Galactic Suburbia 16
Galactic Suburbia can be downloaded from iTunes or our blog
In which we have apparently learned the art of conversational restraint! Clocking in at a miraculously tidy 45 minutes, the Galactic Suburbia crew discuss publishing news, a bunch of great new books, and read some feedback.
News
Strange Horizons Fundraising Drive.
Tehani’s post on open short story markets in Australia.
Aqueduct Press now releasing several of their titles as ebooks.
Ticonderoga to publish Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror; editors Liz Gryzb & Talie Helene.
MindMeld best female characters.
Alisa and Tansy on Coode Street podcast.
What have we been reading/listening to?
Alex: Liar, Justine Larbalestier; White Cat, Holly Black;
Tansy: Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold; Kiss Me Deadly, Tricia Telep (ed)
Alisa: Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical; Tomorrow when the War began; new segment (whcih i will start next ep)
Pet Subject
Feedback!
from Jason Fischer & Thoraiya Dyer, plus a shout out to Celia from Worldcon!
Please send feedback to galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or follow @galacticsuburbs on Twitter
Galactic Suburbia 15.3
And finally, we record our Aussiecon4 wrap-up special. Which was partly an excuse to spend more time together, partly a chance to debrief – the good things, a few bad things, just how much we actually like cons… it was great.
Galactic Suburbia 15.2
This time it’s our Hugos special – just like our Ditmars special only about something that more people in the world care about. Or something. In which we admit that we are total awards junkies…
Galactic Suburbia: 15.1
Um, yes. We kinda went overboard on Galactic Suburbia when we were together for Aussiecon4. Well, wouldn’t you? The opportunity to actually SEE each other while recording?!
Anyway, you can now download our wrap-up of the Ditmars, which was a lot of fun to record and also includes a bonus at the end of me interviewing the awesome creators of Girl Genius – who two days later won the Hugo for Best Graphic Novel! Hurrah! Anyway, the quality is average because we recorded in the dealers’ room, and I giggle waaay too much… but it was SO COOL.
Galactic Suburbia 15: live show!
Live from Aussiecon4, speaking from the entirely unsuburban wasteland of downtown Melbourne, Alisa, Alex and Tansy faced an audience of real people, and managed to keep their chatter to a 50 minute podcast. SHOCK. Some awards news, Worldcon gossip, what we are reading and our pet topic: female heroes in SF & Fantasy. You can download it from here or get it on iTunes.
News
World Fantasy Nominations announced.
Sir Julius Vogel Awards.
European SF Society Awards.
Our favourite bits of Aussiecon4 so far.
What have we been reading/listening to?
Alex: Beastly Bride, ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; Legends of Australian Fantasy, ed. Jonathan Strahan and Jack Dann; Secret Feminist Cabal, Helen Merrick;
Tansy: Shades of Milk & Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal; The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins; Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor
Alisa: Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson.
Pet Subject: Female heroes in SF/F
As ever, please send feedback to galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or to our Twitter account – @galacticsuburbs. We’d especially love to hear your response to our “live” episode, or your highlights from Aussiecon.
Over the next week we’ll be putting up a series of mini-eps from the convention, including our post-Ditmars round up, our post-Hugos round up, a omg-the-convention-is-over round up, and an interview between Alex and Phil & Kaja Foglio of Girl Genius fame. Was Jake Flinthart correct to accuse her of giggling? Find out!*
On a personal note (stolen from Tansy), thanks to everyone who came to the panel, or talked to us at the con about Galactic Suburbia. We were blown away by how many people have listened to us, bought books we recced, and wanted to say hi. Extra special mention to Celia, who apparently DID have an awesome Worldcon, and to the woman who recognised Alisa & me gossiping in the row behind her at the Hugos, because SHE KNEW WHAT OUR VOICES SOUNDED LIKE.
* the answer is yes
Aussiecon4: day 1 #1
Just a quick update before I head back in for an exciting second day at Aussiecon4.
My absolute highlights were two very exciting fangirl moments: firstly, I met Helen Merrick, author of the brilliant Secret Feminist Cabal which I really must get around to reviewing. The other came when a little girl introduced herself to a friend’s daughter, and that girl’s parents came along to check everything was ok. Those parents were Phil and Kaja Foglio, creators of Girl Genius! Whom I had emailed about interviewing and was nervous as all get out about introducing myself to! So that was great, and relaxed, and I’m really looking forward to interviewing them now.
I also had a couple of people mention that they knew me from Galactic Suburbia, which was… overwhelming…
Speaking of which, must be off – we’re recording a live episode this morning!
Galactic Suburbia 14!
The episode is available to download from iTunes, and at Galactic Suburbia for download or streaming.
In which we rise above a chorus of dogs, babies and technological glitches to discuss Grand Conversations, why we have no opinions about Robert Heinlein, and why we’re crazy enough to be part of a project which means reading (almost) ALL the short stories.
News
Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi wins Campbell Award.
Jeff VanderMeer announces the closure of the Best American Fantasy anthology series.
The WSFA shortlist for small press.
Controversy caused by Sarah Hoyt’s Tor article on why all those women who don’t like Heinlein are actually wrong
Hoyt also blogs here similarly, with a bit more revelation as to why she is so pro-Heinlein.
What have we been reading/listening to?
Alisa: Watching – District 9, Caprica, Scott Pilgrim
Reading – The Grand Conversation, Timmi DuChamp
Alex: Permutation City, Greg Egan; Galactic Suburbia, Lisa Yaszek; Shadow Unit; When it Changed, ed. Geoff Ryman; Swords and Dark Magic, ed. Jonathan Strahan
Tansy: Joanna Russ, How to Suppress Women’s Writing; Rosemary & Rue, Seanan McGuire, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons,
Listening – Angry Robot #2 with Kaaron Warren & Lauren Beukes
Pet Subject
How To Find the Best Short Fiction, and the Not If You Were the Last Short Story On Earth Project (LSS)
Why we LSS
What we learned from LSS
What we’re looking for in a great short story, where to find them, and what we have liked so far this year.
Rich Horton is part of our inspiration.
Galactic Suburbia #13!
You can go to Galactic Suburbia to listen or download; it will be on iTunes aaaany time now, once a small glitch is corrected!
In which we discuss girl heroes, boy books, sexy zombies with whips, why proofing makes Alisa’s brain hurt, how many limbs get hacked off in David Eddings novels, and analyse what SF awards actually mean to us.
News
Ditmar nominations now up
Author Hannah Moskowitz complains at the lack of and treatment of boy characters in YA.
Tamora Pierce responds with a discussion of why she writes girl protagonists.
What have we been reading/listening to?
Tansy: The King’s Bastard, Rowena Cory Daniells; The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer. Listening to: Starship Sofa 142 & 144, Notes from Coode St
Alisa: books she is publishing, including SPRAWL
Alex: the Belgariad, David Eddings. Worlds Next Door, edited by Tehani Wessely.
Pet Subject
The value in awards for writers/publishers/readers.
The value in awards when they become a long-running thing (ie does it mean more to get a Tiptree now that it’s been going for a long time?).
Difference between fan-voted, peer-voted, and judged awards.
Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com
Galactic Suburbia #12
Download us from Galactic Suburbia or iTunes (while you’re there, you could rate us, too!).
In which we talk about publishers behaving badly, authors self-publishing, the future of reading and the price of a short story. Also we talk about books. Shocking, isn’t it?
News
Night Shade apologises for any problems they’ve caused any of their authors.
SFWA puts Night Shade Books on probation as a qualified SFWA market for a period of one year, effective immediately.
Aqueduct publish their 50th book in 6 years of publishing.
Shirley Jackson awards winners.
Don’t forget to vote in the Hugos (by July 31) and nominate for the Ditmars (um… today, July 23)
What have we been reading/listening to?
Alex: The Walled Orchard, Tom Holt (abandoned); Soulless, Gail Carriger; Secret Feminist Cabal, Helen Merrick; Pattern Recognition, William Gibson.
Listening to: Coode St podcast; AstronomyCast; SGCast (definitely abandoned); Bad Film Diaries.
Tansy: Moonshine, Alaya Johnson. Palimpsest, Catherynne Valente on the iPad! Kraken by China Mieville (abandoned).
Listening to: the Ood Cast. Bad Film Diaries
Alisa: Power and Majesty
Pet Subject: self publishing in the changing face of the publishing industry
The Omikuji Cyberfunded Art Project
Apple opens iBookstore to self-publishers
We’re looking to do another feedback episode soon, so get your Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com
Galactic Suburbia #11
*yes, I’ve resumed posting! I could go back and post the other ten sets of show-notes, but that seems ridiculous… Suffice to say, you can subscribe to Galactic Suburbia through iTunes, or download it from our lovely website.
In which the paradigm keeps shifting, Jasper Fforde writes dystopia, Alisa still hates pirate stories, George Lucus ruined it for the rest of us, and we wonder whether there are still readers who think you shouldn’t have SF with kissing in it.
News
Locus Award Winners
Liz Williams selling her own short fiction
Open calls for subs for Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror by Paula Guran
Amazing, thoughtful article about one woman’s history as a gamer and the way cyberspace still drops the ball in catering to its female audience
What have we been reading/listening to?
Alisa: Bleed, The Company Articles of Edward Teach, Breaking Dawn
Listening to Clarkesworld Podcast
Alex: Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde; Secret Feminist Cabal, Helen Merrick
Tansy: The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan; Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson; listening to Boxcutters
Pet Subject: The Romantic Side of Science Fiction
Are there still readers who think SF and romance shouldn’t mix? [http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/2010/05/why-sf-fandom-is-full-of-romance-haterz.html]
Is the lack of romance the reason that fantasy & urban fantasy are leaving science fiction in the dust commercially? What are the best and worst examples of SF colliding with a love story?
Does having a love interest make it count as a romance? Where’s the line?
Does having a plot, even just a subplot, related to characters and feelings make it not science fiction?
Alex provides this vintage quote from a letter written in 1938, from The Secret Feminist Cabal:
“…females have been dragged into the narratives and as a result the stories have become those of love which have no place in science-fiction… I believe, and I think many others are with me, that sentimentality and sex should be disregarded in scientific stories.”
Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com
[the management would like to note that Alisa gave up sugar this week and thus anything she says should be considered with that in mind]
Randomly Yours, Alex 