What might life be like in a future where every citizen was guaranteed a universal basic income? Two very good short stories imagine the sociological and cultural changes that might happen, in poignant and chilling ways. One of them was good enough to earn a sizable cash prize and you can read it now.
Whether you write for business or pleasure or both, you want your prose to be at the very least comprehensible and free from typos—and as usual, there are apps for that. These are some of the best tools we’ve come across for keeping your writing as neat, as tidy, and as impactful as possible.
The best science fiction works revolve around deep-seated ideas that can speak to humanity as a whole. Having enough money to get what you need to live—or what happens when you don’t—is one of those fundamental ideas, and the focus of a new writing contest sponsored by the Economic Security Project.
Last week, the full script Max Landis originally wrote and pitched for the Power Rangers movie reboot in 2013 made its way online. With the new movie so close (it premieres March 24), we thought we’d take a look to see what might have been... and honestly? We’re pretty sure we’re going to like this version better.
The word “alternative” appears both in the fun new craze sweeping the government (“alternative facts”) and in a few science fiction staple ideas (“alternate history” and “alternate universe,” for example). Despite that superficial similarity, legendary scifi author Ursula K. Le Guin wants to make sure no one confuses…
Stephen King’s dark imagination as an adult always makes people wonder what the hell happened to him as a kid. But King didn’t have that unusual of a childhood. He’s more interested in everyone else’s curiosity about how he grew up and their assumption that something horrific must have happened for him to write about…
In a lively, adorably nerdy chat, fantasy authors Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes) and Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle) discuss the pressures of following a successful debut with a sequel, take on topics like writer’s block (and whether or not it actually exists), and answer Twitter-submitted fan…
Tell me a story, io9, and do it in only six words.
This entire nearly hour-long conversation between writing luminaries George R. R. Martin and Stephen King is well worth listening to in its entirety, but before that: skip to around 50:08 and hear Martin ask the one question he’s always wanted to put to King. It’s worth it.
Who gets the credit for a great movie? The director, obviously. It was his vision that came to life. The lead actors and the rest of the cast too. Their performances left an impact. The cinematographer even gets some love for how the movie was shot. And, of course, we have to give credit to the story. But does that…
So you want to be a military science fiction author. You’ve read the classics from all the major authors, and you’ve got a great idea for a novel. Except you haven’t served in the military, and don’t know much beyond what you’ve seen on TV and in movies. Here are 11 books of military history you might want to read…
Sorry, Han Solo and Mr. Sulu. Based on everything we know right now, you’ll never be able to punch a button and travel through “hyperspace,” or go to warp speed. Traveling faster than light is almost certainly impossible. According to scientists, the only way you could personally visit other stars is by taking a long,…
Guy Gavriel Kay has carved out a unique niche, writing fantasy novels that take real-life historical settings and transforming them into something new and different. His latest novel, Children of Earth and Sky, takes place in a version of 16th century Europe that’s under threat from a version of the Ottoman Empire,…
The Kurt Vonnegut Library is seeking $750,000 to move to a bigger space. And this would let them do more cool stuff to celebrate one of the all-time best writers of weird and fantastical fiction. So it goes!
Today’s “Deal of the Day” at Publishers Marketplace involves Daryl Gregory, whom we called “a writer to watch” a year ago. He just sold a novel about psychics called Spoonbenders to Knopf in an auction, which means that publishers were fighting over it.
Post-apocalyptic stories usually feature a certain type of character—someone who fits in with survivalist tropes. We never want to think about how people with various disabilities will do after the end of civilization. But in the new book On the Edge of Gone, Corinne Duyvis chose to put an autistic character in the…
Madeline Ashby took all the conventions of “artificial life form” novels and shredded them with her novel vN and its sequel, ID. Now she’s doing the same thing for the posthuman “everybody gets upgraded and has free ice cream forever” story, in her brutal new novel Company Town.
Spring is here, and so are some great beach reads! What does April have in store? Two Terry Pratchett tributes. New books from C.J. Cherryh, Harry Turtledove and M.R. Carey. Wish-granting moonshine! New space opera! And much, much more. Here are the most essential science fiction and fantasy books in April.
Every Heart a Doorway, the new novella from Seanan McGuire, has the absolute best premise ever: What happens after you come back from spending lots of time in Neverland, or Wonderland, or Narnia, or some other magical realm? Not surprisingly, it messes you up. Here’s an exclusive excerpt from Every Heart, which drops…
Aliette de Bodard just became the first person to win both the fiction categories at the British Science Fiction Awards. She won Best Novel for her book House of Shattered Wings, and also won Best Short Story for her story “Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight.”
