The Nielsen Bestseller Awards have been announced, and include several titles and authors of genre interest. George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake (Jonathan Cape) was a Platinum Bestseller; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton) was a Gold Bestseller; and The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Penguin UK & David Fickling) was a Silver Bestseller. Several titles by Matt Haig ...Read More
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DOMINICA PHETTEPLACE has been chosen for the Bookshop Santa Cruz Writing Residency. She will spend two weeks writing at the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, working on her novel Robot Country, “a dystopian science fiction novel which imagines robots as the agents of the next wave of American colonization and forced resettlement.” For details see the website.
Writers LAUREN DIXON & DALLAS TAYLOR were married July 31, 2021. ...Read More
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A new 20-minute opera, Stars Between, with a libretto by SF writer E. Lily Yu and music by Steven K. Tran, is now available on the Seattle Opera website. The opera tells the story of the Voyager space probes, following them “into the interstellar unknown, exploring death, beauty, wonder, space, and time.”
The opera was created as part of the inaugural year of the Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab: ...Read More
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Time has named author N.K. Jemisin as one of the 100 most influential people of 2021 in the “Artists” category. Jemisin is the award-winning author of The City We Became, the Broken Earth trilogy, the Inheritance Trilogy, and more.
For the full list and more details, see the Time article.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely ...Read More
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TA-NEHISI COATES is joining the faculty of Howard University, his alma mater.
NNEDI OKORAFOR accepted an appointment at Arizona State University as a Professor of practice as part of the Interplanetary Initiative and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
TADE THOMPSON has been voted vice president of the British Science Fiction Association.
RB KELLY is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
KEVIN J. ANDERSON and ...Read More
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The Smithsonian Institution plans to honor Octavia E. Butler as part of their upcoming Futures exhibit, scheduled to open November 2021 in the Arts and Industries building. An Olivetti typewriter originally donated to the museum by Butler “will represent Butler’s life,” and will be displayed alongside a portrait of Butler by Nettrice Gaskins, an artist who “uses algorithms meant to be employed in machine learning to produce artworks.” The exhibit ...Read More
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KAT HOWARD is now represented by Allie Levick of Writers House.
V.E. SCHWAB‘s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Tor) won the Bisexual Book Award in the Speculative Fiction category, presented by the Bi Writers Association.
DAVID DIOP‘s At Night All Blood Is Black (Pushkin), translated by ANNA MOSCHOVAKIS, won the 2021 International Booker Prize. The £50,000 prize is divided equally among the author and ...Read More
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The administrators of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award have announced a new panel of judges: Rich Horton, Steven H Silver, and Grant Thiessen. New judges were selected from a call for volunteers after last year’s judges, Robert J. Sawyer and Barry Malzberg, resigned from position.
Established in 2001 by the Cordwainer Smith foundation, the Rediscovery Award is intended to bring attention to lesser-known SF and fantasy authors. Award recipients include ...Read More
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President Barack Obama announced his 2021 Summer Reading List via Twitter, including a few works of genre interest:
For the complete list, see his post on Twitter.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on ...Read More
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TOBIAS S. BUCKELL has joined Bluffton University in Bluffton OH as a full-time member of the creative writing faculty. He will be teaching writing and American Literature classes, and directing literary magazines Shalith and The Bridge. “I’ve ordered a jacket with leather patches, and expect your mental image of me to be updated accordingly!”
DAVID CRAIG is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
LOUISE ERDRICH‘s ...Read More
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ALICE BELL is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
JEAN-CLAUDE MOURLEVAT won the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, honoring children’s and young adult literature, which includes a prize of five million krona ($572,000).
MICAIAH JOHNSON‘s The Space Between Worlds (Del Rey) won the 2021 Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Award for the “best debut novel in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.” The $1,000 award will ...Read More
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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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