(1) OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB THEY WEAVE. Two days ago Xiran Jay Zhao cast a spotlight on reports that a debut author was on Goodreads dropping one-star reviews. Initially, they did not plan to name the person. Original thread … Continue reading
The 2023 Hugo Finalist Voting statistics were released today by the Chengdu Worldcon committee. The nominating ballot numbers will follow later. Here are some of the stories to be told from those figures. VOTER TURNOUT. There were 1,674 valid ballots … Continue reading
(1) R’LYEH AND PUPPIES. Francis Gooding’s review of The World We Make includes comments placing it in recent genre history: “Slimed It: On N.K. Jemisin” in The London Review of Books. …The backstory to this battle with Cthulhu was widely … Continue reading
(1) WHO HISTORY REMEMBERED. “’Matt Smith and I twiddle knobs. I am 12 again!’ Stars share their best Doctor Who moments – part two” in the Guardian. Daniel Nettheim (director of episodes featuring the Twelfth Doctor, 2015-17) The Doctor’s anti-war … Continue reading
(1) A TAFF GUIDE TO BEER. [Item by Geri Sullivan.] A TAFF Guide to Beer is now available in print on Amazon in the US and UK! Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer published A TAFF Guide to Beer during the … Continue reading
(1) CURATOR TAKES SIDES, GETS CANCELLED. An Afrofuturism-themed exhibit “chapter” is the casualty when “German Museum Shutters Curator’s Contribution Over Pro-Palestine Instagram Activity, Igniting Censorship Outcry” reports ArtNews. … On Monday, writer, professor, and curator Anaïs Duplan, who goes by … Continue reading
(1) BESTSELLING WRITERS WILL OPEN BOOKSTORE. [Item by Anne Marble.] Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni are opening an indie bookstore in the historic district of Columbia, Pennsylvania. They’re planning to open it in the spring of 2024. They were inspired … Continue reading
(1) ACTORS AND STUDIOS REACH AGREEMENT. “SAG Strike Ends: Actors & Studios Reach Deal On New Three-Year Contract” reports Deadline. After 118 days of the actors guild being out on strike, SAG-AFTRA and the studios on Wednesday reached a tentative deal on … Continue reading
(1) DANGEROUS COVER REVEALS. J. Michael Straczynski today posted in social media links to the Amazon pre-order pages showing the covers of of Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions coming out from Blackstone Publishing next year. JMS added that, “What’s … Continue reading
(1) CHENGDU WORLDCON ROUNDUP. [Item by Ersatz Culture.] Con reports: Arthur Liu (part 2) Arthur’s con crud is subsiding, and he was able to post the second (of a projected four) part of his con report. This one covers the setup … Continue reading