Welcome To The Desert Of The Real

We'd like to congratulate Nancy Kress, who's been awarded the Nebula for her novella "Fountains of Age"!

Here's what we're planning to discuss in upcoming meetings:

• Gender, Power and Superpowers (June 3): How have superpowers changed with our society? Wonder Woman not only had to save the world, but make sure that her man got the credit for it. Things are completely different now, with Rogue and other strong female characters — or are they? In the Incredibles, why couldn't the Mom get the muscles and the Dad be super-accomodating? Is there a difference between superpowers and magic powers? Is Superman TOO super to be believed?
• Stay tuned -- in coming months we'll be discussing speculative art, science fiction / speculative fiction and drama, what it's like to write for big TV science fiction shows (like, oh, I don't know, ST:TNG), and graphical storytelling (anime, manga, and graphic novels). We're talking about what kinds of cutting edge technology will be most important in our new future. And our meetings are a great place to get the latest scuttlebutt on progress toward publication of our North Shore: 2034 speculative fiction anthology!

I'm pleased to congratulate Nancy Kress (and, well, everyone else, of course, but I don't know them) who's just been awarded the Nebula for her novella "Fountain of Age." Michael Chabon (who actually showed up) took home the award for Best Novel (for The Yiddish Policeman's Union).

Gawkermedia's io9 has a rundown on the awards with links to some upcoming work and related matter (including a brief account of dinner with Michael Moorcock, who was not wearing a cape at the time). Read more...

A Call for Submissions—The North Shore: 2034

Please note: We are now closed for submissions. Check back here for news, or see our FAQ page!

In 1808, a single mill on the banks of the Genesee River ground flour for a handful of settlers. A bare few years later that tranquility was shattered when the Erie Canal brought in the world, and a sprawl of 1300 homes along both banks became America's first boomtown. Water and power, industry and creativity metamorphosed a swampy village into a powerhouse that incorporated as the City of Rochester in 1834.

Today, in 2008, the year 2034 beckons as another milestone. That future is near enough that most people alive today will be able to greet Rochester's Bicentennial, yet far enough that changes may stagger our perceptions of community, culture, technology, and perhaps the very essence of what it means to be human.

Rochester, the Greater Rochester area, Western New York, the Great Lakes, the world, will be different, transformed, perhaps unrecognizable. Show us how.

The Rochester Speculative Literature Association (R-SPEC) invites your most inspired visions of Rochester's tomorrow for an anthology of speculative literature to be published in Fall 2008.

Preliminary Nebula Award nominations have been announced, and our own Nancy Kress has been honored with two: One for her novella Fountain of Age, and a second for her novellette "Safeguard", both originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction.

Asimov's has four stories on the Preliminary Ballot this year: One novella (Nancy's), three novelettes, and a short story. As usual, they have made the full text of nominated stories available online, free of charge. Most Nebula nominated stories are made available in full to SFWA members, and many of the short works are available to non-members from the preliminary nominations page.

Craig DeLancey's short story "Amor Vincit Omnia" is heading out to subscribers now in the April issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. (Alas, Analog's website is stuck on the March issue as I write.)

This is Craig's second sale to Analog.