SF and Fantasy

The Story Which Didn't Inspire the Film 'In Time' (and Vice Versa)

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Late last year I discussed why Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel The Road didn't rip off Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog," despite comments Harlan made to that effect. My basic point was that copyright doesn't protect ideas, a fact which is well grounded in copyright law.

Well in a case of turn around is fair play, I've received several emails lately asking if Andrew Niccol's new SF film In Time ripped off my story "Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime." Short answer: No. Longer answer: This appears to be a case of two writers coming up with an idea independently of each other.

Here are the details: "Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime" deals with a future world where the currency is time. At birth each person is injected with artificial chromosomes which store massive amounts of data; when you purchase something, instead of paying with money people pay a time debt against the coming years of their life. Because most people are deeply in debt, they live as vassals to the lords of time, who buy and sell people's lifespans the way today's stock traders buy and sell companies.

Here's the summary for Andrew Niccol's In Time: "In the not-too-distant future the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality."

So obviously there are similaries between the film and my story. Both use time as a currency, which benefits the rich while the average person is reduced to living like temporal slaves. There are also many other similarities. As the film's trailer shows, the time remaining in one's life is stamped on the arm and people can transfer time from one to another. In my story, a similar setup occurs with "time debt," which is recorded on the arm and can also be transferred between people. The lords of time in my story also age very slowly, similar to what happens in the film.

So I totally understand why people who read my story wondered if the film ripped off my ideas – and I'm equally certain once the film is released I'll receive emails stating the reverse. However, a quick look at the recent history of both my story and the film suggests neither of us knew of the other's work on the idea of time as a currency.

For example, "Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime" was published in the December 2010 issue of the British SF magazine Interzone as part of their special issue on my fiction. However, I first started writing the story in 2008, intending it for Jetse de Vries' Shine anthology of optimistic SF (although in hindsight the ideas behind there story were anything but optimistic, which is probably why Jetse bounced it). Once Jetse rejected the story in late 2009, I submitted it to Interzone. 

While I don't know the exact timeline for when Niccol wrote his screenplay, based on his previous projects it was likely also written in the last few years. Filming for the movie wrapped up in May of this year and the film itself will be released in October. Unless Niccol read my story in last year's Interzone and immediately wrote his own screenplay – an impossibility in today's Hollywood system – then there is no way either of us knew about the other's work around these ideas.

There are almost 7 billion people on this planet and it is not unusual for two of them to come up with the same idea at the same time. And even if one of us did copy an idea from the other, that still wouldn't matter. As U.S. copyright law states, "Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something. You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your description, but be aware that copyright will not protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work." 

If you want to read "Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime," the story can be found in my collection Never Never Stories. As for In Time, the film comes out October 28. Since Andrew Niccol is one of my favorite Hollywood directors and writers – being the creative force behind such amazing SF films as The Truman Show and Gattaca – you better believe I'll be there opening night.

And if some of the ideas in the film seems strangely similar to ones I've written about, that's simply the way the creative ball bounces.

Never Never Stories Now Available

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NeverNeverStoriesCover

My short story collection Never Never Stories is now available. You can purchase the trade paperback from the following places:

I will also continue to sell the ebook edition on my own.

As a reminder, the 10 stories in the print edition are:

  • The Ships Like Clouds, Risen by Their Rain
  • When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees
  • Here We Are, Falling Through Shadows
  • Rumspringa
  • Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime
  • Memoria
  • Peacemaker, Peacemaker, Little Bo Peep
  • Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas
  • A Twenty-First Century Fairy Love Story
  • The Never Never Wizard of Apalachicola

The print edition of Never Never Stories also features an essay exploring fantasy and archeology along with a jaw-droppingly good cover by artist Vincent Chong, who is currently a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.

Spotlight Publishing to Release Million Writers Award Anthologies

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As I mentioned yesterday, Spotlight Publishing is a small press which recently relaunched with a new focus on science fiction and fantasy books. Among their first new titles are my own Never Never Stories, Edmund R. Schubert's The Trouble With Eating Clouds, and James Maxey's There Is No Wheel. Following these inital books will be the anthology InterGalactic Awards Anthology Vol. I, edited by Orson Scott Card and Edmund R. Schubert. 

Now obviously having my short story collection come out is extremely exciting. But equally as exciting is that Spotlight has agreed to publish two anthologies of stories from the last eight years of the Million Writers Award. These anthologies will be titled Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices and Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy.

The first anthology will focus on the exciting new authors and voices to emerge through the Million Writers Award, while the second anthology will focus on the many SF/F stories our judges and readers have loved. I will edit both anthologies, which will feature stories from all levels of the award process (i.e., winners, finalists, and notable stories).

In the coming months I'll be contacting authors to arrange reprint rights for their stories. The publication date for the two Million Writers Award anthologies is early 2012.

Hugo Award for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

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A few moments ago I cast my vote for this year's Hugo Awards. Usually I wouldn't make a big deal about voting – I'd simply cast my vote and be done with it. I also don't usually reveal my final picks. While I've long made it a practice of disclosing my initial ballot recommendations for the various awards, I do that to bring attention to deserving stories and books. But final votes tend to be more objective and, usually, all of the finalists for the various categories are deserving of a win. So until now I've kept my final votes to myself.

But this year the finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Novel are far from usual, so I'm breaking tradition and urging people to cast their vote for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. 

Here's my reasoning:

I read a number of SF/F books each year, and usually I enjoy most of them. Usually these novels are well written and entertaining and take me to new and interesting worlds as only good science fiction and fantasy can do.

However, perhaps you've noticed me using the word "usual" a lot in this essay. There's a reason for that – far too much of today's SF/F feels like simply another go around of the usual stuff. I'm sure every reader out there knows what I'm talking about. A "usual" novel is warm and soothing, the perfect story to read while sipping milk and munching cookies as you snuggle under a dozen cats on a cold winter's night. These usual novels use themes and ideas and plots we've all seen a thousand times in our genre. There's nothing wrong with usual novels – hell, I enjoy reading them.

But usual novels are not worthy of major literary awards.

Instead, I want award-winning novels to be those stories which break with convention, which come at our genre in new and exciting ways. And of this year's finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, only N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms fits this bill.

There are plenty of reviews available for N.K. Jemisin's fantasy novel, so I won't bore you by giving a long one. Suffice to say this novel is amazingly well written, more so when you realize that the voice you're reading isn't as clear cut as you initially think, which is a trick our genre usually only sees in the works of Gene Wolfe. But even as Jemisin plays with our minds, she's also telling a totally engaging story you can't put down. This novel recently won the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and if there's any justice in our genre it will also win this year's Hugo Award.

Of the other finalists in this category, only The Dervish House by Ian McDonald is in the same league as Jemisin's novel. The Dervish House is a very good book and I wouldn't be upset if it wins. However, it is not McDonald's best book – which is easily Brasyl – and The Dervish House is also not as original or thought-provoking as  The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Then we come to the usual books with make up the rest of this year's finalists. The double novel Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis recently won both the Nebula and Locus Awards, so obviously it's a favorite for also winning the Hugo. However, for the life of my I can't understand why, aside from the fact that Willis is well-loved in our genre and hasn't published a novel in almost a decade. Unfortunately,  Blackout/All Clear is not her best work and reads as if the books should have been edited down into one novel.

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold is another usual book. It's a fun read, being a continuation of her well-known Vorkosigan Saga. If you've read the entire saga, then you'll know what to expect with this book.

The same with Feed by Mira Grant, although obviously this book is not part of a long-running series. Instead, Feed plays off our continuing love affair with zombies while throwing in a good bit about how social media is going to change our world. Unfortunately, it's not a startling idea that social media is going to change our world, and while Feed is a very good read it still feels very much like a usual novel.

I challenge anyone to tell me why The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms isn't the best novel among this year's finalists. This doesn't mean I'm saying the other finalists are bad novels. But none of them, with the possible exception of The Dervish House by Ian McDonald, is worthy of winning over The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

But don't take my word for it. If you're an attending, young adult, or supporting member of this year's World Science Fiction Convention, check out N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Hell, read all the novels, which are available as downloadable packets on the Renovation website (but you'll need your password to access them). And remember – the deadline to vote is Sunday, July 31. 

Arthur C. Clarke's The Songs of Distant Earth

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Of all the novels Arthur C. Clarke wrote during his Grand Master career, The Songs of Distant Earth was his favorite. His story also travelled through a number of different versions over the years, appearing first as a novella in a 1950's pulp magazine, followed by a 1970's movie treatise, a best-selling 1986 novel, and finally a musical tribute to both Clarke and his writings by New Age composer Mike Oldfield.

In my essay "Singing the Songs of Distant Earth," which is now on SF Signal, I explore both this history and how The Songs of Distant Earth relates to certain reoccuring themes in Clarke's writings. If you are even a little interested in how one of the most famous SF authors of all time approached the craft of fiction, be sure to check out my essay.

The Superhero Film Crash and Brazilian Speculative Fiction

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Over on io9,the dismal box office performance of Green Lantern has Charlie Jane Anders asking "Is this the beginning of the end of the superhero movie boom?" For the record, I'd like to state that I raised this very point last month, well before the crash of Green Lantern and the latest X-men movie.

In unrelated but still exciting news, Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show and The Elephant and Macaw Banner are hosting a contest to bring the best of Brazilian speculative fiction to the English-speaking world. Called the Hydra Competition, submissions will be accepted from eligible Brazilian authors from July 1 through August 15. Rules will be published in Portuguese on the website Universo Insônia. There is no entry fee to participate and the winner will receive a publication contract at professional rates.

I think this contest is a great idea and I can't wait to read the winning story. For complete details in English, please go here.

A Few Plugs

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I'm behind in plugging a few items of note, so here goes.

Locus Magazine from the 1980s

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If the golden age of science fiction is age 12, then my personal golden age arrived in the 1980s. That was the decade when I fell under the genre's sway, reading older SF classics while also searching out hot new writers like David Brin and William Gibson.

However, while I read SF religiously during the 1980s I wasn't aware of the larger SF literary and fan culture which existed at the time. So imagine my excitement to discover a free cache of 1980s Locus magazines at this weekend's Marcon. The issues provide a fascinating backstory to the science fiction I read at the time while also showcasing the changing styles of the genre's magazine of record.

LocusJuly1980 In fact, as shown in the July 1980 issue, back then Locus wasn't the "magazine" of record. Instead, it called itself the "newpaper of the science fiction field." This issue was a 20 page black and white fanzine which was folded but not stapled and laid out with actual cut and pasted typewriter copy. This resulted in extremely uneven copy at times. 

The big news story was the 1980 Locus Award results. Inside, other news included Harlan Ellison reaching a "new and, with luck, final settlement in his plagiarism battle with ABC/Paramount" and a mind-blowing essay by Norman Spinrad on why the literati hate science fiction. The essay was titled "Stayin' Alive" after that classic Bee Gees hit and showed a picture of Spinrad with long curly hair, looking very much like he could have been doing some disco dancing himself.

LocusApril1982 By April 1982, Locus was already morphing from a newspaper-style fanzine to an actual magazine. There were now 32 pages stapled in the classic saddle-stich fashion, and blue had been added to the black and white copy. The big news was the death of Philip K. Dick. Other news included Frank Herbert selling his latest Dune novel for $1.5 million, while Robert Silverberg also sold a three-book contract. FYI, this was right at the beginning of the 1980s science fiction boom, where major SF authors began pulling down massive payments for their books.

In other news, on page 7 was the notice that Douglas Adams sold the third book in his Hitchhikers series and ABC optioned the books for a TV series, due that fall. "ABC is having the show re-adapted for American TV because they want it open-ended." Yeah, that really worked out for ABC.

LocusJuly1985 By the July 1985 issue Locus still called itself a newspaper but for all purposes was now a magazine with a slick, full-color cover. The copy was still typewriter cut and paste but at 58 pages it would not have looked out of place on any magazine rack of the time. The front cover announced several new genre magazines, including Night Cry and the Hubbard-sponsored To the Stars. Theodore Sturgeon was memorialized after his recent death while the biggest news was the naming of a 38-year-old Gardner Dozois to edit Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Locus noted that Dozois was "primarily a short story writer and has won two Nebulas in that category."

LocusDec1989 The final issue of the 1980s came with the Dec. 1989 edition, by which time Locus had completed the transition to an actual magazine. The copy was no longer created by typewriter but instead utilized one of the early word-processing programs. In fact, with the full-color covers and inserts and the almost 70 pages of content it's hard to tell this issue from a current one. Except, I should add, for the bright orange on the cover. The bright red covers of the modern Locus wouldn't appear until the 1990s.

The big news was the list of World Fantasy Award winners. In Charles Brown's "Editorial Matters" column he described how the Locus offices survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake with only their 1971 Hugo Award being knocked over.

However, the biggest news in the issue was from a full-color slick cardboard ad, which folded out from the center spread to announce that Penguin Books and New American Library were launching Roc Fantasy and Science Fiction Books. What's most interesting is that while Roc promotes their "visionary" 1990 line-up, the only notable book there – aside from a few minor works by Isaac Asimov – is Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. All of the other visionary novels have been largely forgotten by time.

"Plague Birds" Is Co-Winner of Interzone Readers' Poll

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I received Interzone 234 today so I can officially announce the big news: My novelette "Plague Birds" is the co-winner of this year's Interzone Readers' Poll, tying with Nina Allen's amazing story "Flying in the Face of God." This is the third year in a row I've either won outright or tied in the Readers' Poll.

I'm particularly pleased that Nina's story is the co-winner. I voted for her story in the poll and it's great to know so many other people loved "Flying in the Face of God" as much as I did. 

My novelette "Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas" placed third in the poll – you can read the story in my new collection Never Never Stories – followed by "The Shipmaker" by Aliette de Bodard, "The Shoe Factory" by Matthew Cook, and "Dance of the Kawkawroons" and "In the Harsh Glow of Its Incandescent Beauty" by Mercurio D. Rivera.

Congrats to all of these great authors, and thanks to all the people who voted in the poll. Interzone is an amazing magazine with even more amazing readers.

If you want to read "Plague Birds," click here to download it as a PDF. The sequel to "Plague Birds" has also been accepted by Interzone and will be published in the next few months. The story, titled "The Ever-Dreaming Verdict of Plagues," follows Cristina de Ane as she settles into life as a plague bird, a person containing a powerful AI which is both police officer, judge and executioner to the human/animal hybrids who inhabit her future world.

The Coming Superhero Movie Collapse

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Back in January, Charlie Jane Anders noted on io9 that there were more "superhero films coming in 2011 than in the past few years put together." Since then, two comic-book based films – Green Hornet and Thor – have already decked audiences with a super-powered punch. Additional superhero films slated for this summer include X-Men: First Class, The Green Lantern and Captain America: The First Avenger, while on next year's horizon looms The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, along with the Amazing Spider-Man and Superman reboots. Add all these up and it's obvious Hollywood is betting its blockbuster future on the continued success of superhero films.

In that io9 article, Anders wondered if 2011 would be the year when "superheroes stretch out" and become more than the cliches Hollywood keeps throwing at us. If the early evidence from Green Hornet and Thor is any indication, the answer to this is a big "hell no!" But with so many superhero films coming out over the next year and a half, an even more important question is this:

Are audiences about to throw up their hands in disgust at too many mediocre superhero films?

I can already hear the laughs of derision rising from movie fans at my comment. After all, these superhero films are a perfect match for today's special effects driven blockbusters. When even The Green Hornet – which was panned by both critics and audiences – makes $228 million worldwide, how could I even suggest this trend might end?

Simple. The superhero film genre is a market-driven bubble, and all market bubbles eventually pop.

If your only exposure to superheroes is through Hollywood films, allow me to introduce  the collapse of the comic book market in the early 1990s, when two-thirds of all comic book stores closed. The collapse was caused by the greed of comic publishers and comic speculators, both of whom believed that millions of copies of "special first editions" and variant covers could be sold to an ever-growing audience. The problem is that while publishers flooded the market with cheap gimicks to enhance sales, they forgot that the main reason people read comic books is because of the compelling stories, art, and characters.

When you look at how the comic book market once collapsed, you can't help but see a similar storyline playing out with superhero movies. For example, here's one tale from a comic book seller who describes the 1990 comic book market collapse:

"The worm had turned, and comics fans were pissed off. Comics collectors were finally mad at Marvel for churning out garbage for the past few years. They were mad at Dark Horse for never making an issue #5; all of their movie comics were four-issue miniseries, the logic being that #1 issues sell better. They were mad at Image for producing comics based solely on their namesake – image."

Now obviously the market dynamics behind the comic book collapse and the current boom of superhero movies aren't exactly the same. However, the similarities are startling.

In that article, the anonymous "Noun" (who sold comics during the 1990s) describes how Marvel and other publishers used crossover events to boost sales – where stories from one comic crossed over into other titles, meaning you had to buy all those comics simply to follow the story.  Does that sound similar to what's going on with their current line of Marvel superhero movies as we build toward next year's much promoted Avengers film?

Other similarities include how "publishers abused the gimmicks." Think the same thing isn't happening today?  Can anyone say 3D films, or the rebooting of characters like Spider-Man who starred in a successful film series only a few years ago?

And the final similarity is Marvel Comics itself, the company which was one of the main culprits behind the collapse of the comic book market in the 1990s. Marvel was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1997 because it lost sight that the most important aspect of their "properties" was in the telling of stories which resonate with readers. 

A simple truth of any market-driven enterprise is that if you flood the market with crap then the market will collapse. That happened with comic books back during the 1990s and its happening today with superhero films.

Superhero films are a great art form when they focus on the compelling stories, characters and visuals which first attracted people to comic books in the first place. For evidence of this look no further than the last two Batman movies. But in the rush to exploit the demand for superhero films, Hollywood and companies like Marvel are flooding the market with too much mediocre crap.

Just as happened with comic books, the worm will eventually turn. And when it does, movie goers will turn away from the current boom market in superhero films.

Burn Baby Burn (The World's Shortest Vampire Romance)

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I'd never given much thought to how different Edward and I were – though I'd had reason enough in the last few months of our whirlwind romance.  But now that we were finally on our honeymoon, the differences were becoming ever more evident.

I stared without breathing across the dark room as Edward stood in front of the closed drapes, which blocked the sun from our Acapulco hotel suite. On the wall beside Edward was a tall mirror, which didn't reflect his image. Still, I didn't need a mirror to tell me of the beauty I saw before me. Edward's pale, chiseled body heaved as he smiled at me, and his taut buttocks tensed slightly, running an erotic flash between my thighs.

Edward's gaze was mesmerizing. I felt like prey caught in the eyes of a powerful predator. A predator who could rip me apart if he chose – rip me to pieces and drink my ever so vital fluids.

"You know I'd never harm you," Edward said, reaching for my hand. He pulled me close and hugged me to his sweaty body. "Never forget," he added. "I may be a monster, but I love you."

"You're no monster," I said as I kissed him.

"Perhaps. But the leaders of the vampires won't be happy that we've married."

"Why should they care?"

Edward looked pained, as if I'd asked him to bare his soul for all the world to see. "There are things about my people we never show outsiders."

"Like what? Do you glow in the sunlight or something?"

I'd meant the comment only in jest, but Edward looked at me with his ages-old gaze and nodded. "You are close," he said. "It's supposedly the most intense feeling any vampire can experience."

"Better than sex?" I asked, wicked memories of last night flashing through my mind.

"Far better. Would you like to experience it with me?"

My body shivered in excitement as Edward again pulled me close and we kissed, a kiss which reached into the depths of my soul and caressed my very being. As we kissed, Edward reached out with his free hand and flung open the drapes, revealing the morning sunlight angling across the beach and the waves.

In the sunlight, Edward sparkled, light jumping around his body as our kiss grew even more passionate, our emotions crashing like the waves outside our hotel room. I felt like I was on fire.

Except I wasn't on fire – Edward was on fire!

He looked at me in panic as I stepped back. His skin smoked and his sexy hair flared. His wondrous taut buttocks charred black.

"Aw shit," he said. "They always told me we sparkled in the sunlight."

As he said this his body exploded in flames, knocking me against the window. When I stood up, ash rained across the hotel room.

I guess Acapulco wasn't a good choice for a vampire honeymoon.

Why Do Genre Magazines Dominate the Million Writers Award?

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Each year Tom Dooley, the editor of Eclectica Magazine, analyzes trends in the list of Million Writers Award notable stories. According to his analysis, there are 158 stories on the 2011 notable list, a drop from last year's 191. In addition, exactly 100 different online publications landed stories on the list.

Last year Tom pointed out that it appeared genre magazines – meaning everything from science fiction to fantasy, horror, crime, and romance – were dominating the Million Writers Award. This year this genre "dominance" continues. While self-identifying genre magazines now make up only 21% of the magazines on the NWA notable list, down from 25% in 2010, among the magazines with the most stories on the list the percent of genre stories increased to 51%.

This doesn't mean genre stories make up half the stories on the notable list – I think the number is closer to a third. But among the elite online publications with the most stories on the list, genre magazines appear to be the 800 pound gorillas in the virtual room.

Why are there so many genre magazines and stories on the Million Writers notable list? As I mentioned last year, I believe this results from genre writers and readers accepting online magazines as a legitimate place for both publishing and reading short fiction, which results in a large number of professional online genre magazines. But I'd love to hear what other people think about this.

Pasted below is Tom's analysis. And as always, a big thanks to Tom for crunching these numbers.

2010 Notable Stories Analysis    
This year Last Year
Total number of Notable Stories 158 191
Number of different publications w/ Notable Stories 100 108
Percent of publications self-identifying as "Genre" 21% 25%
Percent of stories from the top 10 publications belonging to self-identified "Genre" sites * 51% 48%
* Percent increases to 65% this year if two puplications tied for first, Blackbird and Words without Borders, are removed    
     
Authors this year with more than one notable story    
Name This year Last Year
Desmond Warzel 2 1
Matthew Dexter 2 1
Michael Loughrey 2 1
Rachel Ephraim 2 0
Rachel Swirsky 2 1
Roxane Gay 2 6
Sandra McDonald 2 0
Yoon Ha Lee 2 1
     
This year's top Notable Stories publications    
Publication Place Number
Blackbird 1st (tied) 6
Words without Borders   6
Clarkesworld Magazine 3rd (tied) 4
Daily Science Fiction   4
Lightspeed Magazine   4
Strange Horizons   4
Chiaroscuro (ChiZine) 7th (tied) 3
Eclectica Magazine   3
Fantasy Magazine   3
Jersey Devil Press   3
storySouth   3
The Barcelona Review   3
The Collagist   3
Thuglit   3
Tor.com   3
     
Top Notable Stories publications, last two years    
Publication Place Number
Blackbird 1st (tied) 10
Fantasy Magazine   10
Clarkesword Magazine 3rd (tied) 9
Strange Horizons   9
Thuglit 5th (tied) 7
Subterranean   7
Words Without Borders 7th (tied) 6
Eclectica Magazine   6
Beneath Ceaseless Skies   6
Kill Author   6
Collagist 11th (tied) 5
Tor.com   5
Apex Magazine   5
Storyglossia   5
Daily Science Fiction   4
Lightspeed Magazine   4
Barcelona Review   4
storySouth   4
Cerise Press   4
Cha: An Asian Literary Journal   4
Flurb   4
Identity Theory   4
PANK   4
Summerset Review   4
Knee-Jerk Magazine   4
Prick of the Spindle   4
Toasted Cheese   4
Word Riot   4
     
Top Notable Stories publications, all time (last eight years)    
Publication Place Number
Eclectica Magazine 1st 41
Strange Horizons 2nd (tied) 31
Pindeldyboz   31
Narrative Magazine 4th 26
Blackbird 5th 25
Word Riot 6th 23
Agni 7th 22
Clarkesword Magazine 8th (tied) 21
Storyglossia   21
Fantasy Magazine 10th (tied) 18
failbetter   18
Identity Theory 12th (tied) 15
King's English   15
Mississippi Review (New)   15
Thuglit 15th (tied) 14
Subterranean   14
Barcelona Review 17th (tied) 13
Summerset Review   13
ChiZine   13
Orson Scott Card's IMS   13
Fiction Warehouse   13
Percent of stories from the top 10 publications belonging to self-identified "Genre" sites *

The Abattoir of Mediocrity

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I don't write or read much horror unless I fall into it sideways while sloshing around in my usual science fiction or fantasy. However, I love the British horror magazine Black Static. The magazine's editors and writers are always slicing their readers into bloody excellence, and the opinion pieces they publish are great beyond measure.

Case in point: Christopher Fowler's essay in Black Static 22 on "Why Mediocrity Rules." As Fowler states, he now actually hates the mainsteam. "Not because of who watches it – people will watch anything put in front of them – or who writes it – writers develop good ideas for years only to have them eviscerated or turned down outright because of passing fashions – but because of who decides what we watch and read."

As Fowler says, there are creativity killers in every profession, people who slink from position to position leaving "trails of destruction in their wakes, like snails." And while Fowler doesn't go into how the new media landscape of YouTube and Twitter and self-published ebooks are changing these trails of destruction, I haven't yet seen a ton of excellence rising to the top. Instead, when the "The Bed Intruder Song" receives 50 million views I'd say mediocrity has found new ways to thrive.

This doesn't mean every artist who whines about their lot in life deserves to be showered with praise. Fowler quotes John Cleese in his Monty Python architect sketch, when he delivers a slaughterhouse instead of a block of apartments and the clients complain. As Cleese says, "That’s the kind of blinkered philistine pig-ignorance I expect from you non-creative garbage." Not that Cleese should be allowed to build an abattoir to slaughter apartment dwellers. But the architect who eventually wins is in his own way worse than Cleese's character, and is praised for creating an absolute monstrosity.

I wish I could link to Fowler's essay; instead, I'll simply say you should subscribe to Black Static and that Fowler touches on some of these points in this recent blog post.

Experimental Science Fiction

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Jeff VanderMeer is curious about what "experimental" means with regards to science fiction and fantasy. It's a great discussion and I urge people to check it out.

Jeff specifically mentions Samuel Delany's great novel Dhalgren, which to many people is the living archetype of experimental science fiction. The high praise one hears for Delany's novel – or condemnation, depending on if a person actually enjoys reading experimental fiction – is justified.

However, I've always found the term "experimental fiction" to also be a little puzzling. The term is usually used by people to describe fiction with an explicitly experimental narrative – think James Joyce's Ulysses and all the novels which have mimicked it's stream of consciousness style over the years. However, to apply the term experimental to science fiction should mean so much more than simply how a novel is written. Since science fiction pushes the bounds of human experience, experimental SF should not only push the bounds of narrative style but do the same with the novel's subject matter, characters, themes, vision, and so on.

To my mind, the SF novel which does all of this is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. The four parts of the novel, and its related coda, experiment with all elements of what we think a novel can be. In addition, it creates a vision of the future which hasn't aged a bit in the three decades since it was written. The Book of the New Sun is experimental science fiction at its best.

Genre Walking

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Are you a science fiction or fantasy fan who enjoys walking or jogging? Want to motivate both yourself and your genre friends to exercise more? Then join in with the newest exercise trend, genre walking!

First, the history: Shaun Duke tweeted last week about all the walking he's doing, at which point I tweeted my own jogging and walking comments and how science fiction and fantasy fans should help motive each other in our exercises. Fabio Fernandes chimed in strong agreement, Shaun said he'd design a website to keep track of everyone's progress, and that's how genre walking was born.

It's easy to genre walk. Every time you walk or jog, tweet your distance with the hashtag #genrewalking. If you see tweets from other SF/F fans who are genre walking, encourage them. You can also enter your distances using the handy genre walking form. To keep track of everyone's progress, click here.

This is not about shaming people. This is not about competition. This is about genre fun and staying healthy. I look forward to seeing everyone on the road to genre fitness!

From New Wave to SciFi Strange

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Interzone's co-fiction editor Andy Hedgecock has written a must-read article in the academic journal Short Fiction in Theory & Practice.  Titled "From New Wave to SciFi Strange: Thematic Shifts in the SF Short Story," the article examines how "contemporary developments in science fiction storytelling echo" the literary innovations of the 1960s.

Andy first talks with Michael Moorcock about the influential role New Worlds played in the development of the New Wave movement. He then examines my thoughts on SciFi Strange and explores how this new type of SF appears to be orginating with authors instead of editors. Among the authors he quotes include Chris Beckett, Aliette de Bodard, Gareth L. Powell and me. He also quotes Interzone editor Andy Cox on how these developments are playing out in that long-running British magazine.

I highly recommend the article to anyone interested in either SF short fiction or Interzone. The article can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.

Analog and Interzone: Separated at Birth?

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Over on both the Interzone and Analog readers' forums people have pointed out a funny coincidence: two recent issues of Analog have reprinted artwork which previously ran on the cover of Interzone.

First, here's are the covers from Interzone 203 (circa 2006) and the March 2011 Analog:

Interzone203 AnalogMarch2011

Next, here are the covers from Interzone 101 (circa 1995) and the December 2010 Analog:

Interzone101 AnalogDec2010

What's fascinating about that second set of covers is the artist reworked the image to fit the magazines' different layout requirements.

It's a common practice for artists to recycle artwork – which after all means another payday for them and affordable artwork for publishers – but it is interesting to see this in action.

Reminder about Award Nominations

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Don't forget Hugo nominations are due March 26. Here are my recommended stories, works, and people, which I nominated a few moments ago. Those are the same works I nominated for the Locus Award; the deadline for that award is April 15.

Finally, editor and reader nominations for the Million Writers Award are due March 15. Complete information on nominating works can be found here. Almost 30 online magazines have already nominated stories, along with numerous readers. I'm also working on an update about this year's prize money, but here's an advance look: Thanks to donations we'll be offering the most prize money we've ever had! So don't forget to nominate your stories!

Another Great Year for the Nebula Awards (and Yes, the Ballot Indicates Even More Generational Change)

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SFWA has released the finalists for this year's Nebula Awards and it's a great list. Not only am I pleased that a number of the works I supported made the ballot, it's exciting to see so many new authors on the list.

Last year I said the Nebula finalists indicated generational change in our genre was well underway. If anything, the 2010 picks showcase this trend even more. This year's first-time Nebula nominees include:

To my knowledge, none of these authors have previously made the final ballot of either the Hugo or Nebula Awards. Add in other Nebula finalists for this year like Paolo Bacigalupi, N.K. Jemisin, and Rachel Swirsky – who have made the ballot in previous years but are still very much new authors – and you can see why I'm calling this further evidence of generational change in our genre.

Congratulations to all the finalists. Voting for the Nebulas will begin on March 1st.

* Update: That'll teach me to trust my memory. As was kindly pointed out to me, this is Chris Barzak's third Nebula nomination and Jennifer Pelland's second. No wins, though, and they both definitely still count as new writers.

Why Doesn't Locus Review Daily Science Fiction?

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If you've had your head buried in the sand for the last year, you can be excused for not knowing that Daily Science Fiction is one of the most exciting new SF/F magazines to emerge in 2010. Established by editors Jonathan Laden (a Clarion alumni and Writers of the Future author) and Michele Barasso, DSF has a simple publishing model–stories are emailed for free to subscribers five days a week. The stories are also archived on the DSF website.

Because DSF pays professional rates, they have been able to publish stories from top writers like Lavie Tidhar, Cat Rambo, Tim Pratt, Colin Harvey, Mary Robinette Kowal, and many more.

But despite this success, some people seem to wish DSF would go away. And yes, Locus Magazine, this head-in-sand attitude is coming from you.

I'd noticed that Locus hadn't been reviewing Daily Science Fiction. However, what this meant didn't click until I read this review on Diabolical Plots. After praising the September fiction offerings from DSF, Frank Dutkiewicz mentioned how he'd asked "the editor of a leading review outlet on why DSF is ignored. The answer I got back was there was too much to review and the editors must be nuts if they think they can keep up throwing so many stories, at the rate they pay, for essentially free."

Can anyone guess who this "leading review outlet" might be?

Here's a hint: After reading that quote, I went through my back issues of Locus. No reviews of any DSF stories until the current Feb. 2011 issue. I also checked Lois Tilton's online reviews of short fiction. Again, no reviews of DSF.

This is not acceptable.

To the credit of Locus, they did include Lavie Tidhar's DSF story "Butterfly and the Blight at the Heart of the World" on their 2010 recommended reading list. The story was reviewed by Gardner Dozois in that same Feb. 2011 "Year in Review" issue.  As he says, DSF "has the ambitious – perhaps too ambitious – goal of publishing a new SF or fantasy story every single day of the year. Probably unsurprisingly, most of them are not terribly good, although some interesting stuff pops up occasionally."

I appreciate that Gardner took the time to review the story and DSF. His review is exactly why I subscribe to Locus. I'm not asking them to heap praise on DSF; I'm asking the magazine to treat DSF like any other outlet and simply review their stories.

I'll admit when DSF first came out I was also suspicious of their publishing model. But they've established themselves by now and deserve to be treated like any other professional-paying magazine. In fact, I recently submitted my first story to DSF and had it accepted. I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think DSF was a quality publisher.

I must also admit I was hesitant to criticize Locus for not reviewing DSF. Not only do they frequently review my fiction, I'm a long-time subscriber to the magazine. So while I hope other people will join me in calling for Locus to start reviewing DSF on a regular basis, don't take this as a reason to cancel your subscription or call the editors nasty names.

Locus holds an integral place in our genre community. I simply want them to remain integral by regularly reviewing professional-paying magazines like DSF!