John Ringo’s Selection as ConCarolinas Guest Sparks Controversy
ConCarolinas, happening in Charlotte, NC from June 1-3, has become another battleground in sff’s culture wars since announcing John Ringo as an Author Special Guest on April 9. Ringo is well-known for sharing his social and political views in a
Cats Sleep on SFF: Digital Divide
Kit M. Harding took this photo of an interloping catnapper: Technically Angleton belongs to one of my roommates (and yes, I did get permission from her to send him in), but he’s decided my bed is a swell place to
B is for Bradbury: Bill Oberst Jr.’s Staged Reading of Ray Bradbury Live (forever)
By Mark L. Blackman: As we approach his centennial (he was born on August 22, 1920), there’s renewed interest in iconic fantasist Ray Bradbury. This is, in some part, due to next month’s fresh adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, starring Michael
Pixel Scroll 4/14/18 The Adventures Of Scrolli And Pixelwinkle
ISSUES IN SFF REVIEWING. Several interesting threads about reviews and reviewing in sff. Each tweet is the jumping off point for the thread. Bogi Takács “Why aren’t there more critical and/or negative reviews” is usually a demand by white
2018 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards Shortlist
The Robert E. Howard Foundation’s Legacy Circle members have selected the nominees for this year’s REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works from the past year. Foundation members
Pixel Scroll 4/13/18 Soylent Scroll is Pixels
ARTEMIS IS NOT THE EXPANSE. Ioannis Kokkinidis gives an analysis of how realistic Andy Weir’s Artemis is in “The polis of Artemis on the Moon” at Centauri Dreams. Over the years many rationales have been given to colonize the
2018 British Academy Games Awards
BAFTA presented the 2018 British Academy Games Awards on April 12. ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE David Garcia Diaz – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
Pixel Scroll 4/12/18 But By God, Elliot, It Was A Pixel Scroll From Life!
KINGFISHER. James Davis Nicoll turned the Young People Read Old SFF panel loose on “Toad Words” by T. Kingfisher. Young People Read Old SFF has circled back to a modern work for the final time in the phase of
16th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
The winners of the 16th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards were announced April 12. The awards are named after Rondo Hatton, an obscure B-movie villain of the 1940s, and “honor the best in classic horror research, creativity and film
SFF on Best Translated Book Award 2018 Longlist
The Best Translated Book Award longlists came out April 10 and four sff titles are on the fiction list reports Rachel Cordasco of Speculative Fiction in Translation. The works of genre interest are: Radiant Terminus by Antoine Volodine, translated from
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War — “Family” Featurette
A behind-the-scenes look at Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War, featuring interviews with the cast. In theaters April 27. [Thanks to Carl Slaughter for the story.]
2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has named author Eiko Kadono (Japan) and illustrator Igor Oleynikov (Russia) winners of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Given every other year by IBBY, the awards recognize lifelong achievement and
2018 Peabody Award Nominees
The Peabody Awards board of jurors has selected the 60 nominees for the “most compelling and empowering stories released in electronic media” last year. See the full list at the link. The field will be narrowed to 30 winners, says
Pixel Scroll 4/11/18 Today’s Pixel Scroll Takes Place In An Alternate Universe Timeline!
CITIZEN ROBOTS. Politico covers the latest legal uproar about robots: Autonomous robots with humanlike, all-encompassing capabilities might still be decades away, but lawmakers, legal experts and manufacturers are already locked in a high-stakes debate about their legal status: whether it’s these
Butler, Clarke, Kubrick Honored in First Official Feature Names for Pluto’s Largest Moon
Octavia Butler, Arthur C. Clarke, and Stanley Kubrick are among the real and fictitious sff figures honored in the first dozen names for surface features on Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, that were proposed by NASA’S New Horizons mission team and
Cats Sleep on SFF: Strange Weather
Mike Allen, of the Clockwork Phoenix anthology series, submitted his photo of Persephone Allen relaxing with Joe Hill’s Strange Weather collection. Photos of other felines resting on genre works are welcome. Send to mikeglyer (at) cs (dot) com
1957 Worldcon Hotel Register
By Rob Hansen [host of THEN, the British fanhistory site]: I’m always amazed by some of the stuff that survives down the decades and finds its way to me. The 1957 Worldcon was already easily the most well-covered con on
Nobel Becomes Ignoble or, The Popcorn Report
By Ahrvid Engholm: Last fall saw the beginning of the Fall of – or at least serious problems for – the literary influential Swedish Academy, the body deciding the Nobel Prize in Literature. This Prize has earlier been awarded to
Pixel Scroll 4/10/18 The Third Little Pixel Had Scrolled Beef
TOLKIEN’S GONDOLIN. Tor.com carries the official word: “J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Gondolin to Be Published as a Standalone for the First Time”. It will be published August 30. HarperCollins UK announced today that it would publish The Fall of
Remembering Jim Burns on His Birthday
[Steve Vertlieb pays tribute to his friend and prolific File 770 contributor, the late Jim Burns.] By Steven J. Vertlieb: James H. Burns was a professional writer, film historian, sports enthusiast, actor, and fan. More importantly, however, he was my
Pixel Scroll 4/9/18 The Opera Of The Menacing Phantom Tollbooth
BUCKS TO PRESERVE BRADBURYANA. At BradburyMedia, Phil Nichols reports “Center for Bradbury Studies receives major grant”. Congratulations to my friends and colleagues at the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies who were today awarded $50,000 from the National Endowment for
2018 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest
The top awards in the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest were presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles in April 8 reports Locus Online. 2018 Writers of the Future Golden Pen Award Darci Stone for her story “Mara’s
2017 Kitschies Winners
The 2017 Kitschies Award winners were announced at a ceremony in England on April 9. The prize, sponsored by Blackwell’s, is given to “the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining science fiction.” The winners receive a total of £2,000 in
2018 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire Finalists
The shortlist for the 2018 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire was announced April 5. The awards will be presented on May 20 at the Étonnants Voyageurs festival in Saint-Malo, France. The jurors for the award are Joëlle Wintrebert (president), Jean-Luc Rivera
Pixel Scroll 4/8/18 Do Not Go Pixel Out Of That Good Hive, Buzz, Buzz, Against The Flying Of The Five
WALK / DON’T WALK. This not-quite-infinite series of variations on Le Guin’s famous story: “Once upon a time there was a city called Omelas, where everyone lived good and happy and fulfilling lives” is a hoot! “…the best predictions …
