SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The 2015 Locus Poll & Survey is Now Open.  ANYONE Can Vote.  We Here At Amazing Stories Urge You To Vote For Magazines In Alphabetical Order…or vote for what you think deserves your vote in a mature and adult fashion after careful consideration of the merits of each individual work sans whatever small desire you might have to try and effect the course of national politics by registering your feelings through the nomination of works of fiction.  What, you’re still here?  Then please forget all about this poll.

Amazing Stories Forms Political Action Committee – Liberal Hugo Voters Party (Liberal = Generous…):  Calls for Fans to Vote for Stuff They’ve Read, Liked and Think Deserve an Award.  In related news:  RNC & DNC Agree that the Hugo Award results have ABSOLUTELY NO effect on national politics whatsoever.  Log Cabin Republicans Agree, as do Red Dog Democrats.  Tea Party did not respond to requests for comment.  Probably too busy looking at Russia out their kitchen windows.

PRESS RELEASES & NEWSLETTERS (content below)

Flame Con Is Go! (First LGBTQ Comic Con); Lock In Finalist for Audie Awards; Night Shade Books – Best Horror of the Year; Haffner Press New Releases; Norwescon 38 Report; Night Shade – Laird Barron;  Demand Progress Largest Cable Providers Backing Legislation to Block Net Neutrality; Night Shade – Dorsai!; Night Shade – Glen Cook!

SOCIAL

***HAPPY CAT’S SPECIAL SAD PUPPY WATCH REPORT***

Women Apparently Can’t Be Cowboy Gunfighters (Lehman)

Scalzi Gently Returns Puppies to Their Basket

Gerrold Tells Sad Puppies That Star Trek Was Not About What They Think It Was About (Read the comments too!)

Hines Doubles Down on Star Trek

Foster Explains What It Means To Be A Real Man

Davidson Explains to Sad Puppies That Campbell Wasn’t About What They Think He Was About Either

Hugo Awards Biased Against Women (No!  Really?)

***HAPPY CAT’S SPECIAL SAD PUPPY WATCH REPORT***

The View From Australia Through Culture-Colored Glasses

Texting About Sexism Helps

Laura Mixon:  Requires Hate Followup

Hurley Not Happy with Gaiman Trigger Warnings

Some States Iz Stoopid:  Anti-Tesla Laws?  Really?

More Spacekat (That Woman Will Just NOT Shut Up!  And That’s A Good Thing!)

Games Deserve Better Than the Game Industry

Harassing Women Online is Terrorism

Open Road Media Honors Black Authors During Black History Month (video)

ENTERTAINMENT

A. C. Clarke Was Pretty Accurate About the Future (As if we didn’t already know)

Score Some Armstrong Apollo 11 Swag

Captain Scalzi To Be Removed From Command….

Franco to Star In 11/22/63

Is This the World’s First Superman?

Forgotten SF TV Show (and It’s Fans)

Leigh Brackett’s First Draft of The Empire Strikes Back

Space Comforters!

Marvel Announces ALL FEMALE Avengers Team

Character Sketches For Butcher’s Dresden Files

Star Trek Coins! (via SF Signal)

Pandoran Age Releases First Short Film

Wonder Woman Set to Shoot in Fall

INDUSTRY

William F. Nolan:  HWA Grand Master

SFR Galaxy Award Winners

2014 Paul Harland Award Winners

Nebula Nominees

BSFA Award Finalists

Kitschies Finalists

2015 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Nominations

Jim Baen Memorial Award Finalists

Razzie Award Finalists

Subterranean Book Bundle

South African SF Is Booming!

Self-Publishing Vs Traditional:  Round Nth

Science Fiction & Technolocultures University NEW FB Page

Lit Agg – Doesn’t Sound Like What It Is (No Cow Manure Involved)

EMP Museum Offers Writing Contest (via Chris McKitrick)

Steampunk Festival 

Nate Bucklin’s KIckstarter

What’s In A Name?  Some People Want San Diego Comic-Con to Stay in San Diego.  WTF!?

HWA Announces Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship Fund

Long Lost Typeface Recovered From Thames (via Radish Reviews)

 SCIENCE

70,000 Years Ago – The Red Star Passes

Aliens Are Seeding the Earth!

Doesn’t It Seem Like Tech Advances Faster and Faster andfasterand faster…?  Here’s Why (via SF Signal)

Oooo Xperimental Space Plane Completes It’s Test Flight

Limpit Teeth:  Strongest Substance Known to Science

Coin Tosses Aren’t Entirely Random…

Proof That Dogs Can Read Our Emotions (cats can too…)

SpaceX Launch

Who Let the (Robot) Dog Out?

Most Recent Space Walk

Yep.  deGrasse Tyson Is A Geek

To Boldly Fly Where No Drone Has Gone Before (video)

Calling All Space Lawyers!  Can We Stake A Claim On Asteroids?

Calling All Aliens!  Hey!  We’re Over Here!  Tasty and Technologically Behind the Times! (via SF Signal)

Chimps Can Learn New Chimp Languages (but will they ever be able to understand sad puppy speak?)

Space Station Upgrades

PRESS RELEASES & NEWSLETTERS

Are you stoked for Flame Con? Not to name-drop or anything, but The Huffington Post certainly is. Yep, the first ever LQBTQ Comic Con to be held in New York City is gathering a ton of buzz. We’ve been featured most recently in The Mary Sue, Forces of Geek and on LogoTV’s NEW NOW NEXT! And the best part? TICKETS ARE GOING FAST (but are still available here) If you haven’t yet gotten your tickets, now is the time to join us!  We are expecting to sell out. If you purchase your tickets before February 14th, use the code HOTFUN to get a special pre-Valentine’s discount! EXHIBITORS!  One of the most exciting parts of the convention at this stage is getting to know our exhibitors. For example, the GaymerX crew will be joining us from sunny California, assuredly bringing their Gamecube Controllers, and for you non-gaymers (not everyone is called to catch ’em all), you’ll definitely find something amazing from Northwest Press. The acclaimed publisher will be at Flame Con to showcase their newest and bestselling queer comics.  EXHIBITING!  Perhaps you’re an artist, filmmaker, publisher, studio, product or just a determined geek with a purpose. We would love to hear from you, and CLICK HERE to apply for a booth at our show.  ETCETERA!  Got questions about Flame Con, the after-party, ticket sales, etc? By all means click here to CONTACT US Keep up with the latest, greatest about FLAME CON by giving a LIKE on our Facebook page and a FOLLOW on our Twitter handle…             We’re very excited to see you (and at least five of your friends) at the convention this year!  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2015 Geeks OUT, All rights reserved. NYC’s First LGBT Comic Convention. Our mailing address is: Geeks OUT 446 St Johns Pl 3C Brooklyn, New York 11201 Add us to your address book

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 11, 2015 CONTACT: Meg Walker Gretchen Koss President, Dir. of Marketing President, Dir. of Publicity Tandem Literary Tandem Literary 212-629-1990 ext. 2 212-629-1990 ext. 1 meg@tandemliterary.com Gretchenkoss@tandemliterary.com

20th Annual Audie® finalists announced in thirty categories Winners announced at the Audie Awards Gala in New York City on May 28th hosted by award winning author Jack Gantos

Philadelphia, PA – The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced finalists for its 2015 Audie Awards® competition, the only awards program in the United States devoted entirely to honoring spoken word entertainment.

Winners will be announced at the Audies Gala on May 28, 2015, at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York. Newbery award winning author, and audiobook narrator extraordinaire, Jack Gantos will emcee the event and says “I’m thrilled to host the Audies. Unlike when I’m in the recording studio, while on stage at the Audies Gala I can wear a watch, have my stomach growl, jiggle pocket change, trip over my own tongue, laugh at my own jokes, completely screw up my lines and not have to worry about repeating myself– again and again. It is an honor to be a part of recognizing all the incredible audio talent in the industry who do the hard work of controlling themselves in the studio every single day.”

This year there will be an additional category: JUDGES AWARD – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. Janet Benson, Audies Competition Chair, says “Recognizing the constantly evolving nature of modern science and technology, the Audies Competition Committee wished to honor audiobooks which celebrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Entries in this field are often more challenging to judge, as the content can be dense, but our finalists were lauded by the judges as titles you can both learn from AND enjoy listening to!” Of this year’s finalists, Michele Cobb, President of the APA says “Our nominees continue to astound and impress with the creation of high quality productions that convert new listeners to the format every day; we are pleased to have such a great list.” The Audies, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), is the premier awards program in the United States recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. Through the Audie Award competition, publishers enter titles in various categories for recognition of excellence. Finalists are selected by a diverse group of experienced judges and, from that group of finalists, one winner is awarded.

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17st of February 2015 BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 1 BY ELLEN DATLOW IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE! An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend… who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary… read more    MORE IN THE BEST HORROR SERIES

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In This Issue: February 17, 2015    •  Lots of Jack Williamson News    •  Fredric Brown Update  2015 JACK WILLIAMSON LECTURESHIP The 39th Annual Jack Williamson Lectureship, with events April 9-11, 2015, welcomes award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi, and writers, friends and fans from across the region for this annual celebration of Jack Williamson and the genre to which he contributed so significantly. The Lectureship opens with Readings with Visiting Authors and Friends of the Lectureship on Thursday evening, 6 p.m., in JWLA 112.  The evening concludes with dinner at our usual spot, the Cattle Baron. Friday morning features Guest of Honor Paolo Bacigalupi reading from his work from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. in JWLA 112.  After a break, luncheon follows at 11:30 (Zia Room, Campus Union), with keynote address from the GOH and comments from our favorite Mistress of the Podium, Connie Willis. Everyone is welcome to attend the panels at Special Collections in Golden Library from 3-6 p.m. where writers, guests, and audience will discuss and debate topics in science fiction and fantasy.  New participants, edgy topics. Come and have your say! For aspiring young writers, a special workshop will be offered Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to Noon (location TBA). Reservations for the lectureship luncheon can be made by calling 575.562.2315 or emailingPatrice.Caldwell@enmu.edu. The price is $10, payable at the door.  Reservations must be received by Monday, April 6, 2015. To tide you over, here are a pair of links we hope you’ll find of interest: John Tibbett’s 1983 audio interview w/Jack Williamson 75th Anniversary issue of ENMU’s literary journal El Portal w/”The Metal Man” by Jack Williamson (link opens a PDF) Williamson Warehouse find!! During some housekeeping (what else can you do when the temperature has been sub-zero for the last week?) we uncovered two cartons (20 copies) of AT THE HUMAN LIMIT, THE COLLECTED STORIES OF JACK WILLIAMSON, VOLUME EIGHT. Published in 2011 and out of print, we are offering these on a first-come first-served basis at $45 ea. (FYI: a few copies of the 1/75 slipcased edition signed by Willis, initialed by artist Ralph McQuarrie and bearing a mounted Williamson autograph are still available).   These Jack Williamson titles are also available, but are VERY low in stock . . . Seventy-Five: The Diamond Anniversary of a Science Fiction Pioneer The Worlds of Jack Williamson: A Centennial Tribute (1908-2008) In Memory of Wonder’s Child 35 Years of the Williamson Lectureship MURDER DRAWS A CROWD by Fredric Brown They say the third time’s a charm—well, we certainly hope so as we have a again selected a printer we trust can handle this job. Look for this 744-page bundle of awesome to debut at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Show on April 17th.  Meanwhile check out the ordering page for MURDER DRAWS A CROWD for a sneak-peek at some of the interior illustrations and the decorated endpapers. Please be aware that the price on publication will be $45, so you can save $5 by preordering at $40. That’s it for now. To ensure that you continue to receive this newsletter, be sure to addhaffnerpress@sbcglobal.net and info@haffnerpress.com to your email reader’s “safe list.” And, remember, shipping is FREE in the continental United States. Alaska, Hawaii and International orders should email us at info@haffnerpress.com for shipping rate quotes. You have been warned!

You’re receiving this message because you requested to be notified of events at Haffner Press, or have done business with Haffner Press in the past. If you do not wish to receive these messages in the future clickunsubscribe and request to have your name removed. . Copyright © 2015 HAFFNER PRESS 5005 Crooks Road • Suite 35 • Royal Oak, MI 48073-1239 (248) 288-4756 • www.haffnerpress.com •  Keep Watching the Skies!  •

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Norwescon 38 Distant Horizons, Epic Adventures

New Dining Options at the Doubletree The food and beverage team at the Doubletree Hotel have been working overtime to bring you exciting new food options during Norwescon.   Be on the lookout for the burger bar in the courtyard outside the dealers’ room, and check out the expanded selection of grab-and-go choices at the espresso stand.  The espresso stand also has salads, sandwiches, pizzas and deserts, along with a ton of other new food items.  The menu at Seaports will feature a wider variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free selections, along with our convention favorites – nachos anyone?Got Food Allergies?  We’ve Got You Covered. New procedures in place at the dining outlets at the Doubletree Hotel will make eating at Seaports, the Coffee Garden, or the Banquet easier for those of us with restricted diets or food allergies.  Please make sure to tell your server right away that you have allergies, and your meal will be prepared with special attention to your specific needs.  (Be on the lookout for the Red Ticket!)  We’ve been working with the hotel to get better labeling, and a wider variety of foods that can be prepared safely for folks with allergy concerns. For specific menu examples please see the website. Art in Action Have you considered participating in Art in Action? Art in Action is a place for artists and makers to share their craft with other Norwescon members via demos and teaching events.  It is open beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday and closes at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. There are still spots available sign up via thisonline form.New this year – time slots will be off-set 30 minutes from the top of the hour to make it easier to work with scheduling and general crowd control.  Electricity and audience seating are also available. GoH Autographs Due to the unprecedented level of interest in our Writer Guest of Honor, we are having two additional signings in addition to our usual Saturday afternoon GoH autograph session – including one early on Thursday before most of our panels and events begin:Thursday 2 p.m.-3 p.m. – Evergreen 3&4 Friday 1 p.m.-2 p.m. – Grand 2 Saturday 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. – Grand 2 (joint signing with Artist GoH Julie Dillon)Please be aware: Due to time constraints, we can permit only one signature per person, no personalization allowed, and enforce a strict maximum of 375 people in line each day so everybody gets a chance for an autograph. As always, Norwescon does not charge a fee for autographs. Youth Track Needs Boxes! Due to its extreme popularity last year, we are expanding the cardboardpocalypse known as Build & Destroy a City Kaiju Style! Thursday from 3-6 p.m. in Olympic 1 is our kids-only session, and Saturday from 2-5 p.m. is our family session, and we need boxes to smash!Be a part of The Smashening! Please bring clean, odor-free, flattened boxes of all sizes to the February or March Concom meetings or to the Stuffing Party, and the Programming department will take them off to storage. We’ll also have a collection area at the convention, to be announced at a later date. Clarion West Workshop Applications are now open for the 2015 Clarion West Six-Week Workshop. This residential workshop focuses on short fiction, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.   Norwescon is proud to support Clarion West through our communing outreach initiative. Norwescon Art Show The participating artists are now posted on the art show page along with a map and key that shows where they are located in the art show, so you can find your favorite artists.  We have 80 amazing artists this year; come and see them all! Hero Corps: competitive questing. The guild seeks twenty potential heroes willing to pursue the challenges of becoming a champion. The God of Time has commissioned hero corps to retrieve his lost controller. Sign up or come to cheer on your favorite hero in three challenges that will test their wits, cunning, and brawn. Come join us on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Everygreen 3/4 to find out which hero will be the God of Time’s champion. Offworld Designs T-shirts Thinking about what to wear to Norwescon 38? Looking for a t-shirt that you can throw on while still proclaiming your geeky cred? The Norwescon 38 shirt is now available. Featuring art from our Artist Guest of Honor, Julie Dillon, these shirts are awesome! Check them out athttps://www.offworlddesigns.com/norwescon Norwescon Zine Norwescon 38 will have a zine! We have a new editor, a new format, and could use your help in providing new content. ConCom Minutes Ever wondered what was said at a meeting 5 years ago? Convinced that we’ve had this discussion before, but you can’t remember when? Well, thanks to the hard work of our Secretary team, you will soon wonder no more. They have been hard at work this year sprucing up our past minutes to make them easier to find, easier to read, and easier to access. While we have not entirely discovered the easiest or best way to enable your access to these documents, it is coming! In the meantime, if you would like to access past minutes, please contact the Secretary team atsecretary@norwescon.org, and they will set you up. If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask about it during the next ConCom meeting. Stay tuned for details regarding where to access these minutes in the next newsletter.

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18th of February 2015 THE BEAUTIFUL THING THAT AWAITS US ALL BY LAIRD BARRON IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE! Over the course of two award-winning collections and a critically acclaimed novel, The Croning, Laird Barron has arisen as one of the strongest and most original literary voices in modern horror and the dark fantastic. Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards… read more    MORE FROM LAIRD BARRON

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Congressmen Fred Upton and Greg Walden just introduced legislation to block Net Neutrality.

Wanna guess who Fred Upton’s biggest campaign contributor was in 2014? Comcast.

How about the second biggest donor to Greg Walden’s campaign? Also Comcast.

The corruption is so blatantly obvious I almost can’t believe it.

It’s time we let the constituents of these congressmen know who they’re actually representing in Washington. So here’s the plan: If we can raise enough money today, we’ll start putting up billboards in their home districts that call them out for putting the cable industry ahead of their constituents.

Chip in $5 to help hold these corrupt opponents of Net Neutrality accountable.

Comcast shoveled almost $3 million into Congress in 2014–and now they’re getting what they paid for.

Within days of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler coming out strongly for Net Neutrality and Title II reclassification, Comcast’s allies in Congress started trying to cut off the FCC at the knees.

We can hold these members of Congress accountable–but we need to hit them where it hurts, with voters. That’s why we’re putting up billboards in their home districts, to let voters know how they took money from Comcast to fight Net Neutrality.

But we don’t get millions from corporations like Comcast. We count on your donations to make our work possible. Will you chip in $5 to help stop Comcast from killing Net Neutrality?

Yes, I’ll chip in $5.

Thanks.

-Demand Progress

Source:

Cozy With Comcast: Fred Upton, Greg Walden, Architects Of GOP Net Neutrality Plan, Receive Big Cable Cash, International Business Times, January 22, 2015

21st of February 2015 SPIRIT OF DORSAI (CHILDE CYCLE BOOK 5) BY GORDON R. DICKSON IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE! The Dorsai are the finest soldiers ever trained to fight and win against all odds. The Spirit of Dorsai is an illumination of the heart and soul of the planet Dorsai and its people, showing with epic clarity and unforgettable vision how why the Dorsai fight and live. It tells of the beginning when the first Dorsai was former by mercenaries willing to fight other’s battles to buy freedom for their own homes. It tells how even children and old men fought for the dream of Dorsai… read more    MORE BY GORDON R. DICKSON …and more

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22nd of February 2015 DRAGON NEVER SLEEPS BY GLEN COOK IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE! For four thousand years, the Guardships have ruled Canon Space—immortal ships with an immortal crew, dealing swiftly and harshly with any mercantile houses or alien races that threaten the status quo.But now the House Tregesser has an edge: a force from outside Canon Space offers them the resources to throw off Guardship rule. This precipitates an avalanche of unexpected outcomes, including… read more    MORE FROM GLEN COOK

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