2016 Baen Short Story Contest Finalists
The ten finalists for the 2016 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award have been announced. Jennifer Brozek J. Lily Corbie Ron Ferguson C. Stuart Hardwick Bart Kemper Steve Last Thomas A. Mays Aimee Ogden Al Onia Eric Picholle The top three … Continue reading →
SFWA Cancels Architects of Wonder Project
The SFWA Board, saying the decision was made “regretfully” and “due to difficulties outside its control,” has cancelled the Architects of Wonder: 50 Years of Nebula Short Fiction project. The collection, edited by former SFWA President Robin Wayne Bailey, was originally … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/12/16 Crosseyed and Pixelless
(1) A TERRAN ECLIPSE. Click to see the Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 11 This snapshot from deep space captures planet Earth on March 9. The shadow of its large moon is falling on the planet’s sunlit hemisphere. … Continue reading →
Cosmic Ray
Four Ray Bradbury links and news items. (1) RAY AND RAY. Here’s the trailer for the documentary Ray Bradbury & Ray Harryhausen: 2 Legends, 2 Friends. The 37-minute video is available as an on-demand rental. During the production of “The … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/11/16 Guardians of the Fallacy
(1) SF BEER. Poul Anderson used to set great store by Heineken beer. This billboard ad from the 1970s claims Mr. Spock did, too. (2) SYFY PROTOTYPE. Deadline tell us “Cote de Pablo Poised To Star In Syfy Pilot ‘Prototype’”. … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/10/16 Just Hook The TBR Pile Directly To The Vein
(1) DUALING READERS. Rob Dircks delivered an unexpected bonus to those attending his reading at Queens Library Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author Night – it’s titled “Today I Invented Time Travel”. I was invited to read from my novel Where the Hell is … Continue reading →
Follycon 2018 Eastercon Bid
To ease concerns about the future of the British Eastercon raised by the cancellation of Pasgon, the fans behind the Follycon 2018 Eastercon bid unveiled their plans today, instead of waiting for this year’s Eastercon. They announced on Facebook — … Continue reading →
Pasgon Cancelled
The Pasgon committee has announced they are unable to host the 2017 British Eastercon in Cardiff, Wales: Despite best efforts, the Pasgon committee has been unable to resolve a number of location issues to our satisfaction. Due to this, as … Continue reading →
The Most Interesting Man in Dos Worlds
A new commercial, “The Most Interesting Man in the World Embarks on His Greatest Adventure Yet – Adios Amigo”, signals Dos Equis’ famous beer spokesman is being retired after nine years on the air. Tom Galloway notes: From what I … Continue reading →
“Ray Bradbury Read” in LA on August 22
Steven Paul Leiva is organizing a new tribute to Ray Bradbury. The Ray Bradbury Read will he held in Maguire Gardens, situated between the Central Library and Ray Bradbury Square, on August 22, 2016 — Bradbury’s birthday. A Facebook event … Continue reading →
George Martin, Beatles Producer, Passes Away
By James H. Burns: When I was a little boy in the 1960s, listening to the AM radio, I was transfixed by “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit, written by Gerry Marsden, and produced by George … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/9/16 Pet Symmetry
(1) REMEMBERING HARTWELL. Rudy Rucker has one of the best personal tributes to the late David G. Hartwell that I’ve read. In 2005, Dave got me invited to give the keynote talk at ICFA, the International Conference for the Fantastic in … Continue reading →
Fans Will Crown Best Military SF Story of 2015
David Afsharirad has revealed the table of contents for his next collection of The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, picked from short fiction published in 2015. Preface by David Afsharirad Introduction by David Weber “The Siege of Denver” by … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/8/16 I Want To Tell You About Texas Pixel And The Big Scroll
(1) INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. Iain Clarke’s image of astronaut Mae Jemison, created for the Dublin in 2019 Worldcon bid, makes a great reminder that March 8 is International Women’s Day. (2) THE FRANCHISE. And the BBC marked the occasion with … Continue reading →
Dorn Granted Dismissal From Kopf Suit
Since conrunner Ryan Kopf charged Nerd & Tie newsblogger Trae Dorn with defamation in a lawsuit filed last December in Iowa Dorn’s attorney has been earning his money. Dorn wrote today — Well, for the first time since this ordeal started, I’m happy to … Continue reading →
Game of Thrones Season 6 Trailer
Mature content is coming! Game of Thrones Season 6 begins April 24 on HBO.… Continue reading →
28th Annual Lambda Nominees
The nominees for the 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards (“Lammys”) have been announced. The awards celebrate achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing. Winners will be revealed on June 6. The categories with nominees of genre interest (at … Continue reading →
2016 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist
Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is one of 20 books longlisted for the £30,000 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Guardian begins its coverage with two paragraphs about Chambers’ accomplishment: Four years ago, technical writer Becky Chambers had … Continue reading →
Kitschie Awards Presented
Thrilled! #TheHeartGoesLast won huggable Red Tentacle at @TheKitschies! @CurtisBrown @BloomsburyBooks @ViragoBooks pic.twitter.com/BjPcJNhx2U — Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) March 7, 2016 The winners of the 2016 Kitschie Awards have been announced. The prize, sponsored by Fallen London, is given to “the … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/7/16 Burning Down the Scroll
(1) MILLION WORDS (IN) MARCH. Up and Coming: Stories by the 2016 Campbell-Eligible Authors, curated by SL Huang and Kurt Hunt, is available as a free download at Bad Menagerie until March 31. This anthology includes 120 authors—who contributed 230 … Continue reading →
Support the Carol and Murray Tinkelman Scholarship Award
The YouCaring fundraising appeal for the Society of Illustrators’ Carol and Murray Tinkelman Scholarship Award is backed by famed sf artist Vincent DiFate. Murray and Carol Tinkelman were virtually inseparable in life and together they influenced and transformed the lives of … Continue reading →
Dates Set for Festival of Fantastic Films
Steve Green reports, “After having its original dates messed up by the venue, the 27th Festival of Fantastic Films will now be held over the weekend of 28-30 October at the Pendulum Hotel, Manchester.” The event’s website is here. Guests confirmed … Continue reading →
HWA Scholarships Open
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is accepting applications for five scholarships offered to those pursuing careers as writers of horror fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The Horror Writers Association Scholarship The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship The Dark Poetry Scholarship The Rocky … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/6/16 Life During Scrolltime
(1) MODERATE TO HEAVY PUPPIES. Standback contributes “A Moderate Conversation Re: Sad Puppies”. So to some extent, this is a sufficient answer to Stephanie’s question. Why is there so much vitriol against the Puppies? Because we’re on the internet, where … Continue reading →
Pixel Scroll 3/5/16 Confessions of a Wrap Artist
(1) NOW YOU KNOW. People will get a lot of use from Camestros Felapton’s video “Why You Are Wrong”. All purpose explanation of why you (or whoever) is very wrong. (2) PLAY ALONG AT HOME. Here’s what the judges will … Continue reading →
We Are ALL SF Con Cancelled
We Are ALL SF Con has been cancelled, but may be revived next year. The message was posted yesterday by Quincy J. Allen on Facebook and also appears on the con website — Dear Sponsors, Convention Guests and Interested Parties, … Continue reading →
