Wednesday News: Hugo Awards, SF-medical database, terrorism depresses Paris book sales, and forgettable(?) board games ever
Publishing Newsboard games / bookstores / Hugo Awards / medical humanities / Paris / SFF / terrorism7 Comments
Sexist Trolls Tried to Derail the 2016 Hugo Awards. They Failed. – So instead of trying to ruin the actual Hugo Awards ceremony this year, the Puppies took aim at the World Science Fiction Convention, complete with David Truesdale clutching a set of fake pearls on behalf of the “‘special snowflakes’ [who] were ruining science fiction.” In the end, though, just like the Nebula Awards, the Hugo Awards were dominated by women.
The Hugo Award ceremony itself was less dramatic than last year’s. Only two categories consisting entirely of Puppy slate nominees were voted No Award. Every one of the main fiction awards was given to women. Best Novel: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. Best Novella: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. Best Novelette: “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang (translated by Ken Liu). Best Short Story: “Cat Pictures Please” by Naomi Kritzer.
The stage was full of women. Women of color, queer women, astronaut women, women of different sizes. They were there because science fiction fans voted to put them there. Because they write fantastic stories. – The Stranger
Help Build a New Database of Science Fiction Works That Deal With Medical Themes – Through a new project at the University of Glasgow, Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities, researchers are hoping to expand the cross-contemplation of SFF fiction and criticism with medical research, teaching, and practice. From looking at how language is used to diagnose and describe to influencing the training that nurses and physicians receive, the project’s goals depend in part on “crowdsourcing” a database of medical science fiction media:
To make this project as successful as it can be we’re asking for help from the whole science fiction community. We’re building a database of science fiction novels, short stories, films, and television shows that deal with medical issues and we’ve opened it up to contributors so that we can crowdsource as complete a list as possible. In the future we hope that this database will be used as a resource for academics to find information about medical science fiction texts, but hopefully it’ll also be an inspiration to non-academics, a place where anyone can come to see the ways that science fiction has tested the boundaries of medical technology and medical ethics. It will hopefully add to a conversation that has to include us all since the field of medicine is the place where we come most intimately into contact with the future and its technologies. – i09
Paris bookshops battle sales drop after terrorist attacks – Although French publishers are not taking a hit, brick and mortar English language bookstores in Paris are experiencing a noticeable drop in sales, which even bookstores that do most of their business online are not seeing.
English language bookshops in Paris are battling to offset declining sales after a marked drop in tourism to the city following the spate of terrorist attacks.
Visitors to Paris are significantly down this summer following last year’s Charlie Hebdo shootings and the Bataclan attack and last month’s assault in Nice on Bastille Day.
Hotel occupation is down 12% in June 2016 in comparison to the same month the year before, according to MKG Hospitality, and flight arrivals to Paris in July down 10% in comparison to a year earlier, according to travel data tracker ForwardKeys. French officials estimate that a drop in tourism has cost the Paris region €750m (£644m), with Japanese visitors down 46.2% in the first half of the year in comparison to 2015, Russian visitors down 35%, and Chinese tourists down 19.6%. – The Bookseller
14 Justifiably Forgotten Milton Bradley Board Games – It’s difficult to pick a favorite here, but it just may be the “classic Australian game” Squatter:
Some board games turn up the tension so high you practically sweat through your clothes.Squatter, an Australian import which brings home the high-stakes world of sheep-herding, is probably not one of them. Players take turns corralling sheep through buying and selling tactics: The first to wrangle 6000 pieces of wool-encased inventory is the winner—but land on the wrong square and your “stud ram” may fall victim to plant poisoning, plummeting the population. – Mental Floss
The Milton Bradley games article was fun; thanks for posting the link. (I’d be happy to try out that Tetris game.)
Those games are weird. I was too old, apparently, for most of them, although I do remember the Tetris game and really enjoyed it. My favorite of the group would have to be LOBBY from 1949. What could possibly go wrong with teaching kids that particular skill?
That article about the puppies is a bit incorrect and sensationalist.
I’m seeing them do stuff like nominate authors they want to support or overwhelm nominations with weird choices. (Seeing Chuck tingle getting nominated was weird. But i could respect them trying to suggest unusual authors like John Ringo and Baen library supporters)
There’s one story I have read about, where gay people get rained on if they lie. And I wish I could find it again. I thought it was one of the most oddest, magic realism centered plots I’ve ever heard of.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/24/mills-and-boon-romances-are-actually-feminist-texts-academic-says
@Nicolette A: Here you go,
http://www.tor.com/2013/02/20/the-water-that-falls-on-you-from-nowhere/
I think you forgot to mention “If you were a dinosaur, my love”- these two stories seem to come up *every time* puppies are complaining about “unworthy” works getting noticed.
While I am at it, I thought the short story which won the Hugo this year was *adorable* in the best sense. Definitely recommend it and it is free too.
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/
If you are interested in science fiction and diversity, this small press is putting out collections of short stories for middle grade (ages 9 to 12) readers focusing on diversity. They have a Kickstarter going for the third edition:
Science Fiction anthology for middle grade readers. Bring the stars to a new generation with diversity, representation & great stories!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/815743020/2017-young-explorers-adventure-guide
Dreaming Robot Press publishes science fiction and fantasy novels for a Young Adult and Middle Grade audience.
We believe stories shape our reality.
We believe this is especially important for stories that we are exposed to growing up.
We believe novels can be excellent in both their stories and in the effects they have.
In order to ensure that all children can find models to identify with, we’re committed to publishing stories about a diverse range of characters and situations.
http://dreamingrobotpress.com/