Tagged: Science Fiction

NOTED PULP AUTHOR/HISTORIAN ON FARMER CON/PULPFEST!

From Win Scott Eckert-

FarmerCon VI and PulpFest 2011!

From the PulpFest site:

PulpFest 2011 is pleased to announce that FarmerCon VI will be held concurrently at our convention. An annual gathering for fans of Grand Master of Science Fiction Philip José Farmer, FarmerCon is rooted in Peoria, Illinois, the late author’s home town.

It all started soon after Phil had won the Grand Master award at the 2001 Nebula Awards ceremony. To honor the event, the Peoria Public Library staged a Living Legend Reception for the author. Farmer enthusiast Michael Croteau spread the word about the event through his website, The Official Philip José Farmer Home Page, resulting in fans coming to Peoria from across the country.    

In 2006, no longer able to travel to science fiction conventions as they had done in the past, Farmer and his wife Bette decided it was time for the mountain to come to Mohammed. Thus FarmerCon was originally conceived to be a gathering of fans in Peoria, figuratively, and literally, right outside Phil’s back door. With programs, speeches, panels, dinners, and picnics at the author’s house, the convention quickly became a great success. After the passing of Phil and Bette Farmer in 2009, it was decided to take FarmerCon on the road, giving fans of the author an opportunity to meet other Farmer devotees unable to travel to Peoria. And by holding FarmerCon alongside events like PulpFest, Farmer fans get a weekend full of programming (including several Farmer-related presentations on Friday, July 29th) and a room full of pulp and book dealers to enjoy. It also keeps Philip José Farmer’s name in the public eye, reminding fans of his long and amazing body of work.

Please welcome FarmerCon VI to PulpFest 2011. We hope they’ll be back again and again.”

In conjunction, Meteor House will have a table in the PulpFest Dealer’s Room, and I’ll be helping man the table, along with my friend, fellow FarmerCon organizer, and Meteor House cohort, Mike Croteau. As one of the organizers and participants in FarmerCon, I’d like to thanks the fine folks at PulpFest for agreeing to co-host us this year. This will be our 6th annual gathering, and the second since Phil Farmer and Bette Farmer passed away.
We will have some cool Farmer/Pulp/Wold Newton presentations for the programming, and we’ll have a selection of books still available from Phil Farmer’s estate, as well as some copies of the latest Farmer books for sale (last summer’s THE WORLDS OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER 1: PROTEAN DIMENSIONS, Meteor House), and the forthcoming THE WORLDS OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER 2: OF DUST AND SOUL, featuring new works from Phil’s files, non-fic essays about his work, new authorized fiction set in his various worlds, and cover art by Laura Givens.
Of course, I’ll also bring copies of my latest non-Farmerian books and will be selling those at our table as well. Fingers crossed I’ll have the forthcoming THE GREEN HORNET CASEFILES on hand, as well as THE AVENGER: THE JUSTICE INC. FILES. CROSSOVERS 2 was not out in time for last year’s FarmerCon, so that’s also something to keep in mind.
I’ll be discussing Phil’s pulp universe/timeline, known as the Wold Newton Universe, and hopefully I’ll have copies on hand of Titan Books’ reissue of Phil’s Sherlock Holmes-Lord Greystoke mashup novel, THE PEERLESS PEER, to which I’ve contributed a new afterword.
Some other regular FarmerCon attendees who I know will be there are my pals Art
Sippo, John Small, and Doc Savage/Shadow chronologist Rick Lai. Some other online pals who I’m looking forward to meeting in person are writer Greg Gick and All Pulp’s Tommy Hancock.
Meteor House is also running a Book Bonanza for authors:

“If you are an author coming to FarmerCon VI, here is your chance to tell the rest of us which books of yours you have available. Then fellow attendees may request that you bring copies of certain books for them to purchase directly from you.”

Follow The Official Philip Jose Farmer Home Page, Meteor House, BookTour.com, and this site for more details.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there!

SFWA announces 2009 Nebula, Bradbury, and Norton Award nominees

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2009 Nebula Awards.
The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA. The awards will be announced at the Nebula Awards Banquet
the evening of May 15 at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront, just 20
minutes from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Other awards to be
presented are the Andre Norton Award for
Excellence in Science Fiction or Fantasy for Young Adults, the Bradbury
Award for excellence in screenwriting and the Solstice Award for
outstanding contribution to the field.

Congratulations to all the nominees.

Short Story

Novelette

Novella

Novel

  • The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Nightshade, Sep09)
  • The Love We Share Without Knowing, Christopher Barzak (Bantam, Nov08)
  • Flesh and Fire, Laura Anne Gilman (Pocket, Oct09)
  • The City & The City, China Miéville (Del Rey, May09)
  • Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (Tor, Sep09)
  • Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland Press, Oct09)

Bradbury Award

  • Star Trek, JJ Abrams (Paramount, May09)
  • District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (Tri-Star, Aug09)
  • Avatar, James Cameron (Fox, Dec 09)
  • Moon, Duncan Jones and Nathan Parker (Sony, Jun09)
  • Up, Bob Peterson and Pete Docter (Disney/Pixar, May09)
  • Coraline, Henry Selick (Laika/Focus Feb09)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

2009 Hugo Nominations — including the first Hugo Awards for graphic novels

First the New York Times makes a graphic novel bestseller list… now the Hugos are getting int the act.

The nominees have been announced for the 2009 Hugo Awards, recognizing the best in science fiction and fantasy writing– and, for the first time, an award will be given out in the newly created Best Graphic Story (or graphic novel) category. ComicMix’s Andrew Pepoy, creator of The Adventures of Simone and Ajax, was nominated for his work in Fables: War and Pieces along with Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, Lee Loughridge, and Todd Klein. No strangers to comics themselves, Neil Gaiman was nominated for Best Novel for The Graveyard Book, and Cory Doctorow was nominated for Little Brother; while comics properties The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and Iron Man were nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.

The Hugo Awards celebrate the best in the field of science fiction and fantasy.  Hugos are presented each year at the World Science Fiction Convention, a.k.a. WorldCon, by the World Science Fiction Society, and are voted on by attendees of this year’s WorldCon in Montreal, Anticipation. The Hugos awarded at Anticipation will be for works released in 2008.

More information is on the official Hugo Award web site. If you’d like to vote on them, here’s how.

Nominations

Best Graphic Story
(212 Ballots / Bulletins)

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BBC Plans New ‘Day of the Triffids’ Adaptation

With the global ecology a hot topic these days, it’s little surprise the BBC is planning a new version of the classic tale The Day of the Triffids. It all started with the 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by John Wyndham.

The story, according to the BBC tells of “Bill Masen, who awakes in a hospital after treatment for temporary blindness caused by a sting from a genetically modified plant, a triffid.”

"The first 45 minutes of 28 Days Later are the first three chapters of The Day of the Triffids, marginally modified with the addition of zombies," said Dr Barry Langford, senior lecturer in film and television at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The novel received immediate acclaim was first adapted for BBC radio in 1953, 157 and 1958 before the 1962 feature film.  The BBC did subsequent productions in 1971, 1973 and 1980.

It was also adapted by Marvel in 1975 for an issue of their Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction while a British television series was produced in 1981. The new production is being written by Patrick Harbinson (ER).

"The triffids are perhaps to us a more potent threat than even in Wyndham’s time," Dr Langford added.

Andy Sawyer, librarian at the Science Fiction Foundation Collection at the University of Liverpool, told the BBC. "It has become relevant. There is a lot more anxiety about bio engineering now."

The images of empty cities was a haunting one in the book and one which continues to resonate in post-apocalyptic fiction including next year’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

Chesley Award Winners Announced


The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists announced the  winners of the 2007 Chesley Awards on November 17, 2008:

Best Cover Illustration – Hardback Book: Donato Giancola, The Outback Stars by Sandra McDonald, Tor, 4/07

Best Cover Illustration – Paperback Book: Donato Giancola, Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Ace, 11/07

Best Cover Illustration – Magazine: Cory and Catska Ench, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, 3/07

Best Interior Illustration: James Gurney, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, Andrews McMeel, 9/07

Best Gaming Related Illustration: Donato Giancola, "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes", Sigil Games Online

Best Product Illustration: Todd Lockwood, "War of Angels", poster for Bullseye Tattoo;

Best Monochrome – Unpublished: Donato Giancola, "Season of Change", Pencil and Chalk on Toned paper

Best Color Work – Unpublished: Donato Giancola, "Red Sonja", Oil

Best Three Dimensional Art: Vincent Villafranca, "Conscious Entity and Its Maker", Bronze

Best Art Director: Irene Gallo, Tor Books

Award for Artistic Achievement: Michael Wm. Kaluta

 

hugo2008-1-2963429

2008 Hugo Award winners

hugo2008-1-2963429The 2008 Hugo Awards were given out last night at Denvention, this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, a.k.a. WorldCon. The Master of Ceremony was Wil McCarthy. The winners are (cue the drum roll) …

NovelThe Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)
Novella: "All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis (Asimov’s Dec. 2007; Subterranean Press)
Novelette: "The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate" by Ted Chiang (Subterranean Press; F&SF Sept. 2007)
Short Story: "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s June 2007)
Dramatic Presentation, Long FormStardust Written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman Illustrated by Charles Vess Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Paramount Pictures)
Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Doctor Who "Blink" Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Hettie Macdonald (BBC)
Professional Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder (F&SF)
Professional Artist: Stephan Martiniere
SemiprozineLocus, edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
FanzineFile 770
Fan Writer: John Scalzi
Fan Artist: Brad Foster
Campbell Award: Mary Robinette Kowal
 
Full list of nominated works after the jump.

 

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Superman’s Fortress of Solitude found

fortresssolitude-7377435

From Howard Margolin of Destinies: the Voice of Science Fiction, we get this discovery of these cyrstal caverns buried a thousand feet below Mexico’s Naica mountain in the Chihuahuan desert.

This has been quite a year for Superman fans; the deadly remnants of planet Krypton were discovered in a mine in Serbia this past April (see Kryptonite Discovered By Scientist).

And if you look all the way down at the bottom of the cave, you can see Ursa and Non…

Wolfman, Niles, Mariotte Snag Scribes

On Sunday at San Diego Comic-Con, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers held a mid-afternoon program where their first Scribe Awards were handed out.

Member Andy Mangels played host to a small but enthusiastic crowd as they watched winners in attendance collect their prizes.  The association was formed so the best-selling category of fiction could be acknowledged as a category of its own, joining groups for authors of Thrillers, Mysteries, Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction.

There were six categories and Jeff Mariotte snagged two of them in a bit of a surprise given the volume of works submitted.

The winners:

Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman

Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Original: 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead by Stephen Niles and Jeff Mariotte

General Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Snakes on a Plane by Christa Faust

Best Novel Original: Las Vegas: High Stakes by Jeff Mariotte

Young Adult All Genres, Best Novel: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Portal Through Time by Alice Henderson

Grandmaster, honoring career achievement in the field: Donald Bain.

Bain was on hand to accept the award in person, thrilled tghat his accomplishments, incouding over 80 novels, were recognized by peers. The IAMTW (www.iamtw.org) is accepting nominations for works in published 2007 with the awards scheduled for next year’s convention.

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People Reading Books

eyre-2938818The Seattle Times reviews Jasper Fforde’s “Thursday Next” series.

Slate looks at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The Agony Column reviews Alan Campbell’s Lye Street, a novella-as-a-book prequel to Scar Night.

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist reviews Jeff Somers’s The Electric Church.

Blogcritics has what I think is their sixth review for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Honestly, I can’t keep track any more.

Book Fetish reviews a three-author linked erotic romance anthology called Hell on Heels. (Oh my God, the Twayne Triplets are back…and this time they’re porn!)

Bookgasm reviews Warren Hammond’s KOP.

Bookgasm also reviews A Dog About Town, a murder mystery told from the POV of a thinking dog, which is fantasy enough for my book.

The Henry Herald of Georgia reviews Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard.

American Chronicle reviews Harry Potter and the…Half-Blood Prince. (ha HA! Fooled you!)

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Be Vewwy Vewwy Quiet. We’re Hunting Fanboys.

fanboy-7593577

USA Today stalks the elusive Fanboy.

Locus Online lists new paperback editions of SF/Fantasy books that they saw in June.

Matthew Cheney thinks about the latest eruption of the what-is-SF-and-what-isn’t discussion.

A highly scientific investigation into the age-old struggle between pirates and ninjas. [via Chris Roberson]

tSF Diplomat  thinks hard about online book reviewing and book-blogging.

Biology in Science Fiction rounds up recent interesting news stories about bioscience.

Mundane SF hates astrophysics.

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