(1) NO, NO, NOT ROGOV! Annalee Newitz calls Paul Linebarger (aka Cordwainer Smith) “The Sci-Fi Writer Who Invented Conspiracy Theory” in The Atlantic. …Linebarger, who died of a heart attack in 1966 at age 53, could not have predicted that … Continue reading
(1) SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT WORLDCON. Adam Rakunas is publicizing the availability of help for those who want it: https://twitter.com/rakdaddy/status/1029054631802855424 (2) NEWS CLIPPING. Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy reports that in 2019 Saga Press will publish Rivers Solomon’s novel inspired … Continue reading
David Langford’s Ansible Editions has published his nonfiction collection Up Through an Empty House of Stars: Reviews and Essays 1980-2002 as an ebook for the first time. The collection originally appeared in 2003. The ebook has all of that content, … Continue reading
Finalists in 27 competitive categories for the 2024 Audie Awards were announced by the Audio Publishers Association (APA) on January 30. The Audie Awards® recognize excellence in audiobook and spoken word entertainment. The winners will be revealed on March 4. The complete … Continue reading
(1) HOPE FOR THE JAMES WHITE AWARD. Gareth Jelley, editor and publisher of Interzone, responded to the comments about the James White Award in yesterday’s post “Are These Awards Dead or Just Pining for the Fjords?” Thank you for the … Continue reading
(1) STOP DRAGON THAT STUFF IN HERE. “Dungeons & Dragons tells illustrators to stop using AI to generate artwork” reports AP News. The Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game franchise says it won’t allow artists to use artificial intelligence technology to draw its … Continue reading
(1) CULTIVATING HYBRIDS. Paul Kraus’ article on “Hybrid Conventions” begins with a statement of philosophy wrapped in the definitions of major terms. Then Kraus lists what’s needed to make a hybrid convention successful. When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, all of … Continue reading
(1) CHENGDU WORLDCON VENUE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE. The Chengdu Worldcon committee is meeting in China and Vice Chair and Hugo co-Administrator Dave McCarty is there. He has added a photo gallery to his Facebook page showing the progress in constructing what … Continue reading
(1) HALFWAY THRU THE YEAR. Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility tops Amazon.com’s list of the twenty “Best science fiction and fantasy of 2022 so far”. And joining Sea of Tranquility on Amazon.com’s overall “Best Books of the Year … Continue reading
(1) HERE COMES THE SUN (STAMPS). On June 16 the United States Postal Service will release a series of stamps highlighting images of the Sun captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Order them online here. …The 20-stamp set features ten images … Continue reading