SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Due to the temporary unavailability of internet access at the new Amazing HQ, communications (email, Facebook, twitter, etc.,) will be spotty and delayed. This temporary situation should resolve by October 14th, 2015. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

lockeandkey OTHER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

“On October 5th, Audible Studios will release LOCKE & KEY, the ambitious audio dramatization of the bestselling, award-winning graphic novel series by acclaimed novelist Joe Hill, narrated by Tatiana Maslany and Haley Joel Osment with special appearances from Kate Mulgrew, the graphic novel’s illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez, and Joe Hill himself. The audiobook also features over 50 voice actors, state-of-the-art sound design, and an original score.”

Amazing Stories will feature a review of LOcke & Key on Tuesday, October 6th

PRESS RELEASES & NEWSLETTERS (Full text below)

NY Comic Con After Part by Geeks Out; LIghtspeed Magazine October Issue; Suvudu (includes Blizzard Entertainment news); Harlan Ellison Books; Arc Manor Phoenix Picks (Heinlein); RPG Newsletter; Night Shade Books – John Shirley; Night Shade Books – Paolo Bacigalupi

SOCIAL

White Poet Poses as Asian…a Response…the Editor Responds

What Men REALLY Don’t Know About Women (via Laura J. Mixon on FB)

Some Thoughts on Diversity in Genre

ENTERTAINMENT

Help Solve the Mystery: Who Performed Ballet on the Set of Heinlein’s Destination Moon?

Heinlein’s Man Who Sold the Moon to be Adapted for TV

Philip K. Dick Book Bundle! (via Pat Murphy on FB)

Free Books From TAFF (Don’t forget to donate)

INDUSTRY

Lady Business: Study of Gender Discrimination in Genre Publishing (cool stuff, great stuff!)

Ta Nehisi-Coates MacArthur Genius, 2015

Random Penguin Introduces New Way to Buy Books in the 21st Century

WSFS Sasquan Business Meeting Minutes Complete

SCIENCE

Learning to Walk on the Moon 60’s Style

PRESS RELEASES & NEWSLETTERS

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

SNIKT 4: A New York Comic Con After Party

Saturday, October 10th @ 9PM!

Geeks Unite!

SNIKT: The 4th annual Geeks Out NYCC after-party returns Saturday October 10th, 9pm at Rockbar 185 Christopher St!

Cosplay performances provided by All Geeksnational touring show with burlesque and drag numbers from geek culture. $5 cover. Follow #sniktNYC on facebook/ twitter/ instagram for performer and prize announcements!

Poster art by: Chad Sell

Find out more at geeksout.org and join the Facebook Event Page

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The October 2015 Issue of LIGHTSPEED is Now on Sale!

Welcome to issue sixty-five of Lightspeed!

We have original science fiction by Maria Dahvana Headley (“Solder and Steam”) and Adrian Tchaikovsky (“The Children of Dagon”), along with SF reprints by An Owomoyela (“Water Rights”) and Gregory Benford (“Time Shards”).

Plus, we have original fantasy by Emil Ostrovski (“Tragic Business”) and Nike Sulway (“The Karen Joy Fowler Book Club”), and fantasy reprints by Kevin Brockmeier (“The Invention of Separate People”) and Delia Sherman (“The Fiddler of Bayou Teche”).

All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, along with a feature interview with security expert and futurist Marc Goodman, and of course the latest installment of our book review column.

For our ebook readers, we also have an ebook-exclusive novella reprint of James Tiptree Jr.’s “Slow Music,” and, of course, a pair of novel excerpts.

Can’t wait to get your hands on a copy? You can purchase the issue from the following stores: Lightspeed (direct), Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, and Weightless Books. Visit our Ebooks page for links and more information.

Out October 6: Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 (and is currently 44% off in trade paperback on Amazon)!

Science fiction and fantasy finally joins the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Best American series with the first volume of Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, which comes out October 6! Learn more at johnjosephadams.com/best-american.

Please consider buying a copy to not only get an anthology of twenty amazing stories, but also to help convince the publisher to keep the series going indefinitely (initially it was only picked up for two volumes). And please tell a friend about it!

Now’s a great time to pick it up while Amazon has it deeply discounted. I’m not sure how long the discounted price will last, so don’t delay!

COVER
COVER COPY

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor—a leading writer in the field—then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.

Science fiction and fantasy enjoys a long literary tradition, stretching from Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne to Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, and William Gibson. In The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy award-winning editor John Joseph Adams delivers a diverse and vibrant collection of stories published in the prior year. Featuring writers with deep science fiction and fantasy backgrounds, along with those who are infusing traditional fiction with speculative elements, these stories uphold a long-standing tradition within both genres—looking at the world and asking, What if…?

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 includes: Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Karen Russell, T.C. Boyle, Sofia Samatar, Jo Walton, Cat Rambo, Daniel H. Wilson, Seanan McGuire, Jess Row, and others.

The 2015 volume collects the best material published in 2014, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Joe Hill.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever by Daniel H. Wilson
from Carbide Tipped Pens—Eric Choi & Ben Bova, editors
Each to Each by Seanan McGuire
from Lightspeed, Women Destroy Science Fiction! special issue—Christie Yant, editor
How to Get Back to the Forest by Sofia Samatar
from Lightspeed
Sleeper by Jo Walton
from Tor.com
The Empties by Jess Row
from The New Yorker
The Relive Box by T.C. Boyle
From The New Yorker
Tortoiseshell Cats are Not Refundable by Cat Rambo
from Clarkesworld
We Are the Cloud by Sam J. Miller
from Lightspeed
Windows by Susan Palwick
from Asimov’s
How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps by A. Merc Rustad
from Scigentasy
A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i by Alaya Dawn Johnson
from F&SF
Cimmeria, from the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology by Theodora Goss
from Lightspeed
Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead by Carmen Maria Machado
from HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!! and Other Improbable Crowdfunding Projects—John Joseph Adams, editor
How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman
from Rogues—George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, editors
I Can See Right Through You by Kelly Link
from McSweeney’s
Ogres of East Africa by Sofia Samatar
from Long Hidden—Rose Fox & Daniel José Older, editors
Skullpocket by Nathan Ballingrud
from Nightmare Carnival—Ellen Datlow, editor
The Bad Graft by Karen Russell
from The New Yorker
The One They Took Before by Kelly Sandoval
from Shimmer
The Thing About Shapes To Come by Adam-Troy Castro
from Lightspeed

BUY THE BOOK

Queers Destroy Horror! is Now Available!

As you probably know, our sister-magazine, NIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE’s pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror.

Funded as a stretch goal of our sister-magazine LIGHTSPEED’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction! Kickstarter campaign, this month we’re presenting a special (double-sized) issue of NIGHTMARE called Queers Destroy Horror!: an all-horror extravaganza entirely written–and edited!–by queer creators. Here’s what we’ve got lined up for you in this special issue: Original horror–edited by Wendy N. Wagner–by Chuck Palahniuk, Matthew Bright, Sunny Moraine, Alyssa Wong, and Lee Thomas. Reprints–also selected by Wagner–by Kelley Eskridge, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and Poppy Z. Brite. And nonfiction articles–edited by Megan Arkenberg–by Lucy A. Snyder, Sigrid Ellis, Catherine Lundoff, Michael Matheson, Evan J. Peterson, and Cory Skerry. Plus a selection of queer poetry selected by Robyn A. Lupo and an original cover illustration by AJ Jones.

The issue is available now in the usual ebook formats in the usual locations at the usual price ($2.99), but is also available in trade paperback for $12.99.

Upcoming Events

Want to meet our editor John Joseph Adams and/or contributors to the magazine? Here’s a list of upcoming events at which you can find us:

Borderlands Books | San Francisco, CA | Oct. 4 (3pm)

Queers Destroy Science Fiction! event | Readings, Signing, Q&A | Featuring: Chaz Brenchley, Jessica Yang, Rachel Swirsky, and Tim Susman.

Barnes & Noble | Ventura, CA | Oct. 10 (5pm)

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 event | Readings, Discussion, Q&A, Signing | Featuring: John Joseph Adams, Sofia Samatar, and Kelly Sandoval.

Reddit AMA | reddit.com | Oct. 13 (Time TBD)

Queers Destroy! event | Ask Me Anything interview | Featuring: TBD.

Pandemonium Books | Cambridge, MA | Oct. 29 (7pm)

Queers Destroy! event | Readings, Signing, Q&A | Featuring: Felicia Davin, Susan Jane Bigelow, Amal El-Mohtar, Anthony Cardno, Cecilia Tan, and John Chu.

World Fantasy Convention | Saratoga Springs, NY | Nov. 5-8

Convention | Panel Discussions, Signing | Featuring: John Joseph Adams.

Forbidden Planet | New York, NY | Nov. 9 (7pm)

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 event | Panel Discussion, Signing, Q&A | Featuring: John Joseph Adams, Joe Hill, and Seanan McGuire (additional contributors TBD). Moderated by David Barr Kirtley of The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy.

NYRSF Reading Series | New York, NY | Nov. 10 (7pm)

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 event | Readings | Featuring: John Joseph Adams, Seanan McGuire, and Carmen Maria Machado.

WORD Bookstore | Jersey City, NJ | Nov. 11 (7:30pm)

Press Start to Play event | Readings, Signing, Q&A | Featuring: John Joseph Adams, Robin Wasserman, Seanan McGuire, and David Barr Kirtley.

Columbia University Science Fiction Society | Columbia University, New York, NY | Nov. 17 (6pm)

Talk and Q&A (Open to the Public) | Featuring: John Joseph Adams and Christie Yant (editor of Lightspeed’s Women Destroy Science Fiction! special issue).

Now Available: Press Start to Play (Vintage Books, Aug. 2015)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword—Ernest Cline
Introduction—John Joseph Adams
God Mode—Daniel H. Wilson
NPC—Charles Yu
Respawn—Hiroshi Sakurazaka (translated by Nathan Collins)
Desert Walk—S.R. Mastrantone
Rat Catcher’s Yellows—Charlie Jane Anders
1Up—Holly Black
Survival Horror—Seanan McGuire
REAL—Django Wexler
Outliers—Nicole Feldringer
<end game>—Chris Avellone
Save Me Plz—David Barr Kirtley (reprint)
The Relive Box—T.C. Boyle (reprint)
Roguelike—Marc Laidlaw
All of the People in Your Party Have Died—Robin Wasserman
RECOIL!—Micky Neilson
Anda’s Game—Cory Doctorow (reprint)
Coma Kings—Jessica Barber (reprint)
Stats—Marguerite K. Bennett
Please Continue—Chris Kluwe
Creation Screen—Rhianna Pratchett
The Fresh Prince of Gamma World—Austin Grossman
Gamer’s End—Yoon Ha Lee
The Clockwork Soldier—Ken Liu (reprint)
Killswitch—Catherynne M. Valente (reprint)
Twarrior—Andy Weir
Select Character—Hugh Howey

BUY THE BOOK

Trade Paperback
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Books A Million
- IndieBound
- Powell’s
- Target
- Walmart
Ebook
- Amazon.com
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- iBooks
Audiobook
- Audible.com

If you’d like to learn more about the book, read stories from the anthology for free online, or read interviews with the authors, visit the website for Press Start to Play at johnjosephadams.com/press-start.

Now Available: Loosed Upon the World, a Climate Fiction Anthology (Saga Press, Sep. 2015)

Also now available is Loosed Upon the World, the definitive collection of climate fiction. These provocative stories explore our present and speculate about all of our tomorrows through terrifying struggle and hope. Join bestselling authors Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Nancy Kress, Kim Stanley Robinson, Jim Shepard, and over twenty others as they presciently explore the greatest threat to our future. Visit johnjosephadams.com/loosed to learn more; available now in hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook.

WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT? Anthology Announced (Aug. 2016)

Over on io9, we just announced one of my 2016 anthologies: What the #@&% Is That:The Saga Anthology of the Monstrous and Macabre (which I co-edited with Douglas Cohen). It will be published August 2016 by Simon & Schuster’s Saga Press imprint.

COVER COPY

The Saga anthology of the monsterous and the macabre.

Twenty stories, and in every story, one character is guaranteed to say, “What the #@&% is that?” Admit it, you may not be afraid of the dark anymore, but you still like getting scared. If you have ever jumped in your seat—or screamed. It’s okay, we won’t judge—from a film or video game, then you have the right book in your hands. Join these masters of suspense as they take you to where the shadows grow long and things move in the corners of your vision.

COVER (art by Mike Mignola)

Introduction by Douglas Cohen
Mobility by Laird Barron
Fossil Heart by Amanda Downum
Those Gaddam Cookies by Scott Sigler
The Sound of Her Laughter by Simon R. Green
Down in the Deep and the Dark by Desirina Boskovich
Only Unclench Your Hand by Isabel Yap
Little Widow by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Bad Hour by Christopher Golden
What is Lost, What is Given Away by John Langan
Now and Forever by D. Thomas Minton
#connollyhouse #weshouldntbehere by Seanan McGuire
The House That Love Built by Grady Hendrix
We All Make Sacrifices by Jonathan Maberry
Ghost Pressure by Gemma Files
The Daughter out of Darkness by Nancy Holder
Framing Mortensen by Adam-Troy Castro
The Catch by Terence Taylor
Hunters in the Wood by Tim Pratt
Whose Drowned Face Sleeps by An Owomoyela & Rachel Swirsky
Castleweep by Alan Dean Foster

BUY THE BOOK

[pre-order links coming soon!]

If You Love Your Subscription, Review Your Subscription!

If you already have and love a Lightspeed subscription, please consider leaving us a positive review on Amazon.com or Weightless Books. A few kind words can go a long way toward encouraging other readers to try out Lightspeed if they’re on the fence about whether to give it a shot or not.

If you’d like to leave a review, here’s the product page on Amazon.com, and here’s the 12-month subscription option on Weightless Books.

Reviews of individual issues are also welcome, of course, though our primary interest is in spreading the word about subscriptions, so if you want to help out, please let other readers know what you think!

Keeping Current

Remember, in addition to this newsletter, there are several ways you can sign up to be notified of new Lightspeed content:

Magazine Website: lightspeedmagazine.com
Destroy Projects Website: destroysf.com
RSS feed (full): lightspeedmagazine.com/rss-2
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Twitter: @lightspeedmag
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Google+: plus.google.com/+Lightspeedmagazine/posts
Subscribe: lightspeedmagazine.com/subscribe

Looking Ahead: Issue 65

Coming up in November, in Lightspeed . . .

We have original science fiction by Rahul Kanakia (“Here is My Thinking on a Situation That Affects Us All”) and Caroline M. Yoachim (“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Love, Death”), along with SF reprints by Brian Stableford (“The Pipes of Pan”) and Kameron Hurley (“The Light Brigade”).

Plus, we have original fantasy by Helena Bell (“When We Were Giants”) and Kenneth Schneyer (“The Plausibility of Dragons”), and fantasy reprints by Toh EnJoe (“Printable”) and Karen Joy Fowler (“The Black Fairy’s Curse”).

All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, along with a pair of feature interviews.

For our ebook readers, we also have our usual ebook-exclusive novella reprint and a pair of novel excerpts.

It’s another great issue, so be sure to check it out.

• • • •

Looking ahead beyond next month, we’ll have even more great stories headed your way. Also, in December, our sister magazine Fantasy will be releasing a special issue celebrating the work of QUILTBAG creators, Queers Destroy Fantasy!, and you won’t want to miss it.

So be sure to keep an eye out for all the great reading in the months to come. And while you’re at it, tell a friend about Lightspeed.

Thanks for Reading!

We couldn’t publish the magazine without the loyal support of readers like you. So we here at Lightspeed salute you, and would like to thank you for your continued patronage.

Well, that’s about it for this installment of the newsletter. Thanks again for reading.

Mailing Address

The CAN-Spam Act requires that anyone sending out an email newsletter must include a mailing address. Ours is PO Box 3127, Lompoc, CA 93436. But please don’t send mail there! It’s a small PO Box that we don’t check very often. Especially don’t send story submissions or book review copies. (We don’t take hardcopy submissions, and for review copies we have a different mailing address.) If you want to mail us something, or if you just want to get in touch with us for any reason, please email us at john@lightspeedmagazine.com.

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In This Issue:Dear Reader Letter | Blizzard Publishing Partnership with Random House | Coming Soon from HYDRA | 50 Page Fridays | Weekly Giveaway

From the Desk of C.A. Higgins

I get all my best ideas while brushing my teeth.

I’ve thought about it very deeply. I considered that it might be some sort of chemical in the toothpaste. I contemplated the idea that the repetitive act of brushing was somehow a kind of trigger to my psyche, like I am a brainwashed sleeper agent only waiting for the right code phrase. But all of my theories are destroyed by the simple fact that I am not actually brushing my teeth when the ideas come.

Instead, I brush and braid my hair, I take out my contacts, I fumble around blindly in the cabinet for the toothbrush because I can no longer see and after knocking over the soap dispenser and the contact solution and having a near miss with my roommate’s toothbrush, I finally acquire my own. Then, with the kind of deft hand-eye coordination and depth perception one would expect from a woman as nearsighted as I am, I manage to get the toothpaste on the brush.

And then the ideas come. Read the rest of C.A. Higgins’ letter >>

Blizzard Entertainment Announces Publishing Partnership with Random House

Coming Soon from HYDRA

AVAILABLE October 6, 2015

Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Bentley Little pry open a sarcophagus of horror and dread inDark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the esteemed Cemetery Dance Publications.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris
It was supposed to be the night of his life: a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner
When he was seven, Will Underwood’s nanny told him she had the Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans . . . but it’s fate that leads him to Madame Darkling’s Voodoo Emporium.

THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke
Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost—or be driven mad by remorse.

MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James
Arnold loves his ’68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to protect them both—especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.

THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little
A real-estate agent is drawn into a children’s playhouse behind an abandoned property she’s trying to sell—and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.
$2.99 eBook | More Information >>

50 Page Fridays Recap

Each week we’re giving away the first 50 pages of an awesome Del Rey or Spectra book – for FREE! Check out the titles we’ve premiered in the last month:

The Abyss Beyond Dreams
by Peter F. Hamilton
Read 50 Pages >>

Lightless
by C. A. Higgins
Read 50 Pages >>

The Hammer and the Blade
by Paul S. Kemp
Read 50 Pages >>

Win a Free Early Copy of an Upcoming Book!

Every week we’re giving away a new galley edition of an upcoming book – see what you could win this week!
Check out This Week’s Giveaway >>

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Use the discount code BTPCVVMA for 33% off all
in-print BRAIN MOVIES titles in October 2015.

As some of you might be aware, Harlan Ellison is a special guest at Archon 39 in Collinsville, IL this weekend (2-4 October 2015).

Long-time subscribers to this e-newsletter know that we at HarlanEllisonBooks.comlike to celebrate our patron’s infrequent public appearances with a little extra discount–something to entice the folks who witness Harlan’s antics in person for the first time to try our publications. So, for the rest of October 2015, we’re offering 33% off the in-print editions of BRAIN MOVIES Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

At checkout, use the discount code BTPCVVMA to get any of our six BRAIN MOVIES books for $33.49 plus shipping; that’s $6.50 off our usual discounted price, and $16.50 off the list price (or $99 off the whole set of six).

Click through to HarlanEllisonBooks.com and remember the discount codeBTPCVVMA for 33% off all Harlan’s BRAIN MOVIES.

Catch up before I announce BRAIN MOVIES Volume 7, containing one of Harlan’s most sought-after feature-length teleplays, one both he and I consider to be among his best…

…and if you’re at Archon, visit Harlan and Susan. They’ve got a wealth of Ellisonia on offer, including a few of our non-BRAIN MOVIES titles.

This discount code is only valid at HarlanEllisonBooks.com (powered by CreateSpace) and will not work on Amazon.com, or any of its affiliates. This discount code cannot be combined with any other offer, though the usual $10 off WILL be applied to any books not part of this current promotion.

Visit HarlanEllisonBooks.com

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OCTOBER 2015 NEWSLETTER

Dear Readers,

Phoenix Pick/Galaxy’s Pick will be at Capclave in the Dealers Room. Do come by and say hi.

An omnibus of the first three issus of Galaxy’s Edge will be offered exclusively on Amazon.com (Kindle) for $1.99 (regular price $9.99) from October 18th through October 20th (3 days only). This includes some great fiction by old veterans as well as new writers. Plus book reviews, columns and much more. Mark the dates to get an incrdible deal on some great fiction.

BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER

Our ebook of the month for October is Robert A. Heinlein’s Expanded Universe-Volume One

“The single most important and valuable Heinlein book ever published.”—Spider Robinson

Robert A. Heinlein has been hailed as one of the most forward-thinking science fiction writers of all time, andExpanded Universe (presented in two volumes) offers the perfect collection of his works to provide readers with true insights into his uniquely creative mind.

Heinlein personally selected each story or essay for inclusion in this collection, which is ordered chronologically, starting with his first sale in 1939 of “Life-Line” to Astounding (for seventy dollars).This remarkable collection highlights the development of Heinlein’s writing style and his philosophy on life throughout his career.

More importantly, this collection is as close to an autobiography as anything Heinlein wrote during his life. Heinlein was an extremely private person who never wrote much about himself. In this exclusive collection, he offers forewords to most of his stories and essays (and an occasional afterword), giving readers a rare glimpse into the inner mind of the master.

Expanded Universe is a must-have for any Heinlein enthusiast and any fan of science fiction.

“From “Life-Line” (1939), one of his earliest works, to a tale of adventure on the moon (“Nothing Ever Happens On the Moon”), this collection demonstrates the formidable talent and irascible perceptions of one of the genre’s most outspoken writers.”—Library Journal

“This is the book I’ve always wanted from Heinlein.” —John Bruni, GoodReads

The book will be offered on pay-what-you-want basis (including free). Other titles from will also be offered in an associated bundle at a deep discount.

This deal will be available from now through October 31 and a link to the buy page can, as always, be found on our online catalogue page, https://www.PPickings.com

Or, you may go directly to the page using this link:

https://www.phoenixpick.com/botm/Heinlein.htm

The latest issue of Galaxy’s Edge will be live till the end of October. All contents are free online till then.

Stories by:Effie Seiberg, David Drake, Alex Shvartsman, Marina J. Lostetter, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Sharon Joss, Brian Trent, Kimberly Unger, Kevin J. Anderson, Leena Likitalo, Sheila Finch
Serialization: Reboots by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin (Part 2)
Columns: Barry Malzberg, Gregory Benford Book Reviews: Jody Lynn Nye & Bill Fawcett
Interview: Joy Ward Interveiews Connie Willis

www.GalaxysEdge.com

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
Digital Click Here Paper Click Here

PUB. DIRECT PDF EPub/Nook Mobi/Kindle

Amazon.com BN.com

Till next month then.

Thank You and Good Day,

Shahid
Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick

###

RPGnet Newsletter #23
September 29, 2015

New Columns

Robin D. Laws’ newest edition of The Keep Near the Gaming Hut – “DramaSystem: The Rhythm of Ensemble” – examines how DramaSystem uses mechanics to encourage the players and GM to emulate an ensemble TV cast.

Kirk Johnson-Weider continued his Lawful GM series with a look at organized religion as a venue for political campaigns in “PCs as Pontiffs.”

This week also featured the publication of another RPGnet interview, this one of Joseph McCullough of popular new minis game Frostgrave.

Jonathan Hicks also posted a new edition of Oberservations from a Gamer’s Chair, this one looking at the problem of absentee players: “The Invisible Man.”

New Reviews

This was another busy week on the Reviews front. In particular, Jonathan Hicks’s review of Gary Gygax biography Empire of Imagination is one to be sure not to miss.

Other new reviews last week were:

Paxton K.’s review of “The Mutant Epoch Hub Rules” (Post-apocalyptic RPG)
Steve Dee’s review of “Shadow of the Demon Lord” (Fantasy RPG)
Sir Corvus’s review of “Dark Albion: The Rose War” (OSR supplement)
kafka’s review of “Mythic Britain” (RQ6 supplement)
Jonathan Hicks’s review of “Frostgrave: Tales of the Frozen City” (Boardgame-related fiction)
Antonios S’s review of “The Magnates: A Game of Power” (Board/tactical game)
Shannon Appelcline’s review of “Renaissance Wars” (Card game)
Edward Kabara’s review of “Wordariffic” (Word game)

Threads You Might Have Missed

The last several years have seen an explosion of OSR/D&D retroclones. Yr. humble editor himself frequently has a hard time keeping them all straight. For a useful catalogue describing and differentiating these games, check out “Describe for Me the OSR Clones” over in Dungeons & Dragons / Fantasy D20 Spotlight.

Lots of factors need to line up to get an actual RPG session going: schedules, interest, venue, etc. As a result, lots of RPGers (and RPGnetters) end up reading a lot more RPGs than playing them. Yr. humble editor is no exception. If you – like me – have purchased more RPGs than you ever have hope of playing, share your perspectives in TRO at “I only read RPG’s.”

In many systems, a character’s ability to be scary is tied to a generalized “charisma” stat. THis presensts a problem: why is the smooth-talking con man scarier than the 10′ tall combat monster? For approaches to solving this problem, as well as some meditations on the concept of “Intimidation” as a skill, check out “The problem of Intimidate as a skill.”

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4^th of October 2015
WYATT IN WICHITA BY JOHN SHIRLEY IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, & MORE!

Wyatt in Wichita fuses historical fact with fiction, following the adventures of the young Wyatt Earp. Following the tragic loss of his first wife in the Missouri of 1870 in his early days on the dark side of the West, Wyatt eventually makes his way to Ellsworth and Wichita, where by confronting corruption he would eventually finally… read more

MORE FROM JOHN SHIRLEY

STAY CONNECTED

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4^th of October 2015
PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES BY PAOLO BACIGALUPI IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, & MORE!

Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of the science fiction short story. Social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of Paolo’s work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning, and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience.

The eleven stories in Pump Six represent the best Paolo’s work, including the Hugo nominee “Yellow Card Man,” the nebula and Hugo nominated story “The People of Sand and Slag,” and the Sturgeon Award-winning story “The Ca… read more


MORE FROM PAOLO BACIGALUPI

Recipient of the Sturgeon Award, Paolo Bacigalupi’s writing has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and the environmental journal High Country News. His non-fiction essays have appeared in Salon.com and High Country News, and have been syndicated into numerous western newspapers… read more

STAY CONNECTED

AN IMPRINT OF

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The October 2015 Issue of LIGHTSPEED is Now on Sale!

Out October 6: Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 (and is currently 44% off in trade paperback on Amazon)!

Queers Destroy Horror! is Now Available!

Upcoming Events

Borderlands Books | San Francisco, CA | Oct. 4 (3pm)

Barnes & Noble | Ventura, CA | Oct. 10 (5pm)

Reddit AMA | reddit.com | Oct. 13 (Time TBD)

Pandemonium Books | Cambridge, MA | Oct. 29 (7pm)

World Fantasy Convention | Saratoga Springs, NY | Nov. 5-8

Forbidden Planet | New York, NY | Nov. 9 (7pm)

NYRSF Reading Series | New York, NY | Nov. 10 (7pm)

WORD Bookstore | Jersey City, NJ | Nov. 11 (7:30pm)

Columbia University Science Fiction Society | Columbia University, New York, NY | Nov. 17 (6pm)

Now Available: Press Start to Play (Vintage Books, Aug. 2015)

Now Available: Loosed Upon the World, a Climate Fiction Anthology (Saga Press, Sep. 2015)

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Keeping Current

Looking Ahead: Issue 65

Thanks for Reading!

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RPGnet Newsletter #23 September 29, 2015

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WYATT IN WICHITA BY JOHN SHIRLEY IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, & MORE!

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RPGnet Newsletter #23
September 29, 2015