Robert Gary, 90, who died in Los Angeles on May 3, was script supervisor on the original Star Trek as well as The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space 9.
Writer-director David Durston, 88, who died on May 6th in Los Angeles, was best known for 1970’s I Drink Your Blood; he also wrote scripts for the SF anthology show Tales of Tomorrow.
[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]
WSFA Press will publish hardcover editions of Connie Willis’ Fire Watch and Jeff VanderMeer’s The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod to honor two of Capclave 2010’s guests of honor.
Willis’ novelette won the Hugo and Nebula in the early 1980s. VanderMeer’s novel has been expanded from the story that originally appeared in Songs from the Dying Earth, given an additional character, another plot thread, and a slightly different ending.
Both books have been designed by John Coulthart, the British graphic artist.
The full announcement follows the jump.
[Thanks to Michael Walsh for the link.]
Rose-Marie Lillian
Rose-Marie Lillian has received a special certificate (and check) for outstanding teaching at Louisiana State University’s Shreveport campus where she is an instructor in the Communications department. Adds her number one fan, husband Guy, “As one of her classes was a history and survey of science fiction film, her honor has genre significance.” Three cheers!
[Thanks to Guy H. Lillian III for the story.]
Chicago was the lone bidder for the 2012 Worldcon to file by the deadline and therefore is the only city listed on the site selection ballot now posted at the AussieCon4 website.
Aussiecon 4 members who purchase site selection memberships may cast their ballots by mail, or in person at Aussiecon 4. The deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots is July 31. Voting at the convention will be open until 6 p.m. Saturday, September 4.
SFWA has announced the winners of the 2010 Nebula Awards.
Novel: The Windup Girl – Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, Sept. 2009)
Novella: The Women of Nell Gwynne’s – Kage Baker (Subterranean Press, June 2009)
Novelette: “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast,” Eugie Foster (Interzone, Feb. 2009)
Short Story: “Spar,” Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, Oct. 2009)
Ray Bradbury Award: District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (Tri-Star, Aug. 2009)
Andre Norton Award: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente (Catherynne M. Valente, June 2009)
Legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta died of a stroke on May 10. The Pocono Record reports:
Frank Frazetta, one of the most renowned fantasy illustrators of the 20th century, died this afternoon at a hospital near his home in Boca Grande, Florida. He was 82.
Frazetta had been out to dinner with his daughters Sunday but suffered a stroke at his Boca Grande home later that night and was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, manager Rob Pistella said.
It was just a short time ago that the family resolved an acrimonious dispute over control of his artwork.
[Thanks to David Klaus and John King Tarpinian for the story, via several sources.]
Linda Bushyager reports her two science fantasy novels are being reprinted by Wilder press/Fantastic Books. The first is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99 – Master of Hawks. Linda adds:
The books are in the vein of science fantasy, the sort of thing that Andre Norton or Marion Zimmer Bradley or Anne McCaffrey write. In Master of Hawks, the hero is a telepath who can mind-link with all sorts of birds. His kingdom and several neighboring kingdoms are at war, and he is called upon to be a scout, using his ability to see what the enemy is doing. However circumstances send him into a series of dangerous adventures that he doesn’t expect (or want) to accomplish his mission.
By the way, this is the novel in which a certain fanartist was Tuckerized — made the unseen sorcerous presence who rules the Taral Empire with an iron hand.
Linda’s novel The Spellstone of Shaltus also will soon be reprinted and made available on Amazon.com.
Linda also has an sf novel, Pacifica, written with John Betancourt, which is available at Amazon.com, Borders.com, and Wildside Press. She says, “It is set in the near future, when a food shortage causes a major corporation to begin farming a new type of algae as a food-substitute, and like the fantasy novels, is a face-paced action-adventure.”
Westercon LXIII convenes in Pasadena, CA from July 1-4. John Hertz has let them reprint his answer to “What is a Science Fiction Convention?” which begins humorously:
It seems that human activities give rise to gatherings.There are lawyers’ conventions and magicians’ conventions.There is an element of shared investigation; one wants to see if anyone has learned what to do with stray feathers when making parrots disappear…
I am in St. Louis for training — and already had the pleasure of running into Michelle Zellich at lunch in the federal building cafeteria. I will try to keep things as current as possible while I am away from home. The world keeps spinning, as you well know.
Here are 4 developments of interest to fans.
(1) The latest silliness involving zombies and literary figures has inspired Ulrika’s quite wonderful “Sonnet for Zombie Bill, on the Anniversary of His Baptism”.
(2) Dark Roasted Blend’s “Where’s My Jetpack” isn’t the usual poor excuse for a blog post, it’s a heavily-illustrated tour-de-force showing jetpacks of every age and type, from those envisioned for Nazi soldiers to those worn in Lost in Space and by James Bond, through today’s working models.
"Captain's Log" app in action.
(3) Remember that app that’s supposed to make your iPad look and sound like something out of Star Trek:The Next Generation? Well, fuhgeddaboudit:
The developer of a Star Trek app for the iPad has shelved the app after Paramount Pictures Corp., which owns the venerable sci-fi franchise, lodged an infringement complaint.
“Captain’s Log” was designed to access social networks Facebook and Twitter on the iPad with a graphical user interface that mimicked Star Trek’s Library Computer Access and Retrieval Systems display.
But app developer PushyPixels said in a note on its Web site that the app “has been pulled due to alleged infringement according to Paramount Pictures.”
(4) Alert issued for piercingly blue-eyed Marines; planet Arrakis placed off-limits to active-duty personnel. The Marine Corps has outlawed Spice.
[Thanks for these links goes to David Klaus.]