(1) PRO TIPS. With in-person cons resuming throughout fandom, Cass Morris has advice for “Giving Good Panel” in her latest newsletter. Practice (and tailor) your introduction Introducing yourself at the start of the panel isn’t the time to go into … Continue reading
[Frank Catalano initially wrote this as a third-person news story for File 770 but I thought he should have a byline, too.] By Frank Catalano. Norwescon 45 celebrated the life and career of the longtime Seattle-area author Greg Bear at … Continue reading
(1) CHANGES IN PUBLISHING. Pete Kahle of Bloodshot Books is stepping down from publishing and Joe Mynhardt of Crystal Like Publishing is stepping in to help Bloodshot Books’s authors by offering them all a new home at Crystal Lake — … Continue reading
The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced the five finalists for the Best Novel category of the 43rd annual Prometheus Awards. The Best Novel winner will receive an engraved plaque with a one-ounce gold coin. An online Prometheus awards ceremony is … Continue reading
(0) MIKE’S ALL HALLOWS’ EVE PLAGUE POSTING. These days when symptoms – like a runny nose – show up you don’t just say, “Hey I must be getting a cold.” So this morning I ran a home Covid-19 test and … Continue reading
(1) A CRITIQUE OF NEAL STEPHENSON. In The New Atlantis: “The Supergenius at the End of the World”. … And yet for all of sci-fi’s close attentiveness to arcane scientific ideas — say, the equivalence principle or the physics of … Continue reading
(1) NETFLIX GOES UPSIDE DOWN. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] Apparently, fans of Stranger Things are night owls. When the final two episodes of ST Season 4 were released—at about 03:00 Eastern today—the Netflix streaming site was hammered hard enough to experience scattered but significant … Continue reading
(1) FROM THE LIFE OF JMS. J. Michael Straczynski has released an unlocked Patreon post of a chapter he cut from his autobiography: “Chapter Cut from Bio: The Great Bible Battle”. Here’s his introduction: As noted elsewhere, I cut a … Continue reading
(1) TIME TO PANIC. Nominations for the 2022 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer close at 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7), today, March 15, 2022. If this was a … Continue reading
(1) MAKING MAUS AVAILABLE. Shelf Awareness says one Tennessee bookseller is crowdfunding the means for local students to read Maus in the wake of a school board decision: “Tenn. Comic Shop’s Maus Fundraiser Garners $90K”. After the McMinn County Board … Continue reading