* Harper Lee, author of the classic novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and the related work GO SET A WATCHMAN has passed away: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/20/arts/harper-lee-dies.html
* In other sad news, Umberto Eco, the Italian novelist whose career spanned almost every genre, has also passed away. Although he was most famous for the historical mystery THE NAME OF THE ROSE, his work included fiction, essays, art criticism and more.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/20/italian-author-umberto-eco-dies-aged-84
* Local author and Borderlands favorite Seanan McGuire had an adventure with an owl that is completely hilarious and could only happen to her. Read the Storify of her amazing Tweets here: https://storify.com/lilrongal/seanan-s-epic-owl-adventure . Caution: not-safe-for-work language.
* A recent episode of Wired’s Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast interviewed authors Nisi Shawl, Nalo Hopkinson and Sunil Patel about diversity in speculative fiction: http://www.wired.com/2016/02/geeks-guide-diversity-destroy-scifi/
* For those of us who have always longed to summon the Elder Gods through our laptops, there is now a font exclusively for that! http://www.neatorama.com/neatogeek/2014/05/12/A-Cthulhuian-Font-You-Can-Download-And-Use-To-Summon-Strange-Beings/
* Congratulations to C.J. Cherryh, whose writing career has spanned almost four decades, multiple subgenres, and numerous awards -- she has been named a SFWA grand master! http://www.sfwa.org/2016/02/35732/
* In, WHAT THE!? . . . okay? . . . news: The movie crossover plan you thought was just a joke is moving forward; merging the Men In Black movie franchise with the 21 Jump Street movie franchise. Is it just us, or does this sound like it might actually work? http://variety.com/2016/film/news/23-jump-street-men-in-black-james-bobin-1201715020/
* The short post-apocalyptic film "King Ripple" is a gorgeous and terrifying tale penned by science fiction scribe Josh Malerman and directed by Luke Jaden: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-post-apocalyptic-short-film-king-ripple-with-keith-stanfield-20160303
* Teleportation may be here soon(ish)! No news on if the method will just kill you and create a identical copy at your destination like many theorize; I’m sure they’ll mention it when you get there. http://zeenews.india.com/news/science/star-trek-science-fiction-turns-science-fact_1862604.html
* In sad news for critics and reviewers (and also Torrenters worldwide), HBO has decided that no one will be seeing any of Game of Thrones season 6 until the premiere date. Collider breaks it down: http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-season-6-premiere-screeners/
* A lovely article on the first science fiction author to win a MacArthur Genius Grant -- Octavia Butler. It contains some history about her and a link to Clockshop, which is the non-profit doing a year-long retrospective on this shy and hugely talented author: http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2016/03/03/46914/remembering-unsung-science-fiction-hero-genius-gra/
* N.K. Jemisin provides some great reviews for the New York Times, including one of Sofia Samatar’s new novel: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/books/review/on-the-edge-of-gone-by-corinne-duyvis-and-more.html?_r=0
* Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been championing the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s "Sandman" into a film for years. He brought in Gaiman as executive producer and seemed to be a real fan of the graphic novels. His stepping away from the project does not feel like a good thing. Read his whole statement: http://sciencefiction.com/2016/03/06/joseph-gordon-levitt-departs-sandman/
* For a couple years now there’s been talk of bringing Joe Lansdale’s classic Hap & Leonard to the small screen, and it’s finally happened on Sundance! Starring James Purefoy, Michael K. Williams, and Christina Hendricks in a six-episode miniseries, you can catch the first two episodes online for free: http://www.sundance.tv/series/hap-and-leonard
* Inverse has an interesting theory that very soon the superhero genre will be consumed whole by the science-fiction genre, as real-life fears begin to parallel those themes more than the military imbalance that fuels superhero themes. https://www.inverse.com/article/12012-science-fiction-will-consume-the-superhero-industry-and-become-the-genre-to-beat
* Filmmakers around the world survive without the movie industry of Hollywood, or even the other revenue streams that exist for indie films, and they do this through determination and hustling. That is how Nicholas Attin completed what he calls Trinidad & Tobago’s first science fiction thriller film: "Tomb". Read about what it took to get it made and check out the first trailer here: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-trailer-for-tomb-a-rare-sci-fi-thriller-feature-film-from-trinidad-tobago-20160304
* Speaking of resourceful filmmakers, congratulations to Arwen Curry, creator of the documentary "The Worlds of Ursula K. LeGuin," which has been fully funded by a combination of a hugely successful Kickstarter and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. We're anxiously looking forward to the finished film! [Assistant Editor's Note: In an amusing bonus, Borderlands' newsletter editor Na'amen Tilahun has a tiny appearance in the film of which he wasn't even aware.]
* J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has achieved a level of success rarely seen -- movies, plays, encyclopedias, theme parks, and even more to come. Newsweek takes a look at how Rowling kept the "cult" of Harry Potter alive: http://www.newsweek.com/how-jk-rowling-kept-potter-cult-alive-433628
* An NPR piece from January focuses on Finnish authors who are finally having some of their works translated into English. These include Johanna Sinisalo, whose novel THE CORE OF THE SUN was published in Finland over three years ago. http://www.npr.org/2016/01/24/463878369/finnish-authors-heat-up-the-speculative-fiction-world
* The Daily Beast has an in-depth interview with Samuel Delany on the subject of art, specifically cover art. He discusses his own covers, his favorite Tolkien covers, and how much cover art matters (or doesn’t) in speculative fiction. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/05/sci-fi-hero-samuel-delany-s-outsider-art.html
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Award News
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* The 2015 Nebula Award nominees have been announced. Check out the full list here: https://www.sfwa.org/2016/02/2015-nebula-awards-nominees-announced/
* The Horror Writers' Association has decided to honor both Alan Moore and George A. Romero with Lifetime Achievement Awards. More information here: http://horror.org/hwa-names-alan-moore-george-a-romero-as-2016-lifetime-achievement-award-winners/
* The Kitschies, which celebrate progressive, intelligent, and entertaining speculative fiction, have announced their nominees:
http://www.thekitschies.com/the-kitschies-2015-shortlists-revealed/
* The 23rd Annual Spectrum Award nominations (with the artwork!) are available to look at here: http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2016/02/29/spectrum-23-awards-nominations/
* The Bram Stoker Awards final ballot has been announced. The full list is here: http://horror.org/the-bram-stoker-awards-final-ballot/
* The Norma K. Hemming Award (which is given every year to a work that explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability in speculative fiction first published in Australia or by an Australian citizen,) has announced its shortlist: http://www.asff.org.au/hemming-award-2016-shortlist.htm
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