Weekly Round-Up (Apr.23-28)

This week, we saw the conclusion of Justin’s excellent series of Agency guest posts (by Robert Jackson Bennett and Robin Hobb); Suzanne Johnson wrote about her Urban Fantasy novel set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans; Ian Irvine wrote about the lessons he’s learned writing fantasy; Chuck Wendig provides some thoughts on the Big Idea behind Blackbirds; Tor US announced their eBooks were going DRM-free from July, and both Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi commented on the decision and what it might mean for readers and authors.

These are all largely from the first half of the week – I was rather busy after Wednesday – so feel free to share links in the comments of anything I missed.

Some thoughts on the HUGO NOMINATIONS

I wanted to draw your attention to a good piece by Stefan Raets about the Hugo Awards, which are handed out at Worldcon. I’ve never been someone who followed any sort of Awards (except, I do really like Pornokitch’s new awards that involve multi-coloured tentacles). This is not because I think they have no value, but because that’s just not how I like to find out what to read. However, a change that Raets highlights is something that needs addressing, and it’s nice that he does it in such a calm and unaggressive manner. (I can think of a couple venues that would react to this news with frothing insanity – something too many people on the internets are prone to, sadly.)

After giving a quick run down of what the Hugos are all about, Raets turns his attention to the crux of his piece, and that is the criteria for the nomination of “Fanzines, Semi Prozines, [and] Fan Writers”.

Raets has a lot of respect for the Hugo organisation, but has concerns over some rule-changes that come into effect next year. Specifically, the future place of blogs focusing on speculative fiction.

“At last year’s convention, a rule change was enacted that would exclude blogs from the Best Fanzine category in the future… That means this may be the last year blogs are eligible for the Best Fanzine category.”

So what? some of you may ask. Well, it is a bit of a big deal, and Raets explains why:

“How many authors on the ballot have done blog tours? How many have websites that quote reviews from bloggers? How many have done interviews on blogs? How many, for the love of Tehlu, have only achieved the prominence and popularity they currently enjoy because of the enthusiastic, dedicated and unpaid work done by bloggers? AND YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU MAY NOT WANT TO INCLUDE BLOGS IN THIS CATEGORY IN THE FUTURE? For shame.”

As a book blogger, I am very protective of the institution (for that is what we have become, really), and I think the Hugos are missing a trick by excluding blogs. True, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of them out there. But there are a handful of real gems, which I think do deserve a lot of respect and recognition for the good they do for the speculative genres.

With a new category for “FanCasts” (I assume that means Podcasts…?), the Hugos are moving a step in the modern direction. But by excluding blogs, they are moving backwards as well. Raets argues that “We need a Best Blog category, or we need blogs to be included under ‘Best FanZine’. It’s one or the other.” This is an entirely reasonable position to hold. He continues, “You can’t reasonably exclude the place where 90% of fan writing happens right now.” I would add that to do so renders the Hugos somewhat irrelevant.

Mr. Raets is not trolling for votes for his work online (he actually name checks a number of brilliant blogs, all of which I would vote for). His request is simple:

“Just support your favorite bloggers, whoever they are. ”

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Stefan Raets is one of, apparently, a bajillion Stefans writing about speculative fiction on the internet. We are legion, as it turns out… He blogs at FAR BEYOND REALITY.

The Week in Review (Feb.26-Mar.2)

The second links post, and one that’s a bit more varied.

New York Post “NYPD in 1850” by Lyndsay Faye

This is a very good, short article by the author of Gods of Gotham (Headline), which I intend to read very soon. It has a really intriguing premise, so I’m looking forward to reading this historical take on the NYPD.

Staffer’s Musings: Interview with Elspeth Cooper

With Songs of the Earth finally available in the US, Justin sat down with Elspeth (uh, metaphorically) for a very interesting interview. For more on Songs of the Earth, check out my review of SotE and interview with Elspeth from last year.

io9: “Rejected Star Wars Toys: George Lucas is denying you an inflatable Emperor’s Throne!”

Some of these are great fun, and the uber-geek in my would really like to own a Death Star Basketball and Cloud City Desk Lamp. And the Darth Vader Magnetic Chip Clip with Sound? “I have you now!” – Brilliant!

Simon Spurrier: “London Super Comic-Con: Panel Parity”

Simon Spurrier, author of A Serpent Uncoiled and Marvel’s X-Club series, talks about London’s inaugural Super Comic-Con and how “this convention was also notable for a slight controversy [he] happened to create”. It’s a nice, long post in support of Paul Cornell’s thoughts on the gender-balance in comics. Written in Spurrier’s trademark zaniness, it’s a thoughtful, thought-provoking and intelligent read.

“At the moment it’s all too easy for the lip-curlers and sneermonkies of the world to dismiss Western Comics as the sole preserve of thirtysomething-plus men in teeshirts who never properly grew up because that’s the only face of comics they ever see. Which is terrible. And I say that as a thirtysomething man in a teeshirt who never properly grew up.”

Washington Post: “Book Review: The Annotated Sandman” by Mike Musgrove

A good, proper review of the ground-breaking graphic novel. Which I still haven’t read. I don’t think I could ever justify the cost of this annotated version, but I may pick up a paperback edition to read at some point. [If I remember correctly, the Strand have a load of copies.]

Barnes & Noble SciFi & Fantasy Blog: Jim Butcher & Benedict Jacka

A good discussion between the two authors and more.

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And, of course, there was also all the content on Civilian Reader – an interview with E.C. Myers and a review of his debut, Fair Coin; my review of Ari Marmell’s first YA novel The Thief’s Covenant; and yesterday’s guest post from A. Lee Martinez.

The Week In Review

Trying something new this week: a collection of links to the most interesting posts I spotted from around the blogosphere – ranging from reviews, commentary, interviews, and more. I’ll probably keep the number of links down to about five, but sometimes there will be more, sometimes less.

They’ll be pretty basic posts – just text and the links, probably – but hopefully they’ll help generate more interest in the blogs I follow and like. So, in no particular order, here are a few links to things I found particularly interesting…

Stomping on Yeti: “Fact: Internet Polls Suck” [Comment]

The abominable blogger takes a look at possibly the dodgiest reader poll ever compiled by man.

Staffer’s Musings: “Pillars of Hercules” by David Constantine [Review]

No secret I’m a fan of Justin’s site, and especially when he reviews books that didn’t really work for him. Cheryl and ‘Fizzy’ are great creations, and this approach to negative reviews is one of the best out there. While you’re there, check out… well, pretty much everything else he’s posted. Great blog, deserves to be read by way more people than read this one.

A Dribble of Ink: “Prince of Thorns” by Mark Lawrence [Review]

Probably the best review I’ve read of the book (which I thought was fantastic), and more proof of why Aidan’s A Dribble of Ink is one of the best blogs out there (and not just taking into account book-related blogs).

Jim C. Hines: “Who Controls Your Amazon E-book Price?” [Article]

An author (whose work I really want to read) gives some thoughts on a recent pricing issue he’s experienced on Amazon, while also pulling back the curtain on Amazon’s policies regarding self-published authors’ work and how much control the company demands.

Tor.com: “Warhammer 40k: 25 Years of Orks in Space” by Robert Lamb

This article was originally published on HowStuffWorks.com, but Tor kindly shared it, and that’s how I stumbled across it. It’s a great, fun look at “five sciencey reasons to be thankful for the Warhammer 4oK universe”.

There are special 25th Anniversary events taking place in (I believe) all Games Workshop stores today, in case you’re a fan and want to join in the celebrations.

Michael Sullivan: “A Digital Feast” [Article]

This is actually from January, but I really liked the post, and wanted to link to it again. Michael takes a look at writer communities, past and present, and how the internet has changed things. Really liked this one.

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Also, because I think this week’s been pretty good as blog-content goes, I would like to draw your attention to the Robert Jackson Bennett Interview & Giveaway, my review of Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, and yesterday’s guest post by Jon Sprunk.

That’s all for this week. Anything else you’ve seen out there you think people should read?