Derwin Mak, Science Fiction Writer

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

2012-01-25T17:04:00.001-05:00

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, withits intricate technology and scientific theories. He came from the school ofscience fiction that examined the social sciences and societal and culturalissues. 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. Butdespite the similarities, J.M. Frey is not imitating Tevis. She has a distinctstyle of her own.

In short, Triptychis about Kalp, one of many aliens who have arrived on Earth after their homeplanet has died. The government assigns several humans, including Gwen andBasil, to assist the aliens to integrate into life on Earth. One thing leads toanother, and Kalp, Gwen, and Basil form a threesome where Kalp is husband toboth Gwen and Basil, Basil is husband to both Kalp and Gwen, and Gwen is wifeto 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, butthey're not the usual dysfunctional couple/threesome that many writers use whenthey want to appear profound.

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

And kudos to J.M. Frey for not portraying the maincharacters' enemies as easy straw dogs, for example, the Christians,Republicans, white Alabamans, and other stock characters that usually existonly in "fundamentalist" flavour in science fiction. It has become de rigeur in Canadian science fiction tostereotype 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 openuntil March 31 (see http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/Membership/). Let's encouragethe 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

2012-01-14T10:30:00.000-05:00

It's time to nominate science fiction and fantasy movies andTV series for the Constellation Awards, Canada's awards for excellence in science fiction film and television ( http://constellations.tcon.ca/ ). Here are themovies, TV series, and artists whom I will be nominating. 2011 was another yearof overhyped blockbuster movies like GreenLantern, 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 havewell-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 byhard-core, convention-going science fiction fans, I think it deserves several nominationsthis 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.

TelevisionCategories:

1. Best MalePerformance in a 2011 Science Fiction Television Episode:

Michael Riley in BeingErica "Sins of the Father"

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

2. Best FemalePerformance in a 2011 Science Fiction Television Episode:

Erin Karpluk in BeingErica "Dr. Erica"

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

3. Best ScienceFiction Television Series of 2011:

Being Erica

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

Film/ TV Movie /Mini-Series Categories:

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

Jake Gyllenhaal in SourceCode

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

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

Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia

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

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

Another Earth

This is an art house movie about the discovery of a twinEarth, where there is a duplicate of everyone on our planet. Quiet andthought-provoking.

Other Categories:

7. Best TechnicalAccomplishment 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, anddinosaurs, and that darn meteorite, all in twenty minutes.

8. Best Overall2011 Science Fiction Film or Television Script:

Being Erica episode"Dr. Erica"

This is the end of season four, and it's a remarkableepisode, showing how Erica and her friends and family have made dramaticchanges 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 anew stage in her life.

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

Being Erica (TVseries)

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

"Cloned to Kill" is "fairly awesome and well-constructed" - reviewer at New York Catholic Examiner

2011-12-27T19:04:00.002-05:00

John Konecsni of the New York Catholic Examiner reviewed the anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God II for New York Catholic Examiner. He writes about the book: "At the end of the day, if you like science fiction, you'll enjoy this book. It's worth the price of admission..."

And about my story "Cloned to Kill", he writes, "This one was fairly awesome and very well constructed."

Read his review here.

The Curious History of Kentucky Colonel Uniforms

2011-12-11T21:40:00.001-05:00

The Governor of Kentucky made me an honourary Colonel and Aide-de-Camp, more properly known as a Kentucky Colonel, in 1995. New Kentucky Colonels inevitably wonder if there exists a Kentucky Colonel uniform, and yes, several have existed over the centuries. Alas, their history is not well documented.

The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels (HOKC) has this picture of Colonel Charles Todd in uniform, circa 1820: http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=13 . After then, illustrations and descriptions of Kentucky Colonels uniforms are scarce, though a close-collared uniform existed in the early 20th century. Photographs of it did not exist until one was discovered in 2008:

1931 Kentucky Colonel uniform

The 1931 Kentucky Colonel uniform

Over the years, several colonels have appeared at the Kentucky Derby and other events wearing Civil War-inspired uniforms (costumes?). Some were Union blue, others were Confederate grey. During the Civil War, Kentucky was in both the Union and the Confederacy simultaneously, with a Union-aligned government in Frankfort and a rival Confederate government in Bowling Green.

In 2007, a year before the 1931 uniform was re-discovered, I made my own Kentucky Colonel uniform based on a Civil War style. I made it from a black frock coat tuxedo from a shop that sold prom clothes to high school students. The shoulder rank insignia, Kentucky state seal buttons, and cap come from a Civil War re-enactors supply store. The gold stripe on the sleeves and pants came from fabric store in Toronto's garment district. I used to have a cap insignia made from an HOKC metallic logo decal adhered to a thick cardboard base. When the HOKC re-issued the historic aide-de-camp badge (a red, white, and blue shield topped with a gold eagle) as a lapel pin, I used it as a cap badge and insignia on the uniform.

Beside the Christmas tree in the condo building lobby, December 22, 2010. Photo by Kent Wong.

I also made a modern white mess dress uniform for a specific event. As a science fiction writer, I'm sometimes asked to present science fiction awards. One of these awards ceremonies, the Constellation Awards for Canadian science fiction film and TV shows, was held on a stage with an unavoidable black backdrop. The director told me to wear any colour except black. The best contrast with black is white, so I created a white mess dress uniform. It is a U.S. Army white mess dress jacket whose original buttons have been removed and replaced with Kentucky buttons from a Civil War re-enactor supply store. The shoulder epaulettes and braid are from a company that sells supplies to American high school marching bands and ROTC units. The Kentucky aide-de-camp shield pins are from the HOKC.

With Katie Uhlmann, reporter for TTN-HD News, at the Constellation Awards ceremony, Richmond Hill, Ontario, July 17, 2010.

My friend Stephen Lautens, another Kentucky Colonel in Canada, made a modern mess dress uniform based a description of one of the uniforms approved, but possibly never made, at a 1931 meeting of the Kentucky Colonels. His magnificent creation is shown on his website:

Colonel Lauten's uniform

Of course, I'm going to have to get a uniform like Stephen's made before the next time I'm nominated for an Aurora Award.

That there is little uniformity in Kentucky Colonel uniforms over the years is typical of American military garb of the nineteenth century. Despite what movies may show, the Union and Confederate forces wore a variety of uniforms. Each regiment or unit had its own uniform, and colours included blue (worn by both sides), grey (also worn by both sides), red, and green. The Union even had a militia unit dressed in kilts like a British Highland regiment (the 79th Regiment, New York State Militia). Thus an American tradition continues, curiously upheld by Canadians in Toronto.

The Dragon and the Stars wins an Aurora Award!

2011-11-21T17:36:00.001-05:00

Left to right: Derwin Mak, Tony Pi, and Eric Choi with the Aurora Award trophies for The Dragon and the Stars.

The Dragon and theStars won the Aurora Award for Best Related Work in English. The AuroraAwards, Canada'snational science fiction awards for science fiction, were handed out atSFContario 2, which served as this year's Canadian National Science FictionConvention, on November 20, 2011. The short-list of nominees and the winnerswere decided by voting of Canadian science fiction readers.

This is the probably the first time that a Chinese-themeanthology of science fiction and fantasy has won a national science fictionaward outside China.Hopefully, the success of The Dragon andthe Stars will encourage the publishing of more science fiction and fantasyinspired by the various cultures and traditions of the world.

The editors Derwin Mak and Eric Choi thanked Dr. Wu Yan of Beijing Normal University,Canadian author Julie Czerneda, John Helfers of Tekno Books, Sheila Gilbert ofDAW Books, and the authors of the anthology. Tony Pi, who wrote the story"The Character of the Hound", represented the authors at theceremony.

Thanks to all the persons who voted in the Aurora Awards.

May science fiction and fantasy flourish in Canadaand the Chinese communities around the world for ten thousand years!

Left to right: Eric Choi, Derwin Mak, and Tony Pi.

Derwin Mak with author J.M. Frey, a presenter at the AuroraAwards. Publishers' Weekly listedJ.M.'s novel Triptych as one of thefive best science fiction or fantasy novels of 2011.

A Science Fiction Fan and Writer at Auschwitz: The Diary of Petr Ginz

2011-11-09T20:27:00.012-05:00

"Moon Landscape", pencil on paper, 1942-1944, by Petr Ginz.

The Diary of Petr Ginz, edited by Chava Pressburger

Holocaust Education Week (November 1-9, 2011) is not usually the occasion to discuss the lives of science fiction writers, but there is a connection between the Holocaust and a science fiction writer. Now available in bookstores is the diary of Petr Ginz, possibly the only verifiable science fiction fan and writer to die at Auschwitz. He was only 16 years old when he was murdered.

Few people know about Ginz, who was a highly intelligent boy and fan of Jules Verne. He wrote five novels, at least three with science fiction themes, between the ages of 8 and 14. Alas, none were professionally published, and only one, A Visit From Prehistory, has survived. However, many people have seen his drawing, "Moon Landscape", a copy of which Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon took aboard the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia. More recently, he was mentioned as an inmate of Theresienstadt concentration camp in the documentary Hana's Suitcase.

The Diary of Petr Ginz was recovered and edited by his surviving sister, Chava Pressburger. He started writing it when he was 14 years old in Prague. It ends when he goes to Theresienstadt, the "model camp" that the Nazis used to fool the outside world that they were treating Jews humanely. Ginz survived for another two years at Theresienstadt before being taken to Auschwitz.

Of course, people will compare Ginz's diary to a more famous diary of that era, Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl. Both are diaries, but they differ greatly in style. Anne Frank wrote about relationships and feelings among her family and a few others trapped in their Secret Annex. Her diary is all about feelings and emotions and growing up.

Petr Ginz, in contrast, treated his diary like a newspaper and wrote about current events and observations of life under German rule. Unlike Anne Frank, Ginz could roam about his ghetto, albeit with increasing restrictions on his movement. Thus his diary reports the daily news of life under German occupation. In addition to writing about school classes and German soldiers in the streets, he also mentions the loss of civil rights inflicted by the Nazis upon the Jews. One day, they have to surrender their fur coats, the next day, they're forbidden to walk on certain streets. There's a sense of impending doom as the indignities stack up one at a time.

At Theresienstadt, he edited a magazine called Vedem (We Lead) and assumed the title "editor in chief". The Diary of Petr Ginz includes several articles and drawings from Vedem.

Petr Ginz's diary may not be as famous as Anne Frank's, but it's an excellent first-hand account of life in the Prague ghetto, and the Vedem articles and drawings show rare glimpses of life in Theresienstadt.

Anders Breivik: Angry Science Fiction Nerd?

2011-10-19T19:08:00.010-04:00

My article "The Norway Tragedy: Influences on Madness" was published in SITREP, the journal of the Royal Canadian Military Institute, September - October 2011. It is about Anders Breivik, the confessed killer of the massacre in Norway on July 22, 2011. Media reports say that Breivik was a Christian fundamentalist and a right-wing racist, but my analysis of his manifesto, 2083 - a European Declaration of Independence, shows that he was neither type of person. Instead, he is really a science fiction nerd gone violent. His manifesto, far from promoting Christian or right-wing ideas, has plenty of references to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, and other science fiction and fantasy movies, TV shows, and video games.

The article is available on my website here.

Four Stories From The Dragon and the Stars Get Honourable Mentions on Gardner Dozois' Year's Best Science Fiction List

2011-08-13T21:25:00.011-04:00

Four stories from The Dragon and the Stars received Honorable Mentions in Gardner Dozois' 28th Annual Year's Best Science Fiction:

"The Character of the Hound” by Tony Pi,
"Across the Sea" by Emily Mah,
"The Water Weapon" by Brenda Clough
"The Son of Heaven" by Eric Choi

Click on the titles to read excerpts from the stories.

The Dragon and the Stars is a finalist for a 2011 Aurora Award for Best Related Work in English. If you like its stories, please vote in the Aurora Awards.

Tony also made the list for three other stories ("The Curse of Chimère", "The Gold Silkworm", "Night of the Manticore") as did Melissa Yuan-Innes ("Iron Monk") and Ken Liu ("The Literomancer"). Congratulations to everyone!

Also support the following nominees for the Aurora Awards

2011-08-01T10:49:00.009-04:00

Aurora Awards voting period is open now. For details, visit:

http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/wordpress/

There are some finalists/ nominees whom I wish to support, and I hope you check out their work and support them too. They are:

Best English Novel:

Destiny’s Blood by Marie Bilodeau, Dragon Moon Press

Best English Short Story:

Destiny Lives in the Tattoo’s Needle by Suzanne Church, Tesseracts Fourteen, EDGE

Best English Poem / Song:

Waiting for the Harrowing by Helen Marshall, ChiZine 45

Best English Graphic Novel:

Tomboy Tara, Emily Ragozzino, tomboytara.com

Best Fan Organizational:

2 finalists I wish to support here:

Andrew Gurudata, organizing the Constellation Awards

Liana Kerzner, chair of Futurecon (Toronto)

And of course, please support the following nominee for Best English Related Work:

The Dragon and the Stars, edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, DAW

Vote for The Dragon and the Stars for an Aurora Award

2011-08-01T10:39:00.007-04:00

Help The Dragon and the Stars win an Aurora Award!

Aurora Awards voting is NOW OPEN! Voting procedures are different from previous years'. Now you have to register as a member of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, receive a membership number, and use it to vote online. There is no charge to register as a CSFFA member, but there is a $5.50 voting fee; however, persons attending SFContario 2 (this year's Canvention) will have their voting fee waived.

Here are the instructions from the Constellation Awards on how to vote:

"Here’s how to begin. First go to our membership page

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

and login. For those that registered to nominate you just have to use your email address and the society number you used before. For those that are new please click the “Register” button at the bottom of the form to sign up. We will send you your society number with a link to click to verify your account.

Once you have logged in you will see at the bottom the voting section with our “Buy Now” button. As in past years, there is a $5.50 fee to vote. If you are a member of Canvention this fee is being waived and you will instead see a “Vote Now” link at the bottom."

Remember, The Dragon and the Stars is on the ballot for Best English Related Work! To read its stories, go here:

http://www.aerospacewriter.ca/dragonandthestars.htm

On the Red Carpet at the Constellation Awards, July 16, 2011

2011-07-24T18:31:00.025-04:00

The Constellation Awards are Canada's awards for excellence in science fiction film and television and are presented annually at the Polaris Science Fiction Convention in Richmond Hill, Ontario. This year, I presented the award for Best Female Performance in a 2010 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Miniseries. My co-presenter was the beautiful and talented Katherine Curtis, reporter for The Naked News. The award went to Chloe Grace-Moretz in Kick-Ass.

Photo above: Katherine Curtis and I hold the results envelope for Best Female Performance in a 2010 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Mini-Series. My white tuxedo jacket is a Pierre Cardin.

After the ceremony, Katie Uhlmann of TTN-HD News interviewed me about my anthology The Dragon and the Stars, which is nominated for an Aurora Award, Canada's national science fiction award for science fiction. The interview can be seen here on YouTube.

Photo above: Interview with Katie Uhlmann of TTN HD News

Teddy Wilson and Ajay Fry, hosts of the TV series Innerspace on Space: the Imagination Station, hosted the awards ceremony. They sang the opening song, the first musical act ever in the Constellation Awards. They also won the award for Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2010.

Photo above: I'm with Teddy Wilson and Ajay Fry.

Also present at the ceremony were actors Jewel Staite (Firefly, Stargate Atlantis) and Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis).

Photo above: Jewel Staite and Paul McGillion.

Photo above: me, Paul McGillion, and Jewel Staite.

Actor Adam Baldwin (Firefly) won the award for Best Best Male Performance in a 2010 Science Fiction Television Episode for his performance in the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Couch Lock".

Photo above: Adam Baldwin accepts his award while Jewel Staite looks on.

Guelph, Ontario, has become a center of independent horror and fantasy filmmaking, and Aidan Harris and Claire Moran are two young actors from Mind's Eye, a fantasy web series made in Guelph. They presented a Constellation Award. Claire was also nominated for Best Female Performance in a 2010 Science Fiction Television Episode.

Photo above: Aidan Harris and Claire Moran from Mind's Eye.

Other awards presenters included science fiction author J.M. Frey (Triptych) and actor Paul Lee (of the TV series Train 48).

Photo above: J.M. Frey and Paul Lee.

The Constellation Awards ceremony was classy, entertaining and fun. It's definitely the most glamorous red carpet event for Canadian science fiction. Many thanks to awards committee chairman Andrew Gurudata, who is nominated for an Aurora Award for Best Fan - Organizational for organizing the Constellation Awards.

Photo above: Andrew Gurudata, chairman of the Constellation Awards.

The Dragon and the Stars is an Aurora Award finalist!

2011-05-14T19:10:00.022-04:00

The Dragon and the Stars is on the ballot for the 2011 Aurora Awards in the category of Best Related Work. Many thanks to our talented authors for their wonderful stories (see the list below). Thanks to all who nominated our anthology for Canada's national science fiction and fantasy award.

The Dragon and the Stars is the first collection of science fiction and fantasy stories written by ethnic Chinese living outside of China. It features new fiction from Chinese writers in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong.

If you don't have The Dragon and the Stars, what are you waiting for? Get it now at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com

If you like the stories of The Dragon and the Stars, promote our unique fusion of Canadian and international science fiction and fantasy by voting in the Aurora Awards, which are organized by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.

You can vote if you're Canadian or living in Canada.

Voting by both online form and mail-in ballot begins in early June and ends on October 15, 2011.

To learn more about the Aurora Awards and to vote, visit:

www.prixaurorawards.ca

(More information about the voting process will be posted on the Aurora Awards website later.)

Critical acclaim for The Dragon and the Stars:

"There are wonders aplenty in this hegemony-challenging volume."

- The Montreal Gazette

"Looking to read something a little different in SF and fantasy? The Dragon and the Stars features eighteen (in Chinese lore, a lucky number) new tales written by English-speaking writers of Chinese ancestry...I would be hard-pressed to select the best story from this collection."

- Bureau42.com

"A taste of Chinese culture and fine story telling."

- The Baryon Review

"Given the broad mandate of The Dragon and the Stars and the variety of the stories, it is a solid collection that should appeal to a wide range of readers."

- SFRevu.com

Many thanks to these talented authors for their wonderful stories in The Dragon and the Stars:

Introduction by Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling novelist.

"The Character of the Hound" by Tony Pi (Canada)
During the war between the Southern Song and the Jin Dynasties, a soldier allows a spirit to possess his body so he can solve a murder.

"The Fortunes of Mrs. Yu" by Charles Tan (Philippines)
A Filipino Chinese woman is horrified that each of her fortune cookies has a blank strip of paper inside it.

"Goin Down to Anglotown" by William F. Wu (United States)
In an alternate America that is dominated by Asians, three young Asian men go out for a night of intrigue in exotic "Anglotown".

"The Polar Bear Carries the Mail" by Derwin Mak (Canada)
Chinese investors and a Chinese Canadian pilot try to start a space tourism business in northern Canada. Unfortunately, they have bad feng shui at their spaceport.

"Lips of Ash" by Emery Huang (United States)
During the time of a historical dynasty, a cosmetics artist uses dark magic to help the ambitious mistress of a nobleman.

"The Man on the Moon" by Crystal Gail Shangkuan Koo (Hong Kong)
Yue Lao (月老), the Man on the Moon, hosts a beauty pageant to find a bride.

"Across the Sea" by Emily Mah (United States)
A Tlingowa Native American woman's aunt tells a legend about mysterious visitors who came to America hundreds of years ago.

"Mortal Clay, Stone Heart" by Eugie Foster (United States)
During the reign of the First Emperor, a clay sculptor finds love and tragedy with a soldier.

"Dancers with Red Shoes" by Melissa Yuan-Innes (Canada)
In Montréal, magical red shoes dance by themselves.

"Intelligent Truth" by Shelly Li (United States)
A young Chinese American woman discovers truths about herself and her mother’s intelligent robotic servant.

"Bargains" by Gabriela Lee (Singapore)
A young woman meets a strange shopkeeper in Chinatown. The shopkeeper sells success as a writer – but with a terrible price.

"Threes" by E.L. Chen (Canada)
A Canadian man thinks his dead wife has become a Chinese dragon in Lake Ontario.

"The Son of Heaven" by Eric Choi (Canada)
The Chinese rocket scientist Tsien Hsue-shen (钱学森) is persecuted during the Red Scare in America in the 1950s.

"Shadow City" by Susan Ee (United States)
In a fantasy universe, a gatekeeper must stop people from leaving an evil place called Shadow City.

"The Water Weapon" by Brenda W. Clough (United States)
The British police are suspicious of a talking Chinese dragon and a Chinese princess who appear at the Great Exposition of 1851 in London.

"The Right to Eat Decent Food" by Urania Fung (United States)
Two American English teachers in China will do anything to get decent food during the SARS epidemic.

"Papa and Mama" by Wen Y Phua (Singapore)
A Chinese daughter struggles to remain dutiful to her late parents, who are inconveniently reincarnated as a fish and a bird.

"Běidŏu" by Ken Liu (United States)
In the Ming war against Japan, an ingenious Chinese army officer invents new weapons to defeat the Japanese.

Afterword by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi

Eeriecon 13, April 29 - May 1, 2011

2011-05-14T18:30:00.013-04:00

Photo above: I was one of the Guests of Honour at Eeriecon 13, a science fiction convention in Niagara Falls, New York. The other Guest of Honour was the great Larry Niven. In addition to panel discussions, I was on a mission for a friend of mine: to find out how to pronounce the first name of Larry's fictional character, Louis Wu. Is it pronounced like "Lewis" or like "Lou-ee"? I asked Larry, and he said, "Either way goes, but I prefer 'Lou-ee'."

Photo above: For the first time, Eeriecon had a panel about science fiction from outside the North American-British sphere of influence. The panel was called "East Asia SF". Here I am with Ruhan Zhao, who writes science fiction stories for Chinese magazines such as the one he is holding. Ruhan was Eeriecon's first writer from China, though he lives in Rochester, NY, now. Ruhan talked about the revival of science fiction in China, and I talked about Japanese novels now available in English translation.

Photo above: Horror writer and Three Stooges expert Darrell Schweitzer and I give the Communist salute before the masquerade. No, that is not my military uniform. I'm in costume as the Chinese tour guide from the Japanese anime series Ramna 1/2.

Photo above: April 29 was also the day of the Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William, K.G., and Miss Catherine Middleton, the future King and Queen of Canada, so I brought Jaffa cakes to the consuite to celebrate this historic occasion. Jaffa cakes are a biscuit that Giles eats on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The poster is attached to the wall with tape with images of bacon on it. Why do science fiction fans always get the weirdest things?

Anyway, although the Americans were suspicious of the British biscuits at first, by Saturday afternoon, they had eaten all four boxes of them.

Many thanks to convention chairman Joe Fillinger for inviting me to Eeriecon, and many thanks to the convention committee and attendees for this enjoyable convention.

Ghost Stories Film Festival of Fright

2011-03-24T21:11:00.004-04:00

Mirvish Productions, which is staging the British hit play Ghost Stories, starting April 1 at the Pansonic Theatre in downtown Toronto, will be running a small festival of horror films at the Carlton Cinema at 20 Carlton Street (Yonge and Carlton Streets), from March 25-27, 2011. I'll be introducing the following films:

Friday, March 25, 9:30 p.m.: Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh

Sunday, March 27, 9:30 p.m.: The Shining (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson

There will be a trivia contest before each film, with prizes being tickets to Ghost Stories.

More information about Ghost Stories and the Ghost Stories Film Festival of Fright is here.

Nominate Andrew Gurudata for a Prix Aurora Award for Best Fan Organizational

2011-01-16T13:43:00.007-05:00

Photo: Andrew Gurudata, Awards Committee Chair, the Constellation Awards

At the same time that you're submitting Prix Aurora Awards nominations for stories, remember that the Prix Aurora Awards has a category for Best Fan Organizational.

I attend various science fiction awards ceremonies, and one of the best organized and entertaining is undoubtedly the Constellation Awards, held annually at the Polaris Science Fiction Convention. It's got videos that work, comedy skits, celebrity emcees, and Canadian actors, actresses, and models. And it's also the best-dressed of the Canadian science fiction award ceremonies (Fashion TV should do a report from the Constellations).

Andrew Gurudata is Awards Committee Chair for this ceremony, so please consider nominating Andrew Gurudata for the the Prix Aurora Award for Best Fan Organizational.

There is no fee to register for a free membership in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association and submit a nomination. Register for membership, receive your Society number by email, and return to the Prix Aurora Awards website to submit your nomination.

Visit:

http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/wordpress/

While you're nominating Andrew, remember my stories are eligible too!

http://www.derwinmaksf.com/Auroras.html

Prix Aurora Awards Nominations are Open: Nominate My Stories and Books!

2011-01-16T13:36:00.006-05:00

Calling all Canadians, at home and abroad, and landed immigrants in Canada: our national science fiction awards, the Prix Aurora Awards, are now open for nominations. This year, I have three short stories, one novel, and one anthology eligible to be nominated in the following categories:

Eligible for Best Short Fiction:

"Cloned to Kill", Infinite Space, Infinite God II, Twilight Times Books

"The Polar Bear Carries the Mail", The Dragon and the Stars, DAW Books

"Family Tradition", Night to Dawn, issue 17, April 2010

Eligible for Best Novel:

The Shrine of the Siren Stone, Orchard House Press.

Eligible for Best Related Work:

The Dragon and the Stars by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, Editors, DAW Books

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

http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/wordpress/

There is no fee or cost to nominate stories.

To nominate stories, go to the above website and register for a free membership in the in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Receive your Society number by email, then go back to the Aurora Awards website and submit your nominations. You can submit nominations online (due April 30, 2011) or with the mail-in paper ballot (due April 22, 2011).

You can view my short stories and excerpts from The Shrine of the Siren Stone for free during the nomination period at:

http://www.derwinmaksf.com/Auroras.html

Infinite Space, Infinite God II has its Canadian book launch at Futurecon on New Year's Eve 2010-2011

2011-01-15T14:06:00.020-05:00

Photo: Liana K., Futurecon's chairperson (and host of the TV series This Movie Sucks! and Ed and Red's Night Party) and I hold a copy of Infinite Space, Infinite God II. I'm not wearing a costume; that's my St. John Ambulance mess dress uniform.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II, an anthology of Roman Catholic-theme science fiction stories, edited by Karina and Robert Fabian, had its Canadian book launch at Futurecon, a science fiction convention and New Year's Eve party held in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The launch occurred during the cocktail hour that preceded the banquet.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II includes my story "Cloned to Kill", which is about a teenage clone girl who rebels against her creator with the help of a former army chaplain. Editor Karina Fabian says, "'Cloned to Kill' goes beyond the ethics of cloning to explore the nature of free will, forgiveness and belonging to community. As such, it's a story not so much about clones as about us." She also said that the main character, Lorraine, reminded her of Cameron from the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Futurecon was the best New Year's Eve ever! It was a unprecedented idea: a posh party for science fiction fans, with an upscale dress code (semi-formal or formal or SF-fantasy-anime costumes), hors d'ouevres served with plates and forks, and a code of conduct somewhat based on Russian Empress Catherine the Great's Rules for the Behaviour of Those Entering These Doors. We had none of the ragged clothes and people eating junk food with their bare hands that one sees at most science fiction convention room parties! The live entertainment was splendid, and I felt like I was in one of those parties in War and Peace or Brideshead Revisited combined with SF-fantasy-anime cosplay.

Many thanks to the convention committee: Liana K., Phil Gotfried, Emily Schooley, Steven Kerzner, David Ross, Tina Olah, Lori Dawn Antaya, Marcus Antaya, and Declan Dennehy.

Buy Infinite Space, Infinite God II at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, and remember, "Cloned to Kill" is eligible to be nominated for a 2011 Prix Aurora Award in the category of Best Short Fiction.

www.derwinmaksf.com/ISIG_II_main.html

The Dragon and the Stars: 5th bestselling mass market book in 2010 at Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction Bookstore

2011-01-15T13:54:00.004-05:00

This was the best news that I could receive for New Year's Eve. The Dragon and the Stars had not only gotten into the Top 10 but had also ranked 5th in the mass market book sales of 2010 at Bakka-Phoenix Books, Toronto's famous science fiction bookstore. See the Bakka-Phoenix announcement here:

http://www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com/2010/12/30/2010-bestsellers/

The Top 10 bestselling mass market books at Bakka-Phoenix in 2010 were:

Mass Market

1. Wake, Robert J. Sawyer

2. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey

3. Lord of the Changing Winds, Rachel Neumeier

4. Julian Comstock, Robert Charles Wilson

5. Dragon and the Stars, Derwin Mak & Eric Choi, eds.

6. Gaslight Dogs, Karin Lowachee

7. Enchantment Emporium, Tanya Huff

8. Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

9. On the Edge, Ilona Andrews

10. Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett

I owe many thanks to my co-editor Eric Choi and to all the authors for creating such a wonderful anthology: Tess Gerritsen, Tony Pi, Charles Tan, William F. Wu, Emergy Huang, Crystal Gail Shankuan Koo, Emily Mah, Eugie Foster, Melissa Yuan-Innes, Shelly Li, Gabriela Lee, E.L. Chen, Susan Ee, Brenda W. Clough, Urania Fung, Wen Y Phua, and Ken Liu.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II, with my story "Cloned to Kill", now available

2010-11-21T20:20:00.007-05:00

This is the second anthology of Roman Catholic-theme science fiction edited by Karina and Robert Fabian. It includes my story "Cloned to Kill", about a teenaged girl clone who has been created as a military killer, but she rebels against her programming and clone master with the help of a priest.

Editor Karina Fabian says, "'Cloned to Kill' goes beyond the ethics of cloning to explore the nature of free will, forgiveness and belonging to community. As such, it's a story not so much about clones as about us."

"Cloned to Kill" is eligible to be nominated for a 2011 Prix Aurora Award for Best Short-Form Work in English.

Available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Kindle version also available at Amazon.com.

Eric Choi's story "Dedication" translated and published in Japanese by Hayakawa SF

2010-10-28T22:45:00.008-04:00

Congratulations to my Dragon and the Stars co-editor Eric Choi. His story "Dedication" has been translated and published in Japanese in the anthology The Astronaut From Wyoming and Other Stories edited by Toru Nakamaru, from Hayakawa Publishing, Japan's largest publisher of science fiction.

"Dedication" is the story that won the first Isaac Asimov Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Science Fiction, awarded by Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and Dell Magazines, in 1994. It's about a team of astronauts who struggle to survive on Mars after their rover is damaged by a meteorite shower.

To my Japanese friends: "Dedication" is eligible to be nominated for a Seiun Award in the Best Foreign Language Short Story category.

International Symposium on Chinese Canadian and Chinese American Literature in English, Waterloo, Ontario, Oct. 15-17, 2010

2010-10-28T20:37:00.032-04:00

Getting ready to talk about fox demons, Anglotown, and spaceship engineers (photo by Donna Mak).

The editors of The Dragon and the Stars (photo by Donna Mak)

Eric Choi and I attended "Homeland, History, and Representation," an International Symposium on Chinese Canadian and Chinese American Literature in English, held by Renison University College at the University of Waterloo and sponsored by the Confucius Institute.

Professors, scholars, and authors from across North America and China attended this conference, where they presented papers on the literature of Chinese North American authors such as Judy Fong Bates, Amy Tan, Wayson Choy, Yan Li, and Fred Wah.

Imagine our surprise when a professor told us that a colleague of hers has been researching and cataloging stories by Chinese Canadians, including Eric's and my stories. She phoned her colleague, and he came running from across the university to see us.

We gave a presentation about The Dragon and the Stars and its authors, describing the stories they had written for our anthology as well as other stories they have written. The audience received our presentation very well, and professors from places as diverse as New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and Inner Mongolia asked questions about our stories and Chinese Canadian and American science fiction and fantasy writers.

Ka Nin Chan, the composer of the opera Iron Road, asked me about the Chinese characters in Star Trek. My reply: "What Chinese characters?" Eric added that there has never been a Chinese character in Star Trek, but there was a Chinese actor (Garrett Wang) who played a Korean character who was the only officer never promoted throughout all the seasons of Star Trek Voyager.

On Saturday evening, we had dinner at Lucinda House, a 150-year-old house owned and restored by Wilfred Laurier University. After dinner, arts reporters from the Chinese newspaper Guong Ming interviewed me about Chinese Canadian and Chinese American science fiction writers and genre fiction in North America.

Jim Wong-Chu, poet (Ghosts of Chinatown), past editor of Ricepaper magazine, and founder of the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, made my day when he said that Eric and I were "pioneers" and that we had to continue encouraging Chinese Canadians to write science fiction and fantasy.

We met some interesting people at this conference. Petra Fachinger, a German languages professor researching Chinese literature at Queen's University, told us that some Germans have recently developed a fascination with Chinese culture. Farah Moosa, a Ph.D. student studying Chinese Canadian literature at McMaster University, knew what Wiscon is (It's a feminist-oriented science fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin.). And Professor Patricia Chu from George Washington University told us about her daughters' love of fantasy stories such as Harry Potter.

Many thanks to Professors Yan Li (University of Waterloo) and Eleanor Ty (Wilfred Laurier University) and Jun Liu (University of Waterloo) for organizing and inviting us to this conference. Thanks to Sue Anne Tu for interpreting between English and Mandarin for my interview with the Guong Ming reporters.

The Dragon and the Stars presentation (photo by Donna Mak)

Professor Zhongming Chen, from the Foreign Languages College, Inner Mongolia University, speaks on the writings of Larissa Lai, Sky Lee, and Yan Li. Interestingly, there is a Canadian Studies Centre at Inner Mongolia University.

Jim Wong-Chu, poet (Ghosts of Chinatown), past editor of Ricepaper magazine, and founder of the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, reads some of his poems.

Professor Eleanor Ty (Wilfred Laurier University) speaks on old and new diaspora subjectivities in Judy Fong Bates' Midnight at the Dragon Cafe.

Professor Yan Li (University of Waterloo), novelist (Lily in the Snow), and organizer of this conference.

In the centre: Romulan Ale at the Renison University College cafeteria?

Lunch on Saturday. Eric is drinking the Romulan Ale.

Eric gets an autograph from Denise Chong, author of The Concubine's Children, The Girl in the Picture: The Kim Phuc Story, and Egg on Mao.

The Shrine of the Siren Stone launched at Polaris Science Fiction Convention

2010-07-19T02:32:00.037-04:00

My novel The Shrine of the Siren Stone had its book launch at the Polaris Science Fiction Convention in Richmond Hill, Ontario, on July 17, 2010. The maids of Cafe Delish, Anime North's maid cafe, assisted me in promoting the book (see photo). They performed a song and dance act at the launch.

The Shrine of the Siren Stone is published by Orchard House Press (formerly called Windstorm Creative) of Port Orchard, Washington. Thanks to Cris DiMarco, my editor, for publishing this novel. The Shrine of the Siren Stone takes place in the same universe as The Moon Under Her Feet, but you don't have to read The Moon Under Her Feet to understand The Shrine of the Siren Stone.

Description:

Ishiro is an otaku, an anime-obsessed geek without a decent job or loving parents. His only friends are Mr. Endo, owner of a maid cafe in Akihabara, and Yuko, a waitress in a French maid uniform. Ishiro falls in love with Yuko, a but she turns out to be an android using him to learn about human love. Does she have real feelings for him or is she just programmed to act like a girlfriend? When Mr. Endo splits the couple apart, Ishiro joins the Japanese Navy and goes to war, and Yuko's behavior becomes increasingly human and rebellious. Their paths cross again at the mysterious Shrine of the Siren Stone, where a telepathic meteorite holds the secret of the human spirit...

"It's Romeo and Juliet meets Benny and Joon in a futuristic Japan. Then stuff blows up! The Shrine of the Siren Stone is a wonderful, female-friendly story and a welcome departure from the stereotypes of the science fiction genre. The plot twists surprised me, I got teary-eyed in a few places, and I laughed out loud in others. What's not to love?"
- Liana K., host of Ed and Red's Night Party on G4

"Derwin Mak creates a dazzling mix of artificial intelligence, future warfare, otaku romance, and Japanese religion. His characters are comic, then heroic, and finally self-sacrificing. He achieves something of great rarity in science fiction: a novel of heartfelt poignancy."
- John-Allen Price, author of The Mutant Chronicles

The Dragon and the Stars is in bookstores now

2010-05-09T19:15:00.005-04:00

Photo: The Dragon and the Stars, World's Biggest Bookstore, Toronto.

The Dragon and the Stars, edited by me and Eric Choi, is in bookstores now! It's in major bookstores like Chapters, Indigo, and Borders. Look for it in the section for science fiction and fantasy anthologies.

For those of you in the Toronto area, the Canadian book launch will be at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, May 13, 2010, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the Lillian H. Smith Branch of the Toronto Public Library, 239 College Street, Toronto.

It's also available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca now:

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

From the back cover of The Dragon and the Stars: This unique anthology of science fiction and fantasy tales includes stories by authors of Chinese ancestry, who make their homes in places as varied as the United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The talented authors included here have drawn upon China's rich and venerable heritage as well as the traditions and cultures of their current homelands to create imaginative and fascinating stories. From the tale of a murder that can only be solved by spirit possession to a fortune cookie that offers an uncertain future...from a man who believes his wife has become a Chinese dragon to an inventive army officer in the Ming conflict with Japan...from a young woman's fateful encounter with a Chinatown shopkeeper to a Chinese rocket scientist caught in the perils of 1950s America -- here are eighteen science fiction and fantasy visions that showcase the diversity of the Chinese experience around the world.

Introduction by New York Times bestseller author Tess Gerritsen. Stories by Tony Pi, Charles Tan, William F. Wu, Derwin Mak, Emery Huang, Crystal Gail Shangkuan Koo, Emily Mah, Eugie Foster, Melissa Yuan-Innes, Shelly Li, Gabriela Lee, E.L. Chen, Eric Choi, Susan Ee, Brenda W. Clough, Urania Fung, Wen Y Phua, Ken Liu.

Dead Genesis: made-in-Guelph zombie movie premieres in Toronto

2010-05-09T18:55:00.007-04:00

Photo: the cast of Dead Genesis at the Fox Theatre, Toronto, April 18, 2010.

I attended the premiere of Dead Genesis, a zombie movie made in Guelph, Ontario. It's part of Guelph's growing independent film industry. Read about the premiere and view photos of it at www.hardcorenerdity.com:

http://www.hardcorenerdity.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2239098%3ABlogPost%3A100027

With Fr. Jose Funes, Star Trek fan and Director of the Vatican Observatory

2010-03-20T01:00:00.009-04:00

Photos: top: Father Funes talks about the evolving universe. Bottom: Derwin Mak and Father Jose Funes. Both photos were taken at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in the Newman Centre, University of Toronto, March 16, 2010.

Father Jose Funes, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory, came to Toronto on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, to give a lecture as part of the Naming the Holy Lecture Series, sponsored by the Newman Centre and the Regis College Jesuit Community at the University of Toronto. His topic was "The Evolving Universe" and was about the scientific research being conducted by the Vatican Observatory.

Contrary to the stereotype held by many science fiction writers and fans, Christianity and science are not mutually exclusive. The Roman Catholic Church, one of the larger denominations of Christianity, has long supported scientific research. Catholic clergy, such as Gregor Mendel, Georges Lemaître, and Christopher Clavius, have made contributions to science.

Father Funes's lecture, while describing the serious work going on at the observatories at Castel Gandolfo and Tucson, Arizona, had its humorous side. He showed a photo of Pope Benedict XVI holding an alien -- a meteorite from Mars. Newspapers put the caption "Mars is in the hands of the Pope" on that photo.

Particularly interesting is that the Vatican Observatory has a summer school for astronomy students. It asks universities to send the future leaders of astronomy. Students do not have to be Catholic. "We don't ask for baptismal certificates," Fr. Funes said.

He ended his Powerpoint presentation by showing photos taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. But he inserted a photo of U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek into the series of photos, and the music was the theme from Star Trek - Voyager. He told me he is a big Star Trek fan. Ah, isn't that wonderful: the Pope's chief astronomer is a Trekker.

"Family Tradition" published in Night to Dawn # 17

2010-03-08T21:29:00.007-05:00

My story "Family Tradition" has just been published in Night To Dawn, issue # 17, a vampire fiction magazine edited by Barbara Custer. In "Family Tradition", the ghost of Abraham van Helsing pesters his great-great-great-granddaughter, a Hooters Girl who doesn't want to take up vampire hunting. Then a mysterious Romanian arrives at the local Hooters...

Order Night to Dawn here:

http://www.bloodredshadows.com/newntd.htm

Ming Pao Daily News article about The Dragon and the Stars: English Translation

2010-02-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

Two Chinese Canadian Writers and Overseas Compatriots Together in Chinese Science Fiction Book

By Wendy Yang

Published in Ming Pao Daily News, Toronto edition, February 8, 2010, p. A2

Overseas Chinese writers are numerous, but those writing science fiction are few. Two Chinese Canadian science fiction writers, with overseas Chinese writers in different countries, have created a book of 18 science fiction and fantasy short stories, to be released on May 11. This will be North America's first all-overseas-Chinese anthology of science fiction and fantasy.

The anthology, called The Dragon and the Stars, will be published by well-known American science fiction publisher DAW Books. It contains 18 short stories from Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore. The 18 Chinese authors wrote their stories in English over six months. Five of the authors are from Canada, and they are strong in Canadian sci-fi circles.

Tony Pi was born in Taipei, immigrated to Canada when he was 8 years old, and grew up in Toronto. He earned his Ph.D. in linguistics at Montreal's McGill University and has worked at several universities in Canada. At present, he is administering the graduate program in Cinema Studies at University of Toronto.

For the new book, he wrote the fantasy story "The Character of the Hound". The story centers on a war between the Southern Song and Jin. The ghost of a soldier adopts the word "Dog" as a tattoo on his body and acquires super powers to solve a murder in the army.

Tony Pi likes science fiction, in particular, Japanese manga (comics). "I like to use imagination to explore the present and the past and things that do not exist in the world. I like to create." In 2006, he wrote his first story, "The Stone Cipher", which won second place in the first quarter of the Writers of the Future contest, an international competition that finds cutting-edge science fiction writers. So far he has published 20 short stories, each of about 4,000 words.

Derwin Mak is another Chinese science fiction writer. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario. His father is from Hong Kong, and his mother is Malaysian Chinese. He is a chartered accountant, a member of Royal Canadian Military Institute, and a lecturer at the Institute.

He wrote "The Polar Bear Carries the Mail", about a Chinese company that joins with Inuit in northern Canada to build a spaceport but are opposed by environmentalists. The main character is a Chinese astronaut, and the story involves feng shui problems.

Derwin Mak began writing science fiction in 2001. His 2005 story "Transubstantiation" won the Prix Aurora Award, Canada's national science fiction award, equivalent to the United States' Hugo Award.

He said the new book is significant in correcting the past image of Chinese people and their culture in science fiction, which has been often negative. "The stories in The Dragon and the Stars all have Chinese themes, and many have ethnic Chinese main characters. Chinese culture is 5,000 years old, there are four great inventions of China, and Chinese history is full of scientific and technological development. This is a rich basis for science fiction and should be reflected in current stories."

There are another three Chinese Canadian science fiction writers: Eric Choi, Melissa J. Yuan-Innes, and Elaine Chen. Eric Choi's first story, "Dedication", was published in 1994, making him the first Chinese Canadian science fiction writer.

Derwin Mak says that overseas Chinese are now writing science fiction because North American tastes are changing. First, North Americans are more accepting of Asian culture, such as Japanese manga (comics) and Chinese martial arts movies. Secondly, North American society has become more diverse and inclusive of ethnic minorities in popular culture and creative fields, resulting in the emergence of Canadian Chinese science fiction writers.

Addendum to the English translation:

Eric Choi is co-editor of The Dragon and the Stars. His story "Dedication" won the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (now called the Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing).

The original Chinese text refers to The Dragon and the Stars as a science fiction anthology, but it also contains fantasy stories.

Ming Pao Daily News (Toronto) article about The Dragon and the Stars

2010-02-21T10:50:00.002-05:00

Ming Pao Daily News, a major Chinese newspaper, published this article about The Dragon and the Stars in its Toronto edition, February 8, 2010. The reporter Wendy Yang interviewed me and Tony Pi.

English translation is coming.

加國2華裔作家向海外同胞邀稿
華人科幻小說匯集成書

【明報專訊】海外華裔作家雖多﹐但從事科幻小說創作的則寥寥無幾。有2位加拿大華裔科幻作家發起﹐向不同國家的海外華裔科幻作家邀稿﹐將於5月1日推出一本收錄了18個短篇科幻小說的作品集。這將是北美第一部全部由海外華裔科幻作家創作的英文科幻/奇幻小說選集。

5月由美國出版商發行

作品集名為《The Dragon and the Stars)》(龍與群星)﹐5月1日將由美國著名科幻出版商DAW Books出版。它收錄的18個短篇科幻小說﹐是由加拿大、美國、香港、菲律賓、新加坡等國家的18位華裔作家﹐在過去半年內用英文創作。其中加拿大有5 位﹐他們是加拿大科幻圈中頗具實力的華裔作家。

畢家怡(Tony Pi)出生於台北﹐8歲移民加拿大並在多倫多長大。他在滿地可的麥基爾大學獲得語言學博士學位後﹐在加國一些大學教授語言學。目前在多大電影研究系做行政工作。

他此次為新書創作的奇幻作品為《The Character of the Hound》(犬的特點)。故事以南宋和金國之間的戰爭為背景﹐講述一個鬼魂通過士兵身上的「犬」字圖騰進入其身體﹐使士兵具有超能力﹐解決發生在軍隊內的謀殺案。

畢家怡從小就喜歡科幻作品﹐尤其喜歡看日本漫畫﹐「我很喜歡用想象來探索現在和過去都不存在的世界﹐我喜歡進行創造。」2006年他創作了第一篇科幻小說《The Stone Cipher》(寶石密碼)﹐為他贏得了當年第一季度未來作家競賽二等獎﹐這是一項旨在發現新銳科幻作家的國際性賽事。至今他已出版了20篇、每篇大約 4000字的短篇科幻小說。

麥家瑋(Derwin Mak)是另外一位華裔科幻作家。他出生安省彼得堡﹐父是香港移民﹐母是馬來西亞華僑。目前他是加拿大皇家軍事學院的一名註冊會計師﹐也是學院的委員和講師。

他此次創作的科幻小說《The Polar Bear Carries the Mail》(北極熊拿覑信)﹐講述一間中國公司要在加國茵紐特人地區修建一座太空站﹐但因為環境問題﹐遭到當地人反對。主角是一位華裔宇航員﹐故事涉及風水問題。

麥家瑋從2001年開始創作科幻作品﹐其中2005年的作品《變體》獲得「極光獎」(Aurora Award)﹐這是加拿大國家級科幻小說獎﹐相當於美國的雨果獎。

他說﹐此次新書出版的意義在於﹐糾正以往科幻小說中對華裔形象和文化的負面描寫﹐此次收錄的小說都具有中國元素﹐且不少以華裔為主角。中華5000年文化博大精深﹐還有四大發明﹐中國是一個充滿科技發展歷史的國家﹐具備相當豐富的科幻創作基礎﹐這些應該在科幻小說中得到展示。

另外3位加國華裔科幻作家是蔡文信﹐以及兩位女作家Melissa J. Yuan-Innes和Elaine Chen。其中蔡文信94年的處女作《奉獻》被看成加國首位華裔科幻作家的誕生。

麥家瑋認為﹐90年代以後出現海外華裔從事科幻創作﹐一是因為北美科幻小說的品味有轉變﹐愈來愈接受亞洲的文化﹐比如取材日本漫畫和中國功夫等﹔二是北美社會也愈來愈多元化﹐更包容少數族裔的流行文化創作﹐從而造成了加國華裔科幻作家的誕生。

Nominate Andrew Gurudata (the Constellation Awards) for a Prix Aurora Award for Fan Achievement - Organizational

2010-01-19T23:00:00.000-05:00

The Prix Aurora Awards has a category for Fan Achievement - Organizational.

I attend various science fiction awards ceremonies, and one of the best organized and entertaining is undoubtedly the Constellation Awards, held annually at the Polaris Science Fiction Convention. It's got videos that work, comedy skits, celebrity emcees, and Canadian actors, actresses, and models. And it's also the best-dressed of the Canadian science fiction award ceremonies (Fashion TV should do a report from the Constellations).

Andrew Gurudata organizes this ceremony, so please consider nominating Andrew Gurudata for the Constellation Awards Organization.

You can nominate him online at: http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/English/AwardProcess/nominationVoting.htm

Also please nominate people and works in other categories as well.

Act now! The nomination deadline is February 15!

Nominate Eric Choi's story "Another's Treasure" for a Prix Aurora Award

2010-01-06T21:38:00.001-05:00

Eric Choi is my co-editor of The Dragon and the Stars.

Eric Choi's short story "Another's Treasure" is indeed that rare treasure: a humorous science fiction short story published in a time when most science fiction writers are trying to exceed each other with serious, pessimistic themes. My warped sense of humour liked it, which is why I'm nominating it for Canada's national science fiction award, the Prix Aurora Award, in the category of Best Short-Form Work in English.

"Another's Treasure" was published in the anthology Footprints, edited by Jay Lake and Eric T. Reynolds, from Hadley Rille Books. See it here at Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Footprints-James-Van-Pelt/dp/0981924395/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262752154&sr=1-1

If you're a Canadian citizen (even if not necessarily living in Canada) or permanent resident of Canada, you too can nominate the story for the Prix Aurora Award, Best Short-Form Work in English category, online at: http://www.prix-aurora-awards.ca/English/AwardProcess/nominationForm.php

My Year 2009 in Photos

2010-01-05T23:44:00.000-05:00

January 1: meeting David Miller, Mayor of Toronto, at his annual New Year's Day levee at Toronto City Hall. Levees are an old Canadian tradition for mayors to greet the people. In the background is City Councillor Pam O'Connell.

February 6: an otherwise dull winter livened up when Robot Chicken made a surprise appearance at the Scotibank Theatre to promote the Teletoon TV network.

April 6: with my fellow announcers at the Constellation Awards press conference: Liana K. (host of Ed and Red's Night Party) and Andrew Gurudata, chairman of the Constellation Awards, Canada's awards for science fiction film and television. The press conference to announce the nominees was held at the Royal Canadian Military Institute, Toronto.

June 6: With Major General Richard Rohmer, the D-Day 65th Anniversary Ceremony, Queen's Park, Toronto, June 6, 2009. Gen. Rohmer flew over Normandy on D-Day. His daughter, Anne Rohmer, is a well-known City TV presenter. Interestingly, Gen. Rohmer is also a science fiction writer of a sort; in the 1970's and 1980's, he wrote some "future history" novels such as Separation (Quebec separates) and Ultimatum (U.S. invades Canada) and technothrillers such as Starmageddon (U.S.-Soviet space war) and Periscope Red (Soviet submarine).

July 11: I might not win many science fiction awards, but I'm lucky enough to present them with some awesome women. The awesome woman this time is Pamela Mars, an actress and model who has appeared in the movie Land of the Dead, four Playboy special editions, and fashion shows at Toronto Fashion Week. We're holding the envelope containing the title of the winner for Best Overall 2008 Science Fiction Film or Television Script. Constellation Awards at Polaris Science Fiction Convention, Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Pam and I on stage.

With Karen Cliche, actress from Mutant X, Flash Gordon, and Vampire High. Karen was mistress of ceremonies of the Constellation Awards.

With CP 24 traffic and weather reporter Pooja Handa and Paul Bliss, CTV Queen's Park Bureau Chief, who were presenters at the Constellation Awards.

With actress Kate Hewlett from Stargate: Atlantis, another presenter at the Constellation Awards ceremony.

With actor Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galactica at the Constellation Awards ceremony.

The presenters and performers of the Constellation Awards after the ceremony.

August 7: at Anticipation, the World Science Fiction Convention, in Montreal, I represented China by announcing the winners of the 2008 Galaxy Awards, awarded by the Chinese science fiction magazine Science Fiction World. At this event, science fiction writers and fans from nine countries announced their countries' various awards for science fiction writing, as well as the Canada's Constellation Awards for science fiction film and television.

Immediately after the International Awards Showcase, I went to the ceremony of the Prix Aurora Awards, Canada's national science fiction writing awards, to present one of the trophies.

With my fellow presenters at the Prix Aurora Awards: Liana K. (host of Ed and Red's Night Party), Gina Desjardins (from Musique Plus), and Donna Mei-Ling Park (from the TV show The Electric Playground). Other writers got shiny aluminum trophies. I got to have dinner with these three beautiful, talented and incredibly intelligent ladies.

September 17: with British actor James Purefoy, who plays the title character in the movie Solomon Kane, based on the character by Robert E. Howard. Purefoy also played Mark Antony in the HBO TV series Rome and Vlad the Impaler in the Doctor Who audio drama Son of the Dragon. Toronto International Film Festival, Scotiabank Theatre, Toronto.

October 28: I gave the annual Hallowe'en lecture at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto. My subject: Mary Shelley and the creation of Frankenstein.

December 19: I met Margaret Kerry, the reference model for Tinker Bell and a red-haired mermaid in Walt Disney's Peter Pan, aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship Magic as it sailed from Port Canaveral to Key West. Here we are at the ship's art gallery.

The Dragon and the Stars

2009-10-24T23:39:00.000-04:00

Editors: Derwin Mak and Eric Choi

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: DAW Books (May 2010)
Language: English

ISBN-10: 0756406188

ISBN-13: 978-0756406189

The Dragon and the Stars will be the first collection of science fiction and fantasy stories written by ethnic Chinese living outside of China. It will feature new fiction from Chinese writers in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Here are the stories in order of their appearance in the book: