Antique black silk top hat. Image by Marion DeedsSFWA announced the 2023 Nebula winners on Sunday. R.F Kuang took home Best Novel for Babel; C.L. Polk’s Even Though I Knew the End won for Best Novella; Jon Chu won the Best Novelette award for “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You.” “Rabbit Test,” by Samantha Mills, won for Best Short Story.

I think I’ve posted about the origin of the word “blurb” before, but LitHub’s article is so engaging I’m including it here.

You know what I was not remotely interested in? The coronation of King Charles the Third. You know what Connie Willis managed to make really interesting? The coronation of King Charles the Third.

This Tor.com excerpt is several months old, but horror and humor fans, as well as anyone who loves Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey will enjoy this passage from The Dead Take the A-Train, due out in October. You might like this excerpt from Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Library of Broken Worlds.

Writers and spouses of any gender will understand and appreciate this column by Tim Dowling, in the U.K. Guardian.

Publishers Weekly shares an interview with N.D. Jones, author of Bearly Gold, the YA dystopian retelling of Goldilocks and Three Bears.

Adrift, by Lisa Brideau, has an interesting take on the amnesia plot, but in her column on Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog, she introduces an amazing story and an amazing amount of research information on the condition. Wow!

So very much is wrong with Fox’s new unscripted TV show about people pretending to be on Mars, and yet… And yet. I mean, I won’t watch it, but I love the article.

Archer gets ready to premiere its 14th and final season. Wait. Archer’s still on?

The information is basic, but SyfyWire’s article on the life-giving power of the sun (in life and literature apparently) is pretty fun.

Were you wondering, “Why a top hat?” Last week I went on a tour of hat manufactory. In addition to hats, I stumbled across two strange new-to-me words; Conformitor and Formillion. These were two hat-fitting devices that worked together to create a perfect custom fit of hat to head. After I stopped snickering at “conformitor,” I decided I needed to know more, and so do you! Here’s a great article, complete with pictures.

Here’s a long and fascinating article about food-specifically, military food. And I think a “ghost kitchen” is a good premise for a science fiction story.

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.