April News Roundup

* OVERHEARD IN THE STORE:
"Sometimes I'm on the internet and it's exactly like reading a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Soap - the gallon size."
"There are only two kinds of bookstores in Vallejo: those for Bibles, and those for porn."
"Just try it.  How can you _not_ smile when you say 'dachshund Easter egg hunt'?!"
"Sex comes and goes; chocolate is forever!"

* We're currently hiring counter help at the Cafe (not the bookstore, sorry!).   No experience is necessary, and high school students are welcome.  Fluency in English is a must, and a love of reading is a plus.  Afternoon and evening shifts to start; pay is $12.25/hour plus tips.  Drop off a resume at the Cafe or email it to abeatts@borderlands-books.com .

* GRRM teams up with HBO for a historical science fiction TV show set in 1949. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/hbo-developing-science-fiction-drama-george-rr-martin/139431

* io9 has gathered some of the classic insults from science fiction & fantasy movies.  Relive the amazing moments here: http://io9.com/the-17-most-effective-insults-from-science-fiction-and-1695367667

* What are the most recognizable songs from science fiction?  Do you agree with this list?  http://sciencefiction.com/2015/04/03/recognizable-tunes-of-science-fiction/

* Someone made an artistic representation of Iain M. Banks' Wasp Factory and it's just as gloriously disturbing as you think it is. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/07/british-science-fiction-awards-honour-3d-wasp-factory-tessa-farmer

* First-ever winner of the YA Book Prize Award is ONLY EVER YOURS by Louise O'Neill: http://www.thebookseller.com/ya-book-prize/

* We mourn the passing of Sir Terry Pratchett, humanist and giant in speculative fiction: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156

* Jared Leto teased the world with the beginning of his transformation into The Joker for the film "Suicide Squad".  He has some massive shoes to fill.  http://sciencefiction.com/2015/04/07/jared-leto-teases-joker-makeup-suicide-squad/

* Independent publisher Musa Publishing has closed its doors as of March 1st, 2015.  Read their full letter here: http://musapublishing.com/

* There's a wax museum in Austin, TX that is exclusively dedicated to horror, science fiction and fantasy films!  And they're set to open up a new exhibit soon!  http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2015/04/7/wax-museum-dedicated-to-horror--sci-fi--fantasy-films.html  (Roadtrip!)

* io9 raises awareness of "Beyond," the queer SF/F comics anthology running a Kickstarter.  They've met their goal but there still time to get a bunch of cool stuff and help an awesome project.  http://io9.com/help-bring-this-queer-science-fiction-comics-anthology-1694158499

* Unfortunately the Showtime re-launch of "Twin Peaks" looks as if it may have lost co-creator David Lynch over budget issues. Any fan of the original show is certainly hoping for a reconciliation -- "Twin Peaks" without David Lynch is pretty unthinkable. http://sciencefiction.com/2015/04/06/david-lynch-leaves-showtimes-twin-peaks/

* The Pollack Library at Cal State Fullerton will be displaying a collection of the original DUNE manuscripts as well as other DUNE items in their collection to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the watershed science fiction work: http://www.dailytitan.com/2015/04/manuscripts-for-science-fiction-book-will-be-displayed-in-library/

* Speculative Awards season is upon us!

* The 2015 Philip K. Dick Winner has been announced!  THE BOOK OF THE UNNAMED MIDWIFE by Meg Elison is the winner, and a special citation has been given to ELYSIUM by Jennifer Marie Brissett.  http://www.philipkdickaward.org/2015/04/2015-philip-k-dick-award-winner-announced.html

* The 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Awards have been announced with THE GIRL IN THE ROAD by Monica Byrne and MY REAL CHILDREN by Jo Walton taking the top prizes. There's also an honors list which includes both PKD mentions!  http://tiptree.org/

* Finalists have been announced in the 2014 Aurealis Awards for Australian Excellence in Speculative Literature http://aurealisawards.org/2015/02/27/announcement-2014-aurealis-awards-shortlist/

* The Norma K. Hemming Awards (Australia's answer to the Tiptree award) for works that are excellent in their exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in speculative fiction has announced their short list - http://www.asff.org.au/hemming-award-2015-shortlist.htm

* The Horror Writers Association has announced a special award for publisher ChiZine  http://horror.org/hwa-2014-specialty-press-award-goes-chizine/

* The Hugo Nominations are out: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/04/2015-hugo-award-nominees .  And if the slate looks a little odd to you, there's a reason.  Charlie Jane Anders at io9 weighs in on the politics of it: http://io9.com/the-hugo-awards-were-always-political-now-theyre-only-1695721604 .  The Guardian asks if the nominees are really the best SF/F books of the year. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/apr/06/are-the-hugo-nominees-really-the-best-sci-fi-books-of-the-year A.V. Club chimes in, calling it a "messy political controversy": http://www.avclub.com/article/years-hugo-award-nominees-are-messy-political-cont-217574 . Matthew David Surridge explains in exhaustive detail why he declined a nomination http://www.blackgate.com/2015/04/04/a-detailed-explanation/ .  And even well-known editor Patrick Neilson Hayden weighs in: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016194.html

* The Kitschies, which celebrates works that are "progressive, intelligent and entertaining" and "contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" has announced their winners for this year!  http://www.thekitschies.com/

* Congratulations to former guests of the store Chaz Brenchley, A.M. Dellamonica, Max Gladstone, and the other great finalists for Lambda Literary Awards this year, in their LGBT SF/F/H category and beyond.  http://www.lambdaliterary.org/features/news/03/04/the-27th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists/

*Spectrum has announced their nominees for "the best in contemporary fantastic art".  Look at the list of nominees and see the beautiful art right here: http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2015/03/02/spectrum-22-the-best-in-contemporary-fantastic-art-award-nominations/

* The British Science Fiction Awards announced their winners! Check them all out here: http://www.bsfa.co.uk/

* Locus brings us the list of winners for Australia's Ditmar Awards!: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/04/2015-ditmar-awards-winners/

* Joanna Russ (1937-2011) and Stanley Schmidt have been announced as the recipients of the 2015 SFWA Solstice Awards, as people who have impacted the science-fiction/fantasy landscape through their writing and editing respectively
http://www.sfwa.org/2015/04/joanna-russ-and-stanley-schmidt-recipients-of-the-2015-sfwa-solstice-awards/