SparklerOne commenter chosen at random will get the paperback ARC of Nancy Jane Moore’s For the Good of the Realm.

Did I mention I’ll be on The Story Hour tonight? Oh, I did? Well, let me mention it again. It’s tonight, July 7, at 7 pm Pacific Daylight Time… or you’ll be able to find the recording through the site.

Dream Foundry is offering a speculative fiction contest.

Here’s an update on Hugh Howey’s self-published contest, which is modeled on the Self-Published Blog Off, still going strong at six years.

In the wake of Bill Lawhorn’s departure, Mary Robinette Kowal has accepted the role of Con Committee Chair of WorldCon. John Scalzi took to his blog to help manage expectations.

Interesting article on WorldCons in the 1950s and Jim Crow laws. (Thanks to File770.)

Cat Rambo shares six books with Nerds of a Feather.

Exiles of Tabat.

“Helicopter Story” by Isabel Fall, has been nominated for a Hugo, but when published by Clarkesworld under its original title, “I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter,” it and the author were excoriated. Vox.com took a deep, thoughtful and analytical look at the scandal and the damage left in its wake.

While a “ghost kitchen” wasn’t what I’d hoped it was, it’s still a pretty interesting model; one that’s going to stick around, I think.

Jennifer Laughran, Senior Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, answers a question from a writer about why agents don’t get back to people. It’s interesting, if nothing really new. The one thing that surprised me and should not have, because of course it’s obvious, is that during the pandemic agents, like everyone else, had trouble concentrating enough to read.

Lithub shares new SFF releases for July. I’m pretty sure Appleseed is a new edition. And The Final Girl Support Group sounds a bit like We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory, but it might be interesting.

At Gizmodo, Chris McKay, director of The Tomorrow War, shares what he hopes viewers will get out of it. The Tomorrow War is available on Amazon.

With this week’s holiday, many people in the USA searched for the perfect hotdog. Atlas Obscura can help with that.

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.

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