Briefs and Links

Monday 24 September 2001

Awards

• The 2001 British Fantasy Awards were presented on 23 September 2001 at the British Fantasy Society's 30th Birthday Bash at Champagne Charlie's, Charing Cross, London.

THE AUGUST DERLETH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

Perdido Street Station, China Miéville (Macmillan)

ANTHOLOGY

Hideous Progeny, Brian Willis, ed. (Razorblade Press)

COLLECTION

Where the Bodies Are Buried, Kim Newman (Alchemy Press/Airgedlámh Publications)

SHORT FICTION

Naming of Parts, Tim Lebbon (PS Publishing)

ARTIST

Jim Burns

SMALL PRESS

PS Publishing

KARL EDWARD WAGNER AWARD

Peter Haining

Publishing

• The 2nd Renaissance Foundation Inc. and DNA Publications have announced that Aboriginal Science Fiction, founded in 1985 and edited by Charles C. Ryan, will no longer be published. Stories and illustrations scheduled for the next several issues of Aboriginal will appear in DNA's publication Absolute Magnitude; Aboriginal subscribers will receive copies of Absolute Magnitude for the length of their Aboriginal subscriptions (except for lifetime subscribers, who will receive a two-year subscription). Editor Ryan commented:

When I realized I no longer had the time to do the work, my primary concern was that subscribers receive the number of issues they have subscribed for and that authors and artists see their work in print. ... This agreement with DNA will fulfill both of those criteria.

Friday 21 September 2001

Letters from New York City

• Michael Kandel of the Modern Language Association (and editor for Harcourt Brace) reports being able to return to work, in a building a block south of Wall Street, for the first time on Thursday (yesterday).

• David Hartwell reported Wednesday that Tor Books has no outgoing long-distance service for the forseeable future. They cannot return calls; e-mail is best.

• Nearer to Washington DC, Science Fiction Weekly editor-in-chief Scott Edelman checked in on Tuesday:

I was without SCIFI e-mail from Tuesday afternoon until Monday afternoon, so any e-mails sent to that address were not received until later. I was functioning using my personal e-mail account, and was able to send materials to NY to update SCI FI TODAY. We did get a new issue of SCIENCE FICTION WEEKLY up yesterday.

The only effect on me--aside from the metal anguish from watching it all on TV; I was lucky--was that I had to listen to endless military jets and helicopters overhead, since I live on the flight path between D.C. and Camp David.

• Also on Tuesday Eleanor Lang (who lives within the now-restricted area near the WTC) reported:

[W]e still don't know when we'll be able to go home, although it looks like it will be at least a month. They started letting people into their apartments yesterday to retrieve vital possessions, like a change of clothes and such. Greg was able to go today. I'm not sure, but I think he had 15 minutes to grab what he needed, and he did a great job. My glasses and passport, both of our leather jackets, some long sleeved shirts, his checkbook, my favoirte stuffed animal, a suit in case I have an interview. He said that the place is covered thickly with dust, and needs "serious" cleaning. He also said that we now have a great view of the Woolworth Building.

• From Greg Cox on Tuesday:

Life is slowly returning to normal here in the West Village, but reminders of the catastrophe are everywhere, in the form of makeshift shrines springing up everywhere from public parks to pizza joints, and hastily-xeroxed photos of the missing taped up on every available space: bus stops, mailboxes, streetlamps, etc. Although the smell of smoke and dust has finally faded, at least in my neighborhood, it's still strange and sad to look south on Sixth Avenue and not see the twin towers.

• The staff of DAW Books returned to work last Friday, reported Debra Euler and Sean Fodera:

As you know, DAW's offices are only a short distance north of the WTC, and we had a close up view of the Towers immediately upon coming up out of the subway. At the office, we gathered with Sheila to listen to the radio coverage and catch CNN in one of PPI's conference rooms. Upon hearing that the first Tower was falling, we all went out to the street, but it was already gone by the time we made it outside. Betsy, meanwhile, had gone out and provisioned her loft to accommodate the DAW staff, in case we became stranded on Manhattan.

Thankfully, about 3pm, one subway line to Brooklyn was restored, and Amy and I took it home, to the warm greetings of our children, who had been safely picked up from school by my Dad.

My personal anxiety was for my cousin, who works on the 61st floor of one of the Towers. Thankfully, we found out later that she did make it out safely, though her brother-in-law (a WTC Observation Deck security guard) is still missing.

My father worked for the Port Authority for over 30 years, and knew so many people who worked in the Towers. As of Friday afternoon, a number of his friends were still missing, though many had reported in safely.

I hope many others have reported in safe to you, and that you suffered no personal losses in this tragedy.

God Bless America.

Across the Continent

• Meanwhile, from San Francisco, Tachyon Books publisher Jacob Weisman reports:

Tachyon Publications' Sixth Anniversary Party was celebrated at Borderlands Books in San Francisco on Sunday, September 16, in an event that was open to the public. To celebrate our anniversary Borderlands Books, North Atlantic Books/Frog Ltd., and Tachyon Publications all chipped in to fly Michael Swanwick out from Philadelphia so that I could present him with the Locus Award for Best Collection. Swanwick flew at the height of last week's disaster and many of us feared that he would be unable to attend, but his determination and perseverance were truly inspiring to us all. Swanwick was joined by Peter Beagle and Pat Murphy, all of whom read from The Treasury of the Fantastic (Tachyon’s mammoth fantasy anthology edited by David Sandner and myself). Peter Beagle read Richard Middleton’s "The Ghost Ship". Pat Murphy read Edward Lear’s "The Dong with the Luminous Nose" and led the patrons of Borderlands in singing Lewis Carroll’s "Jabberwocky" (to the tune of "Amazing Grace"). And Michael Swanwick closed the proceedings with a dramatic rendition of W.W. Jacob’s "The Monkey’s Paw". In between readings, patrons helped themselves to refreshments, mingled, and competed in a trivia contest. Many patrons expressed relief at finally having a distraction from the horrific events of past week. Store owner Alan Beatts, called the event "an unqualified success" and we currently plan on holding our Seventh Anniversary Party at Borderlands again next year. (Photographs by Golden Gryphon Press editor Marty Halpern.)

Michael Swanwick, Jacob Weisman Peter S. Beagle, Pat Murphy Pat Murphy, Michael Swanwick, Eileen Gunn

Monday 17 September 2001

Perspectives

§ The New York Times Magazine's September 23 issue, on the web but not yet in print, includes articles and perspectives on the terrorist attacks by, among others:

• Stephen King, The Weapon
• Jonathan Lethem, 9 Failures of the Imagination
• Kurt Andersen, Fallout
• Caleb Carr, It Is the Spread of American Values That Our Enemies Now Fear
• Michael Tolkin, The Movie I Didn't Know How to Write

Saturday's "Week in Review" pages of the NYT had these science and fictional perspectives:

• Neal Gabler, This Time, The Scene Was Real
• George Johnson, Order of Magnitude: The Toll and the Technology

Report from New York City

by Marleen Barr

Saturday 15 September 2001

Updates from New York City

• Kathryn Cramer reports that Douglas J. Stone, Vice President of Odyssey Press in New Hampshire, which prints and mails The New York Review of Science Fiction, was aboard American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston to Los Angeles, which was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center with 92 people on board. The magazine sends condolences and sympathy to his colleagues, friends, and family.

A first-person account by Cramer of the morning of September 11, from her location in suburban Pleasantville, NY, will tentatively be published in the next issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction.

• SCIFI.COM general manager Craig E. Engler reports:

The SCIFI.COM and SCI FI Channel offices are in Rockefeller Center, and all is reasonably well here. Our office was open on Wednesday though not too many people ventured in, but by Thursday things were relatively normal, though two of the buildings across the street were evacuated mid-day after what I was later told was an elevator fire. The channel is assessing its programming to see if any of our shows or movies should be rescheduled in light of events, and the Web site is in a bit of disarray due to various Internet issues. We've figured out some workarounds, though (we updated SCI FICTION and SCI FI Wire, for instance...easier said than done). The hardest part physically for us (especially those of us who live in NJ and commute to NY) was getting home on Tuesday, but we all managed. The hardest part mentally was getting home and finally getting a chance to see on TV what had happened. The two images I will remember most are taking the train in Tuesday morning and seeing the twin towers on fire through the window, then taking the train back home around 2:30 p.m. and seeing nothing but smoke and ash where the towers once stood.

• Del Rey executive editor Steve Saffel was en route:

I was on my way to Los Angeles, and we were diverted to St. Louis. Then I spent a night in a hotel, and 36 hours on a bus. I'm in LA, and will try to get something done out of our West Coast office. Dazed, but OK.

• Ellen Datlow reports that she is now receiving regular mail, but that international mail is at a standstill. She's not allowed to send anything overseas, and doesn't know if anything from overseas is coming in.

Thursday 13 September 2001

Updates from New York City

Locus has heard from many in the New York publishing industry and from SF contacts in the Washington DC area in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks, most reporting they are fine, if frazzled. Some have returned to work today (Thursday), though telephone and internet connections remain spotty.

• Harvey Jacobs will not be reading on the 19th at the KGB Bar due to a family loss in the WTC attack. Terry Bisson writes "Our sympathies and solidarity are with him and all the victims." The reading on the 19th with Jeffrey Ford will proceed as planned.
• Ellen Datlow requests that people should hold manuscript submissions for a few days; her PO Box has been closed, as has the US Post Office in her neighborhood. The same advice probably applies to other New York publishers and editors, until regular air traffic and mail service is restored.
• Science Fiction, Mysteries & More Bookstore in New York City has cancelled this Saturday's signing with Ann McMillan, due to the shut down of air traffic. (As events in other parts of the country may be similarly affected, check with local hosts before attending any upcoming signings.
• Pendragon Pictures has announced that "due to many story similarities of their production of WAR OF THE WORLDS to the tragic and horrific events surrounding the World Trade Center attack, production is forced to go on hiatus. For at least one to two weeks the principles at Pendragon Pictures will assess the project's potential effects on the spirit of the world."
• Twin Earth Books is donating, from now until the end of the year, 20% of its profits to charities established for victims of the WTC and Pentagon attacks.
• Publisher Michael Walsh reports that "Up until his retirement a few months ago, Baltimore area fan Patrick Kelly had an office in the area of the Pentagon that no longer exists. Leaves one rather speechless."

Juliet Ulman of Bantam Spectra writes,

I and my family are safe and sound, if quite shaken. Bantam Dell's building was unaffected by the attack, and to my knowledge, everyone at Bantam Spectra returned home or to the homes of nearby friends safely. Unfortunately, I cannot give the same assurance for the friends and family of my coworkers and my thoughts go to them in this hour. Your concern and messages, and those of our other friends across the country, are much appreciated and deeply warming in this dark and frightening time, and I hope that we all receive nothing but good news.

The Donald Maass Literary Agency reports,

Everyone at the Donald Maass Literary Agency, relatives and friends are fine, though shaken, as is everyone.

I am very glad to report that our missing client, romance writer Tracy Sumner, has now been contacted. Tracy was at work on the 54th floor of WTC 2 when it was struck. She made it out of the tower, but was only a block-and-a-half away when the tower collapsed. She has been x-rayed following inhalation of ash and smoke. No update beyond that, as yet.

Tim Avers of White Wolf Publishing:

Everybody at White Wolf is okay, although our new Fiction Developer, Philippe Boulle, was in the air on the way to Canada when the attack occurred.

I ask that your prayers be with all those who have suffered in this tragedy, and that our leadership in the US will respond with wisdom and prudence in their response to this spineless act of terror.

Today we received reports from Jennifer Brehl:

I'm back at work, although the halls are eerily quiet. Stayed home yesterday on the mayor's advice; came in today on the mayor's advice. Of course, the office was open yesterday, although I understand that few people came in.

We went into siege mode on Tuesday. The building was secured, so if one left he couldn't get back in. Those of us who live outside the city hunkered down until we learned that the train and ferry routes out of the city were open. As I walked down Madison Avenue toward Grand Central I looked downtown. All I could see was smoke. I still can't quite believe what's happened.

And from Jaime Levin:

Thanks for the email. I know that Betsy already wrote to you to tell you we were ok -- she has email to her home computer, but I don't have a home computer so I couldn't write til I got back to my office. We are back in session now. Mostly everyone seems to fly around twittering like birds with no place to land. I am warmed, though, by the way the publishing and sf community has done a lot to take care of each other and check on each other. We've a nice family, you know.

Locus has also received overseas condolences from Cyril Korolev in Russia:

We were shocked to hear what had happened in New York and Washington. It is simply a nightmare... I hope this finds all well with you and yours.

And from Zoran Zivkovic in Yugoslavia:

What a tragedy! My deepest condolences! There must be thousands and thousands of casualties. This world definitely went crazy. No cause, political, religious or other, could possibly justify such monstrous attacks. Those who so senselessly died were absolutely innocent victims. I'm very, very sorry. We are all here in a state of shock.

Tuesday 11 September 2001

Reports from New York City

6 p.m. Eastern Time:
Locus has received numerous e-mails from publishers, editors, and agents in New York City, including Ellen Datlow, Eleanor Lang, Ginjer Buchanan, Susan Allison, Laura Anne Gilman, Shelly Shapiro, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Russ Galen, Chris Lotts, and others, all reporting they are OK.

A news group (news://news.sff.net/sff.discuss.report-in) has been set up for members of the SF community to check in.

Colleen Lindsay of Ballantine reports that most of those who live on the island of Manhattan soon went home, while others waited in their buildings until bridges and tunnels off the island were reopened. She advises people not to try to phone into the city of New York--not only are emergency workers using the lines, but a great deal of phone switching equipment was lost with the World Trade Center, disrupting both land and cell lines. Colleen Lindsay concludes,

Thanks for your concern -- we are all very shaken, very confused, and very very sad. It's a little hard to comprehend what happened until you see just how wrong the New York City skyline looks at this moment. The world seemed to end this morning while we watched it live on TV. It's seems so...sci-fi.

Richard Curtis writes,

We are in shock but will do our best to carry on business and keep each other's spirits up. Your thoughts and prayers are tremendously appreciated. Manhattan is truly an island and it is less isolating to get messages from farflung caring friends around the country.

We will go on. If we survived AOL buying Time Warner and Bertelsmann buying Random House, we can survive anything.

And Betsy Mitchell reports from the scene:

Warner Books is located in Rockefeller Center, in the Time-Life Building, which after the Pentagon was bombed began to feel like a target, so at about 10:45 our president said any of us who wanted could go on home. Unfortunately, with all the bridges and tunnels shut, many people couldn't GET home. Like me: no way to get to Brooklyn without walking, which I wasn't ready to do that early in the day. On the other hand, nobody was working; we were just watching the many televisions in the office and freaking out. So a friend of mine from Manhattan took me and Sara Ann Freed, head of Mysterious Press, home with her.

The trek of about a mile to my friend's house would normally take maybe 25 minutes; with thousands and thousands of people on the streets it took much longer. We stopped in a grocery store where lines ran from the checkout counters to the back of the store, everybody buying what might be necessary in a full-scale attack: water, bread, of course the Manhattan necessities of bagels, deli meats and bottled water. The store was accepting cash only, as the ATMs and credit card lines were apparently down. It took almost an hour to get through the line. When we finally got to my friend's house, we demolished a bottle of wine and watched the local news all day, which gave numerous horrifying close-up views.

But there wasn't what you could call panic, at least in midtown. People were telling their stories and commiserating and offering their cell phones and suchlike. At about 3:30 the subways to Brooklyn started up again and I took the train home. The train went over the Manhattan Bridge, which offered a perfect view of what had once been the WTC. Today I saw nothing but smoke. Not even a stub of those two beautiful towers. That used to be my favorite view in all of Manhattan, and it will never be the same again.

DAW/Roc/Berkley would have been the closest to the WTC. I hope you've heard from all of them. Nobody else is near that area, that I'm aware of.

Convention Reports

§ Here's a press item from this year's Worldcon about "Women Getting Into Science Fiction".

— Excite/AP Aug 31

§ Salon sent a reporter to Atlanta to cover Dragon*Con: "A journey to the heart of science fiction fandom reveals that selling out is a geek survival trait."

— Salon Sept. 11

§ And The Onion also filed a report:

— Plan to Get Laid at DragonCon 2001 Fails

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Tuesday 11 September 2001

Awards

Jack Williamson took delivery of his 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novella, "The Ultimate Earth" — his first-ever Hugo for fiction! (He won the 1985 Non-Fiction Book Hugo for Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction.) Rick Hauptmann reports when asked how he felt upon receiving it, Jack said, "After waiting for more than 70 years for this, I'm very happy."

(Hugo winners)

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§ The Prometheus Award for Best Novel of 2000, presented by the Libertarian Futurist Society, was announced September 2, 2001, at the Millennium Philcon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The winner was L. Neil Smith's Forge of the Elders (Baen).

Two other Prometheus awards were announced earlier this year: a Hall of Fame award for Best Classic Fiction to The Survival of Freedom, an anthology edited by Jerry Pournelle and John F. Carr, and a Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement, to Poul Anderson.

— Libertarian Futurist Society Awards

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§ The International Horror Guild's annual awards were presented Saturday, September 1, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, GA during Dragon*Con.

NOVEL

Declare, Tim Powers (Subterranean Press 2000, Morrow 2001)

FIRST NOVEL

Adams Fall, Sean Desmond (St. Martin's)

LONG STORY

The Man on the Ceiling, Melanie Tem & Steve Rasnic Tem (American Fantasy)

SHORT STORY

"The Rag-and-Bone Men", Steve Duffy (Shadows and Silence, Ash-Tree Press)

ILLUSTRATED NARRATIVE

I Feel Sick #1-2 (2-part series), Jhonen Vasquez (Slave Labor Graphics)

COLLECTION (tie)

City Fishing, Steve Rasnic Tem (Silver Salamander)

Ghost Music and Other Tales, Thomas Tessier(Cemetery Dance)

ANTHOLOGY

October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween, Richard Chizmar & Robert Morrish, eds. (Cemetery Dance)

NONFICTION

At the Foot of the Story Tree, William Sheehan (Subterranean Press)

PUBLICATION

Horror Garage

ART

Joel-Peter Witkin

FILM

American Psycho (Directed by Mary Harron, Written by Mary Harron & Guinvere Turner, based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis; Lions Gate Films)

TELEVISION

Angel

Also, as previously announced, the Living Legend Award was presented to shock-rock performer Alice Cooper. In addition, Dragon*Con's "Julie" Award, recognizing universal achievement spanning multiple genres, was presented both to Alice Cooper and to Harlan Ellison.

— ihgonline.org

§ The Planetary Society has announced twelve winners from over 150 finalists in its International Space Art Contest. The public will select the grand prize winner by voting on-line on The Planetary Society's website...

— Planetary Society: Art Contest

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Publishing News

John Silbersack, former Senior Vice President at HarperCollins, one-time Editor in Chief of WarnerAspect, and before that Editorial Director at Penguin Publishing Group where he launched ROC books, is joining Trident Media Group as a Senior Vice President "with a mandate to tap into new markets for the agency's lit clients and brands" as reported in Variety.

As of September 17th Silbersack can be reached at 212-262-4810. After that date he can be contacted via email at jsilbersack@tridentmediagroup.com, and by mail at Carnegie Hall Tower, 152 West 57th Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

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§ Terry Pratchett, among others (Margaret Atwood, Pat Barker, Ken Follett, Robert Harris, David Lodge, Ian McEwan, and Zadie Smith), has agreed to auction the name of a character in a forthcoming book to benefit the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.

— The Medical Foundation, News

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Announcements

§ Workshop:

Fourth Armadillocon writers' workshop: Baen editor Toni Weisskopf and science fiction and fantasy writers James Stoddard, Wendy Wheeler, Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, and Jennifer Evans will lead a one-day workshop Friday, Nov. 16, in Austin on writing science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Participants will hear nuts-and-bolts talks by the pros and critique each other's submitted fiction in small groups led by pros. Registration of $60 includes a luncheon and full Nov. 16-18 Armadillocon pass.

To apply to attend, mail one original work of SF/F/H fiction and a $60 check payable to ArmadilloCon 23, PO Box 27277, Austin, TX 78755. Deadline is Oct. 28, 2001. Submit either a short story or beginning of a novel in clearly readable, double-spaced format, 5,000 words maximum.

Early in November, participants will receive other participants' manuscripts to read in advance of the workshop. For more details on the workshop and the science fiction and fantasy convention Armadillocon 23, visit www.fact.org and follow the ArmadilloCon 23 links http://www.fact.org/dillo/d23/wrtrwrkshp.html or email jenniferevans777@hotmail.com or wendyw@io.com.

Toni Weisskopf is an executive editor at Baen Books and co-editor of two SF anthologies, Tomorrow Sucks and Tomorrow Bites. Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury is director and editor of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop and author of numerous short stories in theme anthologies. James Stoddard is the author of The High House and The False House; he's won a Compton Crook Award for best fantasy by a new novelist, and was one of five finalists for the Mythopoeic Award. Jennifer Evans has published fiction in Asimov's SF Magazine and in 50 Crafty Little Cats, and is busy shopping her novel to agents. Wendy Wheeler has had work appear in Analog, Aboriginal SF, Gorezone, and other magazines, as well as in several theme anthologies, and had a story chosen for the 13th Annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. More teachers may be announced later.

§ Job Opportunity:

SCIFI.COM, the official site of the SCI FI Channel and the largest general interest sci-fi site on the Internet, is seeking an experienced Senior Editor to oversee our day-to-day editorial operations. The Senior Editor will work closely with our in-house Production Editor as well as the editors of our daily news service and weekly online magazine to create and supervise site updates, guide the general tone and style of the site, oversee editorial projects such as our Web Guide and Events Calendar, and create new editorial initiatives. The editor will also work with various freelance writers and members of the SCI FI Channel programming staff to support and extend SCI FI shows with their companion Web sites on SCIFI.COM.

We are seeking candidates with at least five years of editorial experience in newspaper, magazine or major Web site editing and writing. You must also have a thorough grasp of AP style and a working knowledge of Web sites and advanced HTML. The perfect candidate will also be passionate about science fiction and understand the breadth and depth of the genre, from books and games to film and TV.

The job is based out of SCI FI's mid-town Manhattan offices and candidates must be able to commute to New York City on a daily basis: telecommuting is not an option. If interested, please send your resume and a cover letter outlining your previous editorial experience and stating why you are the ideal candidate for the position to employment@scifi.com.

August News Log