It being late Sunday evening, I want to throw a question out into the void and see what comes back. Geoff Ryman often rolled out the term ‘broken backed’ when he was teaching at Clarion. Geoff meant it not as a general term for a bad story, but as a specific term for a goodContinue reading “Brokeback Tales”
Category Archives: Writing & Publishing
The 100 most beautiful words
Alison Flood toys cat-like with the 100 most beautiful words over at the Guardian book blog. Now I’m more of a storyteller than a wordsmith, and once appalled a friend by saying that words for me were just a means to end, but even I can see the pleasure in these words. Looking at theContinue reading “The 100 most beautiful words”
2009: The End of Short Fiction as We Know It
So, 2009 is not shaping up to be a good year for writers or fans of SF/F short fiction. Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine are reducing production to six double (as opposed to twelve single) issues a year, Years Best Fantasy & Horror is closing, Years Best Fantasy is going online, and most shocking ofContinue reading “2009: The End of Short Fiction as We Know It”
Lit-Fic : the genre that dare not speak its name
David Barnett has posted and excellent piece at the Guardian book blog on the way mainstream literature denies the existence of science fictional stories in its midst. But I wonder, is science fiction really the genre that dare not speak its name? Or does that plaudit really go to literary fiction?
1000 Best Books @ The Guardian and beyond…
The Guardian have gone list crazy this week, attacking with gusto the 1000 best novels we all should read before we die, including a section dedicated to science fiction and fantasy. Its a great list, with some wonderful reads, and looks at genre fiction in the broadest sense including both staight-up genre works and moreContinue reading “1000 Best Books @ The Guardian and beyond…”
Are you prepared to change the world?
Dear friends, It is with perhaps a modicum of trepidation that I recommend to you the fittingly titled Errata, the latest work of penmanship from Mr. Jeff Vendermeer, published this day at the web journal of Tor.com. I should not have to tell regular readers that despite my interest in the fantastic, I am notContinue reading “Are you prepared to change the world?”
Why publish a story collection?
James Van Pelt closes his article on short story collections over at The Fix with a call for people to read them. Its a call I would have to second, even knowing that it won’t be heard. Like poetry collections, or photographic monographs, or independent cinema, the short story is a specialised realm that willContinue reading “Why publish a story collection?”
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
One of my favourite stories of last years was Summer in Paris, Light from the Sky by Ken Scholes in Clarkesworld magazine. I loved the stopry so much that I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Schole’s first novel, which has recently been released in hardback in the States. We may have to wait sometimeContinue reading “Lamentation by Ken Scholes”
The New Fantasy
Lou Anders of Pyr talks about the New Fantasy over at the Agony Column podcast. Anders cites Tom Lloyd, Joe Abercromie and Mark Chadbourn among others as. Is this post 9/11 fantasy? Are the values of sword and sorcery penetrating high fantasy? Is this a new debate, or is there always a new fantasy? CertainlyContinue reading “The New Fantasy”
Stranger in a Strange Land
Sam Jordison delves into Heinlein’s accidental counter-cultural relic over at the Guardian book blog.
Hard Fantasy
Jane Lindskold talks about her penchant for Hard Fantasy over at Tor.com. Even with the slightly sleazy connotations, I like the term. I’m not sure I agree with Jane’s shot at defibing it however, which sounds a bot too much like obessesive world building for my liking. For me, the hard bit about about writingContinue reading “Hard Fantasy”
TOC Year’s Best SF 26
Gardner Dozois has announced the table of contents for The Year’s Best Science Fiction, twenty sixth annual collection over at the Asimov’s forum. As IO9 observes, there are a very large number of original anthologies represented in the TOC. Are the digests dead? Did they fall or where they pushed? Interzone, Postscripts and Solaris holdContinue reading “TOC Year’s Best SF 26”
Damien Walter 