Alt.Fiction 2008 was, as predicted, fun, entertaining, enlightening and…expensive! Ticket to Alt.Fiction – £20. Various snack meals – £30. Too many excellent small press books and magazine subscriptions – £100. Getting to hear John Jarrold bang his fist on the table whilst telling us all that publishing is a commercial industry – £PRICELESS! I’ve seenContinue reading “The Alt. Report 2008”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Roll up for Alt.Fiction
The third annual festival of alternative fiction takes place this Saturday 26th April at the Derby Assembly Rooms, attracting goths, hippies, folkies, cyber-nerds, neo-pagans, sci-fi geeks, trekkers, real ale fans and people from dozens of other assorted sub-cultures – as well as plenty of ordinary folk – all united by their love of a goodContinue reading “Roll up for Alt.Fiction”
Don’t Abandon Hardbacks
Major publishers could be about to discard the hardback just as it becomes more valuable than ever When Claire Armistead reported the demise of the hardback last week, I wondered why publishers were tossing away one of their greatest assets just when they need it the most. It’s not every morning I awake with joyContinue reading “Don’t Abandon Hardbacks”
Which rule do you break?
I’ve posted Heinlein’s rules numerous times, but a thred at the Asimov’s forum reminded me of them andyou can never hear them too often so here they are again. RULE ONE: You must write. RULE TWO: Finish what you start. RULE THREE: You must refrain from re-writing, except to editorial order. RULE FOUR: You mustContinue reading “Which rule do you break?”
Audio is Our Future
I’d like to gamble that when clever people were kicking around ideas about how the internet would revolutise society, no one predicted the revival of the oral tradition. I know if anyone had told me I’d be using my super powerful computer to listen to stories much the same as my ancesteros told around theContinue reading “Audio is Our Future”
James Patrick Kelly praises The Fix
Jim Kelly, award winning SF writer (and Clarion tutor) praises The Fix… Luckily for fans of the short form, a new site, The Fix, has arrived on the scene. Andy Cox, of TTA Press, publisher of Interzone and Black Static, and Eugie Foster have created a site that is visually pleasing and intellectually stimulating. TheContinue reading “James Patrick Kelly praises The Fix”
Clarion Journal: Reading Geoff Ryman
Its been a little over a week since I found out about getting a place at Clarion. The excitement has been pretty intense, its been very difficult to stop thinking about it. A number of other semi-major life events have occured – I have barely even noticed. I’m getting towards being calm about it nowContinue reading “Clarion Journal: Reading Geoff Ryman”
Spoiled children use us as toys
I’ve started writing poetry again. It really must have been a bad day.
Radiohead Suck
This is really sad. I’m watching Radiohead on TV. They suck. What happened people? They used to be alright. Now they sound like a nervous cough. Somebody give Tom York a Lockett.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 2008
The May 2008 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction kicks off with a hint of horror provided by Albert E. Cowdrey’s “Thrilling Wonder Stories.” Knowledgeable science fiction readers might recognise the title as a reference to a real (and recently relaunched) pulp magazine, and the story is set in the era ofContinue reading “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 2008”
The Politics of SF
I don’t remember when I first saw the words “Nebula Award Winner” emblazoned on a science fiction paperback. It might well have been alongside “Hugo Award Winner” on the cover of The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke, which won both of speculative fiction’s premier awards in 1979 and 1980. I can’t have knownContinue reading “The Politics of SF”
Bullet Proof Soul
Mur Lafferty made some perceptive statements about the twin terrors of Humbleness and Hubris on the latest episode of I Should Be Writing. You can listen there to Mur’s take on why you need to keep those two demons in balance. I was really taken by her passing reference to the bullet proof soul and I’ve beenContinue reading “Bullet Proof Soul”
Damien Walter 