Video Found: Sheen Lantern
Charlie Sheen is insane. But you already knew that. So what does that make the people who came up with the video below? Either bloody brilliant or batsh*t crazy… Here’s the video: Craziness…
SF/F Commentary
SF/F Commentary
SF Signal Mind Meld: The Russ Pledge
I was asked by the wonderful Fabio Ferndandes to participate in the latest SF Signal Mind Meld by answering the following question: What’s The Importance of ‘The Russ Pledge‘ For Science Fiction Today? Check out what I wrote and feel free to contribute to the discussion! P.S.: Are you taking the Russ Pledge?
SF/F Commentary
The SF/F “Homophobia” Anthology Needs a Name
You might recall that I threw out some ideas about a possible anthology of SF/F stories which deal with homophobia. That anthology is now very much a reality, with JoSelle Vanderhooft at the helm, along with the aid of Charles Tan, Fabio Fernandes, Madeline Ashby (who is working on a queer military SF anthology), and myself. The theme of the anthology is roughly the the same as I had originally intended it, with some understandable changes to include more “non-traditional” groups and to add complexity to the thematic concept. The last stage before we start commissioning work from authors (and before we open submissions to the public, etc.) is to come up with a name for the anthology. That’s where you come in. We want your suggestions for a title. Use the comments below to toss out some names; we’ll take your suggestions seriously and see if we can find a fit. To help you with your name suggestions, here are the tentative guidelines for the anthology: [ANTHOLOGY NAME] seeks to explore , through Science fiction, fantasy and horror, the political, social, and spiritual difficulties lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and asexual [LGBTQA] people experience in worlds that are designed to exclude them. While stories featuring protagonists who experience homophobia/transphobia are welcome, we are most interested in stories that explore how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and asexual people navigate societies, cultures, religions, and political movements that are either geared towards heterosexuality (for example: courtship, marriage, reproduction), that aren’t built with much thought to their needs and experiences, or that are open to LGBTQA people, but imperfectly so. These societies can range from alternate history to high fantasy, utopias to dystopias, religious societies to far-off planets. In other words, we are open to science fiction, horror, fantasy, and all permutations and combinations thereof. As Shaun Duke wrote, in the blog post where this project was conceived, “Homophobia plays a role in a variety of situations beyond the most obvious, and I would like to see stories that play with these more subtle boundaries.” We are especially interested in receiving stories by and about people in the LGBTQA community who are often overlooked in all forms of media, including bisexuals, transgender people, genderqueer people, asexuals, and LGBTQA people of color, who live in non-Western societies, or who live with disabilities. We are not interested in the following: * Stories that exoticize, misrepresent, or demonize LGBTQ people, people of color, people with disabilities, or any culture or religion. (look up “cultural appropriation” for an idea of what we mean here). * Anti-gay, anti-asexual, or anti-transgender clichés (such as the lesbian who really enjoy heterosexual sex when she meets the right man, the asexual person who just doesn’t know what she’s missing, or the transgender person who is “just confused,”). This should, of course, go without saying. However, we are not adverse to stories that carefully satirize these or other stereotypes. * Stories with villains whose sole motivation for being bad is a mental illness or “being crazy.” And on that front, dismissing societies or organizations that make life difficult on LGBTQ people as wholly evil. While there are, indeed, some very evil groups and political structures out there that harm LGBTQA people, things are not usually that simple. * Poetry * Fan fiction (stories featuring characters that are not owned by the author) Please send a query describing your story to [email address that we’ll all have access to]. If your query is accepted, you will be asked to send your story. Please send your story in standard manuscript format [insert a link to an example of this]. Submission Period: Dec. 15, 2011 – Feb. 30, 2012. Word Count: 3,000 – 8,000 words (though shorter stories may be considered). **PLEASE query with your story idea first to save both you and the editor time. Payment: (TBD)
SF/F Commentary
Impslapped: Coming to HBO Soon!
I lied. This probably isn’t coming to HBO. But we can dream, right? Peter Dinklage is bloody brilliant in Game of Thrones, so brilliant, in fact, that you could probably do a spin-off show for his character and still produce amazing content. Can you imagine the witty banter? I can. I can indeed… But perhaps what we really need to do is turn this into some kind of SF/F community version of “you got served.” Only it would be cool, because SF/F is much more fascinating than bad actors who happen to be good dancers. And we could use it in amusing situations. Let’s think of some shall we? For example, if someone tells you that fantasy is a silly genre that you shouldn’t waste your time writing, you could immediately point out that J. K. Rowling has sold over 400 million copies of her books worldwide. Impslapped! Or you might get in an argument about whether the Enterprise D is more powerful than anything in the Star Wars universe. You might show them this: IMPSLAPPED! Those are just the ones I can think of on short notice. When would you use this new buzzword? Let me know in the comments, because I feel like having some fun! (Thanks to The Wertzone for the discovery.)
SF/F Commentary
Science Fiction and Its Future — To the Literary Den
It’s been a few days since I posted my rant on the genre/literary divide. One of the things that occurred to me after thinking about what I had written is that there does seem to be a rise in popularity for “literary” science fiction, and that there might be something to all this discussion of literary SF. I still have huge issues with the way critics approach the form, but the popularity of certain SF titles which aren’t categorized as SF makes one wonder if something is going on. If I had to hazard a guess, which is how future history always operates, I would say that the increased popularity of SF outside of the publishing category, particularly in its “literary” strain, may be signalling the fracturing of SF. Titles that are marketed as “literary” or some other non-SF category sell well enough and get plenty of attention, while category SF is declining only insofar as its non-tie-in industry is concerned. Star Wars novels will probably sell well so long as Star Wars is on our TV screens, in our video games, and so on. You could take the Star Wars section off the SF shelf and give it a whole new space and it would still sell quite well. I get the feeling that people come to Star Wars books not for the SF tales, but for, well, Star Wars. And, if we’re being fair, SF as a genre can’t survive on the backs of its “literary” takes, except where classic authors are still contributing to the field. What will save SF from obscurity is adventure and suspense, which other genres are, sadly, doing quite well without needing the SF label (though many of them are SF stories). It occurs to me that SF’s possible fracture will see the “serious” forms move out into general fiction (or “literary” fiction, if you will), while SF will become a haven for the adventurous and suspenseful, encompassing the tie-in wonders like Star Wars and Warhammer 40K and bringing back a lot of what we used to call the “sense of wonder.” As for “literary” SF: because it sells well enough outside of SF (or appears to sell well enough), I think we’ll see it move away from category fiction in general, because “literary” writers within the SF category might see the intelligence in moving out into non-SF shelves. But this is all conjecture. I don’t know if any of this is happening; it probably isn’t. All of the above is based on what I’ve observed in my tiny little world. Which is why I’m bringing the question to you: Do you think “serious” or “literary” science fiction will abandon category fiction for the general fiction pile?
SF/F Commentary
WISB Podcast: Chapter Eleven (Turned Black the Old Oak and Farewells)
I took a little extra time on this chapter to get the description right. What happens in Arlin City is really important to the story; weak description was pulling the power of the scene into the dumps. But the episode is now here and ready for your listening pleasure! Here you go: Chapter Eleven — Download (mp3) Thanks for listening. Please give WISB a review on iTunes! (Don’t forget to check out what I’ve done to sweeten the pot for anyone who donates to the project. So far, six people have donated. Plenty of free things are available, from ebooks, paperbacks, random letters from me, and even a character written about you into the world of WISB. Please consider donating!) (All podcast chapters will be listed on the Podcast page.)