World Fantasy tries again with programming

Early this morning a new World Fantasy Convention 2016 program was posted on their Facebook page. The new program is credited to both Darrell Schweitzer and Ellen Datlow. Only a month ago Schweitzer and WFC were roundly criticized for the original program, with Sarah Pinsker, Jim Hines and many many others pointing out flaws including a panel on “Spicy Oriental Zeppelin Stories," more mentions of H.P. Lovecraft "in the program than all women or works by women COMBINED," almost no mentions of any fantasy stories from the last two decades, no international fantasy, no mention of any authors of color, and many other issues.

The original World Fantasy program didn't focus on world fantasy as much as a regressive dream of what world fantasy has never been.

So is the new program better? In general it appears to be, although I'm still picking through the details. Among the changes:

• The panel “Spicy Oriental Zeppelin Stories” has been replaced with "A Golden Age of Contemporary Asian Fantasy," which will explore "the growing body of work by writers from Asia and the diaspora, who interrogate, reinterpret, and develop the literary traditions of their countries and cultures of origin (among other literary traditions and cultures, including the 'West') in a globalized context."
• Instead of 10 panels about Lovecraft, there are now only 2, one of which is titled "On Beyond Lovecraft" and covers HPL's complicated legacy by bringing in Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom and Caitlin Kiernan’s “Black Helicopters.”
• More panels on recent fantasy authors, including a memorial to Terry Pratchett, who died last year.
• Many more works by women covered in the panels.
• A panel on "LGBT Characters in Modern Fantasy," focusing on recent developments in the genre.
• A panel on fantasy and horror in translation.
• A panel on ladies with swords, focusing on the lore, legend, and image of the female swashbuckler.

Err, that last panel I'm taking a wait and see attitude with because what it covers will depend on who is on the panel (meaning I hope the panel is more than a love fest discussing chainmail bikinis). And to a large extent all of these programming changes will depend on who WFC picks to be on the panels and who moderates.

I wish WFC had started totally from scratch with this year's program, which they obviously didn't do. But overall these changes are positive. It appears some of these changes were taken from Guerilla WFC, which put forward a truly innovative WFC program, which is a good sign. I'm also sure Ellen Datlow had a positive effect on the changes, as did everyone in the genre who justifiably ripped apart the previous program.

Update: The new program is now on the official WFC 2016 website. Go there to see the schedule.
 

Worldcon in a series of scattered thoughts

• Jason Sizemore is right — the best moment of MidAmericon II was Rachel Swirsky reading her Nebula Award winning short story "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love." The story is powerful to read. But to hear those beautiful and moving words in Rachel's voice ... Wow. What more can I say?
   
• At the reading I read "Death Flowers of Never-Forgotten Love," which was inspired by Rachel's story. And the fiction read by Adam-Troy Castro and Kate Kate Elliott was also super awesome and disturbing.
   
• I have nothing more to say on the Dave Truesdale short fiction fiasco. However, if you want a detailed eye-witness summary of what happened, Dave Creek has written the best account I've read. You'll have to log into Facebook to read it.
   
• Read Alyssa Wong's thread on what happened to her at Worldcon. This is unacceptable and should never happen to anyone. Take a stand for the good and work to prevent pain like this from reoccurring.
   
• Lots of great summaries of Worldcon and the Hugo Awards out there. My favorites include ones from Monica Valentinelli, Abigail Nussbaum, and Rich Horton.
   
• Maurice Broaddus. By this time next year you're going to be like damn man, Maurice Broaddus is everywhere. And he deserves to be because he's one of the best people I know in the genre. You go Maurice!
   
• I met too many great people to name them all, so I'm not even going to try (but they know who they are). That's what makes Worldcon and the entire SF/F community so great — the people. Never forget that without the people in our genre our genre would be nothing. Always remember to treat people well and with respect even if you disagree with them. But the flip side to that is to also not tolerate wrong behavior merely because someone is well-known in the genre or a friend of yours. Call out the wrongness but keep to the happiness.
   
• Final thought. This was my first Worldcon and I want to thank everyone who made me feel welcome and came to my panels and took the time to say hello. Again, it's the people who matter.

Year's best SF/F, January to June 2016 edition

I love science fiction and fantasy stories. I love nominating works for the Hugo and Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. But what I don't love is reading tons of works at the end of each year in a desperate bid to fill out my award nominations. After all, cram reading is rarely fun reading.

So this year I promised to get ahead of the curve. Below are my favorite stories and novels from the first half of 2016. I strongly recommend people seek out and read all these stories.

While I feel the list is fairly complete, it's still possible I'll read some works published between January and June 2016 and add them. For example, I'm behind on my reading from Asimov's and Interzone, and may be adding a few stories from those magazines. I'm also fairly certain I'll add a novella or two because I'm just now reading Monstrous Little Voices: New Tales Shakespeare's Fantasy World, which features novellas by five of my favorite fantasy authors (Adrian Tchaikovsky, Emma Newman, Jonathan Barnes, Foz Meadows and Kate Heartfield).

As an FYI, I'm tracking my picks for the year's best SF/F through the SFWA Recommended Reading list. You can access all of my recommended works, including works from the second half of 2016 which I'll add in the coming months, at that link.

January - June 2016 Novels

• All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor)
• City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway Books)
• Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones (William Morrow)
• The Fireman by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
• The Race by Nina Allan (Titan Books. Note: This novel was originally published in the U.K. in 2014 but was released in the U.S. this year in a revised edition, making it eligible for this year's awards.)
• The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar (Small Beer Press)

January to June 2016 Novellas

• Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor.com)
• The Coward's Option by Adam-Troy Castro (Analog)
• The Liar by John P. Murphy (F&SF)
• Under the Stone by Karoline Georges (Anvil Press. Note: See my review of this excellent novella.)

Janurary to June 2016 Novelettes

• Empty Planets by Rahul Kanakia (Interzone)
• Fifty Shades of Grays by Steven Barnes (Lightspeed)
• Motherboard (A Tale from Somewhere) by Jeffrey Thomas (Interzone)
• Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed)
• The Shores of Being by Dave Creek (Analog)
• The Stone War by Ted Kosmatka (F&SF)
• We Will Wake among the Gods, among the Stars by Caroline Yoachim & Tina Connolly (Analog)
• You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong (Uncanny Magazine)

January to June 2016 Short Stories

• Between Dragons and Their Wrath by An Owomoyela & Rachel Swirsky (Clarkesworld)
• Laws of Night and Silk by Seth Dickinson (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
• Life in Stone, Glass, and Plastic by José Pablo Iriarte (Strange Horizons)
• Lullaby for a Lost World by Aliette de Bodard (Tor.com)
• Michael Doesn’t Hate His Mother by Marie Vibbert (Lightspeed)
• No Matter Which Way We Turned by Brian Evenson (People Holding ...)
• Sic Semper, Sic Semper, Sic Semper by Douglas F. Warrick (Tor.com)
• Sweet Marrow by Vajra Chandrasekera (Strange Horizons)
• The Red Thread by Sofia Samatar (Lightspeed)
• The Right Sort of Monsters by Kelly Sandoval (Strange Horizons)
• The Secret Mirror of Moriyama House by Yukimi Ogawa (F&SF)
• The Silver Strands of Alpha Crucis-d by N. J. Schrock (F&SF)
• The Unmistakable Smell of Wood Violets by Angélica Gorodischer, translated by Marian Womack (The Big Book of Science Fiction. Note: This story was first published in English this year, making it eligible for 2016 awards.)
• Things With Beards by Sam J. Miller (Clarkesworld)
• Three Points Masculine by An Owomoyela (Lightspeed Magazine)
• Two Small Birds by Han Song, translated by John Chu (The Big Book of Science Fiction. Note: This story was first published in English this year, making it eligible for 2016 awards.)
• Unreeled by Mercurio D. Rivera (Asimov's Science Fiction)
• Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0 by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed)
• White Dust by Nathan Hillstrom (Asimov's)

My MidAmeriCon II schedule

I'm a participating author at MidAmeriCon II, August 17 to 21 in Kansas City. This will be my first WorldCon and I look forward to seeing everyone.

Here's my schedule. Also note that I'll be giving away signed limited edition copies of my novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories," published earlier this year by Beneath Ceaseless Skies. While supplies last, as the cliche goes.

The Future of Forensics

Thursday August 18, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., 2209 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Forensic scientists analyze scientific evidence in criminal investigations and as with all science the methods available grow and change and improve on a regular basis. This panel of experts discuss what is current and lead to where it might go next. 

Jason Sanford, Alistair Kimble (M), Jack Campbell Jr., Diana Rowland, Anna Yeatts

Autographing: Sharon Joss, Anna Kashina, Mur Lafferty, Jason Sanford

Thursday August 18, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., Autographing Space (Kansas City Convention Center)

Stop by for an autograph and pick up a free limited edition copy of my novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories," published earlier this year by Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Knock on Wood. From Squirrel Girl to Lumberjanes

Thursday August 18, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., 2207 (Kansas City Convention Center)

What the junk?! In the last couple of years we've seen the growth of comics that might superficially appear to be aimed at a YA audience, however these titles are hitting the mainstream with a vengeance. Marvel are leading the pack with Squirrel Girl, Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel, but there's also a vast amount of Indie work coming through such as Lumberjanes, Space Dumplin', Kaos Komics and Footloose. Our panel discuss why these titles are so popular, and what they have to offer both new and established audiences. 

Tom Galloway, Jason Sanford, Adam Rakunas, Rebecca Schwarz (M), Catherine Lundoff

Trends in Magazine Publishing

Friday August 19, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., 3501D - A/V (Kansas City Convention Center)

A lot of things have changed for magazine publishing. What's the beat way in, and how do we write for a genre that is moving across media?

MR. Donald Douglas Fratz (M), John Joseph Adams, Neil Clarke, Shahid Mahmud, Dr. Mary Anne Mohanraj, Jason Sanford

Kaffeeklatsch: Richard Hescox, Rebecca Moesta, Jason Sanford, Martha Wells

Saturday August 20, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.,  2211 (Kansas City Convention Center)

Stop by and pick up a free limited edition copy of my novelette "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories," published earlier this year by Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Archaeology in SF

Saturday 2:00 - 3:00 p.m, 2503B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Forget Indiana Jones, learn what archaeologists really do and how science fiction and fantasy get it right and wrong.

Dana Cameron, Rhiannon Held, Jason Sanford (M), Jack McDevitt, Ms Rosemary Claire Smith

Note: I used to be an archaeologist and have strong views on how that science is depicted in SF.

Magazine Group Reading - Apex

Saturday 3:00 - 4:00 p.m., 2504B (Kansas City Convention Center)

Our Magazine Group Reading Series continues with a special group reading that features authors from Apex Magazine.

Jason Sizemore (M), Ms Rachel Swirsky, Jason Sanford, Kate Elliott, Foz Meadows, Adam-Troy Castro

Hybridity in Comics

Sunday 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., 2503B (Kansas City Convention Center)

 "The hybrid constantly betrays the reader as it switches from one formula to the other, shocking and surprising us and breathing new vividness into the familiar" (Ada Palmer). As with any evolving genre, comics borrow some elements from elsewhere, cross thematic genres, and learn from their peers, both historical and contemporary. Our panel discuss some of the ways that hybridity benefits the genre, and helps it grow.

Ada Palmer (M), Jason Sanford, Jessica Guggenheim, Mr. Stephen Stiles, Ms. Lynne M. Thomas

Criticism in Speculative Fiction

Sunday 12:00 - 1:00 p.m., 3501F (Kansas City Convention Center)

More than just a review, criticism places a piece of literature in the overarching field of speculative fiction. Critics discuss works in relation to what has come before, perhaps even trying to establish the importance of an author or work beyond popularity. What is the role of a critic? What different types of critics are there, and do some hold more sway than others? 

Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, Dr. Tom Easton, Jason Sanford

Novel of the week: Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen

There's magic in the best science fiction. An abiding sensawunda. An intellectual and emotional longing. A deeply human touch embracing the greater universe and the unending possibilities flowing around us.

Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen is one such science fiction novel. Set in a far future populated by anthropomorphic animals uplifted by humanity, Barsk is exciting, intellectually probing, and extremely moving. The novel is also a triumph of world creation, making you love the characters and their universe as if they were your own.

Despite the novel's galaxy-wide setting, the story focuses on a single world, the Barsk of the eponymous title which is the homeworld of two races of elephant-human hybrids. Despised by the rest of the species in the galactic alliance, these races of elephant-humans have walled themselves off on their world, content to live their lives according to their cultural beliefs and ideals.

One of these beliefs is that each elephant-human sets out on a personal journal shortly before their death to the elephant's graveyard. But something is stopping the recent dead from reaching their final resting place. One of the planet's historians, who also has the ability to speak with the dead, sets out to discover what is happening.

I have enjoyed Lawrence Schoen's fiction in recent years, but with Barsk he takes his storytelling to new heights, rivaling the top authors in the SF genre. In addition to the compelling story Schoen created, one of the best things about Barsk is how he weaves in interesting theories of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics — both fields in which Schoen works — without letting the novel turn either preachy or boring. This depth takes the novel beyond a simple space opera tale into the realm of great genre works like Dune and The Left Hand of Darkness.

I can't remember the last time I finished a SF novel and immediately reread it. I did this with Barsk. This is a novel to cherish and urge others to read. This is a novel to show people who say the science fiction genre is dead and unable to create original stories.

Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard is highly recommended and will likely be on my shortlist of Hugo and Nebula nominees.