Tag Archives: science fiction

So, What is a ‘Related Work,’ Anyway?

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A few days ago, when I posted a reminder about nominating and voting for the Hugo Awards,* a friend asked if my album was eligible in the “Best Related Work” category.

Gray Rinehart presents Truths and Lies and Make-Believe
(Image by Paul Cory Photography.)

The answer, I’m afraid, is no.

At first glance it seemed as if Truths and Lies and Make-Believe (or one of the songs) might be eligible, since most of the songs on the album are science fiction or fantasy-related. The World Science Fiction Society constitution defines “Best Related Work” as

Any work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year or which has been substantially modified during the previous calendar year, and which is either non-fiction or, if fictional, is noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text, and which is not eligible in any other category.

“Any work related to the field” might seem to include music, but I don’t usually think of music as “non-fiction” or “fictional.” So I looked around some more and found that over at the Hugo Awards site, the category description adds this:

The type of works eligible include, but are not limited to, collections of art, works of literary criticism, books about the making of a film or TV series, biographies and so on, provided that they do not qualify for another category.

By “collections of art,” they seem to mean printed volumes of visual art — collections of music or other arts apparently need not apply. There is that magic “not limited to” phrase, though, and the award is no longer limited to printed books, having gone last year to the Writing Excuses podcast that some of my friends put together. The Wikipedia entry explains the history.

The award was originally titled the Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book and was first awarded in 1980. In 1999 the Award was retitled to the Hugo Award for Best Related Book, and eligibility was officially expanded to fiction works that were primarily noteworthy for reasons besides their fictional aspects. In 2010, the title of the award was again changed, to the Hugo Award for Best Related Work.

Looking over the list of nominees and winners, it appears that science fiction and fantasy music — known in the community as “filk” — has never been considered as a “related work” for the purpose of the award. Which makes me wonder what would happen if enough fans put in nominations for music, since the Hugos are fan-based awards; since the award is no longer limited to printed works, would the Hugo committee honor those nominations, or would they disqualify them? Unfortunately, I don’t have enough fans to test that hypothesis in the manner of Larry Correia’s Sad Puppies Campaign.

So, strictly speaking, neither my album nor my songs would be considered “related works.” But if you decide to write in one of my songs anyway, let me know!

___
*Want to Nominate and Vote for the Hugo Awards?

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illogiCon Wrap-Up

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It took longer than anticipated to recover from illogiCon, because it was such an enjoyable convention. It took longer than expected to post this wrap-up, too — no excuse!


(At dinner with many of my writing friends. I’m the one in the hat. Photo courtesy of James Maxey.)

As with other conventions, the best part was hanging out with my friends. illogiCon featured two Guests of Honor, Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Schoen, both of whom are terrific folks, as well as many of our local North Carolina authors who are among my favorite people in the world.

But, holy moly, illogiCon was BUSY!

On day one of the convention, last Friday, I was on two panels: one a serious discussion about how technologies such as robotics and smartphones are impacting our lives, and then “Lies With Words,” in which GOH Lawrence Schoen led five of us through a game similar to Balderdash. (Yours truly came in third; Baen Books author Mark Van Name took the prize.) The evening ended, as most of my convention evenings do, with filk — though the filking was pretty subdued.

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity in more ways than one. First was a panel discussion about whether social media and rapid communication are fragmenting society into “A Million Nations,” followed by an enjoyable discussion about science fiction from the perspective of social scientists. A few of my friends came to my reading, which was followed by a recording of the Baen Free Radio Hour — though right about that time we had two tornado warnings in quick succession! (The storm was close enough that it damaged trees just up the street from my house.) Once things calmed down, and after the podcast recording, we put on the Baen Books Travelling Roadshow, after which I had a delightful dinner with my friends (as seen above). I split the rest of the evening between attending other friends’ events, visiting with folks in the lounge, and finally more filking.

Sunday started with a panel that examined “Hard SF vs. Soft SF,” and ended with a discussion of “New Trends in Speculative Fiction.” In between I again attended some of my friends’ events, and afterward I came home and, frankly, crashed pretty hard.

I think I went to work on Monday, but I don’t remember much of it. But that’s probably another indication that illogiCon was a pretty good convention!

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Another Panel for illogiCon: Baen Free Radio Hour

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I got my final illogiCon schedule, and in addition to my other panels I get to be part of the Baen Free Radio Hour on Saturday afternoon!

The “Baen Free Radio Hour Live Q&A” will be a live recording of the Baen Books weekly podcast. The recording will take place at 2 p.m., right after my reading.

The other panelists will be Baen author and editor Tony Daniel, Baen author and “chief technologist” Mark Van Name, the “Chainmail Chick” Allegra, and Nebula (and other) award-winning author (and NC State professor) John Kessel. I’ve been on panels before with each of them, so it should be fun!

If you want to see what else is happening at illogiCon, check out the full program schedule.

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Want to Nominate and Vote for the Hugo Awards?

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The nomination period for the Hugo Awards opens this week, and you can still sign up to nominate and vote!

Hugo Award Logo

The Hugos are roughly equivalent to the People’s Choice Awards, in that the awards are determined by science fiction and fantasy fans rather than professionals in the field. The categories include Best Novel, Best Short Story, Best Related Work, Best Dramatic Presentation, and so forth.

Anyone with an Attending or Supporting membership in last year’s, this year’s, or next year’s World Science Fiction Convention can submit nominations. Supporting membership in this year’s Worldcon, Loncon 3 — to be held in London in August — run about $60 $40 (depending on the exchange rate), for which you receive electronic copies of nearly every nominated work, including portfolios from the nominated artists. Only members of the current Worldcon can vote for the Hugos, and you have until the end of January to join the convention in order to nominate and vote.

Anyway, even though this page says you can nominate now, the Loncon3 front page says the Hugo nomination period opens later this week, which seems to be the case since the nomination form wasn’t working as I prepared this blog post. In the meantime, you can find general information on this Hugo Awards page, and nomination-specific information here.

The nomination period closes at the end of March, but remember: if you want to nominate, you need to join Worldcon before the end of January!

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If You Come to illogiCon, This is What I’ll Be Doing

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illogiCon, the Research Triangle area’s science fiction and fantasy convention, will convene next weekend for its third installment.


(The illogiCon mascot, “Professor Schrodington.”)

Subtitled “The Search for Schrodington’s Gold” in honor of its mascot, pictured above, illogiCon is a small, fan-run convention being held here in Cary at the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle. The guests of honor this year are my writing friends Mary Robinette Kowal and Lawrence M. Schoen, and many of my other writing friends will be part of the convention, too.

I’ll be on several panels, and will also present a reading (which in my case is always a “singing,” too):

Friday, January 10th

  • 4:00 PM — Our Cyborg Futures…Today! Paralyzed veterans are now starting to test exoskeletons that allow them to walk again. Robotic hands are becoming more nimble, robotic legs more responsive and balanced. On a more subtle level, smartphones today can augment human brains and bodies in fundamental functions such as managing hunger and sleep, and expand intelligence in ways unimaginable just a few decades ago. Are we living in the dawn of the age of machine-men? (With James Maxey and Justin Andrews.)
  • 9:00 PM — Lies With Words: The panelists are given a list of obscure and/or obsolete words in advance. All but one of them composes a false definition of the word, long or short, simple or complex, as they please. One panelist has the true definition. Can the audience tell which is which? Points are Awarded to each panelist for every audience member who buys into his/her lie. (Hosted by Lawrence M. Schoen. Other panelists: Mark Van Name, Michael Williams, Ed Schubert, and Bill Ferris.)
  • 10:00 PM — Open Filk

Saturday, January 11th

  • 11:00 AM — A Million Nations:: There was a time when where you lived was the primary determining factor of the culture you were raised in. But with the interconnectivity of the modern era, many of us get to build virtual neighborhoods of friends to socialize with online while never needing to bother with learning the names of people living next door in the real world. Is there anything resembling a common culture anymore? Or do we face a future of ever increasing cultural fragmentation as humanity sorts itself into a million different segments, all with differing values, myths … and even facts? (With James Maxey, Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, and Ed Schubert.)
  • 12:00 PM — Social Scientists’ Science Fiction: There’s no shortage of science fiction written by authors with Ph.D.s in the “hard sciences” (biology, chemistry, physics), and their expertise show up in everything from world building to alien physiology. But what about authors with doctorates in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, Economics, and so on? Is the SF experience redefined when it comes from social scientists instead? (With Lawrence M. Schoen, Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Michael Williams, and Bill Ferris.)
  • 1:00 PM — READING … and singing!
  • 5:00 PM — Baen Books Travelling Roadshow: Come find out whatʼs new from Baen Books. There will be an exploding spaceship.
  • 11:00 PM — Open Filk

Sunday, January 12th

  • 10:00 AM — Hard SF vs. Soft SF: From near-future thrillers so hard they could cut diamonds to allegories less-than-concerned about literal realism, science fiction covers a broad spectrum. How do they play together in the genre of ideas? (With Metricula and Samuel Montgomery-Blinn.)
  • 5:00 PM — New Trends in Speculative Fiction: Speculative fiction often rides on the next big thing — the New Wave, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, the Singularity, the New Weird. Where are we headed right now? Are there undiscovered movements just waiting for their central works? (With Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Ada Milenkovic Brown, Bill Ferris, and Natania Barron.)

So if you’re in the Research Triangle area next weekend, and you need to get your fantasy and science fiction fix, stop by and see us!

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Welcome 2014! Looking back and looking forward …

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Last year was … strange … but in a good way!


(This New Year, too, will eventually be washed away. Image from MyrtleBeach.com’s Facebook feed.)

I had three stories published in 2013:

And, of course, I released my album, Truths and Lies and Make-Believe, in August. (If you haven’t bought a copy yet, the download is $7 and the physical CD is $10.)

So far I have one story slated for publication in 2014: “Lightweaver in Shadow,” which will be part of the Shattered Shields anthology edited by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt. It will come out from Baen Books in November.

I need to finish editing another story that’s been provisionally accepted, and I’ve got other songs in work that may eventually be part of another album. Here’s looking forward to another creative year!

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Now Available Online: Truths and Lies and Make-Believe

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Folks on Facebook saw this yesterday, but the Truths and Lies and Make-Believe album is now live online!


(Front cover by Christopher Rinehart, using photo by Paul Cory Photography.)

The album has ten original songs, several of which relate to well-known science fiction or fantasy franchises and others that are more personal:

  • “Steampunk Pirates”
  • “The Monster Hunter Ballad”
  • “Another Romulan Ale”
  • “Dare to Do Great Things”
  • “Mortal Men”
  • “Tauntauns to Glory”
  • “Help My Unbelief”
  • “I Think I’ll Run for Congress”
  • “Day to Day Disguises”
  • “Finding Serenity”

 

For folks who prefer a physical CD, you can also order one online even though they’re not available quite yet. They should arrive from the manufacturer next week, and they cost $10 (hey, that’s $1 per song) whether you buy one from me in person or order one online — although we’ll add shipping & handling to the latter. (To download the online version is only $7.) Since Dragon_Con is next weekend, I won’t be able to ship out any orders until the first week of September.

Tell your friends, or tell your enemies, Truths and Lies and Make-Believe is out!

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CD Manufacturing Now In Progress

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Physical copies of Truths and Lies and Make Believe are now in work.


(This playful image by Paul Cory Photography is the scene on the interior cover art of the physical CD.)

For those folks who no longer trade in physical CDs, tonight or tomorrow I should complete the process of uploading the files for electronic access. I hope to decide about digital distribution this week, also, but no matter which service I use the album will take additional time to show up on iTunes and whatnot.

Tell your friends, or tell your enemies, Truths and Lies and Make Believe is coming soon — sooner now than ever!

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Last Day to Nominate for the Pegasus Awards, One More Day for the Hugos

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In case you have any interest in such things ….

Pegasus Award Logo

Your nominations for the 2013 Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filking (a/k/a science fiction and fantasy-related music) must be in by midnight tonight (Pacific Time). The awards are sponsored by the Ohio Valley Filk Festival.

Here’s a link to the Pegasus Brainstorming Poll, if you need some suggestions. As for your eligibility to nominate, the Pegasus Award web page notes that

The nomination and ballot procedure is similar to that of the Hugo, except that one does not need to be a paid member of the convention to nominate or vote. Anyone with an interest in Filking or Filk music can place a nomination and/or vote.

And, speaking of the Hugo Awards, if you’re a member of the World Science Fiction Convention, you have until midnight tomorrow night (Central Time) to submit your votes.

Hugo Award Logo

Do your civic genre duty!

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First Geosynchronous Satellite

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Fifty years ago today — July 26, 1963 — a Thor Delta rocket out of Cape Canaveral placed the first geosynchronous satellite in orbit.


(Syncom 2, which looked remarkably like Syncom 1. NASA image.)

Syncom 2, a follow-on to the lost Syncom 1, was geosynchronous but not geostationary: its orbital inclination was 33 degrees from the equator, which meant that its ground track formed a figure-8, the top and bottom of which were 33 degrees north and south of the equator, respectively. The satellite enabled transmission of “voice, teletype, facsimile, and data” between ground stations and ships at sea, and proved the viability of communication relay from high orbit that science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke had envisioned many years before. The Department of Defense took over operations of the satellite in January 1965.

Also on this date in space history, 5 years before Syncom 2 launched, the Explorer 4 satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral on a Jupiter C rocket. It measured charged particles (protons and electrons) in the Earth’s radiation belts, though the satellite’s unintended tumbling made the data hard to interpret and the satellite lost power after only three months.

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