Fantasy Minute for January 15, 2006: Episode 133

Publishers Weekly has listed their Listen Up Awards for 2005. The winners in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section are: Terry Pratchett’s Thud!, read by Stephen Briggs, Ben Bova’s Mercury, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Arte Johnson, and Moira Quirk, and Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Tertiary Phase, read by Adams, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Susan Sheridan, and the rest of the cast.

To celebrate the release of Thomas Kidd’s book Kiddography, Budd Plant Comic Art will be given away three pieces of original Thomas Kidd art to be determined by a random drawing from people who order the book or enter on-line. Entries for the drawing begin on February 1 and will run through the end of April.

The Sci-Fi Channel has announced that it will be airing the Christopher Eccleston season of Dr. Who starting in March. Chris Roberson notes that they are using the slot that will be vacated by Battlestar Galactica.

Fantasy Minute for November 6, 2006: Episode 127

C S Lewis: Beyond Narnia, A short film exploring Lewis's personal story, starring Anton Rodgers and Diane Venora will air on BBC 2 from 9-9:55 pm. Unlike the full length feature Shadowlands, this short biopic is said to include the character of Tolkien, both as a younger and an older man. This should be of interest to Tolkien and Lewis readers.

Barnes & Noble's has released their Top Ten SF/F Novels of 2005. Included in this year’s list are Brandon Sanderson, John Meaney, and Robin Hobb.

The first annual Carl Brandon Awards are open to submissions for speculative fiction at long or short length by or about people of color. The awards, which will be presented at Wiscon and carry a $1,000 prize, is juried and named after the fictitious fan created by Terry Carr and Peter Graham. Two awards will be presented, the The Carl Brandon Parallax Award, for works written by a person of color and The Carl Brandon Kindred Award for works dealing with issues of race and ethnicity. Any author is eligible for the Kindred Award.

Fantasy Minute for January 5, 2006: Episode 126

NarniaWeb has learned that Douglas Gresham is already busy working on Prince Caspian. They also have the pictures of the Narnia DVD covers that are due out in April.

News from Audio Renaissance. They recently acquired the rights to A Crown of Swords and will be publishing the unabridged audio book this fall. Look for it October 2006.

All of the Wheel of Time™ books have been recorded in unabridged format read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading and most are now available from Audio Renaissance. They are available in both CDs and cassettes. The exceptions to date are A Crown of Swords, The Path of Daggers and Winter's Heart. Winter's Heart is available in unabridged format from audible.com, however A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers are only available in abridged format read by Mark Rolston.

New Lord Byron poem found in book appears to be a fantasy poem. According to the Guardian Unlimited, The 12-line poem was inscribed in the front of a copy of an 1810 edition of The Pleasures of Memory by Samuel Rogers, which had been given to the poet by the author.

Locus online has an Excerpt from Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Felaheen
published January 2006 by Bantam Spectra for your reading enjoyment

Fantasy Minute for January 3, 2006: Episode 124

LACon IV, the 2006 Worldcon, has announced a special Hugo category for Best Interactive Video Game. This category will allow games, for any platform, to be nominated for a Hugo Award. This award is only to be given in 2006 for games released in 2005. The category implies, but does not make it clear, that a single game is considered the same on multiple platforms.

On January 3^rd Tolkien fans around the world are invited to raise a glass and toast the birthday of this much loved author at 21:00 (9 pm) your local time.

The toast is "The Professor".

For those unfamiliar with British toast-drinking ceremonies: To make the Birthday Toast, you stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words 'The Professor' before taking a sip (or swig, if that's more appropriate for your drink). Sit and enjoy the rest of your drink.

Here is the entry form.

Jeffrey Ford reads at South Street Seaport Museum, New York City NY, 7 p.m.

Fantasy Minute for January 2, 2006: Episode 123

Some news on today’s show was submitted by listener Rachel: Thanks Rachel:

There is a possible small budget Serenity sequel for Universal-owned Sci Fi Channel. Mostly, this rumor was powered by strong Firefly DVD sales, and hopes for similar success on the Serenity DVD release. Well, over at MovieHole, the rumors are picking up strength. They report that the Serenity DVD sales are doing very well in the states, and that Firefly continues to sell very strong, even overseas.

TV Guide is giving away 5 copies of Serenity for their big DVD giveaway Sweepstakes. Just enter all you personal information for a chance to win.

According to Shawn at terrybrooks.net Terry Brooks has recently begun his initial work on Book Two of the pre-Shannara novel. All edits are now finished on Book One, and it will be published September 2006!

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for January 1, 006: Episode 122

Narnia DVD information from Ultimate Disney: The earliest rumblings of its DVD release pin the big screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis's acclaimed fantasy novel for April, where it is expected to arrive in three different versions: separate but similarly loaded 16x9-enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 cropped editions and a more collectible deluxe edition which will carry a list price of $10 or so more than the studio's standard $29.99 tag. More specific details and a firm date likely won't be announced until sometime in the first two months of 2006

Author J.K. Rowling has reportedly donated a signed first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to be auctioned off to help raise funds for Peace Hospice in England. The spokesperson for the charity hospice is quoted in the Watford Observer newspaper as saying "Bids for a first edition Harry Potter currently on Ebay are up to $3,500 so we are hoping we will raise a lot of money for the hospice. JK Rowling contacted us through a third party to donate the book and she said she will be following the auction on Ebay." We will update you with more once the bidding starts next week.

Eileen Gunn has announced today that webzine The Infinite Matrix is ceasing publication, following a last round of posts -- a story by Rudy Rucker, David Langford's last Runcible Ansible, and several others in the next few days.

Fantasy Minute for Decembrer 27, 2005: Episode 119

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope the holidays are treating everyone well and the children (and those with the hearts of children) had an especially happy Christmas.

JK Rowling has announced that there is a few very interesting updates to her website: the Rumour section, kaboshes some theories on Petunia and Lupin , a few tidbits in the About Me section, while over in her Rubbish section, it addresses that absurd claim that she is group of writers all working under the pen name of JKR, as well as her hating Harry and a New FAQ Poll to vote on (Book Six spoilers)

For any fans of the insanely addictive game Sudoku…here is a Narnia Sudoku game for you.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 24, 2005: Episode 118

According to Box Office Mojo, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has passed the 200 Million US$ worldwide mark today with a total of more than 212 million dollars. It is important to note that the movie has only been released in 13 nations. Many countries will get it later this month and some even in January. The tentative release date for the DVD of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has been set for Easter 2006.

Jeff VanderMeer has posted a short story from THE BOOK OF WINTER: entitled THE CROC AND YOU. You can find the story at his blog.

Science Fiction and Fantasy World has posted its rules for their reader’s top 5 books of the year. So if you’ve read some books you really liked this past year, get over there and place your vote.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 23, 2005: Episode 117

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman have written Aziraphale and Crowley's New Year's resolutions. They're expected to be up somewhere at http://www.harpercollins.com/ just after Christmas in time for your own resolutions.

Robert Sheckley, a short-story and novel writer who was among the first to fuse satire with science fiction, creating a sub-genre called "galactic humor," has died. He was 77.

Sheckley, who had been fighting emphysema, died from complications of a brain aneurysm Dec. 9 at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said Ziva Kwitney, his former wife.

Considered a master of satire and irony, Sheckley also was one of the first science-fiction writers to give mechanical devices the ability to think for humans, according to a 2003 feature in Locus, a magazine that covers science fiction news.

"Ringers: Lord of the Fans" is here. First shown earlier this year on the big screen at Slamdance Film Festival and at the Newport Beach Film Festival, this documentary was quietly released on DVD at the end of November. It claims to be "by, about and for the fans" of professor J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary world. Ringers is available on DVD at most major outlets and on amazon.com.

Fantasy Minute for December 22, 2005: Episode 116

The Jim Henson Company has selected JK Rowling as one of the honorees of the newly established Jim Henson Honors, an annual program that acknowledges organizations, individuals or products that reflect the core values and philosophy of Jim Henson and the company he founded in 1955.  

Time magazine has listed there top books of the year. Included in the fiction category are Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners and EL Doctorow’s The March.

You can help chose what will be included in the Eldest Special Edition due out in the fall 2006. Alagaesia.com is running a poll.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 21, 2005: Episode 115

If you miss a favorite author when they appear at Denver's Tattered Cover Book Store, you’re no longer completely out of luck. Thanks to a new partnership between BurstMarketing, podcasts called Authors On Tour — Live!, will generate free weekly downloads featuring recently published authors reading from and discussing their works while at the Tattered Cover. The first of these 30-45 minute shows is available now.

In coming weeks, the program will be expanded to include podcasts with Susanna Clarke, Robert Hicks, Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, Clive Barker, Andrew Weil, Monty Roberts, Nicholas Sparks, Dan Savage, Zadie Smith, Michael Connelly, and others.

Emerald City, a genre website offering reviews, news, and analysis, has posted surprise announcement: Well, this blog might be drawing readers to the site, but over the past month or so the main effect it seems to have had is to get me into more and more trouble. Therefore, apart from any important announcements regarding Emerald City that might arise, I’m going to stop posting to it for a while. Hope Cheryl gets everyone off her back and she begins posting again.

F. Brett Cox (The Serpent and the Hatchet Gang) KGB Bar, New York City NY, 7 p.m.

Jack Womack (Lying to Children) KGB Bar New York City NY, 7 p.m.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 20, 2005: Episode 114

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been named by the magazine "TIME for Kids" as their Person of the Year. Readers of this children's magazine selected our favorite author for this award over others such as Lance Armstrong, disaster relief volunteers, and even the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

Salon.com has posted it’s Top 10 books of the year including titles by Kelly Link, Kazuo Ishiguro, Haruki Murakami.

Sharp’s Books has a signed copy of K.G. Childs' "The Fortress City" to give away. Answer the following question and you will be entered into a drawing for it.

Q. What is the name of the Dragon in J.R. Tolkein’s ‘The Hobbit’?

Send your answers to us at admin@sharpsbooks.co.uk

The winner will be informed January 31, 2005.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 17, 2005: Episode 113

It’s now time for SF Site’s annual readers’ choice survey: best read of 2005. The guidelines are quite simple: it must be defined as a book, must in some way be related to speculative fiction, and it must have been released in 2005. Official rules are available at SFSite.

Cemetery Dance Publications, artist Glenn Chadbourne, and author Stephen King announce The Secretary of Dreams, Stephen King’s first unabridged graphic short story collection! Information can be found at http://www.cemeterydance.com/.

Wotmania is running their contest for the best of as well. Their’s is a little different than others, but seems to have some interesting categories. http://www.wotmania.com/fantasymessageboardshowmessage.asp?MessageID=144599

Scot R. Stone (The Ice Shadows of Arna) Border’s, Northglenn, CO, 11 AM

Fantasy Minute for December 16, 2005: Episode 112

The Aurealis Awards announce their 2005 finalists and honourable mentions in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult and Children's novel and short story divisions. Aurealis Award is an Australian Award and will presented in February 2006. Finalists are:

Fantasy Novel Finalists

Sara Douglass, Darkwitch Rising: The Troy Game Book 3

Anthony Eaton, Nightpeople

Sonya Hartnett, Surrender

Juliet Marillier, Blade of Fortriu: Book II The Bridei Chronicles

Karen Miller, The Innocent Mage: Kingmaker Kingbreaker Book I

Fantasy Short Story Finalists

Adam Browne, “Heart of Saturday Night”

Terry Dartnall, “Ones and Zeros”

Dirk Flinthart, “The Red Priest's Homecoming”

Richard Harland, “The Greater Death of Saito Saku”

Rosaleen Love, “Once Giants Roamed the Earth”

Ottakar's, the British book chain, has revealed that it is unable to compete with discount chains and supermarkets for a share in the book market. These rivals aggressively discount books and Ottakar’s says it can’t compete. This relights the takeover discussions that have been going on the last 6 months.

Fantasy Minute for December 15, 2005: Episode 111

Philip Pullman, author of The Scarecrow and His Servant, has been edged out in the race for the Nestle prize. Instead, an author with severe dyslexia, who did not learn to read until she was 14, has beaten Philip Pullman to this year's Nestle children's book prize. Sally Gardner's fantasy adventure, I, Coriander, was chosen by a panel of schoolchildren as the best book in the nine-to-11 years category. Pullman received the silver medal.

Japan's Studio Ghibli, announced that it will adapt Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea fantasy novel series in an animated movie called Gedo Senki (Tales From Earthsea) and will be released in July 2006.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 14, 2005: Episode 110

Prince Caspian, the second story in the Chronicles of Narnia, has been greenlit for a December 2007 theatrical release. Disney was hoping for a $60 million opening weekend for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and since the film’s opening exceeded their expectation they are moving forward.

Graham Joyce has completed Do The Creepy Thing to his publisher and it should be out summer 2006. He has also begun an as yet untitled novel.

Michael Chabon, Tim Pratt A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, San Francisco CA, 7 p.m.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 13, 2005: Episode 109

Dragonmount is running a special feature entitled “The 13 Days of Christmas.” This year, Dabel Brother productions, the company responsible for producing the New Spring graphic novel, is releasing color images of all 13 of the original Forsaken. The images are sized to fit common desktop sizes. One will be released each day until Christmas.

Retail group Whitbread is to stop sponsoring its annual book awards because it no longer considers the association to be commercially viable. The Whitbread Award offers a prize of 25000 pounds to the winner of each of 5 categories. They are actively seeking a different sponsor for the award.

David Marusek (Counting Heads) Waldenbooks, Fairbanks AK, 1-3 p.m.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 10, 2005: Episode 107

Greg Benford and Darrel Schweitzer have written interesting pieces on the state of science fiction and why they believe fantasy has risen in popularity. The essays talk about what science fiction is doing wrong and offers possible solutions.

There is a transcript as well as the link to an MP3 of author J.K. Rowling’s BBC interview with Stephen Fry. This interview aired yesterday on the BBC 4.

Noted fantasy writer and longtime Portland, OR resident Robert Sheckley died Friday, Dec. 9, 2005, in a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., hospital, 28 days after he was stricken with a brain aneurysm. In recent days, he went into a coma from which he never awakened. He was 77. Among his works were such collections as "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?" "Citizen in Space" and "Is That What People Do?" He wrote dozens of novels, including "The Game of X," "Dimension of Miracles" and "Mindswap," which he said he thought was one of his best works. His book "Immortality Inc." was adapted for a film called "Freejack”. He will be missed.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 9, 2005: Episode 106

After a long delay, Greg Keyes has finally finished The Blood Knight, Book Three of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. Excerpts will be forthcoming on his website and the book should be out in April 2006.

Martha Wells has added a sample chapter for Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary on her website which will be released in February 2006.

Today is the official release date for the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe. This weekend, the Fantasy Times Podcast will have a review of the movie along with the Narnia Special Podcast. Keep your eyes and ears on your aggregator for this podcast.

Link to today’s show

Fantasy Minute for December 8, 2005: Episode 105

The Official Podcast for The Chronicles of Narnia is now available on iTunes. To download the 11-minute podcast which is available only to iTunes users, read the show notes. The podcast includes interviews with the actors and audio clips from the film. Beware of spoilers! Click here There are several news updates about Narnia on NarniaWeb.com.

Maybe it's just the impossibly cozy nature of the 'hood, but for 80 years there has been no change in the resident line-up of the Hundred Acre Wood. As part of a barrel-full of Winnie the Pooh anniversary events, Disney is working on a new animated series that will replace Christopher Robin with a 6-year-old girl.

Link to today’s show