Category: GENERAL
links for 2007-12-21
links for 2007-12-19
Shimmer — The Steampunk Parable Issue
Shimmer has announced next year’s special double-length themed issue–The Clockwork Jungle Book, guest-edited by George Mann of Solaris Books .
Think “Steampunk Fables.” We’re looking to explore the steampunk sub-genre through a series of short, succinct fables, preferably using a variety of animals to give the issue a particular feel and theme.
Like any well-written fiction, good steampunk will blend adventure with speculation, wonder with insight, and fun with a sense of appropriate gravitas. This is all true of the stories we are looking to publish in this special issue of Shimmer.
Your story can be a steampunk re-imagining of a classic fable (such as those attributed to Aesop), or something entirely new. The animals do not have to be simple steampunk-inspired ciphers of their real-life counterparts (ie: we don’t want fifteen stories about clockwork chipmunks), but we encourage you to find imaginative ways to explore the topic. You may decide to write about a real-life, biological animal in a steampunk setting, a pseudo-bionic experimental monkey, a clockwork Pinocchio-like creation, or a world where intelligent rats have taken over the universe. We’re looking for an eclectic range of stories.
It’s scheduled for release in Autumn 2008. For more information, check out the writer’s guidelines.
links for 2007-12-14
links for 2007-12-13
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Tempest has another good interview over at Fantasy Magazine, an interesting roundtable discussion about race in fantasy.
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To see the best genre titles, scroll down about 3/4 of the way down the page.
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A two-week Master Class in Science Fiction and Fantasy, June 8-21, 2008, taught by Walter Jon Williams, Kelly Link, and special lecturer, Stephen R. Donaldson.
links for 2007-12-12
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That’s right, folks, F&SF has been Kindled. Go crazy. Anybody have one of these things?
Sanderson to Complete Jordan’s Wheel of Time
Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to complete A Memory of Light, the final volume in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time sequence. And to think, NONE of you voted for him in my awesome poll. Press release below:
Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish writing the final novel in Robert Jordan’s bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Jordan–described by some as Tolkien’s heir–died Sept. 16 from a rare blood disease. The new novel, A Memory of Light, will be the 12th and final book in the fantasy series which has sold more than 14 million copies in North America and more than 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers.
Harriet Popham Rigney, Jordan’s widow and editor, chose Sanderson to complete A Memory of Light–which Jordan worked on almost daily for the last few months of his life–and will edit it. Rigney said some scenes from the book were completed by Jordan before his death, and some exist in draft form. "He left copious notes and hours of audio recordings," she said. He also revealed details about the end of the series to close members of his family.
Sanderson, who acknowledged Jordan as an inspiration to him as a writer, has established a loyal fan base as the author of three fantasy novels: Elantris, Mistborn and The Well of Ascension (Tor), as well as a YA novel, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Scholastic Press). Sanderson said, "I’m both extremely excited and daunted by this opportunity. There is only one man who could have done this book the way it deserved to be written, and we lost him in September. However, I promise to do my very best to remain true to Mr. Jordan’s vision and produce the book we have all been waiting to read."
A Memory of Light is scheduled for publication in fall 2009.
links for 2007-12-08
links for 2007-12-06
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Originally appeared in TIN HOUSE; the basis for King’s new novel, DUMA KEY.
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Read chapter one of the sequel to A. E. Van Vogt’s classic!