(1) NAOMI KRITZER Q&A. Hear from Naomi Kritzer in this 2024 Minnesota Book Awards roundup: “Meet the Finalists: GENRE FICTION”.
Minnesota Book Award finalist Andrew DeYoung (2023) moderated a discussion between all four 2024 finalists in contention for the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction: C.M. Alongi, author of Citadel (Blackstone Publishing); Tashia Hart, author of Native Love Jams (self-published); Naomi Kritzer, author of Liberty’s Daughter (Fairwood Press); Emma Törzs, author of Ink Blood Sister Scribe (William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers). The Minnesota Book Awards are sponsored by Education Minnesota; Macalester College is the 2024 category sponsor for the Genre Fiction category.
(2) MURDERBOT’S VOICE. AudioFile Magazine has been “Talking with Author Martha Wells” about the audio versions of her series.
…This relatability is part of what has made The Murderbot Diaries so beloved. Golden Voice Kevin R. Free, who has narrated all of the unabridged audiobooks in the series, says that fans regularly reach out to him to tell him that they’ve listened over and over again. “When people say, ‘It’s comforting to me when I listen to this,’ I just feel so happy that I’m bringing people comfort.” Free stresses that he’s also a fan of the books, and he’s quick to give full credit to Wells….
(3) APPLY FOR SLF OLDER WRITERS GRANT. The Speculative Literature Foundation will accept applications for the 2024 Older Writers Grant from May1 through May 31. The complete guidelines are here.
Since 2004, the $1,000 Older Writers Grant has been awarded annually to writers who are at least fifty years of age at the time of application to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. These funds may be used as each writer determines will best assist their work. This grant, as with all SLF grants, is intended to help writers working with speculative literature.
Grant applications are open to all: you do not need to be a member of SLF to apply for or receive a grant. Launched in January 2004 to promote literary quality in speculative fiction, the Speculative Literature Foundation addresses historical inequities in access to literary opportunities for marginalized writers. Our staff and board are committed to representing racial, gender, and class diversity at all levels of our organization. This commitment is at the heart of what the Speculative Literature Foundation stands for: equal access to create and advance science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature. We strive to enable writers at any stage of their career and of any age, any ethnicity, any gender expression, from any location and of any economic or social status, who want to learn about, or create within, the speculative arts. The SLF is a 501(c)3 non-profit.
(4) NEW VOLUME IN THE TAFF LIBRARY. Sue Mason’s Into the Wide Purple Yonder: A Fan Artist in America, a report of her westbound TAFF trip to the USA and the 2000 Chicago Worldcon (Chicon 2000), was published in 2023 by Alison Scott, illustrated with many photographs and artwork by Sue herself. David Langford says it now has been “Added to the TAFF site with the kind permission of Sue and Alison on 24 April 2024.” Cover artwork by Sue Mason.
(5) DOES THIS WARNING SOUND FAMILIAR? Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders devote their latest Our Opinions Are Correct podcast to “Fascism and Book Bans (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall)”.
Science fiction has been warning us about fascism for decades — so why haven’t we listened? How did Nazis become just another monster in our stories, like werewolves or cyborgs? Plus we talk about the new wave of book censorship with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, co-founder of the new organization Authors Against Book Bans.
(6) POWER PACKED. CBR.com lists the “13 Most Powerful Artifacts In The Marvel Universe (That Most Fans Forgot Exist)”. We’ll begin by reminding you about —
#13 — Casket Of Ancient Winters
First Appearance: Thor (Vol. 1) #346, by writer/penciler Walt Simonson, inker Terry Austin, colorist Christie Scheele, and letterer John Workman Jr.
Created by the frost giants, this ancient weapon has limitless power stored within it. The Casket of Ancient Winters can unleash a devastating icy wind that can consume entire worlds. It often gets forgotten because it has been stored in Odin‘s treasure room safely for years.
The Casket of Ancient Winters briefly appeared in the MCU. Loki used it to help the frost giants take over Asgard. His plan was unsuccessful, and the artifact remained locked in Odin’s vault, but it is an endlessly powerful tool that has been seemingly forgotten by Marvel fans.
(7) SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY JOURNAL APPRECIATION OF DEB GEISLER. “In memory of Deborah Geisler: a life of impact” – read the complete article in The Suffolk Journal.
…Geisler was known for her snark and humor, from her cherished pocket constitution to her in-class commentary. In her beloved 1980s Mazda GLC, Geisler was a vibrant presence on campus, one that worked to push her students just as much as she worked to foster their passion for journalism.
Edwards, who had a class with Geisler in the spring of 2020 at the start of the coronavirus in 2020, said her spirit was pivotal to maintaining community and morale throughout Zoom classes.
“Through the transition to virtual learning, Deb made it so all about the students. She put her students before herself, she again always found time to make us laugh. She was very, very flexible. She really was just great,” said Edwards.
Geisler was heavily involved in the Suffolk and Boston communities. At Suffolk, she was the adviser to The Suffolk Voice. Her passion for all things science fiction led her to chair Noreascon 4, the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention, along with her involvement in conventions through the years….
(8) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.
[Written by Cat Eldridge.]
Born April 24, 1930 — Richard Donner. (Died 2021.) Tonight we have Richard Donner who has entered the Twilight Zone, errr, the Birthday spotlight. As a genre producer, he’s responsible for some of our most recognizable productions.
His first such works was on The Twilight Zone (hence my joke above in case you didn’t get it) as he produced six episodes there including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. He’d go on to work in The Sixties on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart!, and The Wild Wild West. He closed out this period by producing Danger Island (which I’ve never heard of) where, and I quote IMDB, “Archaeologists are being pursued by pirates around an island in the South Pacific. On this island, various adventures await them.” It’s at least genre adjacent, isn’t it?
So forty-eight years ago and then two years later, he directs not one but two now considered classic films in two very different genres. First out was The Omen with an impressive cast far too long to list here that got mixed reviews but had an audience that loved and which birthed (that’s deliberate) a franchise and garnered two Oscar’s nominations.
Next out was, oh guess, go ahead guess, Superman. Yes, it would win a much-deserved Hugo at Seacon ’79. DC being DC the film had a very, very difficult time coming to be and that was true of who directed the film with several sources noting that Donner may have been much as the fourth or fifth choice to do so. Or more.
So what did he do post-Superman? Well something happened during the production of Superman II and he was replaced as director by Richard Lester during principal photography was Lester receiving sole directorial credit. That being most likely tensions, and that was the polite word, which he had with all of the producers concerning the escalating production budget and production schedule. Mind you both films were being shot simultaneously.
If you’re so inclined, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released oddly enough when the film came out so I’m assume he had the legal right to do so which I find damn odd.
He did go on to direct The Goonies. Now I really don’t think it’s genre, but I will say that the treasure map and the premise of treasure make it a strong candidate for genre adjacent, wouldn’t you say? Truly a great film!
He went on to direct one of my favorite Bill Murray films, Scrooged. The Suck Fairy says she still likes that film and will agree to watch it every Christmas as long as there’s lots of hot chocolate to drink
His last work was a genre one, Timeline, about a group of archaeologists who travel back to fourteenth century France, based on a Michael Crichton thriller.
(9) COMICS SECTION.
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal delivers a sad analysis of childrens’ books.
- Candorville will miss a cancelled show.
- Close to Home finds work for a retire superhero.
- Eeek! has the sequel.
- The Argyle Sweater shares a vision of how space exploration will be paid for.
- Wallace the Brave is always prepared for things nobody else anticipates.
- Macanudo fulfills the prophecy.
(10) SUN-RELATED SFF ON LEARNEDLEAGUE. [Item by David Goldfarb.] There was a One-Day Special quiz about the Sun recently. Most of it isn’t relevant to our interests, but there were two questions involving SFF:
4. In the Marvel Universe, Brazilian mutant Roberto da Costa draws powers from the Sun that include super strength, flight, and the ability to generate blasts of energy. What superhero name does da Costa use as a member of both the X-Men and the New Mutants?
Only 17% of players knew this was “Sunspot”.
7. The 1953 science fiction story “The Golden Apples of the Sun” follows a spaceship tasked with approaching the Sun and trying to literally capture a sample of its material within a giant metal cup operated by a robot hand. The title of the story was taken from a line in the 1899 poem “The Song of Wandering Aengus.” Name either the author of the sci-fi story (who is American) or the writer of the namesake poem (who is Irish).
45% of players got this one. The poet was William Butler Yeats; I won’t insult Filers by giving the name of the SF author.
If anyone is curious about the whole quiz they can find it by following this link.
(11) WINNING WITH BREATHABLE AIR. NPR explains how “New Catan board game introduces climate change to gameplay”.
In the original version of the popular board game Settlers of Catan, players start on an undeveloped island and are encouraged to “fulfill your manifest destiny.” To win you have to collect resources and develop, claiming land by building settlements, cities, and roads.
A new version of the board game, Catan: New Energies, introduces a 21st-century twist — pollution. Expand responsibly or lose. In the new version, modern Catan needs energy. To get that energy players have to build power plants, and those plants can run on renewable energy or fossil fuels. Power plants operated on fossil fuels allow you to build faster but also create more pollution. Too much pollution causes catastrophes….
(12) SANCTIONS IGNORED. “New Isekai Anime Series Believed to Have Been Outsourced to North Korea” – CBR.com tells what raised people’s suspicions.
…This week, 38North published an article revealing that a North Korean animation studio was believed to have worked on the upcoming anime Dahlia in Bloom. This is despite sanctions currently being observed forbidding businesses from working with state-owned North Korean companies. An analysis of leaked files shows that the North Korean studio was likely April 26 Animation Studio, also known as SEK Studio. 38North adds that the studio is North Korea’s leading animation studio, producing many series for domestic TV.
Analysis of the files has also revealed that instructions in Chinese were provided to the North Korean studio, with 38North adding that a Chinese company likely acted as an intermediary between the North Korean studio, Dahlia in Bloom‘s animation studio and others. Other animated series the studio is believed to have worked on are HBO’s Iyanu, Child of Wonder and Invincible Season 3. Files have also been identified that may suggest a relationship with the Japanese animation studio Ekachi Epilka (Demon Lord, Retry!).
Despite its many risks, outsourcing in the Japanese anime industry is often done due to significantly lower labor costs.…
(13) VIDEO OF THE DAY. Phil Foglio recommended a video – “The Process: Inking Old-School”.
[Thanks to Steven French, Teddy Harvia, Kathy Sullivan, Michael J. Walsh, David Goldfarb, Daniel Dern, 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 OGH.]
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First or where is everybody?
I’m here. I was off writing the draft of the Birthday for tomorrow’s Scroll and having a chocolate croissant that I’d warmed up until all of the chocolate had properly melted. It was most delicious.
I’m combing through the awards calendar to find what I haven’t reported yet. And finding things…. Brrr.
(8) Donner also directed one of my favorite fantasy films, Ladyhawke (1985), with Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer and Leo McKern.
Ladyhawke is one of my favorite movies as well. Everything comes together and what a cast!
(3) Interesting. Wonder how much $1k would do towards ads.
(5) Well, except for the authors who are into it (I can think of a few). What I want to know is, given the racism inherent in the system … why isn’t fascism considered a) hate speech, and/or b) a terroristic threat?
Birthday: Superman. There is one, and only one, and Chris Reeve was him. Don’t talk to me about recent “edgy” crap.
(11) Cool!
(13) Fascinating. I was under the impression that “old school” (well, I’m older than some) used pens, not brushes. And Speedball is an old friend.
Just one issue with the artwork – I really would prefer my airtight spacesuit not have open decolletage, as attractive as it is.
12) It was quite common for years to outsource animation, both anime and western, to North Korea for the cheap labour. This isn’t exactly a secret – look at the credits of many 2000s and 2010s animated series and you’ll see lots of Korean names. No idea why this is suddenly an issue now, since the sanctions have been in place for a while.
There are two Koreas, after all. Studios in South Korea have been used for years.
There are at least thirty South Korean animation studios, almost all dating back at least twenty years, those are the ones credited in those animation series.
@mark: I think that Tyler Hoechlin has given some very worthy performances as Superman.
The date and the date
(Ive found out that in the US this is the thirs in a row palindrome date, but I stll dont quite get why)
8: In the UK I remember Danger Island as a segment of The Banana Splits rather than a standalone programme. Introduced by the talking moose head on the wall along the lines of “Uh-oh Chongo, it’s Danger Island next” according to half century+ old memory.
Animation has been outsourced to North Korea, too, for years. I remember seeing a report about that on TV years ago.
Back from a short business trip (and catching up on all my email, etc.).
@ Anthony
I remember “Danger Island,” too. I looked this up a year or two ago, so now I’m compelled to share it. 🙂 Chongo was played by Kim Kahana, who is still with us at the age of 94. He also has a Silver Star and two Bronze Stars. And a stunt school in Florida.
Today I learned that there’s a docudrama about him called “Kim Kahana: The Man Who Changed Hollywood.” Has anyone seen it?
9) Edith Nesbit’s The Book of Dragons is refreshingly free of adult guilt, and also has dragons in it.
3.) @mark…just a heads up. I’ve applied in the past and, generally, it seems the awards tend to go to people in their early 50s with a MFA or related credentials, at least in the years I applied. But who knows? You might be the lucky actual elder who gets it. I’m not holding my breath until I see a true elder-focused grant that at the minimum starts at age 60, preferably 65. Like I said, not holding my breath. Over 65, female, iow invisible.
(considering I started applying after I was a Writers of the Future SemiFinalist…or maybe that’s why I didn’t get the award…)
2.) Yeah, I’ve listened to him reading Murderbot probably hundreds of times as I fall asleep. So it is not just me. 🙂
DavidG: I haven’t seen a Superman movie in a bunch of years. The last one I saw – 10? years or more ago, they were trying to be “edgy”. Superman isn’t “edgy”, unless being the ultimate “woke” is edgy. And I reiterate: Ma Kent couldn’t have made the current suit, much less been willing to send Clark out in it.
AnnM: almost forgot. Still thinking about it.
Hoechlin hasn’t been in any movies. He was in the Arrowverse TV shows: Supergirl mainly, of course, and then Superman and Lois, which seemed like it ought to be a Supergirl spinoff but then turned out to be set on a different Earth.
I certainly agree that Superman ought not to be played “edgy” (and I didn’t actually go to see the Zack Snyder films) but I think you’d find Supergirl and Superman and Lois much more to your liking.