And here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with discussion about Star Wars, comments on the TV shows Into the Badlands and The Expanse, a discussion about translated SFF, the 2015 World Fantasy Awards and a heated debate about the Lovecraft bust that is the trophy given to the winners and what shall replace it.
Speculative fiction in general:
- Joel Cunningham explains why there has never been a better time to be a science fiction and fantasy reader.
- Damien Walter discusses the enduring popularity of alien megastructures in science fiction.
- Alex Dally MacFarlane discusses the challenges of translating Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice.
- Erin Lindsey takes a look at the lack of nuance in discussions about gender in SFF.
- Grayson Clary wonders why there are so many Catholics in science fiction, both as writers and characters.
- Benjamin Van Loon explains why he is bored with post-apocalyptic stories.
- Maddie Crum discusses the popularity of dystopian fiction as well as an increasing countermovement for more optimistic works.
- Jeet Heer also takes a look at the trend towards more optimistic and utopian science fiction.
- Steven Carper takes a look at women science fiction writers in the Golden Age, particularly those published by Gnome Press.
- Margaret Atwood and N.K. Jemisin talk about diversity in SFF and the lack thereof.
- Aliette de Bodard talks about history and which parts of it are used as models for SFF societies.
- Robin Anne Reid discusses the academic response to J.R.R. Tolkien and his work.
- Nerds of a Feather hosts a roundtable discussion about Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz.
- A previous unknown short story and poem by Charlotte Brontë have been discovered in a book that belonged to the Brontë family.
- Michael R. Underwood talks about postmodern westerns.
- Viola Carr talks about Steampunk and anachronisms.
- Guillermo del Toro shares his guide to gothic romance.
- Guilherme Solari reports about his visit to Brazilian pulp fiction legend R.F. Lucchetti.
- Tansy Rayner Roberts shares her appreciation for Naoko Takeuchi, manga artist and creator of Sailor Moon.
- What place does James Bond have in modern popular culture?
- Dany Roth explains what Star Trek's syndicated past could mean for its future.
- David Wharton has some more suggestions about which SF shows streaming video services could reboot next.
- Fred Scharmen points out that The Martian rewrites 1950s space race politics.
- Lawrence Meyers shares his appreciation for Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
- Randall Rederick explains why Wonder Woman matters.
- French science fiction writer Yan Ayerdhal has died aged 56.
Comments on Star Wars:
- Alastair Reynolds remembers watching Star Wars for the first time.
- Emily Asher-Perrin offers a reappreciation of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
- Asawin Subsaeng attempts to explain why conservatives side with the Empire in Star Wars.
- Sonny Bunch claims that the destruction of Alderaan was justified.
- Jay Allen points out that the Republic was worse than the Empire in many ways and calls for the execution of the Jedi.
- Noah Berlatsky weighs in on the controversy surrounding Princess Leia's slave outfit.
Comments on Into the Badlands:
- Sandra Perez shares 16 things you need to know about Into the Badlands.
- Rob Sheffield claims that Into the Badlands isn't a genre show, but that it's every genre show rolled into one.
- Eric Francisco believes that Into the Badlands is this fall's most important TV series.
Comments on The Expanse:
- Ian O'Neill reviews the pilot episode of the TV adaptation of James S.A. Corey's series The Expanse.
- Justin Landon also reviews the pilot episode of The Expanse.
- Rowan Kaiser wonders if The Expanse can redefine science fiction television.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2015 World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2015 Premios Ignotus have been announced.
- The World Fantasy Awards will retire the Lovecraft bust that has served as a trophy until now.
- Some people are very unhappy about the decision to retire the Lovecraft bust.
- Aliette de Bodard weighs in on the decision to retire the Lovecraft bust.
- Damien Walter has a suggestion regarding what should replace the Lovecraft bust.
- John Scalzi shares some thoughts on awards in general.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- M.G. Leonard shares some NaNoWriMo tips.
- Kat Howard talks about rules, trust and NaNoWriMo.
- Howard Andrew Jones shares some writing lessons.
- Jeff Somers shares some lessons about bad writing he learned from the James Bond film Spectre.
- Ursula K. Le Guin offers her answer to the ancient question "Where do you get your ideas from?"
- Derek Haines shares an infographic about the most common plots on Booker Prize nominated novels.
- Patty Jansen explains what the common saying "It's a marathon, not a sprint" really means.
- Jamie Todd Rubin talks about writing after a streak.
- Mary Robinette Kowal explains that sometimes writer's block is really depression.
- Kat Flannery shares some tips for writing a novella.
- Jim C. Hines shares a NaNoWriMo pep talk.
- Jennifer Brozek talks about characters with a mind of their own.
- David Simpson talks about his journey as an indie writer and film maker.
- A.C. Thompson shares lessons learned while editing an anthology.
- Misty Massey talks about knowing when to break the rules and when not to.
- Ian Lamont talks about lean media.
- Mark Lawrence attempts to answer the question, "Do author blogs matter?"
- Sherry Soule talks about book cover design trends.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about translations.
- Dan Bloom discusses the relative rarity of non-English language SFF in translation.
- Aliette de Bodard also talks about the relative rarity of translated non-Anglophone SFF.
- Kameron Hurley attempts to answer the question, "Do Goodreads ratings correlate to sales?"
Interviews:
- Damien Walter interviews Neal Stephenson.
- Damien Walter also interviews David Mitchell.
- Tim Franklin interviews M. John Harrison.
- Andrew Liptak interviews Linda Nagata.
- Kristin Centorcelli interviews Ilana C. Myer.
- Kristin Centorcelli also interviews writer and translator Josh Pachter.
- Veronica Scott interviews Zen Cho.
- Marion Deeds interviews Ann Leckie.
- Mur Lafferty interviews Adam Christopher.
- Dorothy Thompson interviews Piers Platt.
- Dorothy Thompson also interviews J.J. DiBenedetto.
- Anthony Vicino interviews Samuel Peralta.
- The Qwillery interviews Paul Meloy.
Reviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews Black Wolves by Kate Elliott.
- Tammy Oler reviews Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.
- Robert H. Bedford reviews Planetfall by Emma Newman.
- Thea James reviews Earth Flight by Janet Edwards.
- Liz Bourke reviews Towers Fall by Karina Sumner-Smith.
- Heather Rose Jones reviews Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho.
- Jess Zimmermann reviews Slade House by David Mitchell.
- Carl V. Anderson reviews Made To Kill by Adam Christopher.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The 6th Extinction by James Rollins.
- Paul Weimer reviews The Promise of the Child by Tom Toner.
- L.R.W. Lee reviews Rider of the Crown by Melissa McShane.
- Nino Cipri reviews Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha.
- David Neth reviews How to Write, Format, Publish and Promote Your Book (Without Spending Any Money) by Derek Murphy.
Crowdfunding:
- Ecotones, an SFF anthology edited by Andrew Leon Hudson, is looking for funding.
- Arcane Arts, an SFF anthology edited by Kai Herbertz, is looking for funding.
- ZILF!, a comedic zombie novel by Tim Marquitz, is looking for funding.
- Volume 1 of Shadoweyes, a webcomic by Sophie Campbell, is looking for funding.
- Joel Hodgson is looking for funding to bring back the cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Con reports:
- Ellen Datlow shares photos of the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, New York.
- Mari Ness shares her experiences at the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs with a special focus on accessibility issues.
- Mike Glyer also reports about accessibility issues at the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs.
- Mary Robinette Kowal shares some thoughts about accessibility at conventions in general.
- Dwayne Day reports about meeting actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood from 2001: A Space Odyssey at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Europa SF reports about the Trieste Science Fiction Festival in Trieste, Italy.
- April Carvelli reports about the cancellation of IFCon Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, and speculates about the reasons.
- Chris Winkle shares the best quotes from GeekGirlCon in Seattle.
- Jack Conner shares his experiences at Austin Comic Con in Austin, Texas.
- Steve Vernon shares his experiences at Musquodoboit Harbour Book Festival in Nova Scotia, Canada.
- Watch a video of a panel held at MileHiCon in Denver, Colorado.
Science and technology:
- Will robots take away human jobs?
- Why are people afraid of robots? Or are we?
- A study suggests that humans feel as much empathy for robots as for people.
- A computer scientist argues that human values should be programmed into computers.
- Will any alien life we may encounter be robotic?
- This NASA animation demonstrates the unusual way that Pluto's moons spin in their orbits.
Free online fiction:
- "The New Mother" by Eugene Fisher in Asimov's.
- "Let Down, Set Free" by Nino Cipri in Crossed Genres.
- "Shimmering, Warm and Bright" by Shveta Thakrar in Interfictions Online.
- "As the Sun Dies" by Jaym Gates in Grendelsong.
- "The Coup in Elfland" by Michael J. DeLuca in Mythic Delirium.
- "The Customer Is Always Right" by Anna Salonen in Mothership Zeta.
- "The Freedom of Navid Leahy" by Jenna Helland at Tor.com.
- "The Girl Who Stood At The Center Of Time" by Ben Myatt.
- "Crisis" by Floyd Looney.
- Chapter 4 of "Just Us Sidekicks", part 90 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a Japanese trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with lots of new footage.
- Watch a trailer for Jessica Jones.
- Watch a trailer for Warcraft.
- Watch a trailer for Ice Age 5: Collision.
- Watch a Dalek relaxation video.
- Artist Jeff Bennett has created hilarious mash-ups of Thomas Kinkade paintings and Star Wars imagery.
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