2017 Sir Julius Vogel Awards
The winners of the 2017 Sir Julius Vogel Awards were announced June 4 at Lexicon in Taupo, New Zealand. The awards recognize excellence in science fiction, fantasy and horror by New Zealanders. The winners were chosen by a vote of … Continue reading →
2017 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Winners
The 2017 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire will be presented today, June 4, at the Étonnants Voyageurs festival in Saint-Malo, France. The winners were announced May 24. The awards jury consisted of Joëlle Wintrebert (president), Jean-Luc Rivera (vice-president), Bruno Para (assistant … Continue reading →
2017 Manly Wade Wellman Award Nominees
The finalists for the 2017 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy were announced at ConCarolinas on June 2. Death’s Bright Day by David Drake (Baen Books) Steeplejack by A.J. Hartley (Tor Books) Pawn’s Gambit by … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 6/3/17 Hello Pixel My Old Friend, I’ve Come To Scroll With You Again
SCORING WONDER WOMAN. Vox explains that Wonder Woman’s score/rating is 93% or 76%, depending on how you look at it, in “Why people are freaking out over Wonder Woman’s stellar Rotten Tomatoes score” To be clear, a 97 percent … Continue reading →
SFPA Opens Annual Poetry Contest
The 2017 Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) Poetry Contest is accepting entries from all poets, including non-members of the SFPA. Poets may enter in three categories: Dwarf (poems 1-10 lines [prose poems 0-100 words]) Short (11-49 lines [prose … Continue reading →
Robert Scott-Norton’s Justice-Seeking Telepaths
By Carl Slaughter: Tombs Legacy series author Robert Scott-Norton released his entire Tombs Rising series in April 2017. THE REMNANT KEEPER When the dead can testify, their killers resort to desperate measures. The Remnant Keepers are a loathed group of … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 6/2/17 A Scroll May Not Injure or Insult a Filer Or, Through Inaction, Allow A Filer To Yawn
DIAGNOSIS. David E. Pascoe’s post for Mad Genius Club, ‘“You Don’t Look So Good”, wonders if declining BEA attendance is symptomatic of the failing condition of traditional publishing. Wonders, or (perhaps) hopes, one or the other. Look, nearly two … Continue reading →
Quick Science Roundup
By Carl Slaughter: (1) E.T.’s stand-ins. US military preparing for alien attack and Cold War in space. Reader reaction: “Build a dome around the Earth and make the aliens pay for it.” — “US military training space warriors for ‘extraterrestrial … Continue reading →
Asimov Audio on YouTube
By Carl Slaughter: Feast your ears on classic Asimov. Foundation series. I, Robot series Caves of Steel novel “Nightfall” short story… Continue reading →
2017 Audie Award Winners
Audiobooks by John Scalzi, Alan Moore, and Kameron Hurley were among the 2017 Audie Award winners announced at a ceremony tonight in New York. Audiobook of the Year was Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, read by … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 6/1/17 SCROLLS NIX HIX PIXELS
IT BURNS. At Young People Read Old SFF, curator James Davis Nicoll has them reading Connie Willis’ “Fire Watch”. As we’ve seen, past popularity means nothing to the young people of today, who insist on judging stories on their … Continue reading →
Remembering James H. Burns Who Died A Year Ago Today
By Steve Vertlieb: With the late James H. Burns at Sardi’s in New York for dinner during a chilly Winter’s evening in December, 2014. Jimmy was one of my most cherished pals. He was my friend, my muse, my collaborator, … Continue reading →
A World-Building Hugo
By John Hertz: (reprinted from Vanamonde 1249) The best notes I know for Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables (1862) are James Madden’s in the 2008 Modern Library edition, tr. Julie Rose. My own copy is the 1987 Lee Fahnestock & … Continue reading →
Superhero Video Links
By Carl Slaughter: (1) Logan. Easter eggs from the Logan movie. Lots of ’em. But what good’s an Easter egg hunt with only a few eggs hidden, right? (2) Audition. It’s not easy to impress Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, and … Continue reading →
Top 10 Posts for May 2017
Filers reaction to a linked essay by Eric Raymond at the Libertarian Futurist blog veered into a long and heated debate about the government of the Shire, all adding up to File 770’s most-read post in the month of May. … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 5/31/17 I Watched TBR Piles Grow In The Dark Near Tannhäuser’s Gate
THE UGLY SPACEMAN. Adam Roberts tells New Scientist readers, “If I were a Martian, I’d start running now”. Exploration has never been neutral, and it’s hard to believe that future exploration of the cosmos will be different. So: doesn’t … Continue reading →
Sci-Fi Video Roundup
By Carl Slaughter: (1) Aquaman. With Smallville being one of the longest running science fiction shows in television history, fans have long ago demonstrated their commitment. Television executives haven’t always gotten the message, as evidenced by the Aquaman pilot. “The … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 5/30/17 When A Pixel Meets A Pixel, Scrolling Through The Rye
CATREON. Cat Rambo has updated her Patreon appeal video. (2) WHERE’S WEIMER? DUFF traveler Paul Weimer has reached Hobbiton in New Zealand. Hobbiton pic.twitter.com/2AViH4Kexo — Paul Weimer (@PrinceJvstin) May 30, 2017 And especially for beer experts @RobHBedford @mikemartinez72 @redhead5318 … Continue reading →
Robert J. Sawyer: Calling Us To the Future
By Carl Slaughter: Robert J. Sawyer talks science premises, scientific method, philosophy of human existence, and the themes and messages in his stories. CARL SLAUGHTER: You said of your latest novel, Quantum Night, that the theme is, “The most pernicious … Continue reading →
2017 Sunburst Awards Longlist
The 2017 longlist for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic was announced on May 29. Below are the works longlisted by the jury. ADULT FICTION Gail Anderson-Dargatz, The Spawning Grounds [Knopf Canada] Madeline Ashby, Company … Continue reading →
Pasadena Memorial Day Ceremony
By John King Tarpinian: Today was the dedication of the statue created by Christopher Slatoff, known by us as the man who created the Father Electrico bronze inspired by Ray Bradbury. Here is a close-up of some details of the … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 5/29/17 The Time Has Come, The Pixel Said, To Talk Of Many Scrolls
TO THE MAX. George R.R. Martin’s never-produced Christmas script for Max Headroom finally came to life — at the Jean Cocteau Theatre: “Merry Xmas to All, and to All a Good Max”. Our week-long M-M-Maxathon concluded on Satuday night … Continue reading →
Hannu Rajaniemi’s Wild Future
By Carl Slaughter: Hannu Rajaniemi’s debut novel The Quantum Thief opened to rave reviews from critics and mixed reviews on Amazon. The sequels were The Fractal Prince and The Causal Angel. In May 2017, Rajaniemi offered his first collection, Invisible … Continue reading →
