May News

* Mission Local attended the Sponsors' General Meeting on March 31st and wrote a detailed article where several of our sponsors are quoted: http://missionlocal.org/2016/04/sponsors-support-save-sf-mission-genre-bookstore/

* An article on Forbes.com talks about San Francisco's $15 minimum wage and its effects on three independent stores including Borderlands:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2016/03/31/what-a-15-minimum-wage-means-for-three-small-businesses-in-san-francisco/#a820faf17779

* Beloved Hugo-winning website SF Signal is shutting down.  They will no longer be updating and are looking into ways to preserve the archives of their work beyond this month.  Check out their full announcement here: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2016/05/all-good-things/

* io9 took suggestions and created a Spotify playlist of the 30 SF/F songs guaranteed to get stuck in your head.  Check out the list and the runners-up here: http://io9.gizmodo.com/30-science-fiction-and-fantasy-songs-absolutely-certain-1775094591

* The Guardian provides their monthly list of the best recent SF/F novels here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/05/eric-brown-science-fiction-roundup

* When "Ghostbusters" announced an all-female reboot many of us celebrated -- until we saw the trailer, which has since become one of the most disliked movie trailers of all time on Youtube.  Melissa McCarthy shares her thoughts on the trailer and agrees that it makes no sense.  http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Why-Ghostbusters-Trailer-Was-Confusing-According-Melissa-McCarthy-128577.html

* Spike TV is planning a series adaptation of the Stephen King novel THE MIST, with 10 one-hour long episodes.  Although this book has already been made into a film, perhaps the longer arc will lend itself to more expansive storytelling.  http://sciencefiction.com/2016/05/06/spikes-adaptation-the-mist-gains-director-pilot-episode/

* Slate draws our attention to this beautifully shot, dark, short film on the topic of body-swapping.  As the article says, some of the twists and turns won't be new to the speculative fiction fan but the atmosphere, acting and sinister hints make "Trial" one to watch.  http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/05/03/trial_a_science_fiction_short_film_by_the_brothers_lynch_features_a_mind.html

* Read about the "Star Wars" saga as it was originally intended: a twelve-movie epic that included much more Boba Fett.  http://sciencefiction.com/2016/05/06/boba-fett-originally-intended-main-villain-star-wrs-return-jedi/

* Indian science fiction thriller "24" has been getting a lot of press and attention.  This article lists 10 other science fiction movies from India that you should check out if you're in need of something new and interesting.  http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2016/05/05/top-10-science-fiction-films-made-in-india-apart-from-24411437/

* Vice has a great article up about African-American contributions to science fiction, and the soon-to-be released documentary "Invisible Universe" that will tackle this often-ignored topic.  http://www.vice.com/read/black-sci-fi-documentary-speculative-fiction

* Save "Supergirl"!  The freshman superhero show has dropped in ratings despite fairly good reviews and much anticipation.  There are several ideas in motion to save the show including moving it to The CW (which would hopefully mean more crossovers with The Flash).  http://sciencefiction.com/2016/05/05/saving-supergirl-will-show-shift-cbs-cw/

* The 13 Most Devastating Deaths in Science Fiction.  Sure, there are some missing from the list, but at least a couple of these are sure to get you choked up.  http://www.outerplaces.com/science-fiction/item/11874-13-most-devastating-deaths-in-science-fiction

* Actor Jason Momoa, who will be playing Aquaman in the upcoming Justice League movies, released a photo of himself on the set and decided to lace it with a decidedly political statement that not only fits his own politics but is also definitely something Aquaman would fight for.  http://movieweb.com/justice-league-aquaman-photo-jason-momoa/

* A look back at five of Disney's most notable movie flops, although we think at least "Dick Tracy" has redeemed itself in the fullness of time, and also - dare we say it - "The Rocketeer"?   http://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2016/05/05/cant-blockbusters-look-back-5-notable-disney-flops/

* Author Peter Tieryas, who will be appearing at Borderlands on June 5th, talks about his personal history, inspiration for novel THE UNITED STATES OF JAPAN, and mecha in a post over at geekdad.com.  https://geekdad.com/2016/05/author-peter-pieryas-geeks-out-about-mecha/

* Ever since the announcement that we were getting a Captain Marvel movie, fans have eagerly waited to see Carol on the big screen, and it looks like we may get our chance before her solo film: it seems Carol Danvers will be appearing in "Avengers: Infinity War".  http://screenrant.com/avengers-infinity-war-captain-marvel/

* "Doctor Who" spin-off "Torchwood" has been gone for a number of years now.  Although starting with a large fanbase, much of that seemed to fizzle out by the fourth season.  Luckily the gang (those who are still alive) are returning, in comic book form, and written by John Barrowman, the actor who played Captain Jack Harkness.  http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/captain-jack-returns-titans-new-torchwood-ongoing

* The reboot of "Power Rangers" (including the white-washing of Rita Repulsa,) has already been met with skepticism and criticism, and now we have a glimpse of the new uniforms, which remind us of the old science fiction film "Guyver" in five different colors -- but you be the judge.  http://collider.com/power-rangers-reboot-costumes-image/

* Small Beer Press has launched their first Kickstarter, to publish three hardcover editions of John Crowley's version of The Chemical Wedding, illustrated by Theo Fadel and designed by Jacob McMurray.  They're also  planning to publish the book as a trade paperback and DRM-free ebook in November.  More information here: http://smallbeerpress.com/forthcoming/2016/03/13/the-chemical-wedding-by-christian-rosencreutz/ and info on the Kickstarter here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142694884/the-chemical-wedding-by-john-crowley

* Local author Nick Mamatas, who will be appearing at Borderlands on May 21st, will again be teaching a genre fiction writing class at SF Creative Writing Institute.  This class starts Saturday May 14 and runs until June 18th, and the cost is $395.  Nick's students are getting published left and right; many sell their first short story after taking his class and one landed her very first book deal.  More details here: https://sfwriting.institute/fabulist-fiction

* More local authors teaching: In 2014, Litquake launched their Master Class Mixers, intensive seminars with an award-winning author who teaches an aspect of craft.  Best of all, each class is followed by a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception for teachers and students to mingle.  This May features classes with Beth Lisick and Cara Black.  More details can be found here: http://www.litquake.org/event-series/master-class-mixers

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Award News
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* The 2016 Locus Award nominees have been announced.  Check out the full list here: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/05/2016-locus-awards-finalists/

* Despite the thoroughly inflammatory title of their article, The Guardian has an interesting point in suggesting that no award system is immune from bias: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/may/06/have-the-locus-awards-myopic-sexism-ya-fiction

* The 2016 Hugo Award nominees have been announced.  http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2016-hugo-awards/
The Hugos continue controversial.  If you missed last year's brouhaha, Wikipedia has a relatively drama-free explanation of the history of this controversy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Puppies.  While this year's nominees (and process) are seemingly not as contested as last year's, folks are still having plenty of strong reactions to this year's lineup.
- The statement of Thomas Mays who removed his story from competition: https://improbableauthor.com/2016/04/26/regarding-my-2016-hugo-award-nomination/
- The statement from Black Gate Magazine which also withdrew from consideration: https://www.blackgate.com/2016/05/01/black-gate-declines-hugo-nomination/
- And the story of the anonymous porn author, Chuck Tingle, who not only wrote a meta-story about the situation but has taken his nomination and used it as a platform to troll the Sad and Rabid Puppies: http://www.dailydot.com/lol/chuck-tingle-trolling-hugo-zoe-quinn-genius/

* The Shirley Jackson Award nominees have been announced: http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/nominees/

* Those eligible for inclusion in the Science Fiction & Fantasy Hall of Fame have been announced and they include Neil Gaiman, Nichelle Nichols, Lana & Lilly Wachowski and many more.  If you would like to vote, go here: http://empmuseum.org/vote

* The shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award has been announced; see the nominees here: https://www.clarkeaward.com/2016-shortlist-announced/