ConQuestKC

Submitted by Meagan Kane on Sat, 05/11/2013 - 16:52

ConQuest, Kansas City's annual Science Fiction convention, is in just a couple of weeks! The con runs from May 24th to May 26th, and Mackenzie and I will both be there, along with the CSSF Director Chris McKitterick.

If you're in the KC area, check it out. If you're already attending, be sure to look for us! COnQuest also holds a Charity Auction every year, the proceeds of which directly benefit AboutSF.

See you there!

New temporary logo!

Submitted by Meagan Kane on Fri, 05/03/2013 - 14:56

In anticipation of updating our website and print materials, we have requisitioned an official logo. In the meantime, here is our new, temporary, logo:

Looking Up: Robert Arn's Nightscape Photography Merges Science and Science Fiction

Submitted by Mackenzie on Fri, 04/19/2013 - 13:42

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered...who's out there? Is anyone else seeing the same sights in the same way? How tiny and insignificant must we be compared to the vastness of space?

Of course you have! Likely, you read SF to answer these questions or write SF to evoke these questions in others. As part of our impending site redesign, AboutSF has teamed up with astrophotographer Robert Arn to evoke this sense of wonder on our own website. Read more »

Greetings from your new AboutSF Coordinators!

Submitted by Mackenzie on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 12:29

In the interest of informing those who are not on the Facebook group, the Facebook page (new!), or various other social media outlets, here's an official update.

Mackenzie VanBeest and Meagan Kane are the new co-coordinators for AboutSF. Twice the brains--twice the time--twice the arms! Also, twice the ability to think of cool new directions for AboutSF while still pursuing previous projects and goals. Read more »

WARNING: Scammers Ruin Everything (Speculative Speakers, This Is For You)

Submitted by isaacbell on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 15:08

In the "this is why we can't have nice things" department, apparently there are scammers making use of our Speculative Speakers database to send phishing email scams to the generous speakers who have volunteered to be listed.

Among other notables who have received these emails include our own Chris McKitterick and John Scalzi. If you have been targeted by these scams, please know that you have our sincerest apologies and we are discussing ways to keep this from happening again.

Here's a link to Scalzi's blog post about the issue, and if you follow us on Facebook, you'll have seen Chris' warning already. Read more »

Episodes 020 and 021 of the AboutSF Podcast: Kim Stanley Robinson!

Submitted by isaacbell on Fri, 08/10/2012 - 14:49

It's been a long, busy summer, but now we're starting to settle back into the school year. Our first offering of this semester will be another two-part interview conducted by Film & Media Studies professor John Tibbetts, this time with Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell-Award winning author, Kim Stanley Robinson.

http://aboutsf.podomatic.com/entry/2012-08-10T12_29_06-07_00 and
http://aboutsf.podomatic.com/entry/2012-08-10T12_32_41-07_00

Robinson is best known for his Mars trilogy, but he has also written many short stories and the alternate history story, The Years of Salt and Rice. His most recent series, Science in the Capital, explores global warming issues in a geopolitical sense. Read more »

The Campbell Conference!

Submitted by isaacbell on Tue, 07/10/2012 - 10:51

It has been a busy few weeks for us at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, and it will be a couple more weeks before we can take a breath.

What's been going on, you ask? Well, the annual Campbell Conference was held at the beautiful Oread Hotel in Lawrence this past weekend, and was a great time as always.

At the awards banquet, Paul McAuley won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short story for his story, "The Choice," and we had a tie for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best novel, Christopher Priest's The Islanders and Joan Slonczewski's The Highest Frontier.

Saturday morning we had a panel discussion with guests such as Andy Duncan, Sheila Finch, Sheila Williams, and Joan Slonczewski. We discussed the topics of communication and information, how story telling is changing in the modern age, and how digital distribution will affect the publishing industry.

Saturday afternoon, we had curated readings, with both Andy Duncan and Joan Slonczewski reading short stories. We had two scholarly presentations, first from Jean Asselin and Sheila Finch's articles in the premiere issue of James Gunn's Ad Astra.

Sunday morning topped off the conference with a final round table discussion by our guest authors and editors about what they are planning for the future.

Thanks to everyone who could come out, and if you weren't able to make it, keep your eyes open for next year! Read more »

Episode 019 of the AboutSF Podcast, with Robert Bloch.

Submitted by isaacbell on Fri, 06/01/2012 - 12:39

We dive back into podcasting with another classic interview, with horror and science fiction writer Robert Bloch.

http://aboutsf.podomatic.com/entry/2012-06-01T10_30_42-07_00

Film & Media Studies professor John Tibbetts donated this and many other interviews to the CSSF. This conversation with Bloch took place at the fifteenth World Fantasy Convention in 1990, which celebrated H.P. Lovecraft. Bloch was a member of the Lovecraft Circle, and was mentored by him.

Bloch is best known for writing Psycho, but he has many horror, supernatural, and science fiction stories to his credit, including "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," an episode of Star Trek, "Wolf in the Fold," and many short stories over the years. In this episode, he talks about his association with Lovecraft, working in television, and his views on the state of the industry at that time. Read more »

Countdown to Science Fiction this Summer

Submitted by isaacbell on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 11:36

It's time to start thinking about how you're going to totally geek out this summer.

Thursday, May 24 (that's tonight!) there's a book signing at Prospero's Books in Kansas City, with Eric Reynolds, M.C. Chambers, our own Chris McKitterick, and many other authors. Check out the Facebook event.

Then May 25-27 (that starts tomorrow!), there's ConQuest 43, also in Kansas City. Featured guests include Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Gardner Dozois, and Shannon Butcher. Also, Chris McKitterick will be on several panels, as well as the AboutSF Coordinator, Isaac Bell.

And in a little more than a month, we will be hosting the Campbell Conference from July 5-8. Guests include Robin Wayne Bailey, Sheila Finch, and our own Kij Johnson. Check out our awesome poster for more information.

Speaking of Kij Johnson, she has won her third Nebula Award, for Best Novella, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist." Back-to-back awards is quite the achievement, so congratulations to Kij!

And finally, for now, don't forget that the premiere issue of James Gunn's Ad Astra will be right before the Campbell Conference. We have several great stories and scholarly articles for you.

We'll see you again this summer! Read more »

Episode 018 of the AboutSF Podcast, with T.E.D. Klein, and ConQuest

Submitted by isaacbell on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 12:50

A month of podcasting comes to a close, with the latest episode of the AboutSF Podcast found here:

http://aboutsf.podomatic.com/entry/2012-04-27T10_41_03-07_00

This is yet another excellent interview that Film & Media Studies professor John Tibbetts donated to the CSSF. This conversation with T.E.D. Klein is a look at someone who helped shape the horror genre in the 1980s and a man who struggles with something common to every writer I know, writer's block.

In other news, we have two science fiction-related events coming up in May. First, SuperNerdNight returns to the Bottleneck in Lawrence on May 16, with bands The Barnes Bros. and Monzie Leo, Magic: the Gathering tournaments, board games, and AboutSF goodies table. We'll be running a Twitter story-a-thon.

Second, ConQuest is coming up on May 25-27. Guests include authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, editor Gardner Dozois, and author Shannon K. Butcher. The charity auction at ConQuest will benefit AboutSF, so come on out and help support the cause! Read more »

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