SF/F/H Link Post for 2015-2-24
Interviews & Profiles
- Barnes & Noble, and interviews Neil Gaiman, author of Trigger Warning.
- Europa SF interviews Dutch Writers and Editors Jan J.B. Kuipers, Mike Jansen, Floris Kleijne and Roelof Goudriaan.
- Ginger Nuts of Horror interviews Keith C. Blackmore, author of Mountain Man.
- Lawrence M. Schoen interviews Kristi Charish, author of Owl and the Japanese Circus.
- Live for Films interviews Stuart Dryburgh, director of photography for Blackhat.
- Wastelands 2 interviews Maria Dahvana Headley, author of “The Traditional.”
News
- The Bram Stoker Award Final Ballot has been announced!
- Robot tweets “I seriously want to kill people“, prompts police response. Who is responsible when a bot randomly tweets something that alarms the authorities?
- Rosarium Bets on Multicultural Novels and Comics [via Paul Di Filippo]
- US military is testing rolling robots originally designed for Mars. Turns out, a childhood spent watching The Prisoner may have been more instructive than previously expected.
- Urinating man claimed to be Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard… later “acknowledged that he had handled the situation badly.” You think?
- Warner Bros Hit With New(ish) Gravity Lawsuit By Rizzoli & Isles Author
Events & Event News
- Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, appears at Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie, IL for a signing on Saturday, March 14, 2015 from 1:00 – 4:00 PM! RSVP on Facebook!
- Neil Gaiman will appear at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington on Friday April 17, 2015 at 7:00 PM! Buy Tickets online ($35)
Crowd Funding
- Dreams from the Witch House: Women of Lovecraft – Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror Illustrated by Daniele Serra from the Publisher of World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories, featuring authors Joyce Carol Oates, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Lois Gresh, Gemma Files, Nancy Kilpatrick, Elizabeth Bear, Storm Constantine and others accompanied by the lavish artwork of Daniele Serra.
- In a Galaxy Far, Far Awry: a superhero comedy in space – A mix of superhero comics and humor, a comedy/sci-fi novella written to give the future the stink eye.
- The Monster Alphabet, with GM Gems – Designing monsters is as easy as A, B, C! Illustrated systems-neutral RPG supplements for creature creation and GM idea generation.
Articles
- Book Review: Gaiman’s collection, Trigger Warning, an uneven but captivating lot
- Book Review: Locus Online says Satin Island by Tom McCarthy is “slim and bleeding edge, almost a claustrophobic monologue. But it’s a compelling, fascinating monologue, probably the best J. G. Ballard book not written by JGB himself.”
- 7 Reasons Why I Don’t Want an Indiana Jones Reboot With Chris Pratt
- 10 More Sci-fi Movies That Would Make Great TV Shows, as chosen by CinemaBlend.
- Alien 5: what we know, fear and hope. 1.) Please call Aliens “Bitch” some more.
- Charles Stross on Escape from the planet of the Ice Giants.
- The dream dozen: 12 works of sci-fi you have no choice but to read this year
- Ellis, Shalvey poison the world with sci-fi comic Injection
- En Garde: An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Daniel Handler [via Paul Di Filippo]
- It’s A Woman’s Universe: The Ladies Of Science Fiction
- The Malleability of Memory: “While Fringe is shot through with the paranormal, its bread and butter is the leading edge of the very normal science of memory—how do we make it, store it, and retrieve it”
- Metroid: Creation in Gaming and Why We Love Sci-Fi
- Nomination, Globalization, & Mermaids That Will Eat Your Face: Alyssa Wong talks about being nominated for a 2014 nebula award
- Oh No, She Didn’t: The Strong Female Character, Deconstructed
- The Orange County Register on Raising a new generation of sci-fi fans
- Phone fiction spells the end of the professional novelist: Wattpad’s user-generated commercial fiction more than matches traditional publishing and is delivered direct to the smartphone – who needs to pay writers?
- Should we give up on the dream of space elevators? asks the BBC. [via Paul Di Filippo]
- The Top 12 Must See Sci-Fi Movies of 2015
- What you need to know about the 6 novels up for the 2014 Nebula Awards.
- Why Neill Blomkamp Shouldn’t Resurrect Alien After All
- Why We’re Pumped and a Bit Nervous About Neill Blomkamp’s New Alien Movie
Art
- Detailed LEGO Diorama Shows How Boba Fett Escaped the Sarlacc
- Gundam Watercolor Paintings by Hector Trunnec
- Star Wars Travel Poster Series by Troy Jensen
More Fun Stuff
- Anna May Chick shows us Sh*t Whovians Never Say.
- Book Nerd Problems: Carrying Too Many Books, Carrying Too Many Books, Fandom of One, Getting A Book Wet, Mispronouncing Character Names
- Cover Reveal: Zero World by Jason M. Hough
- Photos from Fantastic fiction at KGB – Ben Loory and Mike Allen read short stories.
- Read an excerpt from Icefall by Gillian Philip at Tor.com.
- Read an excerpt from Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan at Tor.com.
- The Terminator T-800 Mug Will Give Rise To Skynet
- This Twitter Account Is The Ultimate Dystopian Young Adult Novel
- Watch a DC Marvel vs Transformers Fan-Edited Trailer at Topless Robot
- Watch a teaser spot for the mid-season return of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Watch a new trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie.
- Watch the First teaser trailer for Rooster Teeth’s crowd-funded sci-fi comedy Lazer Team
Since the comments section of the Wattpad story is closed for comments (why?), I’ll put my comment here.
I don’t approve of the idea or practice of designating certain people official authors based upon their connection with a publishing behemoth. Have their books been vetted through editors who have used their own taste to pass them along? Yes. All the misspellings have also been corrected. However, if what is produced by publishers is the best of the best, then some of the criteria deciding what is “best” needs serious reconsideration.
Wattpad is disruptive, but not just for its business model. It’s disruptive because it allows people to say, “I can do this too”. It’s disruptive because it allows indie authors to produce what they please and the consumer the decider if it’s worth anything or not.
I understand that authors are in it to win it and to make a buck. That guy is giving cookies away for free. They’re not as good as the cookies I get from a bakery, but they’re free so that offsets that equation a bit.