"My astrological chart makes it really difficult. . . I desperately want to save the world, but I can't find my keys."
"There's a 'Game of Thrones' coloring book? Does it only come with red crayons?"
"Frequently when I'm traveling it ends up being 'Hm, books or pants?'"
"She's so beautiful. . . it's like if Disney had made a Goth princess."
"Well, yeah -- [Book Title] is totally atrocious trash, but it's SO MUCH fun to read!"
"You've got to grab life by the cookies."
"My brain is like, 'I know it's 3 am & you were just about to doze off, but you don't actually know what "emulsify" means! You should look it up IMMEDIATELY!'"
"I may have reached 'peak San Francisco'. Girlfriend has 'Instant pot' on her Christmas list, and I have no idea whether that is a cooking thing, or a medical marijuana delivery service, like InstaCart for joints."
* Overheard at Writers With Drinks:
"Alyssa Cole understands that the most heroic thing an intergalactic hero can do is fall in love."
"I don't know what a BitCoin is, but it seems like the kind of thing you'd get when you sell your soul."
"Bookstores are like a magical petting zoo for stories!"
"It's not like 'Oh, I can't watch that anymore because. . . hyperspace."
* Our friends at Comix Experience <https://www.comixexperience.com/> will be hosting a signing with the fabulous Saladin Ahmed on January 19th at 6:00 pm! He'll be signing BLACK BOLT. For more information, see https://www.comixexperience.com/events/
* Distinguished local author Nick Mamatas is teaching another Fabulist Fiction course at WeWork Golden Gate (25 Taylor St., San Francisco). The class will run for six sessions (Saturday, 2:00 - 5:00 pm), February 10th - March 17, 2018. For more information, and to sign up, see: https://sfwriting.institute/portfolio/fabulist_fiction/
* R.I.P. Susan Grafton, celebrated author of the popular Kinsey Millhone mystery series. Her daughter has stated that there will be no ghostwriter to finish off the series and it will stay lettered from A to Y https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/Mystery-Writer-Sue-Grafton-Dies-in-California-467174743.html
* We're sorry to hear of the death of Bruce McCandless, the first astronaut to fly untethered in space.
* Katherine Cross writes about when fans and fandom cross the line into abusive behavior, and why we have to take such things seriously (particularly in regards to the recent "Call of Duty" swatting death). Find it at The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/2/16840170/swatting-death-call-duty-toxic-fandom
* Tor.com has republished Seanan McGuire's excellent piece on learning from "My Little Pony" to make her violence fluffy and covered with glitter to make it fly under the radar. If you haven't read it already you should read it now: https://www.tor.com/2017/12/20/learning-to-write-fluffy-glittery-violence-from-my-little-pony/
* Ada Palmer talks about the places that science fiction meets social science, and why those are the points on which her fiction focuses. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/when-science-fiction-meets-social-science/
* The Verge recommends an interesting short science fiction film, "SENTiNEL," in which a man is being hunted down by a drone. Although short, it hints at a larger world that begs for a longer film to explore it. https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/24/16814968/sentinel-film-riot-drones-short-scifi-film-watch
* Though the webseries "Miss 2059" has been going for two years, it was just brought to our attention. A beauty queen from the future is accidentally transported to a deadly intergalactic tournament instead of her more militaristic sister. https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/anna-akana-miss-2059-go90/
* Tor gives us a list of all the new fantasy coming out in January -- prepare to open & empty your wallets!https://www.tor.com/2018/01/02/new-fantasy-books-january-2018/
* We love when non-science-fiction-focused publications write articles exploring science fiction from their perspective. So in that tradition, here's "Food & Wine" talking about the prevalence of spice in science fiction works and their cultural relevance: http://www.foodandwine.com/news/spice-science-fiction
* About half of the movies on this "Great sci-fi movies you might have missed in 2017" list are actually great, and the other half. . . well, why don't you decide? https://io9.gizmodo.com/20-great-scifi-movies-you-may-have-missed-in-2017-but-1821021794
* Meanwhile, here are some science fiction films coming in 2018 that have not yet proved themselves one way or another, so there's still hope: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/03/cutting-edge-sci-fi-movies-2018-steven-spielberg-alex-garland
* Syfy announces series pickup for "Nightflyers," based on the George R.R. Martin novella: https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Syfy-Announces-Series-Pickup-for-NIGHTFLYERS-Based-on-George-RR-Martin-Novella-20180104
* They will be genetically modifying horses by 2019. Please tell us we're going for unicorns! https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/sounds-like-science-fiction-genetically-modified-horses-hit-ground-2019/
* We have a love/hate relationship with the classic "Twilight Zone", because those stories were GREAT, but are also the root of several neuroses we deal with to this day. All the same it's terrific to see Jordan Peele taking the helm to traumatize a brand new generation: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/6/16742398/jordan-peele-the-twilight-zone-cbs-all-access-tv
* An interview with action-adventure novelist James Rollins, who also writes fantasy under the name James Clemens: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/books/review/james-rollins-by-the-book.html
* Over at SyfyWire, there's an interesting article about genre parodies and how they helped us become more genre aware: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/firsts-sci-fi-parodies-and-how-genre-became-self-aware
* There have been a lot of critical reviews of the Netflix "blockbuster" "Bright," and many are hilarious -- but IndieWire hits the perfect balance of legitimate criticisms and side-swipes at the film that are usual commentary as well as funny: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/bright-review-netflix-will-smith-max-landis-david-ayer-worst-movie-2017-1201909960/
* This review from Birth Movies Death, however, takes a long view and talks about "Bright" as the culmination of an unfortunate undercurrent that's been in fantasy literature all along: http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/12/29/bright-and-the-history-of-racialized-high-fantasy
* This article gives advice and goes through the options for those who are thinking of going the self-publishing route: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/how-to-pick-the-right-self-publishing-optioin/Content?oid=11230042
* A wonderful article about how the stories that we tell about the future are how we survive the current reality: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/vby7b3/best-science-fiction-best-speculative-fiction-2017
* The editor doesn't need any convincing that "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was ahead of its time and is still one of the best Star Trek series, but if you do need convincing, check out this piece:
* Was it a big bang? Or a big suck? A new theory put forth is that a black hole from a previous universe is what gave birth to our universe: http://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/17436-no-big-bang-black-hole-created-universe
* Cultress gives us a list of 20 women who are masters of science fiction, whom you should read if you haven't already: https://culturess.com/2017/12/12/20-female-masters-science-fiction/
* Finding yourself in fiction, fantasy or not, is very important. A woman talks about how Black speculative fiction changed her life: https://wearyourvoicemag.com/more/culture/black-speculative-fiction-brought-magical-self
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Award News
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* The judges for the 2018 World Fantasy Awards have been announced. See here for the list of names, as well as addresses to send materials: https://locusmag.com/2017/12/2018-world-fantasy-awards-judges-announced/
* The winners of the 2017 Parsec Awards were announced, many of which could be of interest to fans of speculative fiction: http://www.parsecawards.com/2017-parsec-awards/2017-finalists/
* E. Lily Yu has won the 2017 LaSalle Artist Trust Storyteller Award, which comes with a $10,000 grant. Listen to an interview with her here: https://www.garlasalle.com/2017/12/interview-e-lily-yu/
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