Interzone Readers' Poll

The Interzone Readers' Poll is now up and I have two stories in contention: "When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees" from issue 219 and "The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain" from issue 217. As with all Interzone Readers' Polls, you can vote positively for stories you like and negatively for stories you dislike.

I voted in last year's poll, but because I have two stories under consideration I'm going to abstain this time to avoid any conflict of interest. But I urge people to take part and support this wonderful SF magazine.

BSFA Awards shortlist

The British Science Fiction Association has announced the shortlist for its BSFA Awards, which Interzone editor Andy Cox posted on the TTA Press forum. The shortlist is:

Best Novel
Flood by Stephen Baxter
The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod
Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Best Short Fiction
"Exhalation" by Ted Chiang (Eclipse 2)
"Crystal Nights" by Greg Egan (Interzone 215)
"Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley (Interzone 217)
"Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment" by M. Rickert (F&SF, Oct/Nov 2008)

Best Non-Fiction
"Physics for Amnesia" by John Clute
Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films by Roz Kaveney (I.B. Tauris)
What Is It We Do When We Read Science Fiction? by Paul Kincaid (Beccon)
Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan)

Best Artwork
Cover of Subterfuge, ed. Ian Whates, by Andy Bigwood
Cover of Flood by Stephen Baxter, by Blacksheep
Cover of Swiftly by Adam Roberts, by Blacksheep
Cover of Murky Depths 4 by Vincent Chong
Cover of Interzone 218 by Warwick Fraser Coomb

This is a very good shortlist. "Crystal Nights" by Greg Egan and "Little Lost Robot" by Paul McAuley are very good SF stories, and Vincent Chong is in my opinion the best SF/F artist out there. Not that I'm biased, of course.

Story of the Week: "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster

Iz220coverMy new story of the week is "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster from Interzone issue 220. This far future science fiction tale is an exploration of self identity and the masks we all wear in public. But in this case, the masks are not some silly metaphor but actuality, as Eugie's society has evolved so the wearing of these complex disguises--which not only change a person's character, but also their very souls--is mandatory.

Perhaps it would be fun to be another person on occasion, to not have to take responsibility for one's actions by literally claiming that the mask made you do it. But what is the cost to your soul when you change your very being day after day? When you can no longer even find the real you? Eugie explores these questions in a beautifully written and fast-paced tale which is certain to be on many of the year's best lists.

As an aside, this month's Interzone has one of the most beautiful SF covers I've seen in some time. Created by Adam Tredowski, the cover has already created calls on the TTA Press forums for a poster-sized version. And as a final side note about Interzone, TTA Press has contracted with a new shipping company, which fixed their previously delivery problems and caused my issue of IZ 220 to reach here within five days of publication. As Andy Cox says in the editorial of this issue, the current exchange rate makes this a great time for people overseas to subscribe. I totally agree.

The public domaining of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu"

An interesting debate has been going on over the last few years about how many of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous stories, including "The Call of Cthulhu," are now in the public domain. Wikipedia has a summary of the issue, while Chris Karr has written a detailed examination. More information is available here. The general consensus is that most of his stories are no longer protected by copyright, much to the horror of Arkham House, but that to prove this in a court of law would be extremely expensive. One thing this debate points to is a flaw in current copyright law, whereby there is continual confusion around copyrighted items passing into the public domain when their copyright period is over.

Gender breakdown of science fiction and fantasy publishing

Blue Tyson has a fascinating analysis of the gender breakdown in SF/F publishing. In the first analysis, Tyson breaks down the authors' gender with regards to SF/F books published in 2006. In that year, 45% of fantasies were written by woman, compared to 55% written by men. For SF books, only 21% were written by women.

In the next analysis, Tyson examines how many men and women published short stories in SF/F anthologies and collections from 1984 to the present. The findings: 84% men, 16% women. Kudos to Blue Tyson for the analysis and for giving people some good food for thought.

BTW, here are some comments I've previously made with regards to gender diversity and submissions in SF/F.

Quote of the day

Ricardo Montalban: "Once you obtain a fantasy it becomes a reality, and that reality is not as exciting as your fantasy. Through the fantasies you learn to appreciate your own realities."

Nebula Awards rule change

A few hours ago the Nebula Awards site posted revised rules for the award, which will take effect this month (meaning 2008 stories will still be considered under the old rules). As stated on the SFWA livejournal page, "Some of the key changes include: the elimination of rolling eligibilityand a return to the calender year system, the elimination of the script category as a Nebula Award, and a new, streamlined process for getting to the Final Ballot."

As an active member of the SFWA, let me publicly state I like these changes, especially since the final ballot will consist of the six stories in each category with the most nominations. While this could open the award up to some gaming by SFWA members--i.e., you nominate stories by your friends, they nominate yours--I believe this system will allow less gaming than under the old rules. And getting rid of the rolling eligibility is a great thing. As Tobias Buckell says, "I think bringing the Nebulas to a calendar year system will make them something to pay attention to as a reading list for people looking to find the field’s interesting work." Amen to that.

No more Year's Best Fantasy and Horror

Horrible news: there will not be a new edition of the wonderful Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology. According to this post from editors Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link, it sounds like the publisher pulled the plug on the series. Ellen Datlow confirms the sad news, while adding that she's been "offered a two book deal with Night Shade to edit a Best of the Year inHorror anthology (not titled yet)--for this year and next..." While that doesn't replace the loss of a wonderful anthology, I'm glad Datlow will be able to continue her anthology work.

Gene Wolfe book club

John Klima at Tor.com, along with Christopher Rowe, Mark Teppo, and William Shunn, have launched the Gene Wolfe Book Club. The club is dedicated to the twelve novels of Gene Wolfe's Solar Cycle, which begins with four-volume The Book of the New Sun. I finished reading these first four books last year and, as I mentioned here, they now rank among my favorite works of literature from any genre. I'll definitely will be taking part in this book club as time allows.

Wading into the flash fiction wars yet again

I have a bit of a reputation with regards to flash fiction, thanks to an essay I wrote a while back and my decision to not consider stories under a 1000 words for the Million Writers Award for best online short story. As a result, I probably shouldn't go anywhere flash fictional lands, unless I want to receive even more nasty e-mails in my in-box.

But what the hey. I might as well live a risky life. So I present my newest review for The Fix, in which I review SF/F flash fiction from Bruce Holland Rogers. Flash fiction lovers should feel free to begin flaming my in-box whenever they wish.

To dump, or not to dump

Ah, the information dump. That wordy bit of fictional exposition, during which all the background information the reader needs to enjoy a story is expressed in one great big pile of, well, dump.

The fictional info dump is nothing new. After all, at least half of Tolstoy's War and Peace is an extended info dump of bowel-extending dimensions. But while all fictional narratives rely to a degree on info dumps to quickly explain needed information, science fiction has taken the info dump to heretofore unseen proportions of dumpiness.

In many ways, the embrace of info dumps by science fiction is totally understandable. Traditional fiction deals with worlds with which readers are already familiar. But when an author creates a brand new world that no one has ever before imagined, said author has to explain the world so the reader will understand it. In addition, science fiction is grounded in the ideas and jargon of science, meaning SF authors have to explain concepts which, while clear to them, may not be easily understood by the general reading public.

Now comes my info dump confession: Forgive me Father, for I have info dumped.

Yes, as a science fiction writer I have engaged in info dumps. The first time I got called on it was by Edmund Schubert, editor of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. Edmund wanted to publish my story "Rumspringa," about Amish settlers on a far away planet, but first he asked me to clean up an info dump in one of the scenes. I looked at the scene and realized that Edmund was right. This was a classic case of info dump original sin. I rewrote the scene as a mix of action and explanation, and the scene emerged much stronger and far better than it was.

So in general, the writing teachers are correct when they say it is better to pass on information by mixing it into the narrative and action than to remove the reader from their imagined world to inject a sudden shot of understanding.

But that rule isn't absolute. Look at how we live our real-life lives. Just as there are many times when we understand the world in little drops and dribbles, so too are there times when we understand something new in a great burst of insight. Remember: epiphanies are merely a nicer word for real-life info dumps.

So my advice to writers is to spread the info dumping around. Push it about, like the manure you throw into the rose garden so your flowers will grow strong and healthy. But also realize that there are times when a great big dump is called for. In such cases, don't be afraid of the info dump. But like all big dumps, make sure they are spaced few and far between!

(originally printed in Grasping the Wind)

Ghosts of Thailand, the commercial

For such powerful supernatural creatures, ghosts are very culturally specific. What scares people in one country might end up being laughed at in another. As proof of this, I present this wonderfully funny commercial featuring a whole bunch of Thai ghosts. I came across the ad while writing a ghost story set in Thailand.

I spent two years in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer and can state that while the ghosts seem funny in the commercial--which is the intention, to show that ghosts are not scary when seen in the light--few Thai people would laugh if they ran into these ghosts on a dark country road.

The commercial also contains a Thai-specific joke about a "jackfruit ghost," which is a pun on the Thai slang word for a cheap street prostitute (many of whom evidently used to hang around jackfruit trees in old Bangkok). The translation printed on the screen at this point--which reads "transvestite"--is wrong and was created by someone with a poor grasp of the language. Instead, when the kid asks if that is a jackfruit ghost, his father merely says "human" in Thai.

TOC for Year's Best Science Fiction, 26th annual edition

Over on the Asimov's forum, Gardner Dozois has posted the table of contents for his new 26th annual Year's Best Science Fiction. The contents are:

  • TURING’S APPLES, Stephen Baxter (Eclipse 2, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
  • FROM BABEL’S FALL’N GLORY WE FLED, Michael Swanwick (Asimov’s, February 2008)
  • THE GAMBLER, Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2, ed. Lou Anders)
  • BOOJUM, Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette (Fast Ships, Black Sails, ed. Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer)
  • THE SIX DIRECTIONS OF SPACE, Alastair Reynolds (Galactic Empires, ed. Gardner Dozois)
  • N-WORDS, Ted Kosmatka (Seeds of Change, ed. John Joseph Adams)
  • AN ELIGIBLE BOY, Ian McDonald (Fast Forward 2, ed. Lou Anders)
  • SHINING ARMOUR, Dominic Green (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 2, ed. George Mann)
  • THE HERO, Karl Schroeder (Eclipse 2, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
  • EVIL ROBOT MONKEY, Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 2, ed. George Mann)
  • FIVE THRILLERS, Robert Reed (F & SF, April 2008)
  • THE SKY THAT WRAPS THE WORLD ROUND, PAST THE BLUE AND INTO THE BLACK, Jay Lake (Clarkesworld, March 2008)
  • INCOMERS, Paul McAuley (The Starry Rift, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
  • CRYSTAL NIGHTS, Greg Egan (Interzone, April 2008)
  • THE EGG MAN, Mary Rosenblum (Asimov’s, February 2008)
  • HIS MASTER’S VOICE, Hannu Rajaniemi (Interzone, October 2008)
  • THE POLITICAL PRISONER, Charles Coleman Finlay (F & SF, August 2008)
  • BALANCING ACCOUNTS, James L. Cambias (F & SF, February 2008)
  • SPECIAL ECONOMICS, Maureen McHugh (The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Ellen Datlow)
  • DAYS OF WONDER, Geoff Ryman (F & SF, October/November 2008)
  • CITY OF THE DEAD, Paul McAuley (Postscripts # 15)
  • THE VOYAGE OUT, Gwyneth Jones (Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures, ed. Lynne Jamneck)
  • THE ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF LORD GRIMM, Daryl Gregory (Eclipse 2, ed. Jonathan Strahan)
  • G-MEN, Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Sideways in Crime, ed. Lou Anders)
  • THE ERDMANN NEXUS, Nancy Kress (Asimov’s, October/November 2008)
  • OLD FRIENDS, Garth Nix (Dreaming Again, ed. Jack Dann)
  • THE RAY-GUN: A LOVE STORY, James Alan Gardner (Asimov’s, February 2008)
  • LESTER YOUNG AND THE JUPITER’S MOONS’ BLUES, Gord Sellar (Asimov’s, July 2008)
  • BUTTERFLY, FALLING AT DAWN, Aliete de Bodard (Interzone, November 2008)
  • THE TEAR, Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires, ed. Gardner Dozois)

I should note that there are a lot of great stories here, among them quite a few which numbered among my recent recommendations for the Nebula Award.

F&SF goes for larger, bi-monthly, format

Over at SF Signal is the disturbing news that Fantasy and Science Fiction will be going to a larger format published on a bi-monthly schedule. I understand the reasoning behind this move. I also think the larger issues will be a bigger seller on newsstands. However, it's hard to see this as good news. As I've previously mentioned, NYRSF and Locus are both having circulation problems, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more SF/F magazines follow F&SF's lead in the coming year. After all, the economy is bad and when people cut back, they always cut back on the non-essentials first (with that statement being about essentials from a life-supporting view--I know many people including myself think of our SF/F reading as essential). As I mentioned in that earlier post, this next year will likely be critical for the survival of SF/F magazines. Unfortunately, this is turning out to be an accurate prediction.

Million Writers Award preliminary judges needed

As I begin work on the 2009 storySouth Million Writers Award for best online short story, I'm putting out the call for preliminary judge applicants. These judges help screen the nominations and select the list of notable stories of the year. As always, I will select a group of judges from across the literary genres.

To apply, e-mail me your writing and/or editing experience at lapthai (circle a sign) yahoo (dot) com--be sure to tell me why you'd make a good preliminary judge.

Rules of rejections

This is an old post, but I thought it would be good to bring it to people's attention again: The 8 Rules of Rejections. While all the rules are worth reading, I think rule #5 is particularly insightful: "Most rejection letters are a long, long way from direct, forthcoming, or meaningful."

Now that I'd given up day-to-day editing at storySouth, let me confess that submission editors don't want to go into great detail on why they rejected your story. We didn't like the story. That's all that matters. But we don't always say that. Maybe we don't want to hurt your feelings, or we want to encourage your writing. Maybe we like your other stories and simply think this one is poo. Or maybe we think you're psychotic and don't want you tracking us down at our house. So we reach into our bag of pleasant banter and tell you pleasant words to mollify you.

Such is life. But this is why it's never good for a writer to obsess on what a rejection letter says.