WWWednesday: October 28, 2020

Cover, Lovecraft Country, by Matt Ruff

Obituary:

He may not be known to many of you. Richard Lupoff, New Wave writer and later a comic writer, passed away earlier this week. Lupoff won a Hugo in 1963 and was a Nebula finalist in 1977. In the 2000s, he was best known for his work with his wife Pat Lupoff in the comics genre. He hosted a radio show on Berkeley, California’s KPFA. Personally, Lupoff was someone who had encouraging words for emerging writers and was a source of inspiration for many of us. Author Marta Randall calls him “one of the good ones.”

Books and Writing:

MacMillan is shuttering one of its imprints, a children’s book line called Imprint.

It’s not directly writing related, but she’s a writer, so. Mary Robinette Kowal introduces her latest feline companion to the world.

Marie Brennan writes about the cultural context of gift-giving.

Peter Clines has strong feelings and useful thoughts about the “twist” ending versus flat out cheating.

Cover, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, and Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno Garcia top Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 SFF list this week.

LitHub has this nice article about something we already knew.

Awards:

The British Fantasy Awards finalists have been announced and contenders for best fantasy novel include Alix E Harrow, Jen Williams, RJ Barker and Helen Marshall. The winners will be announced “in due course” according to the BFA website.

Neil Gaiman was awarded the 2020 Forest Ackerman Award.

I hadn’t heard of the Diagram Prize, and now I think I’ll watch for it every year. The Oddest Title? And these six finalists fit that description perfectly.

The Internet:

Alien, live on our stage! Yes, read (and then watch) how an amateur theatrical group of British bus drivers tried to do the movie Alien as a stage play—for real—and ended up with a runaway comedy hit.

Thanks to File 770 for this lovely video of how the Charles bridge in Prague was constructed. Almost exactly 3 minutes long.

Did you know about cuscuses? I didn’t, but they may have been the first domesticated non-human mammal.

TV, Movies and Streaming:

The Mary Sue did not love the latest version of The Witches.

Rachel Leishman, another Mary Sue columnist, tries to persuade Hollywood not to send the latest, languishing James Bond film, No Time to Die, straight to streaming. She makes some great points.

The new Batwoman, Javicia Leslie, in her suit.

Atlas Obscura, of all places, has this article about HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and the malignant racist history it portrays, through a discussion of Leti’s haunted house.