News items include Joe Gordon's reaction to a recent HarperCollins UK market research report that suggests fantasy books should be more aggressively positioned toward mainstream book buyers, while SF books can be left in stores' back corner ghettos.
• The latest "readings in classis SF" columns by Adam Roberts cover a 1622 work by Giambattista Marino, and a 1971 story by James Tiptree, Jr.. A parallel column by Jeff Gardiner, "Gates of Elysium", covers children's fantasy and the works of George MacDonald
• Also posted recently, numerous reviews, and interviews of Tad Williams, Stephen Gallagher, and others.

Dave Langford has news from and about Mary Gentle, Mike Ashley, Margaret Atwood, John Betancourt, Jim Burns, Charles L. Grant, Christopher Priest, and Rowena; RIP notices for Peter B. Bell, Anne Gwynne, and others; and an extended remembrance of John Foyster, by Bruce Gillespie. Plus lists of awards winners and nominees, conventions listings, and a one-line Thog's Masterclass.

Cheryl reacts to her Hugo nomination, then provides a lengthy report on Eastercon. Reviews cover books by Justina Robson, Richard Morgan, Michael Moorcock, and others, while intermittent commentary handicaps the Hugo nominations, offers theoretical misgivings about the suitability of Christopher Priest's The Separation to be in the running for the Clarke Award, and continues an excursion into literary theory from last issue.

Fiction recently posted includes excerpts of a story by K.J. Bishop and a novel by Steve Rasnic Tem, and reprints of stories by Minsoo Kang and Holly Wade Matter. Interviews include Claude Lalumière talking with Jeff VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer talking with Steve Rasnic Tem, and Mike Simanoff talking with K.J. Bishop. Posted this week, an essay by Daniel Read about artist Matthew Barney; posted in early April, an editorial statement against the Iraq war.

Tidbits from future editions of Ansible include, just posted, more expertise from Margaret Atwood about the definition of science fiction, and news that Robert Holdstock has won a newt. Ben Rosenbaum's story The Death Trap of Dr. Nefario was posted in late March, and Douglas Lain's The '84 Regress appeared earlier this week. Regular posts from Michael Swanwick, Richard Kadrey, and Bruce Sterling continue, as does fund-raising.

This webzine gained news notice recently as the source for a story by John L. Flynn, "A Gift of Verse", that initially appeared among this year's Hugo Awards nominations; subsequent investigation determined that the story was published in 2000 and was thus ineligible; Dave Langford mentions this in his latest Ansible, with other perspectives here from Nexxus editor Wilson, and here from Hugo Awards administrator Michael Nelson. Most of Nexxus's backlog is limited to subscribers, but Flynn's story is available free here.

Latest fiction posts are stories by E.T. Ellison and Gavin J. Grant, plus an excerpt from James Barclay's forthcoming PS Publishing novella "Lightstealer".
• Criticism is by Rick Kleffel, on good and bad humorous spec fic, and Adams Roberts, on a book that presumes the universe of The Matrix is real.
• Robert Sheckley is interviewed, and the pre-launch 9 questions to 13 writers feature has been restored.
• Columns include Adam Roberts reviewing an imaginary book, the latest from Jeff Ford about his virtual anthology, and James M. Palmer on Silverberg's Dying Inside.

Original stories posted in recent weeks are by Geoffrey A. Landis, Barry N. Malzberg, Ilsa J. Bick, Scott Westerfeld, and Maureen F. McHugh. Classic stories recently posted are by Samuel R. Delany, Charles L. Grant, Cheslea Quinn Yarbro, and R. A. Lafferty. (See Archive for individual links.) Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of the Elements is up to Neptunium (#93!).

This week's issue features interviews with the director and actors of X2, a column by Wil McCarthy about the real genetic potential for super-powers, Patrick Lee's review of the film, reviews of books by Laurell K. Hamilton and Paul Collins, news, letters, etc.
• Last week featured an interview with Lucius Shepard (by Nick Gevers), an editorial by Scott Edelman reacting to the condescending introduction by Michael Chabon to his Thrilling Tales anthology, and reviews of Howard Waldrop's new collection and Nalo Hopkinson's new anthology.
• The week before that, April 21, had an interview with Laurell K. Hamilton, and a review by John Clute of a new translation of the original Japanese novel upon which the film The Ring was based.
• April 14 had a Michael Cassutt column about writers in Hollywood, and a "classic" review of de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall.
• April 7 had an interview with Stephen Baxter.
• March 31 included Scott Edelman's editorial about his visit with Jack Williamson.
• March 24, John Clute reviewed Lucius Shepard's Louisiana Breakdown.

Current posts are led by a feature review by Greg L. Johnson of David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer's The Hard SF Renaissance, followed by other reviews, by Gabe Mesa, Victoria Strauss, Ernest Lilley, Peter D. Tillman, and others, of books by Graham Joyce, Steve Cash, John Ringo, S.M. Stirling, and others. Also, TV reviews by Rick Norwood, audio reviews by Scott Danielson, a magazine review by Sherwood Smith, etc. April posts included an interview with Golden Gryphon Press editors Gary Turner and Marty Halpern, by Nick Gevers.

Ernest Lilley editorializes about humor, interviews Claude Lalumière, and reviews Lalumière & Halpern's anthology Witpunk. There's also a feature interview with Jonathan Carroll. Book reviews cover UK works from Cliff Burns, James Barclay, et al; and US works from Greg Bear, Mike Resnick, Michael Flynn, and others.

Posts in the last month include stories by C. Scavella Burrell, Samantha Henderson, Dru Pagliassotti, Jay Lake, and Gavin J. Grant; poems by Tim Pratt, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, and Marge Simon. Articles are by Gary Lai, discussing energy weapons, Lezlie Kinyon, discussing beguines, Paul Lucas on space tethers, and Cheryl Morgan interviewing Justina Robson. There are also reviews by Mike Simanoff, J.G. Stinson, Genevieve Williams, and Dennis C. Hwang, plus a gallery of art by Mike Rooth, and a cartoon by Mark Heath.

Latest reviews include coverage of collections by Laura J. Underwood, Ken Wharton, Mark Bourne, and an anthology of stories from Ideomancer, numerous recent issues of Asimov's, F&SF, On-Spec, etc., and stories published online.

Blog-watch

• Ken MacLeod has one now
  
  
• So does Kathryn Cramer, and David G. Hartwell. Cramer's main page is Kathryn Cramer's Books & Publications, which recently posted the Tables of Contents of her and Hartwell's forthcoming year's best fantasy and SF anthologies. Cramer's personal blog page has an extensive list of SF&F fellow bloggers.
  
  
• Jonathan Strahan, at Notes from Coode Street, has posted several short fiction reviews recently, of works by Swanwick, Waldrop, and others.
  
  
• Good stuff from Chris Lawson includes a review of Dreamcatcher, and "The Standard Book of Alchymical Elementals"
  
  
• Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross are collaborating, online
  
  
• Whatever happened to Raphael Carter?

E-mail to Locus Online about new or updated electronic publications is welcome, though time does not always permit detailed listing of all sites referred.