Introduction:
We have a new feature this month as for the first time The Eternal Night is presenting two serialised stories.
These two are John Grant's The Dragons of Manhattan and Karen Koehler's Sins of the Father. Hope you enjoy them and if you could drop us a line and let us know your thoughts on these we'd be delighted to hear from you.
Just email to mailto:methos@eternalnight.co.uk and say hello, let us know your thoughts etc.
I've noticed that young adult fantasy seems very visible at the moment, helped (I think everyone would agree) by the tremendous success of the Harry Potter books and The Lord of the Rings films. In this light I've noticed there's a list of recommendations for younger readers on the Publisher's Lunch site (from the young adult reviewer Jonah).
This list is as follows
- ERAGON, by Christopher Paolini
- HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, by J.K. Rowling
- THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, by Jonathan Stroud
- INKHEART, by Cornelia Funke
- SWORDS FOR HIRE, by Will Allen
- ARTEMIS FOWL AND THE ETERNITY CODE, by Eoin Colfer
- THE WISH LIST, by Eion Colfer
- THE DELTORA QUEST and DELTORA SHADOWLANDS Series, by Emily Rodda
- THE SECRETS OF DROON series, by Tony Abbott
- THE DIRT EATERS, by Dennis Foon
- MICKEY AND ME, by Dan Gutman
And we do have another sign that adults read fantasy. Once more a book poll has listed J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork The Lord of the Rings as the number one. This time it is the BBC'sBig Read vote. Tolkien's book received almost a quarter of the total votes. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was second (the only non-sf/f book in the top five), then Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials young adult trilogy, Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire rounding out the top five.
Press Releases:
Canadian SF magazine Neo-Opsis launches. Click Here to read more.
Official Philip K. Dick website launches. Click Here to read more.
Rose & Thorn: a Literary e-Zine. Click Here to read more.
Author/Book News:
Mike Resnick has recently been selected to become a Fellow of NESFA (The New England Science Fiction Association, Inc.). The Title of "Fellow of NESFA" is granted in perpetuity to those persons whom the membership of NESFA wish to honor for their contribution to NESFA, Fandom, or Science Fiction.
More Mike Resnick news - he is confirmed to be the Toastmaster at the 2005 Marcon, to be held between May 27-29 2005, in Columbis, Ohio. Larry Niven will be the Guest of Honor.
Yet more news form the Resnick camp. Mike Resnick has recently agreed to David Gerrold's request and has become the editor of Gerrold's collection as sold to BenBella books earlier this year.
Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Stephen King following his recent surgery to remove fluid and scar tissue from on of his lungs, related to a bout of pneumonia. The signs are that this is linked to his 1999 accident when he was struck by a van whilst walking near his summer home in Lovell.
Another person we are wishing a speedy recovery to is Mike Resnick. He underwent surgery on his right eye to repair a detached/torn retina on December 9th 2003. It was an out-patient procedure and it should not affect his writing. First reports say the procedure went well and he is expected to make a full recovery.
E.L. Noel has a new look website and a new URL. you can now find her web presence at http://www.elnoel.com/.
The first four robots have been inducted into the Carnegie Mellon Universiry Robot Hall of Fame. Two of these are fictional robots and are the HAL-9000 computer from Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey and R2-D2 from the Star Wars movies.
SF author Thomas A. Easton married Katharine M. Savage on October 5, 2003.
UK fantasy author (and all round good guy / prog fan) Steve Westcott is now represented by Robin Price at Media Arts International.
Matthew Warner, author of The Organ Donor married Deena Holland (now Warner) on October 4th, 2003 to the gentle sound of Bach's "Toccata & Fugue in D Minor".
Film/Media News:
Terry Pratchett's short story, "Troll Bridge" is currently being made into a movie in Australia. Snowgum Films are a non-profit organization based in Melbourne. Production/Direction duties are being handled by Daniel Knight, who has previously directed two Pratchett stage productions and acted in a further two. Full details on their website at http://www.snowgumfilms.com/
UK production company Purple Rage Productions are in the final stages of compiling a horror documentary entitled Asesembly of Rogues. This will feature conversations with many of the leading names in UK horror (Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clark, Mark Morris) as well as some of the new up and coming UK horror writers (including Paul Kane, Paul Finch and Tim Lebbon). It should be released early in 2004. See their website at http://www.purplerage.co.uk/. More details to follow.
Mike Resnick's short story "Robots Don't Cry" has been made into a movie called Rose and Rhododendrum by a Californian film student. The director is hoping to show the film at the 2004 WorldCon.
Film rights for James Herbert's Nobody True have been optioned by Stone Village Productions.
Publisher News:
Stealth Press is now official no more. Launched in November 2000 as a mainly sf/f/h publishing house (they also published some thrillers), the remains have been put up for sale by the investors who felt they were not making a sufficient return on their investment.
Dorchester Publishing is to launch a new trade papeerback fantasy imprint, launching in September 2004 with Brady Richards's The Adventures of Charley Tooth. They are currently accepting fantasy submissions (although not fantays romance) and these should be sent to Senior Editor Christopher Kesslar at Dorchester Publishing, 200 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10016, USA.
See also the guidelines page of their website at http://www.dorchesterpub.com/guidelines_01.htm
Two divisions of Random House (the Knopf Group and the Doubleday Broadway Group) have announced their launching of a joint mass market paperback line in 2005. Announced titles include THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown. This line is initially intended to publish one title each month.
Magazine News:
UK sf fiction magazine Interzone has now officially changed to being a bimonthly publication, following recent double issues. This leaves the field without a monthly sf fiction magazine as F&SF, Analog, Asimov's all now produce less than 12 issues each year.
Stories Sold:
Details of all short story sales we've heard of recently...here.
Book Deals:
Details of all short story sales we've heard of recently...here.
Market News:
Details of all open markets we've heard of recently...here.
Award News:
2003 British Fantasy Awards Winners Announced. Click here for details.
The voting process for the 2003 Sapphire Awards is beginning. The announcement and call to vote for the 1500 eligible members is underway. For details goto http://www.sfronline.com/sapphires2003.htm.
L. Sprague de Camp was recently awarded the SESFA 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award, Speaks the Nightbird by Robert R. McCammon was Best Novel of 2002, "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Andy Duncan was Best Short Story of 2002.
Author Interviews:
Kimberly Chapman (f)
E.D. Detetcheverrie (sf)
S.M. Stirling (sf)
Queenie Tirone (h)
This Month's Serial Fiction:
John Grant - The Dragons of Manhattan (f - part one of six)
Karen Koehler - Sins of the Father (h - part one of five)
This Month's Short Fiction:
John Grant - History Book (f)
Shawn P. Madison - A Dark and Cold Night (h)
Scott Nicholson - Thirst
William I. Lengeman III - Shounin
This Month's Sample Chapters:
Rob Grant's Incompetence (sf/com)
Brandon Massey's Dark Corner (h)
E.F. Watkins's Dance with the Dragon (h)
Competition:
Anyone want a free copy of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Night Watch in paperback. All you need to is email me the answer to the followign question:
What was the first Discworld Novel?Email to methos@eternalnight.co.uk before January 15th 2004.
Obituary:
Marguerite Bradbury, wife of sf/h writer Ray Bradbury died November 25. Maguerite and Ray married on September 27, 1947 and had four children.
French author Pierre Pairault, who wrote science fiction under the name Stefan Wul, died November 26, 2003 aged 81 years. Only one of his books was translated into English (1957's Le Temple du Passe released as The Temple of the Past in 1973 by Seabury Press). He was a popular figure on the French SF scene.
Mark Richard Siegel died unexpectedly on November 12, 2003. He was 54. He wrote books on literature and true crime in addition to his sf output. He was the author of novel Echo and Narcissus, a biography of James Tiptree Jr. and many short soties.
Books Delivered:
Steven Erikson has delivered three books to PS Publishing - THE HEALTHY DEAD, the much-awaited sequel to BLOOD FOLLOWS; a science fiction short novel entitled THE DEVIL DELIVERED; and a wonderfully bizarre urban fantasy tall tale entitled FISHIN' WITH GRANDMA MATCHIE.
Co-editors Jane Frank and Mike Ashley, have turned in THE WANDERING SOUL, a compendium of unpublished and obscure works by the great William Hope Hodgson.
Weblogs/Writer's Blog:
Presenting the Weblogs we host - UK fantasy author Jessica Rydill's writer's blog and my own weblog
Jessica Rydill's Writer's Blog
My own Weblog
Author Resource:
I've come across a site listing fantasy authors. There diesn't seem to be a catch with it at the moment so I thought it worthy of listing. It's called Fantasy Author Yellow Pages and you can find it at http://www.fantasyauthoryellowpages.com/. Not many people on it at the moment but I'm sure something like this will only grow.
also here's what looks like a really good site for researching myths, folklore and legends. It's called Encyclopedia Mythica and can be found at http://www.pantheon.org/.
New Reviews Added:
Lois McMaster Bujold's Diplomatic Immunity (sf)
Elaine Corvidae's Wolfkin (h)
Rob Grant's Colony (sf/com)
Marcus Herniman's The Fall of Lautun (f)
Scott Nicholson's The Harvest (h)
Nick Pollotta and James Clay's That Darn Squid God (f/com)
Lucius Shepard's Floater (h/lit)
Liz Williams's Empire of Bones (sf)
New Bibliographies Added
Jennifer Armstrong Main Bibliography (sf/ya)
Bard's Tale Series Bibliography (f)
Nancy Butcher Main Bibliography (sf/ya)
Linda Evans Main Bibliography (sf)
Christine Feehan Main Bibliography (para rom)
Sarah A. Hoyt Main Bibliography (f)
Davin Ireland Short Story Listing (h)
The SERRAted Edge Series Bibliography (f)
Laura Resnick Main Bibliography (f)
Mark Shepherd Main Bibliography (f)
Martin Sketchley Main Bibliography (sf)
Lisa Tate Main Bibliography
Lavie Tidhar Short Story Listing (sf)
Lars Walker Main Bibliography (f)
Cecilia Wennerström Main Bibliography (f)
John C. Wright Main Bibliography (sf)
Updated Bibliographies
New Links Added
Books Received
Kimberly Chapman - Sorrows of Adoration (NovelBooks, Inc)
David Farland - The Lair of Bones (Earthlight (Simon & Schuster))
John Grant - The Hundredfold Problem (Bewrite Books)
John Grant & David Langford - Earthdoom (Bewrite Books)
Hertzan Chimera - Spidered Web (Hertzan Chimera Interviews) (Cyber-Pulp)
Barry Ireland - Zolin - A Rockin' Good Wizard (Bewrite Books)
Mercedes Lackey - The Fairy Godmother (Luna Books)
Terri Pine, Peter Lee & Andrew Muller - Chill (Bewrite Books)
Martin Sketchley - The Affinity Trap (Simon & Schuster)
Lisa Tate - Short Quirky Tales (Twilight Times Books)
C.S. Thompson - A Season of Strange Dreams (Bewrite Books)
Cecilia Wennerström - Saga of Rim (Twilight Times Books)