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Friday 30 December 2005» Publishing NewsEileen Gunn has announced today that webzine The Infinite Matrix is ceasing publication, following a last round of posts -- a story by Rudy Rucker, David Langford's last Runcible Ansible, and several others in the next few days. » Convention/Awards NewsL.A.con IV, the 64th World Science Fiction Convention to be held next August in Anaheim, California, has published its Hugo Awards nomination ballot, which includes a special one-time category for Best Interactive Video Game. See Progress Report #3 (PDF files), page 26, for details. Friday 16 December 2005» Death
UK science fiction writer Kenneth Bulmer died today at the age of 84. Beginning in 1952 he was a prolific writer of space opera and futuristic adventure stories under his own name and many pseudonyms; his most popular series, the 'Dray Prescott' sequence of some three dozen novels, was published starting in 1972 as by Alan Burt Akers.
» Update: Gary A. Braunbeck has posted this Jerry Williamson Tribute Thursday 15 December 2005» Awards NewsFinalists and honorable mentions for the 2005 Aurealis Awards, for Australian Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult and Children's novels and short stories, have been announced. Winners will be announced in February 2006. Friday 9 December 2005» Deaths
SF writer Robert Sheckley died today in Poughkeepsie, New York, at the age of 77.
One of the field's great humorists, Sheckley was a prolific short story writer beginning in 1952 with titles including "Specialist", "Pilgrimage to Earth", "Warm", "The Prize of Peril", and "Seventh Victim", collected in volumes from Untouched by Human Hands (1954) to Is That What People Do? (1984) and a five-volume set of Collected Stories (1991).
His first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958), was followed by The Status Civilization (1960), Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1962), Mindswap (1966), and several others. Sheckley served as fiction editor for Omni magazine from January 1980 through September 1981, and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Sheckley was hospitalized earlier this year in Ukraine, then recovered sufficiently to return to the US, though he was unable to attend the World SF Convention in Glasgow where he'd been scheduled Guest of Honor.
Horror writer and anthologist J.N. (Jerry) Williamson died yesterday in Noblesville, Indiana, at the age of 73. He published stories beginning in the 1960s, with first novel The Ritual published in 1979. From 1984 through 1991 he edited the Masques series of original anthologies. In 2003 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers of America.
Wednesday 7 December 2005» Awards News
Maureen F. McHugh's collection Mothers & Other Monsters, published by Small Beer Press, is one of three finalists for the second annual Story Prize, a $20,000 award for short fiction. The winner will be announced at the New School in Manhattan on January 25, 2006.
» Death
Boston University archivist Howard Gotlieb, who collected the private papers of Isaac Asimov and many other prominent people, died last week at the age of 79.
Monday 21 November 2005» Awards NewsThe Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has announced that Harlan Ellison will be named Grand Master, and William F. Nolan Author Emeritus, at next year's Nebula Awards Weekend in Tempe, Arizona, May 4-7, 2006 Saturday 19 November 2005» Writers Workshop Announcements• The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle is hosting an Online Writers Workshop in Science Fiction taught by James Gunn, to be held January 23 - March 19, 2006. (PDF registration form) • The Odyssey Summer Writing Workshop's 2006 session will be held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, over 6 weeks, June 12 - July 21, 2006. This year's writer-in-residence is Robert J. Sawyer; guest lecturers are authors Melissa Scott, Jeff VanderMeer, Laurie J. Marks, and Christopher Golden, and editor and agent Shawna McCarthy. See the workshop's website for application details. • The Clarion West Writers Workshop is now accepting applications for next year's session, to be held in Seattle over 6 weeks, June 18 - July 28, 2006. Instructors will be Paul Park, Maureen McHugh, Ian R. MacLeod, Nalo Hopkinson, Ellen Datlow, and Vernor Vinge. See the workshop's website for application details. » Magazine News
Update: Baen Books' new online magazine edited by Eric Flint will now be called "Jim Baen's UNIVERSE: A Three-Ring Circus of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Fact", and will be published bimonthly debuting in June 2006. A Submissions Guide has been posted.
Sunday 13 November 2005» UpdateJohn Clute has published this Independent obituary of Michael Coney Friday 11 November 2005» Publishing News
SciFi.com has announced its intent to discontinue Sci Fiction, the Hugo Award winning fiction site edited by Ellen Datlow, at the end of 2005.
» Awards News
Winners of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, announced today at the Utopiales Festival international de Science-Fiction in Nantes, France, include Christopher Priest's The Separation as best translated novel, Jeffrey Ford's "Exo-Skeleton Town" as best translated story, Cornelia Funke's Inkheart as YA novel, works by Alain Damasio and Claude Ecken in French fiction categories, and winners in several other categories...
Tuesday 8 November 2005» Best of 2005First out with lists of the best books of 2005 is Amazon.com, whose SF & Fantasy Editors' Picks are led by Iain M. Banks' The Algebraist and Charles Stross' Accelerando, followed by titles by China Miéville, Dan Simmons, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Alexander C. Irvine, and Richard K. Morgan Sunday 6 November 2005• Awards News: World Fantasy Awards Winners
Winners of the World Fantasy Awards, announced this afternoon at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, include Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down" and Black Juice, artist John Picacio, Lifetime Achievement winners Tom Doherty and Carol Emshwiller, and winners in other categories • Winner of this year's Endeavour Award, for SF or fantasy book by a writer from the Pacific Northwest, is Louise Marley's The Child Goddess. The announcement was made at OryCon this weekend in Portland, Oregon. Friday 4 November 2005» Awards News
Winners of the International Horror Guild Awards, announced last night at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, include Ramsey Campbell's The Overnight, John Harwood's The Ghost Writer, Lucius Shepard's Viator, Daniel Abraham's "Flat Diane", Don Tumasonis' "A Pace of Change", Shaun of the Dead, and TV series Lost, as well as winners in several other categories.
» DeathSF author Michael Coney, born 1932, died today in Sydney, British Columbia, after battling asbestos-induced lung cancer for several months. He published over a dozen novels since the early 1970s, including Mirror Image (1972), The Hero of Downways (1973), and British SF Association award winner Brontomek! (1975), and in 1987 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Aurora Award. Upon learning of his diagnosis earlier this year he released several unpublished novels and stories on his website as a gift to his readers. Monday 31 October 2005» Death
Swedish author and fan Dénis Lindbohm, born 1927, died Monday, October 24th, after battling cancer for several years. He published short stories beginning in 1945, then was active in fandom in the '50s, establishing Club Meteor, one of the earliest SF clubs in Sweden. He published 25 SF novels beginning in 1973, and wrote dozens of other books, on occult topics including reincarnation, from the '80s until his death.
» Magazine News
• Sci Fi Wire reports that Baen Books will launch Baen's Astounding Stories, an online magazine edited by Eric Flint, in 2006. The magazine's orientation will be toward a popular audience, and its business model is intended to enable writers to make a living wage off of short fiction, the article says.
Friday 28 October 2005» Death
Fantasy artist Keith Parkinson, born 1958, died October 26, 2005, after battling leukemia since last year. He won the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist in 1991, and two Chesley Awards for covers of books by C.J. Cherryh.
» Awards News
» Awards NewsWinners of the 2005 Deutscher Phantastik Preis, determined by an open vote of readers of Phantastik-News, include Stephen King's The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower for International Novel and works by Markus Heitz, Christoph Marzi, and Andreas Eschbach in fiction categories. Friday 14 October 2005• News
The Clarion Writers Workshop has established a new Board of Directors, a Foundation, and plans for next year... more... Wednesday 12 October 2005» Awards News
Winners of the Quill Book Awards, announced at a ceremony last night in New York City, include J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as Book of the Year and in the Children's Chapter Book/Middle Grade category, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian for Debut Author of the Year, Neil Gaiman et al's Marvel 1602 Volume I in the Graphic Novel category, and Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category.
Tuesday 11 October 2005» Update—John Clute's obituary of Charles Harness has appeared in The Independent Sunday 9 October 2005» Awards News
This year's Sunburst Award winner, for an SF novel or book-length collection by a Canadian writer, is Geoff Ryman's Air, published last year by St. Martin's. • The award consists of $1000 in cash and a medallion incorporating a 'Sunburst' logo. The award ceremony was held Wednesday, October 5, 2005, in Toronto, Ontario, led by master of ceremonies Nalo Hopkinson. Jurors were Nancy Baker, Deirdre Baker, Nicholas Ruddick, Rodger Turner, and Aritha van Herk. • 2005 Sunburst Award shortlist 
Winners of this year's Norton Awards, San Francisco Bay area specific awards for "extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason," were authors Jack Vance, for Ports of Call and Lurulu, and Grania Davis, for her own writing and for preserving the legacy of Avram Davidson. The awards were presented on September 24th at the Tachyon Publications tenth anniversary party held at Borderlands Books in San Francisco. (Click on thumbnail for much larger image; photo courtesy Night Shade Books' Jeremy Lassen.) » Magazine News
Biannual speculative poetry journal Mythic Delirium is no longer under the umbrella of DNA Publications; with the blessings of DNA President/Publisher Warren Lapine, the journal has reverted back to ownership by editors Mike and Anita Allen. Subscriptions and submissions should be sent to Mike Allen (see Mythic Delirium homepage for details). The first issue as an independent publication will be Issue 13. Tuesday 4 October 2005» DeathSF author Charles Harness, born 1915, has died, as reported on various message boards; further details will be posted as they become available. • Harness was known for recomplicated SF such as debut story "Time Trap" (1948) and first novel Flight Into Yesterday (1949) aka The Paradox Men (1953); other notable works included "The New Reality" (1950), "The Rose" (1953), and Hugo/Nebula nominee "An Ornament to His Profession" (1966), with further stories and novels published through 2004. NESFA Press has recently published three volumes of his works. He was named an Author of Distinction at the 2004 Nebula Awards Weekend. • Charles Harness homepage » Awards News
Winners of this year's British Fantasy Awards, as reported by Cheryl Morgan, include Stephen King's The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower as best novel, Les Edwards as best artist, Nigel Kneale for special achievement, and works in six other categories.
Tuesday 20 September 2005» Author News
SF author Jonathan Lethem is one of this year's recipients of a MacArthur 'Genius' Grant, a no-strings-attached cash grant of $500,000.
Thursday 15 September 2005» Awards News
Finalists for this year's Endeavour Award, for distinguished SF/F book by a Pacific Northwest author, are by Patricia McKillip, Louise Marley, Jerry Oltion, Alma Alexander, and Lucius Shepard. The winner will be announced at Orycon 27 in Portland OR, 4-6 November 2005.
• Past Endeavour winners and nominees Monday 12 September 2005» Awards News
• Winners of this year's Seiun Awards for best SF published in Japan in 2004 include Greg Egan's Distress as best Foreign Long Story, Theodore Sturgeon's "And Now the News..." as best Foreign Short Story, and works by Yuichi Sasamoto and Tobi Hirotaka in Japanese categories.
• Winners of this year's Eurocon Awards, announced at the 27th European Science Fiction Convention held in conjunction with last month's World SF Convention, include Ukraine writers Marina and Sergey Dyachenko as Best Author, UK magazine Nature as Best Publisher, and Ukraine's Sergey Poyarkov as Best Artist.
• A new fundraising effort to support the Arthur C. Clarke Award has been launched; see Supporters of Serendip for details. Thursday 8 September 2005» Awards NewsNominees for the 2005 Geffen Awards, presented by the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy, include translated SF books by Robert Charles Wilson, Elizabeth Moon, Karin Lowachee, Kage Baker, and Arthur C. Clarke... and translated fantasy books by Guy Gavriel Kay, Carol Berg, Philip Pullman, Megan Lindholm, and Laurell K. Hamilton. Winners will be announced at ICon in Tel Aviv, 18-21 Oct 2005. Thursday 1 September 2005» Katrina News
• New Orleans writer Poppy Z. Brite, who reported August 28 that she and her husband had left the city and gone to her mother's house in central Mississippi and then hadn't been heard from since, checked in today on her blog from a wireless cafe in Jackson. She's had no word on her house or cats, and thanks those who've donated via the cat fund on her website.
Wednesday 31 August 2005» Announcement
The Brisbane Writers Festival, 29 Sept. - 2 Oct., includes Masterclasses with author Jeff VanderMeer, among many other participants.
Sunday 28 August 2005» Awards NewsWinners of the 2005 Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest, announced August 19th at Seattle's Science Fiction Museum, are grand-prize winning author John Schoffstall of Glen Mills, PA, and grand-prize winning illustrator Eric Valdez y Alanis of Mexico City. Each received a $5000 cash prize. For information about the contest, see www.writersofthefuture.com . Friday 19 August 2005» Awards NewsMythopoeic Awards winners, announced Monday at the Tolkien 2005 conference in Birmingham, England, are Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky, Janet Brennan Croft's War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and Stephen Thomas Knight's Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography Tuesday 16 August 2005» Awards News
British Fantasy Awards nominees, listed here by The Alien Online, include Clive Barker, Mark Chadbourn, Susanna Clarke, Christopher Fowler, and Stephen King for best novel, plus nominees in categories for novella, short fiction, anthology, collection, artist, and small press.
Sunday 7 August 2005• Awards News: Hugo Awards Winners
Saturday 6 August 2005» Awards NewsThe proposal to reform the Hugo Award 'Best Editor' category into separate categories for magazine editors and book editors was addressed by the World Science Fiction Society business meeting this morning at the convention in Glasgow, resulting in a more workable separation of categories for editing short fiction and editing longer fiction. If ratified by next year's convention in Anaheim, the awards in 2007 will have two best editor categories. • Details of the debate at Patrick Nielsen Hayden's LiveJournal Winners of Chesley Awards, given by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA) and announced yesterday at the World SF Convention in Glasgow, include Rick Berry, Tony DiTerlizzi, and Donato Giancola in a three-way tie for Best Hardback Cover Illustration; John Picacio for Best Paperback Cover Illustration, Omar Rayyan for Artistic Achievement, and Omar Rayyan, Charles Vess, Marc Fishman, Robert Eineskog, Lawrence Northey, Dean Morrissey, Mark Zug, Irene Gallo, and Kat Angeli in other categories • Nominees posted at ASFA Winners of Prometheus Awards, given by the Libertarian Futurist Society and announced yesterday at the World SF Convention in Glasgow, are Neal Stephenson's The System of the World for Best Novel, with the Hall of Fame Award going to A.E. van Vogt's The Weapon Shops of Isher. Special awards were given to The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel, written by L. Neil Smith and illustrated by Scott Bieser, and to two anthologies edited by Mark Tier and Martin H. Greenberg, Give Me Liberty and Visions of Liberty Friday 5 August 2005» Awards NewsWinners of Sidewise Awards for Alternate History, announced today at the World SF Convention in Glasgow, are Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America and Warren Ellis' graphic novel The Ministry of Space Finalists for the Quill Awards, awards sponsored by Publishers Weekly's owner and NBC Universal TV, include titles in the SF/F/H category by Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Susanna Clarke, Orson Scott Card, and Christopher Moore, and genre titles in other categories by Philip Roth, J.K. Rowling, Clive Barker, Elizabeth Kostova, John Twelve Hawks, and others. Winners will be announced October 11 on NBC. • Publishers Weekly article Saturday 30 July 2005» Awards NewsFinalists for this year's World Fantasy Awards include Susanna Clarke, Stephen R. Donaldson, China Miéville, Sean Stewart, and Gene Wolfe for best novel, plus nominees in categories for novella, short fiction, collection, anthology, artist, and special awards • Winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, November 3-6, 2005 Wednesday 27 July 2005» Awards News
Chris M. Barkley and Patrick Nielsen Hayden have submitted a proposal to split the Hugo Award category for Best Editor into two categories: Best Book Editor, and Best Magazine Editor
Wednesday 20 July 2005» Death
James Doohan, who played 'Scotty' in the original Star Trek TV series and in several subsequent movies, died today at the age of 85. He published autobiography Beam Me Up, Scotty in 1996 (with Peter David), as well as three "Flight Engineer" novels with S.M. Stirling from 1996 to 2000.
» AnnouncementThe Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM) in partnership with the Seattle International Film Festival Group (SIFF) are launching the first-annual Science Fiction Short Film Festival, for works of up to 12 minutes in length, with a deadline of November 1. Chosen entries will be screened in competition during next year's festival, February 3-4, 2006 in Seattle. See websites for details. » Awards News
Winners of the second Clarke-Bradbury International Science Fiction Competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, have been announced. Winners on the theme of 'the Space Elevator' are Christian Doan in the story category, and Frank Lewecke in the image category.
Thursday 14 July 2005» Convention NewsInteraction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Glasgow, 4-8 August 2005, has released its final pre-convention Newsletter, Armadillo Dreams #3 (PDF), with key information for members about visiting Glasgow, travel, accommodation, UK currency and registration procedures, as well as a draft programme schedule (also PDF) of panels, readings, autographings, awards presentations, and other events. Sunday 10 July 2005» Death
Editor and publisher Byron Preiss, born 1953, died yesterday in an auto accident in Long Island, New York. His Byron Preiss Visual Publications assembled a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction titles for major publishers. As publisher his recent ibooks reprinted classic works in SF and other genres, and published original titles such as the 'Best of the Year' anthologies edited by Karen Haber & Jonathan Strahan. His anthologies ranged from the Weird Heroes series in the 1970s to The Ultimate Dracula and its successors in the 1990s.
» Awards News
The Science Fiction Poetry Association's Rhysling Awards, presented yesterday at Readercon in Burlington MA, were given to Greg Beatty in the Short Poem category and Tim Pratt in the Long Poem category, with Robert Frazier receiving the organization's second Grand Master Award
Saturday 9 July 2005» Awards News
Richard Morgan's Market Forces is winner of this year's John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best SF novel published in 2004; Bradley Denton's "Sergeant Chip" is winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short fiction of the year. The awards were announced this evening at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas.
Friday 8 July 2005» Awards News
Winners of the 2005 Aurora Awards for Canadian science fiction and fantasy, announced last weekend at Westercon 58 in Calgary, include Edo van Belkom, Isaac Szpindel, Michèle Laframboise (twice), Robert J. Sawyer, Martin Springett, and others 
Winners of the 2005 Southeastern Science Fiction Achievement Awards (the SESFA) are Joe Haldeman for both novel (Camouflage) and short fiction ("Faces"), and Nelson S. Bond for Lifetime Achievement Thursday 7 July 2005» World NewsReports to Locus, and information posted online, indicate that SF writers and publishers known to have been in London during this morning's terrorist bombings are safe and accounted for. For details, see this Night Shade Books message thread and updates at Boing Boing. » Death
Evan Hunter, aka Ed McBain, died yesterday, July 6, at the age of 78. Best-known for his realistic police procedural "87th Precinct" novels, Hunter, born as S.A. Lombino, published several SF novels and numerous SF stories early in his career, from Rocket to Luna (1952) to Tomorrow's World (expansion of "Malice in Wonderland"; 1956), and stories such as "What Price Venus?" (Fantastic Universe 1953) and "The Plagiarist from Rigel IV" (Imagination 1954). Among his many screenplays was the adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's short story for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
Wednesday 6 July 2005» DeathSF writer Chris Bunch, born 1943, died July 4, 2005. He wrote the Sten series with Allan Cole beginning in 1982, followed by numerous novels in other SF and Fantasy series including Shadow Warrior, Last Legion, and Star Risk (with volume 4, The Dog From Hell, due this August). Bunch served in Vietnam where he was a patrol commander and correspondent for Stars & Stripes, and published Vietnam war novel A Reckoning For Kings: A Novel of the Tet Offensive in 1987. • Robert Sheckley UpdateRobert Sheckley underwent heart surgery on June 29th, and remains hospitalized in New York City. He's out of Intensive Care but has a dedicated nurse and staff, and is getting stronger. Cards and letters are still welcome to Robert Sheckley, c/o Box 656, Pine Plains, NY 12567 Sunday 3 July 2005• Awards News: Locus Awards Winners
Wednesday 29 June 2005» Bookstore NewsWrigley-Cross Books, the specialty SF bookstore in Portland, Oregon, is closing its physical store in September, after 15 years. It will continue as an online and mail-order bookseller. See the store's News & Events page for details Sunday 26 June 2005• Awards News: Bram Stoker Awards Winners
Friday 24 June 2005» Awards NewsNominees for the 11th annual International Horror Guild Awards have been announced, with Gahan Wilson named recipient of this year's Living Legend Award. Winners will be announced during World Fantasy Con, November 3-6, 2005, in Madison, Wisconsin. • Awards News: Campbell Award Finalists
Finalists have been announced for this year's John W. Campbell Memorial Award, to be announced at this year's Campbell Conference, July 7-11, 2005 in Lawrence, Kansas
• Awards News: Sturgeon Award Finalists
Finalists have been announced for this year's Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, to be announced at this year's Campbell Conference, July 7-11, 2005 in Lawrence, Kansas
Friday 17 June 2005» Robert Sheckley UpdateRobert Sheckley has returned to the US and will be recuptering in Red Hook, NY, for the next several weeks. Cards and letters are welcome to Robert Sheckley, c/o Box 656, Pine Plains, NY 12567 • Sheckley will be unable to attend Interaction, this year's World SF Convention in Glasgow, where he was scheduled to be a Guest of Honor; members of his family will be there to represent him. • Robert Sheckley official homepage » Publishing NewsCharles Stross has made his new novel Accelerando available as a free ebook under a Creative Commons license at Accelerando.org. Monday 13 June 2005» Awards NewsThe 2005 Ditmar Awards, for Australian SF, were presented Saturday 11 June 2005 at Thylacon in Hobart, Tasmania. Winners included Sean Williams for Best Novel, Margo Lanagan for Best Collected Work and for Best Short Story, Paul Haines for Best Novella/Novelette, and others. Complete results on Jonathan Strahan's blog. • Also presented at Thylacon was the Peter McNamara Achievement Award to Jonathan Strahan • Ditmar nominees » Awards NewsThe shortlist for the 2005 Sunburst Award, an annual prize for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, includes books by Guy Gavriel Kay, Jeffrey Moore, Kenneth Oppel, Geoff Ryman, and Thomas Wharton. • Winner will be announced Wednesday, October 5, 2005 as part of the Harbourfront Reading Series in Toronto. Sunday 12 June 2005» Author NewsBrian Aldiss was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for "services to literature" in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List on Saturday • Times Online Friday 10 June 2005» Magazine NewsNew Australian popular science magazine Cosmos has named Damien Broderick fiction editor. The premiere issue, July 2005, goes on sale June 22 in Australia, July 4 in New Zealand. Broderick's first selection, by Gregory Benford, will appear in issue #2. Tuesday 7 June 2005» DeathPeder D. Wagtskjold, bookseller and collector, died on Monday, June 6, after a brief illness. He worked at DreamHaven Books in Minneapolis for nearly 12 years, and ran his own bookselling venture, PDW Books, specializing in ghost stories, weird fiction and Arkham House titles. Sunday 5 June 2005» DeathSF writer Warren Norwood, born 1945, died Friday, June 3, in Weatherford, Texas, of liver disease, at the age of 59. He wrote at least 9 novels, including The Windhover Tapes: The Planet of Flowers (1984), Shudderchild (1987), and True Jaguar (1988). • Star-Telegram obituary (requires free registration) Wednesday 1 June 2005» DeathNoreen Shaw, widow of SF editor Larry Shaw, co-chair of the 1955 World SF Convention, and co-editor with Larry of 1962 Hugo-nominated fanzine Axe, has died. • Harlan Ellison's remembrance (scroll or page down to "Sunday, May 29 2005 20:46:57" entry) has details of the funeral, scheduled for Friday June 3 in North Hollywood CA Friday 27 May 2005» Robert Sheckley UpdateRIA Novosti reports that Robert Sheckley will fly home today -- and that Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of the former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, paid for his hospital treatment and flight. » Magazine NewsWildside Press announced today it will purchase Weird Tales magazine from DNA Publications. Wildside Press president John Gregory Betancourt will co-edit the magazine with current editors Darrell Schweitzer and George H. Scithers. The magazine will increase page count by 15%, will publish a double-sized issue late in the summer, and is planning theme issues spotlighting such popular genre authors as Jeff VanderMeer, Jeffrey Ford, and Harlan Ellison. Tuesday 24 May 2005» Awards News
• 2005 Aurora Award finalists, for works by Canadian authors, artists, and fans, include Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Julie E. Czerneda, James Alan Gardner, Matthew Hughes, Eileen Kernaghan, and Edo van Belkom for best long-form work in English, plus nominees in short form work and other categories (and their French counterparts), artist, and fan categories
• Winners will be announced at Westercon 58, July 1-4, in Calgary
• Nominations for this year's Sidewise Awards for Alternate History include just one nominee in the Long Form category, Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, plus Short Form nominees by John McDaid, Sean Klein, Lois Tilton, L. Timmel Duchamp, Warren Ellis, and Chris Roberson
• Complete list at SF Site
• Winners will be announced at Interaction, this year's Worldcon, in Glasgow
» DeathHarold Wooster, correspondent with Robert Heinlein about exobiology/xenobiology terminology, Air Force officer in charge of strange projects such as the Dean Drive, and father of SF critic Martin Morse Wooster, died May 20 in Carlisle, PA, at the age of 86. • Obituary to appear in Locus Magazine Monday 23 May 2005» DeathsPat York, short story writer, retired teacher, and long-time SFWA member, died Saturday, May 21 in a car accident in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 57. • SFWA News obit • Remembrance by Cory Doctorow Editor and publisher Samuel H. Post died Friday, May 20, of cancer in Wickford Village, Rhode Island, at the age of 81. As editor for MacFadden-Bartell Corporation in the 1960s, he published editions of books by Poul Anderson, Philip K. Dick, Clifford D. Simak, A.E. van Vogt, and many others. • Ultimate SF Web Guide entry » Awards News2005 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists include Kage Baker, Susanna Clarke, Elizabeth Hand, Patricia A. McKillip, and Gene Wolfe in the Adult Literature category, plus nominees for Children's Literature and two Scholarship Awards. Winners will be announced in August at the Tolkien 2005 conference in Birmingham. Tuesday 17 May 2005• Awards News: Locus Awards Finalists
Voting in this year's Locus Poll is closed, and winners will be announced at Westercon 58 in Calgary, July 1-4. Here are the top five ranking items in each category.
Sunday 15 May 2005» Awards NewsThe Speculative Literature Foundation's Fountain Award, given to a speculative short story of exceptional literary quality, has been awarded to Jeffrey Ford's "The Annals of Eelin-Ok". • SLF's Announcement includes honorable mentions and jurors. Saturday 14 May 2005» Author NewsBoris Sidyuk writes about Robert Sheckley's condition: Bob is getting stronger. He breathed on his own for over 2 hours today and talk to me, Simon, Anya and the doctors with his own voice. Today the doctors already dare to make predictions. In 3-5 days they hope Bob will breathe on his own all the time. In 5 days he will have enough power to stand on his feet and make little walks. Thursday 12 May 2005» Awards News
China Miéville's Iron Council has won this year's Arthur C. Clarke Award, announced last night at the English Heritage Lecture Theatre in London. It's Miéville's second Clarke Award; he won in 2001 for Perdido Street Station. This year's award consists of an engraved bookend and a cheque for £2,005. • Shortlist • Announcement of winner includes administrator Paul Kincaid's speech Sunday 8 May 2005» Awards News
Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg, Chesley Bonestell, and Ray Harryhausen were inducted this weekend into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in Seattle.
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ABC News
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Analog and Asimov's Readers' Choice Awards winners, announced at last week's Nebula Awards Weekend in Chicago, include
Allen Steele, Mike Resnick, Robert J. Sawyer, Rajnar Vajra, and others.
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Complete results at SFWA News
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Past Analog and Asimov's Readers' Choice winners.
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Nominees for this year's Rhysling Awards, for SF poetry, have been announced.
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Past Rhysling winners.
Thursday 5 May 2005» Author News
SF author Robert Sheckley is hospitalized in Kiev, currently under artificial respiration; he was admitted last week with a cold while in Ukraine for an SF computer forum, and is suffering respiratory failure after a week of treatment.
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Initial report at ITAR-TASS New Agency; later report at MosNews.com
Tuesday 3 May 2005» DeathCzech SF writer Josef Nesvadba, born 1926, died last week at the age of 78. He wrote plays, stories, and novels, and was known in English via two collections, Vampires, Ltd. (1964) and The Lost Face (1971, aka In the Footsteps of the Abominable Snowman), with several stories anthologized since the 1960s including "Captain Nemo’s Last Adventure", "The Divided Carla", and the title stories of the collections. • Radio Prague • SFWA obit • Josef Nesvadba Page Saturday 30 April 2005• Awards News: Nebula Awards Winners
Lois McMaster Bujold, Walter Jon Williams, Ellen Klages, Eileen Gunn, and The Return of the King win SFWA Nebula Awards • Anne McCaffrey receives Grand Master Award; Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. given Service to SFWA Award • Neil Gaiman's Toastmaster speech
Thursday 21 April 2005» DeathFanzine editor Bill Bowers, born 1943, was found dead April 18, 2005, at an assisted living facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1960s he co-published Double:Bill, a Hugo nominee in 1965, and later produced Outworlds, a five-time Hugo nominee from 1971 to 1977. • An obituary and appreciation by Mike Resnick will appear in the May issue of Locus Magazine. • SFWA obit Tuesday 12 April 2005» DeathAuthor and fan John Brosnan, born 1947, died earlier this week in South Harrow, near London. • He published at least 8 novels, from The Sky Lords (1988) through Mothership Awakening (2005), as well as several nonfiction books including Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction in 1978. • Independent obituary by John Clute » Awards NewsBookSense Book of the Year winners include Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in the Adult Fiction category. • Adult Fiction honor books include titles by Philip Roth and Carlos Ruiz Zafon; Children's Literature honor books include titles by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, and Nancy Farmer Monday 11 April 2005» Awards NewsLarry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have been named recipients of this year's Robert A. Heinlein Award for outstanding published work in hard science fiction or technical writings inspiring the human exploration of space • This year's award will be presented in Seattle during Cascadia Con (this year's North American Science Fiction Convention), on Sept. 4, 2005 • This is the third year of the award; Michael Flynn and Virginia Heinlein won in 2003, and Arthur C. Clarke won in 2004 Saturday 9 April 2005» Awards News
• Winners of the new Sir Arthur Clarke Awards, presented last week at the British Rocketry Oral History Programme's annual conference, included David A. Hardy & Patrick Moore's Futures: 50 Years in Space in the Best Presentation - Written category. The awards are given "to recognise and reward the best in space research and exploration" in 10 categories.
• The Sir Arthur Clarke Awards
• Winners
• Shortlists
» Publishing News
Meisha Merlin Publishing announces plans to publish The Virginia Edition: The Definitive Collection of Robert A. Heinlein
• The project will consist of 46 titles, sold only as a set and limited to 5000 sets, beginning in January 2006 with I Will Fear No Evil
Saturday 2 April 2005• Awards News: Bram Stoker Awards Nominations
2005 Stoker Awards Nominations include Stephen King, Michael Laimo, Peter Straub, and P.D. Cacek for best novel, plus nominees for first novel, long fiction, short fiction, collection, anthology, nonfiction, and in other categories
• Michael Moorcock to receive HWA Lifetime Achievement Award
Tuesday 29 March 2005» DeathRaylyn Moore, SF writer and wife of author Ward Moore (d. 1978), died February 27, 2005, in Pacific Grove, CA, at the age of 77. She published stories in F&SF, the Orbit anthologies, and elsewhere from 1970 to 1980, novel What Happened to Emily Goode After the Great Exhibition in 1978, and nonfiction about L. Frank Baum Wonderful Wizard, Marvelous Land in 1974. Sunday 27 March 2005» Awards News
Winner of this year's Philip K. Dick Award, for best original paperback published in the US in 2004, is Gwyneth Jones' Life, with a special citation given to Lyda Morehouse for Apocalypse Array
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Winners were announced this weekend at Norwescon in SeaTac, Washington
Saturday 26 March 2005» Awards News
British Science Fiction Association Awards winners, announced tonight at Eastercon, are best novel Ian McDonald's River of Gods, best short fiction Stephen Baxter's Mayflower II, and best artwork the cover of Ken MacLeod's Newton's Wake by Stephan Martiniere
• Awards News: Hugo and Campbell Awards Nominations
2005 Hugo Awards Nominations include Iain M. Banks, China Miéville, Charles Stross, Susanna Clarke, and Ian McDonald for best novel, plus nominees for novella, novelette, short story, related book, dramatic presentation, web site, and in other categories
• Campbell nominees are Elizabeth Bear, K.J. Bishop, David Moles, Chris Roberson, and Steph Swainston
• Locus Online's listing includes statistics on past nominations and wins by each nominee
• Interaction press release
Friday 25 March 2005» Awards NewsFinalists for this year's Prometheus Awards, given by the Libertarian Futurist Society, include novels by Michael Crichton, Brad Linaweaver & Kent J. Hastings, Ken MacLeod, Elizabeth Moon, and Neal Stephenson. • Winners will be announced at this year's World SF Convention, Interaction, in Glasgow, 4-8 August 2005 • Previous Prometheus Awards winners. Thursday 24 March 2005» Awards NewsThis year's inductees into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, now associated with Seattle's Science Fiction Museum, are Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg, Ray Harryhausen, and Chesley Bonestell. • Induction ceremonies will be held on Friday, 6 May 2005. • Seattle Post Intelligencer • Previous SF Hall of Fame inductees. Sunday 20 March 2005» Awards news
Awards presented at this year's International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts included the William L. Crawford Award for best new fantasy writer to Steph Swainston, author of The Year of Our War; the Distinguished Scholarship Award to Damien Broderick; and the Lord Ruthven Society's fiction award to David Sosnowski's Vamped
• Previous Crawford, Lord Ruthven, and IAFA winners
Thursday 17 March 2005» Deaths
SF and fantasy author Andre Norton died this morning at her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, of congestive heart failure, at the age of 93. Born Alice Mary Norton in 1912, she legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934, the year her first book was published. She wrote over 100 books, including popular YA novels in the 1950s and '60s such as Star Man’s Son 2250 AD (1952), and the science fantasy series that began with Hugo-nominated Witch World (1962). In 1984 she became the first female SFWA Grand Master; in 1997 she was inducted into the SF Hall of Fame; and in 1998 she received a World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• SFWA obituary
• CNN
• New York Times
• Prolific paperback cover artist James Avati died February 27 in Petaluma, California. Born 1912, he was popular in the 1950s and '60s for work in all genres, including SF covers for books by Harry Harrison and Keith Robeson • Petaluma Argus Courier • Samples at Illustration Magazine Sunday 13 March 2005» Author News
Neil Gaiman is hosting an auction on eBay whose winner will get to name a cruise ship in Gaiman's forthcoming novel Anansi Boys.
• Proceeds benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; bidding ends March 18.
» Magazine News
Patrick Swenson urges all Talebones subscribers to contact him with your current mailing address and subscription information -- the magazine's subscription database has been lost.
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Details at Talebones.com
Thursday 10 March 2005» Awards News
Winners of this year's James Tiptree Jr. Award, given to "science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender", are Joe Haldeman's Camouflage (Ace) and Johanna Sinisalo’s novel Troll: A Love Story (Grove).
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The award ceremony will be held at Gaylaxicon in Boston, July 1-4, 2005. Winners will also be honored at WisCon in May. Each award includes a cash prize of $1000. The 2004 short list will be posted on the Tiptree site shortly.
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Previous Tiptree winners
Wednesday 9 March 2005» Awards News• Ditmar Awards nominees, for Australian science fiction, include Margo Lanagan, Richard Harland, Sean Williams, Cat Sparks, Jonathan Strahan, and many others • PDF ballot • Listing in Jonathan Strahan's blog • Winners will be announced at Thylacon IV in Hobart, Tasmania, 10-13 June 2005 • The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) has presented its first annual Older Writers Grant of $750 to Andrea Hairston. • 2004 results with honorable mentions Tuesday 8 March 2005» Awards NewsWith only days left to nominate for this year's awards, rules for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer have been changed to expand the scope of 'professional publication' for purposes of establishing a writer's eligibility for the award, with the effect of increasing the number of writers eligible for nomination this year. Deadline for the Campbell and Hugo nominations is March 11. • Campbell Rules, brief description • Complete Rules • Commentary by Cheryl Morgan, Jed Harman, John Scalzi • Campbell Eligible Author Web Site • Hugo & Campbell Nomination Ballot
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