Weekly Update #45

Editor's Note

We are almost at 100 Facebook followers, just 8 more to go.  If you read the blog and use Facebook, please like our Facebook page if you have not done so already.

I hope you guys enjoyed Chris Nuttall first guest post on Weekly Update.  We will be featuring two guest posts by Chris on the next two Fridays.  We also will be featuring a guest post later this week by Tbguy1992.  He will be doing a showcase on the Napoelon's World TL that you can find on the AH Wiki.

And now the news...

Things to Do in the Real World

Alternate history is not just about reading fictional worlds or discussing them in an online forum.  There are events in the real world where you can nerd out to your heart's content.

For example, the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul will be hosting an event called "What If? Alternate History Teen & Family Day" on April 21.  Here is a brief description:

Travel back in time and imagine a new future. Explore Minnesota through the eyes of science fiction and steampunk authors, artisans, and alternate historians. And by all means, don’t forget your goggles and top hat.

Activities will include: Interactive Steampunk Mystery with SteamCentury Minnesota, Music by Bad September, Ask a Writer with Minnesota science fiction authors Kelly Barnhill, Lyda Morehouse and Kelly McCullough, Fashion Art Activity with Leonardo’s Basement, fashion models styled by Blasphemenia’s Closet and Steampunk artisans selling fashion accessories to create a more fantastic you.

Then on May 4-6, you can take a quick drive into North Dakota to attend CoreCon 2012.  S. M. Stirling (Emberverse, Draka, ISOT) will be the guest of the honor.

So don't just sit at home in front of your computer (unless it is to read AH Weekly Update).  Get out there and meet some people face to face who enjoy the same interests you do.

Submissions Wanted

I discovered a couple more opportunities to get published.

First, Chaosium  is going to publish an anthology of short stories set in Cthulhu mythos created author H. P. Lovecraft.  The anthology, with the working title of Steampunk Cthulhu, wants authors to submit stories that put Lovecraft's dark universe into a steampunk setting.  Stories should be 2000 to 8000 words in length and must be submitted by July 31st.  More information can be found at the website of one of the editors.

Second, thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle, I learned about an interesting writing contest that all hopeful SF writers should keep in mind.  It is called the "L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future".  It is a yearly short fiction contest for authors who have never been professionally published.  Works must shorter than 17000 words and submitted before September 30 to be eligible for this year's contest, or else you will have to wait longer to be judged.  More rules can be found here.

Finally, those interested in submitting to Alt Hist should take note.  Editor Mark Lord has updated the Submission Policy.  The new policy is below:

1. Must be a short piece of fiction – under 10,000 words.
2. Must be either historical fiction, alternate history, or historical fantasy.
3. Must be a well written character based story rather than an exercise in ‘what if …’
4. Must not be simultaneously submitted to another publication.
5. Must be an original work that has not been published elsewhere.

As always, good luck.

New Releases: The Manhattan Projects #1

What if the Manhattan Project was actually a cover-up for something even more dangerous then the atomic bomb?  That is the premise for the new comic series titled The Manhattan Projects which follows alternate versions of the historical people who worked on the Manhattan Project, the research program that developed atomic weapons for the United States during World War II.  Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Nick Pitarra, the comic appears to bend real history around the mad science usually found in comics.

Will it be a hit? J. Caleb Mozzocco at Las Vegas Weekly seems to think so. He gave the first issue 4 out of 5 stars and said "[i]t’s a pretty powerful premise, almost playfully executed, and it’s suspenseful enough to leave one wanting to know what happens next—the hallmark of a good comic book series." Those looking to learn more can follow "The Multiversity Projections" which will be following and dissecting each issue.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History by onyxhawke at Agent Incite.

A Chart That Explains How Long Ago Star Wars Actually Took Place by Keith Veronese at io9. (Good article if you ever wanted Star Wars characters to interact with historical persons from Earth.)

The Shadow City : Putting the Punk Back into Steampunk by The Catastaraphone Orchestra at Steamed!

Books

The Bloody Red Baron arrives! by Titan Books.

The brilliance of speculative sci-fi by Paul Di Filippo at Salon. Includes a review of The Mirage by Matt Ruff.

Naomi Novak’s Crucible of Gold published in the US by Mark Lord at Alt Hist.

Review of 1632 by Eric Flint done by The 6th Floor.

Review of The Two Georges by Richard Dreyfuss and Harry Turtledove done by Ben Babcock at Goodreads.

Online AH

1636: The Kremlin Games Snippet 08 by Eric Flint.

Winter of '79 - Wargaming an alternate timeline of Thatcherite Britain.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.