Brandon Sanderson splits final volume of Wheel of Time

Mar 31, 2009 by donny

Brandon Sanderson has decided to split the final book of the Wheel of Time, originally entitled A Memory of Light, into a projected three books.  Before you Wheel of Time fans start to scream incoherently, spewing spittle on your monitors or throw chairs against walls in frustration and justified anger, spare a moment to hear out Mr Sanderson and his thoughtful considerations in arriving at this decision.

From his blog:

And I guess that’s what I’m trying to show you with all of this: No matter how the book is split, cut, or divided, the last portion wouldn’t come out until 2011. Why? It goes back to that first decision I made, the one to write the book the length I felt it needed to be. And so, it’s not the greedy publisher, stringing you along that is keeping you from reading the ending. It’s not the fault of production taking a long time. The blame rests on me.

I must say that the post did go some way in dispelling some of my initial thoughts about a scam on the part of the publisher and author (may not be entirely evident from the snippet I posted above).  Maybe it’s our inherent distrust and cynical nature, but hey, Sanderson seems to be coming through genuinely enough.  I wish him all the success, of course, and hope he brings back the sorely needed polish back to what started as a great piece of work.

The good news then is the first of the final three parter, called The Gathering Storm, will be available Nov 3 2009.

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Jeff Bezos on the Daily Show

Mar 28, 2009 by donny

This isn’t new by a longshot, but here’s a clip from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show where he interviews Jeff Bezos to talk about Gem’s all time favourite device in the whole wide world, the Kindle 2.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M – Th 11p / 10c
Jeff Bezos
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

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Kim Stanley Robinson talking about Climate Change

Mar 28, 2009 by donny

Kim Stanley Robinson, the Hugo and Nebula award winning author has written an interesting call-to-action piece on climate change on McKinsey’s What Matters (I hadn’t known McKinsey had such a site!  What a find!).

I had a discussion some time back triggered by one of Mr Robinson’s book.  On that occasion, I asked what types of important sociological discussions that can be triggered by fiction, and if it can affect the views of the people who are not seriously researching the issues.  I took as an example Robinson’s Forty Signs of Rain, which extrapolates the effects of global warming on the world, versus Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, which famously argues the lack of irrefutable proof that global warming actually exists.

The discussion thread which was in a book forum had already been wiped out due to a server crash (sound familiar?).

So anyway, check out the article by Robinson (and if you’re interested in this kind of things, check out What Matters itself).

What a drawn out tangent, huh?

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Obama with new post-presidency book deal

Mar 23, 2009 by donny

There are very few things that can top the accolade of being a critically lauded author of a book that also happens to be a best-seller (actually, that depends on who you ask.  There are those of the opinion that that statement is an oxymoron).  Well, how about being a critically lauded author of a book that also happens to be a best-seller, oh, and he’s the President of the United States?

Obama has agreed with Crown Publishing Group to deliver a new nonfiction book after he leaves office.  Already the best-selling author of Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope received $2.5 million last year in book royalties

There’s something about being a world leader with an acknowledged intellect and a couple of critically lauded books that lends him a sort of street cred.  I know I’d at least pay more attention to my national leaders if they could muster a book good worth reading.

 

 

Story here (of Obama’s book deal, not my national leaders).

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Man Booker International Prize 2009 list of contenders announced

Mar 21, 2009 by donny

While we’re on a roll here with literary prize nominee announcements, we might as well carry it on!

This is not the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the coveted annual giveaway from Man Group plc.  The International Prize, in contrast, is given once bi-yearly, and,

highlights one writer’s continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage.

The contenders are:

• Peter Carey (Australia)
• Evan S. Connell (USA)
• Mahasweta Devi (India)
• E.L. Doctorow (USA)
• James Kelman (UK)
• Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
• Arnošt Lustig (Czechoslovakia)
• Alice Munro (Canada)
• V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad/India)
• Joyce Carol Oates (USA)
• Antonio Tabucchi (Italy)
• Ngugi Wa Thiong’O (Kenya)
• Dubravka Ugresic (Croatia)
• Ludmila Ulitskaya (Russia)

Fantastic spread of authors from around the world, I must say.

Check out the announcement in the Man Booker Prize site here.

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Over 50? Writing speculative fiction? Here’s $750!

Mar 21, 2009 by donny

The Speculative Fiction Foundation is offering the SLF Older Writers Grant, which, as it says in the website:

The SLF Older Writers Grant is awarded annually to a writer who is fifty years of age or older at the time of grant application, and is intended to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. We are currently offering one $750 grant annually, to be used as the writer determines will best assist his or her work.

(Thanks Boingboing!)

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