WWWednesday: July 31, 2019

Awards:

Stephen Pastis was awarded the Reuben Cartoonist of the Year Award. (Thanks to File 770.)

The World Fantasy Award finalists are announced.

Earth’s moon. image by NASA

Cons:

Locus has a report on May’s SFWA Nebula weekend.

2021 WorldCon site voting has opened.

Books and Writing:

Reviews of J. Michael Straczynski’s memoir Becoming Superman are plentiful right now. This one is by Cory Doctorow. (Straczynski’s title may see grandiose, but given the historical background of the creators of Superman, and Straczynski’s own history, it’s appropriate.) It doesn’t sound like a fun read, but definitely a compelling one. (Warning; the review deals bluntly with child physical and sexual abuse and incest.)

300 boxes of documents from Granta since the 1970s were delivered to the British Library. In addition to issues from the magazine’s reboot in 1979, there is correspondence from Margaret Atwood and Kingsley Amis among others.

As we usher out July, Locus provides a snapshot of new releases to anticipate.

Jamie Fiocco, who runs Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the new president of the American Booksellers Association. On her To-Do list; find and hire a new CEO for the organization, reach out to newer, younger booksellers and set up a mentoring program for new booksellers.

“Aluminum Leaves,” a novella by me, is now available from Amazon, and will be available on Kindle tomorrow.

New comic book releases for August include Green Lantern, Batman, Justice League and The Hulk.

Movies and TV:

The re-make of Jacob’s Ladder, a trippy psychological thriller from 1990, will feature Nicole Beharie, who got abruptly written out of Sleepy Hollow a few years ago, shortly before the show was cancelled.

Earthrise. Image from NASA

Internet:

The Bronx city council is voting to name a street in its city after Stan Lee.

Dear Netflix, Amazon and Hulu and, for that matter, AMC, FXX and BBC America; looking for your next wild, character-driven series? Read this article from Black Girl Nerds about Stagecoach Mary. She is awesome, and so is the supporting character of Sister Amadeus. You’re welcome.

This one’s interesting; kind of a museum-exhibit hotel, a time capsule of a more self-indulgent time. It seems like it’s not completely successful.

Thank you William Dampier, for introducing words like “chopsticks” and “barbecue” into English, and writing down what is probably the first recipe for guacamole. Dampier might not have been a great pirate, but he was an excellent memoirist and a first-rate food-writer! I can even forgive his glee over noshing on manatee and penguins.

Space:

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has identified a trio of new exoplanets about 73 light years from our solar system.

Earth:

Smithsonian Magazine had this interesting article about Melville and his home town.