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Ron Goulart (1933-2022)

Writer Ron Goulart, 89, died January 14, 2022. Goulart was a prolific author in multiple genres, producing more than 180 titles in his long career.

Ronald Joseph Goulart was born January 13, 1933 in Berkeley CA, and worked in advertising after college. His first SF story, “Letters to the Editor”, appeared in 1952, and he published a number of stories before debut novel The Sword Swallower (1968), first of his ...Read More

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J. Brian Clarke (1928-2022)

SF writer J. Brian Clarke, 93, died January 17, 2022.

James Brian Clarke was born May 23, 1928 in Birmingham, England, but spent most of his life in Canada. He began publishing genre work with “Artifact” in Analog in June 1969, where he continued to publish stories for the rest of his career. Debut novel Expediter (1990) includes material first published there, as does second book Alphanauts (2006), winner of ...Read More

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Feng Wins SLF Illustration Award

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) has announced that artist Michelle Feng is the winner of their 2022 Illustration of the Year.

“Feng’s winning piece will be featured throughout 2022 on the Speculative Literature Foundation’s website and on social media. In addition, it may be featured in limited edition SLF-related marketing materials, such as bookmarks and pins.”

Feng wanted to “combine visual elements from traditional village living structures with futuristic elements ...Read More

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Bill Wright (1937-2022)

Fan and convention organizer Bill Wright, 84, died January 17, 2022 in the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, the day before his 85th birthday.

Wright, born 1937, was a stalwart of Australian fandom since the late 1950s. He was a founding member of both ANZAPA and the Nova Mob; HonSec of the Eighth Australian Science Fiction Convention (the eighth Australian Natcon) in 1969; secretary of Aussiecon in 1975; awards administrator ...Read More

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José Luis Benício da Fonseca (1936-2021)

Brazilian illustrator JOSÉ LUIZ BENÍCIO DA FONSECA, who worked as Benício, 84, died De­cember 7, 2021 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Born September 14, 1936 in Rio Pardo, in the Brazilian South, he was a nationwide name in the fields of pulp art, pin-up art, movie posters, and advertisements.

After a stint plying piano for a radio show in Porto Alegre when he was only 15, Benício initially dedicated ...Read More

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People & Publishing Roundup, January 2022

MILESTONES

JOHN VARLEY, 74, was hospi­talized last year with COVID, pneu­monia, and congestive heart failure, and received a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He is home now, and expects to soon “be back at work on my next novel, a re-write and near total alteration of the horrible second draft of my first unpublished novel, Gas Giant.” Read his account here.

TOMI ADEYEMI’s publishing rights are ...Read More

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Dave Wolverton (1957-2022)

Writer Dave Wolverton, 64, who also wrote as David Farland, died January 14, 2022 in St. George UT after suffering a severe head injury falling down the stairs the previous day.

He was best known for his Runelords series, written as David Farland: The Sum of All Men (1998; published in the US as The Runelords), Brotherhood of the Wolf (1999), Wizardborn (2000), The Lair of Bones (2003), Sons ...Read More

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World Fantasy 2022 Guests of Honor

The 2022 World Fantasy Convention (WFC) announced its guests of honor in a press release on January 12, 2021.

Guests of honor are: Ginjer Buchanan, Andrei Codrescu, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Victor LaValle, Jo Walton,  and Toastmaster Ursula Vernon. An artist guest of honor is pending.

World Fantasy 2022 chair Tom Hanlon said, “We are working hard to ensure that our guests and our program are representative of a variety of ...Read More

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Joel Gay Creative Fellowships

Roxane Gay has announced the Joel Gay Creative Fellowship, designed “to support three emerging writers over the course of the year as they develop and publish a newsletter on the Substack platform.”

Fellows will receive a $25,000 stipend, paid monthly from the initial publication of their newsletter, as well as up to $15,000 in services from Substack, including editorial support, design assistance in developing a logo for your newsletter, access ...Read More

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Strahan Calls for BIPOC Authors

Editor Jonathan Strahan has put out a call for submissions for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) authors for his anthology The Book of Witches (Harper Voyager). The anthology is “a big, inclusive, illustrated anthology of fiction and poetry, this time looking at ‘witches’, more specifically your witch and what it means to you.” He says,

So far writers who have agreed to contribute to the book include ...Read More

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2022 MWA Awards

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced several awards.

Laurie R. King has been named Grand Master, which “represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality.”

Reviewer Lesa Holstine won the 2022 Raven Award, which “recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside ...Read More

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Philip K. Dick Award 2022 Finalists

The 2022 Philip K. Dick Award finalists have been announced:

  • Defekt, Nino Cipri (Tordotcom)
  • Plague Birds, Jason Sanford (Apex)
  • Bug, Giacomo Sartori, translated by Frederika Randall (Restless)
  • Far from the Light of Heaven, Tade Thompson (Orbit US)
  • The Escapement, Lavie Tidhar (Tachyon)
  • Dead Space, Kali Wallace (Berkley)

The award is presented annually to a distinguished work of science fiction originally published in paperback form in the United States. The

...Read More Read more

Jane E. Hawkins (1951-2022)

Author and conrunner Jane E. Hawkins, 70, died January 7, 2022 in Seattle WA. Best known as a convention organizer, she also wrote gaming tie-in novel Quantum Gate (1996).

Jane Emily Hawkins was born March 11, 1951 in Davenport IA and showed an early aptitude for advanced mathematics. She attended Case University as part of the first engineering class to admit women, and worked at Bell Labs in computing. She ...Read More

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NEA 2022 Creative Writing Fellows

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced the 2022 Creative Writing Fellows, winners of the Literature Fellowships in Creative Writing which “provides $25,000 grants to published creative writers that enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.”

This year’s recipients of genre interest include:

  • Steve Almond
  • Yohanca Delgado
  • Calvin Gimpelevich
  • Alexis Pauline Gumbs
  • Aubrey Hirsch
  • Nalo Hopkinson
  • Violet Kupersmith
  • Peyton Marshall
...Read More Read more

The Best Horror of the Year Call for Submissions

Ellen Datlow is accepting submissions for her 15th The Best Horror of the Year anthology, to be published by Night Shade Books and covering material appearing in 2022.

I am looking for stories and poetry from all branches of horror: supernatural, uncanny, sf horror, psychological, dark crime, terror tales, or anything else that might qualify. This is an all reprint anthology, so I’ll only consider material published in 2022. Deadline ...Read More

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John Jos. Miller (1954-2022)

Author John Jos. Miller, 67, died January 5, 2022 at his home in Albuquerque NM. Miller was best known for his work in the long-running (since 1987) Wild Cards shared-universe series of original anthologies and novels, edited by George R.R. Martin.

John Joseph Miller (who wrote as John Miller, John J. Miller and John Jos. Miller) was born March 28, 1954 in central New York. He started reading the works ...Read More

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Publisher Reopenings Pushed Back

Many publishers have once again paused, post­poned, or rescinded their plans to open offices for in-person employees, this time in response to the rise of the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Macmillan was scheduled to reopen its offices in New York City on January 10, but the opening has been postponed indefinitely. Employees will receive 30 days notice before they have to come back. Vaccinated staff may continue to come in ...Read More

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Fantastika Report

Since a Certain Bug from outer space or wherever stopped last year’s national Swedish con, the year 2020 was added to the 2021 Swecon. The event took place in Dieselverk­stan, Stockholm, November 19-21 with guests of honor Peadar Ó Guilín (Ireland), Adrian Tchaikovsky (UK), Eva Holmquist (local writer), and Maria Nilsson (local scholar). But we were lucky! Despite having Europe’s lowest virus curves – with cases dropping – our ever-so-wise ...Read More

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Angry Robot Upgrades

Angry Robot has a new logo and an updated website:

We are happy to share our shiny “Maschinenmensch” inspired logo… designed and created by Kate Cromwell, a senior designer at Watkins Media. The logo goes hand in hand with our new website, which we’ve been soft launching for the past few weeks, and will be featuring on our books, starting with Ciel Pierlot’s Bluebird in February 2022. We feel that ...Read More

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New Science Fiction Exhibition

The Science Museum in South Kensington, London, has announced plans for a new “Science Fiction: Voyage into the Unknown” exhibit in autumn of 2022. The exhibit is planned as an interactive experience that “invites visitors to discover how scientists and science fiction creators have inspired each other to imagine and build new worlds to better understand our own” and explores “connections between significant scientific objects and authentic items from celebrated ...Read More

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Willie Siros (1952-2022)

Fan, conrunner, and bookseller Willie Siros, 69, died January 5, 2022.

William Siros was born August 1952 in El Paso TX. He earned a BA in political science in 1974, and briefly attended graduate school for political theory. He began attending conventions in 1974, and chaired early Texas SF conventions Solarcon I and II (1975 and 1976). He produced a fanzine, Cambion, around the same time. Siros co-founded the Fandom ...Read More

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Heinlein Scholarship Applications Open

The Heinlein Scholarships are open for applications. There are four $4,000 scholarships awarded to “undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities.”

The Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship is “dedicated to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.” The other three awards, The Robert A. Heinlein, Dr. Yoji Kondo, and Dr. Jerry Pournelle scholarships, “may be awarded to a candidate of any gender.”

The deadline for ...Read More

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Elizabeth Miller (1939-2022)

Dracula scholar Elizabeth Miller, 82, died January 2, 2022 in Toronto, Canada.

Her non-fiction volumes include A Dracula Handbook (2005), Reflections on Dracula: Ten Essays (1997), Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow (1998), Dracula: Sense & Nonsense (2000), Dracula, a Documentary Volume (2004), and Bram Stoker’s Notes for Dracula (2008, with Robert Eighteen-Bisang). She co-edited The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker (2012, with Dacre Stoker). Miller was the founding editor ...Read More

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New A.C. Bose Grant

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) and DesiLit have announced the new co-sponsored A.C. Bose Grant, which “will annually give $1,000 to a South Asian / South Asian diaspora writer developing speculative fiction. It supports adult fiction, but work that is also accessible to older children and teens will be given preference in the jury process.”

The grant is open for submissions until January 31, 2022. The jurors aim to announce ...Read More

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Heffner Wins Nicholls Prize

The Science Fiction Foundation has announced Kathryn Heffner’s “More Work for Mimeo-Mothers: Femme-Fans’ Labour in Post-War Fan Cultures” as the winner of the 2022 Peter Nicholls Essay Prize. The prize was inaugurated in 2001, and is “awarded to the best submission by a postgraduate or non-tenured researcher. (The latter within five years of their PhD.) The essays can be on any area of science fiction studies.”

For more information about ...Read More

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2021 Cybils Awards Finalists

Finalists for the 2021 Children’s and Young Adults Bloggers’ Literary Awards (Cybils) have been announced. Books of genre interest follow.

Young Adult Speculative Fiction

  • Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen)
  • The City Beautiful, Aden Polydoros (Inkyard)
  • The Gilded Ones, Namina Forna (Delacorte)
  • The Mirror Season, Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends)
  • The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Joan He (Roaring Brook)
  • Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson
...Read More Read more

2022 WSFA Small Press Award Open

The Washington Science Fiction Association is now accepting nominations of works “published for the first time in the English language” in 2021 for its Small Press Award, given annually to an outstanding story of “imaginative literature” (17,500 words or fewer) published in the small press. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2022.

Authors and small-press publishers are among those eligible to nominate, and need not be members of WSFA. ...Read More

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PRH Responds to DoJ

As we reported last month, the United States De­partment of Justice filed a lawsuit on November 2, 2021 to stop the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, citing concerns that the deal could lessen competition, lead to a highly concentrated publishing market, and reduce advances for authors, especially of “anticipated top-selling books.”

PRH filed their initial response in December 2021, countering that the DoJ “invents a ...Read More

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Lit Hub Best Books of 2021

Lit Hub has announced its 48-title list of the best books of 2021. Titles and authors of genre interest follow.

  • Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters (One World)
  • The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Mariana Enriquez (Hogarth)
  • The Vixen, Francine Prose (Harper)
  • Light Perpetual, Francis Spufford (Scribner)
  • The Scapegoat, Sara Davis (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
  • Dear Senthuran, Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead)
  • The Wrong End of the Telescope
...Read More Read more

Mosley Wins Sankofa Freedom Award

Tulsa City-County Library’s African-American Resource Center and the Tulsa Library Trust have named Walter Mosley as the winner of the 2022 Sankofa Freedom Award.

The Sankofa Freedom Award is given to “a nationally acclaimed individual who has dedicated his or her life to educating and improving the greater African-American community.” It includes a $10,000 prize and an engraved medallion. The award will be presented in a ceremony on February 12, ...Read More

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Book Piracy Lawsuit

Penguin Random House, Amazon, and a number of authors including Sylvia Day, RL Stine, Stuart Woods, and John Grisham, have been awarded a total of $7.8 million after suing Ukrainian ebook pirate site Kiss Library.

They sued the site after copyrighted works were made available at discounted prices without permission, and without the publishers or authors receiving payment for the sales.

The judge said, “Given the extent of the piracy ...Read More

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2021 Dream Foundry Contest Winners

Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced the winners of its 2021 writing contest.

Writing Contest

  • FIRST PLACE: “Cooking: A Science”, Shinjini Dey
  • SECOND PLACE: “Amadi on the Concrete”, Jarred Thompson
  • THIRD PLACE: “Clear As Water, Red As Ruin”, Sigrid Marianne Gayangos

Other finalists were

  • Brienne D. Hayes
  • Amy Johnson
  • Kellye McBride
  • Kay Orchison
  • Robin Sebolino
  • Cat T.
...Read More Read more