SF Tidbits for 12/18/08

• Chris Roberson bravely shares image scans of his handwritten “real” first novel, Space Crash, written when he was nine years old. There will be Rebel Gorillas…
• Interviews & Profiles:
  • @Wired: Timecrimes Director Nacho Vigalondo: “I’ve always loved science fiction. My favorite writer is Philip K. Dick. I wanted to make a film that had that kind of twisted stuff.” I so can’t wait to see this film.
  • @Suvudu: 5 Questions for Vicki Pettersson (A Touch of Twilight).
  • @The Future And You: Stephen Euin Cobb interviews writer, editor, talk show host, and cyberculture icon R.U. Sirius.
  • @Agony Column Podcast: Geoff Ryman and Nalo Hopkinson.
• Free Fiction [courtesy of QuasarDragon]
  • @Tor.com: “Firstborn” by Brandon Sanderson.
  • @Revolution SF: “Stormsong” by John E Rogers, Jr.
  • “Chip Crockett’s Christmas Carol” by Elizabeth Hand. [via Locus Online]
  • The first issue of Abandoned Towers is online with free fiction in many genres, by many writers. [via Dark Worlds Blog]
  • Audio Fiction:
    • The latest StarShipSofa contains audio fiction and poetry by Mike Allen, Jeff VanderMeer, and Ben Bova.
    • @Maria Lectrix: Chapters Four, Five, and Six of The Ultimate Weapon by John W. Campbell, read by Maureen O’Brien.
• CIO interviews Larry Niven, Robert J. Sawyer, Nancy Kress, and Charles Stross: “Science fiction isn’t (as a rule) about predicting the future, and science fiction writers aren’t trying to predict it.” [via Locus Online]
• Jeff VanderMeer’s 60 in 60 blog, in which he documents his thoughts on reading one of Penguin’s Great Ideas titles every day for 60 days, is Guardian’s Site of the Week! Congratulation, Jeff!
• Heavy reading for the week: Dystopia and the End of Politics by Benjamin Kunkel: “Both the neoliberal dystopia and the neoliberal apocalypse defend love and individuality against the forces threatening to crush them; the difference is that the clone novel sticks up for humanity from the standpoint of an implied or explicit critique of neoliberalism, while the apocalypse narrative (whether in prose or on film) tends to reflect the default creed of neoliberalism, according to which kindness may flourish in private life but the outside world remains now and forever a scene of vicious but inevitable competition.” Yes, I’ve said that many times.
• At Geekend, Jay Garmon tackles the term “Science fiction” vs. “Sci-Fi” levergaing the ever-popular Harlan Ellison video.
• Justine Larbalestier talks about The efficacy of book tours
• Beginning January 1st, under the management of editor Sarah Brandel, Apex Book Company will be introducing the world to the Apex LiveJournal Community.
• Brandon Barker has posted Part 3 of his “Fantasy or Football” quiz.
• Next year’s MileHiCon 41 in Denver will feature John Pciacio as Artist Guest-of-Honor while Barbara Hambly and Nancy Kress will be the Author Guests-of-Honor.
• Speaking of John Picacio (and when don’t we?), he’s showing off another fantastic cover…this time for War and Space: Selected Short Stories of Lester Del Rey, Vol. 1.
• Winter is coming has posted a review of the pilot episode script of HBO’s Game of Thrones adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s acclaimed fantasy. [via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist]
• Here are a couple of science fiction gifts guides from Heretical Ideas Magazine and Biology in Science Fiction.
• The latest episode of SciFi Scanner’s SciFi Dept features Christmas on Mars, the trippy brainchild of the band The flaming Lips.
• At Locus Online, Gary Westfahl writes about 1958: Science Fiction Film’s Sense-of-Wonderful Year.
• Lists:
  • Omnivoracious features Jeffrey Ford’s Own Top 10 Books of 2008.
  • SyFy Portal lists The Best Genre Episodes Of 2008.
  • John Scalzi names The Best Movies of 2008.

Related posts:

1. SF Tidbits for 5/18/06
2. SF Tidbits for 4/4/06
3. SF Tidbits for 4/4/07
4. SF Tidbits Part XLVI
5. SF Tidbits for 8/1/06

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