Wolf’s Empire Is On The Way
By David Klaus: I was looking at SDCC videos on YouTube, including the first of three parts of the Babylon 5 cast panel, during which Claudia Christian mentioned that by the time of next year’s SDCC her novel Wolf’s Empire … Continue reading →
Anne Morrel Passes Away
LASFSian Anne Morrel passed away July 17 after a 5-year long illness. She joined LASFS in 1987, worked on many Loscons, and actively participated in club service projects. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, William Ellern.… Continue reading →
Blaine Gibson, Disney Park Sculptor
Blaine Gibson, the Disney Legend who created hundreds of sculptures and the exteriors of many audio-animatronic characters for Disney theme parks, died July 5 at the age of 97. Gibson was hired by Walt Disney Studios in 1939 as an … Continue reading →
Lafferty Wins 2015 Wellman Award
Mur Lafferty’s Ghost Train To New Orleans is the winner of the 2015 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy. The award was presented on July 11 by the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation at ConGregate in … Continue reading →
Today In History
July 18, 1939: The song “Over the Rainbow” is restored for a sneak preview of The Wizard of Oz in Westwood, CA. Producers had cut it from the version shown to a Pomona audience the month before because they felt it slowed things down. … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 7/17
Praise, complaints and tales of derring-didn’t fill the Scroll today. (1) George Barr, Fan Guest of Honor at MidAmeriCon, the 1976 Worldcon, unexpectedly popped up in a soft-sell blog entry for PR firm Signal Hill, “Science Fiction Illustrator Finds Home” … Continue reading →
2015 Best American SF/F Contributors Named
Writers whose stories have been selected by Joe Hill and John Joseph Adams for the 2015 volume of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy have been named. Adams screened hundreds thousands of notable works published in 2014 by magazines, journals, … Continue reading →
First Round of 2016 Prix Bob Morane Nominees
Here are the works under consideration for the Prix Bob Morane from the first half of 2015. The Prix Bob Morane is a French literary prize named for a fictional adventurer created by Belgian writer Henri Vernes in the 1950s. Title translations in English copied from the Europa … Continue reading →
2014 Sidewise Award Shortlist
The 2014 Sidewise Award for Alternate History nominees were announced July 17. The award recognizes excellence in alternate historical fiction. The nominees were selected by a panel of judges comprised of Stephen Baxter, Evelyn Leeper, Jim Rittenhouse, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven … Continue reading →
Inventive Ford and Edison Read Fantastic Fiction at the KGB Bar
By Mark L. Blackman: On the evening of Wednesday, July 15, the Fantastic Fiction Readings Series hosted readings by authors Jeffrey Ford and David Edison in the Red Room of the KGB Bar in Manhattan’s East Village. (It was probably … Continue reading →
Crowdfunding Norm Breyfogle’s Stroke Recovery
Norm Breyfogle, credited as one of the artists who changed Batman forever, was hospitalized due to a stroke on December 17. Norm suffered paralysis on his left side – all the more problematic because he draws left-handed. Norm now needs … Continue reading →
Teaching
By John Hertz: Happening to re-read A.J. Arberry’s Classical Persian Literature (1958) I came upon this description (by Badî‘ al-Zamân Furûzânfar 1904-1970) of Jalâl al-Dîn Muhammad ibn Muhammad (1207-1273), known as Rûmî from the land where he lived, celebrated as … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 7/16
Six stories, two advertisements disguised as news, and a charming science video make up today’s Scroll. (1) What happens when you delegate your online transactions to a program that becomes annoyed by your laziness? Rudy Rucker provides an imaginative answer … Continue reading →
2015 Emmy Award Nominees
The Emmy Award nominations were released on July 16. The winners will be announced on September 20. Game of Thrones earned the most nominations overall, with 24. Some nominees of genre interest are listed below. OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Game of … Continue reading →
Hugo Voting Deadline Approaches, Thousands of Ballots Already Cast
The Sasquan committee reports they have already received 2,300 ballots. How many more will come in by the time 2015 Hugo Awards voting closes at 11:59 p.m. (PDT) on July 31? Will Sasquan break LonCon 3’s record of 3,587 Hugo votes? … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 7/15
Six stories and a ribbon are tied together in today’s Scroll. (1) Keith Kato, President of The Heinlein Society, says donors to Heinlein’s “Hall of Famous Missourians” bust who attend Worldcon and/or Loscon are eligible for this ribbon: (2) The … Continue reading →
Win Star Trek Role in Charity Contest
Star Trek: To Boldly Go, a fundraiser for nine kid-oriented charities, is offering donors a chance to win a walk on role in a Star Trek movie as well as receive other premiums. The Grand Prize Walk-On Role Winner will … Continue reading →
Burstein Remembers Planet Pluto
Michael A. Burstein was interviewed for a piece by Lyndsey Layton and Elizabeth Koh in the July 15 Washington Post — “One of today’s great generation gaps: Whether you think Pluto is a planet”. Described as “a science writer and … Continue reading →
2015 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Finalists
Baen Books, in association with GenCon, has announced the finalists for the 2015 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award. “Saurs” by Craig DeLancey “Burning Savannah” by Alexander Monteagudo “Unfound” by Rhiannon Held “Shell Game” by Joseph L. Kellogg “Victor the Sword” by … Continue reading →
Heinlein Society Scholarship Winners
On Heinlein’s birthday, July 7, the winners of The Heinlein Society’s two $750 undergraduate scholarships for STEM-subject majors were announced. Elias Anderson, an entering freshman at St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania, who will major in Engineering and Mathematics. He hopes … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 7/14
Today’s Scroll is seven stories tall. (1) In 2015 the Science-Fiction Club Berlin will mark its 59th and the Andymon club (which started life as the Youth Astronomy Club) will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Sonja Fritzsche, Professor of German and … Continue reading →
Close Enough To Kiss Pluto
The New Horizons probe made its closest approach to Pluto on Tuesday morning, carrying the ashes of the man who discovered the dwarf planet, along with spectrometers to analyze Pluto’s surface, and one telescopic camera taking so many pictures it will be more … Continue reading →
Final Revision of Best Series Hugo Proposal Now Online
Jared Dashoff reports final wording of the proposed rule creating a Best Series Hugo category has been posted on the Sasquan business meeting agenda webpage. File 770 hosted discussion of the idea under its former title in “New Draft of Best Saga … Continue reading →
Heinlein Bust Commissioned for Hall of Famous Missourians
Today The Heinlein Society initiated two purchase orders for the Heinlein Exhibit for the Missouri House of Representatives Hall of Famous Missourians. The 125-150% life-sized Heinlein clay sculpture and bronze bust will be produced by E. S. Schubert Sculpture Studios … Continue reading →
Denver 2018 Westercon Bid Info
The WestSideCon bid to hold Westercon 71 (2018) in Denver now identifies the members of the committee on its website: Nikki Ebright – Con Co-Chair (should we win the bid) Peter J Wacks – Con Co-Chair (should we win the … Continue reading →
For Westercon Smofs Only
The minutes of the Westercon 68 business meeting (and a video recording) are now posted on the Westercon Bylaws & Business website. [Thanks to Kevin Standlee for the story.]… Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 7/13
Five videos, seven stories, and a pair of tweets make up the Scroll today. (1) The plush talking Admiral Ackbar doll was advertised as a limited run several years ago, however, Craig Miller bought one at Comic-Con. Do you remember the Admiral’s line? (2) … Continue reading →
Physics of Free Will at Clarke Center 8/6
The Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination invites you to “The Physics of Free Will” panel discussion on Thursday, August 6 in UC San Diego’s Atkinson Auditorium. Leading sf writer David Brin, Brian Keating (Physics, UC San Diego), and … Continue reading →
New Horizons To Make Closest Pluto Approach 7/14
What will the Pluto probe find tomorrow? Probably not this — Probably not this either — In less than 13 hours New Horizons will make its closest approach to Pluto, continuing all the while to reclassify science fiction stories as fantasy. Follow the … Continue reading →
Taos Toolbox 2015
By Jeb Kinnison (The Substrate Wars): I attended this year’s Taos Toolbox novel-oriented writing workshop that wrapped up Saturday. Instructors Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams whipped us into shape (literally — a whip appeared mid-workshop), with special guest lecturers … Continue reading →
2015 Prometheus Award Goes to Suarez
Daniel Suarez’ novel Influx has won the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Prometheus Award for Best Novel of 2014. Influx, the fourth techno-thriller by Daniel Suarez (Dutton Adult, Feb. 20, 2014), dramatizes the evils of totalitarian government control over people’s lives by … Continue reading →
