Let's talk about me for a second. Won a copy of Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories edited by Max Booth III. So hopefully that will be coming soon so I can read and review it for you. Meanwhile, last Saturday I saw Django Unchained with my family (I know, weird right?). I was planning on having a small segment on the film in today's Weekly Update, but I decided to save that for the review on Friday. So you got that to look forward to.
Hope you guys have been enjoying No Americans month. "Cherry Blossom in the Spring" by Rachel Saunders and "The Holy Land" by Kieran Colfer have both been doing well. This week the contest continues with Alison Morton's review of Dominion by C.J. Sansom, "A Nation Once Again: An Alternate History of the Easter Rising" by Andrew Schneider and Industria, Tecnologia, Potenza Chapter 1 by Tyler Bugg (you can read the prologue here). Still looking for submissions so just send your entry to ahwupdate at gmail dot com.
And now the news...
Hugo Award Nominations Open
For those who don't know, the Hugo Awards are the premier award of the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction literature and media as well as fans of the genre. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia (Philcon II), and they have continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables for nearly 60 years. The awards are named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and were officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards until 1992.
Nomination ballots for the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer will be accepted from until Sunday, March 10, 2013, 11:59 p.m. EDT (Sunday, March 10, 2013, 8:59 p.m. PDT; Monday, March 11, 2013, 6:59 a.m. UTC/GMT). Members of LoneStarCon 3 and Loncon 3 (the 2014 Worldcon) who join by January 31, 2013, and all members of Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon, are invited to submit nomination ballots.
More information about the Hugo Awards, including details on how to submit a nomination ballot, is available at the LoneStarCon site. Ballots may be submitted by postal mail or online. Online voters will need a unique LoneStarCon 3 Personal Identification Number (PIN) to enter their ballot; these will be issued by email over the next few days and will also be distributed during January along with Progress Report 3, for those members receiving printed progress reports. For additional information, please contact hugoadmin@LoneStarCon3.org.
So the question from The Update is: which alternate history has the best chance of winning Best Novel this year? The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis did well last year. Let's not forget that Osama by Lavie Tidhar already won the World Fantasy Award. I also have heard good things about The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter and The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest.
Do you think an alternate history work has a chance in 2013?
Submissions Wanted
Aspiring writers should take notice that Alchemy Press is now open for submissions. So get that manuscript ready. Wait? You don't have any stories? Well maybe you should set up a blog and good news for you friend of this blog, Teramis, wrote an excellent piece on making the best of your author blog.
As always good luck.
New Releases
Paperback
City of Saints by D. J. Butler
1859; war looms over the United States. Intelligence agents converge on the Kingdom of Deseret in the Rocky Mountains.
E-books
Death's Head Legion by Trey Garrison
Part Two of three in The Spear of Destiny, the new steampunk, horror, alternate history, action-adventure series set in a 1920s where the Nazis have begun their subjugation of the world using the occult, advanced science, and a holy relic with awesome powers.
Ghost of the North by Fahid Hussain
A young man, Yashua is sent by his grandfather to join a mercenary group in the Taifa Kingdoms and learn under a Sufi Master. After learning the ways of the mystic warrior, he is joined by a thief, a giant and a little princess that go on a quest to find a Ring and save a Kingdom.
Jack's Sofa by Jonathan Nolan
Jack's Sofa... A seedy purple couch... Just sitting on it or rummaging under its cushions is enough to catapult you into a random parallel world!
Audio
The Shield-Maiden by Michael Tinker Pearce and Linda Pearce
Sigrid is a Shield-Maiden who yearns to break free of the restrictions of her father's home and join the Sworn Men in an actual raiding expedition. When a small diplomatic party that includes members of the Shield-Brethren lands at her family's holding on Göttland, the party¿s second in command, Halldor, sees in Sigrid a vision of beauty and power that might challenge - and even destroy - many men.
Links to the Multiverse
Articles
Build Your Own Poland by Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps.
Vanished Kingdoms – Galicia by Oldcat at Kilobooks.
War is over: Imaginary ‘Bicholim Conflict’ page removed from Wikipedia after five years by Eric Pfeiffer at Yahoo! News.
Books
10 Book Series So Addictive, You Never Want Them to End by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Cover Reveal for The Change by Sharon Bayliss at Curiosity Quills.
Fifty Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels to Look Forward to in 2013 by Stephan and Ashik at The Ranting Dragon.
The Finishing School on the Airship, Where They Teach Young Ladies to Kill by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.
Book Reviews
Review of By Any Other Name by Michel R Vaillancourt at Edi's Book Lighthouse.
Review of Crosstime Road Trip by Chris Nuttall at The World According to Quinn.
Review of Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman at Fantasy Matters.
Review of The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress at io9.
Review of Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear at Steampunk Scholar.
Review of The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris at The Ranting Dragon.
Review of The Mirage by Matt Ruff at A Live Backstage.
Review of Other Seasons: The Best of Neal Barrett, Jr. at Thinking about books.
Review of Sharps by K J Parker at Thinking about books.
Comics
Review of Atomic Robo and the Flying She-Devils of the Pacific at Geek Syndicate.
Games
Steampunk Racing 3D Is Wacky Races By Way Of Tim Burton by Jeremiah Rice at Android Police.
Interviews
Scott Harrison at SF Signal.
Ian Tregillis at Black Gate.
Television
Review of Elementary: Season 1, Episode 11 at Thinking about books.
* * *
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.