SF/F/H Link Post for 2014-02-08

Interviews & Profiles

• 16 Things We Learned About The Vampire Academy Series from author Richelle Mead
• At Angry Robot Books, Chuck Wendig discusses his most recent book, The Cormorant.
• Author of the new Alien novel Alien: Out of the Shadows, Tim Lebbon has answered fan questions exclusively for members of the Scified Network!
• Ben Kingsley talks resurrecting the Mandarin for “All Hail the King”
• Charles Soule on Writing “Letter 44”
• Clark Gregg talks to AssignmentX about Agents of SHIELD and Avengers 2.
• FSG Originals interviews Jeff VanderMeer of Annihilation, the first Southern Reach Trilogy book.
• Hugo-nominated sci-fi author Saladin Ahmed on the radical act of representing Muslims in fiction
• Matt Conn wanted to organize a safe event for gaymers — that’s people who game and are part of the LGBTQ continuum. The GaymerX event is meant to be inclusive of all people, but especially those harassed, marginalized, or ridiculed in mainstream gaming. The first GaymerX took place August 2013; the next happens in July.
• My Bookish Ways interviews Charles Finch, author of The Last Enchantments.
• Myke Cole, author of Breach Zone, spoke recently at the Library of Congress as part of the “What If Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum.”
• Nick Harkaway, author of Keeping Up with the Joneses, discusses writing the 10th Doctor.
• Patrick Rothfuss, Shawn Speakman, and Nick Podehl discuss the Unfettered anthology audiobook.

News

• Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer Will Get an Uncut Release in the U.S.
• FX Adapting Sci-Fi Novel Redshirts As Limited Series
• Leonard Nimoy reveals he has chronic lung disease

Events & Event News

• Sir Terry Pratchett joins The London Book Fair as Author of the Day for opening day
• This Saturday, February 8th, San Francisco will become the nameless city from the cult classic 1976 sci-fi film Logan’s Run, and regardless of how old you are in real life, if you participate in this event, you just turned 30 and your number is up…
• WPR announces national flash science-fiction contest (Read more)

Crowd Funding

• 39 Days to Mars – a co-operative steampunk survival-adventure game. Help Albert and Baxter pilot the HMS Fearful on its maiden voyage to Mars.
• Audax – a sci-fi feature film about a shamed ex-captain taking a shot at redemption.
• Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen – an epic planar high fantasy MMO from renowned EverQuest creator Brad McQuaid. Pantheon’s combat places a focus on preparation and awareness– providing players with challenging scenarios that require not only understanding, but skill to rise above their opposition. The player can actively dodge, block, or deflect attacks – but this goes beyond active reactions to encounter mechanics.

Articles

• 21 Great Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Films You Need To Watch
• Addressing Femininity in Young Adult Literature
• Amazon’s 100 books to read in a lifetime
• Cost And Consequence In The Creation Of A Magic System by Karina Sumner-Smith
• Do Books Need Soundtracks and Special Effects?
• Doctor Who Series 8 Will Be Darker, More like Classic Who
• The Fictional Science of Great Science Fiction
• Five Works of Early Speculative Fiction by African American Authors
• Formidable Female Protagonists in Science Fiction is a list worth bookmarking.
• Hey Ladies, You Should Stop Writing Such Dude-ish Dudes.
• Horror writer Ramsey Campbell writes for Nightmare Magazine: “The H Word: H for Honesty.”
• How Gravity Could Finally Redeem Science Fiction At The Oscars: In the Awards’ 86-year history, only 8 sci-fi films have been nominated for Best Picture, and none have won. But Gravity could break that losing streak, proving to Hollywood that the genre is worth taking seriously.
• Ice T Records Dungeons & Dragons Audiobook: ““They didn’t tell me this was a motherfuckin’ Dungeons & Dragons book,” Ice says, explaining to partner Mick Benzo that D&D is “some of the most crazy, deep, deep nerd shit.” (Podcast)
• Is Sony’s Exit From The Ebook Business In North America A Model For Barnes & Noble’s Nook?
• A Love Letter to my Rejections
• The Most Unusual Alternate History Novels Ever Published
• Parallel Plotting: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…
• The Silent-Reading Party: On the Unexpected Sexiness of Many People Quietly Reading
• Science fiction: A failing genre? is a consideration of Daniel Haight’s post calling into question the behavior of the sci-fi fan community: How Sci-Fi is Failing Fans (and How We Can Get it Back).
• Sony Should Have Been A Digital Contender in the e-book market.
• Star Trek: The sci-fi saga’s heart is in television, says Ron Moore
• Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Writing Courses
• The Story behind The Emperor of All Things by Paul Witcover
• Trekdom and the Quest for the Final Frontier of Ultimate Fandom. Will it Never End?
• What the Sony and Kobo eBook Deal Means for Readers
• Why Her Could Re-shape Sci-Fi Romances
• Why You Don’t Have to Listen to JK Rowling
• Woah Dude names its picks for the 25 Best Monster Movies Of All Time

Art

• Artist to bury human DNA in this star-shaped sculpture for 10,000 years (Wired UK)
• Five designers discuss their work on recent book covers: first concepts that didn’t make the final cut, and then the cover as published
• Game Of Thrones Valentines by Chris Bishop
• Matt Rhodes, the Lead Concept Artist on Dragon Age: Inquisition, has digitally created a pretty awesome portrayal of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kvothe.

More Fun Stuff

• Brandon Routh, Felicia Day, and Ryon Day sit down to a game of Fortune and Glory
• George R.R. Martin meets Peter S. Beagle, and a beautiful friendship blossoms as Martin immediately demonstrates how that Last Unicorn would have died if he had written the book.
• Infographic: The All Time Top Ten Grossing Sci-Fi Movies, Adjusted for Inflation.
• “Just Ella” is a short film that proves that you don’t need big effects to make a haunting scifi film.
• Kate Hart: How To Get Published: A Flowchart
• Read an excerpt of The Borribles by Michael de Larrabeiti at Tor.com.
• Watch The Creation Of The Next Generation Space Shuttle: The Dream Chaser
• Watch the book trailer for Brandon Mull’s new fantasy series Five Kingdoms
• Watch the official trailer for The Zero Theorem
• Watch the student films sci-fi directors made before they were famous
• Watch the first full trailer for SyFy’s Dominion.