NEWS
Pixel Scroll 12/4/21 This Pixel Made The John Kessel Pun In Under Twelve Pure Products
NOT LOOKING GOOD. “Friends who attended anime convention with man who contracted omicron have tested positive for coronavirus, health official says” reports the Washington Post. The Minnesota man who contracted the omicron variant of the coronavirus met up with about 35 friends at
Smofcon Is Go!
By James Bacon: With over 50 people on site and 100 online, Smofcon is occurring during challenging times with new rules having taken effect in Wednesday in Portugal and developing worldwide. The con began with well-subscribed workshops and there was
Panel Gallery Now Open
By James Bacon: Britain’s first dedicated comic book gallery has opened and it’s brilliant. Panel Gallery is in Northampton, and makes this market town a definite destination for comic book fans, displaying original art of the highest quality and offering
Smofcon Europe Posts Worldcon, Eurocon and Smofcon Bidder Questionnaires
Smofcon Europe, a convention for conrunners taking place December 3-5 in Lisboa, Portugal asked Worldcon, Eurocon and Smofcon bidders to answer a questionnaire. The responses have been posted at Smofcon Europe’s website here. (Direct links below.) There will also be
Pixel Scroll 12/3/21 Galaxies In My Trousers Like A Scroll In My Pixel!
INTRUDER ALERT. A week ago, Canadian sff writer Candas Jane Dorsey came home and discovered a break-in in progress. The police were called. All of what happened next is in this Facebook post. Last Thursday we had a lovely
National Library of New Zealand Reconsiders Agreement with Internet Archive
The National Library of New Zealand, which had announced plans to ship more than 400,000 books they are de-listing from their Overseas Published Collections catalogs to the Internet Archive for digitization and inclusion in its Open Library, now is reconisdering
Pixel Scroll 12/2/21 Of All The Pixels In The World, She Scrolls In To Mine
OMICRON AT ANIME NYC 2021. The New York Times reports “Hochul Urges Anime NYC Conference Attendees to Get Tested Due to Omicron”. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said on Thursday that everyone who attended a recent anime convention
BLACK: The Story Of Tobias Taitt
By James Bacon: This month I saw the Cartoon Museum hosting an exhibition for a brand-new comic, celebrating Black History Month, an autobiographical work, by Tobias Taitt and Anthony Smith, entitled BLACK. I happened to get in and see the
SLF Extends Convention Support Grant Submissions to 12/15
The Speculative Literature Foundation has announced the final stage of its Convention Support Grant for 2021-2022 – submissions are being taken until December 15. SLF notes this has been a difficult year for the conventions that have long been the
Pixel Scroll 12/1/21 Scrolls, Glorious Scrolls, Fresh Godstalked And Pixeled
FUTURE RACE. Kathryn Finch discusses the way sff uses cross-species “hybrid” characters to discuss racial issues and how those depictions still often fail in “The Kids Aren’t Alright: The Race Essentialism of Sci-fi Hybrids” at Blood Knife. …Whether it’s
Smofcon Europe Virtual Workshops
Smofcon Europe runs from December 3-5 is Lisboa, Portugal. James Bacon and Vincent Docherty, now both in Lisboa, took a few moments to let me know that they have now surpassed the Smofcon Amsterdam (2011) membership, and that this year’s
Thought Bubble — A Brilliant Day Out
By James Bacon: It’s hard to describe just how pleasant it was to stand in queue with fellow fans on a fine autumnal morning patiently waiting outside Harrogate conference centre for the doors to open for Thought Bubble. A relaxed atmosphere, discussing
Top 10 Posts for November 2021
Steve Vertlieb’s tribute to actor Nehemiah Persoff is still finding new audiences on Facebook – enough to make his August birthday post File 770’s most-read item of November. And Steve’s item about the music used in an episode of the
Pixel Scroll 11/30/21 I Can Scroll This All Day!
WISCON CALLS FOR HELP. Kit Stubbs, Treasurer for SF3, WisCon’s parent not-for-profit organization, and WisCon 2022 co-chair, has written a long post – “Let’s Save WisCon!” – explaining that to survive the con needs an infusion of volunteers, and
Journey Planet 60 — A Zine in a Day
By James Bacon: The day was November 27, 2021, and a group of fanzine writers, artists, editors, and… others? Well, they’ve gathered virtually to put together an issue they’re calling One Day on Journey Planet! Chris originally had the idea
Pixel Scroll 11/29/21 Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Read Me, When I Pixel Scroll?
GET AN EARFUL. Today File 770 partnered with AudioFile Magazine to unveil “AudioFile’s 2021 Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks”. Here is the link to the complete AudioFile Magazine – Best Of 2021 list. We love hearing a good
AudioFile’s 2021 Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks
This year File 770 is partnering with AudioFile to announce the winners of the 2021 Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks. They are listed below with links to the AudioFile review. AudioFile will be featuring exclusive interviews with narrators from Best Audiobooks 2021 across all the categories on their
Emails from Lake Woe-Is-Me — Fit the ???
[Introduction: Melanie Stormm continues her humorous series of posts about the misdirected emails she’s been getting. Stormm is a multiracial writer who writes fiction, poetry, and audio theatre. Her novella, Last Poet of Wyrld’s End
AWARDS
2021 Rotsler Award Display at Loscon 47
Thanks to Kenn Bates who shot these photos of the Rotsler Award exhibit at the recent Loscon 47. (Click for a larger image.)
Wonderland Book Awards 2021
The winners of the were announced November 21, celebrating the best bizarro fiction titles released in 2020. Although the pandemic preempted Bizarro Con, where the awards are traditionally hosted, an unofficial event was held outside Portland,
2021 Bulwer-Lytton Contest Winners
By Soon Lee: The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest invites entries for the worst opening line to a novel. This year’s Grand Prize winner went to fellow New Zealander Stu Duval, which makes me unexpectedly proud. 2021 Grand Prize winner: “A lecherous
Goodreads Choice Awards 2021 Finalists
The finalists for the Goodreads Choice Awards – Best Books 2021 have been posted. Readers have until December 5 to cast their votes for the winners in the 17 categories. Here is what made the finals in the primary categories
2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake is winner of the , sponsored by Insight Investment. The prize was announced at a live
Rotsler Award Exhibit at Loscon 47
Richard Man took these photos of the Rotsler Award display at this weekend’s Loscon. We may infer from it that the 2021 award winner is Tim Kirk. Congratulations! Note: I was a Rotsler Award judge from 1998-2020, dropping off the