A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
Do you have tickets to this year’s LonestarCon/WorldCon? If not, they are offering a special membership rate discount for all Adult Attending membership purchases made over the Memorial Day weekend.
Press release follows…
Coming in 3 months — It’s SofaCON!
SofaCON is an Online International Science Fiction Convention run by Tony Smith of Starship Sofa.
Join the crew of the Hugo Award winning StarShipSofa, their special guests, and friends from all over the world as a new tradition begins: SofaCON, An Online International Science Fiction Convention. This live, history-making event will focus on those who are creators, scholars, and fans of the best of speculative fiction. Over the years StarShipSofa has brought together a global community of science fiction lovers; it’s time for old and new Sofanauts alike to meet in a real-time, interactive virtual venue to celebrate the genre they love.
Meet stellar authors. Watch exclusive interviews and lectures. Ask questions and offer comments. Enjoy the SF convention experience from the comfort of your home. Don’t miss this inaugural event!
I am also pleased to announce that JP and I will be guests at SofaCON. Stay tuned!
It’s that time of year agin. No, I don’t mean May 4th, Stars Wars fanboy!
Saturday May 4th, 2013 is Free Comic Book Day!
The annual Free Comic Book Day is when participating comic book shops around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. (Details provided by each retailer.)
There’s no shortage of stuff in this year’s selection. Snatch up some Star Wars Captain Midnight Avatar, Superman, Walking Dead, 2000 AD, Atomic Robo, Grimm and many more….
So this weekend, stop by a store near you and grab some free comicy goodness.
Starship Sofa’s newest event is a Live Video Writers Workshop with Mike Resnick and Paul Di Filippo happening on Sunday, 16 June 2013 from 17:00 to 19:00 (BST).
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[Nicked from From Facebook]
Ben Wolverton, age 16, was in a tragic long-boarding accident on Wednesday the 4th, 2013. He suffers from severe brain trauma, a cracked skull, broken pelvis and tail bone, burnt knees, bruised lungs, broken ear drums, road rash, pneumonia, and is currently in a coma. His family has no insurance.
Ben is the son of author David Farland, whose books have won multiple awards, and who is widely known as a mentor to many prominent authors, such as Brandon Sanderson, Stephenie Meyer, and Brandon Mull. Costs for Ben’s treatment are expected to rise above $1,000,0000. To help raise money for Ben, we are having a book bomb (focused on Nightingale and Million Dollar Outlines) on behalf of Ben
You can learn more about Ben’s condition, or simply donate to the Wolverton family here
A Book Bomb is an event where participants purchase a book on a specific day (in this case, Wednesday, April 10th) to support the author, or, in this case, a young person in serious need: Ben Wolverton.
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Starship Sofa is hosting an Event that promises to be nothing short of fascinating. It’s a live video session with science fiction legends Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle & Gregory Benford!
Moderated by the Sofa’s own Tony C. Smith, the event takes place Sunday, the 21st of April from 18:00 to 19:30 (BST).
Join science fictions legends Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Gregory Benford as they talk about science fiction, technology, Ringworlds, Big Dumb Objects and a whole universe of wonders.
The Gen Con Writer’s Symposium, one of the largest writing workshops in the country and founded by Jean Rabe, boasts a spectacular lineup of authors this year — more than 50 of them, including Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon, Saladin Ahmed, Lou Anders, Brad Beaulieu, Maurice Broaddus, Jennifer Brozek, Richard Lee Byers, Wesley Chu, Erin M. Evans, Dave Farland, Matt Forbeck, Jaym Gates, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, Jason Sanford, Ken Scholes, Lucy A. Snyder, Mike Stackpole, James L. Sutter, Monica Valentinelli, Elizabeth Vaughan, and more.
Press release follows…
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Press release follows…
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Shared Worlds , a summer creative writing experience, has annoucned the list of attending writers for the 2013 season. Visiitng writers include:
More info after the jump…
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On Friday, April 12, at the Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington, Pacific Northwest writers Vonda N. McIntyre, Nisi Shawl, Dennis Y. Ginoza, Erik Owomoyela, Caren Gussoff, and Rashida Smith will read work inspired by their relationships with Octavia Butler in celebration of her legacy.
See More info in the press release:
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As previously mentioned, fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss is lending his time and talents to support Heifer International, a global development nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty and protect the planet. Through his Worldbuilders Foundation, Pat hopes to raise $500,000 for Heifer during his current fundraiser, which ends next Friday, January 18 January 21. To that end, over the course of the fundraiser, he is providing donors and fans the chance to make a cameo appearance in an upcoming book, play Dungeons & Dragons with him and other authors, or spend a spring weekend with him and his staff at Heifer Ranch.
Details can be found in the following press release.
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Author and Hugo Award-winning fan writer Jim C. Hines, he of the Women and Fantasy Covers post, is at it again…only this time in the name of charity.
Jim has launched an annual fundraiser to benefit the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation. What he’s offering is brand new cover poses like the one above. The more that’s donated, the more he’ll do. John Scalzi is in on this and figures into the tiered poses.
Check out Jim’s post Cover Posing for a Good Cause for more information.
Live Online on the 26th of January 2013, Starship Sofa is hosting the event How to Write Science Fiction featuring Spider Robinson.
Here’s the event description:
Don’t be mistaken: this isn’t your parents’ “how to” lecture! Instead, this is a front row seat, as one of the most celebrated minds in the science fiction literary community talks about his journey in the genre. Be there as Spider shares the kind of personal advice and anecdotes you can’t find in a writers’ guide. Learn how the publishing industry has (and hasn’t) changed, and what first led Spider Robinson to a lifelong relationship with science fiction. You won’t want to miss a minute of this intimate and insightful event.
It’s an online event on the 26th of January 2013 at the following time :
The academic track of the 2013 WorldCon is soliciting papers on all topics related to the science fiction and fantasy genres
From a press release:
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Mythgard Institute has posted the schedule for their Spring 2013 courses.
They include the following juicy programs for genre lovers:
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We are pleased to announce that SF Signal has partnered with LoneStarCon3, the San Antonio, Texas-based convention that will host next year’s Worldcon between August 29th – September 2nd, 2013. We will happily be hosting guest posts from the good folks at LoneStarCon3 to help spread the word about next year’s Worldcon.
Here’s the official press release with more details…
[10/17 UPDATE: Despite the following press release, LoneStarCon3 will not mirror our content on their site. We are perfectly OK with this. The purpose of this agreement was to help promote the con to folks who might not otherwise know about it. We are happy to help bring con news to as wide an audience as possible.]
Enjoy this wonderful video of mathematician, computer scientist, and science fiction author Rudy Rucker speaking at the Philip K. Dick Festival in San Francisco…
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If you’re in the New York City area on October 11th, you should check out the star-studded book launch of After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse & Dystopia edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling.
More about After: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse & Dystopia:
If the melt-down, flood, plague, the third World War, new Ice Age, Rapture, alien invasion, clamp-down, meteor, or something else entirely hit today, what would tomorrow look like? Some of the biggest names in YA and adult literature answer that very question in this short story anthology, each story exploring the lives of teen protagonists raised in catastrophe’s wake—whether set in the days after the change, or decades far in the future.
New York Times bestselling authors Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are among the many popular and award-winning storytellers lending their talents to this original and spellbinding anthology.
Co-Editor Ellen Datlow and Books of Wonder will be hosting the reading and she’s invited several of the book’s contributors, including:
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Join Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine at booth #148 of the Brooklyn Book Festival from 10am – 6pm Sunday September 23rd.
Raffles, subscription promotions, author signings, and free issues will be ongoing and available throughout the day.
Signing for Analog authors will be at 1 p.m. with Paul Levinson, for Asimov’s at 4 p.m. will be Michael Swanwick, and around 3 p.m. S.J. Rozan will be signing for Ellery Queen.
In the Brooklyn area? Stop by!
Are you ready for Star Wars Reads Day?
October 6, 2012 has been designated Star Wars Reads Day, a multi-publisher initiative that celebrates reading and Star Wars, with events taking place in bookstores and libraries across the United States. (Alderaan is supposed to be participating, but they could not be reached to confirm this…)
Press release after the jump…
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