EDGE Party at World Fantasy Convention, Friday, November 2, 2012

World Fantasy Convention begins today in Richmond Hill, Ontario. On Friday, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing will be holding a party where you can meet various EDGE writers, including me. I'll also be reading from my story "Foreign Devils" from the new anthology Shanghai Steam. Here are the event details:

EDGE Reading Party at World Fantasy Convention

Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel, 600 HWY-7 E · Richmond Hill, Ontario

Friday, November 2,
Doors open at 9:00 p.m.
Readings starting at 10:00 p.m. (or slightly before if people are already there.)
Location: Sheraton suite # 1080

Schedule (Approximate only):

Approx 10:00 p.m.
Michael Martineck - intro and mini reading from Cinco de Mayo

Readings from Shanghai Steam
Tim Ford
Shen Braun
Amanda Clark
Laurel Anne Hill
Julia Rosenthal
Derwin Mak

(break)

Approx 10:40 - 10:45 p.m. start
Michael Kelly introduces Nancy.
Nancy Kilpatrick - reads from Vampyric Variations
Nancy introduces Danse Macabre

Readings from Danse Macabre
Suzanne Church
Lucy Taylor
Brad Carson

(break)

Approx 11:00-11:15 p.m. start
Barb Galler-Smith - intro and Captives

Readings from Tesseracts Sixteen
Michael Kelly
Sandra Kasturi
Adria Laycraft
Chadwick Ginter
Randy McCharles

Racism, Future: Sci-Fi Authors RIff

Check out Jef Catapang's article "Racism, Future: Sci-Fi Authors Riff" in The Ethnic Aisle:

http://ethnicaisle.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/sci-fi-authors-riff-on-race/

Jef interviewed me and science fiction authors Suzette Mayr, Terence M. Green, Minister Faust, Hiromi Goto, and Kenneth Tam for this article.

Constellation Awards and the Starlost Reunion at Polaris Science Fiction Convention, July 6-7, 2012

The cast of The Starlost, left to right: Robin Ward, Gay Rowan, Keir Dullea.

I'll be presenting a Constellation Award at the Constellation Awards ceremony at Polaris Science Fiction Convention at the Sheraton Parkway North Toronto Hotel and Convention Centre on Friday, July 6, 2012. Emily Alatalo, the actress from Canadian science fiction and horror movies Dead Genesis, If A Tree Falls, and Neverlost, will be presenting the award with me.

Also at the Constellation Awards ceremony will be Gay Rowan and Robin Ward, two of the stars of the cult Canadian science fiction TV series The Starlost. This is the first time that they have appeared at a science fiction convention together, so this will be the long-awaited Starlost Reunion. I will be moderating their panel discussion about The Starlost on Saturday, July 7, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the King City Room, lower convention level. They'll have an autograph session in that same room from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. If you're a Starlost fan, come with your questions and your photos and DVD's.

Aurora Award Nominations are Open: Support Canadian Science Fiction

Calling all Canadians citizens at home and abroad and permanent residents of Canada: our national science fiction awards, the Aurora Awards, are now open for nominations. This year, I will nominate the following works and individuals, and I hope you will too.

Eligible for Best English Novel:

Triptych, by J.M. Frey

Read my review of it here

Eligible for Best English Short Story:

My 2 recommendations:

"The Needle's Eye" by Suzanne Church, in Chilling Tales: Evil Did I Dwell; Lewd I Did Live, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. Available online at Suzanne's website. Note: this is a science fiction horror story, so some graphic content might not be suitable for some readers.

"We Who Steal Faces" by Tony Pi, in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show #22, April 2011. Available online at Tony's website .

Eligible for Best Artist:

Costi Gurgi, for the cover art of Outer Diverse. See it on his website.

Eligible for Best Fan Organizational

Andrew Gurudata, organizing the Constellation Awards 2011. Read about him here

To learn more about the Aurora Awards and to nominate stories and individuals, visit:

http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/Membership/

To make your nominations, go to the above website and register for membership in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA). Starting this year, the CSFFA charges a $10 membership fee, so both new and returning members will be asked to pay $10 by Paypal. After receiving your Society number by email (if you are a new member), you can go back to the Aurora Awards website and submit your nominations. Nominees do not get any sort of monetary gain from the fees. The CSFFA is a non-profit organization, and its small budget, raised by the membership and voting fees, goes to administer the awards program and produce the trophies. $10 is a low price to promote national pride in our science fiction and to give a small reward to your favourite authors, artists, and fan organizers.

 

Nomination deadline is March 31, 2012. Nominate your favourites now!

Review: J.M. Frey's Triptych Deserves an Aurora Nomination

J.M. Frey's first novel, Triptych, reminds me of the stories of Walter Tevis. Tevis, the author of The Man Who Fell to Earth and Mockingbird, did not write hard sci-fi, with its intricate technology and scientific theories. He came from the school of science fiction that examined the social sciences and societal and cultural issues. Among those writers, he was a master in depicting human relationships, personal drama, and loneliness and other emotions. Triptych reminds me of a Walter Tevis novel in style and theme. But despite the similarities, J.M. Frey is not imitating Tevis. She has a distinct style of her own.

In short, Triptych is about Kalp, one of many aliens who have arrived on Earth after their home planet has died. The government assigns several humans, including Gwen and Basil, to assist the aliens to integrate into life on Earth. One thing leads to another, and Kalp, Gwen, and Basil form a threesome where Kalp is husband to both Gwen and Basil, Basil is husband to both Kalp and Gwen, and Gwen is wife to both Kalp and Basil. You get the idea.

But not everyone is at peace with this type of future. Someone goes back in time to kill young Gwen, and someone is out to get Kalp.

I enjoyed Triptych's development of the relationships. Kalp, Gwen, and Basil are hardly the ideal lovers from a category romance, but they're not the usual dysfunctional couple/threesome that many writers use when they want to appear profound.

J.M. Frey divides the book into sections told from each of the main character's viewpoints. The characters are all well-developed and have distinct personalities and voices. Kalp's memories of his old world and its destruction are especially haunting.

And kudos to J.M. Frey for not portraying the main characters' enemies as easy straw dogs, for example, the Christians, Republicans, white Alabamans, and other stock characters that usually exist only in "fundamentalist" flavour in science fiction. It has become de rigeur in Canadian science fiction to stereotype and demonize so-called fundies and conservatives, but Triptych doesn't follow the trend. Frey, thankfully, wrote a novel about real people.

By the way, Aurora Award nominations for 2012 are open until March 31 (see http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/Membership/). Let's encourage the small presses like Dragon Moon to publish more books like Triptych. Get Triptych, read it, and if you like it, nominate it for Best Novel - English.

Constellation Awards 2012: What I'll Nominate

It's time to nominate science fiction and fantasy movies and TV series for the Constellation Awards, Canada's awards for excellence in science fiction film and television ( http://constellations.tcon.ca/ ). Here are the movies, TV series, and artists whom I will be nominating. 2011 was another year of overhyped blockbuster movies like Green Lantern, Thor, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, or Captain  America, but I'll nominate the underrated and understated works. While they didn't have massive explosions or giant robots, they did have well-written stories about people and great performances by their actors.

In particular, the CBC TV series Being Erica had a splendid season, and though it's overlooked by hard-core, convention-going science fiction fans, I think it deserves several nominations this year.

You too can nominate your favourite science fiction and fantasy films and television series for the Constellation Awards. Visit the website above and nominate them.

Television Categories:

1. Best Male Performance in a 2011 Science Fiction Television Episode:

Michael Riley in Being Erica "Sins of the Father"

In "Sins of the Father", Doctor Tom, so used to giving advice to others, realizes that he needs therapist to fix his life of broken relationships. Michael Riley gives his best performance of the series.

2. Best Female Performance in a 2011 Science Fiction Television Episode:

Erin Karpluk in Being Erica "Dr. Erica"

 

Erin Karpluk has to tie up all the loose threads of Erica Strange's life in this episode, and she does it so well.

3. Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2011:

Being Erica

Season four was full of drama, humour, and romance. The three previous seasons have been building towards it. What could be better?

Film/ TV Movie / Mini-Series Categories:

4. Best Male Performance in a 2011 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series:

Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code

  

This is an intellectual thriller that deserved to do better at the box office. Jake Gyllenhaal is superb as an Air Force officer who gets sent back in time repeatedly to the same train bombing.

5. Best Female Performance in a 2011 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series:

Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia

Kirsten Dunst's character both neurotically ruins her own wedding and calmly prepares for the end of the world without any change in her personality. She won the Best Actress Award at Cannes for this one.

6. Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series of 2011:

Another Earth

 This is an art house movie about the discovery of a twin Earth, where there is a duplicate of everyone on our planet. Quiet and thought-provoking.

Other Categories:

7. Best Technical Accomplishment in a 2011 Science Fiction Film or Television Production:

Douglas Trumbull for special effects in The Tree of Life

In The Tree of Life, he created the universe, matter, energy, the planets, life, evolution, and dinosaurs, and that darn meteorite, all in twenty minutes.

8. Best Overall 2011 Science Fiction Film or Television Script:

Being Erica episode "Dr. Erica"

This is the end of season four, and it's a remarkable episode, showing how Erica and her friends and family have made dramatic changes in their lives. In four years, Erica Strange has gone from neurotic, single therapy patient to a confident book publisher with a steady boyfriend. But that's not the end of her story, as "Dr. Erica" sets her up for a new stage in her life.

9. Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2011:

Being Erica (TV series)

 

Being Erica is an underrated fantasy series. True, it's not about interstellar wars or superheroes saving the world. But it is about people creating relationships and coping with them and daily struggles with a much-needed sense of humour. Best of all, it's about book editors and writers in Toronto, so it's a science fiction or fantasy TV series that I can relate to.