Author: sdramsey

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SF Canada Awards $1000 to Tanya Huff

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JLTrudelTSHuff2013AJean-Louis Trudel presents Tanya Huff with a ceremonial cheque.
(Photo by Jonathan Crowe)

The Aurora Award for Best Novel, accompanied by the SF Canada Award of $1000, was given to Tanya Huff in Ottawa on October 6, 2013 for her fantasy novel The Silvered, published by DAW Books. Born in Nova Scotia but now living in rural Ontario with her wife Fiona Patton, Tanya Huff is one of Canada’s most important and best loved fantasy authors. Since her first professional sale to Amazing Stories in 1985, she has published over thirty books and a number of short stories. Her “Blood Books” series was adapted as the television series Blood Ties in 2007. Her award-winning novel features magicians and shapeshifting werewolves united against a steampunk empire, and has been well received by readers and critics alike.

The 2013 Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature played host to the 33rd national Canadian convention of science fiction and fantasy, also known as Canvention. Ten other Aurora Awards were announced. The fantasy adventure Under My Skin (in the “Wildlings” series) by Charles de Lint won the Aurora Award for Best YA Novel. Published in On Spec, the fantasy tale “The Walker of the Shifting Borderland” by Douglas Smith won the award for best short fiction. David Clink’s poem “A sea monster tells his story” in The Literary Review of Canada won for Best Poem or Song. The webcomic Weregeek by Alina Pete won the Aurora for best graphic novel while the award for best related work went to the anthology Blood and Water edited by Hayden Trenholm for Bundoran Press. Finally, Erik Mohr received the Aurora Award for Best Artist, honouring his covers for ChiZine Publications. The remaining Aurora Awards went to fans contributing to the speculative fiction community across Canada, and the Aurora-Boréal awards for works in French were given out earlier this year in Montreal.

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Nina Munteanu Teaching Science Fiction Writing at George Brown College This Fall

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George Brown CollegeThis fall Nina Munteanu will be teaching a course on how to write science fiction at George Brown College in Toronto.

The 12 week course that starts on Wednesday September 18th (6:15 to 9:15 pm) through to December 4th 2013 will focus on writing science fiction toward publication.

The Course will explore the essential tools used in the genre, including:

  • world building
  • premise and story promise
  • storyboarding
  • plot approaches
  • research
  • ideas
  • theme
  • language and style
  • promotion and marketing

The downtown George Brown campus is located on King Street in the heart of downtown Toronto.

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Third Person Press Launches Indiegogo Campaign

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Grey Area front cover July112013Third Person Press, a small, independent press based on Cape Breton Island, NS, has recently launched an Indiegogo campaign in support of its upcoming release, Grey Area: 13 Ghost Stories. SFC member Sherry D. Ramsey is one-third of the press’s editorial staff, and explains the signficiance of the campaign:

The benefit of crowd-funding platforms, like Indiegogo campaigns, is that they provide up-front funding so that small, independent creators can avoid heavy debt loads and reliance on funding avenues that may dry up in the future.

Third Person Press’s mission is to find, nurture, publish, promote and pay regional writers of speculative fiction. We think we’re filling a niche in a way that lets new and established voices share their stories with a wider audience.

The Grey Area campaign includes perks such as laminated bookmarks, spooky post cards (“ghost cards”), print and/or ebook copies of Grey Area and the other titles from Third Person Press, limited-edition handmade jewelry, and original artwork. Special rewards for writers include online writing courses, editing services, and cover art. All perks are transferable; supporters can double their good karma by donating and giving the perks to someone else as a gift. Everyone will receive an acknowledgement of thanks with their name listed on the Third Person Press website and Facebook page as well as having the satisfaction of having encouraged and literally supported regional SFF writers.

The campaign runs until September 15th. All the details and the campaign video are on the main page here: http://igg.me/at/grey-area/x/1156437

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Ether Frolics reviewed in The Winnipeg Review

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etherfrolicscover

 

The latest review of the short story collection Ether Frolics:

“…what Marlowe has written is a creation well worth the read, revealing a major Canadian talent.” – Chadwick Ginther, The Winnipeg Review

The full review is on-line at the Winnipeg Review link above.

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Ether Frolics Shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award

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etherfrolicscoverPaul Marlowe’s latest news (aside from joining SF Canada) is that his short story collection Ether Frolics was shortlisted last month for the 16th annual Danuta Gleed Literary Award, which recognizes the best debut English-language collection of short fiction by a Canadian author.

http://www.writersunion.ca/news/short-list-announced-2012-danuta-gleed-literary-award

“Marlowe offers a neatly controlled yet artfully wild and original sense of the bizarre and otherworldly. A unique collection that deserves readers.” – Danuta Gleed Literary Award Jury

The collection was also reviewed recently:

“Marlowe’s stories are detailed, quirky, with a good sense of humour, but not without some dark, deft touches of horror…” – Craig Pinhey, Telegraph-Journal

Arts East has an interview regarding Ether Frolics, the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and writing, at: http://artseast.blogspot.com/2013/06/author-paul-marlowe.html

There’s more on the book & author at: http://www.paulmarlowe.com