Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 8
August 17, 2014
Astro-Porn of the Day: Venus and Jupiter wake up in a Beehive bed tomorrow morning!
Two of the mightiest gods in our sky will rise from the same starry bed tomorrow morning, so close their beaming faces will shine almost as one! Check it out - here's a great
Sky & Telescope
description of where to find them:
Click the image to see the story at Sky & Telescope online.
Planets pair up every so often, but rarely is their dance so intimate. During Venus and Jupiter's embrace shortly before dawn tomorrow (Monday, August 18), they'll be separated by only 1/3° or less - that's thinner than your pinky at full-arm extension. It's the very best planet hookup of the year, and the closest pairing these two have had this century. Here's what they'll look like in binoculars or through a telescope using a low-power eyepiece:
Their tight dance will be brief. Each morning, Jupiter rises a little higher from his eastern bed and Venus lingers a little longer near ol' Sol. The bed they share tomorrow morning is M44, the Beehive Cluster, which will reward augmented viewing:
If you're up before dawn, don't forget to look east toward sunrise and watch two of the brightest planetary bodies embrace!
*
Writing update: Finished my second story in the "Jupiter Whispers" series (which will one day join to form a novel). This one's called "Orpheus' Engines," at least for now, and tallies up to almost exactly 7000 words. Turned out way more econo-political than I'd expected! Chock-full of alien and human communication issues, with lots of Jupiter imagery to set the mood.
Finally, while we're on the topic of Jupiter, how about some bonus photos! First a gorgeous animated gif of the planet rotating:
Click the image to see the Astronominsk page full of more great shots like this.
Finally, check out this amazing 3D animated gif! Put on those old blue-red 3D glasses if you have 'em to enjoy the full effect:
Enjoy!
Chris
Click the image to see the story at Sky & Telescope online.
Planets pair up every so often, but rarely is their dance so intimate. During Venus and Jupiter's embrace shortly before dawn tomorrow (Monday, August 18), they'll be separated by only 1/3° or less - that's thinner than your pinky at full-arm extension. It's the very best planet hookup of the year, and the closest pairing these two have had this century. Here's what they'll look like in binoculars or through a telescope using a low-power eyepiece:
Their tight dance will be brief. Each morning, Jupiter rises a little higher from his eastern bed and Venus lingers a little longer near ol' Sol. The bed they share tomorrow morning is M44, the Beehive Cluster, which will reward augmented viewing:
If you're up before dawn, don't forget to look east toward sunrise and watch two of the brightest planetary bodies embrace!
*
Writing update: Finished my second story in the "Jupiter Whispers" series (which will one day join to form a novel). This one's called "Orpheus' Engines," at least for now, and tallies up to almost exactly 7000 words. Turned out way more econo-political than I'd expected! Chock-full of alien and human communication issues, with lots of Jupiter imagery to set the mood.
Finally, while we're on the topic of Jupiter, how about some bonus photos! First a gorgeous animated gif of the planet rotating:
Click the image to see the Astronominsk page full of more great shots like this.
Finally, check out this amazing 3D animated gif! Put on those old blue-red 3D glasses if you have 'em to enjoy the full effect:
Enjoy!
Chris
August 12, 2014
Why so many Americans vote against their own best interests.
Want to understand what's up with poor people voting Tea Party or Republican? Here's a hint:
"The financial crisis proved that rich people are no better than me, and in fact, are often inferior to average people. They crash companies, loot pensions, and destroy banks, and when they hit a snag, they scream to be rescued by government largess. By contrast, I continued to pay my oversize mortgage for years, even as my home lost more than half its value. I viewed my bad investment as yet another moral failure."
This story on Salon is important reading if you want to understand why so many Americans vote against their best interests, explaining very clearly from the point of view of someone who learned better.
"I was poor, but a GOP die-hard. I hated government - even as it was the only thing trying to save me. Here's how, one day, I finally left the politics of shame and saw the light."
Shame is a powerful shackle.
"The financial crisis proved that rich people are no better than me, and in fact, are often inferior to average people. They crash companies, loot pensions, and destroy banks, and when they hit a snag, they scream to be rescued by government largess. By contrast, I continued to pay my oversize mortgage for years, even as my home lost more than half its value. I viewed my bad investment as yet another moral failure."
This story on Salon is important reading if you want to understand why so many Americans vote against their best interests, explaining very clearly from the point of view of someone who learned better.
"I was poor, but a GOP die-hard. I hated government - even as it was the only thing trying to save me. Here's how, one day, I finally left the politics of shame and saw the light."
Shame is a powerful shackle.
August 8, 2014
Supermoon and Perseid meteor shower join forces!
(Or, well, do battle. But whatta show!) As always, click the images to find the source stories.
First up, the Perseid meteor shower is already underway (see the "Perseid Activity" chart, below, to get an idea of the number of meteors per hour). The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best such displays each year. Peak nights for watching the Perseids are this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after sunset (that is, the evenings of August 11, 12, and 13). More info on that here.
Next, on August 10 (when the Perseids are ramping up the action) is the next "supermoon" - the third this summer! A supermoon happens when the Moon is full at the same time it reaches perigee (closest approach to Earth). Because the Moon's orbit is not circular, Some months' perigees are closer than others - this month's is the closest of 2014, making this month's full Moon a super-duper supermoon. More info on that here.
Overall, it makes for a pair of really cool astronomical delights! io9 has a good story about the dual astro-events here.
Get outside and enjoy!
First up, the Perseid meteor shower is already underway (see the "Perseid Activity" chart, below, to get an idea of the number of meteors per hour). The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best such displays each year. Peak nights for watching the Perseids are this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after sunset (that is, the evenings of August 11, 12, and 13). More info on that here.
Next, on August 10 (when the Perseids are ramping up the action) is the next "supermoon" - the third this summer! A supermoon happens when the Moon is full at the same time it reaches perigee (closest approach to Earth). Because the Moon's orbit is not circular, Some months' perigees are closer than others - this month's is the closest of 2014, making this month's full Moon a super-duper supermoon. More info on that here.
Overall, it makes for a pair of really cool astronomical delights! io9 has a good story about the dual astro-events here.
Get outside and enjoy!
August 7, 2014
Update!
Dropping in to let all four of you still here know what I've been up to! First, writing:
I'm now up to 4890 words on my story for Mission Tomorrow: A New Century Of Exploration, a Baen (I think) anthology. Max of 6000 words, so I'll have to cut a bunch of what I have right now, because a lot more words are a-comin'! This is the follow-up to my story, "Jupiter Whispers," from the anthology Visual Journeys: A Tribute to Space Art ; it'll eventually accrue into a novel when I'm done with all the tales, in good ol' Gunn's Law ("sell it twice!") fashion. Might take a few more years, but I'll get there. The story is due by next Friday, but I'm hoping to complete the first draft over the weekend. Wish me luck!
I've reached nearly 100k words (99,280 to be exact) on Ad Astra Road Trip: The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella (this is book 1 of 3). SO CLOSE to both that magic odometer reading AND the end. How much is left? Let's call it less than 10k more. My goal is to wrap up the first-ish draft before the start of the semester... less than three weeks. Much more luck needed for that one.
Class-related progress:
Finished grading the summer SF Institute final projects, which were interesting as usual and, in a couple of cases, outstanding.
I've read, watched, and listened to a metric crap-ton (that's the technical term) of media-related SF while researching for my upcoming (new) "Science Fiction and the Popular Media" course. I've just about completed the syllabus, and have put together most of the web pages for the site: Each week has its own page hosting not only links but also displaying graphics and other embedded media. Looking forward to this, but it's been a hella lotta work.
Oh, and I finally managed to host another Game Day (see pic to the right). Plus all the usual work-stuff (about to dive back into that right now).
Later!
Chris
I'm now up to 4890 words on my story for Mission Tomorrow: A New Century Of Exploration, a Baen (I think) anthology. Max of 6000 words, so I'll have to cut a bunch of what I have right now, because a lot more words are a-comin'! This is the follow-up to my story, "Jupiter Whispers," from the anthology Visual Journeys: A Tribute to Space Art ; it'll eventually accrue into a novel when I'm done with all the tales, in good ol' Gunn's Law ("sell it twice!") fashion. Might take a few more years, but I'll get there. The story is due by next Friday, but I'm hoping to complete the first draft over the weekend. Wish me luck!
I've reached nearly 100k words (99,280 to be exact) on Ad Astra Road Trip: The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella (this is book 1 of 3). SO CLOSE to both that magic odometer reading AND the end. How much is left? Let's call it less than 10k more. My goal is to wrap up the first-ish draft before the start of the semester... less than three weeks. Much more luck needed for that one.
Class-related progress:
Finished grading the summer SF Institute final projects, which were interesting as usual and, in a couple of cases, outstanding.
I've read, watched, and listened to a metric crap-ton (that's the technical term) of media-related SF while researching for my upcoming (new) "Science Fiction and the Popular Media" course. I've just about completed the syllabus, and have put together most of the web pages for the site: Each week has its own page hosting not only links but also displaying graphics and other embedded media. Looking forward to this, but it's been a hella lotta work.
Oh, and I finally managed to host another Game Day (see pic to the right). Plus all the usual work-stuff (about to dive back into that right now).
Later!
Chris
July 18, 2014
Astro-Porn of the Day: Sunrise and Sunset on Mars
Just wow:
We live in an age when one can make animated gifs of the daily sky ON MARS.
EDIT: Here's a lovely video of the Martian sunrise:
Chris
We live in an age when one can make animated gifs of the daily sky ON MARS.
EDIT: Here's a lovely video of the Martian sunrise:
Chris
July 13, 2014
Astro-Porn of the Day: Lagoon Nebula
Click the image to see the story and bigger images.
I vividly remember the first time I saw the Lagoon Nebula in my Crown 6" Newtonian reflector (on a heavy German-equatorial mount). I was about 14 years old, and I'd dragged the telescope out on a late-summer midnight. I lived a couple of miles outside of a small western-Minnesota town, and our neighborhood only had one streetlight to pollute the night. Carrying my equipment a few hundred yards beyond led to almost entirely dark skies, so the Milky Way and its core glowed like a million tiny sparks arcing across the sky, mottled with fuzzy bright spots. Toward the galaxy's core lay several dramatic nebulae, including this one, spanning huge across the eyepiece, not far from the Trifid Nebula and a whole bunch of other objects. Even using a small instrument, all you have to do is slowly sweep your telescope or binocular across this rich field to see endless star-birthing regions and star-clusters. Gorgeous.
"VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile captured this richly detailed new image of the Lagoon Nebula. This giant cloud of gas and dust is creating intensely bright young stars, and is home to young stellar clusters. This image is a tiny part of just one of 11 public surveys of the sky now in progress using ESO telescopes. Together these are providing a vast legacy of publicly available data for the global astronomical community."
Another shot:
Click the image to see source page.
More cool facts about this extremely rich section of the sky: "Sagittarius contains 15 Messier objects: Messier 8 (M8, NGC 6523, Lagoon Nebula), Messier 17 (M17, NGC 6618 Omega, Swan, Horseshoe or Lobster Nebula), Messier 18 (M18, NGC 6613), Messier 20 (M20, NGC 6514, Trifid Nebula), Messier 21 (M21, NGC 6531), Messier 22 (M22, NGC 6656, Sagittarius Cluster), Messier 23 (M23, NGC 6494), Messier 24 (M24, NGC 6603, Sagittarius Star Cloud), Messier 25 (M25, IC 4725), Messier 28 (M28, NGC 6626), Messier 54 (M54, NGC 6715), Messier 55 (M55, NGC 6809), Messier 69 (M69, NGC 6637), Messier 70 (M70, NGC 6681) and Messier 75 (M75, NGC 6864). The constellation also has 22 stars with confirmed planets."
Chris
July 10, 2014
Updatery!
Forgive me, religious-patriarchal figure, it's been more than a month since my last update. What have I been up to since my last confession?
Spent the first two weeks of June teaching the Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop at KU's Center for the Study of SF, a residential program that consumes pretty much every waking hour.
Did my thing at the Campbell Conference, which this year honored Frederik Pohl and discussed "Science fiction in the real world." We also presented the Campbell (best SF novel) and Sturgeon (best SF story) Memorial Awards.
Taught the Intensive SF Institute during the second two weeks of June, also residential (except for a few locals). Final projects should be piling in today. To all of you wonderful scholars and workshoppers who spent your June with us and are home now: I miss everyone so much!
Wrote another few thousand words on The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella :
It's ALMOST DONE - and Book 2 has reached 4000 words.
My essay on "Frederik Pohl: Mr Science Fiction (A Love Story)" just came out in the current issue of Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction.
I'm hard at work on a new Jupiter story (the follow-up to "Jupiter Whispers") for an upcoming anthology edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt. Including this one, I plan to finish (or revise) at least three stories this month and send them out for consideration.
I'll be quoted in the next issue of Popular Mechanics magazine (!) about the top SF novels.
Oh, and I gave a bunch of talks and interviews for NPR's Up to Date show, the Lawrence Free State Festival, KU Endowment, the Lawrence Journal-World, SciFi4Me (part of their livestream of the Campbell Conference), and one (plus the usual stuff) at the Campbell Conference.
So I've been way out of touch with the world. Took most of last week as a sort of stay-cation. MUCH NEEDED.
How's your summer going?
Chris
Spent the first two weeks of June teaching the Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop at KU's Center for the Study of SF, a residential program that consumes pretty much every waking hour.
Did my thing at the Campbell Conference, which this year honored Frederik Pohl and discussed "Science fiction in the real world." We also presented the Campbell (best SF novel) and Sturgeon (best SF story) Memorial Awards.Taught the Intensive SF Institute during the second two weeks of June, also residential (except for a few locals). Final projects should be piling in today. To all of you wonderful scholars and workshoppers who spent your June with us and are home now: I miss everyone so much!
Wrote another few thousand words on The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella :
It's ALMOST DONE - and Book 2 has reached 4000 words.
My essay on "Frederik Pohl: Mr Science Fiction (A Love Story)" just came out in the current issue of Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction.
I'm hard at work on a new Jupiter story (the follow-up to "Jupiter Whispers") for an upcoming anthology edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt. Including this one, I plan to finish (or revise) at least three stories this month and send them out for consideration.
I'll be quoted in the next issue of Popular Mechanics magazine (!) about the top SF novels.
Oh, and I gave a bunch of talks and interviews for NPR's Up to Date show, the Lawrence Free State Festival, KU Endowment, the Lawrence Journal-World, SciFi4Me (part of their livestream of the Campbell Conference), and one (plus the usual stuff) at the Campbell Conference.
So I've been way out of touch with the world. Took most of last week as a sort of stay-cation. MUCH NEEDED.
How's your summer going?
Chris
May 21, 2014
ConQuesT 2014 schedule!
Hey, folks -
This weekend is ConQuesT, Kansas City's science-fiction convention, and I'll be there! Here's my schedule:
Friday 1500 Best new SF&F authors of the 21st century
Friday 1700 Novels from last year you should read
Saturday 1100 Teaching SF
Saturday 1300 Writing for younger audiences.
Saturday 1500 Where has all the Hard SF gone?
Saturday 1600 Hadley Rille Books: Small Press, Big Plans
Saturday 1700 Reading
Sunday 1400 Charity Auction
Here's with more details and other panelists:
_____________________
Friday
Best new SF&F authors of the 21st century
Friday 3:00pm
Bradley Denton
Chris McKitterick
Who are the best authors to have joined the genre since 2000?
Novels from last year you should read
Friday 5:00pm
Chris McKitterick (M)
Julia S. Mandala
Robin Wayne Bailey
Panelists will share the favorite novels from the past year.
Saturday
Teaching SF
Saturday 11:00am
Chris McKitterick
Deb Geisler
Gera L. Dean
Kij Johnson
Discussion on science fiction in the classroom from middle school through college.
Writing for younger audiences
Saturday 1:00pm
Bryan Thomas Schmidt (M)
Chris McKitterick
Deanna Sjolander
K.D. McEntire
Writing for adults and writing for YA, MG and Children differ. Authors and Editors discuss the differences, the approaches, and fine examples.
Where has all the Hard SF gone?
Saturday 3:00pm
Carol Doms (M)
Chris McKitterick
Rich Horton
Rob Chilson
The shelves are full of fantasy, zombies, vampires, etc. Is anyone writing Hard SF anymore?
Hadley Rille Books: Small Press, Big Plans
Saturday 4:00pm
Karin Gastreich (M)
Chris Gerrib
Christopher McKitterick
M.C. Chambers
Founded in 2005 by Eric T. Reynolds, Hadley Rille Books is Kansas City’s own small press specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. Meet our authors and learn about the trials and triumphs of small press publishing. Snacks will be provided, and attendees can participate in a book giveaway. For more information about Hadley Rille Books, including a complete listing of our titles, visit hrbpress.com.
Fiction Reading
Saturday 5:00pm
Excerpt from the (almost complete!) Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella .
Sunday
Charity Auction
I'll be at the Charity Auction from 2pm - onward. Proceeds benefit AboutSF, the Gunn Center's educational-outreach program, AboutSF.
Hope to see some of you there!
Chris
This weekend is ConQuesT, Kansas City's science-fiction convention, and I'll be there! Here's my schedule:
Friday 1500 Best new SF&F authors of the 21st century
Friday 1700 Novels from last year you should read
Saturday 1100 Teaching SF
Saturday 1300 Writing for younger audiences.
Saturday 1500 Where has all the Hard SF gone?
Saturday 1600 Hadley Rille Books: Small Press, Big Plans
Saturday 1700 Reading
Sunday 1400 Charity Auction
Here's with more details and other panelists:
_____________________
Friday
Best new SF&F authors of the 21st century
Friday 3:00pm
Bradley Denton
Chris McKitterick
Who are the best authors to have joined the genre since 2000?
Novels from last year you should read
Friday 5:00pm
Chris McKitterick (M)
Julia S. Mandala
Robin Wayne Bailey
Panelists will share the favorite novels from the past year.
Saturday
Teaching SF
Saturday 11:00am
Chris McKitterick
Deb Geisler
Gera L. Dean
Kij Johnson
Discussion on science fiction in the classroom from middle school through college.
Writing for younger audiences
Saturday 1:00pm
Bryan Thomas Schmidt (M)
Chris McKitterick
Deanna Sjolander
K.D. McEntire
Writing for adults and writing for YA, MG and Children differ. Authors and Editors discuss the differences, the approaches, and fine examples.
Where has all the Hard SF gone?
Saturday 3:00pm
Carol Doms (M)
Chris McKitterick
Rich Horton
Rob Chilson
The shelves are full of fantasy, zombies, vampires, etc. Is anyone writing Hard SF anymore?
Hadley Rille Books: Small Press, Big Plans
Saturday 4:00pm
Karin Gastreich (M)
Chris Gerrib
Christopher McKitterick
M.C. Chambers
Founded in 2005 by Eric T. Reynolds, Hadley Rille Books is Kansas City’s own small press specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. Meet our authors and learn about the trials and triumphs of small press publishing. Snacks will be provided, and attendees can participate in a book giveaway. For more information about Hadley Rille Books, including a complete listing of our titles, visit hrbpress.com.
Fiction Reading
Saturday 5:00pm
Excerpt from the (almost complete!) Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella .
Sunday
Charity Auction
I'll be at the Charity Auction from 2pm - onward. Proceeds benefit AboutSF, the Gunn Center's educational-outreach program, AboutSF.
Hope to see some of you there!
Chris
May 19, 2014
John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists Announced!
The finalists for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 2013 have been announced. Congratulations to everyone on the list! A great set of books, any one of which could be your favorite of the year.
News item here.
Award details and former winners here.
Finalist list for this year and many prior years here.
Photos of the trophies here.
News item here.
Award details and former winners here.
Finalist list for this year and many prior years here.
Photos of the trophies here.
May 5, 2014
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Finalists Announced
LAWRENCE, KS - May 5, 2014 for immediate release
Also available in .doc
or .pdf version
This year's finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction have been selected, announced Christopher McKitterick, Director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. The awards will be presented during the Campbell Conference on Friday, June 13, as part of the Campbell Conference held annually at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
The Gunn Center is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2014 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short SF of the year:
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award recognizes the best science fiction short story each year. It was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU; and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon, including his partner Jayne Engelhart Tannehill and Sturgeon's children; as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction. The current jury consists of Elizabeth Bear, Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, and Noël Sturgeon, Trustee of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Estate.
Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his best-known novel is the classic,
More Than Human
), Sturgeon also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a regular visiting writer at the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died in 1985. His books, manuscripts, and papers are deposited at the University of Kansas.
The Award will be presented Friday, June 13, at the Campbell Conference, held at the University of Kansas Student Union in Lawrence, Kansas, June 13-15. The Campbell Conference has been held each year since 1978 at the University of Kansas. It includes a Friday-evening banquet where the annual Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award are given; a Saturday-morning roundtable discussion with scholars, scientists, and writers of science fiction; an afternoon discussion about interdisciplinary science-fiction studies, and other events. This year's topic is "Science Fiction in the Real World," with a special focus on the work and life of Frederik Pohl, a long-time friend of the Center.
Also available in .doc
or .pdf version
This year's finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction have been selected, announced Christopher McKitterick, Director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. The awards will be presented during the Campbell Conference on Friday, June 13, as part of the Campbell Conference held annually at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
The Gunn Center is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2014 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short SF of the year:
"Bloom," Gregory Norman Bossert. Asimov's, Dec 2013.
"The Weight of the Sunrise," Vylar Kaftan. Asimov's, Feb 2013.
"They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass," Alaya Dawn Johnson. Asimov's, Jan 2013.
"Over There," Will McIntosh. Asimov's, Jan 2013.
"The Wildfires of Antarctica," Alan De Niro. Tyrannia and Other Renditions, Small Beer Press.
"The Irish Astronaut," Val Nolan. Electric Velocipede, May 2013.
"In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind," Sarah Pinsker. Strange Horizons, July 2013.
"Mystic Falls," Robert Reed. Clarkesworld, Nov 2013.
"Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer," Kenneth Scheyer. Clockwork Phoenix 4, Mythic Delirium Books.
"The Urishima Effect," E. Lily Yu. Clarkesworld, June 2013.
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award recognizes the best science fiction short story each year. It was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU; and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon, including his partner Jayne Engelhart Tannehill and Sturgeon's children; as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction. The current jury consists of Elizabeth Bear, Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, and Noël Sturgeon, Trustee of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Estate.
Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his best-known novel is the classic,
More Than Human
), Sturgeon also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a regular visiting writer at the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died in 1985. His books, manuscripts, and papers are deposited at the University of Kansas.The Award will be presented Friday, June 13, at the Campbell Conference, held at the University of Kansas Student Union in Lawrence, Kansas, June 13-15. The Campbell Conference has been held each year since 1978 at the University of Kansas. It includes a Friday-evening banquet where the annual Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award are given; a Saturday-morning roundtable discussion with scholars, scientists, and writers of science fiction; an afternoon discussion about interdisciplinary science-fiction studies, and other events. This year's topic is "Science Fiction in the Real World," with a special focus on the work and life of Frederik Pohl, a long-time friend of the Center.
Christopher McKitterick's Blog
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