Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for February 20, 2015

And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web:

Speculative fiction in general:

• At Flavorwire, Sarah Seltzer refutes Jonathan Franzen's latest dismissal of genre fiction as simplicistic and points out that genre fiction is all about moral complexity.
• Foz Meadows has some smart things to say about limits, assumptions and narrative. 
• James Wallace Harris wonders why stories about telepathy were so popular in 1950s and 1960s science fiction, but seem to be dying out now.
• At io9, Abhimanyu Das shares some 1980s science fiction based on the premise that the Cold War never ended.
• David Litt takes a look at how scientific the science in many classic science fiction novels really is.
• Doyin Oyeniyi shares 10 science fiction and fantasy books with protagonists of colour. 
• Elizabeth Bear talks about writing diverse characters. 
• At io9, the editors of the "Queers Destroy Science Fiction" special issue of Lightspeed Magazine explain why we need more science fiction by LGBT writers. 
• Kameron Hurley talks about privilege and perseverance. 
• Rose Lemberg responds by pointing out that positioning writing as a privilege erases those who write without privilege.
• Kameron Hurley also talks about trigger warnings and Neil Gaiman.
• Christie Meierz talks about the women of the Liaden novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
• Justine Larbalastier discusses sexism and awards. 
• John Scalzi points out that those on the right side of political spectrum who are currently looking to "take back the genre, the cons and the awards" are not actually being excluded from anything, no matter how persecuted they tend to feel.  
• At A Dribble of Ink, Lauren Smith looks at South African SFF.
• At Black Gate, Nick Ozment offers a defence of escapism.
• At the Guardian, Damien Walter contemplates Wattpad and wonders whether it might spell the end of the professional novelist.
• At Amazing Stories, M.D. Jackson wonders just why monarchies are so popular in science fiction.
• At Flickering Myth, Anthony Stokes wonders whether original science fiction on film is dead.
• Film School Rejects wonders whether we must support flops like Jupiter Ascending or risk the end of original science fiction filmmaking.
• Destroy All Monsters wonders whether we have reached the peak of special effects and whether this is the reason behind the lackluster performance of Jupiter Ascending.
• Kate Elliott is impressed by the woman-centredness of Jupiter Ascending.
• The Mary Sue thinks that Jupiter Ascending may well be the worst film ever, but that it doesn't matter, because it is so much fun. 
• Cora Buhlert talks about Gotham, Agent Carter and expanding universes.
• Andrew Liptak takes a look at the vintage science fiction TV show Captain Video and his Video Rangers and the big name SF authors who worked on it.
• Todd VanDerWerff uses the failed Wheel of Time TV pilot as a cautionary tale what can happen, if you sell the TV/movie rights to your books. 
• Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, defends George R.R. Martin against the pressure exerted on him online.

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2014 BSFA Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2014 Kitchies have been announced. The nominees also include a self-published book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers.
• The finalists for the 2015 Jim Baen Memorial Award have been announced.
• The winners of the SFR Galaxy Awards have been announced.
• The 2015 Locus poll and survey is up.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams share 10 reasons to write short stories even though the pay is peanuts.
• At io9, Charlie Jane Anders discusses Tor.com's new novella line and wonders whether novellas are the future of SFF publishing.
• Jamie Todd Rubin declares his love for the novella form.
• Elena Linville discusses the cyclical nature of the creative process. 
• James Scott Bell shares the top 10 things you need to know about the writing life.
• At Amazing Stories, Steve Davidson explains why reading fiction is beneficial for writers and everybody else.
• Carol Davis talks about writing while having a day job and being true to yourself.
• Katie Klein discusses why writing shouldn't be just about the money. 
• Kate Elliott explains why writing is never a waste of time.
• Dean Wesley Smith busts the publishing myth that novels have to be a certain length.
• Kristine Kathryn Rush talks about out of date or just plain weird misinformation about the publishing industry. 
• Hybrid writer Harry Connolly compares self-publishing and traditional publishing. 
• At Medium, Graham Moore, screenwriter of The Imitation Game, explains how to write about characters who are smarter than you.
• Chuck Wendig points out that strong female characters without agency are just action figures and about as interesting. 
• Hannah Keyser shares a giant poster of all the different fiction genres and their connections to each other.
• Patty Jansen shares some tips about how to sell on non-Amazon platforms.
• C.P.D. Harris talks about self-promotion.

Interviews: 

• Michael Brookes interviews Pelmus Razvan.
• Percival Constantine interviews Brad Mengel (audio link). 
• Paul Weimer interviews Kate Elliott.
• S.C. Flynn interviews Paul Weimer. 
• Electric Lit interviews Sarah Gerard.
• HitFix interviews Hayley Atwell of Agent Carter fame.
  

Reviews:

• Elena Linville reviews The Locksmith by Susan Kaye Quinn.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz. 
• Adam Whitehead reviews Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold.
• Audio Book Monthly reviews the audio book editions of The Enemy of an Enemy and The Academy by Vincent Trigili, narrated by Jack de Golia.
• Blastr reviews the 1975 movie The Stepford Wives. 
• Morgan Crooks reviews Agent Carter.
• Paul Levinson reviews episode 1.5 of Twelve Monkeys.

Crowdfunding:

• Matthew Sanborn Smith is looking for fuding for his novel High Five.
• Courtney Schafer is looking for backers for her novel The Labyrinth of Flame. 
• The Sword and Laser podcast is looking for supporters.

Con reports:

• Max Gladstone shares his experiences at Boskone in Boston. 
• Morgan Crooks shares his experiences at Boskone.
• Rose Fox, Rachel Borman, Veronica Shanoes and Emily Wagner have a roundtable discussion about ReaderCon, also in Boston.

Science and technology:

• Technology Review discusses our fear of artificial intelligence.
• Asteroid miners might get help from bioengineered metal-eating microbes.
• John Foley talks about designing outer space habitats.
• Could there be life in Titan's methane sea?
• Enormous Martian clouds still baffle astronomers.
• Astronomers identify the closest known fly-by of a star to our solar system, which happened 70000 years ago. 
• Service drones have been introduced in Singapore restaurants.
• Motherboard takes a look at the future of safe sex.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Happy(ish) Valentine's Day" by Kyoko M.
• "The Face in the Machine" by Alastair Reynolds. 
• "Schrödinger's Gun" by Ray Wood at Tor.com.
• Seven short stories by Junot Diaz that are available online.
• "Green and Gold Hallways", part 5 of Room by Jodi Ralston.
• "Milord and his secrets", part 39 of Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts.
• Chapter 9 and Epilogue of The Dragon of Ankoll Keep by K.S. Augustin. 
• Chapter 19 of Dragon Physician by Joyce Chng.
• Chapter 2 of "Darkness Falling", part 84 of The Descendants by Landon Porter. 

Odds and ends: 

• A Star Wars themed funeral complete with an honour guard of Stormtroopers was held in Wales.
• Watch a trailer for Hitman: Agent 47.
• Watch a trailer for Crimson Peak.
• Watch a trailer for Chappie.
• Watch a trailer for the delightfully retro big screen version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Check out this Dalek Caan babystroller for the youngest cosplayers. 
• Cookie Monster shares his profound thoughts about food and art.