Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with more on the Confederate controversy, the drama surrounding Louisville Fandom Fest, the harrasment of Marvel editors as well as the usual mix of awards news, writing advice, interviews, reviews, awards news, con reports, crowdfunding campaigns, science articles and free online fiction.
Speculative fiction in general:
- The participants of this month's Mind Meld share their favourite uncanny reads.
- Adam Christopher talks about working at the intersection of science fiction and crime fiction.
- Linda Gould discusses her problems with the romance genre.
- Ada Palmer explains how she handled the issue of gender in her Terra Ignota series.
- Daniel H. Wilson shares five books set in the remains of a dead civilisation.
- Jeff Somers shares nine science fiction works that imagine the future of healthcare.
- Andrew Liptak looks back at how science fiction predicted virtual reality.
- Abby Aguirre discusses the uncannily accurate depictions of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler.
- Vivian Shaw talks about contrasting the magical and the mundane.
- Judith Tarr shares her appreciation for The Jargoon Pard by Andre Norton.
- Alison Flood profiles Robin Hobb.
- Jeff Noon explains how Lewis Carroll inspired him.
- Alex Acks explains why J.R.R. Tolkien's maps of Middle Earth make no sense.
- Abigail Chandler calls The Handmaid's Tale horror in its purest sense and the most terrifying program on TV in a long time.
- David Gerrold muses about what Star Trek has lost over the decades, as it went from quirky niche series to global franchise.
- Michael J. Miller discusses the uselessness of Star Wars canon arguments.
- Jessica Stilling shares her appreciation for the early Doctor Who companion Barbara Wright.
- Robert Repino shares his appreciation for the 1983 movie Blue Thunder.
- Emily Asher Perrin explains why she is tired of Hollywood's reluctance to clearly state that characters are LGBT.
- Hoai-Tran Bui explains how the production team of Black Panther changed a villain to avoid racist stereotypes.
- Nicholas Friedman shares fifteen reasons why Hawkeye is the most valuable member of the Avengers.
- Aaron Reese shares his appreciation for the comic book series The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.
- Adam White reports how Marvel Comics editor Heather Antos was harrassed online for posting a selfie of herself and other female Marvel employees drinkings milkshakes.
- Brian Raftery profiles Lexi Alexander, stuntwoman and director of the 2008 Punisher film.
- Horror Geek Life shares nine horror movies that will terrify current and future parents.
- Ceridwen Christensen remembers the late George A. Romero.
- Actor Robert Hardy, best remembered for his roles in All Creatures Great and Small and the Harry Potter movies, died aged 91.
- Playwright and actor Sam Shepard died aged 73.
- Actress Jeanne Moreau died aged 89.
- Disney park designer Marty Sklar died aged 83.
The Confederate controversy:
- Clarkisha Kent explains why the proposed new HBO alternate history series Confederate must cobe stopped.
- Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham compare the Confederate controversy to similar controversies surrounding Kathryn Bigelow's film Detroit and a painting by artist Dana Schutz.
- Rosemary Rossi reports that HBO has responded to criticisms of Confederate and promises to handle the issue of slavery with care and sensitivity.
- Meanwhile, Nellie Andreeva reports that Amazon has announced another US Civil War themed alternate history series called Black America.
Awards:
- The winners of the 2017 RITA and Golden Heart Awards have been announced.
- The winners of the 2016 RT Reviewer's Choice Awards have been announced.
- The winner of the 2017 Munsey Award has been announced.
- The winners of the 2017 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards have been announced.
Writing, publishing and promotion:
- Todd Brison shares six websites with great writing prompts.
- Callum Alexander explains how to hack creativity.
- Ryan Holiday explains how to write and promote books that last.
- Sean Platt shares ten steps to make a living as a self-published author.
- Cora Buhlert talks about writing a short story every day in July 2017.
- Lisa Spangenberg explains how bullet journals can help writers.
- J. Westenberg shares four ways to make sure that your writing does not get stale.
- Jarod Dickson explains how to write for the story and not the page count.
- Tammy's Tumblr shares some useful links for people interested in writing about Africa.
- Renae de Liz shares a guide to de-objectifying women in comics and on book covers.
- Cat Rambo discusses the subtle art of promotion.
Interviews:
- Junot Diaz interviews Margaret Atwood.
- Nicholas Eskey interviews Karin Tidbeck.
- Felicity Harley interviews Sean Stone.
- Brigid Alverson interviews Alexis Kirsch.
Reviews:
- Liz Bourke reviews Arabella and the Battle of Venus by David D. Levine.
- Ardi Alspach reviews The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo.
- Sam Reader reviews A Man of Shadows by Jeff Noon.
- Lis Carey reviews Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom by Bradley W. Schenk.
- Paul Weimer reviews Halls of Law by V.M. Escalada.
- Jared Shurin reviews The War of Undoing by Alex Perry.
- Shana DuBois reviews Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter.
- Mark Yon reviews Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw.
- Sam Reader reviews American Ghost by Paul Guernsey.
- Michael Patrick Hicks reviews Megalodon in Paradise by Hunter Shea.
Crowdfunding:
Con reports:
- Darcy Costello reports that several celebrity guests have cancelled their appearances at Louisville Fandom Fest in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Mike Glyer reports about the drama surrounding Louisville Fandom Fest in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Mike Glyer also reports that attendants seem to be making the best of Louisville Fandom Fest anyway.
- Randall Golden shares his experiences at Louisville Fandom Fest as well as plenty of cosplay photos.
- Tony Acree offers a recap and plenty of photos from Louisville Fandom Fest.
- The Geekiary reports about the Wynonna Earp panel at San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.
- The Geekiary also reports about the iZombie panel at San Diego Comic Con.
- Jimmy Tramel reports about IndigeNerd, a Native American comic convention, in Norman, Oklahoma.
- Andrew Liptak reports that several Pokemon Go events have been delayed following disastrous technical problems during the Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago, Illinois.
Science and technology:
- After a year in space, the air still hasn't gone out of NASA's inflatable BEAM module.
- Two Facebook AI bots have developed a language of their own to communicate.
- Scientists discovered the oldest known asteroid family.
- The challenges of baking bread in space.
Free online fiction:
- "The Worshipful Society of Glovers" by Mary Robinette Kowal in Uncanny.
- "Packing" by T. Kingfisher in Uncanny.
- "A Silhouette Against Armageddon" by John Wiswell in Fireside Fiction.
- "Reversion" by Nin Harris in Clarkesworld.
- "We All Scream" by Marie Vibbert in Escape Pod.
- "The Martian in the Wood" by Stephen Baxter at Tor.com.
Odds and ends:
- Watch a video of every major character death in Game of Thrones drawn by hand.
- Watch a trailer for Marjorie Prime.
- Watch a trailer for The Recall.
- Watch a trailer for Planetarium.
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