Author Lavie Tidhar and game designer Jake Olefsky have launched an in­teractive SF story, “Svalvard”. Olefsky explains: “Essentially, you read a chapter, then solve a puzzle to unlock the next chapter. There are 23 short chapters in this non-linear short story. Did I mention it has robots and sentient fungi?” To read – and play – visit <www.puzzletales.com>.

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Cressida Cowell has been named the 2019-2021 Waterstones Children’s Laureate. “Selected by a panel made up of librarians, critics, writers, literature development workers and booksellers, the role is awarded to an outstanding children’s author or illustrator with a passion for fostering a new generation of writers, artists and readers.”

Cowell said:

I’m honoured to be chosen to be the 11th Waterstones Children’s Laureate and I will try and justify your ...Read More

The Booker Prize has a new sponsor: charitable foundation Crankstart, created by venture capitalist Sir Michael Mortitz and his wife Hariett Heyman. They have agreed to sponsor the prestigious awards for five years, beginning in 2020. Crankstart takes over from the former sponsor, hedge fund Man Group, which has contributed £25 million to the prize since its sponsorship began in 2002, including £1.6 million for the 2019 prize.

The Booker ...Read More

Burgess Foundation director Andrew Biswell discovered an unfinished manuscript by Anthony Burgess, The Clockwork Condition, dating from 1972-73. The book is about Burgess’s experience writing his classic A Clockwork Orange (1963) and the reaction to Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film adaptation. Biswell was cataloging the author’s archive when he found the manuscript, which he says sheds “new light on Burgess, Kubrick and the controversy surrounding the notorious novel.” Kubrick mentioned ...Read More

Meow Wolf, an arts and entertainment group based in Santa Fe NM, has named George R.R. Martin as their Chief World Builder. Formed in 2008 as an art collective, “Meow Wolf creates immersive and interactive experiences that transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of story and exploration. This includes art installations, video and music production, and extended reality content.” As Chief World Builder, Martin will advise on narratives ...Read More

James Patterson is continuing the Patterson Partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs for a fifth year, this time pledging $1.25 million to libraries in classrooms. He will give 4,000 teachers grants of $250 each (with Scholastic Book Clubs offering matching funds in the form of bonus points) to buy books and other materials for the classroom. He is allocating a quarter of a million dollars for 500 new teachers (those with ...Read More

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has announced the results of its election for open Board of Directors positions.

President

Secretary

Directors-at-Large

Three positions for director-at-large were available. Additionally, Tobias Buckell will replace Lawrence Schoen, who earlier resigned. The election committee consisted of Kate Baker, Maurice Broaddus, Laura Anne Gilman, Cat Rambo, and Fran Wilde (chair). For ...Read More

The Aso­ciación de Literatura de Ciencia Ficción y Fantástica – Chile (ALCiff), or Chilean Science Fiction Literary Society and Fantastica, has been founded by “a noisy bunch of Chilean fans,” and has about 40 members so far. They accept mem­bers from other countries. Their projects include a Spanish-spoken YouTube channel, “Los Hombres en el Castillo” [“The Men in the High Castle”], a Facebook fan page, and blog “El Continuo Cronn” ...Read More

A statue of Ray Bradbury will be erected in the author’s hometown of Waukegan IL, with the dedication planned for August 22, his birthday. The 12-foot-high statue, designed by Zachary Oxman, depicts Bradbury riding a clockwork rocketship and holding a book, and will be sited in front of the Waukegan Public Library. The Ray Bradbury Statue Committee is still raising funds for the sculpture, but have already begun production. For ...Read More

The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University now houses the Locus Science Fiction Foundation collection, including 16,000 volumes of SF/F, full runs of the pulp magazines and digests, and decades of correspondence with authors such as Isaac Asimov, Octavia E. Butler, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Robert A. Heinlein, Dean Koontz, Ursula K. Le Guin, James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon), and more. The collection is ...Read More

August Derleth Park in Sauk City WI (where the author was born in 1909 and died in 1971) is being renamed to Sauk City Riverfont Park. The Sauk City Village Board voted 6-1 for the name change in August 2018, but the change is now drawing outcry from Derleth’s fans and family.

Jon Caflisch of the August Derleth Society (based in Sauk City) says the park is well known in ...Read More

Marlon James is on Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in 2019 (the Time 100). He is recognized for his novels A Brief History of Seven Killings (Riverhead) and Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Riverhead), and profiled in the magazine by Salman Rushdie.

For the complete list of honorees, see the Time website.

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The Tolkien Society has launched the Education Travel Bursary “to enable masters and doctoral students to attend Tolkien Society events and present their work and received feedback.” For details: <www.tolkiensociety.org/2019/02/tolkien-society-launches-new-bursary>.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE ...Read More

Parallel Lit’s inaugural reading launches on April 12, 2019 at Paulista Brazilian Kitchen & Taproom in Oakland CA at 8:30 p.m. Authors include Becca Gomez-Farrell, Tim Pratt, Caroline Ratajski, and Juliette Wade.

The monthly series, hosted by Meg Elison, will include readings and panel-style discussions on genre, writing, and the worlds of fantasy and science fiction.

Tickets are available through Eventbrite. For more information visit the Parallel Lit website.

While ...Read More