The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers’ Contest is open to original science fiction and fantasy submissions by Maryland students “no younger than 14 and no older than 18 years of age.” First, second, and third prizes are $150, $100, and $50, respectively, and the deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2021.
The contest is run by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) and “Judges shall be drawn from the membership
Sascha Stronach and Yilin Wang will guest edit issues of SFWA’s The Bulletin for 2021. Stronach will edit issue #218 (September 2021), and Wang will edit issue #219 (December 2021). SFWA editor-in-chief Michi Trota said, “I’ve admired Sascha’s and Yilin’s work in SF/F and am excited they’ll be bringing their unique visions and perspectives to shape their issues of The Bulletin.”
For more information, see SFWA’s website.
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The Norma K. Hemming Award, “given to mark excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class or disability in a speculative fiction work (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, horror) by Australian citizens and/or residents,” will not be held in 2021.
This decision has been made due to several factors, including COVID-19, juror fatigue, and administrative changes. Please note that all 2020 and 2021 publications will be eligible when ...Read More
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Following reports of calls for political violence on Baen’s Bar, the online forum of Baen Books, and the subsequent temporary closure of the board by publisher Toni Weisskopf, Discon III, the 2021 Worldcon, has announced that it has removed Weisskopf as guest of honor.
Chair Bill Lawhorn sent a press release on February 19:
DisCon III condemns the violent and hostile content found within Baen Books’ forums. We also cannot ...Read More
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MONIQUE ROFFEY‘s The Mermaid of Black Conch (Peepal Tree) won the £5,000 Costa Novel award, given to one “of the most enjoyable books of the year, written by authors based in the UK and Ireland.” She’s in the running for the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year award.
STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES sold My Heart Is a Chainsaw and a second book to Joe Monti at Saga ...Read More
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The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced their Summer Scares Reading list for 2021.
ADULT
YOUNG ADULT
MIDDLE GRADE
The Royal Mint in the UK announced plans to release a commemorative two-pound coin later this year in honor of H.G. Wells, marking the 75th anniversary of his death. The coins feature clock imagery as a reference to The Time Machine, the title character from The Invisible Man, and the alien death machines from The War of the Worlds, but in their illustration of the latter’s iconic ...Read More
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The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has decided to change StokerCon 2021 “from an in-person event to a virtual platform” according to a special announcement posted on the StokerCon 2021 site.
Our hope is to preserve the spirit of StokerCon™ and create an event that will resemble as closely as possible our usual programming—panels, presentations, interviews, author readings, ceremonies, and the Bram Stoker Awards® presentation. At this time our plans include ...Read More
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The judges for the 2021 World Fantasy Awards have been empaneled.
The judges will read and consider eligible materials from 2020 between now and June 1, 2021. To be considered for awards, all materials must be received by all five judges and Peter Dennis Pautz by June 1, 2021. Per the official announcement, “If… something is received on May 31 the judges may well have only one day to read
Amazon has announced that Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO. He will remain with the company as “Executive Chair,” a role created for him, focused on driving innovation. Andy Jassy, known for leading Amazon’s cloud computing division, will take over as CEO. Bezos said,
Amazon is what it is because of invention…. If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become ...Read More
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Canadian retailer Indigo Books and Music announced that Peter Ruis is taking the position of president.
Previously, Ruis worked for Anthrolpologie, Jigsaw Group, and John Lewis. He currently lives in London with his family and is in the process of moving to Toronto.
In his capacity as President, Mr. Ruis will be responsible for leading the Executive Team, fundamentally reshaping Indigo as a Living with Intention company, and transforming the
Actor LeVar Burton (Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reading Rainbow) has been named the inaugural PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion to “recognize devoted literary advocacy and a commitment to inspiring new generations of readers and writers.” PEN/Faulkner executive director Gwydion Suilebhan said, “For decades, LeVar Burton has inspired readers all over the world. He has brought stories to life in a magical and meaningful way for generations ...Read More
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Welcome to the annual Locus Recommended Reading List!
Published in Locus magazine’s February 2021 issue, the list is a consensus by the Locus editors, columnists, outside reviewers, and other professionals and critics of genre fiction and non-fiction — editor-in-chief Liza Groen Trombi; reviews editor Jonathan Strahan; Locus reviewers Liz Bourke, Alex Brown, Karen Burnham, Katharine Coldiron, Paul Di Filippo, Amy Goldschlager, Paula Guran, Rich Horton, Maya James, John Langan, Russell ...Read More
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The Writers’ Trust of Canada has renamed its literary prize in honor of Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, who helped found the organization in 1976. The Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, for “the best Canadian novel or short story collection of the year,” comes with a C$60,000 prize, an increase of C$10,000 over the previous years. Finalists each receive C$5,000. This year’s winner will be announced November 3, 2021, ...Read More
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Canadian multi-platform entertainment company Wattpad announced on January 21, 2021 acquisition of Wattpad and WEBTOON™ by South Korean company Naver for “an estimated USD $600 million.” According to the announcement:
The acquisition will allow Wattpad to continue to accelerate its international growth and success. The company will remain headquartered in Canada under the continued leadership of founders Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen.
Wattpad and WEBTOON™ collectively have an audience of ...Read More
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The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction (HDSF), “a comprehensive free online historical dictionary of science fiction terms,” has been announced. Edited by Jesse Sheidlower, the HDSF is an outgrowth of the Science Fiction Citations Project, crowdsourced by the Oxford English Dictionary.
As a historical dictionary, the HDSF includes not only a definition of each term, but also quotations from works of science fiction which illustrate how each term is used, ...Read More
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ALAN WHITE won the 2020 Rotsler Award for “long-time wonder-working with graphic art in amateur publications of the science fiction community.” The award is sponsored by the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, and includes a $300 honorarium.
Editor and author PATRICE CALDWELL and author and artist MOLLY KNOX OSTERTAG are on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Media category.
GILLIAN CHANDLER won the 2020 A. ...Read More
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Rebellion Publishing has announced a new novella imprint, Solaris Satellites, edited by David Thomas Moore. The first publications will be Pollen From A Future Harvest by Derek Künsken, These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed, and The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos, releasing later this year.
Moore says, “Novellas are where the genre is at right now: a neat little package, with more room to breathe than a ...Read More
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The late Michael Crichton’s production company, publisher, and archive, CrichtonSun, has announced a partnership with Range Media Partners to develop new TV series and an adaptation of an unpublished work. CrichtonSun president Sherri Crichton says, “We’re thrilled to have found true creative partners at Range. They share our passion of preserving the Crichton legacy and we look forward to tapping into their imaginative minds and exciting pool of talent to ...Read More
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Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) is the subject of the 33rd stamp in the Literary Arts series from the United States Postal Service.
The stamp features a portrait of Le Guin and a background scene from The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) with art by Donato Giancola, and will be available later this year. “The words ‘three ounce’ on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever stamp, this ...Read More
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Ellen Datlow is accepting submissions for her 14th The Best Horror of the Year anthology, to be published by Night Shade Books and covering material appearing in 2021.
I am looking for stories and poetry from all branches of horror: supernatural, uncanny, sf horror, psychological, dark crime, terror tales, or anything else that might qualify. This is an all reprint anthology, so I’ll only consider material published in 2021. Deadline ...Read More
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The Association of Authors’ Representatives (the professional organization for literary agents) has changed its name to the Association of American Literary Agents. They say the new name “better reflects the membership and aligns the organization with its core mission of empowering and educating literary agents.” They’re updating their website to reflect the new branding and to “offer deeper resources for members and writers.” They’ve added a non-profit division, Literary Agents ...Read More
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The Endeavour Award committee has announced the suspension of the 2021 award for books published in 2020. In a statement, they said,
Several reasons have led to the suspension. The Covid 19 situation has made it more difficult to run our preliminary judging. In addition to problems stemming from the pandemic, additional problems have contributed to the need to suspend the Award.
We expect to begin collecting books published during ...Read More
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Several titles of genre interest made The Atlantic‘s list of the 15 best books of 2020: Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley (Farrar, Straus, Giroux), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, translated by Jamie Chang (Liveright), and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Pantheon).
For the full list, see The Atlantic‘s website.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring ...Read More
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Entertainment Weekly has released their list of the 10 best books of 2020, compiled by Leah Greenblatt and David Canfield. Titles of genre interest include The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf) in the top spot, Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Ecco) at number four, and Memorial by Bryan Washington (Riverhead) at number five.
For the full list, see EW‘s website.
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HuffPost has announced its list of the best books of 2020, compiled by Claire Fallon, including several titles of genre interest:
For the complete list, see
NPR’s Book Concierge has an extensive list of Best Books in an assortment of categories heavy with genre content, including The Dark Side and Young Adult, “nearly 2,500 recommendations from NPR staff and trusted critics.” The Sci Fi, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction category offers 64 recommendations covering a range of themes and topics, such as Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World), Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet), Riot Baby by Tochi ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announced the recipients of the 2021 Givers Fund Grants for organizations which further SFWA’s mission: “To promote, advance, and support science fiction and fantasy writing in the United States and elsewhere, by educating and informing the general public and supporting and empowering science fiction and fantasy writers.” Grant recipients are “Any 501(c)(3) or similar organization… with a program related to the ...Read More
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The Boston Globe has released its list of the Best Books of 2020, including several authors and titles of genre interest:
Fiction
Children’s
Wired announced its list of best fantasy books of 2020, selected by Jason Kehe:
The article includes discussions
Results of the 2020 Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago (ISFiC) short fiction contest for unpublished writers of science fiction and fantasy have been announced. No winner was selected, but the judges did choose “The Adventures of Nel” by S.Y. Kaplan as an honorable mention. Kaplan receives a one ounce silver coin.
The contest was “open to any resident of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, or Wisconsin or ...Read More
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Amazing Stories publisher Steve Davidson announced on December 17, 2020 that editor-in-chief Ira Nayman is resigning from his position. Davidson added:
Mr. Nayman will remain and complete the current issue in progress and additionally offered to perform a subset of his previous duties until they are transitioned to a new Editor.
Authors whose stories have been accepted, authors whose work is currently in the submission queue, all will all be ...Read More
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