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Fun with Epistolary Novels and Short Fiction at Chicon 8
I was fortunate to be selected for a panel at Chicon 8 on epistolary novels in speculative fiction. We (author and moderator Meg Elison, author Caroline Stevermer, publisher and editor Sarah T. Guan of Erewhon Books, Professor Leigha McReynolds, and myself) had a wonderful and spirited discussion of many facets of epistolary writing and some…
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Reading 1957 SF
The Short: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook has been reading short science fiction from 1957 recently, in “The Best SF Short Stories of 1957” by Jim Harris. I read the 23 stories we planned to read, and another 79 bonus stories that I picked out or that or that…
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Art and Speculative Fiction
I’ve had an entry on my Blog Ideas page in Notes for almost three years on “art and speculative fiction”. That statement covers a lot of ground, and is dramatically imprecise and ambiguous. It was meant as a mental shorthand for what I was thinking of. I definitely like to link art and speculative fiction,…
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A Fan’s Celebration 0f International Women’s Day in Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction
On Friday, March 8, I discovered that it was International Women’s Day. I did not know that. Their website says: Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. I…
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Who is artist “Dick Shelton”?
A recent post by Jim Harris showed the covers for a number of stories from 1957 we’re about to read at the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook. One of them is the cover for the March 1957 Venture Science Fiction magazine below, upper left), for the Leigh Brackett novelette, “The…
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“Nebula Award Stories Nine”, Kate Wilhelm editor, 1975 Harper & Row
The Short: We recently read “Nebula Award Stories Nine“, Kate Wilhelm editor, 1975 Harper & Row for the Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook. Although there was one story that was a “What the hell?” choice for me, my overall rating was an outstanding 3.93/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended. The Long:…
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“Year’s Best/Best of 20XX” SF anthologies
I am a big fan of short speculative fiction, especially short science fiction. It’s been many decades since anyone was able to read all of the short SFF from a year. I subscribe to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and read other sources of short fiction to be able to discuss it. This includes nominating and…
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“Urban Corridors: Fables and Gables”, a collection by Paul Levinson, 2019 Connected Education, Incorporated
The Short: I read and loved the Paul Levinson collection, “Urban Corridors: Fables and Gables“, 2019 Connected Education Incorporated. It includes eight short stories and novelettes, of both fantasy and science fiction. My overall, average rating is 3.79/5, which is close enough to 3.8 for me to give this collection a “Great” rating. Strongly recommended. The…
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Winona McClintic – “Who?”
The Short: I just read an SF story by Winona McClintic that I loved, “In the Days of Our Fathers“, a short story in The Magazine of Fantasy, Fall 1949, the first issue of what today is called The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. I am pretty sure this is the first story of…
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The Best of Michael Swanwick, 2008 Subterranean Press
The Short: I just reread “The Best of Michael Swanwick“, 2008 Subterranean, for the second time, and the first time since 2011. Wow. Just as amazing as I remembered. My overall average rating for the 21 stories is 3.98/5, or “Great”, and just barely missing “Superlative”. Strongly recommended! The Long: I’ve been a fan of…
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1949 – Was “Gulf” by Robert A. Heinlein the best short fiction published?
The Short: Richard Lupoff selected Robert A. Heinlein’s 1949 novella “Gulf” as the story he liked for a hypothetical short fiction Hugo Award for 1950. When I read “Gulf” recently, I had a very hard time believing “Gulf” should have been considered. I read 80 speculative fiction stories from 1949, and I found 64 of…