More than 150 literary agents have signed an open letter to the leadership of HarperCollins, in support of the HarperCollins Union strike. They have vowed not to submit work until the strike is resolved. It reads:
We, the undersigned literary agents, are writing to express our support for the HCP Union, now on strike since November 10. We and our clients have benefited greatly from the passion and expertise of ...Read More
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The New York Public Library has announced its lists of the best books of 2022 in various categories, including 75 Best Books for Adults, 50 Best Books for Teens, and 135 Best Books for Kids. There are also lists of the top 10 for each category.
The Adult category includes genre titles, such as The Change by Kirsten Miller (Morrow) and Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom), with T. Kingfisher’s Nettle ...Read More
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NPR’s Books We Love (formerly Book Concierge) has an extensive list of Best Books in an assortment of categories, including It’s All Geek to Me, The Dark Side, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, and many more, with hundreds of titles recommended by “NPR staff and trusted critics.” The Sci Fi, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction category includes titles by authors like Sarah Gailey, Alexis Henderson, Marlon James, Shehan Karunatilaka, T. Kingfisher, R.F. ...Read More
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Amazon has published its yearly array of lists to promote the best books of 2022, with editors’ selections in various categories. Titles and authors of genre interest follow, in ranked order.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Clarion Workshop in San Diego CA has announced the instructors for its 2023 session: Andy Duncan, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Tochi Onyebuchi, Anjali Sachdeva, and Rae Carson & Charles Coleman Finlay. Jac Jemc is faculty director.
The workshop will be held June 25, 2023 – August 5, 2023. Applications for the workshop open on December 1, 2022.
The Clarion West Summer Workshop previously announced its instructors and dates.
While you ...Read More
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JEFF VANDERMEER’s literary interests are now represented by Joe Veltre of the Gersh Agency, who was already his film and TV agent. VanderMeer has also joined the Gersh Speakers Bureau as a client. Alex Kohner of Yorn Levine provides additional representation as VanderMeer’s entertainment attorney.
DEREK KÜNSKEN is stepping down as programming co-chair of Can*Con, Ottawa’s literary SF/F conference, after 11 years working on the conference. Co-chair MARIE
Governor Douglas Ducey has declared November 30th Speculative Poetry Day in the state of Arizona.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) spearheaded the effort, and seeks to “highlight the vibrant legacy and extraordinary achievement of speculative poets,” as well as “introduce communities to the delights and benefits of reading and writing speculative poetry.”
For more information, see the SFPA post.
While you are here, please take a moment ...Read More
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Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra CA is hosting a retrospective exhibition on the work of Wayne Barlowe from November 19 – December 3, 2022.
The show will feature “various reproductions from some of Wayne’s notable book projects and film work” and “a curated selection of original drawings and paintings,” available for purchase. The opening reception will be held November 19. Admission to the reception and the exhibit is free.
A world-renowned ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) Mentorship Committee has announced that the SFWA Career Mentorship Program is now taking applications for mentors and mentees for three-month-long mentorships set to run January 10 – April 10, 2023.
This all-volunteer service is provided free of charge. We aim to connect emerging writers with each other and established professionals for community, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities. This endeavor is focused on ...Read More
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Pemmi-Con, the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention, has announced the First Nations Travel Fund.
The announcement says:
Pemmi-Con has committed to reserve 10% of their Adult Attending memberships, or CAD $4,000, whichever is greater, to assist indigenous science fiction and fantasy fans to travel to Winnipeg to attend Pemmi-Con. This fund will be under the direction of indigenous groups who will contact Pemmi-Con to request funds for individuals whom ...Read More
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The Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville AL is hosting an art exhibit, “Donato Giancola: Adventures in Imagination,” from October 30, 2022 – January 22, 2023. The artist will give a lecture and the museum will host a reception on November 1, 2022, and there will be a cosplay night and costume contest on November 17.
Donato Giancola is an American artist specializing in narrative realism with science fiction and ...Read More
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Publishers Weekly has announced its list of the best books of 2022, divided into 13 categories. Their overall Top 10 includes The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (Knopf), The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones (Beacon), and The Furrows by Namwali Serpell (Hogarth).
The best books in the SF/Fantasy/Horror category are:
MARYANN HARRIS, artist, musician, and wife of Charles de Lint, became ill on September 6, 2021 with encephalitis, and was eventually diagnosed with the rare, tick-borne Powassan virus. She spent eight months in intensive care before being transferred to a complex care facility, where she is on a ventilator and almost entirely paralyzed. Fundraising efforts are underway to defray the considerable costs; details, and updates on her condition,
On October 21, 2022, Heritage Auctions “will proudly present the Harlan Ellison Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction,” offering more than 100 comics and pieces of original art from the collection of the late author, who died in 2018 at age 84. The auction was organized by Ellison’s executor J. Michael Straczynski.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Harlan and Susan Ellison Foundation, a nonprofit created by Straczynski. The ...Read More
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Baffling Magazine has announced that Craig Laurance Gidney is stepping down as co-editor, with Kel Coleman taking over as the new co-editor, joining dave ring.
The twitter announcement stated:
We’re so lucky to have had Craig’s discerning eye with us for so long. We can’t wait to see where Kel takes us next.
For more information, see the official announcement.
While you are here, please take a moment to support ...Read More
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The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced the results of the election for its open officers’ positions. John Edward Lawson was elected President, and Becky Spratford was re-elected Secretary. Linda Addison, James Chambers, and Ellen Datlow were all re-elected to the Board of Trustees.
The election team volunteers were Rhonda Jackson Joseph, Nicole Kurtz, and Lisa Marie Wood. The Ballot Master was Angel Leigh McCoy, and the election verifiers were
Ring of Fire Press, the publishing company founded by the late Eric Flint, is closing. Flint’s widow Lucille Robbins posted:
Our Fellow Members of the Ring of Fire Press Family,
It has taken the staff and the family to both assess and absorb the sad passing of our friend and mentor, Eric Flint. In the wake of his passing, we have looked at the financial realities of the publisher 1632, ...Read More
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With Jo Fletcher stepping down from Jo Fletcher Books, the imprint she founded 11 years ago, Anne Perry will be taking over as publishing director.
Quercus fiction publisher Cassie Browne says of the hire:
We are all completely over the moon to be welcoming Anne to Quercus Fiction as the new imprint head of Jo Fletcher Books.
Anne’s reputation as one of the very best in the SFF community is ...Read More
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WENDY N. WAGNER is now represented via Lane Heymont of The Tobias Agency.
IDZA LUHUMYO’s “Five Years Next Sunday”(Disruption) won the £10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing, “awarded for a short story via an African writer published in English,”presented July 18, 2022 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
MONICA BYRNE’s The Actual Star (Harper Voyager) won the 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award, ...Read More
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Winnipeg in 2023 has won the bid to host the next North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). Pemmi-con 2023, the 15th NASFiC, will be held July 20-23, 2023 at the Delta Hotels Winnipeg and the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Winnipeg ran unopposed after the Orlando FL bid withdrew in August.
Confirmed guests of honor include Julie Czerneda, Waubgeshig Rice, and Nisi Shawl, John Mansfield, Philip John Currie, ...Read More
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Glasgow 2024 won the bid to host the 2024 Worldcon. The 82 World Science Fiction Convention will be held August 8-12, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Guests of honor announced so far include Chris Baker, Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer, Ken MacLeod, Nnedi Okorafor, and Terri Windling.
For more, see the Glasgow 2024 website.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is now accepting applications for their Givers Fund Grants until October 1, 2022.
The annual grants are awarded to projects that support 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 amounts are usually $1,000 to ...Read More
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RUDY RUCKER sold his literary archive to the Special Collections of the UCR Library at UC Riverside. “The Rudy Rucker Archive includes marked-up drafts of forty books, story drafts, letters, videos, audio, scientific papers, rare ’zines, and email.” Henry Wessells of James Cummins Bookseller negotiated the deal with Cherry Williams and Andrew Lippert of UCR.
JESMYN WARD will receive the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction ...Read More
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The Amazon Literary Partnership has awarded 74 grants totaling more than $1 million to nonprofit literary organizations across the United States. Organizations of genre interest that have received grants include Graywolf, Coffee House, Clarion West, Lambda, PEN America, and Aspen Word.
For more information, as well as a full list of recipients, see the Amazon Literary Partnership announcement.
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has “launched the first wave of resources for Indie Pub 101, a new section of the SFWA.org website.”
Whether veterans of traditional publishing or brand-new authors with debut books in hand, independent authors, also known as self-publishing authors, must take on the multiple roles of designer, publisher, and publicist, which can be daunting. Indie Pub 101 will help! Its first three sections ...Read More
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QUENTIN BLAKE, SALMAN RUSHDIE, and MARINA WARNER all received the High Award Companion of Honour distinction in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. IAN RANKIN received the Knights Bachelor distinction, while JOANNE HARRIS and MICHAEL FOREMAN received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire distinction for services to literature. JAMES DAUNT, head of Waterstones in the UK and CEO of Barnes & Noble in the US, received ...Read More
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Steampunk Transylvania has opened the “first Steampunk and Fantasy museum” in Transylvania, Romania.
Boton Istvándi says of the collection:
Our goal is to increase interest in this fantastic subgenre of science fiction. We would like to offer unforgettable and motivational experiences for the next generations and to offer everyone an out of home experience motivating people to dare to dream and to create. Thinking long term, in 2-3 years time, ...Read More
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Olaposi Halim and Davina Kawuma have been announced as the 2022 Fellows for The Literary Laddership for Emerging African Authors. Started by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, the fellowship “aims to support, elevate and connect emerging fiction authors of Black and/or African descent, based primarily on the African continent and writing in English.”
The fellows were selected out of 76 applicants, and were judged anonymously. Fellows “will be offered a funded ($500 ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has revised their requirements for Full and Associate memberships.
The requirements set for Full and Associate members are as follows:
A candidate shall be eligible for Full Membership if:
The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) announced via Twitter a call for jurors to read applications for the Older Writers Grant as well as the Diverse Worlds and Diverse Writers grants.
SLF is a non-profit arts foundation, focused on the speculative literature community. “If interested, send a brief note to grants@speculativeliterature.org with the subject line: JUROR.”
For more information on the SLF and the grants in question, see their site.
While ...Read More
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Penguin Random House has announced a new imprint, Random House Worlds, ‘‘dedicated entirely to licensed book publishing.’’ The imprint will be home to media-related books from ‘‘Star Wars, Minecraft, Stranger Things, Garfield, Magic: The Gathering, Lore Olympus, Critical Role, and others.’’ Vice-president and Del Rey deputy publisher Keith Clayton will serve as publishing director. All licensed brands published by Del Rey and other imprints ‘‘under the Random House division will ...Read More
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Amazon.com has announced “The Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2022 So Far,” with an overall Top 20 and numerous category lists.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf) and The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (Tor) both made the Top 20.
Sea of Tranquility is their “pick for the best science fiction and fantasy book of the year so far.” The rest of the SF/Fantasy list is: ...Read More
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