Welcome to the second instalment of This Week In Words, in which I corrall a week’s worth of links to interesting, moving or notable articles or features – now with BONUS STUFF (that I forgot to link to last week)!
Jo Walton wins Hugo award for reverse Harry Potter tale – The Guardian. David Barnett on Hugo winner, Jo Walton’s Among Others, along with the rest of the winners.
2013 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced – Huffington Post. The Man Booker Prize shortlist is out! Are we excited?
British Fantasy Awards 2013: the nominees – The British Fantasy Society. These are the nominees for the British Fantasy Awards; the winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton on November 3rd.
Game of Thrones Season Four Casting, Book Six Spoilers – The Mary Sue. Double trouble on the news front for everyone’s favourite behemoth of a fantasy series! New casting news for season four of the television adaptation; and a previously unheard chapter from the anticipated sixth book.
JK Rowling to write new Harry Potter-inspired film series based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – The Independent. Heads up, Potterfans! JK Rowling has confirmed she’s making her screenwriting debut on a series of films about Newt Scamander, the ‘writer’ of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, set in the same wizarding world as her Harry Potter series.
The Formula That’s Ruining Teen Movies – The Atlantic. Gina Dalfonzo on the ubiquity of the ‘Chosen One’ trope in YA fiction and the crashing and burning of City of Bones in cinemas this week, and how they’re connected.
Why I’m Never Going Back to Penny Arcade Expo – Wired. Rachel Edidin on why she, and many others, refuse to go back to PAX after this year’s expo. TW: discussion of rape.
Why ‘Solidarity’ is Bullshit – Bitch. Tina Vasquez on Mikki Kendall, Hugo Schwyzer, #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen, and the intersection of race and feminism and why so many white feminists refuse to see it.
The Hugo awards: ‘beauty contest’ or prize of the people? – The Guardian. David Barnett writes about the unique nature of the Hugo awards – i.e. that they’re subject to a public vote.
It’s time for science fiction to face up to discrimination – The Guardian. Barnett* on the growing clamour for non-straight white western male perspectives in science fiction.
On that note, Recommend some non-straight/white/male/anglo SFF anthologies – The Future Fire editors’ blog. A work-in-progress list of non-dominant perspectives in SFF.
Marvel Producer Talks Female Led Superhero Films Future – The Mary Sue. Marvel producer Louis D’Esposito talks about the growing demand for a female-led Marvel superhero film – and mentions Captain Marvel…
Procrastination is Not Laziness – Raptitude. An in-depth look at the real causes of procrastination. Clue: not always laziness!
Sarah Silverman writes touching obituary for late dog, ‘Duck’ – CBC News. Sarah Silverman’s dog Duck – who might be more familiar to viewers of The Sarah Silverman Program as ‘Doug’ – passed away this week. Here is Silverman’s obituary for her nineteen year old canine friend. (Don’t expect to get out of there dry-eyed.)
And, finally, R.I.P. Ann Crispin, Expanded Universe Writer for Star Wars, Star Trek and More – The Mary Sue. This week we lost Ann Crispin, not only an SF writer for some of our favourite fandoms, but also creator of Writer Beware, a website and database designed to stop scammers who prey on writers. She will be missed.
*AGAIN, I know. The Guardian is my paper and it seems David Barnett is their only SFF staffer.