November 2011

SF/F Commentary

2011 Holiday Logo Design Contest!

/

If the title doesn’t entice you, then maybe this will: The lovely folks at ooShirts, a Bay Area independent shirt company, has offered a few t-shirts to us for The World in the Satin Bag and The Skiffy and Fanty Show.  Rather than shoving our logos on the shirts and enjoying them by ourselves, we thought we’d give folks a shot at a t-shirt of their own! Here’s how it will work: We want a new logo design for The World in the Satin Bag and The Skiffy and Fanty Show that reflects the content or feel of the sites in some way.  Roughly translated, that means we have no clear rules whatsoever, in part because we are artistically handicapped.  The designs should look nice (obviously) and it should have something to do with the sites, but we are more interested in seeing what you come up with than bogging down the artistic process with rules and rigid desires. These will break down into two contests:  one for The World in the Satin Bag and one for The Skiffy and Fanty Show.  And you can enter both. What you get if you win: The two winning logos will receive a t-shirt with their winning logo on the front. Free books — winners will receive a $10 gift certificate to their preferred online bookstore AND a choice of a selection of books to be announced later. A bio and thanks in the About sections of both sites (because you’re awesome and we love you) The Rules: High quality images (so that we can adjust, shrink, and move the images without worrying about all those shrinkage issues) Images must be submitted by 11:59 PM on January 8th, 2011 to skiffyandfanty[at]gmail[dot]com.  The winner will be announced the following week. Original work only. By submitting your images to this contest, you are not giving us ownership of your stuff.  You grant us the right to show the logo and use it on our website and materials we purchase only for ourselves (i.e., business cards, shirts for us to wear at conventions, etc., but not stuff we buy for friends and the like).  Any sale of your logo by us will have to be agreed upon at another time.  If you want to donate the logo(s) to us, that would be awesome, but we’re not in the business of taking work from people without compensation unless they’ve offered it.  Should we become interested in selling the shirts with your logo, we’ll contact you to talk about royalties. A little about ooShirts: While I’d love to reproduce their story here, I think you’d better read it for yourself.  They’ve got a great story behind them, and a great company philosophy.  We wish them the best of success (not because they’re a Cali company, because we’re totally not that biased…). Have it it, logo designers!

SF/F Commentary

Giveaway (Updated!): The Entire Ancient Blades Trilogy by David Chandler

/

I don’t do giveaways often, so this is a super special post for all you reader types. Update:  I now have three sets of the first two books in the trilogy for three lucky entrants!  This means that two people will receive the first two books and one person will receive all three!  Tell your friends! I’ve got one copy of Honor Among Thieves by David Chandler (book three in the Ancient Blades Trilogy) up for grabs for one luck U.S. reader.  Entry is easy: Leave a comment or email me at arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com tell me one thing you like about fantasy novels. Your response need not be long (though more discussion is always welcome).  Winners will be chosen at random at 12 PM EST on Dec. 9th, 2011 (that way the publisher can hopefully get the book to you before the end of the month). Here’s a little about the book to get your brain juices flowing:   When allies become enemies, to whom can a clever thief turn?  Armed with one of seven Ancient Blades, Malden was chosen by Fate to act as savior . . . and failed dismally. And now there is no stopping the barbarian hordes from invading and pillaging the kingdom of Skrae. Suddenly friends and former supporters alike covet the young hero’s magic while seeking his destruction—from the treacherous King and leaders of the City of Ness to the rogue knight Croy, who owes Malden his life.  It will take more than Malden’s makeshift army of harlots and cutpurses to preserve a realm. Luckily the sorceress Cythera fights at his side, along with the ingenious, irascible dwarf Slag. And the wily thief still has a desperate and daring plan or two up his larcenous sleeve . . . The first two books in the series are in mass market paperback (available just about anywhere).  If you don’t have the first two, you should get them for the holidays and enter anyway!

SF/F Commentary

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes Sells Film Rights

/

I just broke the news over at The Skiffy and Fanty Show, but I figure you all should know about it too! Lauren Beukes, South African author of Moxyland and Zoo City, has sold the film rights to her Arthur C. Clarke winning novel, Zoo City to Helena Spring, a renowned South African filmmaker. Here’s an excerpt from the press release: Helena Spring, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most accomplished motion picture producers, has just been awarded the highly sought-after film rights to Zoo City, the Sci-Fi thriller penned by South African author Lauren Beukes – who garnered the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for best Science Fiction novel. In the wake of whopping sales figures, multiple awards and critical acclaim Beukes’ book generated fierce interest from numerous bidders in the entertainment industry, putting Spring alongside major US and UK producers eager to tell Beukes’ unique tale.  And: Spring’s career in the entertainment industry spans nearly three decades, during which time she has produced over twenty motion pictures – including the first ever South African film to receive recognition at the Academy Awards®: Darrell Roodt’s Yesterday earned a Best Foreign Picture nomination in 2004.  Spring, who has worked with some of the foremost filmmakers in the world – such as Paul Greengrass who helmed the box office smash hits The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, and Academy Award® winner, Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), will soon be putting the project out to a select party of directors, while Beukes has first look as screenwriter to adapt her novel for the screen. “Lauren is perfectly placed to do this. The characters are alive inside her,” says Spring. This is huge news!  Congrats, Lauren! You can read my review of Zoo City here and the Skiffy and Fanty interview with Lauren here.

SF/F Commentary

Video Found: John Dies at the End

/

When it comes to surreal or downright bizarre movies, you can always count me in.  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.  Donnie Darko.  Existenz.  Love them all. Now comes John Dies at the End, a 2012 film based on David Wong’s (a.k.a. Jason Pargin) novel of the same name.  And Paul Giamatti is in it, which means I’ll probably see it even if everyone else says it sucks.  Giamatti is bloody brilliant! Here’s the trailer (after the fold):

SF/F Commentary

Happy Thanksgiving

/

Unlike a lot of my fellow Americans, I won’t pretend that this holiday celebrates anything other than being with family and eating an insane amount of food (which could probably feed a small, poor country for a year).  I won’t pretend that this holiday is about how great the Pilgrims were to the Native Americans, because that would be historical revisionism at work (and I’m a stickler for getting my history “right,” as far as right can be). Instead, this post is about celebrating what the holiday really means to me: Being with friends or family and enjoying a meal together, without all the hubbub of daily life Saying thanks for the things I have, whether material or personal And that means I need to say some “thanks” to all of you. Thank you all for reading this blog, leaving comments, and otherwise making this whole blogging thing an enjoyable experience! May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, even if you don’t live in the U.S.  In fact, I’m of the opinion that Thanksgiving should be universal.  Tonight, when you have dinner with your loved ones, take a moment to think about how wonderful it is to have them there with you.  And then say thanks. Have a great day!

Scroll to Top