I was nicely surprised to wake up this morning to find a wonderful translation of Im Abendrot in my inbox. I have posted before about this poem by Joseph von Eichendorff, which I discovered via the music of Richard Strauss. Teh generous spirited Richard Gardner found my ear;y post and has furnished me with aContinue reading “Surprise Translation”
Category Archives: Journalism
A Booker prize for editors?
Editors are important. That much is certain. To put it simply, they decide who does and does not get published. And in the high courts of publishing that so many authors aspire to enter this makes them judge, jury and all too often executioner. But are they creative? Read more
What makes a Hugo nominee tick?
I’ve been lucky enough to interview both Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow in the last year. To celebrate their nominations for both the Hugo and Prometheus awards, here are the two interviews again for anyone who missed them. I learned a lot from doing both interviews. Charlie has an insight into what science fiction isContinue reading “What makes a Hugo nominee tick?”
Philip Jose Farmer, rebel against reality
Philip José Farmer, who passed out of this world yesterday, was among the last of a generation who emerged from the revolutionary literature of science fiction. Along with contemporaries including Robert Heinlen, Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick and and Kurt Vonnegut, Farmer dedicated his life to writing stories that forced their readers to confront andContinue reading “Philip Jose Farmer, rebel against reality”
The next generation of sci-fi writers
There’s a wealth of talent out there – so who will be the SF and fantasy authors of tomorrow? The Guardian’s recent quest to catalogue the 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read scoured the vast galaxy of tales told under the banner of “science fiction and fantasy”, and boiled them down to a few dozen ofContinue reading “The next generation of sci-fi writers”
Steampunk: the future of the past
Forget spaceships and laser guns – steampunk says it’s the Industrial Revolution that shows us what we’ve got to look forward to. Dress code: polished brass. While fans of speculative fiction are not known for their adherence to high fashion, the genre produces no end of trends to follow. In recent years paranormal romance hasContinue reading “Steampunk: the future of the past”
Mermaidification
I really enjoyed this story by Meredith Schwartz in this weeks Strange Horizons, except for the moment where the story makes it explicit that the narrator is a mermaid. I like the oblique mystery more than the revelation. But I love the word Mermaidification, so all is forgiven.
Cory Doctorow Interview
Willing Science Fiction into Fact Activist-novelist Cory Doctorow explains to Damien G Walter how he hopes his writing will change tomorrow’s world. Cory Doctorow’s office lies behind a featureless, black security door in a north London side street, deep in a converted post-industrial warehouse, down echoing corridors and concrete stairways. It’s an appropriately “underground” headquartersContinue reading “Cory Doctorow Interview”
Science fiction doesn’t have to be gloomy, does it?
The future can be worrying to consider at the best of times. But with a global economic crisis looming, a war on terrorism and the continuing threat of climate change to ponder, the future looks bleak indeed. It’s at times like these that people seek escape in the pages of popular fiction. But anyone lookingContinue reading “Science fiction doesn’t have to be gloomy, does it?”
The Tribes of Art
Certain tensions crop up over and again in conversations about art, be it art v commerce, truth v beauty or the ever popular form v content. Now comics, once derided as “just for kids” but now the source of some of our most powerful storytelling, have entered the high falutin’ fray in the form ofContinue reading “The Tribes of Art”
My Greedy Plea for Help
A great piece of flash fiction over at Strange Horizons… My Greedy Plea for Help
E-books and coffee to go
As if the co-dependent relationship between coffee and books isn’t strong enough, today’s Guardian says British bookseller Blackwell’s is deploying the first in a new generation of Espresso Book Machines (EBM’s) in autumn. The news seals the deal between the printed page and the world’s most popular legal stimulant. Read more at the Teleread blog
Damien Walter 