The 28th ICon was held October 20-22, 20-24 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and included almost 350 panels, lectures, workshops, games, and roleplaying. Some 11,000 tickets were sold to the different events. In each of the three days, at a certain point, entrance to the venue had to be restricted to those who had tickets, because the 1,800 people limit on premises, set for health and safety reasons, was reached.
The ...Read More
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The Board of Directors of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has released a statement on the freedom of expression for writers residing in conflict areas and poor living conditions:
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in education, SFWA is restricted from political campaign intervention in particular forms. At the same time, our mission is to inform, support, promote, defend, and advocate for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and related ...Read More
Read moreAuthor George Zebrowski, 78, died December 20, 2024.
Jerzy Tadeus Zebrowski (AKA George Thaddeus Zebrowski) was born December 28, 1945 in Villach, Austria. He moved to the US in 1951, and attended an early Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 1968.
Zebrowski’s first publications were collaborations with Jack Dann in 1970 (“Traps” and “Dark, Dark, the Dead Star”), and his first solo story was “The Water Sculptor of Station 233” (1970). He ...Read More
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Can*Con 2024 was held November 1-3 in person at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa, Canada. Guests of honour were Jennifer Brozek, Sarah Gailey, Diana M. Pho, Waubgeshig Rice, and Arley Sorg. A separate virtual Can*Con was held on April 20 with roughly one hundred attendees.
There were 400 in-person registered attendees. Programming featured 115 panelists and 107 items on writing, literature, and more, such as ‘‘Post-Colonial Perspectives on the Post-Apocalypse’’ ...Read More
Read moreWriter T. Jackson King, 76, died December 3, 2024 in Santa Fe NM.
Thomas Jackson King, Jr. was born May 24, 1948 in Houston TX. He was a journalist, activist, and archaeologist.
Debut novel Retread Shop appeared in 1988. His Vigilante series began with Star Vigilante (2012) and continued with Nebula Vigilante (2013), Galactic Vigilante (2013), and Anarchate Vigilante (2014). The Aliens series includes Earth vs. Aliens (2014), Humans vs. ...Read More
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The Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS) has announced the finalists for the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Fiction.
Six other works were also considered: “Death and the Senator”, a 1961 short story by Arthur C. Clarke; That Hideous Strength, a 1945 ...Read More
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Author, editor, and critic Barry N. Malzberg, 85, died December 19, 2024 in Saddle River NJ.
Barry Nathaniel Malzberg was born July 24, 1939 in New York. He attended Syracuse University, graduating in 1960, and returned later to study writing in graduate school. He left the program to work as an agent for the Scott Meredith Literary Agency as well as a freelance writer. He married Joyce Zelnick in 1964; ...Read More
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Rachel Winterbottom has joined Penguin Random House UK imprint Transworld as sci-fi and fantasy publishing director. Winterbottom is scheduled to start working in the newly created role in March 2025, reporting temporarily to managing director Kimberly Young. Winterbottom has worked as an editor for Gollancz as well as HarperVoyager UK. Young said,
Rachel brings with her a magical combination of a deep passion for the SFF genre and a genuine ...Read More
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The New York Public Library (NYPL), the Brooklyn Public Library, the Queens Public Library, and others have released their annual lists of most-borrowed books. The 2024 announcement features a list of books tabulating check outs for the combined boroughs.
On the “Citywide” list, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf) was the most checked out book for the combined boroughs of New York for 2024. Third place was ...Read More
Read moreAuthor John Marsden, 74, died December 18, 2024 in Australia. He wrote more than 40 books in various genres and was best known for his Tomorrow series of young-adult SF novels.
Marsden was born September 27, 1950 in Melbourne, Australia. He moved to Sydney with his family at age ten and later attended Sydney University for a time before dropping out. He worked various jobs before becoming an English teacher, ...Read More
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The Bookseller has created a list of their top 30 UK and Ireland editors of 2024, using available data from Circana Bookscan and factoring in other achievements like literary prizes. The rankings feature several editors and works of genre interest, including:
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) announced the recipients of its 2024 scholarships and diversity grants.
Amanda Helms, Somto Ihezue, Elis Montgomery, A.W. Prihandita, Ayida Shonibar, Tehnuka, and Ash Vale are winners of the $500 Diversity Grants, given to “underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers.”
Catherine Yu won the $2,500 Horror Writers Association Scholarship. ...Read More
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Liz Pelletier, publisher of Entangled Publishing, is Publishers Weekly’s 2024 Person of the Year.
Entangled Publishing—which includes genre imprints Red Tower, Entangled Teen, and Amara—had a breakout year in 2023 with the publication of bestseller Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Other notable titles include Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer and the Crave series by Tracy Wolff.
Pelletier founded Entangled in 2010 “to bridge the gap in the ...Read More
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Hannah Onoguwe is the winner of the 2024 Working Class Writers Grant for her work “Eyes of the Igbadai”.
The $1,000 grant is presented annually by the Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) to “speculative fiction writers who are working class, blue-collar, financially disadvantaged, or homeless, who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction due to financial barriers which make it hard to access the writing world.”
Other authors shortlisted for this ...Read More
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The Historical Novel Society (HNS) has issued a call for proposals for their 2025 conference (HNS25), open December 15, 2024 to January 15, 2025.
This year, the conference theme is ‘‘A Celebration of Historical Fiction in its Many Forms,’’ and HNS25 program chair Christopher M. Cevasco “welcomes proposals of panels, talks, and readings with a focus on historical fantasy, alternate history, time travel, steampunk, and historical horror, among other forms ...Read More
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CLIO EVANS is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency Ltd.
HAYAO MIYAZAKI is this year’s recipient of the Forry Award for lifetime achievement in the SF field, presented by The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. The award, named for Forrest J Ackerman, has been given annually since 1966.
SEANAN MCGUIRE, writing ...Read More
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The 50th World Fantasy Convention was held as a hybrid event October 17-20, 2024, with the in-person portion held at the Sheraton Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls NY. Guests of honor were Scott H. Andrews, Galen Dara, and Heather Graham, with toastmaster Michael Swanwick. P. Djèlí Clark was a special guest, and Life Achievement Awards winners were Ginjer Buchanan and Jo Fletcher. The theme was ...Read More
Read moreAuthor Trent Zelazny, 48, died on November 28, 2024 of acute liver failure.
The son of SF writer Roger Zelazny, he began publishing short SF in 1999, and went on to produce over 30 stories, with some collected in The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories (2009). He also edited anthology Mirages: Tales from Authors of the Macabre (2012) and co-edited Shadows & Reflections: A Roger Zelazny Tribute ...Read More
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The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) has announced an open call for “original artwork combining fantasy and science fiction themes to be featured as its 2024 Illustration of the Year.”
The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2025. The winner, to be announced in February 2025, will receive $750, and the winning artwork will be featured on the SLF website and social media “and used as a visual element of SLF’s ...Read More
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The New York Times published lists of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2024 and the Best Horror of 2024, compiled by critics Amal El-Mohtar and Gabino Iglesias respectively.
El-Mohtar’s top ten picks are:
The 2025 George R.R. Martin Screenwriting Grant is accepting submissions until December 15, 2024. Organized by the New Mexico Film Foundation, with support from the George R.R. Martin Literary Foundation, the competition is open to screenwriters from New Mexico.
The winning grant award for an individual screenplay is $5,000 and includes a mentorship introduction with a seasoned screenwriter. Two additional writers will receive a foundation membership and developmental mentorship with ...Read More
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The Otherwise Fellowship is open to applications until December 15, 2024.
From the organizers of the Fellowship:
The Otherwise Fellowship (formerly Tiptree Fellowship) was established in 2015 to support and recognize new voices who are creating work that is changing our view of gender today. The Fellowship program seeks out creators who are striving to complete new works, particularly creators from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the science ...Read More
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On December 10, 2024, the African Science Fiction Society (ASFS) released the following statement:
In light of further revelations in the case of the allegations made by Erin Cairns’ against ASFS member Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, the specific allegations of appropriation and non-disclosure have been investigated by a third party and no longer stand, and a public retraction has been made.
As an urgent response, we have now published a new ...Read More
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Ruoxi Chen has joined Putnam as executive editor after seven years at Tor. She will report to editor-in-chief Lindsay Sagnette, who told Publishers Weekly,
Ruoxi will draw on her deep experience in the speculative fiction space to bring exceptional crossover fantasy, romantasy, and science fiction titles for the general reader to the Putnam list… I look forward to watching her bring a new generation of talented storytellers to Putnam.
Chen ...Read More
Read morePhilosopher Anand Vaidya, 48, died October 11, 2024 of cancer. Vaidya cofounded the Science Fiction and Philosophy Society in 2022, “to explore connections between science fiction and philosophy, to cross-pollinate new ideas, and to boldly go where no one has thought before!”
Anand Jayprakash Vaidya was born January 4, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up mostly in Saudi Arabia, but also spent time in India, Germany, and various parts ...Read More
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Collins Dictionary in the UK has released its “Word of the Year” winner and shortlist for 2024. The list include “romantasy,” defined as “a literary genre that combines romantic fiction with fantasy.” The overall word of the year is “brat,” in the sense of someone with a “confident, independent and hedonistic attitude,” as popularized by singer/songwriter Charli XCX’s album Brat.
Other words on the list include “supermajority,” “yapping,” “delulu,” ...Read More
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Sourcebooks has announced a new children’s and YA imprint, Stonefruit Studio, and plans to publish 16 to 24 “distinctively creative children’s books across all age categories and formats” annually, including middle grade, YA, graphic novelws, and non-fiction by “authors and illustrators [who] can showcase their bold narrative voices and distinct styles that bring the joy of reading to children of all ages.”
Ben Rosenthal and Mabel Hsu will be editorial ...Read More
Read moreThe Internet Archive (IA) has elected not to further appeal its loss in the copyright infringement case upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in September.
Now that the case is settled, IA will remove infringing books from their “lending library” and pay an undisclosed monetary sum to the plaintiff publishers, which the Association of American Publishers says should “substantially” cover the attorney fees and court costs.
The IA ...Read More
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Libro.fm has polled over 3,000 of their independent bookselling partners to choose the best audiobooks of 2024. Nominations and categories were pulled from trends in Bookseller Pick data to create the Bookseller Choice Awards.
The Libro.fm Bookseller Choice Award categories and winners are:
Best Audiobook for a Long Trip
Read to Make You Fall in Love with Audiobooks
Winners of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards, chosen by users of the site, have been announced. There are several winners of genre interest across various categories.
Romantasy
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Horror
Young Adult Fantasy
The New York Times has published its list of Notable Books of 2024. Titles are selected by staff members of the New York Times Book Review.
The list includes titles of genre interest:
The 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize has announced its 33-title longlist. The award honors “mid-career authors in fiction,” and the winner receives a $50,000 prize and a residence at the University of California, Berkeley and/or Bay Area. The award is given by the New Literary Project. The 2025 longlist features several works of genre interest, including:
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