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Cory Doctorow:
The Locus Interview

This mythological Edenic period in which all you do is write and the world ceases to hammer at your door never emerged, nor I think will it ever. I don't know what I would write about if I didn't have all this other stuff going on in my life.

Cory's latest column: Teen Sex

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Yesterday's Tomorrows: A. E. van Vogt

by Graham Sleight

One way of understanding van Vogt is by contrast with the early Heinlein, who was all rationalism and hardheadedness; van Vogt was transcendence and excitement at the expense of realism.

Sat 21 Nov 09 —

» Robert Holdstock is ill; a few details at Ansible

Thu 19 Nov 09 —

» Philip Pullman writes alternative ending for Jesus in Bible

» Andy Andrews's True Review site is new and improved

Tue 17 Nov 09 —

» November Intergalactic Medicine Show features Mary Robinette Kowal, Geoffrey W. Cole, Ian Creasey, Bradley P. Beaulieu, and Tom Pendergrass; plus Orson Scott Card, David Lubar, and an interview with Vernor Vinge

» Telegraph's list of 100 books that defined the noughties is led by... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with other titles by Stephenie Meyer, JG Ballard, Philip Pullman, Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth, Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Sebold, Audrey Niffenegger, and David Mitchell

Sun 15 Nov 09 —

» Art show Maidens and Monsters, with 50 original paintings spanning 80 years of science fiction, adventure and fantasy illustration, runs Nov 24th '09 to Apr 18 '10 at the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park FL

» Guardian: Will Self on My Hero JG Ballard; also, Eric Brown reviews Kelly Link, Peter Crowther, Paul McAuley, Anne Rice

» LA Times features Frank Beddor's take on Alice in Wonderland

» theinferior4 highlights an interview with Kim Stanley Robinson

» Maurizio Manzieri has photos photos from Lucca Comics 2009; more

» Usok is a new Filipino spec fic magazine

Fri 13 Nov 09 —

» NY Times: Janet Maslin reviews Stephen King's Under the Dome -- "It has the scope and flavor of literary Americana"

» November Internet Review of SF features Nicholas Kaufmann, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lezlie Kinyon, Nader Elhefnawy, Sue Burke; and reviews by Bridgette Da Silva, Jamie Mason, and Lois Tilton

» Guardian profiles Kim Stanley Robinson: science fiction's realist

Wed 11 Nov 09 —

» F&SF: Paul Di Filippo's latest "Plumage from Pegasus" is Sugar and Spice, and Everything Licensable

» Lisa Goldstein has joined theinferior4+1

Mon 9 Nov 09 —

» BSCreview has Hal Duncan's column Notes from New Sodom: On Blood, Bad Boys and Bottoms, plus a Synergy feature on Childhood Scary Stories

» New Haven Review has Gregory Feeley's essay "Creepy Hollow", about "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

» Latest Sofanauts guests are Peter Watts and Paul Di Filippo

» Jedediah Berry reviews Stephen King's Under the Dome

» Strange Horizons: John Clute reviews Lev Grossman's The Magicians

» Ellen Datlow's photos from World Fantasy Con

Fri 6 Nov 09 —

» NY Times Book Review: James Parker reviews Stephen King's Under the Dome; also, Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009 includes Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia; Hugo Lindgren reviews Tan's book; Austin Grossman reviews Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan; Regina Marler reviews Malinda Lo, Melissa Marr, and others

» Apex Magazine posts a 'celebration of world SF', edited by Lavie Tidhar, with stories by Aliette de Bodard, Nir Yaniv, and others; interview with Tunku Halim

» Terry Bisson interviews Kim Stanley Robinson

» B&N: Elizabeth Hand reviews VanderMeer's Finch

» BSCreview has Gary Gibson's column An open letter to those terrified of e-piracy and Alan DeNiro's World Fantasy Con coverage

» Quantum Muse's November issue is posted

» Fantastic Literature's November list is online

Wed 4 Nov 09 —

» Guardian: Berkley signs Mickey Zucker Reichert to write new Susan Calvin novels, based on Isaac Asimov's character

» Rick Klaw reviews Jeff VanderMeer's Finch; Cynthia Hawkins interviews VanderMeer; at Bookslut, J.W. McCormack reviews Finch

» Tin House: Cory Doctorow's Radical Presentism introduces the new issue

» Wired's GeekDad Holiday Gift Guide for Books recommends Cory Doctorow, Iain Banks, China Miéville, and Bruce Sterling, among others

» New York Post: Where I Work: Jonathan Lethem

» Gary Farber is following Joss Whedon's offer to buy the Terminator franchise

Tue 3 Nov 09 —

» Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2009 includes SF/F/H titles (scroll down) by Bacigalupi, Datlow, Gregory, Miéville, and Priest; plus titles by Simmons (fiction) and Carriger (mass market)

» Amazon.com's Best of 2009: Books includes SF & Fantasy titles by Valente, Kiernan, Durham, Straub, Priest, Ajvaz, Roberts, Strahan, Sherman & Barzak, and Bullington; Top 100 Editors' Picks put China Miéville at #8, Jonathan Lethem at #37, Margaret Atwood at #38, Suzanne Collins at #42, Bernard Beckett at #49, Lev Grossman at #52, Audrey Niffenegger at #77, J.G. Ballard at #89, Thomas Pynchon at #94

Mon 2 Nov 09 —

» Dave Langford's Ansible 268

» io9 has The Experts' Picks for Notable Books of the Year at World Fantasy Con

» World Fantasy Con photos from David G. Hartwell

Sun 1 Nov 09 —

» Scott Edelman's photos from World Fantasy Con

Fri 30 Oct 09 —

» Salon: Laura Miller interviews Peter Straub

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Thu 29 Oct 09 —

» SF Signal's Mind Meld explores Speculative Fiction and Mainstream Acceptance, part 2 (earlier, part 1)

» B&N: Paul Di Filippo review Atwood's The Year of the Flood

Tue 27 Oct 09 —

» NY Times: Don Ivan Punchatz, Artist for Fantasy Book Covers, Dies at 73

Sun 25 Oct 09 —

» Naples News: Ben Bova: No writer is an island, either

» RevolutionSF is hosting a contest to win Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris novels; plus, Rick Klaw interviews VanderMeer; Peggy Hailey reviews Finch

Sat 24 Oct 09 —

» Salon interviews Jonathan Lethem; Laura Miller reviews Neil Gaiman's Twitter story

» Publishers Weekly: Scott Westerfeld, Michael Grant, and others discuss vampires in YA fiction

» Cleveland Plain Dealer: John R. Alden reviews Wilson, Miéville, Sanderson, Banks, Dozois

» The Outer Alliance profiles Nicola Griffith about LGBTQ literature

» WSFA Press is offering a special set of 5 hardcovers for $100, in support of Capclave; details here

» Ticonderoga Publications is also having a sale of existing stock; visit indiebooksonline.com and click on Specials at right

Fri 23 Oct 09 —

» Breaking News: Artist Don Punchantz, born 1936, died yesterday; obits at Spectrum Fantastic Art, Houston AD Club [Punchantz' cover for Avon's paperback edition of Asimov's Foundation, left]

» Spectrum also notes the passing of Dean Ellis and Ed Valigursky [Ellis' cover for Bantam's paperback edition of Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, left]

» NY Times Book Review: Gregory Cowles reviews Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City

» Ellen Datlow's photos from KGB raeding October 21st with John Langan and Michael Cisco

» Philip José Farmer estate sale

Wed 21 Oct 09 —

» Globe and Mail: Guy Gavriel Kay, Authors draw their knives during literary awards season

» SF Chronicle: David Hellman reviews Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City

» NPR's Rick Kleffel: Rule of the Undead: Zombies Invade Bookstores

» The World SF News Blog interviews Ashok Banker

» BSCreview has columns by Sharon Shinn and new author John Brown

» LA Times: Jeff VanderMeer blogs how A writer's fascination with a pipe opens up a world of fantasy

Thu 15 Oct 09 —

» Sci Fi Wire: John Clute reviews The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard

Wed 14 Oct 09 —

» Asimov's has posted December issue features, including Sheila Williams' editorial, James Patrick Kelly's On the Net, Robert Silverberg's Reflections, and Peter Heck's book reviews

Blinks Archive | Blinks RSS

Finch and di Filippo Join Campbell Jury

Thu 19 Nov 3:53 pm

SFWA reports that Paul A. Carter has retired from the John W. Campbell Memorial Award jury after serving since the 1970s. In his absence, Sheila Fi...

Realms of Fantasy's Douglas Cohen Promoted to Editor

Thu 19 Nov 3:34 pm

Douglas Cohen has been promoted to editor at Realms of Fantasy. Cohen's past job descriptions at Realms have included slush reader, assistant edito...

• Clute to Review for Strange Horizons

• SCI FI Wire Cancels Columns

• Ray Bradbury to Develop Miniseries

• Joe Haldeman Discharged from Hospital

• Borders to Close 200 Waldenbooks Stores

• Louise Cooper, 1952 - 2009

Recent News ... Awards .. Publishing .. Obituaries

News RSS

New in Paperback: November

Saturday 21 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Gene Wolfe's An Evil Guest, James P. Blaylock's The Knights of the Cornerstone, Jack McDevitt's The Devil's Eye, and titles by Anderson, Marillier, Meluch, Modesitt, Somers, Turtledove, and Zahn.

New in Paperback: October

Saturday 21 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Stephen King's Just After Sunset, Richard Matheson's The Box, and titles by Anthony, Card, Cooper, Dietz, Drake, Drinkard, Engdahl, Farland, Hendee, Lackey, Lima, McKiernan, and Remic.

Cory Doctorow: Riding the Wave

Friday 20 November 2009 | Magazine; Perspectives

Excerpts from Locus Magazine's November Issue interview.

This mythological Edenic period in which all you do is write and the world ceases to hammer at your door never emerged, nor I think will it ever. I don't know what I would write about if I didn't have all this other stuff going on in my life.

Other Magazines: early November

Thursday 19 November 2009 | Monitor; Directories

Canadian 'zine On Spec celebrates its 20th anniversary; January issues of Analog and Asimov's have stories by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Michael F. Flynn, Allen M. Steele, Geoffrey A. Landis, Robert Reed, and others; and new issues of Murky Depths, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and Star*Line feature a report on a Haiku conference, a graphic novel by Richard Calder, and Brian Aldiss's explanation for why he hasn't been writing SF all these years.

This Week's Bestsellers

Tuesday 17 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Anne Rice's Angel Time ranks; Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm remains in the top 10; Sherrilyn Kenyon paperback reprints rank high.

New Books : early November

Sunday 15 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Stephen King's Under the Dome, Jeff VanderMeer's Finch, Cory Doctorow's Makers, Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm, and other titles by Brite, Brown, Connolly, Farland, Gunn/Barr/Candelaria, Kilpatrick & Morrell, Lima, McDevitt, Rich, Scholes, and Sherman & Barzak.

Locus Magazine's New & Notable Books, November

Thursday 12 November 2009 | Magazine; 2009 Posts

November New and Notable books, selected by Locus Magazine editors, include art books by James Gurney and Claus Brusen, anthologies by Ellen Datlow, Hartwell & Cramer, Peter Straub, and Gordon Van Gelder, and novels and collections by Margaret Atwood, Lester del Rey, Jonathan Lethem, and others.

Locus Magazine Bestsellers, November

Thursday 12 November 2009 | Magazine; 2009 Posts

Locus Magazine Bestsellers are led by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson's The Winds of Dune, Patricia Briggs' Hunting Ground, Austen & Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and titles by Troy Denning and R.A. Salvatore.

Other Magazines: October

Wednesday 11 November 2009 | Monitor; Directories

New issues of Hugo Award-winning 'zines Electric Velocipede and Weird Tales, plus Analog, Andromeda Spaceways, Asimov's, Black Static, Jupiter, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and Realms of Fantasy

This Week's Bestsellers

Tuesday 10 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm is this week's #1 New York Times fiction hardcover bestseller; Stephen King still tops Amazon.com.

New Books : late October

Sunday 8 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Jonathan Strahan's Eclipse Three, Cherie Priest's Boneshaker, Jack Vance's This Is Me, Jack Vance!, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer's Last Drink Bird Head, plus titles by Armstrong, Connolly, Dietz, Fletcher, Francis, Gavin, Gilman, Hendee, McGachey, Modesitt, Reeve, Ringo & Kratman, Shinn, and Thomas.

Cory Doctorow: Teen Sex

Friday 6 November 2009 | Magazine; Perspectives

From Locus Magazine's November Issue.
There's really only one question: "Why have your characters done something that is likely to upset their parents, and why don't you punish them for doing this?" Now, the answer.

November Issue Table of Contents

Tuesday 3 November 2009 | Magazine

The November issue features interviews with Cory Doctorow and Jack Skillingstead, a new column by Cory Doctorow, "Teen Sex", a roundtable discussion on A.E. van Vogt, and reviews of new books by Peter Straub, Jeff VanderMeer, Alastair Reynolds, Patrick Ness, Terry Pratchett, Clive Barker, and many others.

This Week's Bestsellers

Tuesday 3 November 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Joe Schreiber's Star Wars novel Death Troopers debuts this week on the extended New York Times list. Meanwhile, Niffenegger, McCarthy, Collins, Gaiman, Meyer, and Harris are still going strong.

Graham Sleight's Yesterday's Tomorrows: A. E. van Vogt

Wednesday 28 October 2009 | Reviews; Magazine

From Locus Magazine's August 2009 Issue
One way of understanding van Vogt is by contrast with the early Heinlein, who was all rationalism and hardheadedness; van Vogt was transcendence and excitement at the expense of realism.

This Week's Bestsellers

Tuesday 27 October 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Modest debuts this week for Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing..., Dacre Stoker & Ian Holt's Dracula The Un-Dead, Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City, and Joe Schreiber's Star Wars: Death Troopers, with Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm, on sale today, high on Amazon lists.

Connie Willis: All Clear

Monday 26 October 2009 | Magazine; Perspectives

Excerpts from Locus Magazine's October Issue interview.

All the genres are tools. One of my pet rants for years has been the idea that there's no such thing as a good western, or romance, or any other form. But there is no genre that can't produce great art, and there is no genre so good that it can't produce garbage.

New Books : mid October

Sunday 25 October 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Paul McAuley's Gardens of the Sun, Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City, Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing..., Farah Mendlesohn & Edward James' A Short History of Fantasy, plus Japanese SF and horror, 100 Must-Read Fantasy Novels, and titles by Enge, Fukui, Harris, Harrison, Hines, Huston, Lackey, Lloyd, Mead, and North.

David J. Schwartz: Cynics and Believers

Saturday 24 October 2009 | Magazine; Perspectives

Excerpts from Locus Magazine's October Issue interview.

It's not that I'm a terribly religious or mystical person, but I am mystified by the world; the world is, in many aspects, incomprehensible to me. And that's the point of view I write from: this thing is something I cannot fully grasp, so I want to write around it and try and get a handle on it.

This Week's Bestsellers

Tuesday 20 October 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Charlaine Harris' A Touch of Dead debuts at #2 (under Dan Brown); Amazon.com's price war with Walmart puts Stephen King at #1; other significant debuts this week are by Terry Pratchett, R.A. Salvatore, Kristin Cashore, Scott Westerfeld, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Lynn Viehl.

Graham Sleight's Yesterday's Tomorrows: Hal Clement

Sunday 18 October 2009 | Reviews; Magazine

From Locus Magazine's October Issue
Hal Clement's work represents, in remarkably pure form, a particular tradition of writing SF. So to write about him is really to write about the strengths and weaknesses of that whole tradition...

Locus Magazine's New & Notable Books, October

Sunday 18 October 2009 | Magazine; 2009 Posts

October New and Notable books, selected by Locus Magazine editors, include Iain M. Banks' Transition, Greg Egan's Oceanic, Robert Holdstock's Avilion, Jack Vance's This Is Me, Jack Vance!, and titles by Adams, Bacigalupi, Ballard, Hardinge, Kiernan, Martin & Dozois, McAuley, Paul, Skillingstead, Strahan, and VanderMeer & VanderMeer.

Locus Magazine Bestsellers, October

Sunday 18 October 2009 | Magazine; 2009 Posts

Locus Magazine Bestsellers are led by David Weber's By Heresies Distressed, Charles Stross' Saturn's Children, Austen & Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and titles by William Leisner and R.A. Salvatore.

New Books : early October

Wednesday 14 October 2009 | Monitor, Directories

Stephen Baxter's Ark, Justine Larbalestier's Liar, Richard Powers' Generosity, Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, and other titles by Andre-Driussi, Andrews, Carriger, Chambers, Engdahl, Friesner, Gaiman, Melton, and Moning.

— November 2009 —

Interviews with Cory Doctorow, Jack Skillingstead

Cory Doctorow: Teen Sex

Roundtable on A.E. van Vogt

Table of Contents
Mailed 29 October 09

Graham Sleight: Rescued Candour

Sun 15 Nov

In the light of this weekend's announcement that Syfy.com are discontinuing all their columns, including "Excessive Candour" by John Clute, I thought Roundtable-types might be interested in Erin Kissane's heroic work excavating links to all the columns dating back to 1997.

Adrienne Martini: Because it was there

Mon 09 Nov

Over the weekend, I re-read Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy. I use the word "re-read" loosely, however; I am certain that I read it as a teenager but have no memory of the plot, characters or themes. This may be the first post in a series about the RAH books I read during those years - which wou...

Roundtable RSS

Charles N. Brown, 1937-2009

— Appreciations —

— October 2009 —

Interviews with Connie Willis, David J. Schwartz

Reports from Anticipation

Graham Sleight on Hal Clement

Table of Contents

— September 2009 —

Tributes to Charles N. Brown, 1937-2009

Forthcoming Books

Interviews with Larry Niven, John Clute

Table of Contents

— August 2009 — Charles N. Brown, 1937-2009 Guy Gavriel Kay and Cecelia Holland on History and Fantasy Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal Table of Contents
— July 2009 — 2009 Locus Awards Winners and complete Locus Poll results Interviews with Tad Williams & Deborah Beale Table of Contents
— June 2009 — Interviews with Robert Charles Wilson and Kay Kenyon Forthcoming Books through March '10 Table of Contents
— May 2009 — - Urban Fantasy Issue - Interviews with Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Majorie M. Liu - Cory Doctorow -
— April 2009 — Graham Joyce Ekaterina Sedia Philip José Farmer Table of Contents
— March 2009 — Michael Swanwick Ken Scholes Cory Doctorow Forthcoming Books Table of Contents

Locus Magazine

is published in Oakland, CA, by editor-in-chief Liza Groen Trombi and a staff of editors, including Kirsten Gong-Wong, Amelia Beamer, Tim Pratt, and Carolyn Cushman.

Published since 1968

Locus Online

is published in Los Angeles, CA, by editor and webmaster Mark R. Kelly, with News posts and Roundtable oversight by the Locus Office staff in Oakland.

Site Map | FAQ | Privacy Policy

Online since 17 April 1997

The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards

compiled by Mark R. Kelly, includes listings, indexes, summaries, and statistics on nearly 100 SF, fantasy, and horror awards from 1949 through 2009

Online since 19 June 2000

The Locus Index to Science Fiction

compiled by William Contento, indexes books and magazines seen by Locus Magazine, by title, author, and contents.

Annual updates posted free online.

Combined Index published on CD ROM.
Indexes to Magazines, Crime Fiction, Mystery Fiction, etc., also available.

Compiled since 1984

World Fantasy Con, Wrapup

Fri 06 Nov

I attended several panels on Saturday at WFC in San Jose, including the standard "best books of the year" panel at which, in previous years, Charles Brown has distributed an early draft version of ...

Home from World Fantasy Con

Mon 02 Nov

Just a quick note for the moment -- home tonight from World Fantasy Con, following a visit Sunday night with friends near Santa Cruz, and a drive home today via the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I'll do o...

Editorial Blog RSS

Author Events

16 - 30 November

Jeff VanderMeer tour
Brandon Sanderson tour
AZ:
John Brown, Larry Correia
CA:
James Owen, Greg Bear, Karl Alexander
CO:
James Van Pelt, Robin Owens
MA, PA:
Cory Doctorow
NY:
Alisa Kwitney, Sarah Micklem, Jeffrey Ford

See complete list for details

Conventions

20 - 22 Nov

Philcon, Cherry Hill, NJ

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