Bova Visits Saturn’s Titan
SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about Ben Bova and his forthcoming novel, Titan.
Ask the Editors
So, as I noted in the previous post, I’ll be moderating a panel at Lunacon called “Ask the Editors,” with panelists Douglas Elliott Cohen, Marvin Kaye, Darrell Schweitzer, and Mike Penncavage.
Magazine editors discuss what they’re looking for, what they see too much of, and do’s and don’ts for genre short story writers and poets.
What sort of questions would you ask if you attended this panel? I’d like to go in with a list in case the audience needs a little help getting started. I think most of my readers are in the target audience for this sort of panel, so speak up: what would you want to ask?
Preliminary Lunacon Schedule
The preliminary Lunacon schedule is now available. Here’s what panels I’m on:
Friday
The Art of Review & Criticism
A panel of experts reviews the state of the “art” of fantasy review and criticism. Is there too much out there? Too little? Are reviews helping or harming the field? Where can a reader go for reliable reviews? And, of course, what practical things can a writer do to insure a fair review?
Friday
Science Fiction about Mars
A discussion of the tradition of Mars exploration stories in SF, exploring the evolution of the subgenre from its planetary romance roots to the current hard SF mission-to-Mars stories.
Saturday 11:00-noon Yale (Kim Kindya [M], John Joseph Adams, Zach Eskinazi)
Battlestar Galactica in the post Sept-11 World
Enemy sleeper agents, suicide bombers, religious disputes, anti-war protesters, abortion debates – the evening news, or the latest episode of our favorite SF TV show? Is BSG the latest example of how SF TV uses metaphor and a fictional world to create a “safe distance” for discussing contemporary hot-button issues, fears, and anxieties?
Saturday
Ask the Editors
Magazine editors discuss what they’re looking for, what they see too much of, and do’s and don’ts for genre short story writers and poets.
Saturday
Escaping the Slushpile
What makes an unsolicited manuscript catch an editor’s eye?
Saturday
Lost: Science and Reason vs. Faith
How does the show Lost use conflicts between such characters as Jack vs. Locke to debate this eternal philosophical tug-of-war. (Is Hurley crazy for believing that the Numbers are cursed, or is he right? What is the role of Claire’s baby – savior, shaman, or just an innocent child caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was the episode with Charlie’s dreams a valid religious allegory or a clumsy attempt at cheesy mysticism? Are they setting up some kind of conflict between Baby Aaron and young Walt’s creepy powers?)
Sunday
Who Are the Next Generation of Writers?
A look at some of the young and upcoming writers in the genres and what to expect from them. Which youngsters are going to shape the future of the genre, and just what will it look like when they’re through with it?
Sunday noon-1:00 p.m. Dunhill (John Hertz, Douglas Elliott Cohen, Marvin Kaye, Wendy Delmater [M], John Joseph Adams)
The State of
Are there signs of a resurgance in the SF magazine market? Where is the magazine field going, and what will it look like when it gets there?
STRONG MEDICINE: Feb. 2006
The latest installment of my book review column, STRONG MEDICINE: Books That Cure What Ails You, has just been published at Intergalactic Medicine Show.
In this column, I review Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell, The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg, Primal Tears by Kelpie Wilson, and The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein.
Vietnam Informs War Stories
SCI FI Wire just published a piece I wrote about Joe Haldeman’s new collection, War Stories.
Clarion 2006
Cory Doctorow is asking people to spread the word about the upcoming Clarion application deadline. You can help out by posting an ad like this one on your website:
We’re looking for websites that are willing to help us run the campaign by donating some space to host one of these badges (they’re in two standard sizes, 150×150 and 150×58) in a prominent place between now and the application deadline on April 1. Even if you can only run it for part of the time, or in rotation, we’d appreciate your help.
For more information, see Cory’s post.
Trip to Mars
On Thursday, a few friends and I took a trip to Mars for dinner. It was me, Eugene Myers, Matt Kressel, E!, and Andrea Kail. While we were there, we made friends with this guy:
This is the bar where the three-breasted women hang out:
It was quite a trip. And I have to say, Earth cuisine just doesn’t seem as palatable after enjoying those wonderful, exotic Martian dishes.
Agent Information
In the blogosphere lately, I’ve come across a number of posts discussing agents: how to get them, what to look out for, etc. Here are some links:
Book Holders?
Does anyone have any experience using a sort of “book holder” thing like the one seen here? As I was googling, I came across several different varieties, but I’d love to get some user testimonials if anyone has used things like this before.
Basically, it’s important to me that the holder won’t ruin the book, and that it’ll be easy to turn the pages. I want to get something like this to make it easier to read while riding my exercise bike. I’ve got a table that I can set stuff on and still ride, but I still have to hold the book open. My table actually works great for reading manuscripts since the pages can lay flat (and the table angle can be adjusted), but for books it’s not so great. I figure a holder might be the answer.
Hatebeak
Holy shit, this bird is totally HARDCORE!!! Don’t believe me? Listen for yourself. What would the Wall Street Journal think of this?
via Scalzi (where I get all my avian death metal news).
UPDATE: In my haste to post about Hatebeak, I neglected to notice that there’s also a hardcore band with two pitbulls as its vocalists. “Caninus is members of Most Precious Blood with two pitbulls (Budgie and Basil) on ‘vocals’.” Most Precious Blood is a real band that I like, but their vocalist is definitely a human. Apparently, Hatebeak’s musicians are also from a real band–Triac–but I’ve never heard of them. Both albums, needless to say, are novelties–they’re not supposed to be serious.
UPDATE 2: And to bring everything in this post full-circle–what we need now, obviously, is for there to be a death metal band fronted by Frank Oz. (If that doesn’t make sense, you need to go read that WSJ article.)