Archive for 2011
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AUTUMN NEWS ∗ INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: Representations in SFF ∗ SUMMER BITS ∗ TOWEL DAY 2011 ∗ WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY 2011: 23 April ∗ THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE ROMA 2011: The Romani in SFF ∗ APRIL 2011: Oh come on, we all judge the book by its cover as well. ∗ ...MARCH? Has anyone seen March? ∗ FEBRUARY 2011: More on socially engaged SF ∗ PREŠEREN DAY 2011: Some general literary fetish on our cultural holiday ∗ JANUARY 2011: Neža Maurer as a SF poetess? ∗ HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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AUTUMN NEWS

The traditional Vrnimo ljudem knjigo event ("Return the book to the people") takes place in front of the Ljubljana city hall. This year we mark the 411th anniversary of the senseless burning of Slovenian protestant books.

The 27th Slovenia book fair (SI) is taking place in Ljubljana's Cankarjev dom from 23 to 27 November. The programme features interesting lectures on the different experience of reading electonic and printed text, the resulting uncertainty in publishing, Slovenian specifics. We are looking forward to the renowned comic artist Miki Muster speaking on 24 November at 18:45 in the second lobby, and the discussion on SF on 26 November at noon in Debatna kavarna:

Dystopia – science fiction in Slovenian literature (Mladinska knjiga založba): Science fiction has its share of fans in the world. What will become of Slovenian science fiction, is it any different from international best sellers, and what can we expect from it? Guests: Dušan Dim, Lenart Kučič

The event turned out to be a discussion on contemporary technology and the first SF novel by Dušan Dim, Oprostite, vaše življenje ne obstaja.

On 23 November at 20:00, Trubarjeva hiša literature will host an interesting discussion titled Kdo je lahko slovenski pisatelj? (Who is a Slovenian writer?), which will tackle the question of writing in Slovenian despite the challenges and the desire to conquer foreign markets:

In Slovenia, more than a hundred authors currently write in foreign languages. This phenomenon poses many questions to the Slovenian public and various institutions which finance literary creativity, and it also forces us to consider what these writers bring into the Slovenian literary landscape. Do they already represent a phenomenon which changes the nature of Slovenian literature, must we reconsider its definition, which is still tied to the Slovenian language? Who, then, is the contemporary Slovenian writer?

Did you know we celebrated the Slovenian general libraries' day (there are 58) on 20 November? The introductory booklet and last year's public opinion research (SI) can be found among the documents of the Slovenian Public Libraries Association. Almost a third of members visit a library once a week, another third monthly. Almost 90% are personally satisfied or very satisfied with the service, and a great majority believes libraries develop reading culture and better a community's educational level, which is why they agree with public funding. Among the most cited reasons for not using the library are old age, health problems, lack of time, buying books and sufficient online resources.
How about you, do you usually borrow or buy books?

31 October: Happy Reformation Day! It has provided us with our alphabet and standardised language, the first and many subsequent books in Slovenian, the first printing house, the development of secular education and the first secular library. Spend some time with a book by a Slovenian author today, and spare a thought for Trubar, who unified our language:

Kedar ta slovenski jezik se povsod glih inu v eni viži ne govori – drigači govore z dostimi besedami Kranjci, drigači Korošci, drigači Štajerji inu Dolenci ter Bezjaki, drigači Krašovci inu Istrijani, drigači Krovati – obtu smo mi le-tu naše delu v kranjski jezik hoteli postaviti za dosti riči volo, nerveč pak, kir se nom zdi, de ta tih drugih dežel ludi tudi mogo zastopiti. Inu mi nesmo v le-timu našimu obračunu oli tolmačevanu lepih, gladkih, visokih, kunštnih, novih oli neznanih besed iskali, temuč te gmanjske kranjske preproste besede, katere vsaki dobri preprosti Slovenec lehku more zastopiti.

The situation is turning serious: our favourite authors are supporting the global Occupy Movement – the occupation of common public spaces and the fight against the injustice of the current socio-economic system (Ursula K. Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Pamela Sargent, William Gibson and Neil Gaiman among others; see Occupy Writers). Have you joined the millions already? Quickly check out the Slovenian 15o Movement's website and FB group and support your local activists!

This March, the editorial board of the Jašubeg en Jered fanzine – authors Andrej Ivanuša, Bojan Ekselenski, Mara R. Sirako and Amedeja M. Ličen – have established Društvo ustvarjalcev spekulativnih umetnosti Zvezdni prah (Stardust, the speculative art creators' society; SI):

Speculative arts, which include science fiction, fantasy, horror and other works, are undernourished and undervalued in Slovenia. A good story in a novel is always a good story, whether happening in the present or 300 years in the future, on Earth or anywhere else in the Universe. Fictitious stories, fairytales, myths and epic poems are the beginnings of human literature. All could be labelled as speculative art. This is what our society wishes to change, to better the reputation, public worth and promotion of writers, painters, drawers, filmmakers and artists in other fields of human creative expression. Thus we invite everyone active in these fields to join us. Together, we are stronger and more efficient.

On this occassion, JeJ became the official Zvezdni prah bulletin on its own domain – Drugotnost: virtualni svet znanstvene fantastike, fantazije in drugih dimenzij (SI).

Ivanuša published a new SF novel Svetodrev, both he and Ekselenski published several stories online and presented their work at this year's Liburnicon.

Also fresh off the press is the second book in the Varuhi skrivnosti trilogy, Otok vračev by Marget Belani (Mateja Blažič).

Several short stories by new authors have appeared online: Tine Kolenik, Marko Vatovec, Aleš Škerbinek and Miha Pleskovič (JeJ 19), while Primož Jenko published a new story (Življenje in tehnika, 11/2011).

Many of the above are featured at the newly awoken Futurum: spletna zbirka kratkih ZFF zgodb ter recenzij (a web collection of short SFF stories and reviews; SI).

"A space comedy based on a galaxy of sound bites and black holes" by the Crossings festival : Lost in Space, 1 September at 19:00 in the amphitheatre of Druga gimnazija Maribor.

Lively!

We are enthusiastic about the successor to the cult Croatian Sirius magazine: welcome, Sirius B, Časopis za sf, fantasy i horor književnost – we have been waiting a long time! There is a Facebook page, and here is how to subscribe (at half the cost).

Lastly, a link to a 83 MB RAR with 26 Alefs.

Roth and Auster on the necessity and durability of the novel: "Novels -- they're in inevitable decline. They can't compete with the movie screen, the TV screen and now the computer screen." vs. "Humans hunger for stories. They always will. And, the novel, it knows how to adapt and survive." Booklovers, who do you believe? :)

Humorist Kurt Vonnegut graphically presents the plot of some story favourites.

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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

On this 9 August, we continue where we left off on the day of the Roma. Not nearly enough attention is paid to the authorship and literary representations outside of the domain of the Rich White Male, despite their importance and the quality of the material.
We present some fictional and theoretical SFF visions, connected to indigenous people around the globe. We also offer you a taste by linking to legally hosted files.

Ericka Hoagland, Reema Sarwal and Andy Sawyer are the authors of Science Fiction, Imperialism and the Third World: Essays on Postcolonial Literature and Film, a significant part of which is available here. Mark Bould writes concisely on race in SF in Routledge companion to science fiction, p. 187–190.

Among writers of fiction we point out Nnedi Okorafor, the African author of speculative fiction, especially her award-winning novel The Shadow Speaker. Some stories are also available at her official website.

Descendants of American aboriginal people are also active in the genre, e.g. writer and editor of Helix SF, William Sanders (a list of published work with his commentary, stories, available online, alternative sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Gary Westfahl on the representations of indigenous Americans in The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy, p. 553–555.

Amy J. Ransom is the author of Science fiction from Québec: a postcolonial study, a large part of which can be found here. We are anxiously awaiting dr. Judith Leggatt's new study on the SF literature of indigenous Canadian people, which will entail everything from contemporary SF to the aboriginal oral tradition, stories about visitors from space, travelling through space and time, and alternate realities; from the announcement in Aboriginal Research:

Aboriginal writers often use science fiction themes to show a future world that includes a dynamic Native culture. This is in contrast to the mainstream portrayals that often depict Aboriginal cultures frozen in some distant moment in time. Aboriginal storytellers also use speculative fiction to examine the cultural experience of colonization and exploitation, often through a dystopian lens.
In Western traditions, science is a subset of knowledge bounded by objectivity. Aboriginal writers, in contrast, present narratives in which an Aboriginal shaman or healer, commands spiritual, natural, and physical knowledge that is an advanced part of the culture's science and technology.

In New Zealand, SF first developed as a critique of imperialism, however today the genre is defined by postcolonial historical perspectives and intertwined Western forms. Key representatives are Witi Ihimaera and Albert Wendt.

Brian Attebery on Aboriginal SF in Australia:

It is always hazardous to write across cultural boundaries, and when cultural difference is accompanied by a history of abuse, the writer is certain to fall into one trap or another. Non-Aboriginal writers from Australia have generated such a collection of ignorant, patronizing, and demeaning texts about Aborigines that some of the latter want to call a halt to any further attempts. As the novelist Melissa Lucashenko says, "Who asked you to write about Aboriginal people? If it wasn‘t Aboriginal people themselves, I suggest you go away and look at your own lives instead of ours. We are tired of being the freak show of Australian popular culture" (qtd. in Heiss 10).
Yet science fiction may be a special case. As the genre within which concepts of the future are formulated and negotiated, sf can imply, by omitting a particular group from its representations, that the days of that group are numbered. Silence, too, can be a form of control, and the sin of omission, in this case, worse than many possible sins of commission, Australian sf writers have long stntggled to incorporate native peoples and their traditional stories and ways of life into distinctively Australian futures. The history of the struggle suggests that good faith and a desire to leam, while not proof against error and offensiveness, certainly make for more interesting fiction than does outright prejudice. In addition, writers such as Frank Bryning and Terry Dowling, by creating a space for Aboriginal characters and viewpoints within sf, can also be read as inviting Aboriginal and other writers from non-European cultures to contribute their own visions of Aboriginality, Australianness, and the future.
Science fiction is often concerned with the ways in which cultures interact, most obviously in stories of tfrst contact or interplanetary warfare. By allowing writers to dramatize negotiations among radically differing world-views and ways of life, the genre becomes what Mary Louise Pratt calls an "art of the contact zone." A contact zone, according to Pratt, is a space "where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths...." (4). If sf is the art, the zone in which it operates is the collectively imagined future, a symbolic space where utopia, armageddon, and other powerful scenarios compete.
Pratt's examples all represent one side of the contact: disadvantaged writers staking a claim in dominant cultural forms. Her term might apply as well, however, to writing in which voices of outsiders and downtrodden groups are allowed to challenge the primary voice and point of view even though the author belongs to the privileged group. This second application depends on Bakhtin’s idea that voices incorporated into a text remain, to some degree, autonomous, rather than being whipped into conformity by the authorial will.

There are not many attempts of concrete incentives aimed specifically at the SF-themed creativity of indigenous people; two rare examples are this yearly SF writing contest with a substantial financial reward and this call for analytic papers on the indigenous absence and presence in SF and comics.
From 1986 to 2001, a semi-professional magazine Aboriginal Science Fiction was published, with full-page colour illustrations (cover collection), however its name was the only connection to the Aboriginal people (cleverly chosen to appear at the start of any alphabetical list – not okay!), although it did feature a quality international selection of writers.

In terms of television production, some chapters of "Indian" stereotypes in TV science fiction: First Nations' voices speak out by Sierra Adare are available for free. We also recommend this analysis of the representations of indigenous characters in SF on TV.

In the field of film production, we point out Helen Haig-Brown, the indigenous Canadian director, who in 2009 made what is probably the first SF movie in an indigenous language. The Cave in Tsilhqot has received several nominations and awards.
The film industry is guilty of many ridiculous representations of indigenous people by white authors. Let us consider Cameron's highly profitable Avatar, which has been much criticised by experts: despite some progressive topics, it fails to avoid negative stereotyping; the excessively simplified and romanticised world is indiscreetly intertwined with a political message, the white hero saves the primitives yet again; while Cameron uses the movie for personal promotion under the guise of raising awareness.

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SUMMER BITS

San Diego hosted the Comic-Con International in July. In June, Eurocon took place in Stockholm. Extensive materials (the convention newsletter and souvenir book with some fiction) are available at the official site. Don't forget, the next convention will take place in Zagreb!

This summer you can look forward to the 10th Festival of fantastic literature in Pazin on 12 and 13 August, as well as the 69th World SF Convention Renovation in Reno, Nevada, from 17 to 21 August, where the Hugos will be awarded (more on the nominees here; you can read the shorter pieces online). Opatija will once again host the Liburnicon with Guy Gavriel Kay as the special guest, from 19 to 21 August.

And locally?
From 25 to 30 July, you can visit Ljutomer's seventh Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival.
As it is a member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, there will also be screenings of short films competing for the European Méliès d'Or award. The film, music and wine related program keeps expanding, this year you can also take part in the Queen of the Scream competition and the Vampire Ball, cleverly combined with a blood donation action. Free screenings and camping!

Miha Remec's new book, Mitrejin koder ali časovna struna v Petoviono, has been published. On 23 June, two discussions with the author will take place in Ptuj. Some reviews of the novel:

The story takes place in Ptuj in the far future. The society had already progressed greatly since the discovery of a probe deep in Antarctic ice, which has become humanity's central computer and information centre. The protagonists are Orfej with his ability to recollect ancient knowledge and Mitreja, cloned from an ancient curl. A project named Mitrejin koder (Mitreja's curl) requires their help to finally reveal the secret of time travel. This Remec's novel is again soaked with his characteristic sensuality/eroticism and word formation. Remec proves again why he doubtlessly deserves a life achievement award for being a rock in our not outstanding, but certainly not unimportant science fiction literature.

Več: Mitrejin koder ali časovna struna v Petoviono (Jure Preglau, Bukla, 2011)

The science fiction elements are really just a cover for a stretched-out, clichéd story about the sexual tension between Mitreja and Orfej. [...] The hero's inner conflict should serve as the main plot twist, but is not possible due to his emotional turmoil, since he is a transparent character and his dilemma is artificially motivated. The project the book is titled after only serves as background, poses too many questions and remains unable to connect the numerous narrative fragments into a whole. [...] Science fiction authors were once in a privileged position when testing the impossible, challenging contemporary scientific hypotheses, introducing new theories and almost absurd assumptions. Remec prefers to rely on time-tested patterns. Mitrejin koder features many set-ups, however few are executed. As if things exist for their appearance alone and not out of narrative necessity.

Več: Obviseti na kodru (Ana Geršak, Pogledi, 27. oktobra 2011)

In Ljubljana, the summertime Knjižnica pod krošnjami (Library under the Treetops) has enticed bookworms into occupying parks and riverbanks once again – we recommend the very pleasant experience!

There have been some interesting events in the domain of scientific exploration; Atlantis has successfully made its last trip to the ICC and back to Cape Canaveral. All that remains is the final move to the museum. Atlantis has in previous years transported all three astronauts of Slovenian heritage:

Ronald Sega took a space flight on the Atlantis in 1996, Jerry Linenger reached the Russian space station Mir in January 1997 and also returned with the Atlantis in May of the same year, and Sunita Williams returned to Earth with the Atlantis in April 2007, after she broke the record for the longest stay in space for a woman.

Space flights, the most exciting mode of territory conquest, have long defined the American SF imagination. In accordance with global trends, it has since turned to softer subgenres, however we might witness a renewed literary enthusiasm for space flights when NASA decides to send human researchers into space once more in slightly less than two decades.

In defense of real books – nice!
Check out the web collection SovLit.com of the nonprofit educational organisation, dedicated to the study and preservation of Soviet literature. Among many others, it features works by Zamyatin and Beliayev.
Let us finish off with a few interesting examples of SF book covers, ten unconventional bookstores and five websites with book release alerts for serious literature junkies, after which you may return to enjoying the lazy summer holiday spirit.

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TOWEL DAY 2011
25 May

We hope you are carrying a towel around with you today, or that you at least know where you keep it! Also, inform your loved ones. They will be grateful one day, when they end up in a storage room on a Vogon spaceship.

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WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY 2011
23 April

"Slovenia is one of the few European countries who celebrate the Book day for a week," we are delighted to read in Wikipedia. Slovenian book days were marked by Fabula the end of the Ljubljana as world book capital project this year, although we celebrate them in very thoughtful ways locally as well. The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia used this opportunity to publish – very unexpectedly, indeed – some statistics. The number of publishing companies is growing despite the already crowded market; also, we borrow 24 million books yearly from the 60 general libraries! We hope you too have escaped the hectic reality and spent at least a day in the pleasant and intimate embrace of a paper companion. Why is it so important?
The 21st century book is a carefully designed and placed object with clearly defined marketing goals, which we use for almost everything but peaceful, absorbed reading. The once private, monogamous relationship with a book has transformed into a public, aestheticised and physically fetishised project. We manipulate the book in extraordinary ways, sometimes banally, sometimes we attempt to endear it to young readers through play or movement, and sometimes we completely ignore its function as a content bearer and focus entirely on its form – even the book as an object can be futher degraded to building material. Even traditionalists have to admit, however, that some experiments are so extremely creative, they fall under the label of newly created artworks.

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THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE ROMA 2011
The Romani people in science fiction and fantasy

Fantasy elements have accompanied literary representations of Romani people since the folktale, but let us use this 8 April to view myth creation through the representations of Romanies in SFF. The genre rules enable and even encourage innovative alterations of stereotypical Romani characters, yet they often remain merely upgraded versions from magical realism – fatally attractive, sensual, deeply connected to nature, musically minded, but also closely linked to intrigue, vengefulness, criminality, and a certain amount of madness. Even 21st century fiction features nearly exclusively fairytale representations, almost as if it does not acknowledge the existence of contemporary Romani, because it finds the dramatic myth more attractive:

Many fictional depictions of Romani people in literature and art present Romanticized narratives of their supposed mystical powers of fortune telling or their supposed irascible or passionate temper paired with an indomitable love of freedom and a habit of criminality. [...] The Romani ethnicity is often used for characters in contemporary fantasy literature. In such literature, the Romani are often portrayed as possessing archaic occult knowledge passed down through the ages. This frequent use of the ethnicity has given rise to 'gypsy archetypes' in popular contemporary literature.

We agree with the comments made by the author Elizabeth Bear, that villainous Romani characters are racism at work and "such an obvious and painful stereotype", as well as Courtney Sintezza, that "it would be great if just once there could be a pop-culture incident or representation of ordinary Romani people who behave in an ordinary fashion". The first associations are, as a rule, negative, presented as self-evident and inherent characteristics of the Romani. This causes fiction and reality to intertwine, and the actual Romani to be considered not so much a person with their individual personality as a Romani character. This designation is very rarely followed by a reflection on which circumstances are, historically speaking, responsible for this link, why it suits the majority population to be able to unjustly assign the guilt for many issues to the Romani, or why it feels the need to do so even by way of fiction.

The Space Gypsies website with a more optimistic view is unfortunately currently defunct:

The Roma frequently appear in literature as emblems of the exotic, of otherness. In science fiction, the Roma's mysterious origins, their association with a nomadic existence, and their folklore all present a rich source for metaphor – without the Roma necessarily becoming sinister 'aliens'.

We could defend SFF and say that at least in stories, set in the far future, the Romani and other marginalised social groups appear, but as ethnicity is just not a relevant factor in identity perception and self-image construction anymore since the races have blended into one, it is simply absent. This is a weak excuse since authors, almost without exception (intentionally or not) maintain the stereotypical fragments of culturally conditioned characteristics and behaviour from ages past. Except in utopian literature, this heterogeneity is often designed to establish personal or – more often – social conflict, which makes the story more exciting or even presents its main plot twist or climax.

We have wandered into a general critique or racism in SFF; mainstream (promotionally and financially substantially supported) literature marginalises many social groups and presents very few as semantically neutral or positive. The easily anticipated protagonists mostly share the typical demographical properties of groups in possession of social power. If the hero does show a set of characteristics, usually attributed to the Romani (say, a lone traveller, dangerous when necessary, and versed in magic), it is an image, purged of the negative connotations which often befall an actual Romani character. When one (rarely) appears, it is in the role of a mysterious, obscure, whimsical helper, who sporadically directs the hero and helps him, but has unclear motives himself and is not awarded for his actions; it is more likely that he suffers a tragic fate. Sometimes we do come across a positive image of nomadism, often with a stroke of magical ability, and empowered Romani characters, who follow their path confidently.

Some genre examples:

• the fantasy novel Gypsies (Robert Charles Wilson, 1988), in which nomadism includes the ability to visualise other universes and travel through them,
• the science fiction book series Otherland (Tad Williams, 1996–2001, audiobook) with a Romani character and references to Romani as nomads who disregard the borders of a virtual reality cyberspace,
• the dark fantasy/horror novel Mulengro (Charles de Lint, 1985, e-book), a contemporary portrayal of the Romani cultural myths through a story in which the Romanies and the Gadje are joined by a common fear of the murderer,
• the six book fantasy series Kushiel's Legacy (Jacqueline Carey, 2001, e-book), which features the nomadic race Tsingani.

(Wilson's and Carey's audiobooks can also be find online, but you didn't read that here)

And in Slovenia? Non-fantasy literary examples abound; some are listed in the diploma Cigani v slovenski literaturi (Gypsies in Slovenian literature; pdf) by Barbara Bajda. We realise, of course, the inadequacy of writing about a whole social group "from the outside", when we should just let its' members speak. We have not found any specifically SFF Romani authors yet, but we do point out Romski informativni center ROMIC in Murska Sobota, which is dedicated to perserving Romani values and language, and keeps a collection of literature about and by Romani people. Zveza Romov Slovenije periodically organises literary gatherings and publishes work by Romani writers and poets.

Ljubljanska Strip.art.nica Buch invites you to the presentation of the 4th book from the Zbirka Miki Muster collection and book signing by the 85-year-old author on 14 April 2011 at 19:00.

There is very little Slovenian comic production, and only a small part has, inspite of distinctively genre motifs (eg. time and interplanetary travel; the adventures of Zvitorepec, Trdonja and Lakotnik as well as other stories from the author's vast opus contain adventure, romantic, historical, military, socially critical, comical..., yet always somewhat fantastic themes) overgrown its frames and achieved general intergenerational popularity and cult status.
Still, in keeping with today's topic, we must allow ourselves one remark; the representations of women and other nationalities in Muster's comics, typical for the humor of that time, are significantly less acceptable today...

Exodos: the 17th festival of contemporary performing arts
Between 15 and 24 April you can enjoy a great deal of dance and theatre with surrealist, magical, mystical, archetypal, as well as abstract and critical notes, the redefining of identity and space, often with fairly fantastic scenography and costumography, and in a couple shows, with a fantasy theme.

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APRIL 2011
Oh come on, we all judge the book by its cover as well.

If nothing else, we can determine the approximate age of the book by its technical execution and font choice. To a certain extent, this holds true for the motif as well. The space race is just not a relevant topic anymore; visits by comical and far too anthropomorphic little green men are not such an astonishing idea any longer; due to our technological advances, many concepts have lost that drop of scientific credibility, which is compulsory in our genre.
Inspite of this, publishing companies which treat SF like real literature and provide appropriately innovative design are still a rare occurence. Cheap print, i.e. pulp fiction, mostly still imposes upon us visuals which discriminate a good many of the readership and make it impossible for them to identify with the characters. Furthermore, the images create a misleading impression of the content, with which they often have nothing in common. At a superficial glance, non-readers mistakenly assume SF is a marginal, stereotypical, obsolete, naïve, and childish genre, and they never even open up the book.
We get especially upset when publishers do wrong to our favourite authors, so let us take a moment for some indignant moralising about motifs which just will not die out: the image of a muscular and heavily armed protagonist with a bosomy, long-legged, and paradoxically submissive Amazonian; phallic projectiles and rockets; senseless explosions and destruction; aliens and monsters with beastly, violent expressions - textbook examples of racism, chauvinism and sexism; new wave inspired, supposedly mystical or spiritual kitsch, unappropriate for literature. The colour scheme, reminiscent of sensationalist tabloids and supermarket spam, contributes to the cheap apparance. We list some examples of excellent and ridiculously bad practices:

SF at The Book Cover Archive "for the appreciation and categorization of excellence in book cover design".

An impressive gallery of science fiction bookcovers, published by Penguin from its beginnings in 1935 until today.

Beautiful Sci-Fi covers shock – in comparison to the previous design.

Book design for the Science Fiction series published by Deich – quite an unusual concept for a collection.

An excellent redesign of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The young Sanda Zahirovic designed these stunning covers for Orion by simply cutting up printed paper. The publisher liked the result so much, they used it unaltered. Here's to hoping this is the beginning of a broader trend!

Visco: The Visual Index of Science Fiction Cover art – a detailed database, on the basis of which a few thousand science fiction magazines were assembled into an interactive bibliographical rainbow collage at Coverpop.

A small selection of interesting older SF book covers.

Good Show Sir: "Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers".

A pulp SF cover collection.

The Worst SFF Book Covers: as Bucholz observes: "The absolute worst part about every fantasy novel, apart from the writing, is the ludicrous cover art they all seem to have."

Scariest Giant Heads from SF book covers "Nothing inside the pages could be this horrifying," Anders is probably correct.

One More Look at Science Fiction Book Jackets: on the relationship between aesthetic principles and market mechanisms (the mentioned article by Irene Gallo, Tor's art director, is also worth a read).

Roger Ebert presents some of his favourites (mostly stereotypical and a couple of inspired ones): "I read just about every word in these during my bedazzed youth. Now it's the covers I love".

What if we judge the book only by its cover, or not even that? The Slovenian translation of Bayard's Kako govoriti o knjigah, ki jih nismo prebrali (Comment parler des livres que l'on n'a pas lus?; How to talk about books you haven't read) has been published.

At this opportunity we invite you to contribute to The Guide's Slovenian SFF gallery; scans or photos of older monographs and papers in Slovenian and translations into other languages, as well as promotional materials of film projections, theatre shows, art exhibitions, conventions and other events: as always, write to vodnik.zf (at) gmail.com.

By the way: the World Book Summit 2011, titled Book: the Bearer of Human Development, takes place in Ljubljana's Cankarjev dom until 2 April; we recommend listening to this audioclip on the Ljubljana book resolution (in Slovenian).
Do not forget: from 4 to 22 April, you can attend the World Literatures – Fabula 2011 festival, featuring a diverse programme. As we know, fantasy writer Nejc Gazvoda and SF queer/feminist author Vesna Lemaić are among the previous recepients of Dnevnik's Fabula award.

Lastly, sad news from abroad. Joanna Russ, the author of the cult feminist novel The Female Man, died from complications of a stroke at 74. We were hoping to read so much more from her.

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...MARCH? Has anyone seen March?

Do check out Ward Shelley's impressive visual map of The History of Science Fiction.

Spring fatigue knows no genre boundaries. We will make it up to you in april.

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FEBRUARY 2011
More on socially engaged SF

On the new novel by Nataša Sukič, Molji živijo v prahu (Moths Live in Dust):

The novel Molji živijo v prahu is the third literary work by Nataša Sukič, she had published two story collections beforehand. As the editor says, the author sharply cuts into social violence and conformism, especially by her sensitive account of the dilemmas, inner rift, and feebleness of the protagonist, brought up to hate the different. This protagonist is a prison superintendent and falls in love with a transsexual. Love rocks his belief in the social order and enables him to face his own cowardice and powerlessness. But he gives up the opportunity to withdraw from the system, he remains an executor of violence, and escorts his love to the scaffold.

More on the book collection Vizibilija: Svetilnik na poti k drugačnosti (Valentina Plahuta Simčič, Književni listi, 9 February 2011)

The novel Molji živijo v prahu warns us against authority that tramples human rights, and at the same time condems homophobes (symbolically equated to authority), who torment those different from themselves. Yet, as the novel is only an outline scheme, its activist message does not bear fruit. Every literary idea, no matter how noble, can only reach the reader, when the work conviences her with its artistic power.

More: Homofobi, raus! (Tina Vrščaj, Pogledi, 9 February 2011)

"The work is filled with the analysis of the mechanisms, stimulators, and sources of populist and primitive hate towards any kind of difference, as well as with accounts of the feebleness of those who hate. The transsexual character is – mostly, not necessarilly – already the bearer of difference in the visual field, and as such exposed to prejudice and hate at every step," the author explains the motives for introducing this type of character into her literary engagement.

More on transsexuality in literature: Moški s prsmi bralcev ne privlačijo (Sandra Krkoč, Dnevnik, 12 January 2011)

An interview clip with the author on Radio Študent.

Also available for reading: a luddistic story with an anti-rasist charge: Plemenski ples (The Tribal Dance) by Vesna Lemaić (Delo, 29 November 2010).

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PREŠEREN DAY 2011
Some general literary fetish on our cultural holiday:

What are writers' home libraries like? Gaiman's is, expectedly, a quite extensive one.
You've probably never given it much thought, but here is what happens to such a library after its owner's death.

Duffer, a "Chicago Literary Scene Examiner", on the emotional aspects of a personal book colelction: My life in books and other cliches.
A couple of young professional bibliophiles on the challenges of book merging after moving in together: Uncommon Readers.
How to properly care for books: 5 Tips.

How to organise your book collection? Systematically, possibly according to Dewey. Also possible: according to colour – many have thought about it, but only a few have dared (of course we are still tempted – it can work out great, and it can also be lots of fun).

Naturally we are also crazy about cool bookmarks. And bookshelves (YUM!). And reading lights (they are important!). And just generally about reading corners. Even when it's not very practical.

To finish off, here's five unusal websites for booklovers.

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JANUARY 2011
Neža Maurer as a SF poetess?

Books connects people. Internet can only help. [...]

I began writing as a journalist. [...] I started writing more when I taught at the lower secondary school in Ilirska Bistrica. The students were so disobedient, they were almost impossible to control. So I wrote them terrifying science fiction poems about dwarves and aliens I know, who drill holes into their heads at night, read their every thought, and report to me afterwards. They laughed so hard! "You are laughing!" I said angrily. An insulent boy stood up and said: "M'am, take it to Ljubljana, let them publish it, so that others will laugh at you too." They found this very entertaining, but I began writing in earnest, I took the kid's advice and took the poems to the editor of Ciciban. She said: "Yes, yes, this is interesting... But would you write a short poem about autumn? That is what we need now. We will do these later..." Of course those poems were never published, but I started getting published in Ciciban. [...]

The world as a whole matters to me. Although I have not travelled all of it, I can imagine it. I care deeply for the world. Because there cannot be an end, right, but I cannot imagine infinity. When the first two atom bombs fell, it became clear to me that an indifferent person could destroy the entire world in a few days. This realisation totally disillusions you. As a child I was certainly marked by the bombers flying above. There were whole squadrons of them, so the sky actually darkened. You thought to yourself, oh, poor people; how many will crash this time? This attitude towards humanity is definitely a consequence of war, too. [...]

The society did not use to come in contact with culture as often. I think it is right for everyone to read, but in terms of quantity people prefer easier reading which then makes life easier. They are not to blame. People wish to make their lives more beautiful, but above all easier. But crowds prevail. That is why physical culture is held in higher esteem than culture. Everything revolves around who can play the system in such a way that enables them to climb higher. Who is actually the best does not matter anymore. But I do not find this tragic, because sooner or later things will turn in a different direction again. I think it is right for people to read, but it is not the point.

More: Odmevi iz Afrike, atomske bombe in štopanje (Kristina Božič, Dnevnikov Objektiv, 31 December 2010, p. 20–22); The official website of Neža Maurer (features some mp3s and poems, translated into English)

Also, this:

Top 100 Sci-Fi Books, according to a statistical survey
Top 10 Science-Fiction Books for Non-Fans
Top Sci-Fi Novels for Kids & Young Adults
20 Essential Works of Utopian Fiction

Free audio books from the public domain: fantasy and science fiction.

Free e-books: 300+ places online.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Let 2011 bring a close approximation of your own personal utopia.

Prihodnjost Ljubljane (The Future of Ljubljana) [cca. 1900, Tadej Brate's collection], published by Založba Sanje.

Selections of this year's and decade's best SFF

Literature:

• 2010 Hugo Award Nominees
• 2010 Nebula Award Winners
• 2010 World Fantasy Award Winners & Nominees
• John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists
• Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Finalists
• Announcing the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2010
• Philip K. Dick Award Winner Announced
• Tiptree Award Winners Announced
• 2010 Chesley Awards Nominees
• 2010 Locus Awards
• Best Books of 2010: Science Fiction & Fantasy Top 10 (Amazon)
• Best science fiction and fantasy books of 2010 (SFGate)
• 2010 Novels: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year So Far? (Omnivoracious)
• The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2010 (Kirkus Book Reviews)
• Top 10 Fantasy Books for 2010 (Fantasy Book News)
• Queering SFF: Best of 2010 (Tor.com)
• 20 Best Science Fiction Books Of The Decade (io9)
• Best Science Fiction Books of the Decade (2000's) (Cinefugue)

Winning films etc.:

• Méliès d'Or Winner in 2010
• Sitges Film Festival: Official fantastic in competition
• International Science Fiction Festival: And the winner is...
• Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival: Awards
• Leeds Internation Film Festival: 2010 Melies Competition Winners; Short Film Winners
• Arsenals: Closing Ceremony
• Festival Europeen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg: Winners 2010
• Neuchâtel Internation Fantastic Film Festival: Awards 2010
• Fantastic Fest 2010 Awards Announced
• Grossmannov festival fantastičnega filma in vina: nagrade
• Top 10 Science Fiction Movies of the Decade (BSCreview)
• 2010 Parsec Awards Finalists (speculative fiction podcasting)

Some cartoons to watch over the holidays:
This year's Animateka expectedly featured a good deal of great SF&F, utopia, dystopia, and futurism. Animations, available online, have been added to SF&F short films on The Guide's YouTube channel.
The inventive BLU's BIG BANG BIG BOOM received much enthusiasm (audience favourite). Special mentions went to Der Kleinere Raum (The Smaller Room), Il gioco del silenzio (The Play of Silence) and Module 2020, the winner of Animaweb, among others.

<< Back to fresh news, 2010, 2009