* Overheard in the Store:
"Who, exactly, decided that this image of empowered femininity would be a completely naked woman chasing a playful mini T-Rex around a tree with a kitchen knife?"
"This seems like a good plan; I'll just pose in this hoodie on an emu!"
"I believe in role-playing games, & I believe in cosplay. I just don't believe they go great together."
"In my experience, LARP-ing is just sitting in 30 pounds of dress while my friends argue for hours."
"We never said it would be easy. We just said it'd be worth it."
"They may be coming here to leave their hearts in San Francisco, but they clearly left their brains in Dayton or Poughkeepsie or wherever it is they're from!"
* A 100 year-old Holocaust survivor talks about the importance of books. Her letter is included in an anthology of essays on books and reading. https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/12/18/a-velocity-of-being-helen-fagin/
* In extremely sad local news, Aardvark Books has closed after 40 years in San Francisco. https://hoodline.com/2019/01/final-chapter-aardvark-books-to-close-this-friday-after-40-years-in-business
* A exploration on how women were not excluded from early science fiction circles, but in fact made vital contributions that were erased over time. https://www.wired.com/2019/02/geeks-guide-history-women-sci-fi/
* io9.com gives you a list of 37 speculative books releasing in February that you can purchase and curl up with just in case you're in the middle of the Polar Vortex. https://io9.gizmodo.com/37-new-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-to-keep-you-wa-1831879973
* A list of eight SF/F books with queer, poly relationships, which we would have loved to have as young adults. https://www.autostraddle.com/8-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-with-queer-poly-relationships-445053/
* A reexamination of "The Matrix", and whether it had some part to play in our current reality where people feel free to blissfully ignore facts. https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/the-matrix-built-our-reality-denying-world.html
* The creators of RWBY have a new anime series to launch with an all-star cast including David Tennant, Michael B. Jordan and Maisie Williams. Introducing "gen:LOCK": https://www.inverse.com/article/52550-rooster-teeth-genlock-explained-trailer-premiere-date
* While the conversation on the diversity of authors and worlds has taken steps forward in the last few years, diversity in the industry itself is still worth consideration. Bustle interviewed 10 women of color who work in publishing about their experiences. https://www.bustle.com/p/how-10-women-of-color-actually-feel-about-working-in-book-publishing-15867283
* Now the only question is: resistance, or do we bow and welcome our future Skynet overlords? https://www.techspot.com/news/78519-self-aware-machines-wont-science-fiction-much-longer.html
* There's a college that focuses on Fantasy and History. Unfortunately if your interests stray anywhere outside of Europe, this is not the school for you -- but maybe someone else will start a more diverse version soon. (Also, it has no accreditation.) https://www.concordmonitor.com/signum-university-tolkein-nashua-nh-22924145
* "Paradise Hills" sounds like a weird, over-the-top, lush prison film where hyper-femininity is enforced, confining and deconstructed. "Lord of the Flies" by way of a dystopian finishing school. We're already interested. https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/4/18201719/paradise-hills-review-awkwafina-milla-jovovich-alice-waddington-sundance-2019
* Whenever we think about living spaceships, it's generally more squishy and "Farscape"-like, but this article points out there's any number of ways scientists are working on living spaceships. https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/think-living-spaceships-are-science-fiction-think-again/90873
* Where was this cutting-edge research when we were in school struggling with French or Spanish? All the things science fiction promised us, it's delivering to the next generation -- not fair. https://www.inverse.com/article/52901-can-you-learn-new-information-or-languages-during-sleep
* An interview with author Karin Lowachee about her short story "A Sun Will Always Sing" and a future in which humanity and AI coexist in harmony rather than competition. https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/4/18207357/karin-lowachee-interview-sci-fi-artificial-intelligence-better-worlds
* A list of 20 black speculative fiction authors that you should know. https://culturess.com/2019/02/03/20-legendary-black-science-fiction-authors/
* A Harvard astronomer talks about the the possibilities of aliens: why they are no less speculative than other space theories, and why astronomy should open its mind to the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence. https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2019/01/30/oumuamua-alien-probe-avi-loeb
* The assumption that women writers of speculative fiction are automatically writing for a younger audience is one that many of us who work in bookstores have noticed, but where does that idea come from? https://bookriot.com/2019/01/21/sexist-problem-in-fantasy/
* A man taught himself how to animate the story he wanted to tell all on his own. Check out his story here and then go watch all the nine episodes of the first season of "Esluna: The First Monolith" on youtube. https://io9.gizmodo.com/meet-a-guy-who-taught-himself-to-animate-his-own-sci-fi-1832155351
* Bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon has accused her husband of a plot to poison her and steal her financial resources while being emotionally abusive and manipulative. More details here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/17/best-selling-paranormal-romance-writer-accuses-her-husband-shakespearean-plot-poison-her/
* If you happened to miss Appreciate a Dragon Day this year, no worries -- here is a list of 10 iconic dragons of film & TV to remind you why you loved them in the first place! (Also a good reminder of things to re-watch or perhaps watch for the first time.) https://parade.com/731743/solanahawkenson/the-top-10-dragons-from-film-tv-for-appreciate-a-dragon-day/
* Author Garth Nix has made a deal to publish his first books aimed squarely at an adult audience with Gollancz. Details for the upcoming two novels are here: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/gollancz-snaps-nixs-two-novels-935501
* "CBS All Access" seems to be aiming directly for the science fiction market, with not only the second season of "Star Trek: Discovery" premiering, but also announcements of a "Star Trek" spin-off series, "The Twilight Zone" reboot, and a new adaptation of Stephen King's "The Stand." https://qz.com/quartzy/1539178/with-star-trek-the-twilight-zone-and-the-stand-cbs-all-access-is-a-necessity-for-sci-fi-nerds/
* Rick Riordan's new imprint has been putting out acclaimed science fiction. Check out its newest offering from acclaimed science-fiction writer Yoon Ha Lee, DRAGON PEARL. https://culturess.com/2019/01/15/dragon-pearl-yoon-ha-lee-rick-riordan-presents/
* Apparently the government is researching travel via wormhole. This will either advance us hundreds of years or blow us back to the stone age. (Honestly the way things are going, either sounds pretty good.) https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/traversable-wormholes-super-fast-travel-usa-defense-intelligence-agency
* "Glass", whatever you think of the ending, gave us a glimpse into a very real condition: people who think they are superheroes. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/science-behind-the-fiction-glass
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Award News
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* R.F. Kuang has won the Crawford Award for the amazing debut fantasy novel THE POPPY WAR: https://locusmag.com/2019/02/kuang-wins-crawford-award/
* The nominees for the 2019 Philip K. Dick Awards have been announced! https://www.philipkdickaward.org/2019/01/2019-philip-k-dick-award-nominees-announced.html
* SFWA has announced the recipients for the 2019 Kate Wilheim Solstice Award for distinguished contributions to the science fiction & fantasy community: Nisis Shawl & Neil Clarke! https://nebulas.sfwa.org/sfwa-announces-the-2019-kate-wilhelm-solstice-award-recipients/
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