[AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is posted anonymously to protect the author’s identity, as the author is part of the Chinese diaspora who occasionally travels to China.] On the heels of the Chengdu 2023 Worldcon Hugo Controversy (“Science fiction awards held in … Continue reading
(1) UNFORSEEN INTERSECTION. Maya St. Clair draws a fascinating comparison between a current bestseller and Heinlein’s controversial classic in “Fourth Wing Review: Starship Troopers (for Girls!)” …Criticisms of Starship Troopers’ themes, while hyperbolic, were not entirely off-base. In Heinlein’s world, the ideal military … Continue reading
(1) CHENGDU WORLDCON ROUNDUP. [Item by Ersatz Culture.] Part two of Huawen’s con report The first part of this con report was covered in yesterday’s Scroll; here are some extracts from the second part, as usual via Google Translate with manual cleanup edits. … Continue reading
(1) CHENGDU WORLDCON ROUNDUP. [Item by Ersatz Culture.] Hai Ya TV interviews CGTN posted a 3½-minute subtitled interview on YouTube with the Best Novelette winner. On Weibo, CCTV followed up their earlier videolink interview with a 20-minute face-to-face interview with him. This one is also untranslated … Continue reading
(1) CHARTING THE DECLINE OF SFF MAGAZINES. Steve Davidson of Amazing Stories has shared a graph on Facebook showing decade-by-decade the number of sff magazine titles and issues since 1923. The numbers really drop off as they approach 2023, as … Continue reading
Saga Press is growing its team. Editorial Director Joe Monti, Senior Editor Amara Hoshijo, and Editorial Assistant Jéla Lewter announced the following additions to the Saga Press staff on September 15. Nivia Evans will join Saga Press as a Senior … Continue reading
The Big Book of Cyberpunk arrives September 26. Editor Jared Shurin tells File 770, “As with any attempt at a definitive collection, I suspect (and hope) it will provoke conversation!” At over a thousand pages it is the largest anthology of … Continue reading
(1) A FINE IDEA. “Fake reviews are illegal and subject to big fines under new FTC rules” says the Washington Post’s article about a Federal Trade Commission notice of proposed rulemaking. Fake reviews are ruining the web. But there’s some … Continue reading
(1) NYT MARKS TWO DISASTER VICTIMS’ SFF CONNECTION. Two of the people who died aboard a submersible that imploded near the Titanic wreckage, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, had an interest in sff, and the elder Dawood was a … Continue reading
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is holding its third annual online auction to support its advocacy for and professional development of creators working in the speculative fiction genres. This silent auction opened today and … Continue reading