Sometime in the last year or so I realised that my entire professional life fitted inside my laptop. I am a writer. The only tools I really need for my trade are a laptop and my big brain. (Arguably fingers etc as well but let’s not go there) In the digital age, that means IContinue reading “Going Nomad”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Five science fiction novels for people who hate SF
The genre’s denser stories can seem rebarbative to ‘general readers’, but these books tell immediately relevant, compelling tales. Science fiction is all around us, from clandestine electronic surveillance to robots taking our jobs, from death-dealing drones in the skies of Pakistan right through to the second industrial revolution unleashed by 3D printing. It’s more thanContinue reading “Five science fiction novels for people who hate SF”
On being bossed around by Neil Gaiman
I’ve been outlandishly busy in recent weeks. So much so that I haven’t been able to post anything personal here on my blog. One of the costs of having more freelance writing than you can do is that it squeezes out the personal projects that you love. So here’s a round-up on some of whatContinue reading “On being bossed around by Neil Gaiman”
Harlan Ellison : The Interview
Originally published in The Guardian. When Damien Walter tweeted he’d ‘literally kill’ to interview the multiple award-winning author Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman replied ‘What if the person you had to kill was … Harlan Ellison?’ Here Ellison talks about running away from home, the rights and wrongs of paying to read books and how hisContinue reading “Harlan Ellison : The Interview”
Does God have a place in science fiction?
If SF is grounded in hard scientific fact, and science is killing God, then what place does that leave for divine intervention in the pages of SF literature? When I tweeted this question, @MirabilisDave gave Arthur C Clarke’s famous dictum a twist, quipping that “Any sufficiently advanced technocrat will be indistinguishable from God.” Read moreContinue reading “Does God have a place in science fiction?”
Technology of the Gods
Technology can give us the power of gods, but can it help us become more human? The promise of technology is the promise of power. Power over the material world, and over our fates as humans. Power that was once the sole domain of the gods. It was from them that Prometheus stole fire toContinue reading “Technology of the Gods”
What critics really mean when they say…
Nothing in publishing means what it says. Especially book reviews and the stuff they put in blurbs. Renowned – unknown Bestselling – crap New York Times bestseller – utter crap Seminal – almost dead Legendary – actually dead Cult – only readable by drug addicts A powerful debut – you will never hear from thisContinue reading “What critics really mean when they say…”
An open letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon
Dear Jeff, Congratulations on your recent purchase of Goodreads The Washington Post All Creation. You already owned the world’s biggest marketplace for ebooks, and let’s give you credit for having the vision to make the Kindle happen. Now you own the biggest community of readers in the world, and those 16 million super-readers, and their influenceContinue reading “An open letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon”
Is the death of the bookshop a sign of progress?
High street bookshops maye soon be a distant memory. Should we take this as a sign of progress, or the regression of society to a pre-literate state? Today the last big bookshop in Leicester, the city where I reside, closed its doors. The out of town Borders went three years ago. Waterstones on Market StreetContinue reading “Is the death of the bookshop a sign of progress?”
Can you teach writing?
Is the wrong question. What we should ask is, can you learn writing? To which the answer is an unequivocal YES! All writers teach themselves, through an intense and lifelong process of reading, writing, critiquing, editing, rewriting and rereading. This is how we learn. In this process, a good teacher can save you immense timeContinue reading “Can you teach writing?”
Walk with me through Weird London
UPDATE : Joining me on my walk through Weird London will be Tom Pollock, author of The City’s Son, Geraldine Beskin, owner of the Atlantis bookshop, and none other than M John Harrison, arguably among greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy literature of all time. On Thursday 16th May I’m taking a psycho-geographical tourContinue reading “Walk with me through Weird London”
The wisdom of technology
Wisdom 2.0 has grown very fast in only four years. From its first panel discussion in May 2010, between Google VP Bradley Horowitz and zen teacher Joan Halifax, the conference has stayed focused on its signature blend of technology and spirituality. In February 2013 Wisdom 2.0 filled the Concourse Exhibition Centre in San Francisco withContinue reading “The wisdom of technology”
Damien Walter 