Sexuality and novels
“It is time for a grown-up debate about sexuality, says Howard Jacobson, winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize. Memoirs by high-class hookers may be cartoonish, but no less so than accounts that cast prostitutes as victims of rapacious male sexuality” – You can read the full article on Prospect Magazine.
Hal Duncan on BSC
“If’ you hang out long enough down in the ghetto of Genre, in the SF Café, eventually you’ll hear this axiom, or an axiom like it, muttered with a certain tone of harumph, a petulance in proportion to the wounded pride. Maybe you’ll say it yourself, sullen in your sense of injustice, disregard; I know I have. And whenever it’s spoken, that truism will likely spark a little to-and-fro on the exclusion of SF from the modern canon. There is, after all, an absenting in the absence, an active excision; the ghetto of Genre is a territory of the abject, an enclosure for the refused, that paraliterary pulp exiled from Literature — despite the fact that literature means only that which has been written — delimited as Genre — despite the fact that every work of literature sits within some genre or other.” – Read the full article of one of my favorite writers on BSC.
When Science Asks, What If?
“The visions of tomorrow inspire the actions we take today. Science fiction is as much a reflection of society’s deep fascination with science as it is an agent of change for its future course.”
“In 1984, William Gibson coined a word—“cyberspace”—and used it in a science fiction novel. At the time, few people had a concept of what such a term could mean. And yet, thanks to Gibson’s use of it, especially in his epochal cyberpunk book Neuromancer, “cyberspace” gradually gained enough cultural credence to become the de facto name for the emerging World Wide Web.” - Read the full article on SEED Magazine.
Salon Futura Podcast
“This month on The Salon we welcome three writers who identify as members of the LGBT community. Nicola Griffith, Hal Duncan and Catherynne M. Valente talk to Cheryl Morgan about writing LGBT characters.”
Take a look at Salon Futura to listen to the podcast and read the author’s profiles.
The Apex Book of World SF
Apex Book Company announced today the final list of writers that will participate in The Apex Book of Word Science Fiction volume II, with names from Singapore, China, Cuba, South Africa etc. Fabio Fernandes (Nothing Happened in 1999) and Jacques Barcia (A Life Made Possible Behind The Barricades) will represent Brasil. You can see the full list – it includes names as Ekateria Sedia and Will Elliott – on the Apex Book Company Web site.
“The past is an immense area of stony ground that many people would like to drive across as if it were a motorway, while others move patiently from stone to stone, lifting each one because they need to know what lies beneath. Sometimes scorpions crawl out or centipedes, fat white caterpillars or ripe chrysalises, but it’s not impossible that, at least once, an elephant might appear. . .” When he died last month, the man who wrote those words in The Elephant’s Journey, José Saramago, was an old man, 87 years old. His preoccupations and politics and passions might seem to belong to a past age: a diehard communist impatient of dictators, subversive of orthodoxies, disrespectful of international corporations, peasant-born in a marginal country and identifying himself always with the powerless, a radical who lived on into an age when even liberals are spoken of as leftist . . . – Read the full article on Guardian.co.uk.
Fantasticon: Fantasy Convention Brazil-Style
“Blown away in Brazil. This last weekend (the last weekend in August) I participated in Fantasticon 2010: IV Symposium of Fantastic Literature in São Paulo. This impressive event, dedicated exclusively to speculative fiction literature, gathered together most of Brazil’s top SF editors and writers. Let me summarize by saying: 1) Fantastic literature in Brazil is thriving, and 2) I should be reading a lot more of it!” – Read the full text by Christopher Kastensmidt on Apex Book Company.
The Importance of Worldbuilding in Steampunk
“As a writer known for my steampunk fiction, I’m often approached by people who are curious about how one “writes steampunk.” This is not an unusual question, and the process is much easier than it looks. As with all genres, steampunk stories should have well-developed characters, an engaging and well-woven plot, both rich and efficient use of language, and a setting capable of containing all of these aspects. However, because the steampunk genre is more a matter of setting and environment (as opposed to a specific set of plots or themes), the art of worldbuilding is perhaps the most important part of the process. Worldbuilding is a major aspect of writing regardless, and it’s also a favorite passtime of mine. To give examples of the process of steampunk worldbuilding, I will reference my two principle steampunk settings: first, the Cities of Ether, probably best known for the story The Strange Case of Mr. Salad Monday; and second, the Edwardian-era adventure world of An Unfortunate Engagement“. – Read the full post on Steamed!
Fantasy and Science Fiction Illustration
“Where would science fiction and fantasy be without their awesome visuals? Orbit Books Creative Director Lauren Panepinto gives us a crash course in appreciating speculative artwork, and reveals the two unshakable rules of science fiction and fantasy art. Welcome to Science Fiction & Fantasy Art Appreciation 101. (a.k.a. SFF Art). The fabulous folks here at io9 think I’m qualified to give you this little overview because, as the Creative Director of Orbit Books, I’ve created hundreds of covers for books in the genre, and have been a fan of SFF Art in all of its forms as far back as I can remember. Plus, I’ve logged more hours working in comic book stores than I care to admit”.
Take a look at this very interesting post about fantasy and science fiction art on Science Fiction Universe. You can see illustrations of urban fantasy, epic fantasy, space opera, steampunk and cyberpunk.
Walking Dead
Zombies are everywhere.
