AMAZING NEWS FROM FANDOM 4-30-2017

Science Six-Pack
By Carl Slaughter: (1) Google’s super secret anti-aging research. “Google is super secretive about its anti-aging research. No one knows why.”. We should pause for a moment to note how strange this is. One of the biggest and most profitable … Continue reading →

Joshua David Bellin’s Monsters
By Carl Slaughter: With praise from Jonathan Maberry and a mention in a Washington Post cli-fi feature, Joshua David Bellin broke in with Survival Colony 9 in 1995. He followed with the sequel Scavenger of Souls in 2016. His deep … Continue reading →

2016 Bram Stoker Award Winners
The Horror Writers Association announced the winners of the 2016 Bram SToker Awards® on April 29 at StokerCon in Long Beach, CA. Superior Achievement in a Novel Langan, John – The Fisherman (Word Horde) Superior Achievement in a First Novel … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/29/17 Let Us Now Pixel Famous Scrolls
(1) YA AWARD NAME. Annalee Flower Horne makes a preemptive strike. All I want out of the Worldcon YA award is for them not to name it after Heinlein. Or any dude, actually, but especially not him. — Annalee (@leeflower) … Continue reading →

2017 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards Shortlist 
The Robert E. Howard Foundation’s Legacy Circle members have selected the nominees for this year’s REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works from the past year. Foundation members … Continue reading →

Gwyneth Jones’ New Hard SF Novel
By Carl Slaughter: Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones was released by Tor on April 11. On a desperately overcrowded future Earth, crippled by climate change, the most unlikely hope is better than none. Governments turn to Big Science to … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/28/17 Never Mind the Scrollocks, Here’s the Sex Pixels
FARGO/HUGO. On Fargo, the Hugo Award-look-alike turned out to be a “Golden Planet” won by Thaddeus Mobley. Observer’s episode roundup covers it at the end: But Gloria is on to…something, definitely, something strange. At least as strange as the … Continue reading →

2017 Edgar Awards
Mystery Writers of America have announced the winners of the 2017 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2016. The awards were presented on April 27 in New York City. … Continue reading →

Review of Cosmic Powers, Edited by John Joseph Adams
By Lis Carey: This is just one kickass good anthology. Go buy a copy in your preferred format now. Okay, okay, you want to know more. Every one of these stories is, as advertised, far-future, galaxy-spanning, and involves people confronting … Continue reading →

Linda Nagata, A Star of MilSF
By Carl Slaughter: Linda Nagata writes hard science fiction. Her novel First Light, first in her Red series, was nominated for both the Nebula Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Her novella “Goddesses” was the first online publication … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/27/17 The Pixel You Scroll, The Filer You Get
(1) MORE CORE. This time James Davis Nicoll lists “Twenty Core Military Speculative Fiction Books Every True SF Fan Should Have On Their Shelves”. Is there any overlap between your list and James’s? (2) ENVELOPE PLEASE. Mark Lawrence’s Self-Published Fantasy … Continue reading →

Alien: Covenant — Prologue: The Crossing
The Crossing, an official prologue short to Alien: Covenant, reveals what happened to crew members Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and the synthetic David after the events of Prometheus. Set aboard an abandoned Engineer vessel, Dr. Shaw repairs David as they continue … Continue reading →

2017 Tolkien Society Awards
The winners of the 2017 Tolkien Society Awards have been announced. The awards “recognize excellence in the fields of Tolkien scholarship and fandom.” This year, for the first time, Tolkien Society members picked the winners, by voting on shortlists prepared … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/26/17 A Scroll On The Hand May Be Quite Continental
IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND THERE LIVED AN ARCHITECT. The structure replacing Ray Bradbury’s torn-down home is nearly finished. LA Observed interviewed architect Thom Mayne and his wife about the design in “What would Ray think? Thom and … Continue reading →

Hidden Anthologies
By Carl Slaughter: There have now been two hidden history anthologies, published with this goal — We want to provide solidly grounded historical fiction to modern readers, who may have only encountered myths, fragments, or garbled notions of how marginalized … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/25/17 If All You Have Is A Pixel, Every Problem Looks Like A Scroll.
POTTER SCROLLS. I made a mistake about the lead item in yesterday’s Scroll. The people behind Harry Potter and the Sacred Text are not going to sit in the Sixth & I synagogue for 199 weeks talking about Harry … Continue reading →

SFWA VP M.C.A. Hogarth Steps Down; Hartshorn Fills In
After three years of service as Vice President, M.C.A. Hogarth has stepped down. Director at Large Erin Hartshorn has agreed to fill in as interim Vice President until a formal election in May of 2018. SFWA President Cat Rambo says, … Continue reading →

Spectrum 24 Awards
The Spectrum 24 Awards were presented at a ceremony in the historic Folly Theater in Kansas City on April 22 during Spectrum Fantastic Art Live. Gold and Silver Awards recipients were selected by a jury consisting of Christian Alzmann (Senior Art … Continue reading →

“Jimmy” Patterson’s House of Robots Series
By Carl Slaughter: Robot Revolution, the latest in James Patterson’s New York Times bestselling House of Robots series, came out in January 2017. HOUSE OF ROBOTS Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez has never had an easy time fitting in at school. His mother … Continue reading →

2017 Deutsche Science Fiction Preis
The winners of the 2017 Deutsche Science Fiction Preis were announced April 23. The juried award is given for the best short story and best novel written in the German language. The award is sponsored by the SFCD, Germany´s largest science-fiction club. … Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 4/24/17 Let Us Sit Upon The Ground And Scroll Sad Pixels
UNORTHODOX APPROACH. Beginning July 18, a weekly podcast will be hosted by Sixth & I in Washington DC — “Harry Potter and The Sacred Text”. What if we read the books we love as if they were sacred texts? What … Continue reading →

2017 Philip K. Dick Award Judges Announced
The five Philip K. Dick Award judges for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original format in the United States during the 2017 award year are: Robert Onopa Deborah J. Ross James Stoddard Amy Thomson Rick Wilber The Philip K. … Continue reading →

2017 Chesley Award Finalists
ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists, has announced the nominees for the 2017 Chesley Awards. ASFA members have until May 14 to cast their votes for the winners. The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 as ASFA’s … Continue reading →

2017 Hugo Award Voting Opens
Online voting for the 2017 Hugo Awards is now available and will continue until July 15 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Members of Worldcon 75 have been emailed personalized links to the final ballot. Voting by postal mail is also an … Continue reading →

Kelli Fitzpatrick, Breakthrough Author
By Carl Slaughter: Remember Dean Wesley Smith’s Star Trek anthology series? It’s back, minus Smith, and not coincidentally on the 50th anniversary. New author and Michigan creative writing teacher Kelli Fitzpatrick broke in through Simon & Schuster’s Strange New Worlds … Continue reading →

15th Annual Rondo Award Winners
The voters’ choices for the 15th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards were announced April 23. More than 3,200 fans and professionals participated in the voting. The Rondo Awards Ceremony will be held at WonderFest Convention in Louisville on June … Continue reading →