* Despite any number of people (including the author of the law, who failed to be re-elected in November, and an ill-informed commenter on our blog), saying, in essence; "Oh, don't worry about it -- it's not meant to affect books", California's AB1570 autograph law is being taken seriously by publishers. Easton Press, publisher of lovely, leather-bound editions of classics, is no longer shipping signed copies of Neil Gaiman's OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE to California. So, yeah, it's a really stupid law - http://eurekabooksellers.com/repeal-californias-autograph-law-ab1570/.
* Overheard in the store:
"I wish the cyberpunk dystopia that we actually live in had more ninjas and day-glo colors."
* Rest in peace, dear Carrie Fisher. Actress. Writer. Feminist. Icon. Jedi. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/arts/carrie-fisher-a-princess-a-rebel-and-a-brave-comic-voice.html
* We're sorry to report the death of author Richard Adams, who wrote many books, although his best-known works are the classics WATERSHIP DOWN and THE PLAGUE DOGS - both of which were turned into animated films that traumatized many a child across generations. http://deadline.com/2016/12/watership-down-author-richard-adams-dies-at-96-1201876180/
* In the grand tradition of the beginning of the year, both The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/5/13811144/sci-fi-fantasy-book-recommendations-2017) and Culturess (http://culturess.com/2017/01/01/12-science-fiction-fantasy-books-cant-wait-read-2017/) have released their lists of anticipated speculative fiction coming out in 2017.
* If you are seeking a roundtable on diversity that features diverse voices, you can head here (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/01/06/nerds-on-whitewashing-and-more-diverse-scifi) and listen to three nerds of color list their recommendations and talk about whitewashing in Hollywood.
* Author and Borderlands sponsor Kate Elliot suggests a re-jiggering of the beginning of "Rogue One" and talks about the importance of relationships in narrative, taking the time to list the stories this year that presented compassionate and complex relationships. http://thebooksmugglers.com/2017/01/narratives-from-2016-with-compassionate-and-complex-relationships.html
* Bustle give us a list of 9 Modern Women Science Fiction Writers that we should be celebrating. How many of them have you read and how many do you need to add to your reading list? https://www.bustle.com/p/9-modern-women-science-fiction-writers-you-need-to-be-celebrating-27287
* An interview with Sigourney Weaver about her latest genre film, "A Monster Calls" and her long history with science-fiction on the screen. http://gulfnews.com/leisure/movies/features/sigourney-weaver-the-queen-of-science-fiction-1.1958178
* Entertainment Weekly gives us (an unfortunately not very elaborate) list of the most anticipated YA of 2017. (Still, it's a good jumping-off point for more research on the titles that interest you.) http://ew.com/books/2017/01/05/ya-novels-2017/
* We are huge fans of Tarsem Singh's lush visuals and gorgeous cinematography, plus we love a meta remake. So we're hoping the NBC series "Emerald City" manages to deliver on both fronts. It looks quite promising. http://sciencefiction.com/2016/12/26/dust-wind-check-two-new-promos-nbcs-emerald-city/
* More and more people are discussing the ideas of AI and human rights, as demonstrated in this article in Open Democracy (https://www.opendemocracy.net/openglobalrights/jonathan-drake/beyond-science-fiction-artificial-intelligence-and-human-rights). (Although no one seems to be thinking about the rights of the AIs themselves ,which is an article we would love to see.)
* Wired Magazine focuses on science fiction in their latest issue, and the Editor-in-Chief explains why science fiction is so important to our future. https://www.wired.com/2016/12/editors-letter-january-2017/
* Inverse features the stories of four African-American people who contributed to science fiction and who are sometimes forgotten. Even for those of us who know their names, there are some interesting and little-known facts in the write-ups. https://www.inverse.com/article/26052-hidden-figures-of-science-fiction-star-trek-butler-delany
* There's probably. . . maybe? . . . going to be another attempt to bring DUNE to the big screen. We could say a lot, because we've heard this many times, but we'll just settle on -- We'll believe it when we see it.
http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/books/could-denis-villeneuves-dune-prove-that-the-science-fiction-classic-is-after-all-adaptable
* Inquisitr lists some classic "forgotten" science fiction films. There are a couple of great films on the list that do not get the recognition they deserve for sure. http://www.inquisitr.com/3801931/classic-science-fiction-films-that-time-forgot/
* There is no official announcement or plans, or anything, really, but director James Gunn has tweeted that he would love to do a "Moonknight" film, and as hardcore Moonknight fans we're pretty stoked that someone with some power might feel the same. http://sciencefiction.com/2017/01/05/james-gunn-wants-bring-moon-knight-big-screen/
* Five different takes on cashless societies from science fiction authors. What does a cashless society look like to you? https://scroll.in/article/825628/what-happens-in-cashless-societies-five-answers-from-science-fiction
* Cthuluhu help us all! Rob Liefeld is trying to bring his EXTREME! universe to the screen. The only way we can see this working, is full camp. http://sciencefiction.com/2017/01/04/rob-liefeld-signs-deal-bring-extreme-universe-big-screen/
* An editor speaks on the reshoots of "Rogue One". We hope an extended version is soon released! http://sciencefiction.com/2017/01/04/rogue-one-editors-talk-reshoots/
* We pray that this is some kind of hoax, because otherwise these are the fish that will be appearing in our nightmares until the day we die. http://www.chron.com/news/science-environment/article/These-Russian-fish-look-like-something-straight-10811405.php#photo-12080052
* Beijing-based Cristal Pictures is getting into the business of disaster films, a genre that is a favorite for many. There's a science fiction element since what messes everything up is engineering by us in an effort to save our world. ("Snowpiercer" already did this but there's always room for more.) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bejing-based-cristal-pictures-produce-science-fiction-disaster-movie-imago-955791
* Not enough people are talking about the new "Power Rangers" film, in our opinion. For a generation of nerds this is the guiltiest of pleasures and many of us will be seeing this film. http://sciencefiction.com/2017/01/04/first-super-tiny-glimpse-zordon-sabans-power-rangers/
* We want this to work out -- heaven knows we're tired of walking, but we've been promised science fictional transport frequently before. If the hyperloop appears, it will most likely be hellishly expensive but really, really cool. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-transport-systems-of-science-fiction-will-be-here_us_5859793ee4b0630a2542360c
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* The Cybils, which celebrate children's and young adults authors, and have both graphic novel and speculative fiction categories, have announced their 2016 finalists: http://www.cybils.com/2017/01/the-2016-finalists.html
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