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Technology is changing how you read and write everything — but short fiction is at the center of the technological vortex of change. At Worldcon, we attended a panel about the future of short fiction, and learned just how the world of short stories is changing. More »
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It's the sort of pairing that makes no sense, until you think about it: Novelty-record god Doctor Demento and avant-rock pioneer Frank Zappa. Doctor Demento was a guest at the World Science Fiction Covention this past weekend, and he paid tribute to one of his great inspirations. More »
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The 2011 Hugo Award winners were just announced, and it's a good year for time-travel stories, including Connie Willis' Blackout/All Clear and Doctor Who's fifth season finale. Plus it's an excellent night for Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. More »
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Ex-Tiki-Ate! Can you withstand the awesome power of the Tiki Dalek? Probably not, especially if it plies you with drinks first. This Tiki Dalek put in an appearance at the Dealer's Room at Worldcon in Reno, where it dished out pineapple-flavored extermination. More »
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Time Magazine is putting all of its old content online — including an article from 1939 about fans of science fiction, or "pseudo-scientifics," as Time insists on calling it. (At one point, they even refer to an SF writer as a "pseudo-fictioneer." If you want to see why so many science fiction writers and readers have an inferiority complex, look no further than this hilariously sneering article. [Time via SFScope] More »
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Science Fiction Chronicle's Andrew I. Porter has posted a ton of amazing photos of fan gatherings going back as far as the 1920s — many of them sent to Porter by super-fan Forrest J. Ackerman. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5772113&view=rss&microfeed=true A new reason to make it to this year's Worldcon, Renovation 2011 — the opening night will feature an appearance by visionary culture hero Dr. Demento, the man who put some of the geekiest, weirdest tunes ever written on the radio. Dementoids and Dementites, rejoice! More »
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Holy hell the undead ladies of Kiss The Abyss will have you screaming in your sleep for nights. Dead is not better, haven't we learned this by now? Also check out the gorgeous short The Raven. More »
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Convention season is just about over, but it's not too late to start planning your 2010 convention-going. (In fact, some stuff is already selling out.) So here's our guide to 2010's mega-conventions. Which offers the most zing for your money? More »
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Fresh off his top-selling novel Halo: The Cole Protocol, Tobias Buckell is turning back to original stories with an eco-thriller called Arctic Rising. He talked to us about that, and why the best fight scenes are short. More »
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An award-winning editor of genre anthologies, Ellen Datlow started her career at Omni magazine and now edits several books a year, including Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. She told us what short story editors want. More »
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It's become a cliche to say that our world is changing faster and faster, as we hurtle towards an ultra-advanced future. But it's not true, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman told Worldcon. Actually, change is slowing down. More »
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Last night, the 2009 Hugo Awards Ceremony brought together many of the genre's leading lights, and we were there. A few victories surprised us, and a couple of speeches moved us. Here's our gallery of the parties and the glamor. More »
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Ever wonder what's really happening in the cluttered offices of science fiction magazines like Asimov's or a publishing house like Pyr? Four editors take you inside the strange world of SF editing. More »
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The future is over! It's no longer possible to write about the future, because the Singularity will definitely happen in twenty years. We'll have artificial intelligence, and the meaning of humanity will be transformed. Is this idea hindering science fiction? More »
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Upcoming ABC series FlashForward is about people who see the future. But there's no futurism in it. Robert Sawyer, author of the novel that inspired the series, said the show's producers felt they could sell science, but not the future. More »
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We were lucky enough to take part in a press conference with WorldCon guest of honor Neil Gaiman. We asked him about the theme of storytellers in his work. And he talked movies versus books, and his feelings about comics. More »
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Excited that next week's WorldCon in Montreal features such diverse guests as Neil Gaiman and Paul Krugman? And that it celebrates both Canadian and libertarian SF? WorldCon is offering "taster" memberships so you can see if the excitement holds up. More »
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At WorldCon, where SF literary reputations are made and writers jockey for attention, there are always standouts. You know, a few people and publishers who seem to be on everybody's minds — or who should be. We've got six bookish breakouts we brought back from Denver for you, below. More »
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At WorldCon on Saturday, the Hugo Awards were an occasion for scifi book lovers to don their finery and come out for what can only be called geek prom. The Hugos are chosen by popular vote, and have the power to boost an author's reputation and book sales: Past winners include stars like Ursula Le Guin and Kurt Vonnegut. And so it was with palpable excitement that this year's nominees stood in the wings, and the audience waited in our gowns, tuxedos, and t-shirts in the vast auditorium at the awards ceremony. After our host Edward Bryant told stories about how the authors at a previous WorldCon had gone hot tubbing naked with their editors, the moment of truth arrived. More »
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Charlie Jane and Annalee (hi that's me) are in Denver for the WorldCon Denvention, and we're having a meetup tonight from 5 - 6:30 PM at the Hyatt Regency bar next to the Convention Center. Come have a cocktail and then go to the Hugo Awards ceremony, which starts at 7 PM. Or stay in the Hyatt and drink. Hope to see you tonight! More »
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Yesterday, I traveled back in time to the Cold War: Along with 20 science fiction writers here in Denver for WorldCon, I got a special tour of NORAD, the fabled military command center located in a vast cavern dynamited into the base of Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain. The top-secret base, protected under 2000 feet of solid granite mountain, was built to be an emergency command center in the event of nuclear attack. Featured in movies from WarGames to Stargate, the underground base has become the stuff of historical myth and science fiction legend. That's why I felt gripped by the surreal as I walked into its rough-walled cave entrance, then through a gleaming blast door, fully three feet thick and packed with huge, hydraulic pins that slid into place when the door shut. I was inside NORAD, with only my reporter's notebook, a bevvy of SF writers, and two tour guides: Lt. Ryan Lally, and Lt. Col "Bear" Lihani (Ret). More »
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A few of us at io9 are taking a space cruise out to Denver for this year's WorldCon (known this year as Denvention), a venerable science fiction convention devoted to SF writing. Many of our favorite writers will be there, so expect several posts about the latest SF literary news. Annalee (that's me) will be taking a tour of NORAD with a bunch of smartypants SF writers, getting their reactions along the way, so that should make for an interesting conference report. If you're going to be at Denvention, say hi to myself and Charlie Jane, or join us for a Saturday night cocktail before the Hugo Awards Ceremony. io9 cocktails will take place in the Hyatt Regency bar, Saturday Aug. 9, from 5:00ish until 6:30ish. Yes, we will have some pins and stickers for first-comers. See you there! [WorldCon Denvention] More »
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History is fuzzy about when the first science fiction convention actually happened, but we do know that in 1936 some fans including David Kyle and Frederik Pohl took a train from Philadelphia to New York City to talk about all things scifi with another group of fans at the home of Milton A. Rothman, who rivals Forrest J Ackerman for the biggest fanboy in the world award (Rothman had formed The Boys' Scientifiction Club in 1930). However, a group of British fans also got together in the same year to make plans for an actual convention in 1937, and later claimed that a group of fans meeting at a home does not a convention make. So even before the internet, there was squabbling over details and probably even convention spoilers. Some things will never change. In honor of our coverage of WonderCon, we present to you the history of Connage. More »
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