Neil Clarke's Blog, page 39

Sneak Peek: The Clarkesworld App for iPad

 

Coming October 1st, 2013!

Snapshot: Clarkesworld podcast downloads by country for the last six months

 

 

I find this very interesting…

 

 

Pictures of the 2013 Hugo Award

The 2013 Hugo Award base designed and made by Vincent Villafranca is one of the best I’ve seen. There don’t appear to be many detailed pictures of it online yet, so I asked Lisa if she would do a little photo shoot this afternoon:

Hanging out in the backyard.

Close-up of the front of the 2013 Hugo Award base.

Close-up of the right side of the 2013 Hugo Award base.

Close-up of the left side of the 2013 Hugo Award base.

Close-up of the back of the 2013 Hugo Award base.

So pretty, Godzilla can’t keep his hands off it.

Safely at home. The 2013 Hugo for Best Semiprozine joins it’s family members from 2010 (right) and 2011 (left).

 

A few Worldcon highlights

Just a few LoneStarCon (Worldcon) highlights:

THE PARTIES: Having a chance to sit and talk with new and old friends was so energizing that I ended up incredibly sleep-deprived by the end of con. Way too many people to name.

OUR PARTIES: We held two parties this year. Thursday night was an open party in the SFWA suite. (Did anyone get a picture of the cupcakes?) Saturday night I co-hosted a private party with Sheila Williams from Asimov’s. Someone kindly volunteered the Presidential Suite at the top of the hotel, which is a quite floor, so we billed it as an alternative to the overheated and loud parties held elsewhere that night.

THE CHESLEY AWARDS: I was honored to be asked to hand out the Chesley Award for Best Magazine cover, particularly since half of the nominees were from Clarkesworld. Ken Barthelmey won for this cover, but couldn’t be there:

 

After the ceremony, I had a nice chat with Vincent Villafranca, the artist responsible for the amazing base on this year’s Hugo Award. I must own one of his bronze robots some day.

ART SHOW: Highlight for me was seeing so much of Julie Dillon’s work in-person. I’ve only seen prints of a few of her pieces, but there were several Clarkesworld covers on display and they were incredible. Small screens don’t do them justice. Now I must own some of these too. Sadly Julie had to cancel her Worldcon trip. Was looking forward to seeing her again.

JAMES PATRICK KELLY READING: The second story Jim read is in the current issue of Clarkesworld. Kate Baker joined him up-front to read the part of the wife and by the end, the two of them had the audience in tears.

THE ELEVATOR SHOUT-OUTS: It’s still somewhat surreal to be recognized at cons, but this time we had people yelling “Go Clarkesworld” from packed elevators that passed us as we headed down to the lobby. That happened three times. Never figured out which people were responsible for that one.

WHO’S STALKING WHO?: Kevin Ikenberry and I first met on my connecting flight from Houston. Our paths crossed so often that we became (jokingly) convinced that one of us was following the other. Funny way to make new friends.

PANELS: There were some misses in this category (moderation issues), but I enjoyed most of them. Was shocked to have a full kaffeeklatsch and had a great time chatting with the people who came. Signing was slow, but someone brought a cool little monster book to sign. Now I have to find one.

ROOMMATES: Sean and Jason were my roommates for the con, replicating our Reno Worldcon, but this time we were all nominees.

HUGO AWARDS: Despite being told by several people that we were favored to win, I wasn’t all that confident we would. Crazy things happen in the Hugos sometimes. Was overwhelmed when they announced that we were the winner and remember very little of what happened next. I know I was shaking and people told me I made them cry. I’m waiting for the video to get a better handle on this one. Sleep deprivation and adrenaline are an interesting mix. I ended up being up until 5AM carrying the award with me everywhere and making the rounds at the parties. The best part is that I won this award with my friends:

 

More on the Hugos later…

My 2013 Worldcon Schedule

LoneStarCon has sent out the final schedules, so here is where you’ll be able to find me at Worldcon this year:

Stroll with the Stars Friday

Friday 09:00 – 10:00

The Future of the Small Press

Friday 13:00 – 14:00

Gary K. Wolfe (M), Kaja Foglio, Michael Underwood, Darlene Marshall, Neil Clarke

Autographing: Neil Clarke, Karen Haber, Elizabeth Moon, Robert Silverberg

Friday 15:00 – 16:00

How Magazines are Changing in the Digital Age

Friday 17:00 – 18:00

Sheila Williams (M), John Joseph Adams, Kirsten Gong-Wong, Neil Clarke , Irene Gallo

Chesley Awards Ceremony

Friday 21:00

Art Portfolio Review (Neil Clarke)

Saturday 13:00 – 14:00

Art Portfolio Review with Neil Clarke, small press publisher, publisher of Clarkesworld Magazine and ebook designer for Prime Books, Wyrm Publishing, Cheeky Frawg, Electric Velocipede, Lightspeed Magazine, Nightmare Magazine and Clarkesworld Magazine.

Kaffeeklatsch: Neil Clarke, Helen Gbala, Jacob Weisman

Saturday 15:00 – 16:00

From Fanzine to Magazine Editor

Saturday 17:00 – 18:00

Gordon Van Gelder (M), Bill Cavalier, Neil Clarke, Andrew I. Porter

What does it take to make the leap from writing and producing fanzines to publishing professional or academic periodicals?

The Anthology Renaissance: The Return of the Short Story Market

Sunday 12:00 – 13:00

Rick Klaw (M), Kasey Lansdale, Neil Clarke, Ellen Datlow, Gordon Van Gelder

For years the anthology was considered “dead” along with short fiction, but now there is a noticeable resurgence in the format. How is this happening? What does it mean for the short story market? Our editors will speculate and commiserate.

E-Books Nuts and Bolts

Sunday 16:00 – 17:00

John Klima (M), Betsy Mitchell, Neil Clarke, Steven Gould, Mike Ward

What does it take for a publisher to create an e-book?

Hugo Award Ceremony

Sunday 20:00 -

 

And if that isn’t enough, I still have more stuff in the works. A bit disappointed that there isn’t a Clarkesworld reading on the schedule, but several of our authors will be there and reading on their own.

Hope to see some of you there!

UPGRADED is now open to submissions

I’ve just opened submissions to UPGRADED (my cyborg anthology). The guidelines are here:

http://neil-clarke.com/books/submission_guidelines/

August 2013 Issue of Clarkesworld

The August 2013 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is now available. You can get the issue:

Online at www.clarkesworldmagazine.com
Via podcast subscription (free)

or help us pay the bills by purchasing Clarkesworld:

Via subscription at Amazon.com
Via subscription at Weightless Books
or as a single issue ebook from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Weightless, Wizard’s Tower and direct from us at Wyrm Publishing

AUGUST 2013 – ISSUE #83



FICTION

“Cry of the Kharchal” by Vandana Singh

“Sheperds” by Greg Kurzawa

“Found” by Alex Dally MacFarlane

“The Lovers” by Eleanor Arnason

“Cilia-of-Gold” by Stephen Baxter

NONFICTION

The Candlelit World: The Dark Roots of Myth and Fantasy by Christopher Mahon

Decadence & Buckets of Blood: A Conversation with Holly Black by Jeremy L. C. Jones

Another Word: Circles Rise Again by Daniel Abraham

Editor’s Desk: Returning to the Scene of the Crime by Neil Clarke

PODCAST

This month’s stories will be released in audio form over the course of the month. Read by Kate Baker.

COVER ART

Launch Point by Julie Dillon

If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us by spreading the word about our subscription options on Facebook, Twitter or your blog. Your subscriptions make everything we do possible.

Thanks!

Bronchitis

Expect slower than normal responses to email, submissions, etc. from me for the next couple of days. I have bronchitis and the medication they have me on is leaving me in a fog most of the time.

Clarkesworld: Year Four

Introducing the latest annual anthology from Clarkesworld Magazine:

Clarkesworld: Year Four

CONTENTS

Introduction by Neil Clarke
Between Two Dragons by Yoon Ha Lee
The Cull by Robert Reed
The Mermaids Singing Each to Each by Cat Rambo
Of Melei, of Ulthar by Gord Sellar
Night, in Dark Perfection by Richard Parks
The Grandmother-Granddaughter Conspiracy by Marissa Lingen
Brief Candle by Jason K. Chapman
All the King’s Monsters by Megan Arkenberg
Torquing Vacuum by Jay Lake
The Language of the Whirlwind by Lavie Tidhar
A Sweet Calling by Tony Pi
Alone with Gandhari by Gord Sellar
The History Within Us by Matthew Kressel
January by Becca De La Rosa
Messenger by J.M. Sidorova
A Jar of Goodwill by Tobias S. Buckell
Futures in the Memories Market by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
My Father’s Singularity by Brenda Cooper
Beach Blanket Spaceship by Sandra McDonald
The Association of the Dead by Rahul Kanakia
Spar by Kij Johnson
Paper Cradle by Stephen Gaskell
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time by Catherynne M. Valente
The Things by Peter Watts
Clarkesworld Citizens – Official Census
About Clarkesworld

Trade Paperback Available from:

Amazon.com
Wyrm Publishing

EBook Edition Available from:

Amazon.com
B&N
Kobo
Weightless Books
Wizard’s Tower
Wyrm Publishing

UPGRADED: The Final 24 Hours

We’ve entered the final 24 hours for UPGRADED, my kickstarter cyborg anthology. It’s been an amazing experience. The project has been fully-funded and we’ve unlocked two of the stretch goals (four extra stories and a pay rate increase for our authors). As I write this, we are $2250 short of the stretch goal for funding the audio edition of this book.

THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ENDS AT 3PM EST ON FRIDAY.  I would appreciate it if you help get out the word as the campaign comes to a close. Reaching that stretch goal would be awesome.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clarkesworld/upgraded-a-cyborg-anthology-edited-by-neil-clarke

This project will have original stories by:

Elizabeth Bear
Helena Bell
Tobias S. Buckell
Pat Cadigan
Greg Egan
Xia Jia
Caitlín R. Kiernan
Yoon Ha Lee
Ken Liu
Chen Qiufan
Robert Reed
E. Catherine Tobler
Genevieve Valentine
Peter Watts
E. Lily Yu

…and several more to be announced soon. Julie Dillon will provide the cover art.

I want to say thank you to everyone that has participated so far. This is a very personal project and your support has not only made this dream a reality, but also helped me reclaim July 12th from the land of scary near-death experiences. Thank you!