AMAZING NEWS

(The contents of AMAZING NEWS is gathered via RSS feed, website perusals, discussion forums, newsletters and emails.  If you have an item of news of import to the genre community, feel free to send it in!)

SOCIAL

SPECIAL BRIANNA WU SECTION

Earlier this week, Amazing Stories designated Brianna Wu’s game REVOLUTION 60 – from her independent game development company Giant SpaceKat – the official game of Amazing Stories.  This was done to illustrate our support of Brianna and to help counter, in some small way, the efforts of those who are seeking to damage and destroy Brianna’s, the company’s and the game’s reputation.  Gamergate may once have been about a protest against perceived bias in gaming journalism, but it has clearly morphed into an attack on women in gaming.  Since Brianna was threatened with murder, she has been all over the mainstream news with a declaration that the haters will not force her out of gaming.  Her strong stand appears to be having positive results:  numerous prominent entities within the gaming community are now speaking out on Brianna’s behalf.  Here’s some of that (and other coverage):

It Happened To Me:  Brianna’s Manifesto

Trade Group Speaks Up

Brianna (and others) on Huffpost Live (video)

Follow-on Discussion with Female Gamers (video)

Brianna’s Twitter

NY Times

Washington Post

Roundup on the Mary Sue

In Other Social News

Hey – if the Pope Can’t Get What the Pope Wants…. the Bishops Speak

Time To Kill the “Strong Female Lead”?

Where Are We Going?  Where Have We Been?  David Brin Has A Few Thoughts

Neil Gaiman On:  The Lack of Female Writers On Dr. Who

EBOLA:  21 Day Quarantine May Not Be Enough

ENTERTAINMENT

Frank Robinson Interview (video)

There Were MANY Different Heinleins

Hawk Doesn’t LIke Being Surveilled

Book Pirates Are Back!

Uhura Promos Space Capsule (Nichelle NIchols) (Video)

Speaking of Star Trek:  Captain Kirk (Bill Shatner) in a Volkswagen Commercial

An Aussie in Europe – Con Report

INDUSTRY

NY Review Of SF Looking For More Readers

SOFACON Fundraiser

New Fifty Year Mission Book Chronicles Star Trek Saga

Hear Me Roar Anthology (Yep – Kick-Ass Womenz Antho)

Strange Horizon’s Fund Raiser

Angry Robot Stays

How NOT To Register Copyright

SCIENCE

Why We MUST Continue To Explore Space

China Moon Shot

Uh Oh:  Pyramids On Comets…How Long Before We Find A Face?

Speaking of Comets…One Will Be Visiting Mars & the Robots Are Scrambling

Spacecraft Selfie

Lockheed-Martin Announces Smaller, Better Fusion Reactor:  Rest of Science Skeptical (Can you all say “Mr. Fusion”…?

 

PRESS RELEASES & NETWSLETTERS

Museum of Science Fiction (DC) Announces Screen Writer Appearance

Hello Everyone!I’m so pleased to tell you that Star Trek screenwriter, Morgan Gendel is coming to Washington, DC the week of October 27 to speak at the DC Public Library and conduct two workshops for aspiring science fiction screenwriters.While in DC, Mr. Gendel will also speak to the film students at American University School of Communication and children at the John Eaton Elementary School.

Mr. Gendel is a former journalist and network executive who over the last 25 years has written or produced more than 200 episodes of television, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Law & Order, MTV’s Spider-Man, V.I.P. and The Dresden Files. He is partnered with Stan Lee on the graphic novel Hellana and is currently adapting the Ursula K. LeGuin novel, The Telling as a feature film. He teaches Drama TV Writing at Columbia College Chicago, International FilmSchool of Cologne, the Filmakademie in Stuttgart, and speaks at dozens of science fiction events around the world.

At the DC Public Library, Mr. Gendel will screen his Hugo Award-winning episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Inner Light. The Inner Light which places USS Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard in an alternate life for what seems to him like 50 years, was recently ranked by science fiction website io9.com as the #8 best episode from among all 700 hours of various Trek series.Following the screening, Mr. Gendel will discuss his inspiration for the episode and will tell all about his behind-the-scenes’ experiences in the Star Trek world. Time for questions and answers will follow the talk.

WHERE:               DC Public Library, Tenley-Friendship Branch
4450 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20016
tenleylibrary@dc.gov
202-727-1488

Metro Stop: Tenleytown-AU

WHEN:                 Monday, Oct. 27, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Reserve seating at: https://mosf.eventbrite.com

“Write the Next (Hypothetical) Sci-Fi TV Series”

A How-to Seminar for Writers and Sci-Fi Fans

In this 6-hour hands-on seminar, participants will work as a group to create the concept for a new sci-fi series. Building on that framework, the fundamentals of setting, character and action will be examined with an eye toward how they work together in a compelling screen story. Mr. Gendel will screen clips from his work and others’ to demonstrate.

A separate Daytime and Evening Workshop is available. Limited seating.

EVENING WORKSHOP:    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Evenings
October 28-30  7-9 PM
attendance is required for all three evenings

DAYTIME WORKSHOP:     Wednesday, October 29  10:30 AM – 4 PM

WHERE:      Computing Research Association, 1828 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

TICKETS:     EventBrite – EVENING WORKSHOP
EventBrite – DAYTIME WORKSHOP

A PLACE AT THE TABLE tickets guarantee you a seat – $175
V.I.P. tickets includes a seat plus either a personal screenwriting
consultation with Mr. Gendel or a script analysis – $250

To best emulate the feel of a real Writers Room and allow everyone to have a hands-on experience, seating is limited to 24 participants at each workshop.

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Steven Hart Releases A New Essay Collection

Steven Hart’s new essay collection, Let the Devil Speak: Articles, Essays, and Incitements, has just been published in paperback and ebook editions by Black Angel Press.https://www.amazon.com/Let-Devil-Speak-Articles-Incitements/dp/0615954456/ref=la_B001JP2JGI_1_5_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413410016&sr=1-5

Hart, author of two critically acclaimed narrative histories, uses Let the Devil Speak to explain the terrain where history, politics, and culture overlap and ignite.

The book opens with a long essay about Good Old Boys, Randy Newman’s celebrated concept album about racism and the South, but at least three other articles will be of direct interest to Amazing Stories readers.

“May the Fraud Be With You,” an expansion of Hart’s controversial piece for Salon, shows how Star Wars impresario George Lucas built his epic on unacknowledged borrowings from classic science fiction, and how the pretentiousness has only grown worse with news that another round of Star Wars films is on the way.

“The Clockwork Grove” explores the fiftieth anniversary of the novel A Clockwork Orange, dispels some myths generated by author Anthony Burgess, and points to a message much more disturbing than the creator probably intended.

“The Ents From the Orcs” explores the close relationship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, whose work probably would never have seen the light of day without their friendship, and how Tolkien’s idealistic epic was claimed as support for a sordid and corrupt presidency.

“Steven Hart wields a straight-razor for a pen. His subtle insights, especially on the bloody crossroads where race and music meet — the place where Robert Johnson met the devil — mark him a true American essayist.” Rick Perlstein, New York Times bestselling author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America and The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan.”Steven Hart is an exemplary cultural critic. He’s assiduous in his sleuthing through history, alert in his observations, sharply intelligent in his reach, and clear in his prose. His linking of America’s past and its music — between what went downand what was laid down — is acute, compelling, responsive and fresh.” Michael Gray, author of Hand Me My Travelin’ Shoes – In Search of Blind Willie McTell and Song & Dance Man: The Art of Bob Dylan.
~~~
Photos From Last Month’s KGB Reading

Here are the photos. If anyone has ids for those I’m missing-or corrections, please let me know.

https://tinyurl.com/ozsbs85

~~~
KGB To Feature Nancy Kress & Jack Skillingstead

FANTASTIC FICTION at KGB reading series, hosts

Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel

present:

 Nancy Kress is the author of thirty-three books, including twenty-six novels, four collections of short stories, and three books on writing.  Her work has won five Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Nancy’s most recent work is Yesterday’s Kin, about genetic inheritance.  In addition to writing, Kress often teaches at various venues around the country and abroad; in 2008 she was the Picador visiting lecturer at the University of Leipzig.

and
In 2001 Jack Skillingstead won Stephen King’s On Writing contest.  Not long afterward Jack began selling regularly to major science fiction and fantasy markets. To date he has published more than thirty stories in various magazines, Year’s Best volumes and original anthologies.  Much of his short work has been collected in Are You There and Other Stories.  Jack’s novel, Life on the Preservation, was a finalist

for the Philip K. Dick Award.

November 19th, 2014

www.kgbfantasticfiction.org

Subscribe to our mailing list:

https://groups.yahoo.com/group/kgbfantasticfiction/

Readings are free

Forward to friends at your own discretion.

Books will be for sale

~~~

Edge Media Announces:

Canada’s largest dedicated genre publisher of thought provoking novels,
anthologies and collections of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
Quality literary entertainment in print and pixel formats.
Media Release
October 16, 2014
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
For Immediate Release.
“This is the LAST week of the crowdfunding campaign for nEvermore! Murder, Mystery and the Macabre, and I’m hoping you’ll help out by donating something.  You can donate and get a perk–and we have new and amazing perks (and remember, the gift-giving holidays are approaching fast!  We are offering one-of-a-kind items and some fun stocking-stuffers!).  You can also donate without a perk, and also anonymously–even small amounts are fine, and add up.
“As of this email, we’ve reached 60% of our goal.  Ours is one of those campaigns where we either meet the goal we’ve set, or we get nothing.  Help us make this unique anthology happen.”  — Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles, editors

nEvermore! 

Nancy Kilpatrick is an award-winning author and editor known for her dark fantasy/horror and mystery stories.  She has published 18 novels, over 200 short stories, 6 collections, 1 non-fiction book, and has edited 14 anthologies.  She has worked for major publishing houses and small presses and some of her fiction has been translated in several foreign languages.  Poe’s works have been a lifelong passion and she is thrilled to have this opportunity to create an anthology that honors this exceptional author of style and genius.
Caro Soles is best known for founding the Bloody Words Mystery Conference to highlight Canadian mystery writing. She received the Derrick Murdoch Award from the Crime Writers of Canada, was short-listed for the Lambda Literary Award, and inaugurated the Bloody Words Mystery Award several years ago.  She has published 11 novels and many short stories and has edited several mystery anthologies.  She writes and reads mysteries, teaches writing at George Brown College and loves a good ghost story.
 
 
How Crowdfunding Works!
 
You receive ‘perks’ by donating to the project. More perks for larger donations!  Amounts can vary from $5.00 to $1,000.00. One of the best perks is a print copy of nEvermore!, which will be available in October 2015 (just in time for Halloween)!
Tales of Murder, Mystery and the Macabre
 
nEvermore! is an homage to the glorious, Gothic style of the master, Edgar Allan Poe, bringing Poe-inspired fiction into the 21st century.
 
nEvermore! brings together mystery writers (who already include a slash of the supernatural in their writing) and dark fantasy/horror writers (who currently slip across the shadows and touch on the mystery genre).
 
nEvermore! is a book that will revive and refresh all of us who love to read short fiction!
 
Its Crowd Funded!
 
nEvermore! is collaboration between EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing and the editors. Together they’ve built one of the most unusual and exciting short fiction crowdfunding campaign ever seen.
 
For more information about the project and the complete list of the crowdfunding perks go here! To go directly to the crowd funding page please click here!
 
Reading Pleasure!
 
nEvermore!Poe is the father of the modern detective story. And his genius at writing dark, supernatural tales and poems is legendary. Poe wrote at a time when genres didn’t exist.  Readers wanted a good story; how it fit on a bookstore shelf didn’t matter. nEvermore! recaptures that sense of excitement and discovery of short fiction.
 
Guarantee!
 
Love Poe?  You won’t be disappointed. This anthology is guaranteed to be the best anthology for your POE-inspired reading pleasure.
 
 
The Editors!
NEW PERKS ARE LISTED EVERY WEDNESDAY
DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER!!!
All of the perks are Poe-related.  Please visit the nEvermore! websitefor a complete list of perks. Updates and images can be found here!
The Goal!
The funding goal for this project is $15,000.00. Contributions will onlybe transferred to the project once the goal is reached.  If you want to donate anonymously without a perk, please use the first category The Pit & The Pendulum, where you can donate any amount you like.  Your donations will bring this anthology to life. Help us make this New-Gothic anthology happen!
Release Date:The release date for the print and e-book versions of “Nevermore!: TALES of MURDER, MYSTERY & the MACABRE” is October of 2015. Funders will receive their copies in advance of the public release date.

-30-

Media Contact:
Janice Shoults, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
www.edgewebsite.com
403.254.0160

Thanks for your continued support of our press. EDGE titles can be purchased through local book resellers and from our online partners.
Distributed in Canada and the United States by Fitzhenry and Whiteside
(US wholesale via Ingram)
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
Box 1714, Calgary, AB, Canada
Phone: (403) 254-0160

www.edgewebsite.com

~~~

TOR.Com

Tor.com Newsletter
 
Birdman   Movie News: Dracula Tells All, Ghosts Will Be Busted Once More, LabyrinthReturns, and George Clooney Charms Comic Con! Ryan Britt ventures into the original bloodsucker’s tortured-but surprisingly fun!-backstory in his review ofDracula Untold. In other movie news, a sequel to Jim Henson’s classic Labyrinth may soon be on the way…so how does that make you feel? And speaking of 80s revivals, director Paul Feig has not only confirmed a female Ghostbusters film, but also promised us a full reboot! Emily Asher-Perrin recaps the excellent Birdmanpanel at New York Comic Con this past weekend, and breathed the same air as George Clooney at theTomorrowland panel! Plus, check out the firstTomorrowland trailer– it’s basically two minutes of soaring, uplifting, childlike wonder!SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

Podrick throne   Hangin’ with Mr. Hodor? Everybody Loves Podrick? Hmmm…In our ongoing Read of Ice and Fire series, Leigh Butler recaps A Feast For Crows, and shares her hopes and predictions for each of the characters as she moves on to more Dunk and Egg, then A Dance with Dragons. Meanwhile, Chris Lough proposes a Hodor and Pod spin-off sitcom after attending their delightful NYCC panel! Want to know how to forge an Iron Throne? Donato Giancola shows us how it was done in one of his gorgeous paintings for the Song of Ice and Fire 2015 calendar.And in the exciting world of math, a Game of Thrones fan has invented a formula to determine whether or not Jon Snow truly knows nothing! SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

Gotham   The Week in TV: The Pied Piper Marches into Sleepy Hollow, Jessica Lange Snacks on Scenery, and Korra Bids Us a Fond Farewell!A demonic Pied Piper starred in this week’s episode ofSleepy Hollow, but Leah Schnelbach was happier watching Ichabod enjoying the amenities of modern life. Mari Ness wonders how Elsa gets so much hiking done in formal wear as she traipses her way through Once Upon a Time’ s latest episode. Thom Dunn looks forward to the tense working relationship between Gordon and Cobblepot (Gobblepot?) hinted at in this week’s Gothamepisode,”Arkham.” Meanwhile, Alex Brown is cautiously optimistic that The Walking Dead may have found a solid, nuanced villain in its season five premiere, while Theresa DeLucci jumps into the first episode of American Horror Story: Freak Showand applauds the “fearsome, scenery-chewing superbeast” that is Jessica Lange. And Mordicai Knode tackles the most recent Legend of Korraepisode, in which Korra embarks on her own self-motivated Hero’s Quest, while Emily Asher-Perrin detailsKorra‘s touching goodbye to fans at NYCC. SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

Doctor Who   TV News: Constantine Exorcises Some Demons, and the Doctor Unravels a Mummy! Alex Brown spotlights three seriesForever, How to Get Away with Murder, and Stalker-while discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly in this year’s crop of new fall shows. Meanwhile, Emily Asher-Perrin dons a trench coat and recaps NYCC’s promising sneak peek at Constantine,coming soon to a TV near you! We’ve also got a newtrailer for Powers, the TV adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ police procedural comics series. Chris Lough marvels at “Mummy on the Orient Express,” an Agatha Christie-inspired steampunk monster movie mash-up that somehow makes for a quintessential episode of Doctor Whoand in other Time Lord-related news, Arthur Darvill has let it slip that there was nearly a Doctor Whomusical! SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

The Providence of Fire   Catching Up with China Miéville, Ann Leckie, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell! Looking for an entry point to one of the most prolific writers in modern genre fiction? Jared Shurin helpfully gives us all a crash course in the genre-bending work of China Miéville! And in the latest installment of our Sleeps With Monsters series, Liz Bourke interviews Ann Leckie, winner-of-many-shiny-awards for her debut novelAncillary Justice. We also reveal the UK cover of Brian Staveley’s The Providence of Fire, sequel to his epic fantasy debut, The Emperor’s Blades. Plus, Kate Nepveu embarks on Part One of the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Reread, in which magic returns to England after more than two hundred years!SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

Tony and Cap   Meet Your Friendly Neighborhood Gwen, Tony Stark Won’t Leave Cap Alone, and Big Hero 6 Gives Us Nanobots! Marvel’s alternate universe “Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman” story has proved so popular that now Spider-Gwen is getting her own series! And according to the rumor mill, Robert Downey Jr. may be returning to the Marvelverse to appear in the third Captain America film, perhaps as part of a Civil War story arc… Meanwhile,Big Hero 6 released additional footage showing off San Fransokyo, murderous nanobots, and Hiro’s fantastic team! And Natalie Zutter recaps the thought-provoking discussion at NYCC’s recent “Transgender Themes in Comics” forum, featuring a panel of authors and artists including Batgirl writer Gail Simone!SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

Comic Con   Comic Con Invades New York, and Our Newsletter! You may have noticed quite a bit of NYCC coverage dotting this newsletter so far…but there’s so much more to talk about! Ryan Britt covered the inspired lunacy of Adam West’s spotlight panel; Leah Schnelbach got to stand in awe as Bill Nye the Science Guy and xkcd’s Randall Munroe sang the praises of SCIENCE, and she also recaps the inspiring stories from the Geeks of Color Go Pro panel. Katharine Duckett finds community among the aliens, zombies, vampires, and dragons of genre,while Natalie Zutter celebrates the diversity of cosplay with the #YesAllGeeks panel, and The Mary Sue’s panelists urge us not to write what we know, but to fight what we know! Plus Simon & Schuster prepare to launch their new science fiction and fantasy imprint, SAGA! You can check out all these stories and more from this year’s New York Comic Con here! SHARE THIS:  Facebook   Twitter
 

NEW ORIGINAL FICTION

Carrie Vaughn
Gennifer Albin
  Original FictionIn Carrie Vaughn’s brand-new Wild Cards story, “Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza,” ace Ana Cortez discovers that sometimes to be truly healed, you must return to your roots. Meanwhile, Gennifer Albin returns to her Crewel World universe for “The Girl in the High Tower”!“Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza” by Carrie Vaughn

The thing Ana Cortez remembered most about being shot was not realizing she’d been shot. It was more than adrenaline or the chaos of the situation. It was thinking, this can’t possibly be happening. No way was this really happening. When you have ace powers, you’re supposed to be able to save the world. But then you get shot.

“The Girl in the High Tower,” by Gennifer Albin

In Arras, time and space can be manipulated-and so can people. The Spinsters work day and night to ensure a perfect world, but above them all, at the top of the high tower, works the Creweler…until the Creweler makes a decision to help a young girl escape. Now bound by the strands of the universe, trapped between her memories and mistakes, subject to brutal experiments, Loricel has one more impossible decision to make….

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