Short Fiction from Sally McBride

SF Canada member Sally McBride is pleased to announce she has just signed a contract for a short story “The Paisley Snow” to appear soon in The Cockroach Conservatory, Vol. 1: Working Zealot’s Guide to Gaining Capital in Pre-Apocalyptic America.

As well, her short story, “My Mother’s Garden”, will appear in Exile Editions’ upcoming Food of My People anthology edited by Ursula Pflug and Candas Jane Dorsey.

And her short story, “Thank Yew Very Much”, is currently out in On Spec magazine (Vol. 28 #4).

Chasing the Banyan Wind contract signed

SF Canada member Bernadette Dyer is pleased to announce her forthcoming novel, Chasing the Banyan Wind. The historical novel set during World War 2 will be published by LMH Publishing.

In addition, Dyer also has two poems set for publication in Tamaracks, an anthology of Canadian poets scheduled for publication from California’s Lummox Press.

Both books will be available in the fall of 2018.

Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows Published

SF Canada member David Perlmutter is pleased to announce the release last month of his new book, The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Published by Rowman & Littlefield, the book “encompasses animated programs broadcast in the United States and Canada since 1948.”

From the blurb: “Once consigned almost exclusively to Saturday morning fare for young viewers, television animation has evolved over the last several decades as a programming form to be reckoned with. While many animated shows continue to entertain tots, the form also reaches a much wider audience, engaging viewers of all ages. Whether aimed at toddlers, teens, or adults, animated shows reflect an evolving expression of sophisticated wit, adult humor, and a variety of artistic techniques and styles…Each entry includes a list of cast and characters, credit information, a brief synopsis of the series, and a critical analysis. Additional details include network information and broadcast history.

The volume also features one hundred images and an introduction containing an historical overview of animated programming since the inception of television. Highlighting an extensive array of shows from Animaniacs and Archer to The X-Men and Yogi Bear, The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Series is an essential resource for anyone interested in the history and evolution of this constantly expanding art form.”

The book is available in both hardcover and ebook editions.

New Middle Grade Science Fiction

SF Canada member Sherry D. Ramsey’s newest book, the middle grade science fiction adventure Planet Fleep: A Science Twins Adventure, has just opened to pre-orders. The book will release on June 20th in all electronic formats, with a print edition to follow in September.

When a meteorite storm wreaks havoc on their family’s cargo ship, sort-of-twins Rudi and Trudy find themselves stranded on an alien planet. In their search for help, they uncover a fiendish plot against the friendly and mysterious alien critters the twins call “fleeps.” With only an overprotective robot for company, can they survive on their own, find their parents, and save the fleeps from a horrible fate?

Diverse young readers with an interest in astronomy, space travel, and science and technology will love Planet Fleep and the Science Twins, and have some laughs along the way. A free five-chapter preview is currently available for download.

Petit Guide de la science-fiction au Québec

SF Canada member Jean-Louis Trudel’s latest book is a non-fiction guide to science fiction in Quebec, from 1838 to 2017.  Provided with an index, a short bibliography, and lists of award winners and notable dates, it may serve as an introductory textbook.  The Petit Guide de la science-fiction au Québec is published by Alire and will be available for ordering in August.  For more details, please see: http://www.alire.com/Essais/PetitGuide.html

Jean-Louis Trudel voit paraître cette année un essai sur la science-fiction au Québec, de 1838 à  2017.  L’ouvrage inclut un index, une bibliographie sommaire, une chronologie et des listes de textes primés.  Utilisable comme ouvrage de référence ou manuel de cours introductoire, le Petit Guide de la science-ficiton au Québec est publié par Alire et sera disponible au mois d’août.  Voir : http://www.alire.com/Essais/PetitGuide.html

From the website:

Bien que la science-fiction compte deux siècles d’existence et que ses concepts, traduits en images percutantes, s’épanouissent sur nos écrans depuis des décennies, peu de gens connaissent la véritable genèse de ce genre littéraire… et encore moins son évolution au Québec. C’est cette lacune que vient combler le Petit Guide de la science-fiction au Québec.

En sept chapitres abondamment illustrés, Jean-Louis Trudel retrace le chemin parcouru par la science-fiction au Québec depuis sa naissance au XIXe siècle.

“Our Villains, Ourselves: On SF, Villainy, and… Margaret Atwood?”

SF Canada Member Greg Bechtel’s semi-autobiographical essay on Margaret Atwood, Sad/Rabid Puppies, and villainy appears in Issue 5 of the grad student journal The Word Hoard. The essay examines SF writers’ sense of ourselves as noble “outsiders” to mainstream culture and literature, and how our aggrieved frustration with this perceived outsider-ness–while not entirely imaginary–may also reveal something about us as both SF writers and an SF community. In it, he argues that our choice of imaginary villains (and how we respond to them), may reveal more about us than we might like to admit, and that it may be productive–even necessary–to recognize the ways that even our “real world” villains are often largely imaginary.

You can download the .pdf of Greg’s essay at this link.

To download and read other articles or the entirety of this issue of The Word Hoard, visit the website here.

Greg is currently busy reviewing submissions for Tesseracts Twenty-One with co-editor Rhonda Parrish. You can find his website at http://gregbechtel.ca/.