Last night at the Clarke award a nice young woman with a video camera asked me the following question:
If you could live in any science fiction universe which one would you choose?
Immediately my head was filled with places I definitely do NOT want to live such as Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn universe. I stammered out an answer about Tanith Lee’s Drinking Sapphire Wine world but that’s a worryingly hedonistic answer. So I’m throwing it open to my readers. If you could move anywhere in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, where would you like to live?
April 30, 2009
There's no place like… an SF universe
Judging the Clarke Award
Yesterday, the 29th of April, was the final judging meeting and the ceremony for the Arthur C. Clarke award. The judging meeting took all afternoon and although all details are confidential I cna confirm the chair of the judges comment that “it was a particularly intense and long shortlist meeting”. In the end the winner, chosen from the shortlist of six, was Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod.
There are two write-ups of the ceremony on the Guardian site here and here. (I’m not the judge mentioned in story two, by the way.) There’s also a write-up on Torque Control.
For me the evening was a great experience, it’s a huge honour to have been chosen as a judge and I am so grateful to the SF Foundation for having asked me to represent them. I’ve really enjoyed reading the books and re-reading the shortlist and it’s been great to discuss the titles with my fellow judges. I look forward to continuing in the role next year.
Highlights of the ceremony were getting to meet people whose names I know but who I’d not previously had the opportunity to meet including: Niall Harrison (Vector editor), Roz Kaveney (critic and author) and Cory Doctorow (SF author and technology guru). Exciting stuff!
April 27, 2009
10 current SF authors
It’s been a while since I listed ten science fiction titles. Those are still valid but I thought I’d add to them by listing ten current SF authors (people writing good work right now) who I’d recommend.
- Greg Egan, author of Permutation City, Schild’s Ladder and Quarantine and other titles
- Mary Gentle, author of Golden Witchbreed, the White Crow quartet and other titles
- Peter F. Hamilton, author of the Night’s Dawn Trilogy and other titles
- Gwyneth Jones, author of the Aleutian trilogy and other novels
- Ursula Le Guin, author of The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness, Four Ways to Forgiveness and other titles
- Rachel Pollack, author of Temporary Agency and Unquenchable Fire and other titles
- Adam Roberts, author of Stone, Salt and Gradisil and other titles
- Michael Marshall Smith, author of Only Forward, Spares and other titles, now writing horror novels under the name Michael Marshall.
- Neal Stephenson, author of The Diamond Age, The Big U and other titles
- John Scalzi, author of Old Man’s War and other titles
Please note that these are adult SF titles and as such may contain adult content including scenes of violence and/or sexual activity. Rachel Pollack is also recommended as an author of LGBT fiction – another list I should write at some point.
April 16, 2009
Ghost of a Chance
Yesterday I submitted the first completed draft of my latest novel, Ghost of a Chance, to my publishers (OUP). It comes in at just over 100,000 words but this will be reduced in the edit. I am (tentatively) pleased with it.
I have been looking back through my notes and see that I was at the same stage with Bad Blood on September 19th 2006. That seems like a long time ago, although interestingly my feelings on completion were very similar. It is a relief and a loss at once. It’s over… now on to the next book.
April 9, 2009
Judging the Clarke award
Clarke award judges
If there’s anyone left in the world who doesn’t know that I have the great honour to be a judge for the Arthur C. Clarke award in 2009, here’s a timely reminder. The judges (shown here and listed from left to right) are:
- Pauline Morgan (for SF Crowsnest.com)
- Ruth O’Reilly (for the British Science Fiction Association)
- Robert Hanks (for the Science Fiction Foundation)
- Chris Hill (for the British Science Fiction Association)
- Rhiannon Lassiter (for the Science Fiction Foundation)
The long list (which is technically a submission list) was announced in advance for the first time on the Torque Control blog.
Clarke award books
From forty-six books, the judges agreed a shortlist of six. This was also announced (on the 17th of March) on the Torque Control blog. The shortlist is:
- Anathem: Neal Stephenson – Atlantic
- House of Suns: Alastair Reynolds – Gollancz
- Martin Martin’s on the Other Side: Mark Wernham – Jonathan Cape
- Song of Time: Ian R. MacLeod – PS Publishing
- The Margarets: Sheri S. Tepper – Gollancz
- The Quiet War: Paul McAuley – Gollancz
Paul Billinger, Chair of the judges, said: “It was a long and intense meeting to decide this year’s shortlist, with passionate debate from all of the judges. Although at times it seemed almost impossible, they eventually concluded that these six books were the ones that demonstrated to them what was best about the science fiction novels published in 2008.”
That’s an accurate summary of the shortlisting meeting. I’m not allowed to talk about any details but I will say that I have found judging the Clarke award an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience. Discussing, debating and deciding with the other judges has been intellectually rigorous and genuinely enjoyable. I feel very honoured to have been asked to be a judge and to contribute to choosing the next Clarke winner. Wikipedia lists the previous winnersfrom 1987 when the award began.
The award ceremony will be on April 29th at the Apollo cinema in London.
April 2, 2009
Classic children's fiction
Another list of recommendations, this one is for authors of classic children’s fiction.
- Joan Aiken, author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, its eleven sequels, the thirteen Arabel and Mortimer titles, and other novels
- Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, its three sequels and other titles
- Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden
- Helen Cresswell, author of Ordinary Jack and nine other Bagthorpe saga titles
- Richmal Crompton, author of Just William and thrity-nine other William titles in addition to numerous unrelated works
- Lorna Hill, author of A Dream of Sadlers Wells and nineteen other ballet school titles
- Geraldine McCaughrean, author of A Pack of Lies, A Little Lower Than the Angels, Stop the Train and various other titles
- L. M. Montgomery, author of Emily of New Moon and two sequels, as well as of Anne of Green Gables and numerous sequels
- Noel Streatfeild, author of Ballet Shoes and many other titles
- Mildred D. Taylor, author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and other titles
April 1, 2009
Suffolk, Bologna and Place and Space conference, oh my!
If you were wondering why I haven’t updated recently, it’s not because I’ve been slacking off! I’ve been jetsetting (and train- and car-setting) around the place doing various events.
Suffolk Book Mastermind
On Friday the 27th of March I was a guest at the Suffolk Schools Library Service Book Mastermind Competition where I watched local students compete to be chosen book mastermind. The winner was a 14-year-old named Leanne from Sudbury Upper School. In the afternoon I and Natalie Haynes (another author and comedian) both gave talks and workshops to the attendees.
While in Suffolk I visited my friends Mo and Tracy who kindly hosted me and gavce me a chance to relax before my next event…
Because on Sunday the 29th of March I set off for Italy and the Bologna Book Fair. Bologna really deserves a whole post of its own so for now I’ll concentrate on the highlights. I went with my mother, author Mary Hoffman, who has just started a new blog and posted about the event there. (Check out The Book Maven for her Bologna post.)
Bologna Book Fair
Together we had an excellent time prowling around the four halls dedicated to publishing companies from across the word, checking out new titles and popular themes. I also met my German editor Antje Keil (from Fischer Verlag) and my Japanese editor Kyoko Kiire (from Shogakukan) and said hello to other publishing folks at the stands for my other UK and oversees publishers. I was taken out to dinner by the people at Frances Lincoln and met up with others for drinks.
After the fair my father came to join us and we went by train to Florence where we spent three days in an apartment with a glorious view of classic florentine roofs and terraces. I visited the Uffizi, roamed the city and bought gifts for colleagues at the San Lorenzo market.
San Lorenzo market
Then on Saturday the 28th of March I flew back to the UK and came racing back to Oxford to join in on the final plenary panel for the Place and Space conference with Philip Pullman, Claire Squires, Peter Hunt and Farah Mendlesohn. Our panel was on working in children’s fiction and was (at least to me) extremely interesting. Although we all had different approaches, we are more similar than we are different in our passion for books. I could say a lot more about the conference too so I will plan to say more once I can track down some pictures of the event. I know lots were taken but none with my camera.
So, now I’m back and writing away since the current book Ghost of a Chance is within a hairsbreath of completeing. The trouble is for every thousand words I write I throw half of them away! But even so I am nearing the end and able to say (cautiusly) that I think this will be a good book. I am (warily) pleased with how it’s worked out.