TAFF Race
Warren Buff, Kim G. Kofmel, and Jacqueline Monahan have declared they are running for TAFF, to travel to the United Kingdom for Eastercon in 2012. The official ballot will be posted in the next few days.
Sawyer in Ottawa
Robert J. Sawyer will speak at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa on October 19. The free lecture will run from 7:00-8:00 and is part of the museum’s National Science and Technology Week.
EPIC Nominations
The Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition has announced the nominees for the 2012 Epic Awards for e-published books. Categories with nominees of genre interest are listed below. The winners will be announced at EPICon in March, 2012.
Anthology
- Dame Topaz Treasures, by Carrie S. Masek
- Dragon’s Lure, edited by Neal Levin
- Winter Wishes, edited by Angela James
Fantasy
- Psyche’s Prophecy, by Ann Gimpel
- The Sevenfold Spell, by Tia Nevitt
- Thief of Hope, by Cindy Young-Turner
Horror
- Pillar’s Fall, by Ben Larken
- The Death of Lou Grant, by David Halliday
- The Last Vampire, by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Paranormal
- Healey’s Cave, by Aaron Paul Lazar
- One Blood, by E.F. Watkins
- Piper’s Fury, by Rachel Firasek
- Revelations, by Carrie Lynn Barker
Science Fiction
- Crewkin, by Rhobin L. Courtright
- The Crystal Desert, by Catherine Wells
- The Immortality Virus, by Christine Amsden
Novella
- “Almost Heaven,” by Kimberly Gardner
- “Do Over,” by Mari Carr
- “Eagle’s Redemption,” by Cindy Spencer Pape
- “Hearts in Darkness,” by Laura Kaye
- “Jaq’s Harp,” by Ella Drake
- “Song from the Abyss,” by Margaret L. Carter
- “Stormy Wedding,” by Kelli Scott
Fantasy Romance
- Bound: A Faery Story, by Sophie Oak
- Knightfall, by Berinn Rae
- One Thousand Kisses, by Jody Wallace
- The Sleigh Maker, by Candace Sams
Horror Romance
- A Demon Inside, by Rick R. Reed
- Demon’s Dance, by Evey Brett
- Devil Music, by E.C. Stacy and Thia Myles
- Endless Lust, by Lexxie Couper
Paranormal Romance
- Blacque/Bleu, by Belinda McBride
- Capricorn: Forgotten Faces, by Vivien Dean
- Dead Sexy, by Paige Tyler
- Key of Solomon, by Cassiel Knight
- Mask of Ice, by Elaine Lowe
Science Fiction Romance
- Outcast Mine, by Jamie Craig
- Silver Bound, by Ella Drake
- Steam and Sorcery, by Cindy Spencer Pape
- To Kiss Or To Kill, by Jean Lorrah
Mitchell Leaves Del Rey
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.
Obituary: Sara Douglass
Australian author Sara Douglass Warneke (b.1957) died on September 26 of ovarian cancer, with which she was diagnosed in 2010. Warneke, who wrote as Sara Douglass, had several of her historical based fantasies published in the US, including The Wayfarer Redemption series, the Crucible series, The Troy Game, and The Devil’s Diadem, published just last month.
DeepSouthCon Awards
Two awards were presented by DeepSouthCon at FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 on September 25. The Rebel Award is presented to a fan who has done things for Southern fandom and the Phoenix Award is for an SF professional who has done things for Southern fandom. This year’s awards were presented by Steven H Silver and Toni Weisskopf.
- Rebel Award: Brad W. Foster
- Phoenix Award: Selina Rosen
In addition, the Rubble Award was presented to a fan for doing things to Southern fandom. This year’s Rubble Award was presented to Bill Parker for bringing Worldcon to San Antonio in 2013.
Albacon Cancelled
Albacon, originally scheduled for the weekend of October 21-23, has been cancelled. Albacon 2012 is still scheduled to occur and memberships for this year’s event will either be rolled over or refunded, at the member’s request. The committee is considering a smaller event and possibly a writers workshop for the Thursday and/or Friday before this year’s Albacon was scheduled.
Tor.com Giving Away Worldcon Membership
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.
Harbour Books to Close
Independent bookseller Harbour Books of Dartmouth, Devon will be closing its doors at the end of the month after sixty years. The store was founded in 1951 by Christopher Robin Milne, who was the model for his father’s character Christopher Robin, who ran it until he retired in 1983. The current owners, Rowland and Caroline Abram, have explained their decision to close based on increased rents and more on-line competition.
Obituary: Mark W. Worthen
Horror author and editor Mark W. Worthen (b.1962) died on September 19. Worthen began publishing in 1993 and from 1998 to 2005 edited on the on-line zine Blood Rose. He served as the webmaster for the Horror Writers of America for several years and sat on the Stoker Committee. In 2007, he received the organization’s Richard Laymon President’s Award for Service.