Books

C.J. Cherryh Is Becoming a SFWA Grandmaster

In totally awesome news, C.J. Cherryh—author of Foreigner, Downbelow Station (pictured above), and tons of other amazing books—is being named a Grandmaster by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This honor will be bestowed upon Cherryh at the 51st annual SFWA Nebula Conference, May 12-15 in Chicago. Cherryh previously won the Campbell Award…

Two Previously Unknown J.R.R. Tolkien Poems Have Been Found

The Hobbit author J.R.R. Tolkien contributed two poems to a school magazine in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, back when he was an Oxford don. One is an early version of a poem that later appeared in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (pictured above), while the other is a Christmas poem, set in a landscape not unlike Middle…

Let China Miéville Plan Your Week in Weird Entertainment

Now that the wonderfully weird author China Miéville has a new book out—with another one coming later this year!—he’s doing some press. And there’s a feature in the Guardian where he recommends some things he’s been watching, reading, and listening to lately. These include Crumbs, a post-apocalyptic film in which “a dilapidated spaceship hangs above…

Here’s Your Exclusive First Look Of Kameron Hurley’s Upcoming Novel The Stars Are Legion

Kameron Hurley is one of the more exciting authors to break into the science fiction publishing field in recent years. Her upcoming book, The Stars Are Legion is one of our most anticipated books this year, and we have an exclusive first look at it! Here’s what the book is about: Somewhere on the outer…

Over at The Monitor, David Bowles is reviewing some of the best science fiction books of all time. Read his reviews of The Left Hand of Darkness, Ender’s Game, 1984 and Dune, and keep your eyes open for more installments. Dune cover art via Scientific American

Smurf Help Me, I’m Actually Kind of Excited About a New Smurfs Movie

Well, this is a smurfing surprise, to say the least. But after being horrified by the first Smurfs film and kind of mildly amused by the second, I’m actually smurfing forward to the third big-screen outing for those little blue guys. No, I haven’t smurfed my mind. Or at least, I don’t smurf so. There…

11.22.63 Has the Only Good Reason for Time Travel We’ve Ever Seen

One of the very first scenes of 11.22.63 features a character explaining just what he has been doing with the awesome power of time travel: He’s been buying really good, really cheap meat from 1960 and bringing it back to the present to make hamburgers. No other character ever really manages to top that reason.…

Here’s the Most Boring Game of Thrones Tribute of All Time

If you love Game of Thrones and have trouble sleeping, then there’s a wonderful podcast that you should definitely check out. “Game of Drones” is the most boring podcast about Game of Thrones ever, and it’s guaranteed to put you to sleep. This is part of a huge new genre of soporific podcasts, but apparently…

Game of Thrones Season 6 Photos Contain Some Bloody Huge Reveals

We’re just a couple months out from the launch of Game of Thrones season six, and finally we’re starting to get some glimpses of the fates that will befall our beloved characters. Some new photos released by HBO reveal who’s alive, who’s dead—and who’s changed. Spoilers ahead… Among other things, these pics include Bran standing…

The Author of Dark-Hunter Is Suing the Author of Shadowhunters for Potentially Obvious Reasons

Scifi/fantasy author Sherrilyn Kenyon is suing scifi/fantasy author Cassandra Clare, claiming that the latter’s Shadowhunters series (also known as The Mortal Instruments) is copying elements of the former’s Dark-Hunter series. Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter books first premiered in the US in 1998, while Clare’s first Shadowhunters book debuted in 2007. Both series are about secret groups who…

The Harry Potter Play Will Become the Eighth Harry Potter Book in July

Good news for everyone who won’t be able to make it to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: the script for the play will be on sale July 31. That’s right after the official opening of the play. And on Harry’s birthday. Announced on Pottermore, the version of the script you can buy will be…

The 8 Worst Kinds of Fictional Romances

Romance abounds in fiction—and science fiction and fantasy are full of epic romances, too. But sometimes a romance feels less like something that’s true to the characters and more like a plot device the writers threw in at the last moment. Here are eight kinds of romance that we don’t ever need to see again.…

You Could Win All 6 Mind-Blowing Finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award

The Philip K. Dick Award celebrates the best science fiction books released first in paperback form. That combination of excellence and skipping the fancy hardcover edition tends to favor books that are unusual, edgy, or published by smaller houses. And you can win all six of this year’s finalists. The six finalists for the Dick…

This Essay on Being the Only Black Person at a Science Fiction Event is Essential Reading

Now that Lightspeed Magazine has published its ultra-successful issues featuring stories by women and queers (who “destroyed” genres like fantasy and science fiction), it’s the turn of people of color. And the latest update in the Kickstarter for People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction is a must-read. [Full disclosure: I was featured in Women Destroy…

Kazuo Ishiguro Has a Brilliant Response to People Who Think Genre Fiction Doesn’t Matter

If a primary task of fiction is to explore the human experience—who we are and what we mean to each other—then the fantastic and unreal must surely be key elements in that exploration. But plenty of people still claim that fantasy and other genres are less “real” than purely mimetic fiction. And Kazuo Ishiguro has…

That Time a Fake Science Fiction Author Won a Major Novel-Writing Prize

Back in 1953, Galaxy Science Fiction and Simon & Schuster launched a huge contest to find a great new science fiction novel. The prize was $6,500 (a lot of money in those days). The winner? A brand new writer named Edson McCann. Except for one thing: Edson McCann did not exist. Michael Ashley explains what…

Some Bestselling Science Fiction Authors Just Made Their Own Platform 

The Internet offers lots of opportunities for authors to connect with readers—but it can still be hard for an author to get noticed among the crowd of other aspiring scribes. So 10 authors, who include some bestsellers, have created their own platform. The authors, who include Jay Allan (the Far Stars trilogy), Samuel Peralta (The…

Amazing News: Ava DuVernay Could Direct A Wrinkle in Time, from the Writer of Frozen

Please let this happen. Deadline reports that Selma director Ava DuVernay is being courted to direct the long-awaited movie of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. And the screenplay was written Jennifer Lee, writer and co-director of Frozen. That could be incredible. A Wrinkle in Time is one of the best books ever written, the…

Burning Midnight Author Will McIntosh On Telling A Good Story

It’s no secret that I really love Will McIntosh’s books: I count Soft Apocalypse as one of my absolute favorite novels, and I was a big fan of Defenders. His latest novel Burning Midnight is now out, and it’s a strange, excellent book about the wonders of collecting and otherworldly horror. We had a chance…

Who’s the Weakest Supervillain of All Time?

We’re finally getting superhero movies and TV shows that live up to the wonder and thrill of comics. But despite a few really great bad guys, supervillains still aren’t getting their due. A lot of baddies are just kind of… there. But who’s the weakest supervillain of all time? Please include a picture, comics panel,…