Carroll and Tolkien have a new companion”

Lancaster Independent Press — “a work so saturated that the mind is both stoned with pleasure and alive with wonder”

Philadelphia Bulletin — “A commentary on our times done delightfully”

Valley Advocate — “a gallery of figments of contemporary culture that could take its place on the library shelf of memory along with the classic figures of children’s fiction”

The Story of the Story

In 1970, when my friend Judy Morgan taught in Brockton, Massachusetts, she told me about the children in her class, and I wrote a few stories for them, using the names of everyone in the class. You may have read a couple of those stories here at Medium: “Now and Then” and “Julie the Little Princess.”

When Judy moved to teach at the E.B. Newton School in Winthrop, Massachusetts, near Logan Airport, she invited me to visit. After I read those Brockton stories to them, the kids asked me what I was going to write next. I popped off with a couple of titles: The Quest for the Holy Mackerel, The Lizard of Oz. They wanted to hear The Lizard of Oz, so I started writing with that title with the kids as characters. I went back the next week to read the first chapter and then returned with a new chapter every week until school ended. By then, the story had a life of its own. I kept writing after school ended and read excerpts at coffee houses in the Boston area. Eventually, it became a “fable for all ages,” a story intended for adults and kids.

In 1974, with the help and encouragement of my wife Barbara, I self-published the book, in my handwriting, with illustrations by Christin Couture and with a cover designed and silkscreened by my college roommate Dave Gleason.

Nearly fifty years later, I returned to the story and made improvements that I had been thinking about for a long time. Judy Morgan became Miss Osborne (Oz Born), and her co-teacher, Mary Prysby, became Miss Shelby (Shall Be). I added the chapter about the Lowest Court and made changes throughout.

About the Illustrator

Christin Couture was born and raised in Western Massachusetts. She has a BFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the Art Students’ League of New York, and Bologna, Italy.

Couture has received Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Millay Colony, and Foundation Karolyi, Vence, France. She has exhibited her work in museums and galleries both regionally and abroad.

She is also the author/illustrator of two children’s books published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, “The House on the Hill” (1990), and “A Walk in the Woods” (1992). She had the pleasure of illustrating “The Lizard of Oz” in 1970 while she was an art student at UMass.

Couture currently lives in New York City and Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and collaborator, sculptor William Hosie. www.redtidebluefire.com

The Lizard of Oz

A fantasy novel for all ages by Richard Seltzer

Links to the chapters that have been posted so far at Medium

— YouTube Video of the author reading this chapter

— YouTube Video of the author reading this chapter

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Five — Sir Real

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Six — Eggheadland

— YouTube Video of the author reading this chapter

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Seven — The Library

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Fourteen — Knights of the Merry-Go-Round Table

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Fifteen — The Mothers of Fact

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Sixteen — Mr. Plato

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Seventeen — Cloud Nine

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Eighteen — Mr. Shermin

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Nineteen — Review of the Troops

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Twenty — Redland

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Twenty-Two — Miss Osborne’s Dream

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Twenty-Five — Everything Matters

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Twenty-Six — The Great Dragon of Ome

The Lizard of Oz: Chapter Twenty-Seven — Winthrop

The Story of the Story

About the Illustrator

Self-Publishing Success in 1974:

Written by Richard Seltzer