.
Ishmael, of course, is writing about the events of Moby-Dick after they’ve all occurred. When did they happen? Hard to say. When is Ishmael writing about them? Just as hard to say. Except—
But we’ll get back to that.
I’ve published two novels: Byuck and Just Julie’s Fine. I started Byuck as a play in 1999. The novel takes place in 2000. I started on Just Julie’s Fine in 2004. It takes place in 2005. They were, respectively, published in 2012 and 2023. I finished writing them circa 2004 and 2014.
Here they are in their Matt Page–covered glory:
Anyway, as I was saying, the exact timing of Moby-Dick is challenging to ascertain. We don’t know when the Pequod sailed its fatal voyage but, in fact, we do know—to the moment—when Ishmael wrote
That’s pretty precise.
But get this: Ishmael may have been writing on 16 December 1851, but the book was published 18 October 1851 in the United Kingdom and 14 November 1851 in the United States.
He did it.
He wrote a book that happens after he wrote it, and got it published before that date rode by.
Mad props, Melville. Mad props.
(And he was only 32 to boot.)
I hit fifty two weeks ago. My current novel took place in April 2025 when I wrote the original novelette in late 2024. When I began rewriting it into a novel, I changed the date to April 2026. I completed the first draft before its events take place, but now we’re four months later and, haha, it’s definitely not published!
Well. Maybe someday I’ll get a novel out before it happens. We’ll keep trying....
At least we know it can be done.