On Writing: Cold and Dead
I don’t believe in literary trend tracking. I never have. Largely, the reason why is I’m a contrarian. If hordes of people are headed one direction, I’m very likely to push against the flow — particularly if the flow is overwhelming. More often than not, I’ve found that doing so has been helpful. It keeps me ahead of the game, as it were. I simply don’t trust fads, and I certainly don’t trust mobs. In large groups, people tend to think less of the consequences of what is happening. I want to think. I want to make my own decisions. I’m not interested in doing something just because it’s fashionable. Plus, I’ve been around long enough to know that the moment when everyone is doing it is the moment one should flee the scene. The pattern is as old as humanity. Look up the Dutch Tulip Bubble of 1637 if you don’t believe me. That’s why whenever a newbie writer asks me if they should follow trends, I tell them not to bother. They’re bullshit. Understand that by the time you finish
The Sound of Thunder (On Young Adult SF/F)
This weekend is the Austin Teen Book Festival. I’m excited about attending — not only because a number of the authors making an appearance at the festival share the same literary agency I do and our agency is a pretty tight little community on its own, but because I find YA inspiring and energizing. Also? My next series may be categorized as YA.[1] [listens for the groans] There are reasons for this. I worked at BookPeople in the Teen Book section for six years. Therefore, I have a background in Teen Fiction. My agency specializes in younger fiction (YA, picture books and mid-grade.) But the biggest reason why is because… that’s where it’s all happening. It’s where the LIFE of SF and F is these days. It’s where all the really cool ideas are encouraged and welcomed and nurtured, and where, by the Gods, authors are even paid for their work. Adult SF and F seems to be dying. Here’s where I type “Don’t Panic” in small friendly letters. DON’T PANIC. Or wait… maybe you should. Let’s think about this. The adult markets have been
Announcement: The World SF Tour Begins in 2014 (Here We Come!)
(Note: if you’re just arriving to this post, you can find episodes for the World SF Tour under the Interviews tab; additionally, posts and other materials will be listed under the World SF Tour label.) For those who hung out with us over the course of this year’s Worldcon, you’ll have heard us talk about our 2014 schedule or seen our magic “We’re All About World SF in 2014” super special t-shirts (pics coming soon). But all of you at home missed the big announcement: The Skiffy and Fanty Show is proud to announced our 2014 World SF Tour. What does this mean? One of the things we care a great deal about on this show is diversity in SF/F. But we’re all based in the U.S., which means it is easy for the show to get stuck on what’s going on here. Since 2014 is the same year of the World Cup (Brazil!), a huge international competition, we decided to celebrate SF/F from all over the world at the same time. The World SF Tour will consist of discussions about World SF, the SF/F literary traditions in non-U.S. spaces, and related topics, along with interviews with SF/F authors from as many places as we can fit on a single season of the show. So far, we know we’re going to talk to South African, Japanese, Irish, Canadian, and Israeli authors, critics, translators, and publishers. That list of countries will get much longer (we’re working on authors and fans from the Middle East, Central and South America, other parts of the African continent, the Caribbean, and so much more)! How can you help? Share this news with the community. The biggest challenge will be reaching writers, editors, translators, and fans from other parts of the world. Let’s face it: the Earth is actually quite a big place, with over two hundred individual countries and more languages than we can count on our figures. So if you know somebody from Nigeria, South Korea, New Zealand, Qatar, American Samoa, etc. (or someone who knows a lot about the SF/F in X country), let them know about what we’re doing! Authors, publishers, editors, filmmakers, and translators from all over the world should contact us at skiffyandfanty[at]gmail[dot]com and tell us about yourself. Do you have a book coming out next year? A movie? Do you work with translators to or from a language? Contact us! We’re going to try to cover as many topics, peoples, and countries as we can, but we can’t do that without people to talk to! So that’s the big announcement. Long live World SF! ————————————————————- Note: We’ll still have American guests; when we say “the world,” we mean “the world” and not some essentialized version where there’s the “United States” and “Everyone Else.” The U.S. isn’t the center of the universe, so a true World SF tour has to acknowledge the contributions of writers from as many places as we can possibly fit in a year.
162. Worldcon Walk-by Session #1: Keffy Kehrli, Rachael Acks, Michael J. Martinez, Karen Burnham, & Kyell Gold
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode162WorldconWalkbySession1/SandF%20–%20Episode%20162%20–%20Worldcon%20Walkby%20Session%20%231.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWSFS, geekery, and Worldcon ninjas, oh my! In our first ever Worldcon walk-by recording session, a whole host of wonderful folks came by to talk to us about the WSFS meetings, our perceptions of Worldcon (the first days), movie remakes, SF nostalgia, and much more. Thanks for everyone who dropped by! You all rocked! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 162 — Download (MP3) Intro and Discussion (0:00 – 54:59) Rachael Acks’ Page Rachael’s posts on the WSFS meetings can be found here. Rachael Acks’ Twitter Karen Burnham’s Page Karen Burnham’s Twitter SF Crossing the Gulf Keffy Kehrli’s Page Keffy Kehrli’s Twitter Kyell Gold’s Page Kyell Gold’s Twitter Michael J. Martinez’ Page Michael J. Martinez’ Twitter Supernatural (IMDB) Buffy (IMDB) Eerie, Indiana (IMDB) Carrie (2013) (IMDB) John Kessel’s Essay on Ender’s Game Ender’s Game (Wiki) You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible. Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
160. Ruth Frances Long (a.k.a. The Fairy Queen) — The Treachery of Beautiful Things (An Interview)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode160AnInterviewWRuthFrancesLong/SandF%20–%20Episode%20160%20–%20An%20Interview%20w%20Ruth%20Frances%20Long.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSFairies, vampiric redcaps, and mythology, oh my! This week, author Ruth Frances Long joins Shaun Duke and Julia Rios to talk about her new book, The Treachery of Beautiful Things. We cover myths and folklore, the world of the fae, narrative, traditions, and much more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 160 — Download (MP3) Intro and Discussion (0:00 – 1:12:38) Ruth’s Website Check out Ruth’s books! They’re awesome! You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible. Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
134. Hugo Nominations w/ Adam Callaway (A Discussion)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode134HugoNominationsWAdamCallaway/SandF%20–%20Episode%20134%20–%20Hugo%20Nominations%20w%20Adam%20Callaway.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSAdam Callaway returns to discuss nominations for the Hugos. Do we need a more elaborate explanation than that? Nope. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 133 — Download (MP3) Intro and Discussion (0:00 – 55:23) The Hugos You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible. Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
