EDGE books nominated for Carl Brandon Society Kindred Award

Several books, two of them by SF Canada members, published by Brian and Anita Hades at EDGE have been nominated for the 2006 Carl Brandon Society Kindred Award for outstanding speculative fiction work dealing with race, ethnicity, and culture: Alphanauts by J. Brian Clarke, Forbidden Cargo by Rebecca K. Rowe, Hydrogen Steel by K.A. Bedford, i-ROBOT by Jason Christie and Righteous Anger by Lynda Williams. This award includes a $1000 (U.S.) cash prize.

Bernadette Dyer orphaned novel picked up by Welsh on-line publisher

Bernadette Dyer's novel Abductors, in limbo since earlier this year when its Canadian publisher folded, has now been picked up by an on-line publisher in Wales called The Guild Of Writers.

Successful signing for Lorina Stephens in Guelph; first podcast posted

Lorina Stephens reports from her book signing on Saturday, December 13, at the Chapters in Stone Road Mall, Guelph, Ontario: "In a word: fabulous! We almost sold out of copies of Shadow Song (historical fiction with some fantasy elements), and sold about a third of the stock of my new anthology of short, speculative fiction, And the Angels Sang. Best book signing ever!"

Lorina has also created her first podcast: it's online on her blog.

Jerome Stueart's "Leaving America" radio series online

Jerome Stueart's CBC radio series about his immigration to Canada, "Leaving America," can be heard online here.

Jerome says, "It's about immigration, aliens, choosing to live in Canada, and it's got lots of science fiction references along the way, mostly hidden in the music. I wanted to have a long goodbye to the States, so I drove 4,000 miles from Texas to the Yukon over four weeks, visiting friends, family, and seeing things--like Mt. Rushmore--that I'd never bothered to see before. And along the way I think I realized WHAT I was doing and why it mattered."

The series had a good run across Canada and was also heard internationally on Radio Canada International.

Interview with Simon Rose at EZine@rticles

There's an online interview with Simon Rose, where he chats about his books, the writing process, ideas and inspiration and marketing and promotion, at EZine@rticles.

Cape Breton SF Anthology now released

Third Person Press has released Undercurrents: A Cape Breton Anthology of Speculative Fiction, co-edited by Sherry Ramsey. The fourteen science fiction, fantasy, horror and paranormal stories are by writers with ties to Cape Breton, including fellow SF Canada member Peter Andrew Smith.

From the publisher:

The landscape of Cape Breton writing doesn't necessarily begin at the Canso Causeway and end at the Cabot Strait-at least not between the covers of this volume.

The fourteen stories in Undercurrents ply the literary oceans of time and space, possibility and imagination. And while you may find familiar themes in these pages-love, change, greed, spirituality-you will discover that they take on a new perspective when viewed through the lens of the speculative.

Likewise, some of the authors will be familiar to you, while others will be newly-discovered voices. What they all share is a connection to Cape Breton Island, and a willingness to look beyond the boundaries of the world we know-or think we know.

Inside are stories that ripple and swell with the unusual: fiddle-playing ghosts, malevolent cats, urbane vampires, and ordinary folks who have drifted into the realms of the extraordinary. Set your oars in these unusual waters and see for yourself what swirls in the undercurrents.

Three SF Canada members nominated for Black Quill Awards

Three SF Canada members are among the nominees for the second annual Black Quill Awards awarded by Dark Scribe Magazine, "the virtual magazine dedicated to the books that keep readers up at night."

John R. Little is nominated in the category of Best Small Press Chill, for a novel or novella published by a small press, for Miranda (Bad Moon Books); other nominees are Into the Cruel Sea by Rich Ristow (Skullvines Press); Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson (Medallion Press); The Confessions of St. Zach by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books); The Shallow End of the Pool by Adam-Troy Castro (Creeping Hemlock Press); and Veins by Lawrence C. Connolly (Fantasist Enterprises).

Michael Colangelo is nominated for "Dust and Bibles" (Chizine #35) in the category of Best Dark Scribble, for a single work, non-anthology short fiction appearing in a print or virtual magazine; other nominees in that category are "Afterlife” by Sarah Langan (Horror World), "Captain’s Lament” by Stephen Graham Jones (Clarkesworld #17); “Teeth” by Stephen Dedman (Clarkesworld #18); “The Blog at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay (Chizine #38); and “Turtle” by Lee Thomas (Doorways Magazine #4).

Finally, ChiZine, edited by Brett Alexander Savory, is nominated in the category of Best Dark Genre Short Fiction Magazine. Other nominees are Apex Magazine, edited by Jason Sizemore; Cemetery Dance, edited by Richard Chizmar; Clarkesworld, currently edited by Sean Wallace and Neil Clarke and formerly by Nick Mamatas; Doorways Magazine, edited by Brian Yount and Mort Castle, and Shroud Magazine, edited by Timothy Deal.

There are seven categories in all. Nominations are made by both editors and active contributing writers. Readers are then invited to vote in each category, and two winners are announced in each category: Reader’s Choice and Editor’s Choice. Winners will receive "recognition in DSM, inclusion in press release materials announcing both nominations and winners, a virtual icon to be used on their own website, and a handsome award certificate."

Stephen Kotowych sells story to new anthology

Stephen Kotowych has sold short story "Cladistics" to Eposic for its inaugural anthology, The Book of the Exodi, currently planned for a Spring 2009 release.

Steve Vernon novella now shipping from Magus Press

Steve Vernon's novella Leftovers is now shipping from Magus Press in a signed limited edition. Here's the description:

“Don’t let this collar fool you…”

What’s left of a man when everything worth losing has already been lost?

Is vengeance worth any price?

Ask Father Simon.

“I’m not one of the good guys…”

Leftovers is a story of redemption, sacrifice and leftovers. It is a story of the bottom and what you find lying beneath it. It is a story that will shock even the most hardened reader. Echoes last a very long time.

Listen…

Steve Vernon story, interview in Cemetery Dance

Steve Vernon's story "A Wiggle of Maggot, a Curl of Bacon" is in Cemetery Dance #59, along with an interview and two reviews of his work.

Alison Lohans YA historical novel wins Saskatchewan Book Award

Alison Lohans's young-adult historical novel This Land We Call Home, addressing the Japanese American relocation camps of the Second World War, has won the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Award for young adult literature. It was published in New Zealand by Raupo Publishing, part of the Pearson Education group.

Mary Choo horror story in Pseudopod CD collection

Mary Choo's horror story, "The Language of Crows," Podcast last March on Pseudopod, has been included on a CD collection, available here.

Ellen Datlow's photo of Mary and Eileen Kernaghan signing autographs at World Fantasy Convention can be seen here.

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother named to School Library Journal's list of the Best Books of 2008

Cory Doctorow's young adult SF novel Little Brother (Tor) has been named to the School Library Journal's list of the Best Books of 2008:

After a terrorist attack, 17-year-old Marcus and his friends find themselves victims of abuse and, along with the rest of San Francisco’s residents, under constant surveillance. This exciting techno-thriller asks readers to think about tough topics and to question authority.

The 67 books on the list, chosen from more than 5,000 the SLJ reviewed in 2008, were honored for their "distinctive voices, singular vision, and/or innovative approaches."

Holly Phillips's The Engine's Child now on sale!

Holly Phillips's novel The Engine's Child (Del Rey) is now officially for sale in stores, "Just in time for Christmas!"

Here's the description:

Lanterns and flickering bulbs light the shadowy world of the rasnan, the island at the edge of a world-spanning ocean that harbors in its ivory towers and mossy temples the descendants of men and women who long ago fled a world ruined by magical and technological excess. But not all the island's inhabitants are resigned to exile. A mysterious brotherhood seeks to pry open doorways leading back to the ruined, dangerous homeland. Others risk the even greater danger of flight, seeking new lands and new freedoms in the vast, uncharted sea.

Amid a web of conspiracy and betrayal, three people's dreams will threaten to shatter this fragile world. Scheming Lord Ghar, faithful to lost gods and forbidden lore, plays an intricate power game; Lady Vashmarna, an iron-willed ruler, conceals a guilty secret beneath her noble façade; and Moth, a poor, irreverent novice, holds perhaps the darkest power of all: a mysterious link to a shadowy force that may prove humanity's final hope--or its ultimate doom.

Reviews have been good:

• The Agony Column: "The Engine's Child suggests that we've stepped past the boundaries of genre and into literature that knows no boundaries."
• Library Journal: "Richly complex."
• Kirkus: "A rush of images and emotions ... a well-realized fantasy world...delightful prose."
• Hal Duncan, author of Vellum: ""With its rich prose and vivid imagery, The Engine's Child is a great fusion of literary fantasy and immersive adventure."

Edward Willett interview in Meadow Lake newspaper

The Meadow Lake (Sask.) Progress has an interview with Edward Willett in its current issue, conducted while he was in the community recently for a reading at the public library.

Derek Kunsken sells mainstream story to Sub-TERRAIN

Derek Kunsken has sold non-SF, non-fantasy short story "Getting High With Thomas the Apostle," based on some of his experiences working with street children in Central and South America, to Sub-TERRAIN magazine for its Winter, 2008 issue.

Donna Farley sells short story to 1000 Faces

Donna Farley has sold "YA-superhero-urban fantasy-Hallowe'en-fairy tale story" "Camellia Chameleon" to 1000 Faces.

Eric Orchard illustration selected for Society of Illustrators annual

Eric Orchard's drawing "Guardians Of Autumn," originally created for the Totoro Project auction, has been selected for the Society Of Illustrators annual.

The Society was founded in 1902 by illustrators such as Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle. This competition is the most prestigious of its kind. Eric writes on his blog "I had absolutely no expectations of being selected. In fact when I got the call from New York I called them back to make sure they were right."

He adds, "This is great for me but is also great publicity for the Totoro fund which is helping to preserve Sayama Forest in Japan from over development."

Cover art for Simon Rose's The Doomsday Mask

Here's the cover art for Simon Rose's next children's novel, The Doomsday Mask, coming in the spring of 2009 from Tradewind Books.

The story:

The legendary crystal ceremonial mask of Kulkaan, high priest of Atlantis, was believed to have been endowed with incredible powers. In the ancient civilization's destruction, the mask was thought to have been shattered and irretrievably lost, eventually being forgotten. Long considered to be a myth, the artifact's fragments have now been found and the mask of Kulkaan reassembled. In a desperate race against time, Josh and Erica must prevent the mask from falling intact into the hands of the shadowy Crystalline Order to save the world from catastrophe.

Lots of stories coming out from Tony Pi

Tony Pi has had "a string of good news" recently:

• He sold a short story, "Tekkai, Exhaling His Soul," to Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show; it will likely appear in issue #12, out in mid-2009;
• His story "Come Frost, Sun, and Vine" is in Tales of the Unanticipated #29 (out now);
• "Stilts and Straw" is in Flashing Swords #12 (mid-November);
• "Sphinx!" will appear in the anthology Ages of Wonder, edited by Julie E. Czerneda and Rob St. Martin (DAW Books, early March);
• "Come-From-Aways" will appear in On Spec;
• "Silk and Shadow" will appear in Beneath Ceaseless Skies;
• "The Shadow-Witch" will be in Cinema Spec (Raven Electrick Ink, late 2009); and
• "Metamorphoses in Amber" will be reprinted in The Best of Abyss & Apex, Volume One.

Colleen Anderson sells story to Caro Soles's Don Juan and Men anthology

Colleen Anderson has sold "The Boy Who Bled Rubies" to Caro Soles for the anthology Don Juan and Men: Tales of Lust and Seduction.

Bundoran Press launches Paula Johanson young adult novel Tower in the Crooked Wood

Bundoran Press Publishing House launched Paula Johanson's young adult fantasy novel Tower in the Crooked Wood at VCon in October:

Jenia is magically transported from her island tribe to become a slave under vicious rule - but only for a day and a night. Jenia leaves her home to find the location of the Tower to try to free the dying slaves and comes across a village with a culture very different from her own.

You can download the first two chapters.

The cover art is by Erich Schreiner.

Numerous Michael Colangelo stories out now, or soon

Michael Colangelo has numerous stories either out now, or coming out soon:

• Short story "Steel Teeth and Synthetics" is now available in Polluto Magazine #3 from Dog Horn Publishing;
• Short story "Prophecy" is now online at Tales of the Zombie War;
• Short story "Poseidon’s Claw" has sold to the Dead Souls anthology from Morrigan Books for a March 2009 release;
• Vignette "Barn and Bridle" has sold to the ianthology from Shroud Publishing for a 2009 release;
• Short story reprint "American Gothic" is slotted for the upcoming HWA Presents: Double Visions anthology series;
• Short story "Behind the Black" has sold to the Apparitions anthology from Screaming Dreams Press for a 2009 release;
• Short story "Body Paint" has sold to the Sexstrology anthology from Ravenous Romance for a 2009 release; and
• Vignette "The End of the World (Abridged)" has sold to the TBD anthology from Crossing Chaos Press for a 2009 release.

Edward Willett sells short story to Space and Time

Edward Willett has sold "Waterlilies," a humorous story about an artistic nanotech apocalypse, to Space and Time Magazine.

Jennifer Rahn sells prequel to The Longevity Thesis

Jennifer Rahn has sold a prequel to her novel The Longevity Thesis to Dragon Moon Press , signing the contract at the World Fantasy Convention. The novel is currently called Wicked Initiations, but that could change.

Douglas Smith's first short-story collection, Impossibilia, released by PS Publishing

Douglas Smith's first collection of short fiction, Impossibilia, is now available from PS Publishing as part of its Showcase series highlighting "genre fiction's best up-and-coming writers."

With an introduction by award-winning UK fantasy and mystery writer Chaz Brenchley, the collection is available in both jacketed hardcover and hardcover signed editions. The cover is by Fernando Molinari.

Good Locus review for Eileen Kernaghan's Wild Talent

The November issue of Locus has a nice review of Eileen Kernaghan's novel Wild Talent by Carolyn Cushman:

"This is a charming bildungsroman and an intriguing look at Victorian occultists and French Decadents, with cameos by figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Paul Verlaine."

Trailer for latest M.D. Benoit Jack Meter SF mystery, Meter Destiny

Here's the trailer for M.D. Benoit's Meter Destiny, the latest book in her Jack Meter Case Files SF mystery:

Good review for Matthew Hughes in Asimov's

Peter Heck has given Matthew Hughes's novel The Commons an excellent review in
Asimov's; you can read it online.

Cover art for Edward Willett's Terra Insegura

Here's a sneak peak at the cover art for Edward Willett's next novel, Terra Insegura. This sequel to Marseguro will be out in May of 2009 from DAW Books. The art is by Stephan Martiniere.

Trade paperback of Brent Hayward's Filaria released

ChiZine Publications has just released the trade paperback of Brent Hayward's novel Filaria.

Alex Good (Quill & Quire) calls Filaria "a great read, crackling with invention, energy, and suspense."

Details of the trade paperback release are here.

New Sale for Matt Hughes

Matthew Hughes has sold another Luff Imbry tale, Another Day in Fibbery, to PS Publishing's Postscripts Magazine in an issue that will come out next year.
.

Steve Vernon's Short Story in Maritime Anthology

Steve Vernon's short story, Shotgun Christmas, is part of a newly published Nimbus Anthology entitled A Maritime Christmas.

From Nimbus:

The Magic of Christmas is always felt strongly in the Maritimes. This collection of yuletide stories is a mixture of true seasonal remembrances and fictional imaginings of the holiday season. Contributions are from over 20 Maritime writers, and touch on all the things that make Christmas so special: traditions, reunions with family and friends, the humour, and sometimes, the hardships. Some of the collection’s contributions are familiar, many are heartwarming, but every story shares the same spirit of the season. This yuletide collection includes many well-known writers such as Harry Thurston, Steve Vernon, David Goss, Chris Mills, Heidi Jardine Stoddart, David Divine, and more.

Dave Duncan's out-of-print books now available

Eight of Dave Duncan's out-of-print titles have now been made available as Print-on-Demand through E-reads, and can now be ordered through Amazon or other booksellers:

"A Handful of Men" series:

The Cutting Edge
Upland Outlaws
The Stricken Field
The Living God

"The Seventh Sword" series:

The Reluctant Swordsman
The Coming of Wisdom
The Destiny of the Sword

Standalone novel: The Cursed

Joe Mahoney resells short story to Greek newspaper

The Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia has reprinted Joe Mahoney's short story "John's Worst Enemy." Joe credits Doug Smith's foreign market list. It's Joe's first foreign-market sale.

Lynda Williams's Pretenders featured at LIS Wire

An article about Part 3 of Lynda Williams's Okal Rel Saga, Pretenders, has been posted on LIS Wire, a librarians' wire service.

Rick Sutcliffe interviewed at Reader's Eden

An interview with Rick Sutcliffe is online at Reader's Eden.

Sandra Kasturi, Brett Alexander Savory establish new fund for writers of SF

Sandra Kasturi and Brett Alexander Savory have announced the establishment of the Vaike and Erich Rannu Fund for Writers of Speculative Literature in honour of the 30th wedding anniversary of Sandra’s mother and step-father, and their contributions to the arts and education both in Canada and Estonia.

The Fund offers two awards per year of $500 CDN each, one for fiction, one for poetry, granted to two writers of speculative literature (i.e., science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, surrealism, etc.), of any nationality/place of residence, at any stage of their career.

The first submissions for this new award will be accepted between October 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. The winners will be announced March 1, 2009.

Details are at the link above.

Maggie L. Wood sells short story to Coyote Wild

Maggie L. Wood has sold her first short story, "Fallen," to online magazine Coyote Wild for a special YA fantasy edition that was guest edited by Sherwood Smith and a panel of teen judges.

Holly Phillips sells novella to Asimov's, gets good reviews for novel

Holly Phillips has sold a novella, "The Long, Cold Goodbye" to Sheila Williams at Asimov's.

Her debut novel The Engine's Child (Del Rey) continues to garner excellent advance reviews as the clock ticks down to its release on November 25.

The Agony Column says, "Phillips writes with a purity of conviction that replaces the reader's world with her creation. And she tells one hell of a good story in the process. It's not all shadings and subtlety. Blood is spilled as the best-laid plans crash up against the novel's carefully crafted reality."

From Library Journal: "Richly complex...sharp-edged personalities and complicated personal relationships...[Phillips's] lush prose and dark fantasy cityscape will appeal to fans of China Mieville's Perdido Street Station and Sarah Monette's Melusine."

And from Kirkus: ""Poetic...some lovely passages that almost work as prose poems on their own. Phillips touches on contempory issues including the divide from the rich and the poor, religious intolerance and the dangers of overpopulation, but the book is not an allegory; it's a rush of images and emotions. A well-realized fantasy world...delightful prose."

Brent Hayward's Filaria gets good reviews in Quill & Quire and Rue Morgue

Brent Hayward's Filaria (ChiZine Publications) has received good reviews in Quill & Quire and in Rue Morgue.

From Quill & Quire:

"Filaria is a great read, crackling with invention, energy, and suspense. For both ChiZine and Hayward, it’s an auspicious start."

From Rue Morgue:

"What makes Filaria so compelling is Hayward's innovative narrative structure, which effortlessly shifts between the interlocking journeys of four main characters... [T]he heady ideas are brought to life by an increasingly creepy story of artificial intelligence gone very bad, entire ecosystems of mutated creatures both organic and robotic, and a cast of all-too-human characters as frightened and curious as the reader."

Book signing for Simon Rose in Calgary, Sept. 6 and 11

Simon Rose will be at Chapters Dalhousie on Saturday, September 6 from 11 am to 5 pm and at Coles Books in TD Square on Thursday, September 11 from 11 am to 2 pm.

Interview with Janine Cross in literatur-community

Janine Cross was interviewed in July 2008 for literatur-community. Fortunately for us, the interview is in English and not German.

The interview might have been a result from Random House Germany buying the rights to her Dragon Temple Trilogy.

Spider Robinson and Ben Bova winners of 2008 Robert A. Heinlein Award

Spider Robinson and Ben Bova are the winners of this year's Robert A. Heinlein Award, given to recognize outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space. The award consists of a sterling silver medal, bearing the image of Robert A. Heinlein, and a certificate.

(Photo by Spider Robinson.)

Interview with Matthew Hughes at The Nebula Awards

Charlie Tan interviews Matthew Hughes over at The Nebula Awards.

Arthur Slade blogging at HarperCanada

Starting tomorrow, Arthur Slade will be blogging at HarperCanada's blog. Says Art, "It'll be fun, it'll be nifty and I'll talk about lightning, chocolate covered crickets and how to defend yourself against a shark. Oh, and truffles, too, of course..."

Online Interview with Sherry D. Ramsey

ChickLitGurrl™ has an interview with Sherry D. Ramsey about her contribution in the new anthology, Speculative Dreams, and her webzine, The Scriptorium.

Arthur Slade's novel now available

Arthur Slade's thirteenth novel,Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival is now available online.

You can read more about Jolted on Arthur Slade's website.

Dave Duncan's new Fantasy novel now available

Tor has just released Dave Duncan's stand-alone fantasy novel, Ill Met in the Arena. The book is avalaible through Amazon.com and Chapters.

You can read about Ill Met in the Arena, including a summary of the story, on Dave Duncan's website.

New interview with Edward Willett online

S.M. Duke has posted a lengthy interview with Edward Willett at his blog, The World in the Satin Bag.

Cover Art for Eileen Kernaghan's upcoming novel, Wild Talent

Eileen Kernaghan's fourth young adult historical fantasy, Wild Talent: a novel of the supernatural, will be published this September by Thistledown Press. It's now available for pre-order at Amazon.com and other online bookstore sites.

You can read about Wild Talent, including an excerpt, on Eileen's blog.

Colleen Anderson's "Amuse-Bouche" published in Shroud Magazine

Shroud Magazine #1 is out, with Colleen Anderson's story "Amuse-Bouche."

In addition her story Ice Queen is now available in Warrior Wisewoman.

Her poem, The Trials of Lemons is up at Chizine.

Edward Willett to edit online magazine of teen writing

Edward Willett will be the fiction editor for the 25th edition of windScript, the Saskatchewan Writers Guild's e-zine of high school writing.

Derek Kunsken short story to be translated into Russian, published in Esli

Derek Kunsken's story "Beneath Sunlit Shallows," published in Asimov's, will be translated into Russia and reprinted in Esli Magazine.

Simon Rose articles on SF & F for younger readers up at Ezine Articles

Simon Rose recently posted more articles at Ezine Articles about Science Fiction and Fantasy for Younger Readers. There are a series of ten articles on a variety of topics.

Cover art for anthology featuring Sherry D. Ramsey story

Here's the cover art (by Heather Anderson) for Speculative Realms: Where There's A Will, There's A Way, edited by Sasha Beattie. The anthology, due out in September, includes Sherry D. Ramsey's story "Summer of the Widows."

Karl Johanson sells short story to Sci Phi

Karl Johanson has sold his short story "PIONeers" to Sci Phi: The Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy.

Simon Rose guest blogging at National Writing for Children Center

Simon Rose will be the guest blogger from June 30 to July 4 at the National Writing for Children Center, discussing time travel stories and the importance of historical research.

Toronto launch for new Ursula Pflug collection July 10

The Toronto launch for Ursula Pflug's collection of stories, After The Fires (Tightrope Books) will be held on Thursday, July 10, from 7 to 10 p.m. at The Trane Studio, 964 Bathurst St.

Colleen Anderson story to be reprinted in erotica anthology

Colleen Anderson's erotic story "Stocking Stuffers," originally out in Cleis Books' Naughty or Nice, will be reprinted in the Mammoth Book of New Erotica 8, due in 2009.

Dave Duncan audio books now available from Audible.com

Dave Duncan's books The Alchemist's Apprentice and The Alchemist's Code are now available for download from Audible.com.

Linda DeMeulemeester featured in Vancouver Sun

Linda DeMeulemeester, author of the Silver Birch Award-winning children's fantasy The Secret of Grim Hill, was featured in a brief article in the Vancouver Sun on June 21 (the print version included a photograph):

Burnaby's Linda DeMeulemeester has scored big with her first book, The Secret of Grim Hill. Ontario children in Grades 3 to 6 voted the spooky school story their favourite work of fiction, awarding it a Silver Birch Award. It's also a Canadian Toy Testing Council pick -- another honour driven by readers' choice. DeMeulemeester loves writing for kids of 10 or 11 because that was the age at which reading came alive for her.

As well, Linda's Grim Hill books now have their own website.

Steve Vernon sells story to Doorways

Steve Vernon has sold a story "about God, the Devil and Harleys" to Doorways Magazine.

A review of his novel Gypsy Blood has been posted at FearZone.

Cover art revealed for Nemonymous 8, with Colleen Anderson story

Here's the cover art for Nemonymous 8: Cone Zero, in which Colleen Anderson's story (which she's not allowed to name) will appear. The collection is due out in England in July.

Simon Rose's sixth novel, The Doomsday Mask, due out next spring

Simon Rose's sixth novel, The Doomsday Mask, "a fast paced and exciting adventure story involving ancient lost civilizations, legendary artifacts and secret societies," will be published by Vancouver's Tradewind Books in spring, 2009.

Simon recently chatted about authors and their websites with Suzanne Lierance of the National Writing for Children Centre and fellow children's author Margot Finke on the Book Bites for Kids show on Blog Talk Radio.

Matthew Hughes story accepted for Jack Vance tribute anthology

Matthew Hughes's story "Grolion of Almery" has been accepted for inclusion in Songs of the Dying Earth, an anthology in tribute of Jack Vance, edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin.

SF Canada presents Phyllis Gotlieb with Lifetime Achievement Award

Tonight SF Canada presented the first SF Canada Lifetime Achievement Award to Phyllis Gotlieb at a reception at the Merri Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy in Toronto, in recognition of an outstanding and groundbreaking body of work in science fiction.

Ms. Gotlieb, 82, of Toronto, Ontario, is considered to be one of the founders of contemporary Canadian science fiction and has been a prominent voice in the field for over four decades.

Phyllis Gotlieb has had a prolific writing career in the genre, beginning with her 1964 novel, Sunburst. Canada’s top juried award for speculative writing, the Sunburst Award, was named for Gotlieb’s seminal novel. Her most recent release is Birthstones, published in 2007 by Robert J. Sawyer Books. Ms. Gotlieb is also a celebrated poet and received a Governor General’s Award nomination in 1970 for her collection Ordinary, Moving.

“Phyllis Gotlieb has been a mentor, an inspiration and a trailblazer in Canadian science fiction for decades,” said SF Canada president, Colleen Anderson. “The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honour our organization can bestow and Phyllis is a most deserving recipient.”

Below is the text of the remarks made by Joe Mahoney, Vice-President of SF Canada, at tonight's reception:

“Everyone here knows Phyllis Gotlieb. You know her work; perhaps you're fortunate enough to know her personally. You might know that she was born Phyllis Fay Bloom right here in Toronto, and that she was educated in Toronto as well. I don't have to tell you that she's written many fine novels, poems, short stories, and that her work spans many decades and genres -- that it is an outstanding body of work. You already know that.

“Did you know that she's written radio plays too? Of course you did.

“Phyllis is a founding member of SF Canada. Indeed, she is one of the founders of contemporary Canadian science fiction. She has been and continues to be a role model and mentor to many of us who consider her a part of our extended family. In her groundbreaking career Phyllis has been an editor, she's been nominated for a Governor General's Award, and she's even had an award named after one of her novels: The Sunburst Award. And the award we're presenting today isn't her first award – her novel A Judgment of Dragons, published by Berkley, won the Canadian Science Fiction Award in 1981.

“You are no doubt familiar with the sheer scope of Phyllis's work: with her elegant prose, the gritty reality of her fictional worlds, and the vibrant, sometimes tragic characters inhabiting those worlds. Such work has made her a towering figure in Canadian literature, a pioneer in Canadian science fiction. But her reputation transcends our borders – her work is respected the world over.

“It's one thing to be accomplished. It's quite another to be as accomplished as Phyllis is and remain so darned friendly. As a recipient of her generosity and warmth -- one of many recipients, I know – I am happy to attest not only to Phyllis's towering achievements as an artist, but also to her enduring humility.

“All of which is more than enough reason to present our very own Grande Dame of Science Fiction with this honour here tonight. Phyllis, on behalf of SF Canada, I am thrilled to present you with the first ever SF Canada Lifetime Achievement Award, along with my sincere congratulations.”

New review of Steve Vernon's Haunted Harbours online

There's a brand-new review of Steve Vernon's Haunted Harbours: Ghost Stories from Old Nova Scotia (Nimbus Publishing) up at the Storyteller Magazine website.

Two SF Canada members in On Spec spring issue

The current (spring) issue of On Spec has stories by two SF Canada members in it: Tony Pi's "Aesop's Last Fable" leads off, while Steve Stanton's "Trickster" is the closer.

Élisabeth Vonarburg story in Mundane SF issue of Interzone

Élisabeth Vonarburg has a story, "The Invisibles," in the recent Mundane SF issue of Interzone.

Three-interview feature on Aboriginal and First Nations writers, new fiction up on SF Canada site

SFCanada.ca has been updated for spring, and features a fascinating three-interview feature by Celu Amberstone entitled “Aboriginal and First Nations Writers: The Marginalized Voice in Genre Fiction." There's also a short story, "Timestealer," by Steve Stanton.

Here are direct links to the three featured interviews:

• Interview with First Nations Fantasy Author Daniel Heath Justice
• Interview with Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm of Kegedonce Press
• Interview with Kegedonce Author Richard Van Camp

Linda DeMeulemeester's The Secret of Grim Hill wins Silver Birch Award

Linda DeMeulemeester's young adult fantasy The Secret of Grim Hill (Lobster Press) has won the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Award.

The Silver Birch Award is awarded in fiction, non-fiction and Express categories each May, based on ballots cast by Grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 students earlier in the same month. It's administered by the Ontario Library Association and run by teacher-librarians and teachers in schools and by children's librarians in public libraries.

Other nominees in the fiction category were Baboon by David Jones (Annick Press), Directed by Kaspar Snit by Cary Fagan (Tundra Books), Jakeman by Deborah Ellis (Fitzhenry & Whiteside), Never to be Told by Becky Citra (Orca Book Publishers), Odd Man Out by Sarah Ellis (Groundwood Books), Pigboy by Vicki Grant (Orca Book Publishers), Shadows on the Train by Melanie Jackson (Orca Book Publishers), Torrie and the Snake-Prince by K.V. Johansen (Annick Press) and The Vampire's Visit by David A. Poulsen (Key Porter Books).

Steve Vernon ghost story collection reviewed in The Daily Gleaner

Steve Vernon's collection Wicked Woods: Ghost Stories From Old New Brunswick was reviewed in the New Brunswick newspaper, The Daily Gleaner; the review was also picked up by the Ottawa Sun.

Arthur Slade sells U.S. rights for The Hunchback Assignments to Wendy Lamb Books

Wendy Lamb Books (Random House) has bought American rights for Arthur Slade's four-book series, The Hunchback Assignments. (HarperCollins Canada already has the Canadian rights.) That's a mock-up of the cover at left.

Complete Aurora Award results: two SF Canada members among winners

Two members of SF Canada won Aurora Awards tonight at a banquet held at KeyCon 25 (host of this years CanVention) in Winnipeg.

Hayden Trenholm (left) won the award for Best Short-Form Work in English for his novelette “Like Water in the Desert" (Challenging Destiny #24).

Laurent McAllister, the joint pen name of Jean-Louis Trudel (below) and Yves Meynard, won the award for for Best Short-Form Work in French for “Sur la plage des épaves” (Solaris 164).

Here is the complete list of nominees, with tonight's winners marked in bold, with an asterisk:

Best Long-Form Work in English/Meilleur livre en anglais
Best work of SF or Fantasy in a novel or fiction collection by a Canadian writer, published in 2007.

As Fate Decrees, Denysé Bridger (Edge)
*The New Moon's Arms, Nalo Hopkinson (Warner)
The Moon Under Her Feet, Derwin Mak (Windstorm Creative)
Rollback, Robert J. Sawyer (Tor/Analog)
Cry Wolf, Edo van Belkom (McClelland & Stewart/Tundra)

Meilleur livre en français/Best Long-Form Work in French
Dans la catégorie du meilleur roman ou recueil de fiction publié, écrit par un(e) écrivain(e) canadien(ne) et sorti au Canada en 2007, qui relève de la science-fiction ou du fantastique.

Alegracia et les Xayiris, Dominic Bellavance (Les Six Brumes)
La-haut sur la Colline, Claude Bolduc (Solaris 161 et 164)
*Cimetière du musée, Diane Boudreau (du Phoenix)
Le Parasite, Georges LaFontaine (Guy Saint-Jean)
Arielle Queen, Michel J. Lévesque (Les Intouchables)

Best Short-Form Work in English/Meilleure nouvelle en anglais
For a published SF or Fantasy novella, novelette, short story or poem by a Canadian writer, released in Canada in 2007.

“Falling,” David Clink (On Spec Fall 2007) (poem)
“Saturn in G Minor,” Stephen Kotowych (Writers of the Future XXIII, Galaxy Press) (short story)
“Metamorphoses in Amber,” Tony Pi (Abyss & Apex #24, Q4/2007) (novelette)
“The Dancer at the Red Door,” Douglas Smith (Under Cover of Darkness, Julie E. Czerneda and Jana Paniccia, eds., DAW) (short story)
*“Like Water in the Desert,” Hayden Trenholm (Challenging Destiny #24) (novelette)

Meilleure nouvelle en français/Best Short-Form Work in French
Dans la catégorie de la meilleure nouvelle ou du meilleur poème écrit et publié par un(e) écrivain(e) canadien(ne) et sorti au Canada en 2007, qui elève de la science-fiction ou du fantastique.

“Le Luthier,” Mathieu Fortin (Solaris 162)
“Les Lucioles d'Alliante,” Michèle Laframboise, (QUAD9 magazine 5B, CFORP)
“L'Ancienne famille,” Michel J. Lévesque, (Les Six Brumes)
“Le sang noir,” Michel J. Lévesque (Solaris 161)
*“Sur la plage des épaves,” Laurent MacAllister (Solaris 164)

Best Work in English (Other)/Meilleur ouvrage en anglais (Autre) For SF or Fantasy activity, in English, by a Canadian, in 2007 not encompassed by the previous categories.

Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science, Julie E. Czerneda, ed., Star Ink Books
*Under Cover of Darkness, Julie E. Czerneda & Jana Paniccia, eds., DAW
Tesseracts Eleven, Cory Doctorow and Holly Phillips, eds., Edge
Neo-opsis magazine, Karl Johanson, ed., Issues 11, 12,& 13
On Spec magazine, Diane Walton, managing ed.

Meilleur ouvrage en français (Autre)/Best Work in French (Other)
Dans la catégorie du meilleur travail relevant de la science-fiction ou du fantastique canadiens en 2007, qui n'est pas compris dans les catégories précédentes.

No Nominations

Artistic Achievement/Accomplissement artistique
For a work or body of work produced by a Canadian artist during 2007. / Pour une oeuvre ou pour la production artistique d'un(e) Canadien(ne) en 2007.

*Lar deSouza (On Spec Winter 2007, Parsec Spring/Summer 2007)
Stephanie Ann Johanson Neo-opsis Issue 11, March 2007, interior illustrations
Jean-Pierre Normand
Martin Springett
Ronn Sutton (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark 165 and 166 [Jan-Feb 2007], Claypool Comics)

Fan Achievement (Fanzine)/Accomplissement fanique (Fanzine)
For a Canadian fanzine or newsletter relating to SF or Fantasy published in 2007. / Pour un fanzine ou bulletin fanique canadien, qui traite du milieu de la science-fiction ou du fantastique, publié au moins une fois en 2007.

Opuntia, Dale Spiers
*No Award / Pas de prix

Fan Achievement (Organizational)/Accomplissement fanique (Organisation)
For individual contributions to Canadian SF convention or club activities during 2007. / Pour des contributions à des congrès ou des activités de clubs canadiens en 2007.

Debbie Hodgins, KAG
*Penny Lipman, masquerades
Roy Miles, IDIC
Joan Sherman, IDIC
Geoffrey Toop, DWIN

Fan Achievement (Other)/Accomplissement fanique (autre)
For Canadian fan activity in 2007 not encompassed by the previous two categories. / Pour des activités faniques canadiennes en 2007 qui ne sont pas comprises dans les deux catégories précédentes.

*Paul Bobbitt, editor, The Voyageur
Judith Hayman, filk performances
Peggy Warner LaLonde, filk performances
Martin Springett, filk performances
Larry Stewart, master of ceremonies

Dave Duncan sells first book in new series to Tor

Dave Duncan has just sold Speak to the Devil, the first book in a new series, to Liz Gorinsky at Tor Books, via agent Richard Curtis.

Brent Hayward interviewed at Cemetery Dance, reviewed by HorrorScope

Brent Hayward's Filaria (ChiZine Publications) has received a favorable review from the Australian site HorrorScope. As well, Cemetery Dance has published an interview with Brent about, in his words, "Filaria, writing, music and explosives."

Catherine MacLeod sells short-short zombie story

Catherine MacLeod has sold just sold a short-short story called "Zombie Season" to Bits of the Dead (An Illustrated Flash Fiction Zombie Anthology) (Coscom Entertainment).

Holly Phillips launches new website, new stories

Holly Phillips now has a website, at http://www.hollyphilliips.com/. Holly also reports that her novel, The Engine's Child (Del Rey), will be in stores on November 25, 2008, "just in time for Christmas buying."

The "gorgeous, fantastic, thrillingly beautiful cover" is by David Ho.

Holly's story "The Small Door" will be appearing on the new Fantasy Magazine website the third week in May, while "Proving the Rule," a dark fantasy novella, will be appearing in Marvin Kaye's latest anthology of long fiction, The Book of Wizards, published by Bookspan for the Science Fiction Book Club.

Edward Willett to be writer-in-residence at Regina high school

Edward Willett will be writer-in-residence for three weeks at Michael A. Riffel High School in Regina this spring, talking to classes and working with aspiring writers.

Ed just completed his second year as one of the mentors for the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild's Online Youth Mentorship Program, in which he worked with three young writers for six weeks. Three other mentors also worked with three students each; the whole thing wrapped up with production of a chapbook containing the students' writing and a group reading at McNally Robinson Bookstore in Saskatoon.

Simon Rose interviewed by Kamloops This Week

Kamloops This Week recently interviewed Simon Rose in conjunction with his visit to local schools and the Young Writers Conference there.

Catherine MacLeod sells novella to Pantechnicon anthology

Catherine MacLeod's novella "The Ace of Chameleons" has been accepted for the Pantechnicon anthology, due out in July.

Nathalie Mallet interviewed at The First Book

Scott William Carter recently interviewed Nathalie Mallet at The First Book:

"I always wanted to write. I made a few attempts throughout the years, but only really became serious about it recently. I told myself, 'If I don't do it now, it will never happen.' . . ."

You can read the rest of the interview here.

SF Waxes Philosophical, edited by Ahmed A. Khan, now available

SF Waxes Philosophical, edited by Ahmed A. Khan, is now available from ZC Books.

The anthology features speculative fiction with philosophical underpinnings, and includes stories by Michael Bishop, Steven Utley, Ted Kosmatka, Jetse De Vries, Douglas Van Belle and nine other writers.Each story is accompanied by an author's note detailing the philosophy utilized in the story. The cover is by Laura Givens.

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother makes VOYA's list of best SF, fantasy and horror for 2007

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother (Tor) has made VOYA's list of the best science fiction, fantasy and horror for teens for 2007. Writes VOYA:

Think “Dumbledore’s Army,” with serious technology, contemporary villains, and a jarringly predictable future, and the result is this exhilarating page-turner and cautionary tale that will motivate readers to contemplate free speech and political activism with new insights.

New Archonate novel from Matthew Hughes out in May

Matthew Hughes has a new, stand-alone Archonate novel coming out in May: Template, from PS Publishing, in two limited-edition hardcover versions.

Matt has announced that he will send an RTF version of the book to anyone who reviews, blogs, posts on discussion boards, puts out a newsletter or just talks about books a lot. If you qualify, just send him an email.

Matt will also have a Henghis Hapthorn story, "Fullbrim's Finding," in the July F&SF, and a Luff Imbry story, "The Eye of Vann," in Postscripts 15.

Several Dave Duncan readings scheduled

Dave Duncan has several readings coming up. He'll be reading from his next book, Ill Met in the Arena, at KeyCon in Winnipeg on May 19, and will also be reading from his latest book, The Alchemist's Code, three times in Toronto as part of the Toronto Public Library's Foresight series: on May 20 at 7 p.m. at the Oakwood Village Branch, 341 Oakwood Ave., , on May 21 at 7 p.m. at the Lillian H. Smith Branch, 239 College St., with Nalo Hopkinson (they'll also be discussing writing fantasy that evening) , and at the Centennial Branch, 578 Finch Ave. W., on May 22 at 5 p.m.

Cory Doctorow finalist twice-over for Locus Awards

Cory Doctorow is a finalist in two different categories of the 2008 Locus Awards.

In the Collection category, his Overclocked (Thunder's Mouth) is a finalist alongide The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick (Tachyon), The Jack Vance Treasury by Jack Vance (Subterranean), Things Will Never Be the Same by Howard Waldrop (Old Earth) , and The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis (Subterranean).

As well, Cory's "After the Siege" (The Infinite Matrix, January 2007) is a finalist in the novella category along with "All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis (Asimov's, December 2007), "Memorare" by Gene Wolfe (F&SF, April 2007), "Muse of Fire" by Dan Simmons (The New Space Opera), and "Stars Seen through Stone" byLucius Shepard (F&SF, July 2007).

Winners will be announced in June at the Locus Awards Ceremony in Seattle on June 21.

Starship Sofa podcasts Spider Robinson story

The SF audio podcast Starship Sofa currently features "Distraction" by Spider Robinson. (Via SF Signal.)

At SF Signal, Julie Czerneda lists Douglas Smith as one of SF's most underrated authors

For its regular "Mind Meld" feature, SF Signal recently asked several authors the question, "Which author, living or otherwise, do you believe deserves more recognition than they currently receive and why?"

Julie Czerneda's answer? Douglas Smith. Czerneda wrote:

"With every new story, the more impressed I am with his subtlety and vision. I've yet to read a work of his that wasn't beautifully written, but more than that, his stories resonate with a deep understanding of the human condition as well as a characteristic wry wonder. Reminds me of James Alan Gardner, actually. Stories you can't forget, even years later. Doug's published extensively, though only in short fiction to date, but I believe he's also working on a novel. Thank goodness! When that's published, it will be on my must-read pile for sure."

Alison Lohans YA historical novel out in New Zealand

Alison Lohans has some non-SF writing news to report: her young adult historical novel This Land We Call Home is now out from Raupo/Pearson Education (NZ) Ltd. - but not yet available in North America, as a corporate takeover resulted in the loss of the Canadian distributor.

"This dual p.o.v. novel addresses the issue of the World War II Japanese American relocation camps, and is set partially in rural California where I grew up, as well as in Poston (Arizona) Camp III where my mother taught elementary school," Alison says.

Alison is also awaiting author copies of the anthology Crossing Lines, Poets Who Came to Canada in the Vietnam War Era, edited by Allan Briesmaster and Steven Michael Berzensky and released by Seraphim Editions this week.

New novel, novella out from Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

Stephanie Bedwell-Grime's novel Witch Island is now available from Cerridwen Press and her novella "Timeslide" has just been released by New Concepts Publishing.

Claire Eamer, Marcelle Dube in award-winning anthology

Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science (Star Ink Books), an anthology edited by Julie Czerneda which boasts stories by Claire Eamer and Marcelle Dubé, has won the Canadian Science Writers' Association's Science in Society Book Award in the Youth category.

Steve Vernon's Wicked Woods hits bookstands, media

Steve Vernon's new book Wicked Woods: Ghost Stories From Old New Brunswick (Nimbus), has hit book stands in the Maritimes.

Steve will be appearing on CTV's Live At Five on May 5, then launching Wicked Woods on Wednesday, May 7, in Fredericton. (Call 454-1442 for location, time and details. )

Between May 7 to May 10 he'll be taking part in the Canterbury Tales Literary Festival in Saint John, New Brunswick. On May 8 he'll be reading from Wicked Woods at the Saint John Free Public Library Market Square. He'll also be there Thursday, March 7, to take part in the opening ceremonies along with the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, Honourable Herménégilde Chiasson, and the Mayor of Saint John, Norman McFarlane.

Throughout those few days he will be making several New Brunswick school appearances and will hopefully be making several so-far unnanounced media appearances. He also expects to sign at quite a few Nova Scotia bookstores, but those haven't been finalized yet.

Los Angeles Times reviews Cory Doctorow's Little Brother

The Los Angeles Times has a review of Cory Doctorow's new YA novel Little Brother. (Via Locus Online.)

Lynda Williams interviewed by Over the EDGE

There's an interview with Lynda Williams, conducted by Marie Bilodeau, in this week's On the EDGE podcast. Says Lynda, "In this interview I talk about the origins of Okal Rel in my disgust at the cold war mentality, the character Horth Nersal, and the theme of opportunism vs. integrity in Righteous Anger."

ActuSF interviews Karl Schroeder

ActuSF has an online interview with Karl Schroeder. (Via Locus Online.)

IROSF interviews Spider Robinson

The latest issue of The Internet Review of Science Fiction features a review with Spider Robinson, entitled "Channel Surfing with the Folksinger of the Gods." (Via SF Signal.)

Jonathan Strahan interviews Cory Doctorow

Jonathan Strahan has an interview up with Cory Doctorow regarding Cory's contribution to The Starry Rift, an anthology of YA science fiction Strahan edited for Viking Children's. (Via SF Signal.)

Douglas Smith interviewed on Facebook

The series of interviews with the nominees for the Aurora Award for best short-form work in English continues in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy group on Facebook. Up right now: Mark Leslie Lefebvre is interviewing Douglas Smith.

Nina Munteanu short story online

Nina Munteanu has posted her short story "A Butterfly in Peking" online.

Hayden Trenholm interviewed on Facebook

An interview with Aurora Award nominee Hayden Trenholm is now underway in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy group on Facebook. Edward Willett is asking the questions.

Several SF Canada members among readers during Toronto Public Library's spring Canada Council Heritage Series

The Toronto Public Library's spring Canada Council Heritage Series, entitled Foresight: Speculative Fiction in Canada, will highlight work by some of Canada's best science fiction, fantasy and horror authors, many SF Canada members among them, over a six-week period filled with readings, discussions, signings and talks.

At the kickoff event at the Lillian H. Smith branch, 239 College St., at 7 p.m. on April 21, Michael Skeet will host a discussion on the quest for foresight in Canadian science fiction. He'll be joined by Karl Schroeder, James Alan Gardner and Peter Watts, discussing Canadian science fiction, and how it is influenced by Canada's unique position in the world. There'll be refreshments, a question and answer period, and a book signing.

The rest of the schedule looks like this (events with an asterisk * include a booksale and signing, organized by Bakka-Phoenix books).

Tuesday, April 22
Reading
Kelley Armstrong (the Otherworld series)
7 p.m., Eatonville Branch
430 Burnhamthorpe Rd., 416-394-5270

Wednesday, April 23*
Reading
Guy Gavriel Kay (Ysabel)
7 p.m., Beaches Branch
2161 Queen St. E, 416-393-7703

Thursday, April 24*
Reading
Peter Watts (Blindsight)
7 p.m., Beaches Branch
2161 Queen St. E, 416-393-7703

Monday, April 28
French-language reading
Jean-Louis Trudel (Le maitre des bourrasques)
7 p.m., Beaches Branch
2161 Queen St. E., 416-393-7703

Tuesday, April 29
Discussion: writing genre fiction – for teens and young adults
Jim Munroe (Therefore Repent!), moderator; Emily Pohl-Weary (Strange Times at Western High), Kristyn Dunnion (Big Big Sky) and Paul Hong (Your Love is Murder, or The Case of the Mangled Pie)
7 p.m., Eatonville Branch
430 Burnhamthorpe Rd., 416-394-5270

Wednesday, April 30
Reading
Kelley Armstrong (the Otherworld series)
7 p.m., Cedarbrae Branch
545 Markham Rd., 416-396-8850

Thursday, May 1*
Book launch!
Cory Doctorow launches his new novel, Little Brother
7 p.m., Merril Collection, Lillian H. Smith Branch
239 College St., 416-393-7746

Date TBA
Karl Schroeder (Ventus)
7 p.m., location TBA

Tuesday, May 6
Reading
Nalo Hopkinson (The New Moon's Arms)
7 p.m., Eatonville Branch
430 Burnhamthorpe Rd., 416-394-5270

Wednesday, May 7
Reading
Terence Green (Sailing Time's Ocean), Phyllis Gotlieb (Birthstones)
7 p.m., Cedarbrae Branch
545 Markham Rd., 416-396-8850

Thursday, May 8
Reading - for teens
Emily Pohl-Weary and Willow Dawson (Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate)
5 p.m., Centennial Branch
578 Finch Ave. W., 416-395-5490

Monday, May 12*
Reading: The Horror!
Brett Savory (In and Down) Sandra Kasturi (The Animal Bridegroom) and Séphèra Giron, (Mistress of the Dark)
7 p.m., Oakwood Village Branch
341 Oakwood Ave., 416-394-1040

Wednesday, May 14*
Reading
Julie E. Czerneda (Trade Pact Universe series )
7 p.m., Beaches Branch
2161 Queen St. E, 416-393-7703

Thursday, May 15
Reading - for teens
Terence Green (Sailing Time's Ocean) and Paula Johanson (The Tower in the Crooked Wood)
5 p.m., Centennial Branch
578 Finch Ave. W., 416-395-5490

Tuesday, May 20*
Reading
Dave Duncan, (King's Blades series, Venice Trilogy)
7 p.m., Oakwood Village Branch
341 Oakwood Ave., 416-394-1040

Wednesday, May 21*
Reading/Discussion: Writing Fantasy
Dave Duncan and Nalo Hopkinson
7 p.m., Lillian H. Smith Branch
239 College St., 416-393-7746

Thursday, May 22
Reading
Dave Duncan
5 p.m., Centennial Branch
578 Finch Ave. W., 416-395-5490

Monday, May 26*
Poetry reading
Paula Johanson, Candas Jane Dorsey, Phyllis Gotlieb, Sandra Kasturi
7 p.m., Oakwood Village Branch
341 Oakwood Ave., 416-394-1040

Wednesday, May 28*
Reading/Discussion
Candas Jane Dorsey (A Paradigm of Earth), Edward Willett (Marseguro)
7 p.m., Beaches Branch
2161 Queen St. E, 416-393-7703

Thursday, May 29
Reading - for teens
Edward Willett (Marseguro) and Alison Baird (Dragon Throne series)
5 p.m., Centennial Branch
578 Finch Ave. W., 416-395-5490

Tony Pi interviewed on Facebook

An interview with Aurora Award-nominated writer Tony Pi is currently underway in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy group on Facebook. Suzanne Church is asking the questions.

Claire Eamer, Marcelle Dube stories in anthology short-listed for two national awards

Claire Eamer and Marcelle Dubé both have stories in Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science (Star Ink Books, edited by Julie Czerneda), which has been shortlisted not only for the Aurora Award in the English (Other) category, but for the Science in Society Book Award in the Youth category, awarded by the Canadian Science Writers' Association.

Michael R. Colangelo wins Bloody Quill Award, has story in anthology Help

Michael R. Colangelo's story "Motion Sickness" has won the 2007 Bloody Quill Award for best story from horror magazine Black Ink.

Michael's short story "Children of the White Star" will appear in HELP, an anthology to help Preditors and Editors.

Good review for Simon Rose's The Emerald Curse

Simon Rose's The Emerald Curse (Tradewind Books) has received an excellent review from Canadian Children's Literature, which calls it "very well written and appealing" and rates it "highly recommended.".

Michael R. Colangelo publishing short novel online

Michael R. Colangelo is publishing his short novel This Waking Sleep online over the month of April in a series of installments.

David Nickle sells story collection to ChiZine Publications

David Nickle has sold a story collection to ChiZine Publications, to be published in 2009.

Cory Doctorow guest of honor at Pi Con

Cory Doctorow will be one of the guests of honor at this summer’s Pi Con, the annual science fiction convention held August 22 to 24 in West Springfield, MA, alongsideRandall Munroe, the creator of the webcomic XKCD.

Cory Doctorow works available through DailyLit

Cory Doctorow reports that DailyLit, a free ebook-by-email service, has been putting a ton of his Creative Commons-licensed works online. DailyLit lets you subscribe to receive books in small, quickly-readable chunks every day. They've got his all his novels and short story collections and a couple of his uncollected stories, too.

Alison Sinclair sells trilogy to ROC

Alison Sinclair has sold a new fantasy trilogy to ROC, via agent Caitlin Blasdell at Liza Dawson Associates. Darkborn, Lightborn and Shadowborn are described as "a fantasy trilogy of magic and manners, espionage and romance in the tradition of Sarah Monette and Ellen Kushner."

Colleen Anderson now senior fantasy editor for Aberrant Dreams

Colleen Anderson has become senior fantasy editor for Aberrant Dreams.

Steve Vernon sells short-short to zombie anthology

Steve Vernon has sold short-short "Whistling in the Graveyard" to Bits of the Dead (An Illustrated Flash Fiction Zombie Anthology), due out later this year from Coscom Entertainment.

First book from ChiZine Publications now available for pre-order

ChiZine Publications, the publishing venture of Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi, has announced that its first title, Brent Hayward's Filaria, is now available for pre-order.

Simon Rose launches new blog

Simon Rose now has a blog, which you can find here.

Several SF Canada members on Aurora Awards final ballot

Several members of SF Canada are on the final ballot for the Canadian national science fiction and fantasy awards, the Auroras. Here's the complete list of nominees, with SF Canada members indicated in bold:

Best Long-Form Work in English:
As Fate Decrees by Denysé Bridger (published by EDGE Publishing)
New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson (Grand Central Publishing)
The Moon Under Her Feet by Derwin Mak (Windstorm Creative)
Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor/Analog)
Cry Wolf by Edo van Belkom (McClelland & Stewart)

Best Long-Form Work in French:
Alegracia et les Xayiris by Dominic Bellavance (Les Six Brumes)
La-haut sur la Colline by Claude Bolduc (Solaris)
Cimetière du musée by Diane Boudreau (du Phoenix)
Le Parasite by Georges LaFontaine (Guy Saint-Jean)
Arielle Queen by Michel J. Lévesque (Les Intouchables)

Best Short-Form Work in English:
"Falling" by David Clink (On Spec)
"Saturn in G Minor" by Stephen Kotowych (Writers of the Future XXIII)
"Metamorphoses in Amber" by Tony Pi (Abyss & Apex)
"The Dancer at the Red Door" by Douglas Smith (Under Cover of Darkness)
"Like Water in the Desert" by Hayden Trenholm (Challenging Destiny)

Best Short-Form Work in French:
"Le Luthier" by Mathieu Fortin (Solaris)
"Les Lucioles d'Alliante" by Michèle Laframboise (QUAD9)
"L'Ancienne famille" by Michel J. Lévesque (Les Six Brumes)
"Le sang noir" by Michel J. Lévesque (Solaris)
"Sur la plage des Èpaves" by Laurent MacAllister (Yves Meynard et Jean-Louis Trudel)(Solaris)

Best Work in English (Other):
Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science edited by Julie E. Czerneda (Star Ink)
Under Cover of Darkness edited by Julie E. Czerneda & Jana Paniccia (DAW)
Tesseracts Eleven edited by Cory Doctorow and Holly Phillips (Edge)
Neo-opsis edited by Karl Johanson
On Spec Magazine edited by Diane Walton

Best Work in French (Other):
No nominations.

Artistic Achievement:
Lar deSouza (for On Spec Winter 2000; Parsec Spring/Summer 2007)
Stephanie Ann Johanson (for Neo-opsis #11 interior illustrations)
Jean-Pierre Normand
Martin Springett
Ronn Sutton (for Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #165-166)

Fan Achievement (Fanzine):
Dale Spiers for Opuntia

Fan Achievement (Organizational):
Debbie Hodgins (KAG)
Penny Lipman (Masquerades)
Roy Miles (IDIC)
Joan Sherman (IDIC)
Geoffrey Toop (DWIN)

Fan Achievement (Other):
Paul Bobbitt (editor of The Voyageur)
Judith Hayman (filk performances)
Peggy Warner LaLonde (filk performances)
Martin Springett (filk performances)
Larry Stewart (MC)

Michael R. Colangelo story upcoming in City Slab

Michael R. Colangelo's story "Blacklight" will appear in an issue of City Slab later this year.

Eileen Kernaghan's The Snow Queen on Simon Fraser University course list

Eileen Kernaghan's young adult novel The Snow Queen (Thistledown Press) is one of the assigned texts for a Simon Fraser University course on "The Influence of Early Nordic Writings on English Literature." Other authors on the list are Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, and Hans Christian Andersen.

Hayden Trenholm's Defining Diana launching at Ad-Astra March 28

The launch of Hayden Trenholm's new novel, Defining Diana, published by Bundoran Press, will be held on Friday, March 28, from 8 to 9 p.m. at the Ad Astra Science Fiction Convention in Toronto.

From the back cover:

Found naked and alone in a locked room, the beautiful woman was in perfect health--except she was dead...

It’s 2043 and much has changed: nuclear war, biotechnology and all-powerful corporations have transformed the world...

Now science is taking DNA manipulation to new, unrestricted levels.

Superintendent Frank Steele is an old-fashioned cop. He commands a small, elite police unit that is handed all the bizarre and baffling cases no one else can solve. He knows the money, murders, missing persons and gruesome body shops are all connected...

He knows it starts with the girl...

Edward Willett's Marseguro gets an A from Sci-Fi Weekly

Edward Willett's new SF novel Marseguro (DAW) received an A from reviewer Lois H. Gresh at Sci-Fi Weekly, who concludes, "Overall...the flaws are minor, and this book is almost impossible to put down. Even people who are afraid of the water will love this book. Highly recommended."

Cover art for Steve Vernon's Gypsy Blood

Here's the cover art for Steve Vernon's first full-length novel, Gypsy Blood, Book 1 of the Carnival Cycle, coming soon from Five Star.

From the back cover:

Carnival is a part-time fortune-teller and occult troubleshooter and full-time pain in the neck. Do you have a banshee that needs a tonsillectomy? Call Carnival. Do you need to give the yo-ho-heave-ho to some troublesome pirate-ghosts? Call Carnival. What about that mummy that thinks she is a rap artist? Call Carnival.

Carnival is a Gypsy. His poppa calls him a poshrat. That's Rom for half blood. Carnival never listened to his poppa when he was alive but these days he doesn't have much of a choice. It serves Carnival right for sticking his poppa so close to his heart. What a way to treat a dead relative.

But that's Carnival for you. A really spontaneous kind of guy. Like when he gives that succubus a permanent case of lockjaw. Or when he invites a full grown demon into a bathtub for a little scrub-a-dub. Or when he falls in love with a vampire. Can you picture that? Forget about safe sex. Love with a vampire sucks.

GYPSY BLOOD is a fast paced, dark, funny and terrifying novel, like nothing you've ever read before. The whole thing rolls like an avalanche of skateboards, building to a climactic battle royale between Carnival, a two-timing vampire, a she-demon with a mother complex, a social climbing blood god, the collective spirit of the city and a mercenary mariachi band riding in a rickshaw.

Flip a card, flip a page - your fate is in your hands.

Steve Vernon collection Nothing to Lose being reprinted

Burning Effigy Press in Toronto is releasing a reprint of Steve Vernon's collection Nothing to Lose, which includes "The Glint of Moonlight on Broken Glass," "Lamprey Fellatio" and "The Frozen Axe of Winter Love."

Nothing to Lose was originally released last year by Nocturne Press, "minutes before going belly-up," Steve says. A review of the original release is here.

Edward Willett interviewed by Sci-Fi Wire

There's a brief interview with Edward Willett (focused on his new novel Marseguro) up at Sci-Fi Wire, the news service of the U.S.'s Sci-Fi Channel.

Cover art for Holly Phillips's The Engine's Child

Here's the cover for The Engine's Child by Holly Phillips, which which is to be released by Del Rey just in time for the World Fantasy Convention in Calgary this October. (Via If You Can't Say Anything Nice...)

Dave Duncan's The Alchemist's Pursuit, third in series, accepted by Ace

Dave Duncan reports that Ace has accepted the manuscript of The Alchemist's Pursuit, the third of his historical-mystery-fantasies set in Renaissance Venice, following The Alchemist's Apprentice (now out in mass-market paperback) and The Alchemist's Code (just released in trade paperback). As well, Audible has purchased the audio rights to the trilogy for audio download/disk production.

Michael Colangelo sells story to Doorways Magazine

Michael Colangelo's "historical proto-zombie holocaust story" entitled "280 Years Earlier" has sold to Doorways Magazine, to appear in the Summer 2008 issue.

Edward Willett interviewed by Regina Leader Post

Edward Willett has been interviewed by the Regina Leader Post; the lengthy interview, which appeared on the front page of the Weekender section of the Saturday, February 26, issue, is online here.

Nina Munteanu interviewed by The Dragon Page

The Dragon Page podcast-interviews Nina Munteneau. (Via SF Signal.)

Matthew Hughes on Nebula Awards final ballot

Matthew Hughes's "The Helper and His Hero," which appeared in the February and March 2007 issues of F&SF, has made the Nebula Awards final ballot in the Novella category.

Other nominees in that category are "Awakening" by Judith Berman (Black Gate 10, Spring, 2007), "Fountain of Age" by Nancy Kress (Asimov's, July 2007), "Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard (F&SF, July 2007), "Kiosk" by Bruce Sterling (F&SF, January 2007) and "Memorare" by Gene Wolfe (F&SF, April 2007).

The Nebula Awards are administered, voted and presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to acknowledge excellence in science fiction writing. This year's awards will be presented at the Nebula Award Weekend in Austin, Texas, April 25 to 27.