August News

* Overheard in the Store:
"I keep forgetting that, in the Mission, Thursday is now Friday, and Friday is now Stupid."

* Borderlands' owner Alan Beatts will be interviewed by Matthew Felix on Facebook Live at 6:00 pm on Sunday, August 26th!  Here's some information from the interviewer: "The Matthew Félix On Air video podcast features author Matthew Felix and guests discussing writing, travel, and whatever else piques Matthew's interest, from spirituality to cultural happenings to the outdoors to anything with a good story worth exploring.  In this episode, Matthew talks with Borderlands Books' Alan Beatts about Borderlands' history, mission, and the current climate for indie bookstores -- and some of the innovative ways they're adapting for the future."  Check it out here, and do remember it's live! https://www.facebook.com/authormatthewfelix/  You'll also be able to catch it later on YouTube https://bit.ly/1MoDsNS or iTunes: https://apple.co/2KAS0AP, or follow the link from Matthew's webpage: http://www.matthewfelix.com

* If you're visiting the Bay Area for the World Science Fiction Convention and will be in San Francisco either before Monday, August 13th or after Monday, August 20th, we'd be delighted to give you a tour of our location-to-be, which is still very much a work in progress.  Just email Alan, abeatts@borderlands-books.com, to set up a time.

* Speaking of WorldCon: if you're an author attending the con and we've somehow missed having your books at our booths, we'd be happy to carry them on consignment at the con.  We usually do a 60% / 40% split, with the author getting 60% of the cover price.  Authors pick up any unsold copies near the end of the con, and we send you a check for sold copies around 30 days after the event.  Just find the Borderlands booth at the convention and Jude should be able to assist you.

* A classic article on how the lack of an OB/GYN effectively lead to the crumbling of Star Wars' Old Empire. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/53d4db/womens-healthcare-star-wars

* Author and Borderlands sponsor Seanan McGuire has written her first X-Men comic, and went back to her childhood comic shop to have the signing, as she vowed to do 30 years ago! https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/x-men-gold-annual-2-writer-seanan-mcguire-returns-to-her-hometown-comics-shop

* Not everyone has a book in them: https://theoutline.com/post/5541/unconventional-wisdom-you-should-not-write-a-book

* Julie Dillon is Kickstarting a collection of her gorgeous speculative art! https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/29/17627590/julie-dillon-science-fiction-fantasy-art-book-kickstarter

* Well, it turns out that sf/f readers make better relationship partners, which we think most of us already knew.  https://www.bustle.com/p/sci-fi-fantasy-readers-apparently-make-better-romantic-partners-according-to-a-new-study-9975483

* Krista Ball is curating a database of fantasy novels with LGBTQ+ representation, with the help of Reddit.  The latest update is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/8y59dy/lgbtq_database_update_happening_now_details_in/

* "The Darkest Minds" is a highly-anticipated movie about children who develop abilities and a society that seeks to control and use them. Its dystopian themes seem even more relevant now.  http://ew.com/movies/2018/08/03/darkest-minds-jennifer-yuh-nelson-political-resistance-movements/

* There are certain months where studios dump films they don't expect to do well.  io9 has compiled a list of the coolest sf/f films that were dumped in the month of August.  Check it out here: https://io9.gizmodo.com/28-of-the-coolest-sci-fi-and-fantasy-movies-that-got-du-1828025659

* Speaking of sf/f films, why not check out this list of 51 forgotten films from the 90s?  You're sure to come across at least one movie you've never seen or heard about. http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/sci-fi/247782/51-forgotten-sci-fi-movies-from-the-1990s

"Heathers" is a great, dark film and the theories about it range from the believable to the utterly bizarre: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/high-school-hell-how-heathers-predicted-everything-1.3583180

* WorldCon has completely redone their programming after many authors began to pull out in protest over a number of missteps. https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/worldcon-2018-diversity-nominees/

* A comic about intrigue and life at court that isn't about leverage but trust.  Check out the review for "Sleepless vol. 1" here. https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/7/13/17568522/image-comics-sleepless-sarah-vaughn-leila-del-duca

* The first theatre dedicated solely to performing live plays of a fantasy or science fictional nature is opening in Chicago.  Road trip!  https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Otherworld-Theatre-Opens-Worlds-First-Venue-Dedicated-To-Sci-Fi-And-Fantasy-Theatre-20180709

* Wired takes a look back at some of the best costumes they saw at Comic-Con this year: https://www.wired.com/story/cosplay-comic-con-2018/


* "Entertainment Weekly" made a list of 50 books they would love to see adaptations for, and a number of them are of interest to speculative fiction fans. http://ew.com/books/50-books-to-adapt/

* It looks like Legendary Pictures' upcoming adaptation of classic SF novel Dune will only cover the first half of the first book, so it looks like we're in for a two-parter! https://winteriscoming.net/2018/07/30/denis-villeneuves-dune-movie-will-cover-first-half-first-book/

* Sword and sorcery and revenge. . . yup, we're already there.  This review of the new series "The Outpost" makes it sound like fun brain candy and we're ready to sign up. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-outpost-review-20180709-story.html#

* Amazon has picked show-runners for their horrendously expensive "Lord of the Rings" TV show and are trying to convince Peter Jackson to let them film on his sets in New Zealand. https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/29/17627056/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-middle-earth-jrr-tolkien-jd-payne-patrick-mckay-writers

* "Buffy" is being rebooted with a more diverse cast, but this article argues that marginalized people deserve their own mythologies, and taking a chance on a new voice is better than rebooting an old one -- which we can't help but agree with. https://www.refinery29.com/2018/07/205026/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-reboot-black-woman-lead

* Aside from 2017's "Okja", most of Netflix's original science fiction movies have not been well received, and if you were hoping "Tau" was going to be different . . . sorry.  This article goes into how "Tau" fails and what it has in common with their other releases.  https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-sci-fi-tau/

* "The Expanse", one of the best science fiction shows of recent years, was rescued from cancellation by Amazon and the show-runner talks about why it needed to be rescued, and why he would have opted to go straight to streaming in the first place if he had to do it all over again. https://www.criticalhit.net/entertainment/expanse-showrunner-talks-rescued-sci-fi-shows-move-amazon/

* Amazon has optioned another sf/f adaptation: however this one is not based on the written world, but the artwork of Simon Stalenhag.  https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/07/17/tales-from-the-loop-series-amazon-studios/

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Award News
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* The Sidewise Awards which celebrate Alternate History have announced their short list of nominees, which include Gregory Benford, Nisi Shawl and Harry Turtledove.  Check out the full list here: http://file770.com/2017-sidewise-award-nominees/

* Check out the shortlist for the 2018 Sunburst Awards, celebrating Canadian fantastic literature: http://www.sunburstaward.org/2018-shortlist

* Congratulations to all of the World Fantasy Award Nominees!  For the full list of nominees including Peter S. Beagle, Ellen Klages, JY Yang and other great voices, go here: https://www.tor.com/2018/07/25/2018-world-fantasy-award-finalists/

* The 2018 Mythopoeic Award Winners have been announced, including Garth Nix and John Crowley.  The full list is on the Mythopoeic blog: https://mythsoc-rohan.blogspot.com/2018/07/2018-mythopoeic-award-winners-announced.html

* The Eisner Awards were held at San Diego Comic-Con, and congratulations to all the winners, but especially to Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda's stunning "Monstress", which took home five awards!  Check out all the categories here: https://deadline.com/2018/07/eisner-awards-2018-winners-list-montress-my-favorite-thing-is-monsters-1202430916/

* The winner of the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award is Anne Charnock for DREAMS BEFORE THE START OF TIME.  Check out the comments from the panel here: https://www.clarkeaward.com/2018-winner/