DWJ on her own life and writing. Includes reminiscences of Tolkien.

Being an Irish reader of sf and fantasy. "The product of one of history's many intertidal zones, I love a literature to which I'm largely invisible."

From the January 2012 Nevil Shute newsletter.

Long thoughtful piece on "A Scandal in Belgravia".

Forecasts from 1900.

Had not heard of this show. Fascinating.

Superb.

includes pics of Arthur C Clarke aged 20 but looking 10.

An excellent collection!

"He killed himself when an ignorant and uncouth judge gave him the choice of a prison sentence or chemical castration; and I was overwhelmed by fury at the salacious, gloating humiliation imposed on my friend, and by a sense of guilt that I did not, could not, help him"

Re the proposed 1945 US land invasion of Japan: "The Military was so certain things were about to go very badly for U.S. soldiers that 500,000 Purple Hearts were made in preparation, a number so large that the medals have been used to supply every single war since, including Korea, Vietnam, Iraq I and Iraq II, with about 100,000 still left ov…

"The diary begins when Stoker was in his early 20s in 1871. He had graduated from Trinity College in Ireland and was working at Dublin Castle. It details how he read about Vlad the Impaler, who was the inspiration for Count Dracula. The journal details his travels, which were extensive, and reveals numerous story ideas for other books. "

Paul Kincaid on how awards go wrong.

Adam Roberts on why it matters when awards go to bad books.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was published.

Can't wait!

Howe resigns.

Centenary of the writer of The Third Policeman

Steve Jones has harsh words for the British Fantasy Awards.

Jo Walton re-reads "A Wizard of Earthsea".

The great Finnish epic.

"I’ve learned that I still love Dune despite everything, and that the alien sex really is the only bit worth remembering from The Gods Themselves."

Good overview of latest Orson Scott Card controversy #fb

(1) She's not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued... (2) Ripley isn't a fantasy version of a woman... (3) The character is strong enough to survive multiple screenwriters... (4) Ripley was lucky enough to be played by Sigourney Weaver.

Looking mainly at Doctor Who and Star Trek.

speaking at the Edinburgh international book festival, AS Byatt has declared Terry Pratchett her hero, for having "caused more people to read books than anyone else – because he tells them something they want to know, that they can laugh at, and because he writes really good English".

I really do not want my teenage sons unconsciously absorbing notions of male privilege and entitlement in stories where a woman’s importance is always defined by who she might choose to sleep with, or better yet, save her precious virginity for. Where women who transgress male authority are invariably punished by supposedly indifferent twists of f…

"So, not without a few tears, I threw away some twenty thousand words of perfectly good copy about the Sri Lankan civil war..."

A true story of real-life Harry Potter fan-fic.