JOHN VARLEY, 73, began having chest pains in late February 2021, and subsequently underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He returned home on February 28 and is recovering well. “I thank you for the good vibes and wishes and karma sent my way during my recent travails. Yes, and your prayers as well, though I’m an atheist and don’t know quite what to do with them. Is anyone really listening? ...Read More
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VAJRA CHANDRASEKERA is now represented by Michael Curry of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
J.A. BRADLEY is now represented by Paul Stevens of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
ANTHONY R. LEWIS won the Edward E. Smith “Skylark” Award for contributions to science fiction, and HILARY CLARCQ received the Gaughan Award, given annually to an emerging artist, both presented by the New England Science Fiction Association at Boskone 58, ...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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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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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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SCOTT WESTERFELD contracted COVID-19 six months ago, and underwent surgery in October 2020 to recover damage the virus did to his heart. He is recovering well. “I feel like the people who think Covid is a hoax aren’t giving us hoaxers enough credit for our COMMITMENT.”
Locus Online Editor MARK R. KELLY had a heart attack on October 25, 2020. His partner drove him to the emergency room, and ...Read More
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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) has named Linda Addison as their newest Grand Master.
The title is given “to an individual living at the time of selection whose body of work reflects the highest artistic goals of the SFPA, who has been actively publishing within the target genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy for a period of no fewer than 20 years, and whose poetry has been ...Read More
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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has named Nalo Hopkinson the 37th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.
SFWA president Mary Robinette Kowal said,
I have loved Nalo Hopkinson’s work since 1999 when I discovered her through the short story “Precious” in a Datlow/Windling anthology Silver Birch, Blood Moon. Each new piece continues to delight me and stretch me as a reader and ...Read More
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PETER SWIRSKI is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
Author TOMI ADEYEMI was named one of the 100 most influential people of 2020 by Time in the “Pioneers” category. For the full list: <time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/>.
CHARLOTTE HONIGMAN‘s “The Partisan and the Witch” (Skull and Pestle: New Tales of Baba Yaga) won the 2020 Washington Science Fiction Association Small Press Award for Short Fiction. The ...Read More
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HOWARD V. HENDRIX‘s home near Shaver Lake CA was destroyed in the Creek Fire in September 2020, shortly after the area received an evacuation order. He and his wife are “displaced persons staying in a motel in Fresno.” He wrote about the experience for the San Francisco Chronicle: <www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Disaster-hits-home-for-volunteer-firefighter-in-15567282.php>.
FRAN WILDE is the Fall 2020 Pearl S. Buck Writer in (remote) Residence at Randolph College, beginning in October. ...Read More
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Tor/Tom Doherty Associates announced that executive editor Beth Meacham will be retiring at the end of 2020. Meacham joined Tor in 1984 as editor-in-chief. Tor president and publisher Fritz Foy said,
We’re delighted that Beth will continue to edit a small number of projects for us on a consulting basis. But most of her list will be moving to other editors as she prepares for her retirement.
While you ...Read More
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N.K. Jemisin is one of 21 MacArthur Foundation Fellows selected for 2020. Each “genius grant” recipient receives a no-strings-attached “stipend of $625,000… paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years.”
Jemisin is broadening the spectrum of participants in speculative fiction’s creation and surrounding fandom through her published works as well as her world-building workshops, frequent interviews, and active presence on social media. While engaging readers with grippingly paced narratives, ...Read More
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Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Grand Central), first published in 1993, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list at #14 on the paperback fiction list for the week ending August 29, 2020 (printed September 13, 2020). It was her first appearance on the list. Butler, who died in 2006, was a MacArthur Fellow and winner of numerous literary and genre awards.
While you are here, please take ...Read More
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Author of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, Tomi Adeyemi has been named one of the 100 most influential people of 2020 by Time Magazine. Categories include Artists, Leaders, and more; Adeyemi is listed among Pioneers.
For more information, including the full list, see the Time article.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations ...Read More
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EMILY INKPEN is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
MÁRIO SEABRA COELHO is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
JOSHUA WINNING is now represented by Kristina Perez of Zeno Agency.
YUDHANJAYA WIJERATNE is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
ANGUS WATSON is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
PETER S. BEAGLE won the Jack Trevor Story Memorial Prize/Prix du Goncourt, ...Read More
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ALAN DEAN FOSTER began composing classical music in April, and has completed several short pieces, a symphony, and a symphonic suite. His Nightwish suite is online at <www.facebook.com/alandeanfoster>.
COLSON WHITEHEAD won the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. At 50, he is the youngest author to receive that lifetime achievement award ever. Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys (Doubleday) won the 2020 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, presented July ...Read More
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Rebecca Gomez Farrell has been named the new communications manager for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The role is intended to produce content and engagement with current and potential SFWA members, “as well as expand the organization’s brand recognition.”
SFWA Executive Director Kate Baker said,
Because of the nebulous nature of the organization, and because our members are located around the world, having a steady and ...Read More
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GEORGE R.R. MARTIN (and two other investors) have purchased 18 miles of abandoned railway connecting the historic depot in Lamy NM with Santa Fe. Martin plans to restore the line as a tourist attraction and film shooting venue by 2022.
MEHDI BEL ABBES is now represented via the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
TOBI OGUNDIRAN is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
Writer ELIZABETH KNOX was appointed ...Read More
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BROOKE BOLANDER is now represented by DongWon Song of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
J.K. ROWLING‘s Harry Potter character Salazar Slytherin (who could speak to snakes) provided the name for a new species of pit viper, Trimeresurus salazar, discovered by researchers in India.
Locus assistant editor JOSH PEARCE & EMILY DOAN are the parents of LUCA DOAN PEARCE, born May 15, 2020.
NEIL GAIMAN left New Zealand to ...Read More
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George R.R. Martin (and two other investors) have purchased 18 miles of abandoned railway connecting the historic depot in Lamy NM with Santa Fe. He plans to restore the line as a tourist attraction and film shooting venue by 2022.
For more, see Martin’s announcement.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to ...Read More
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Actor and writer AYDREA WALDEN will be Toastmaster for the 2020 Nebula Awards, to be presented online May 30, 2020.
Brothers and video game developers CHRIS & TIM STAMPER have joined the John Jarrold Literary Agency and will work on multimedia projects.
ROBERT MARCHBANK is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
ANDY LIVINGSTONE is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
RICHARD POWERS‘s The ...Read More
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George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has inspired the name of a new genus for several types of pterosaurs: Targaryendraconia is named after House Targaryen from the series. Martin declared himself “delighted” and praised the discoverer, paleontologist Rodrigo Pegas, “who is solidly on my side about dragons having two legs, not four.”
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a ...Read More
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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has named Lois McMaster Bujold the 36th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.
SFWA president Mary Robinette Kowal said Bujold “has had an undeniable influence on the field of science fiction and fantasy. From the the Vorkosigan Saga, to the Chalion series and the Sharing Knife series, she finds new ways to explore the genre, mixing and matching ...Read More
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Analog magazine is celebrating its 90th anniversary with “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact: The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium”, to be held in conjunction with City Tech College on December 12, 2019 in New York NY.
There will be an author reading and panel, an editorial panel including Trevor Quachri and Stanley Schmidt, a keynote speech from Michael F. Flynn, and various presentations ...Read More
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George R.R. Martin was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in a ceremony held October 27, 2019 at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park NJ. Inductees are recommended by New Jersey residents, and final selections are made by public vote. Martin, who currently lives in New Mexico, grew up in Bayonne NJ.
Peter Benchley was inducted posthumously.
For more information, including a complete list of inductees, see the ...Read More
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Emily Hockaday, formerly associate editor at Asimov’s and Analog, has been promoted to managing editor of both magazines. In addition to handling poetry selections and companion blogs for the science fiction magazines, she recently co-edited a horror anthology, Terror at the Crossroads (Penny), with Jackie Sherbow, managing editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Hockaday said, “I’m busy working toward Analog’s 90th Anniversary year, including the ...Read More
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Irene Gallo has been promoted to Vice President, Publisher of Tor.com, effective immediately. Gallo joined Tor 26 years ago where she rose to become head of the art department. She was also one of the founders of the Tor.com website and involved in the creation and launch of the Tor.com imprint.
Gallo says,
To all my art friends. For better or worse, you are not rid of me! I will ...Read More
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Malcolm Edwards, the chair of Gollancz and consultant publisher at Orion, is leaving the company on May 31, 2019.
Edwards started at Gollancz in 1976, rising to publishing director before joining HarperCollins in 1989, where he was fiction publishing director. He went to Orion in 1998 as managing director; Gollancz became part of Orion shortly thereafter. He was promoted to deputy CEO and publisher in 2003. In 2015 he stepped ...Read More
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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has named William Gibson the 35th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.
SFWA president Cat Rambo said Gibson “forged a body of work that has played a major part in the coalescing of the cyberpunk movement, influencing dozens of writers of cinema, fiction, and games, among other creatives…. Gibson continues to produce taut, evocative works that reflect the ...Read More
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Kelly Link is one of 25 MacArthur Foundation Fellows selected for 2018. Each “genius grant” recipient receives a no-strings-attached “stipend of $625,000… paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years.”
Although nominees are reviewed for their achievements, the fellowship is not a lifetime achievement award, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential. Indeed, the purpose of the MacArthur Fellows Program is to enable recipients to ...Read More
Read moreRobert J. Sawyer has been appointed to the Order of Ontario, that province’s highest honor, which “recognizes individuals whose exceptional achievement in their field have left a lasting legacy in the province, in Canada and beyond.” Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Chancellor of the Order of Ontario, called Sawyer “a champion of the Canadian fiction industry.” He will be invested as a Member of the Order during a ...Read More
Read moreThe Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have named Peter S. Beagle the 34th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. SFWA president Cat Rambo said, “Beagle’s work has been the gateway for multitudes of fantasy readers, but also writers as well, including myself. His work shines a light on the human heart and its beauties even when that heart is flawed and wanting, showing how ...Read More
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