Editor-in-chief Betsy Mitchell has announced plans to take early retirement from Del Rey books in December of this year. Mitchell joined Del Rey in 2002 after a long career which included editorial jobs at Baen, Bantam Spectra, and one of the founders of Warner Aspect. Prior to becoming an editor, Mitchell worked on the staff at Analog. Tricia Pasternak will be promoted to editorial director, Keith Clayton will be promoted to associate publisher, Anne Groell will be promoted to executive director, and Frank Parisi will be named in-house coordinator of Star Wars titles and editorial head of other licensed tie-ins.
To celebrate the completion of Jo Walton’s series on Hugo Award winners, Tor.com has announced a drawing to give away a membership (either attending or supporting) to Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention, scheduled to be held in Chicago from August 30-September 3, 2012.
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Michael S. Hart (b.1947) died on September 6. Hart founded Project Gutenberg in 1971 and is credited with being the inventor of the electronic book.
Tor Books and NASA have announced a collaboration to publish a series of
science based, commercial fiction books, referred to as “NASA inspired Works of Fiction.” The series will allow authors to work closely with NASA Subject Matter Experts to ensure that the science incorporated into the novels is accurate. The Goddard Space Flight Center’s Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Office will host a two-day workshop for authors.
Wildside Press has sold Weird Tales to Marvin Kaye. Kaye has elected to edit the magazine himself and the staff, including Hugo-winning editor Ann VanderMeer will not be retained. VanderMeer’s last issue will be #359 with subsequent issues edited by Kaye (and some will contain VanderMeer purchased stories).
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Publisher Philip Rahman (b.1952) died on July 23. In 1989, Rahman, along with college friend Dennis Weiler, founded Fedogan & Bremer in order to publish a collection by Charles Wandrei which had been announced by Arkham House in the 1960s and never published. The company went on to publish numerous Lovecraftian style books and in 1996 began a line of mystery publishing. The company won a World Fantasy Award, Special Award – Non-Professional in 1996.
Aspen Mountain Press has announced the launch of Aura Speculative Fiction, a digital book publisher scheduled to publish its first books on October 1. Submissions are currently open. Peg Robinson has been named Managing Editor of the line.
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James Patrick Kelly has announced the launch of Strangeways, an e-zine available for Nook and Kindle for .99c per issue. Each issue will include reprints of two short stories, two essays, and bonus materials. The first issue, currently available, includes “Plus or Minus” and “The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum.”
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Pyr is launching a line of young adult novels after seeing the appeal of some of their titles with the young adult audience. The first novel in the new Pyr Young Adult line will be Lightbringer, the debut novel by K. D. McEntire. Other works scheduled for publication include Ian McDonald’s Planesrunner and Ari Marmell’s Thief’s Covenant.
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Dave Truesdale has announced that both on-line fiction Managing Editor Kevin Tipple and Assistant Managing Editor Steve Fahnestalk have stepped down from their positions at Tangent Online, which reviews short SF/F. Joseph Giddings has been named the new Assistant Managing Editor. Fahnestalk has stepped down to focus on his writing career and Tipple is stepping down for health reasons. Both editors stayed in their positions until Truesdale returned to the on-line world to ensure the smooth continuation of Tangent Online.
