The Philippine Online Chronicles

Quite a few deserving works and authors of speculative fiction received awards last week, but it’s sad that in more or less the same week that Octavia Butler was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, a new cover whitewashing controversy erupted. Here is today’s speculative fiction focused roundup:

Locus Awards 2009 winners announced: Amongst the winners: The City & The City, by China Miéville, for best fantasy novel (Metakritiko recently reviewed it here). Some of the other winners that I’ve seen in local bookstores are Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld (Best Young Adult Book), The New Space Opera 2, edited by Gardner Dozois & Jonathan Strahan (Best Anthology) and Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest (Best SF Novel)--although I only saw the latter once, in Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street.

As for the other award winners, if you decide to import them from abroad, don't forget that Executive Order 885 makes it clear that books are tax-free imports.

The Graveyard Book wins the Carnegie Medal: As if the Newbery Medal and the Hugo Award weren’t enough, right? You can read Neil Gaiman’s reaction to the newest accolade here at his journal. That particularly entry is also important because it clarifies Neil’s statements regarding vampires which came out a bit skewed in an article by the Independent--compare the Q and A type interview with Entertainment Weekly, with the flavor-text-filled article in the Independent (which I read first, and which seemed un-Gaiman to me).

New inductees to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame: On Saturday, June 26th, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame officially inducted science fiction greats Octavia E. Butler, Richard Matheson, Douglas Trumbull and Roger Zelazny . Tor also points us to the official press release, with brief bios of the inductees. (Tor.com)

Silver Phoenix cover controversy:  It seems to be one of the sad realities of the publishing industry in the United States that genre stories featuring non-white protagonists are packaged with covers where the protagonists are portrayed either as white characters or as characters of ambiguous ethnicity, what the field refers to as the “whitewashing” of a cover. The most recent book to receive this treatment is Silver Phoenix, by Cindy Pon. While the publisher is being commended for still pushing the book, despite bad sales, the cover being used for the paperback edition (and the upcoming sequel) falls into the “ambiguous” category (via Bibliophile Stalker). Filipina book blogger Tarie Sabido, over at Asia in the Heart, World on the Mend, has posted an open letter to the publisher:

“Here's an idea, Greenwillow: Worried about the sales of an Asian-inspired YA fantasy? Next time try to refrain from whitewashing the book cover, which is morally wrong. Try selling more copies of the book (with an Asian model on the cover of course, or no model on the cover at all) in Asia. There are ONE BILLION children and teenagers in Asia. Worried about having to translate the book? There's no need to worry! There are MILLIONS of Asian children and teenagers who speak, read, and write in English.”

LGBTQ genre fiction awards, resources and markets: June was Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in the United States, and the Genreville section of Publisher’s Weekly recently had a post up that provided some links to relevant awards, resources and markets for LGBTQ. (Although a commenter notes that the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards seem to be defunct.) (Genreville)

Pakinggan Pilipinas: Elyss Punsalan, Filipina speculative fiction author, has launched a monthly podcast, Pakinggan Pilipinas, which features short fiction by Filipino authors. It’s not limited to the speculative genre, but the first story, “Six from Downtown” definitely falls into our wheelhouse, an urban fantasy by Dean Alfar, one of the most well-known and well-respected authors of Philippine speculative fiction.

Apex Book of World SF for less than P100.00: Speaking of Dean Alfar, he has a story in the Apex Book of World SF--alongside other fantastic authors from all over the world--which is now available in an ebook edition for USD1.99 (World SF News Blog).

Stereotyping people by their favorite author:  Lauren Leto has an easy guide to stereotyping people by means of their favorite authors.  Superhero Nation adds a few more (Grasping for the Wind).

[Image source: Asia in the Heart, World on the Mend. Copyright holder/s maintain appropriate rights.]