Monthly Archives: May 2025

Pixel Scroll 5/26/25 Oh, I’ve Got A Brand New Pair Of Pixel Scrolls, You’ve Got To Godstalk Me

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(1) GERMAN TOWN’S STEAMPUNK CELEBRATION. Cora Buhlert lets us ride along in “Hanseatic Steampunk: Cora’s Adventures at the 2025 Aethercircus Festival in Buxtehude”. Lots of photos of what she saw at the con, her food, and everything along the way. A fascinating read.

… Of course, there were also plenty of Steampunks about, ranging from cosplayers in full Steampunk gear via historical costumers and goths (I spotted a Wednesday Addams) to people who borrowed grandpa’s old suit and regular folks who accessorised their outfits with a few Steampunk piece such as an elderly lady in regular street clothes with a Steampunk necklace. Naturally, the Aethercircus attracted cosplayers who wanted to show off their costumes, but it was also heartening to see how many regular non-fannish folks made an effort to fit in. So enjoy these photos of great costumes…

(2) MURDERBOT SOUNDTRACK. Amanda Jones’ musical compositions for the first season of Murderbot are available at many platforms, including Bandcamp: “Murderbot: Season 1 (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack)”. Several of the tracks are free to sample, including the “Sanctuary Moon Main Title Theme”. How can you resist?

(3) LUCAS MUSEUM ISSUES. “As George Lucas’s ‘Starship’ Museum Nears Landing, He Takes the Controls” reports the New York Times. (Article is behind a paywall.)

…Even now — 15 years since Lucas first proposed a museum, and eight years after ground was broken in Los Angeles — many questions remain about an ambitious but somewhat amorphous project that is now slated to be completed next year.

There has also been turbulence as the museum nears its final approach. In recent weeks the museum has parted ways with its director and chief executive of the past five years and eliminated 15 full-time positions and seven part-time employees, including much of the education department. Lucas is now back in the director’s chair, installing himself as the head of “content direction” and naming Jim Gianopulos, a former movie studio executive and Lucas Museum trustee, as interim chief executive….

… The museum recently said it could not give figures for the size of its staff or its projected operating budget. “As the museum is now in the process of moving from completion of construction to implementation of exhibitions and opening to visitors,” the museum spokeswoman said in an email, “both the staffing and operating budget are currently in transition and can better be addressed as we conclude our pending budgeting process.”…

…What has not changed is the fact that the core of the institution’s collection would be items amassed by Lucas over the years. Beyond Hollywood memorabilia from his films and digital animation, his collection includes book and magazine illustrations assembled over 50 years, including those by R. Crumb and N.C. Wyeth; comic books; and Norman Rockwell’s paintings — such as the artist’s 1950 cover for the Saturday Evening Post, “Shuffleton’s Barbershop,” purchased from the Berkshire Museum in 2018….

… Some of those involved in the institution’s development say they believed that Jackson-Dumont came up against Lucas’ role as the ultimate decision maker with a long history of creative control as well as his bottom-line, where-the-buck-stops primacy as founder and underwriter of the 300,000-square-foot museum. The filmmaker has had a hand in every detail of the museum’s development, former staffers say, from architectural details to exhibition layout to wall text.

Robert Storr, an art historian, critic and former dean at the Yale School of Art, said it is important for major collectors to understand the need for curatorial expertise and experience to shape exhibitions and give them scholarly context.

“If he thinks he’s the single arbiter, then he’s just like all these megalomaniacal patrons who think they know more than anyone they can hire,” Storr said. “They don’t have any methodology for how they talk about the evolution or digestion of ideas. It’s a serious intellectual problem that’s at the heart of all this.”

Conscious of his age (he turned 81 on May 14) — and the escalating construction bill — Lucas is eager to get the museum finished and open, those interviewed said, seeing it as his legacy and a long-awaited chance to share his collection with the public….

(4) NOT A POTTER NOVEL. Camestros Felapton has favorable things to say about this finalist: “Hugo 2025 Novel: Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky”.

…Tchaikovsky writes a lot of books and I’ve enjoyed each one I’ve read but this is one of the strongest of his, although structurally one of the simplest. It has a relatively small cast of characters and it mainly (aside from one part) proceeds as a first person linear account by Arton Daghdev of his experiences as a prisoner on Kiln. I suspect, part of Tchaikovsky’s secret to his prolificness actually is mirrored by how life on Kiln works. Tchaikovsky’s books rework and remix a variety of recurring ideas in new settings and new combinations….

(5) COVERT FANAC. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] “The CIA Secretly Ran a Star Wars Fan Site” says 404 Media (article is behind a paywall). A screenshot of the site can be seen at the link. The headlined Star Wars fan page was only one of many such CIA communication sites.

“Like these games you will,” the quote next to a cartoon image of Yoda says on the website starwarsweb.net. Those games include Star Wars Battlefront 2 for Xbox; Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II for Xbox 360, and Star Wars the Clone Wars: Republic Heroes for Nintendo Wii. Next to that, are links to a Star Wars online store with the tagline “So you Wanna be a Jedi?” and an advert for a Lego Star Wars set.

The site looks like an ordinary Star Wars fan website from around 2010. But starwarsweb.net was actually a tool built by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to covertly communicate with its informants in other countries, according to an amateur security researcher. The site was part of a network of CIA sites that were first discovered by Iranian authorities more than ten years ago before leading to a wave of deaths of CIA sources in China in the early 2010s….

(6) DI FILIPPO CELEBRATES NEW COLLECTION. “Sci-Fi Writer Paul Di Filippo Talks Hiveheads & Nine Hundred Grandmothers!” with Mark Barsotti.

An entertaining chinwag with a first-rate writer of the fantastic (and other genres), Paul Di Filippo. We discuss Paul’s latest short story collection, THE VISIONARY PAGEANT AND OTHER STORIES. He also reveals he’ll be doing a novel set in a John Vance universe! Recorded May 6, 2025.

(7) MEMORY LANE.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

May 26, 1995 — Johnny Mnemonic

Ok, I’m assuming that most of you have read the Nebula-nominated story that the film Johnny Mnemonic was based off of? It was originally published in the May 1981 issue of Omni magazine but it has been reprinted quite a few times in the forty years since then. I could’ve sworn it got nominated for a Hugo but the Hugo Awards site tells me it wasn’t. 

Well the film had its premiere thirty years ago on this date. I for one did not see in theatre, indeed did not know it existed until maybe a decade later. My opinion of it will be noted below.

The screenplay was supposedly by William Gibson as it says as IMDb so we can’t fault the script here being crafted by others, can one? Well it was as you’ll see below. 

Was it at all good? Well, the critics were divided on that. Roger Ebert in his Chicago Sun-Times review said “Johnny Mnemonic is one of the great goofy gestures of recent cinema, a movie that doesn’t deserve one nanosecond of serious analysis but has a kind of idiotic grandeur that makes you almost forgive it.” 

Caryn James of the New York Times has the last word: “Though the film was written by the cyberpunk master William Gibson from his own story and was directed by the artist Robert Longo, ‘Johnny Mnemonic’ looks and feels like a shabby imitation of ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Total Recall.’ It is a disaster in every way. There is little tension in the story despite the ever-present threat of an exploding brain. The special effects that take us on a tour of the information superhighway — traveling inside the circuits of Johnny’s brain, or viewing his search for information while wearing virtual reality headgear — look no better than a CD-ROM. Visually, the rest of the film looks murky, as if the future were one big brown-toned mud puddle.”

Now let’s talk about numbers. It’s generally accepted that a film needs to make at least three times what it cost to produce to just break even in the Hollyworld accounting system. Johnny Mnemonic didn’t even come close to that. It cost at least thirty million to produce (the numbers are still are in dispute even to this day as the Studio stored them in a file cabinet in a basement guarded by very hungry accountants) and made just double that and that’s not even taking into account that the Studio got at best fifty percent of the ticket price. 

There were two versions of this film. The film had actually premiered in Japan earlier on April 15th, in a longer version, well six minutes longer, that was closer to the director’s cut that came out later (yes there was a director’s cut — there’s always a director’s cut, isn’t there?), featuring a score by Mychael Danna and different editing. I doubt any version makes it a better film.

I haven’t discussed the film or the cast, so NO SPOILERS here. It’s possible, just possible, that someone here hasn’t seen it yet. 

I have. Shudder. Just shudder. Bad acting, worse story and that SFX? The lead actor who I shall not name here was so wrong as being cast that role as to defy comprehension as to why he got cast for it.  Well this unfortunately was due to a common occurrence in Hollywood that the studio decided to make the casting calls so the person that I won’t mention was picked up by the studio, so we can blame them for him. Frell. 

Then there were the numerous script rewrites were forced upon them by the studio, so Gibson, the producer  and the writing staff who had a great script, at the beginning according to Longo, ended up with a piece of shit again according to him. Now that piece of shit was one that the studio loved. Idiots. Obviously not science fiction fans there, were they? Turning into what it became proved that.

A black-and-white edition of the film, titled Johnny Mnemonic: In Black and White was released three years ago. Robert Longo, the producer, says it is closer to what he and Gibson envisioned. It is available on Blu-Ray. 

Now y’all are free to give away as much as you want for spoilers. That’s on your heads. Or memory chips. 

Someday I’m hope for a better interpretation of a Gibson film.  I’ve hopes for the soon to be Neuromancer series on Amazon. Really I do. I’m even to once again going to break my long standing stance of not seeing anything made off a work I liked a lot. I did with Johnny Mnuemonic and I’m still regretting it. 

I didn’t see The Peripheral series on Sci-Fi as I don’t subscribe to that streaming service. Who watched it? Opinions please. 

It wasn’t at all liked by the audience reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes Neuromancer who gave it a rating of just thirty-one percent when I originally wrote the first version of this but there’s no pages for it there now. Interesting… 

The most excellent Burning Chrome collection which has this story is available in dead tree format from your favorite bookseller but not for purchase on Amazon though it available if you have Kindle Unlimited; iBooks also known as Apple Books has it available but not Kobo.  

(8) COMICS SECTION.

(9) A SUPER LATE NIGHT. ScreenRant is breathless: “I Can Barely Believe It, But Stephen Colbert Is Now Part of DC’s Official Canon All Because of Superman”.

Yes, it’s true, Stephen Colbert has just been officially canonized in DC Comics lore, thanks to his appearance on an upcoming variant cover, which features Superman sitting at the iconic late night host’s desk for an interview. Notably, Colbert’s introduction into DC lore follows suit with his long-time canon status within the rival Marvel Universe.

Colbert and DC Comics shared a clip from his show on Instagram, in which the host revealed artist Dan Mora’s special variant cover for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #40, written by Mark Waid, with art by Adrián Gutiérrez, which features a broadly smiling Superman holding up a copy of his new self-help book, alongside a beaming Stephen Colbert.

(10) SNAKE! IT HAD TO BE SNAKE! “Review and photos of Snake Plissken sixth scale action figure” by Captain Toy. Lots of photos at the link.

John Carpenter has been responsible for some of the greatest movies of the 70’s/80’s, including Halloween, the Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, They Live, Big Trouble in Little China, and of course – Escape from New York. This sci-fi action flick was a hit for Carpenter, and it made Kurt Russell an action star.

There have been a few attempts at recreating the protagonist Snake Plissken in action figure form, but the success has been questionable. I have the sixth scale version done by Sideshow, and it left a lot to be desired. Now Asmus is releasing a new, very high end version complete with ‘rooted’ hair and moving eyeball, all for the high end price of about $350. This is part of their Crown Collection, their top line series. 

There’s actually more than one version – there’s a version with sculpted hair that will run $280, one with rooted hair that runs around $350 at retailers, and an exclusive version (reviewed here) only available through the Asmus website, that includes a diorama base and costs $375…

This is the figure’s base:

(11) USE THE MEDICAL INSURANCE, LUKE. “This working Star Wars speeder bike seems too good to be true” says T3. 

Polish company Volonaut claims have to invented an “Airbike flying motorbike” that hovers and can fly at speeds up to 200kph. The compact flying machine takes us a step closer to the world imagined by Star Wars, where everyone seems to have some type of personal hovering transport.

While hover bikes are common across the Star Wars universe, the best known is the Aratech 74-Z, the speeder bikes used by the Empire’s scout troopers on the Endor during Return of the Jedi.

The person who sent File 770 the link is certainly skeptical: “First, 200 KPH on that thing? You’ve got to be kidding, right? There’s not even a windscreen. Second, there are no wheels on this sucker. Which might seem OK and I can see why they absolutely need to avoid the mostly parasitic weight and drag of those. But if you come in for a landing with a significant forward speed left and those skids catch on something, you’re gonna be eating a lot of dirt. Not from the dust being kicked up, but from your face slamming into the ground as you flip over the front of the bike. Third, there’s a long tube sticking out in front. This does sort of enhance the resemblance to the Star Wars Storm Trooper speeder bike. But I don’t think that’s the point. It looks to me like it could be a pitot tube, which makes it a piece of functioning equipment as it’s the way the bike will sense forward speed. That actually plays together with the previous point in that bending that tube could cause speed to be read incorrectly and a moderate tipping forward on landing could make the tube contact the ground or other obstacle. Depending on the overall flight control system, I’m not sure how much of a serious effect that would have. But, I could see trust vectoring having an issue balancing hover and propulsion if it got an incorrect speed reading. I’ve never been a motorcycle rider (heck, I don’t even ride bicycles) but I think even very experienced recreational motorcyclists might want to let somebody else try this out for a while first.” 

(12) YOU HAVE TO GO BACK. Saturday Night Live 50th season-ending episode includes this parody of a teen time travel adventure: “Will and Todd’s Radical Experience”. (And their phone both is not bigger on the inside.)

Two time-traveling students (Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernández) try to return historical figures (Quinta Brunson, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Emil Wakim) back to their own timeline.

(13) VIDEO OF THE DAY. Ryan George thinks we ought to hear what it would be like “If Red Carpet Interviews Were Honest”. What did we ever do to him?

[Thanks to Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, and SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Andrew (not Werdna).]

Memorial Day 2025 Crime Fiction Awards Roundup: Anthony Awards, CrimeFest, Spotted Owl, Crime Writers of Canada

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Bouchercon logo

ANTHONY AWARDS

Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, announced the finalists for the 2025 Anthony Awards on May 7. Winners will be revealed at the event, being held in New Orleans this September.

Best Mystery Novel

  • Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett
  • The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  • The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
  • Alter Ego by Alex Segura
  • California Bear by Duane Swierczynski

Best First Mystery

  • The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee
  • Ghosts of Waikīkī by Jennifer K. Morita
  • You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
  • Good-Looking Ugly by Rob D. Smith
  • Holy City by Henry Wise

Best Paperback/E-book/Audiobook

  • The Last Few Miles of Road by Eric Beetner
  • Echo by Tracy Clark
  • Served Cold by James L’Etoile
  • Late Checkout by Alan Orloff
  • The Big Lie by Gabriel Valjan

Best Historical Mystery

  • The Lantern’s Dance by Laurie R. King
  • The Witching Hour by Catriona McPherson
  • The Bootlegger’s Daughter by Nadine Nettmann
  • The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan
  • The Courtesan’s Pirate by Nina Wachsman

Best Paranormal Mystery

  • A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke
  • Five Furry Familiars by Lynn Cahoon
  • Exposure by Ramona Emerson
  • Lights, Camera, Bone by Carolyn Haines
  • Death in Ghostly Hue by Susan Van Kirk

Best Cozy/Humorous Mystery

  • A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns
  • A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron
  • ll-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow
  • Scotzilla by Catriona McPherson
  • Cirque du Slay by Rob Osler
  • Dominoes, Danzón, and Death by Raquel V. Reyes

Best Juvenile/Young Adult

  • The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui by K.B. Jackson
  • Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson
  • First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet by Josh Proctor
  • The Sherlock Society by James Ponti
  • When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar

Best Critical or Nonfiction Work

  • Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft edited by Phyllis M. Betz
  • Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing the Columbo Killers by Chris Chan
  • On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson
  • Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly
  • The Serial Killer’s Apprentice by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman

Best Anthology or Collection

  • Murder, Neat: A Sleuthslayer’s Anthology edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman
  • Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House edited by Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson
  • Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg
  • Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024 edited by Heather Graham
  • Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead edited by Josh Pachter

Best Short Story

  • “A Matter of Trust” by Barb Goffman, Three Strikes—You’re Dead
  • “Twenty Centuries” by James D.F. Hannah, Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir
  • “Something to Hold Onto” by Curtis Ippolito, Dark Yonder, Issue 6
  • “Satan’s Spit” by Gabriel Valjan, Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024
  • “Reynisfjara” by Kristopher Zgorski, Mystery Most International

CRIMEFEST AWARD WINNERS 2025

CrimeFest, a British crime fiction convention in Bristol, presented the 2025 CrimeFest Awards on May 17. These prizes “honour the best crime books released in 2023 in the UK.”

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2024. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize. 

  • The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani (and translator Sam Bett) (Faber & Faber)

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2024. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

  • Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert in Wickedness by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins)

LAST LAUGH AWARD

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

  • Mr Campion’s Christmas by Mike Ripley (Severn House)

eDUNNIT AWARD 

For the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2024.

  • The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Faber & Faber)

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

  • Rosie Raja: Undercover Codebreaker by Sufiya Ahmed (Bloomsbury Education)

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

  • Heist Royale by Kayvion Lewis (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA

This award is for the best television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2024. 

  • Slow Horses (series 4), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple TV+)

THE CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

The Crime Writers of Canada have announced the 2025 shortlist for their annual Awards of Excellence. The winners will be revealed on May 30.

The Miller-Martin Award for Best Crime Novel

Sponsored by the Boreal Benefactor with a $1000 prize

  • Colin Barrett, Wild Houses, McClelland & Stewart
  • Jaima Fixsen, The Specimen, Poisoned Pen Press
  • Conor Kerr, Prairie Edge, Strange Light, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada
  • John MacLachlan Gray, Mr. Good-Evening, Douglas & McIntyre
  • Louise Penny, The Grey Wolf, Minotaur Books

Best Crime First Novel

Sponsored by Melodie Campbell with a $1000 prize

  • Suzan Denoncourt, The Burden of Truth, Suzan Denoncourt
  • Peter Holloway, The Roaring Game Murders, Bonspiel Books
  • Jim McDonald, Altered Boy, Amalit Books
  • Marianne K. Miller, We Were the Bullfighters, Dundurn Press
  • Ashley Tate, Twenty-Seven Minutes, Doubleday Canada

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada

Sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize

  • Brenda Chapman, Fatal Harvest, Ivy Bay Press
  • Barry W. Levy, The War Machine, Double Dagger Books
  • Shane Peacock, As We Forgive Others, Cormorant Books
  • Greg Rhyno, Who By Fire, Cormorant Books
  • Kerry Wilkinson, The Call, Bookouture

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery

Sponsored by Jane Doe with a $500 prize

  • Cathy Ace, The Corpse with the Pearly Smile, Four Tails Publishing Ltd.
  • Raye Anderson, The Dead Shall Inherit, Signature Editions
  • Susan Juby, A Meditation on Murder, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
  • Thomas King, Black Ice, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
  • Jonathan Whitelaw, Concert Hall Killer, HarperNorth/HarperCollins Canada

Best Crime Novella

Sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $200 prize

  • Marcelle Dubé, Chuck Berry is Missing, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
  • Liz Ireland, Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper, Kensington
  • Pamela Jones, The Windmill Mystery, Austin Macauley Publishers
  • A.J. McCarthy, A Rock, Black Rose Writing
  • Twist Phelan, Aim, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Best Crime Short Story

  • Catherine Astolfo, Farmer Knudson, from Auntie Beers: A Book of Connected Short Stories, Carrick Publishing
  • Therese Greenwood, Hatcheck Bingo, from The 13th Letter, Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem, Carrick Publishing
  • Billie Livingston, Houdini Act, Saturday Evening Post
  • Linda Sanche, The Electrician, from Crime Waves, Dangerous Games, A Canada West Anthology
  • Melissa Yi, The Longest Night of the Year, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Best French Language Crime Book

  • J.L. Blanchard, La femme papillon, Fides
  • R. Lavallée, Le crime du garçon exquis, Fides
  • Jean Lemieux, L’Affaire des montants, Québec Amérique
  • Guillaume Morrissette, Une mémoire de lion, Saint-Jean
  • Johanne Seymour, Fracture, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book

Sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize

  • Sigmund Brouwer, Shock Wave, Orca Book Publishers
  • Meagan Mahoney, The Time Keeper, DCB Young Readers
  • Twist Phelan, Snowed, Bronzeville Books, LLC
  • David A. Poulsen, The Dark Won’t Wait, Red Deer Press
  • Melissa Yi, The Red Rock Killer, Windtree Press

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book

Sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize

  • Denise Chong, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse, Random House Canada
  • Nate Hendley, Atrocity on the Atlantic: Attack on a Hospital Ship During the Great War, Dundurn Press
  • John L. Hill, The Rest of the [True Crime] Story, AOS Publishing
  • Dean Jobb, A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
  • Tanya Talaga, The Knowing, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

Sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize

  • Robert Bowerman, The Man in The Black Hat
  • Luke Devlin, Govern Yourself Accordingly
  • Delee Fromm, Dark Waters
  • Lorrie Potvin, A Trail’s Tears
  • William Watt, Predators in the Shadows

SPOTTED OWL AWARD

The winner of the 2025 Spotted Owl Award was announced in May by the Friends of Mystery. The award is for a mystery published during the previous calendar year by an author whose primary residence is Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho or the Province of British Columbia. The winner is:

  • Marc Cameron, Bad River 

The other finalists were:

  • Baron Birtcher, Knife River 
  • Rene Denfeld, Sleeping Giants 
  • Warren Easley, Deadly Redemption 
  • J.A. Jance, Den of Iniquity 
  • Phillip Margolin, An Insignificant Case 
  • Katrina Carrasco, Rough Trade 
  • Frank Zafiro & Colin Conway, The Silence of the Dead 
  • Kerri Hakado, Cold to the Touch 
  • Eric Redman, Death in Hilo 

New Era For Marvel’s First Family Begins In Fantastic Four #1

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The Fantastic Four are about to embark on new adventures, but they’ll have to find each other first!

 This July, writer Ryan North and artist Humberto Ramos kick off an all-new era of Fantastic Four that begins with Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny scattered across time by their archenemy, Doctor Doom. The new volume serves as both the fascinating next chapter in North’s current work on Fantastic Four and a perfect jumping on point for readers who want to experience one of the most acclaimed super hero titles of today. The debut issue hits stands just weeks before the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps film on July 25, and today, fans can see all the covers that will be available at their local comic shop.

Series artist Humberto Ramos’ delivers the main cover while variant covers come from a lineup of superstar talent including Alex Ross, Alan Davis, Jerome Opeña, Cliff Chiang, and Jeehyung Lee. Fantastic Four #1 also features a special Foil Variant Cover by Mahmud Asrar, a Remastered Hidden Gem Variant Cover by industry legend John Buscema, a Wraparound Variant Cover by Claudio Castellini, and the first of a five-part connecting cover by Skottie Young. Plus, Leo Romero takes inspiration from the Silver Age with one of the month’s eye-catching Retrovision Covers and Lorenzo Pastrovicchio provides the title’s latest Disney What If? Fantastic Four Homage Variant Cover.

Fantastic Four will also feature more Marvel Rivals Variant Covers by NetEase Games that spotlight artwork from the hit video game, starting with a connecting cover for issues #1 and #2. A Marvel Studios Variant Cover that showcases concept art from the upcoming film will also be available and will be revealed at a later date.

The Fantastic Four return with a new issue #1, kicking off all-new adventures through time, space, science and the human condition! When the Fantastic Four take on Doom, things go well until they suddenly go catastrophically wrong – and they’re sent to four different eras in Earth’s history! Alone and isolated in wildly different time periods, Reed, Johnny, Ben and Sue all have to fight to survive and hope that their shared brilliance will guide them back together!

“I still want each issue to stand alone, and I want every issue to be a place for someone to jump on and get a fully satisfying story with every issue they pick up, but I am turning the dial a little bit more towards larger and crazier stories for that larger narrative. I’m not changing the special sauce – as Ben would say, ‘I’m just adding a couple cloves of garlic – not because it’s not delicious, I just wanna add a little bit of zip,’” North explained in a recent interview with IGN.

See the Fantastic Four variant covers following the jump. For more information, visit Marvel.com.

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Pixel Scroll 5/25/25 When You Get Caught Between The Scroll And Pixel City

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(1) A DISCWORLD TOUR. Olivia Waite picks “The Essential Terry Pratchett” for New York Times readers (link bypasses the NYT paywall.)

…Book by book, Discworld expands and deepens, pulling in elements from our world that Pratchett tempers in surprising ways: Shakespeare, vampires, police procedurals, musicals, Australia, high finance. Then come even bigger ideas: war, revolution, justice.

By the time we reach Book 29, “Night Watch,” Pratchett is writing comic fantasy the way Martin Luther offered theological critique to the Catholic Church: sharp and tough as nails, with a hammering moral force….

… Discworld is not about how to be good, but about how to do good, and why even the smallest acts of kindness matter. Empathy — like humor or creativity or hope — is a muscle. You don’t train for a marathon by running around the world: You start with small distances and work your way up….

Waite recommend this book as the place to start:

…If you find the flow charts daunting — and who could blame you? — “Monstrous Regiment” (2003) is your best bet for a stand-alone, as it happens far away from Ankh-Morpork or the witchy Ramtop Mountains. We meet young Polly Perks, from a small country forever at war with its neighbors, as she cuts her hair, dons trousers and joins the army in hopes of finding her missing brother. The troops are untrained, the fields are barren, and the government insists it’s treasonous to even ask which side is winning the war. The only authority is Sgt. Jack Jackrum, a jovial nightmare in a coat “the red of dying stars and dying soldiers” — as if Falstaff were reborn as a god of war.

Polly soon discovers she’s not the only soldier in disguise. Everyone has their reasons for fighting, and they’re being tracked by more enemies than they know. It’s trench humor at its blackest, and burns like a wound being cauterized…

(2) A RETRO REVIEW. A Deep Look by Dave Hook wishes he was going to be on a panel at the Seattle Worldcon to discuss “’Atomsk: A Novel of Suspense’ by Cordwainer Smith, 1949 Duell, Sloan and Pearce”.

The Short: I recently read Atomsk: A Novel of Suspense by Cordwainer Smith, 1949 Duell, Sloan and Pearce. It’s not SF, but today it would be called a techno-thriller, with an engaging story of USSR atomic bomb program spying and espionage. I enjoyed it and thought it was very good. It’s available in e-book format at a very reasonable price….

(3) SKILLS FOR MODERATING PANELS. Frank Catalano tells how to navigate the hardest easy job in public speaking in “A call for moderation (of panels)” at Franksplaining. He has 10 tips.

… I’ve moderated, conservatively, more than two hundred panels (I started as a teen at science-fiction conventions). Since those early nerdy gatherings, I’ve hosted professional panel discussions at events ranging from technology trade shows and summits to book and education industry conferences over several decades.

But being a good moderator requires a different skill set than being a good public speaker. Overlap? Yes. With a major difference: the audience’s attention should be focused on the entirety of the panel, not only the moderator….

… So, for the sake of a perky panel and a rapt audience, here are 10 things I’ve learned about being a good moderator (if you’re ever called to serve, for reasons personal or professional):

1) You’re the glue. Your mission as moderator is to create a coherent whole out of disparate, and sometimes feuding, parts. As a result, you should be the panel’s audience surrogate — even asking for definitions of terms and clarification of statements which a panelist may state as though everyone already knows. Many times, people attend panels to learn, so they may not….

(4) TEN YEARS LATER. The Daily Dot takes us back to “The 11 most important fandoms of 2015”. You were probably a fan of more than one of these. The list includes Star Wars, Max Max: Fury Road, and Back To The Future. Yet the most irresistible is the number one entry –

1) Hamilton

If you’d told us while we were writing last year’s top 10 list that another fandom—much less one for a Broadway musical—would unseat Star Wars in 2015, we’d have probably sent for the doctor to see if you were feeling OK. But if last year in fandom was the year of diversity powered by feminism and social justice activism, then it only makes sense that this year, the fandom that took everyone by shock and storm was one that took all those conversations to the next level—and several levels beyond.

Put simply, Hamilton is the story of a single founding father, retold through a modern lens with a cast mainly composed of black actors. Nothing about Hamilton is simple, though—starting with the music, a stunning, stirring hip-hop language that crams three times more text into its run time than the average Broadway musical. In addition to being inherently modern, Hamilton is also an inherently fannish text—a kind of AU (Alternate Universe) fanfic that also serves to critique its canon, which in this case is the historical narrative we’re all taught. That narrative all too frequently leaves out marginalized voices, and evades the messy politics of a revolution carried out by white men, many of whom distrusted urban industry and had no intention of freeing their slaves. Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda inserts his own viewpoint as a hip-hop fan born to Washington Height’s immigrant Latino community into that of Alexander Hamilton, who immigrated to New York in poverty from St. Croix. Hamilton typified the revolutionary spirit Miranda reclaims on behalf of #BlackLivesMatter and other current political movements.

Rarely has theatre seemed to loom as large over the cultural landscape as Hamilton does, but rarely has theatre managed to intersect so neatly with both the immediacy of current political issues and the constant cries for representation from fans who expect more from the media they consume. Hamilton began a season-long siege on social media upon the release of the long-awaited cast recording, taking over Tumblr and Twitter and ultimately winning a stint as the bestselling rap album in the country. 

Fans responded in legion forces, annotating hundreds of thousands of words on the show’s category on the lyrics website Genius, and churning out fanworks and critical analysis in droves. Renewed interest in Alexander Hamilton was so intense that the Treasury is now delaying his removal from the $10 bill. Additionally, Miranda’s social media savvy, his genius #Ham4Ham pre-shows, and his appearances all over pop culture from Colbert to Star Wars, have all made him an instant celebrity. And the fandom just keeps growing. History is still happening in Manhattan—all you have to do is look around, look around at the Hamilton movement to see it.

(5) SHARON LEE’S AWARD. Baen Books posted a photo of Sharon Lee accepting the 2025 Robert A. Heinlein Award Friday night at Balticon.

(6) TECHBROS DON’T GET FANTASY EITHER. The New York Times ponders “Why Silicon Valley’s Most Powerful People Are So Obsessed With Hobbits” (link bypasses the paywall.)

…How did a trilogy of novels about wizards and elves and furry-footed hobbits become a touchstone for right-wing power brokers? How did books that evince nostalgia for a pastoral, preindustrial past win an ardent following among the people who are shaping our digital future? Why do so many of today’s high-profile fans of “The Lord of the Rings” and other fantasy and sci-fi classics insist on turning these cautionary tales into aspirational road maps for mastering the universe?…

… A similar taste for kingly power has taken hold in Silicon Valley. In a guest essay in The Times last year, the former Apple and Google executive Kim Scott pointed to “a creeping attraction to one-man rule in some corners of tech.” This management style known as “founder mode,” she explained, “embraces the notion that a company’s founder must make decisions unilaterally rather than partner with direct reports or frontline employees.”

The new mood of autocratic certainty in Silicon Valley is summed up in a 2023 manifesto written by the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who describes himself and his fellow travelers as “Undertaking the Hero’s Journey, rebelling against the status quo, mapping uncharted territory, conquering dragons and bringing home the spoils for our community.”

Andreessen, along with Musk and Thiel, helped muster support for Trump in Silicon Valley, and he depicts the tech entrepreneur as a conqueror who achieves “virtuous things” through brazen aggression, and villainizes anything that might slow growth and innovation — like government regulation and demoralizing concepts like “tech ethics” and “risk management.”

“We believe in nature, but we also believe in overcoming nature,” Andreesen writes. “We are not primitives, cowering in fear of the lightning bolt. We are the apex predator; the lightning works for us.”…

(7) PETER DAVID (1956-2025). Acclaimed comics writer Peter David died May 24 after a long illness.  

AIPT Comics pays tribute: “Comic book legend Peter David dies at 68”.

Peter David is best known in the comics world for his legendary 12-year run on Incredible Hulk in the 1980s that fundamentally transformed the character. He is also synonymous with Spider-Man, and has penned other major heroes for both Marvel and DC, including Captain Marvel and Aquaman. Most recently, David wrote Symbiote Spider-Man.…

… David is survived by his wife, Kathleen O’Shea David, and his daughters Ariel, Shana, Gwen, and Caroline.

Thaddeus Howze has a long remembrance on Facebook.

… A prolific and versatile writer, David’s career began not in comics, but in prose and journalism. His keen wit and sharp storytelling earned him a position in Marvel’s sales department during the 1980s, a foot in the door that led to his first published comic story in The Spectacular Spider-Man #103 (1985). From there, his voice became unmistakable: funny, humane, and layered with deep characterization….

…His 12-year tenure on The Incredible Hulk is legendary, turning what could have been a simple monster book into a psychological epic exploring identity, trauma, and redemption. That run, frequently cited as one of the best in Hulk’s history, cemented PAD’s status as a master craftsman of serialized storytelling.

But his legacy didn’t stop with the Hulk. PAD’s fingerprints are on some of the most enduring titles and characters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries…

…David also ventured beyond comics, contributing to television, video games, and an extensive bibliography of novels—both original works and media tie-ins, including memorable Star Trek stories that made him a fan favorite across fandoms….

(8) MEMORY LANE.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

May 25, 1983 — Return of the Jedi

By Paul Weimer: As I have said before, Return of the Jedi is the first Star Wars movie I ever saw in a theater, and the second movie I ever saw in a theater, period. I don’t quite remember if it was opening weekend or a couple of weeks later that my brothers and I went to go see my first Star Wars film. I had only seen commercials, had some shared Star Wars Toys (I *still* have a stormtrooper bobblehead, I’m looking at it right now, the thing must be over 40 years old). But Return of the Jedi was my first time seeing a Star Wars film, in theaters or otherwise.

It was an interesting place to begin. I had vague ideas on what had happened in the first two movies (from cultural appropriation, such as it was, and my older brother).  So having an opening crawl…and then having the droids go to Jabba’s Palace…that was the first moments of Star Wars on a screen for me. For a long time, it held pride of place, even when I saw Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back on video, mainly because I had seen it first. It was “my Star Wars movie” for a very long time. Boba Fett, introduced, and thrown into a pilot. An imperial shuttle (I later had a toy). A whistle stop tour to see this Yoda person I had no idea what his deal really was. The terrifyingly incomplete and dangerous Death Star. My first exposure to Vader, to the Emperor, to our heroes of the Rebellion.

And of course the Ewoks. Yes, the Ewoks are for kids. But the Ewoks are terrifying. Sure their defeat of imperial forces en masse makes no sense (I immediately got a defensive like of AT-STs that would finally pay off when I saw Rogue One. But notice just how dangerous the Ewoks are to individual storm troopers, it’s clear they have been fighting them for years…and, well, yes, eating them. Those cute Ewoks are carnivorous and merciless. I couldn’t buy them defeating an entire garrison with rebel help, but bushwhacking lone soldiers for a meal? Yeah, that definitely was plausible.

Also, of course, Return of the Jedi was my first intro to Lando Calrissian and I had no idea the Falcon used to be his. So yes, the first Star Wars film I saw was Lando flying the Falcon.  Go figure. And, also, I saw the Han-Leia romance at its culmination.  So when I did see Star Wars, and saw Luke Kiss Leia, having seen it in Return of The Jedi…boy was I confused. But the dogfight into the superstructure is rather satisfying.

And of course the big space battle. If not for the Death Star, the Imperial fleet was clearly on the ropes. I took it to mean the Empire was vastly underestimating the rebellion. With their smaller and more nimble fleet, and better fighters, the Empire was a dinosaur compared to the Rebellion.  Maybe had I seen Star Wars I would have felt differently, but I started watching Star Wars when the Empire was ready to fall, not at its height.

I am not a fan of the retconning that has Hayden Christensen’s force ghost appear in newer versions of Return of the Jedi. It also goes to the whole problem of timelines and timeframes in the Star Wars universe. But the movie itself? Solid still.

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Paul Weimer.]

May 25, 1939 — Sir Ian McKellen, 86.

By Paul Weimer: Sir Ian McKellen came to my consciousness in his twin roles in the late 90’s: Magneto, and Gandalf. It was quite the coup for both Peter Jackson and for Sony to land an actor of McKellen’s magnitude and make it work so that I could watch him chew scenery with Patrick Stewart (each one of them the other’s equal) and then the ensemble cast of the best adaptation of Middle-Earth I will likely get in my lifetime. The idea that he was doing these two iconic roles, basically, at once, is amazing. 

Also, McKellen makes the Hobbit movies almost watchable for me. Almost.

And yes, while we have seen Magneto and Gandalf with other portrayals, other actors, other media, they feel like they stand as reaction, or preparation, to McKellen’s performances. That’s his power as an actor. People half a century now will study his takes, if only to do it differently.  

He doesn’t quite rescue the 2009 Prisoner remake from utter oblivion, although he does try. It is when he is so brilliantly affably evil. “Of course it’s a trap” that he really gets the role of Number Two right. But he’s saddled with a script and a setup that just doesn’t jell together. A pity.

I think his best genre piece outside of Magneto and Gandalf is one that is only mildly genre, and this is his adaptation of Richard III. It counts as genre because it takes place in a 1930’s version of Richard III, with the Wars of the Roses taking place as a conflict much more like the Spanish Civil War, between Royalists and Fascists. McKellen plays the title character, addresses the audience throughout, and is absolutely captivating in it. 

Sir Ian McKellen

(10) COMICS SECTION.

(11) DOCTOR WHO BARBIE. “Ncuti Gatwa Is a Barbie, Again” – Gizmodo has the story.

Not content with simply being Ken again after his guest appearance in the Barbie movie coincided with the news that he would be Doctor Who‘s latest Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa is going full circle with his very own 15th Doctor Barbie doll.

Revealed by the BBC this morning, Mattel Creations will release new Barbie dolls of the 15th Doctor and his first companion, Ruby Sunday. He’s Ken no more!…

… Gatwa isn’t the first Time Lord to be Barbie-fied–Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor had that honor back in 2018–but Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday will mark the first time a Doctor Who companion has entered the Barbie world….

(12) MIRROR, MIRROR, THAT WILL BE ON THE WALL. “What are Time Mirrors? And Do They Exist?” The Daily Dot seems to think they do.

Time mirrors sounds like a concept straight out of a sci-fi film. But physicists confirm that time mirrors exist—and it’s not as mind-boggling as it sounds.

Instead of a regular mirror that bounces light back at the person looking in, letting them see their reflection, a time mirror is caused by waves reversing their flow in time. In other words, this reaction causes a signal to reverse, Earth.com reports.

To demonstrate, physicists attach a metal strip to an “electronic component” to create a “metamaterial.”

Then, by carefully adjusting the electronic component, a burst of energy flips the direction of the wave in time.

While it sounds complex to the layman, scientists anticipate that time mirrors could have tangible applications. No, not just for time machines.

According to Earth.com, this discovery may create new ways to transmit data or create advanced computers. However, the scientists note that further research and experiments are needed to figure out the limits of time mirrors….

(13) A BIG DUMP. “Giant ‘white streak’ appears over multiple US states as Chinese rocket dumps experimental fuel in space” explains Live Science.

A massive streak of white, aurora-like light recently appeared in the night sky above several U.S. states after a Chinese rocket released half a dozen satellites into orbit. The light show was triggered when the rocket dumped a new type of fuel into space before reentering the atmosphere, experts say.

The luminous streak appeared at around 1:24 a.m. ET on Saturday (May 17), hanging in the air for around 10 minutes before eventually fading away. It was photographed in at least seven states — Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Nebraska, Washington and New Mexico — but may have been visible even further afield, according to Spaceweather.com.

Photographer Mike Lewinski snapped stunning shots of the streak from Crestone, Colorado (see above) and also managed to capture timelapse footage of the entire event….

(14) MORE BOGUS AI LEGAL CITATIONS. “Alabama paid a law firm millions to defend its prisons. It used AI and turned in fake citations” reports the Guardian.

…In 2021, [prison inmate] Johnson filed a lawsuit against Alabama prison officials for failing to keep him safe, rampant violence, understaffing, overcrowding and pervasive corruption in Alabama prisons. To defend the case, the Alabama attorney general’s office turned to a law firm that for years has been paid millions of dollars by the state to defend its troubled prison system: Butler Snow.

State officials have praised Butler Snow for its experience in defending prison cases – and specifically William Lunsford, head of the constitutional and civil rights litigation practice group at the firm. But now the firm is facing sanctions by the federal judge overseeing Johnson’s case after an attorney at the firm, working with Lunsford, cited cases generated by artificial intelligence – which turned out not to exist.

It is one of a growing number of instances in which attorneys around the country have faced consequences for including false, AI-generated information in official legal filings. A database attempting to track the prevalence of the cases has identified 106 instances around the globe in which courts have found “AI hallucinations” in court documents.

Last year, an attorney was suspended for one year from practicing law in the federal middle district of Florida, after a committee found he had cited fabricated AI-generated cases. In California earlier this month, a federal judge ordered a firm to pay more than $30,000 in legal fees after it included false AI-generated research in a brief.

At a hearing in Birmingham on Wednesday in Johnson’s case, the US district judge Anna Manasco said that she was considering a wide range of sanctions – including fines, mandated continuing legal education, referrals to licensing organizations and temporary suspensions – against Butler Snow, after the attorney, Matthew Reeves, used ChatGPT to add false citations to filings related to ongoing deposition and discovery disputes in the case.

She suggested that, so far, the disciplinary actions that have been meted out around the country have not gone far enough. The current case is “proof positive that those sanctions were insufficient”, she told the lawyers. “If they were, we wouldn’t be here.”…

[Thanks to SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, Paul Weimer, Frank Catalano, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, and Cat Eldridge for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Rob Thornton.]

Seattle Worldcon 2025 Holds Town Hall

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Seattle Worldcon 2025 held its inaugural Business Meeting Town Hall online today (the first, scheduled for May 4, having been cancelled).

Business Meeting chair Jesi Lipp provided visuals to familiarize viewers with the basic appearance of their participation screen and the way virtual platform provider, Lumi Global will facilitate the Zoom sessions. Lipp described how the chair will be able to identify people’s requests to speak for or against motions, points of order, and other claims of parliamentary priority.

Lumi Global’s services will cost $20,000, said Lipp, some part being paid by the Scalzi Family Foundation.

Seattle’s decision to hold the Business Meeting in a virtual format for the first time ever is touted as a way to “open participation to both attending and virtual attending members of the Worldcon, and hopefully enable broad participation without the need to sacrifice other convention activities.” Today’s Town Hall drew around 42 participants, the vast majority Seattle committee division and department heads and staff, the rest identifiable business meeting regulars and a few others.

One Town Hall participant challenged the legitimacy of convening a virtual Business Meeting, citing WSFS Constitution section 5.1.1: “Business Meetings of WSFS shall be held at advertised times at each Worldcon”. Business Meeting chair Jesi Lipp said that the committee had the authority to “define their own boundaries” – which is to say, give “at each Worldcon” a novel meaning. Lipp indicated their decision would be issued as one of the rulings of the chair at the virtual meeting, and said that the meeting has the procedural ability to challenge a ruling of the chair, and if it votes to overrule the chair there would just be an in-person meeting at Seattle. (Presently, the only in-person session planned for is the one where Site Selection voting results will be announced.) This was an unexpected concession.

While only Seattle 2025 WSFS members admitted to the Zoom session will be able to participate and vote, the virtual Business Meeting will be publicly livestreamed, and also recorded, with the livestream recordings made available on YouTube. Chair Jesi Lipp noted that if the meeting enters executive session – for example, to receive the report of the Committee on Investigation into the Chengdu Hugo Awards vote which was appointed at Glasgow 2024 – that portion of the meeting will not be livestreamed.

Business Meeting sessions will be supported by a Discord channel where people can carry on side discussions. The Discord will only be available for use for a number of hours beginning before the meeting and sometime afterwards, and made read-only the rest of the time. (Lipp pointed out that people obviously still have the use of other social media venues which they already use to discuss WSFS issues.)  The Discord will be subject to the convention’s Code of Conduct.

The deadline to submit items for the Business Meeting agenda is June 4. Send them to bm-submit@seattlein2025.org.

The dates of the virtual Business Meetings are:

Friday, July 4, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Sunday, July 13, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Friday, July 25, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Mark Lawrence Announces Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off Champions’ League

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Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off sponsor Mark Lawrence, immediately after announcing the winner of SPFBO 10, turned right around and declared that all ten winners will compete against each other in a “SPFBO Champions’ League”.

After 10 years we have 10 champions. So, the only logical thing to do is to line them up on a board and have a champions’ league!

All 10 champions have been great sports and volunteered to take part.

These are the books:

The review blogs fielding the judging teams for the Champions’ League are:

Lawrence is giving them until December 20 to finish their work. Instead of scores, “The only requirement is that as they review each book they must place it on the ordered list they’re compiling and say where it fits among the books they have already placed.”

Lawrence will combine these results into an overall ordering and at the end the book at the top will be the champion of champions!

Retrovision Covers Inspired by Comic Book Art Styles of Yesteryear

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Take a step back in time with the new Retrovision Covers, a line of retro-inspired variant covers on sale this July. Featured on 22 ongoing Marvel Comics series, these all-new covers see today’s superstar artists pay homage to the classic style and vibrant aesthetics of yesterday with covers that look straight out of the Silver Age. The covers harken back to the foundational days of comic book storytelling while reflecting the modern Marvel Universe–depicting current costumes and reflecting the respective issue’s story—making them a fun blend of the past and present.

The Retrovision Variant Covers hit stands just in time for the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps film on July 25, which introduces Marvel’s First Family against the backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world.

 Check out 13 Retrovision Variant Covers following the jump.

Continue reading →

Pixel Scroll 5/24/25 I’ve Seen Pixels Through The Tears In My Eyes, And I Realize, I’m Scrolling Home

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(1) THE WHEELS FALL OFF. Deadline reports “’The Wheel Of Time’ Canceled By Prime Video After 3 Seasons”.

Prime Video will not be renewing The Wheel of Time for a fourth season. The decision, which comes more than a month after the Season 3 finale was released April 17, followed lengthy deliberations. As often is the case in the current economic environment, the reasons were financial as the series is liked creatively by the streamer’s executives….

…Three seasons in, the series has remained a solid performer but its viewership has slipped, with the fantasy drama dropping out of Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart after the first three weeks of Season 3 while staying on the list for the entire runs the previous two seasons. (The Wheel of Time was back on the Originals ranker for the week after the Season 3 finale at #10.)…

…The Nielsen rankings reflect U.S. viewership. Streaming renewal decisions are made based on how a show does around the world, and The Wheel of Time is a global title. It did rank as #1 on Prime Video in multiple countries with the most recent season. Still, the Season 3 overall performance was not strong enough compared to the show’s cost for Prime Video to commit to another season and the streamer could not make it work after examining different scenarios and following discussions with lead studio Sony TV, sources said.

With the cancellation possibility — and the show’s passionate fanbase — in mind, the Season 3 finale was designed to offer some closure.

Still, the news would be a gut punch for fans who have been praising the latest season as the series’ best yet creatively. Prime Video executives also have spoken of the show getting better creatively every season, which is supported by critics as Season 3 ranks 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, up from 86% for Season 2 and 81% for Season 1….

(2) OUT OF TIME LORD? Deadline is also collecting bad news from the outrage journals about another fan favorite: “‘Doctor Who’ Ratings Dive, Supercharging Uncertainty About Future Of Sci-Fi Series”. Are these just rumors? Here’s what’s on The Sun’s front page:

Deadline says:

…Rupert Murdoch-owned The Sun newspaper sparked the latest flurry of rumors, reporting that Ncuti Gatwa had been “exterminated” from the BBC series amid a ratings “nosedive.” The BBC said it was “pure fiction” that Gatwa had been fired.

The Sun‘s front-page story also gives credence to speculation that Doctor Who will be “rested” after Season 15 has finished screening on the BBC and Disney+…

… So what can we say with certainty about the destiny of the Time Lord?

Firstly, the show’s UK ratings have dropped considerably. Detractors have pinned this on so-called “woke” storylines, though it is not clear if this is the only reason people are switching off.

Deadline has analyzed official seven-day viewing figures for the first half of Season 15, and it does not make easy reading for those involved in Doctor Who.

The first four episodes have averaged 3.1M viewers, which was 800,000 viewers down from last year’s season, which was Gatwa’s first as the Doctor.

Compare the first half of Season 15 to Jodie Whittaker’s last outing as the Doctor, and things get uglier. Season 13 was watched by 5M people over its first four episodes in 2021, two million more viewers than the show is currently managing….

… In a small development today, the BBC was prepared to say that Gatwa had not been fired from the show, but refused to deny that he had quit. Gatwa’s rep has been contacted for comment….

(3) EATING THE FANTASTIC. Scott Edelman invites listeners to toast writer/editor Craig Laurance Gidney on Episode 254 of the Eating the Fantastic podcast.

This episode, which invites you to take a seat at the table with Craig Laurance Gidney, captures a meal which could have taken place during AwesomeCon — but didn’t. If you want to know why — you’ll have to join us!

Craig Laurence Gidney

Gidney’s short stories have been collected in Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories (2008), Skin Deep Magic: Short Fiction (2014), and The Nectar of Nightmares (2022), the first two of which were Lambda Literary Award finalists — as was his 2019 novel A Spectral Hue (2019). He received the Bronze Moonbeam Medal and Silver IPPY Medal for his 2013 novel Bereft. In 1996, at the start of his career, he was also awarded the Susan C. Petrey Scholarship to attend the Clarion West Writing Workshop.

From 2020-2023 he co-edited Baffling Magazine with Dave Ring, and he’s also the co-editor — with Julie C. Day & Carina Bissett — of Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology, published this month.

We discussed how meeting Samuel R. Delany led to his attending the Clarion Writing Workshop, the influence of reading decadent writers such as Verlaine and Rimbaud, why he kept trying to get published when so many of his peers stopped, the many ways flaws can often make a story more interesting, our shared love of ambiguity, the reason there must be beauty entwined with horror, why he’s a vibes guy rather than a plot guy, the time Tanith Lee bought him a pint and how that led to him coediting her tribute anthology, what he learned from his years editing a flash fiction magazine, and much more.

(4) YOU’RE FROM THE SIXTIES. Steven Heller remembers “When Undergrounds Shined the Light” at PRINT Magazine.

England was the epicenter of cool during the ’60s, not only because the Beatles and Stones spawned some of the great music and fashion innovations of the era, but also due to the wellspring of underground newspapers there. Working at undergrounds gave me access to periodicals from all over the world. IT (International Times) and Oz where the two most influential for their design and content. Muther Grumble was one of the many others that filled mailboxes.

Founded in 1966 (contrary to the 1960 dateline on the issue above), International Times was one of the earliest and most important British underground papers. After being threatened with lawsuits by the London Times, International Times changed its name to IT, but often kept the original name as a subhead on its covers. In its heyday, IT appeared regularly for 13 years. The paper’s logo was an iconic black-and-white image of Theda Bara. Contributors included most of the prominent underground figures of the period, including Allen Ginsberg (who interviewed the Maharishi), William S. Burroughs, Germaine Greer, John Peel, Heathcote Williams and Jeff Nuttall….

(5) THE WRITER GETS PAID. John Scalzi interviews himself “About That Deal, Ten Years On” at Whatever. His famous Tor contract, to be precise.

If you could go back in time to 2015, would you sign the same contract again?

Pretty much? I understand this sort of contract is not for everyone; not everyone wants to know what they’re doing professionally, and who with, for a decade or more, or wants the pressure of being on the hook for multiple unwritten books. But as for me, back then, I was pretty sure in a decade I would still want to be writing novels, and I would want to be doing it with people and a publisher who were all in for my work. Turns out, I nailed that prediction pretty well. And from a financial and career point of view I can’t say that it hasn’t benefitted me tremendously.

Now, to be clear, other writers have sold more than me, or gotten bigger advances than I have, or have won more awards than me, in the ten years since that contract made the news. But I’ve sold enough, been paid enough, and have been awarded enough to make me happy and then some. I’m happy with the work I’ve done in this last decade. I’m happy with how it’s been received. I’m happy with where I am with my career and life. Much of that is because of this contract. So, yeah, I would do it again. I kind of did, last year, when I signed that ten-book extension.

(6) PBS SELF-CENSORSHIP. “Criticism of Trump Was Removed From Documentary on Public Television” reports the New York Times. “A segment in a documentary about the cartoonist Art Spiegelman was edited two weeks before it was set to air on public television stations across the country.”

The executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning “American Masters” series insisted on removing a scene critical of President Trump from a documentary about the comic artist Art Spiegelman two weeks before it was set to air nationwide on public television stations.

The filmmakers say it is another example of public media organizations bowing to pressure as the Trump administration tries to defund the sector, while the programmers say their decision was a matter of taste.

Alicia Sams, a producer of “Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse,” said in an interview that approximately two weeks before the movie’s April 15 airdate, she received a call from Michael Kantor, the executive producer of “American Masters,” informing her that roughly 90 seconds featuring a cartoon critical of Trump would need to be excised from the film. The series is produced by the WNET Group, the parent company of several New York public television channels.

Stephen Segaller, the vice president of programming for WNET, confirmed in an interview that the station had informed the filmmakers that it needed to make the change. Segaller said WNET felt the scatological imagery in the comic, which Spiegelman drew shortly after the 2016 election — it portrays what appears to be fly-infested feces on Trump’s head — was a “breach of taste” that might prove unpalatable to some of the hundreds of stations that air the series.

But the filmmakers have questioned whether political considerations played a role. They have noted that earlier this year, according to Documentary Magazine, which first reported the “American Masters” decision, PBS postponed indefinitely a documentary set to air about a transgender video-gamer for fear of political backlash.

Sams pointed out that their film had already been approved for broadcast — the filmmakers agreed it would be shown at 10 p.m. rather than 8 p.m., so that certain obscenities would not need to be blurred or bleeped — and that the call came a week after a Capitol Hill hearing in which Congressional Republicans accused public television and radio executives of biased coverage (the executives denied that accusation in sworn testimony).

“If PBS cannot protect the free speech of its content creators and subject matters without fear of retribution from members of the government who may find their views displeasing, then how can it strengthen the ‘social, democratic and cultural health’ of the American people?” Sams and four other producers and directors wrote to PBS and WNET executives last month, quoting from PBS’s mission statement….

(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

May 24, 1963 — Michael Chabon, 62.

The first work by Michael Chabon that I read was the greatest baseball story ever told, and yes, I know that statement will be disputed by many of you, or at least the greatest fantasy affair which is Summerland in which a group of youngsters save the world from destruction by playing baseball.  It’s a truly stellar novel, perfect, that in every way deserved the Mythopoeic Award it received.

Next on my list of novels that I really enjoyed by him is The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, the alternate history mystery novel, which would win a Hugo at Devention 3. Like Lavie Tidhar’s Unholy Land, this novel with its alternate version of Israel is fascinating. 

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is story of them becoming major figures in the comics industry from its start into its Golden Age. It’s a wonderful read and an absolutely fantastic look at the comics industry in that era.  It has a screenplay he wrote a quarter of century ago ready to be filmed but it’s been tied up in pre-production Hell ever since. 

An interesting story by him is “The Final Solution: A Story of Detection” novella. The story, set in 1944, is about an unnamed nearly ninety-year-old retired detective who may or may not be Holmes as this individual is a beekeeper. 

He is, I’d say, a rather great writer. 

I’d be remiss to overlook his work on the Trek series. He joined the writing team of Picard, and later was named showrunner. He had two Star Trek: Short Treks episodes co-written by Chabon, that one “Calypso”; the second written only by him was “Q&A”. 

Michael Chabon

(8) COMICS SECTION.

(9) JURASSIC BODEGA. amNewYork’s “Ask the MTA” feature explains “How the Whispering Gallery works, A line service and more”. The “and more” includes a dinosaur-themed bodega.

Q: What’s going on with the dinosaur pop-up at Grand Army Plaza? – Meghan K., Upper East Side  

A: Rex’s Dino Store is an art installation and the first (and only) bodega for dinosaurs in New York City. Featuring a hand-crafted 7-foot-tall paper mâché orange dinosaur named Rex, the scene is a life-size diorama of a bodega with prehistoric-themed products and publications with seemingly endless dinosaur puns, like the Maul Street Journal or ClawmondJoy bars.

Created by Brooklyn artists Akiva Leffert and Sarah Cassidy, the installation is a whimsical celebration of New York City bodegas and a childlike exploration of what it’s like to be a New Yorker. Rex’s Dino Store is part of the MTA’s Vacant Unit Activation Program, which aims to fill former retail units in the subway with creative non-traditional public projects and exhibits to make stations more vibrant and welcoming. Those interested in applying to use available spaces can submit proposals on the MTA website, MTA.info. — Mira Atherton, Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Sustainability, MTA Construction and Development

(10) REH NEWS. The Robert E. Howard Days website thinks you may be surprised to hear “Howard Days Fans Have Arrived!” – after all, the convention’s still three weeks away. But wait…!

…Well, our feeble attempt attempt at humor notwithstanding, the Pavilion will be a cooler place for Howard Days 2025! Working in conjunction with Project Pride, the Robert E. Howard Foundation has seen to the installation of three giant ceiling fans in the roof of the Pavilion next to the Robert E. Howard Museum….

That will be a welcome improvement in Texas this summer.

(11) HOW WEIRD ARE THEY? Sci-Fi Odyssey introduces fans to “5 Weird Civilisations Sci-Fi Books You Need to Read”

Today we’re taking a tour through some of the weirdest civilisations in science fiction. Eden by Stanisław Lem; The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman; The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle; The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov; Honourable Mentions: Embassytown by China Miéville; City by Clifford D. Simak; Engine Summer by John Crowley; A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.

(12) IT’S LIFE JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT! [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] I have a vague recollection (which needs fact checking) that a brief (a very concise) aside in a David Brin ‘Uplift’ novel had intelligent species in our part of the Galaxy coming together to agree a treaty whereby all heavy element life forms would get to be able to colonise systems with planets amicable to their own kind, and all carbon-based life forms would get to be able to colonise systems with planets suitable to them…  All well and good, but could there really be life that that is unlike our water-based, carbon life?

So step up astrophysicist Dr Becky who has just posted a video on “The search for LIFE: but NOT as we know it…”  What solvent would it use? (We use water.) And if not carbon-based, on which elements might it be based?

We only know of one planet in the universe that hosts life: Earth. So when we search for other life out there in the Universe we look for what we know. We look for water, and ozone, and methane, and a whole bunch of carbon containing molecules because we know that those ingredients point to life here on Earth. But what if life out there in the Universe is NOT as we know it, and we’re missing the signs because it doesn’t have the same signatures of Earth-life?! This is a real possibility, and there are astrochemists and astrobiologists out there who are working through all the options of what we think life could be like. So let’s chat about the fundamental biochemistry of life and pick out a few things that could be different to Earth…

[Thanks to Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Mark Roth-Whitworth, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, and Chris Barkley for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Microtherion.]

Maral Agnerian Receives 2025 ICG Lifetime Achievement Award

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Maral Agnerian. Photo by Steve Kaminsky – Kaminsky Kandids Photography.

Maral Agnerian was honored with the International Costumers’ Guild Lifetime Achievement Award during the virtual Single Pattern Contest and Future Fashion Show on April 12.

Here are highlights from ICG President Kevin Roche’s announcement of the award:

This costumer and cosplay legend has had a career spanning longer than some con attendees have been alive.

They have been costuming since 1999, compete at the Master level, and their work has been widely recognized in costuming communities world-wide. They have won numerous awards at local, national, and international competitions, including their most recent triumph as the winner of the U.S. National Crown Championships of Cosplay.

Well-known for their deep and abiding love of beautiful fabrics, beads, and all manner of shiny things, this year’s honoree relishes the challenge of bringing a 2-D design to life, but also loves the creativity inherent in original designs.  They are always looking for, and sometimes creating, new sewing and construction techniques to learn and experiment with. In addition to execution with stunning craftsmanship, their creative presentations onstage bring her costumed characters to life.

On the community front, our honoree strongly believes in spreading knowledge and information throughout the greater costuming community. They are in high demand as a teacher, and regularly offer courses and workshops at conventions and other venues. They also author articles and present webinars highlighting their work and the techniques they have developed.

In addition to teaching and presenting, they have served our costuming community for many years by running conventions, serving as a masquerade director, and judging costume competitions in North America, such as at Costume-Con and Anime North, and internationally. In October 2024, They were invited to serve as a judge for masquerades, the Variety Show, and the World Cosplay Summit qualifiers at Comic Con London.

And on a purely personal note, this year’s honoree brought me tears of joy with her rendition at Costume-Con 39 of a design I also once recreated and presented, in drag, at Costume-Con 23:  the Le Jazz Hot dress from Victor/Victoria.

It is my honor and privilege to announce that the recipient of the 2025 International Costumers’ Guild Lifetime Achievement Award is Maral Agnerian.

Learn more about her at her LAA award page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Vi8HbQ67k&t=1s

Prix Imaginales 2025

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The 2025 Prix Imaginales winners were announced on May 23 at the Imaginales festival in Epinal, France.  

The Prix Imaginales recognize the best works of fantasy of the year published in France in six categories.

[NOTE: The Prix Imaginales is a different award than the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire.]

Prix Imaginales du roman francophone (Fantasy) / French novel

  • Kosigan, un printemps de sang, by Fabien CERUTTI – Éditions Mnémos

Prix Imaginales du roman étranger traduit (Fantasy) / Foreign Novel translated into French

  • Les Cités divines, tome 1 : La cité des marches, by Robert Jackson BENNETT. Translated by Laurent PHILIBERT-CAILLAT – Éditions Albin Michel Imaginaire

Prix Imaginales de la jeunesse (Fantasy) / Youth category (Fantasy)

  • La Tisseuse de vents, by Nina LAN – Éditions Didier Jeunesse

Prix Imaginales de l’album relevant de l’imaginaire au sens large (de 3 à 6 ans) / Prix Imaginales for the album relating to the imagination in the broad sense (from 3 to 6 years old)

  • Un abri, by Adrien PARLANGE – Éditions La Partie

Prix Imaginales de l’illustration (Fantasy) / Illustration (Fantasy)

  • Dragons & Merveilles, by Philippe-Henri TURIN (author and illustrator) – Éditions Gautier-Languereau

Prix Imaginales de la bande dessinée (Fantasy, Science-fiction, anticipation…) / Prix Imaginales Comics Prize (Fantasy, Science fiction, anticipation, etc.)

  • La Cuisine des ogres, trois-fois-morte, by Fabien VEHLMANN (author) and Jean-Baptiste ANDREAE (illustrator) – Éditions Rue de Sèvres