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RIP: Barbara Bova
Barbara Bova, literary agent and wife of Dr. Ben Bova, passed away Wednesday in Naples FL. Mrs. Bova had been fighting cancer.
SFWA increases support for AboutSF
SFWA will increase its support for AboutSF with a $5,000 grant for the coming year, continuing a partnership that began in 2006.
Haldeman and Varley Win 2009 Robert A. Heinlein Awards
Joe Haldeman and John Varley are the winners of the Robert A. Heinlein Award for 2009. The Robert A. Heinlein Award is for outstanding published…
Research Tool: The TED Conference
The Biannual Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference is dedicated to fostering the spread of great ideas by bringing together thinkers, visionaries and teachers from around…
Victoria Strauss — VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller
For some time, I’ve been receiving questions about VDM Verlag Dr Mueller, a German academic publisher. VDM describes its business thus: VDM publishes academic research…
Victoria Strauss — Writers’ Myth: “You Have To Know Someone”
We’ve punctured a number of writers’ myths on this blog, including the notion that commercially-published writers must give back their advances if their books don’t…
How syntax can help you!
by Juliette Wade This one’s funny, because it sounds like grammar, or maybe computer programming… Syntax is the study of how sentences are put together….
Interview: Ysabeau S. Wilce
Our sister site, Nebulaawards.com, interviews Ysabeau S. Wilce, author of this year’s Andre Norton Award winner: Flora’s Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All…
Victoria Strauss — Google Book Search Settlement: Opting Out
This morning, I opted out of the Google Book Search Settlement.
For several months, I’ve had no question that I did NOT want my…
For several months, I’ve had no question that I did NOT want my…
Victoria Strauss — Google Book Search Settlement Deadline Looming
Writers: The deadline for deciding whether to opt out of the Google Book Search Settlement is September 4, 2009. That means you have to decide…
SFWA joins Open Book Alliance
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America has joined the Open Book Alliance, a coalition of librarians, legal scholars, authors, publishers and technology companies dedicated…
How morphology can help you!
Morphology is a fantasy and science fiction writer’s best friend. Seriously. Why? Because everyone uses it, and I mean everyone, whether they know it…
Interview: Jeffrey Ford
Our sister site, Nebulaawards.com, has an interview with Jeffrey Ford who was nominated for his short story “The Dreaming Wind.”
Victoria Strauss — Postage Promotion
Whenever I think I’ve seen it all, something new comes along.
The explosive growth of self-publishing options over the past decade or so has…
The explosive growth of self-publishing options over the past decade or so has…
2009 Octavia E. Butler Scholar – Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
A beautiful, handcast commemorative pendant in the shape of an owl has been awarded to the 2009 Octavia E. Butler Scholar. Rochita Loenen-Ruiz received her…
Quick Updates for 2009-08-24
Obscure math and astronomy texts. Arbitrary backlist policies. Member News about David Anthony Durham, Ken Scholes, N. K. Jemisin, and Victoria Janssen.
The Pros and Cons of Having Your Own Website
Do you need to have you own website? It depends on what you want to use the website for. Having an online presence may or…
How articulatory phonetics can help you!
Articulatory phonetics deals with how the human vocal tract creates sounds.
Knowing the principles of how the vocal tract works can help science fiction and fantasy…
How linguistics can help you!
This sequence of “How ____ can help you!” pieces concerns various areas of linguistics. These aren’t intended to be technical, or even introductory discussions of…
Quick Updates for 2009-08-21
Congratulations to Edward Willet for winning the Aurora Award for the best long-form work of science fiction or fantasy by a Canadian writer in English…
Victoria Strauss — Publishers’ Kill Fees, and Why They’re Bad For Everyone
Traditionally, in the magazine and newspaper industry, a kill fee is “a negotiated payment on a magazine or newspaper article that is given to the…
Quick Updates for 2009-08-20
Research Tool: An online archive of vintage tools
Market Update: If you’ve submitted to Strange Horizons from a gmail address, they’ve been having problems with responses…
WSFA Small Press Award Committee Announces Finalists for 2009 Award
The Washington Science Fiction Association is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2009 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction. Our congratulations to all…
SF meets real life: US Government issues patents on human genes
This could be Science Fiction, but it isn’t. For the last twenty years, the US patent office has been issuing patents on human gene…
Volunteer: Call members to update info
We need twenty SFWA members to help us make calls to ensure that every member has current contact information.
Resource: The Convention Finder
The Convention Finder searches a database of cons based on location, making it easy to find the convention nearest you.
Interview with Charles Coleman Finlay
Our sister site, Nebulaawards.com, has an interview with Charles Coleman Finlay who was nominated for his novella “The Political Prisoner.”
Site Errors and Slowdown
As you may have noticed, the site is intermittently slow or returning server errors such as 500 server errors, configuration errors, etc. We have contacted…
RIP: Gene Van Troyer 1950-2009
Gene Van Troyer
(1950-2009)
Gene Van Troyer, a science fiction writer and poet who worked as an English teacher in Japan, died July 17, 2009 of cancer….
Interview: Johanna Sinisalo
Our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, interviews Johanna Sinisalo about her Nebula Nominated Novelette, “Baby Doll.”