Tuesday, February 26, 2013

What makes speculative fiction so special?


At every con and book signing, and in every SFnal chat room, it seems that the craft of writing and the business of publishing eventually come up. There's a sort of symmetry in play: most writers are inveterate readers, and many readers aspire to be authors.

So: I'm delighted to be returning to WriterHouse to reprise my weekend seminar on writing speculative fiction. The seminar (updated, of course since I last taught it) will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, in lovely Charlottesville, VA.

Lovely isn't mere politeness. Among its many charms, Charlottesville is home to Monticello and the University of Virginia, both legacies of Thomas Jefferson. The nearby image is of the UVa Rotunda, designed by Jefferson.

Curious? Check out the course description and registration info.

Want another take on what's special about the genre? Consider Locus ("covering the science fiction and fantasy field since 1968"), the perennial winner of the Hugo Award for semiprozine.  Among its virtues, Locus is one of the genre's leading review venues. But its reviews have mostly -- until now -- been available only to subscribers.

For the first time, AFAIK, Locus has packaged up (not free, but quite reasonably priced) its reviews of the year's top novels.

For the Kindle, check out "Locus Special Supplement: 2012 Recommended Reading List: The Year in Reviews". For other formats, check here on the Locus site). 

(Full disclosure: you'll find in the collection -- as one review among many -- a review of the Niven/Lerner opus Fate of Worlds.)

1 comment:

Edward M. Lerner said...

I can't speak for anyone else, but I had a great time at last weekend's seminar. We had a wide spectrum of backgrounds (ex-intel agency, ex-FAA, SW developers, chem-engineering PhD student) and interests (SF to fantasy to ghost stories).

But after four bagels in two days at next-door Bodo's bagels, I do look forward to more variety in my diet :-)