Mark Hodder’s novel The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack won this year’s Philip K. Dick Award, presented at Norwescon. The Philip K. Dick Award honors books published originally in paperback (mass market or trade), and is selected by a panel of judges which included William Barton, Andy Duncan, Bruce McAllister, Melinda M. Snodgrass, and David Walton. The judges also gave a special citation award to Project Itoh for the book Harmony, translated by Alexander O. Smith . Next year’s judges have been announced as Scott Baker, Mark Budz, Roby James, Darrell Schweitzer, and Alice K. Turner.
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This year’s nominees for the Prometheus Award have been announced. The awards are presented by the Libertarian Futurist Society and winners will be announced in August at Renovation, which will be held in Reno, Nevada. The nominees for the Hall of Fame were previously announced.
- For the Win, by Cory Doctorow
- Darkship Thieves, by Sarah Hoyt
- The Last Trumpet Project, by Kevin MacArdry
- Live Free or Die, by John Ringo
- Ceres, by L. Neil Smith
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Judge Denny Chin has rejected the Google Books Settlement, saying that the search engine’s agreement was too broad and “would arguably give Google control over the search market” for books. The agreement between Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers was dismissed without prejudice, which means that Google and the organizations can revise the agreement and resubmit it in a way that gives better protection to copyright owners.
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The winners of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, given annually for gender-bending speculative fiction, have been announced. The awards will be presented at Wiscon on Memorial Day weekend. This year’s judges included Penny Hill, Euan Bear, Jessa Crispin, Alice Kim, and
Lawrence Schimel.
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, by Dubravka Ugresic
Furthermore, an honor list of six works was announced:
The Bone Palace, by Amanda Downum
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin
“Diana Comet and the Disappearing Lover,” (a.k.a. “Diana Comet”) by Sandra McDonald
“Drag Queen Astronaut,” by Sandra McDonald
The Secret Feminist Cabal, by Helen Merrick
Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor
Living with Ghosts, by Kari Sperring
The Colony, by Jillian Weise
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Chicago’s One Book, One City program has selected to read Neil Gaiman’s 2003 novel Neverwhere for its Spring 2011 choice. The Chicago Public Library chooses two books a year and this Fall’s selection will mark the program’s tenth anniversary. The program includes book discussions, public programs, a script reading of last year’s dramatic production of the play, and Gaiman will speak in Chicago on April 12 and 13.
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In support of Claude Lalumière’s forthcoming The Door to Lost Pages, ChiZine is running a contest to provide names of imaginary books. Two winners will be selected, one by voters, one by Lalumière. The two grand-prize winners each get a free, signed, limited-edition hardcover copy of The Door to Lost Pages, and ten postcards featuring their winning entry. The contest is open from February 17 through March 15.
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Atlanta Nights, by Travis Tea, has been optioned for a film. The book was created in 2004 as part of a sting operation by members of SFWA against the publisher PublishAmerica. After the book was accepted the the hoax revealed, PublishAmerica canceled the contract. Each chapter of the work was written by a different author with no regard for plot, continuity, spelling, or grammar. According to one of the authors, the film would take the form of a joint documentary and partial dramatic presentation. As with the money raised through past sales of the book, the option money will be used for the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund. The project is being crowdfunded.
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Derryl Murphy is giving away three prizes related to his forthcoming novel Napier’s Bones. First prize will include a signed, limited edition hardcover of the book, second prize will be a signed trade paperback, and third prize will be a signed poster of the frontispiece. All entries must be received by February 22.
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The Liverpool Central Library in the UK will be incorporating a walkway listing book, movie, and album titles, a literary panel listing authors, and a series of quotations in its £50 million redevelopment plan. A panel of experts have released a potential listing of the inclusions and welcomes comments. Authors on the panel primarily of genre interest include Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, and Olaf Stapledon. Works on the walk of genre interest include Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Lord of the Rings, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Star Wars, The Mabinogion, The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan.
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Karen Lord’s debut novel Redemption in Indigo has been announced as the winner of the William L. Crawford Award. The Crawford Award is presented annually for a new fantasy author whose first book appeared during the previous year. It is presented at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, which will be held this year from March 16-20 in Orlando, Florida.
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