May News

* Overheard in the Store:
"Dude, my truck was totally covered in cherry blossoms this morning, so I was like Giant Robot Mecha Flower Man driving to work!"

"I'm sorry, my co-worker is sometimes prone to responding in interpretive dance; it can be . . . distracting."

* Borderlands Books mourns the loss of author, editor, and longtime friend Grania Davis. http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/05/grania-davis-1943-2017/ .  You can see a photo of Grania with Jack Vance at Borderlands from 2005 here: http://tachyonpub.tumblr.com/post/147604822108/happy-belated-birthday-to-the-amazing-grania-davis

* Would you like to see our own bookseller Scott in a whole new light?  Scott's acting in an uproarious comedy at New Conservatory Theatre, called "Sordid Lives"!  We do hope you'll make time to attend the show; it runs from May 12th - June 11th, 2017.  Tickets range from $20 - $35, and more details are here: http://www.nctcsf.org/shows/2016-17-Season/Sordid-Lives .

* Has it been nine years since TWILIGHT author Stephanie Meyer wrote her science fiction novel "for people who don’t like sci-fi" THE HOST already?  Wow, time flies when you try to deliberately forget something.  If we have to remember, so do you.  A look back - http://io9.gizmodo.com/remembering-the-host-a-scifi-book-that-barely-wanted-t-1794986069

* If more people knew these were some of the things that NASA was working on, there’d probably be a lot more support for them, on cool factor alone: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/nasa-funds-ideas-science-fiction/

* We still love "The Fifth Element", but this article & video definitely made us think about the trope it relies on a lot.  Watch "Born Sexy Yesterday": http://www.geek.com/movies/science-fiction-really-hasnt-been-good-to-women-1698182/

* Tor is launching a new imprint -- Tor Labs -- dedicated to more experimental storytelling.  More details here: http://boingboing.net/2017/05/03/serialized-audio-drama.html

* Neil DeGrasse Tyson hates fun and imagination: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/neil-degrasse-tyson-alien-covenant-guardians-baywatch

* William Gibson is working on a novel set in an alternate America where Clinton won the election.  Something tells us this is just the first of many. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/331010-new-science-fiction-book-set-in-future-where-clinton-won

* This article definitely tries to dress it up nicely, but most of these examples just feel like animal experimentation for our own potential benefit: http://www.blastr.com/2017-5-2/national-pet-week-11-ways-science-fiction-real-our-pets

* Buster's Mal Heart sounds like some trippy intelligent Sci Fi, which is always welcome -- plus it stars Rami Malek.  What more could you want? http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/film/get-lost-in-sarah-adina-smiths-rural-science-fiction-puzzle-busters-mal-heart-9274919

* Faux-Meat!  A Brief History: http://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/A-brief-history-of-sci-fi-meat-11124848.php


* There are free science fiction movies on Youtube.  Some are horrible, some are interesting, some are great. Here's a list of 15 you should check out: https://www.inverse.com/article/29590-best-free-science-fiction-movies-youtube-2017

* Who doesn't want a beautiful poster with the history of science-fiction drawn on it?  https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/13/15285524/ward-shelley-history-of-science-fiction-art-kickstarter

* Vintage Geek Culture goes into misconceptions that people have about fiction from the Pulp Era.  Some of the conclusions are a little simplistic or only have one example but they're interesting nonetheless: http://vintagegeekculture.tumblr.com/post/156858872976/top-misconceptions-people-have-about-pulp-era

* So it looks like DC is getting rid of its universe and starting over, yet again.  Basically looks like they’re getting rid of the New 52 universe they started in 2011 and so many people did not like.  If you’re interested in more details: http://sciencefiction.com/2017/04/26/adieu-52-it-looks-like-dc-comics-is-ditching-the-new-52-in-favor-of-its-past-continuity/

* It will be another year until 4/20 but that doesn’t mean you can't still enjoy this definitive stoner Sci Fi fan movie list.  Most of them are great no matter what state you happen to be in: http://www.blastr.com/2017-4-20/420-science-fiction-viewing-list

* All those science fiction stories that had silicon-based lifeforms may not have been as impossible as people have tried to make us think in recent years: http://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/silicon-based-life-may-be-more-just-science-fiction-n748266

* Resurrection can either wipe any tension from a story, or set up an interesting moral dilemma or become the premise for a world spanning religion depending on how it's handled.  Here are 12 of the more famous examples: http://www.blastr.com/2017-4-15/science-fiction-resurrections

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Award News
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* The Arthur C. Clarke Award has announced their shortlist for 2017: https://www.clarkeaward.com/award-winners/shortlists/

* The nominees for the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award have been announced!: http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/nominees/

* The Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards announced their nominees for this year: http://www.rehfoundation.org/


* The Parsec Awards are now open for nominations! http://www.parsecawards.com/2017-parsec-awards/nominate-a-podcast/

* The Bram Stoker Awards have announced their winners for this year. http://horror.org/bram-stoker-award-winners-announced/

* Nominations for the Dragon Con Awards are now open to anyone. http://awards.dragoncon.org/

* Winners of Spectrum 24 announced! http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2017/04/22/spectrum-24-awards-recipients/

* The revised list of Hugo nominees is now available: http://www.worldcon.fi/wsfs/hugo-finalists/ .  (The Hugo Awards ballot entry for best fan artist was revised April 21, 2017 due to nominee Alex Garner being disqualified.  He was replaced by Steve Stiles.)