Boskone

Sara and I just booked a room for Boskone. The prelim schedule is out and looks pretty good.

Well, actually, this looks amazing:

Friday 7pm Harbor 1: The Singularity: An Appraisal

Arguably the idea of the Singularity — a period where change happens so quickly that life afterwards is incomprehensible to people who lived before it — is one of the few entirely fresh ideas in SF in the last forty years. Perhaps it is time for an appraisal. Has the idea of the Singularity been a good thing for SF, providing fresh ideas and stimulating great writing or has the notion that the comprehensibility of the future has a sharp (and near-term) limit diminished possibilities? Has it been a good thing for *your* writing? How about the Singularity in reality — after twenty years does it look more or less plausible that it is lurking in our own real-world future? Discuss the interplay between the idea of the Singularity in SF and actual scientific research. Where are the really exotic ideas coming from?

Alastair Reynolds (m), Karl Schroeder, Charles Stross, Vernor Vinge

Synchronicity

For those of you familiar with my story “Bruise for Bruise” in Weird Tales, this  may be interesting.

If James Cameron makes a movie out of her life, I will be getting a lawyer.

Pics from Marrakech and Madrid

Here are some pics from Marrakech and Madrid that Sara put together on Tabblo. I am putting together some notes for a more elaborate post once I finish the Hiram novella this weekend.

ONCE upon a time…

ONCE upon a time…. Here is a post from Sara about the locavore lobster dinner we went to on Friday night.

Harlan Ellison at E-Reads

Harlan Ellison. Looks like there are a lot of reprint/POD editions of Ellison’s work available at e-reads. This is the first time I checked out their site, so I don’t know much about them. I will have to check to see if there are any books that I do not already have somewhere. I think I need Gentleman Junkie.

I am curious to see the quality of these POD books. Could be a viable way of keeping good books in print.

Weird Tales #353 Out Now

My story “Bruise for Bruise” is in the latest issue of Weird Tales, which you can now order online.

A brief snippet to whet your appetite:

Joss Coffington came to Promise to find the girl with God on her back.

He had heard many rumors about the strange town before, and had passed along a few he had made up when he was on his sixth or seventh beer, but it wasn’t until he heard that particular rumor, that of the bruised girl, that he finally took to walking. He wasn’t alone on those dusty back roads, either, and most of them that crowded Joss on the road were going to see the girl, too, going to the town of Promise, where monsters were born.

This issue: Samurai versus dinosaurs; modern horror legends Thomas Ligotti and Richard Corben break down Poe and Lovecraft; a tribute to J.G. Ballard; World Fantasy Award-winning author Jeffrey Ford; and much more! Order it here!

FICTION

“Weiroot” | by Jeffrey Ford
“The Garbacologist” | by Jeff Johnson
“Headstone in My Pocket” | by Paul G. Tremblay
“Bruise for Bruise” | by Robert Davies
“Court Scranto” | by Caleb Wilson
“Selected Views of Mt. Fuji, With Dinosaurs” | by Hunter Eden

FEATURES
“Thomas Ligotti: The Weird Tales Interview”
Geoffrey Goodwin asks horror’s offbeat genius: must life be so decayingly crummy? -
“Richard Corben: Drawing Upon the Masters” | The comic-book legend tells Bill Baker about adapting Poe and Lovecraft for Marvel’s Haunt of Horror.
Weirdism | J.G. Ballard: the most mindblowing drug
The Bazaar | steampunk art sorceress Bethalynne Bajema
The Library | Tanith Lee, Catherynne Valente, and Jedediah Berry
Lost In Lovecraft | a literary journey with Kenneth Hite

Cover illustration by Saara Salmi

Hugo Awards Announced

The Hugos were awarded last night. I was happy to see Weird Tales and Electric Velocipede win. I have no complaints about any of the winners, but I was hoping Kij Johnson’s “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” won the short story category, because it is a great story and, well, monkeys! Congratulations to all the winners.

• Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
• Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus”, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
• Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom”, Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
• Best Short Story: “Exhalation”, Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
• Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
• Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
• Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
• Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
• Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
• Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
• Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
• Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
• Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu
• The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham

Trip to Marrakech

The plane tickets are purchased and the riad and hotel are booked. Now we have five months to work on the itinerary. This is by far the most time we have had a trip planned in advance.

We will be in Marrakech for Christmas and in Madrid for New Year’s Eve.

Ronnarong

Over at Culture Bitch, Sara (Wine Bitch) reviews the new Thai place in Union Square.

Tagines and Tapas

Sara and I are planning our next trip, and if all goes according to plan we will be in Marrakech at the end of December and in Madrid for New Year’s Eve. There is a ton of research to do because we have not been to either place. Marrakech will be the longer, more intense part of the trip, with a few days in Madrid to unwind at the end (did someone say tapas bar?). Any suggestions are more than welcome!