Columns

The Great Hugo Controversy of 2014

August 13th, 2014

In just a few short days, the 2014 Hugo Awards Ceremony will take place at Worldcon, held this year in London. For those of you who don’t know, the Hugo is one of the top honors awarded to Science Fiction and Fantasy works. Unlike the Nebula Awards, which can only be voted on by members of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the World Fantasy Award, which is awarded by a judges panel, the Hugos are the most populist of the major awards.

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Burnt Tongues: A Behind the Scenes Chronicle

August 12th, 2014

Introduction: If you're reading this, then you already know I made it, I won, I got in. Out of the thousands of people dropping their shit in the "Chuckshop," somehow I beat the odds...beat them. I don't really know. We tried not to use the word "contest". Even though we knew that's what it was, to call it a contest would mean we weren't workshopping or helping each other. It would mean that we were competing.

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You Make Me Sick: 5 Novels About Disease

August 11th, 2014

The runaway success of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, a tale of teenage love and terminal illness, got me thinking about novels that use disease as the focal point. It’s odd that there aren’t more of them, given the intense melodrama inherent to sickness. One’s world changes drastically when a fatal disease enters the picture, whether you’re the scared patient or the nervous friend or the grasping relative. There’s a natural arc to the drama: you’re fine, you’re sick, you die.

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Culling The Classics: The Grapes of Wrath

August 8th, 2014

Cover image via libcom.org It was bound to happen eventually, classic cullers. After 14 months and 13 successfully culled classics, I have for the first time abjectly failed in my monthly mission.

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The Joy of Writing Longhand

August 8th, 2014

Nowadays, we do everything on our computers and phones, from ordering food and dating to scheduling meetings and catching up with friends and family. There is truly an app for everything, and it’s making our lives ridiculously simple and instant. It only makes sense that we also use our various devices to write. After all, we need our stories to be printed, emailed, submitted here and there, so why not keep them all in the same place?

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Should You Be Reading Archie Comics?

August 7th, 2014

Archie comics were never COMICS, comics to me. There was a significant lack of super powers. The characters spent very little time foiling schemes that could be described as "maniacal," "dastardly," or even good, old-fashioned "evil." I don't know that I ever saw Archie comics anywhere BUT the checkout aisle at the grocery store.

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Showrunners: The Authors of TV Land

August 6th, 2014

Vince Gilligan and Bryan Cranston, courtesy of Variety.com If you've studied film at all, you know about auteur theory. For the uninitiated, the concept originated in the pages of Cahiers du cinéma—a publication founded in 1951 by members of the French New Wave filmmaking movement, one of the first magazines dedicated to film criticism.

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Path to Publication 3.0: I Have A Book Deal Again!

August 5th, 2014

After being dropped by my first publisher, I've found a new home—my debut novel, New Yorked, will be published by Polis Books in June 2015. Once again, I will attempt to chronicle my path to publication... As faithful readers of the previous incarnation of this column might know, June was a real kick in the teeth.

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The Perils of Reading in Public

August 5th, 2014

It’s a risky endeavor to take a book out of the house. Finding a quiet moment in bed is relatively easy, and the couch is always happy to oblige a book binge, but the outside world is a tough and unforgiving place for readers. The logic behind trying to read in public is obvious. Potentially calm moments abound: long plane rides, even longer little league games, visits to the beach, waiting in the car during a shopping trip. Even the simple desire to get some sun with a minimum of physical exertion is a perfectly valid reason to grab a book and a picnic blanket.

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Better With Age: Giving Elderly Characters the Spotlight

August 4th, 2014

Every living person on the planet has experienced something of childhood, but the same can’t be said for old age. It’s an acquired condition, and a privilege (or a curse) that only those who have passed through many seasons of victories and hardships can claim. 

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