These Are The Stamps You’re Looking For
The US Postal Service will issue 10 new character-inspired stamps featuring the droids of Star Wars as Lucasfilm celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The first characters fans meet in the first Star Wars film are C-3PO and R2-D2 —
Kathleen Ann Goonan (1952-2021)
Kathleen Ann Goonan died January 28 at the age of 68. After teaching for 13 years, she turned to writing full time in 1988. She also attended Clarion West that year. Her first published sff story was “The Snail Mail”
HWA, Authors Guild, and Five More Groups Call on DoJ to Stop PRH Purchase of Simon & Schuster
Last fall Bertelsmann announced plans to acquire Simon & Schuster, which would reduce the number of Big Five publishers to four. In response, the Authors Guild, Open Markets Institute, Horror Writers Association, National Writers Union, Novelists Inc., Romance Writers Association,
Never Too Late To Start: Guest Post by Pierre E. Pettinger Jr.
Pierre E. Pettinger, Jr. (who was always confused with his dad which is why he goes by his full name) has been a sff and horror devotee since he was ten. He became involved in Dungeons and Dragons shortly after
Pixel Scroll 1/29/21 By Glyer’s Hammer, By The Scrolls Of Trekfan, You Will Be Appertained
ROBOT IS 100. The Czech Consulate of Los Angeles invites fans to the Robot is 100! Webinar on Thursday, February 4 at 12:00 PM Pacific exploring the influence of Karel Capek’s play “R.U.R.” on other forms of art, and
Pixel Scroll 1/28/21 And I Looked And Behold A Pale Pixel, And Their Name Who Sat On Them Was ´Scroll Title´
ALL THAT JAZZ. Elle M. has a fascinating commentary on the difference between worldbuilding and lore. Thread starts here. A few quotes follow — They also use the author of Harry Potter as a compelling example of where lore
Pixel Scroll 1/27/21 On The AT-Atkitchson, Twinpeaka, And The Scrollta-Fe
WEIMER IS BACK. The sff community rallied around and helped get Paul Weimer’s Twitter account restored after trolls got it shut down. He tells the full background on his Patreon: “The Trolls and the Twitter Ban (PUBLIC)”. Now Paul
SFF Novel Wins 2020 Costa Book of the Year
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey has been named the 2020 Costa Book of the Year. April 1976: St Constance, a tiny Caribbean village on the island of Black Conch. David, a fisherman, sings to himself in his pirogue,
Tim Lane (1951-2021)
Remembrance by Joseph T. Major: Bruce Gardner knew another wargaming guy. It was after I had graduated from the University of Louisville, back in 1976. I was back up in Louisville, trying to put things in order, and there was
Arisia 2021: A Brief Dern’s- and Web’s-Eye View
By Daniel Dern: Taking place Friday, January 15 through Monday, January 18, Arisia 2021 was, unsurprisingly, virtual-only with, according to the con runners, about 1,500 registrations. For comparison, according to my File 770 report on Arisia 2020: “The first Arisia
Pixel Scroll 1/26/21 When I Know Every Button On Galactus’ Planoform
ANOTHER YP PROJECT. James Davis Nicoll has set his Young People Read Old SFF panelists to work on a new series – “Young People Read Old Hugo Finalists.” And he’s looking for more contributors — …This time I will exposing
Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Goes Live
Jesse Sheidlower has unveiled the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction “a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of science fiction.” The HD/SF traces the history of the words it covers, with illustrative quotations showing how and when the word was
Schrödinger’s Vox
is a thought experiment that illustrates an apparent paradox of social media access. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical Vox Day may be considered simultaneously both active with and banned from his YouTube account. Vox Day/Theodore Beale was expelled by SFWA in 2013 and followers
SFWA’s Kate Wilhelm Solstice Awards Go to Ben Bova, Rachel Caine, and Jarvis Sheffield
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) announced today that Ben Bova, Rachel Caine, and Jarvis Sheffield will be honored with the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award at the 56th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards®. Bova and Caine are
DisCon III Opens 2021 Hugo Nominations
DisCon III has announced that nominations are now being accepted for the 2021 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly known as the John W. Campbell Award), recognizing
Pixel Scroll 1/25/221B Baker Street
PAY TO CO$PLAY? [Item by Dann.] The Japanese government is considering a change in that nation’s copyright laws to cover professional cosplayers. The change would require professional cosplayers to pay the creators of various characters for permission to dress
2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations
Mystery Writers of America today announced the nominees for the 2021 EdgarAllan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2020. The 75th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on April 29, 2021.
ALA Announces 2021 Youth Media Award Winners
The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, digital media, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits taking
Barkley — So Glad You (Didn’t) Ask: A Column of Unsolicited Opinions #57
We NEED To Talk About Worldcon (and the Hugo Awards, too)… By Chris M. Barkley: This coming June, I will be celebrating my forty-fifth anniversary in science fiction fandom. I have attended over two hundred conventions since 1976, including twenty-nine
Pixel Scroll 1/24/21 Big Pixel in Little Scroll
CHALLENGER COIN. On January 28, the 35th anniversary of the Challenger shuttle disaster, the U.S. Mint will release the Christa McAuliffe 2021 Proof Silver Dollar and Christa McAuliffe 2021 Uncirculated Silver Dollar. [H/t to Guy Lillian III.] In 2021,
Smell Like A Superhero
Is there a science fiction movie character you want to smell like? Forget Swamp Thing, c’mon, he’s not in Fragrance X’s catalog. Otherwise, there’s no end of superhero and genre branded colognes you can buy. First, here’s a whiff of
Celebrate Black History Month With Extraordinary Covers By Ernanda Souza
Marvel Comics will honor Black History Month with a series of variant covers depicting their most prominent Black heroes. Today, Marvel revealed the additional covers that will make up February’s collection. A celebration of the
