A cornucopia of science fiction conventions

This weekend there will be several conventions to choose from:
 
Balticon
Baycon
Miscon
Oasis
Timegate


There's also:
Alabama Phoenix Festival
Puerto Rico ComicCon
WonderFest

Will you be attending any of these?

Nebula

Image credit: NASA/JPL

No, not that kind of nebula ...

Yes, the Nebula Awards Weekend is going on now in Arlington, Virginia. Not able to attend? Here are links to some assorted past works (including a poem and some photography) by/with some of the attendees/nominees:


Rachel Swirsky - This is her work nominated this year in the Best Novelette category.

Pictures of a total eclipse of the sun taken by Walter Jon Williams, this year's toastmaster.  (Will you be able to see the annular eclipse in a couple of days?)

Two real-time online conversations with Geoff Ryman, a nominee in the Novelette category.

Poem by Jo Walton, who is a nominee in the Novel category.

Some non-fiction by Ken Liu  (and his temporarily available nominated Novella)

Interview with Carolyn Ives Gilman on her nominated Novella.  (Have you read any of her books?)

A story by China Miéville (who is a nominee in the Novel category) that was nominated for a British Science Fiction award for 2012.

... and keep an eye out for nebulas.

Saturday morning on Saturday night

Have you watched Saturday Morning Cartoons at Tor.com lately?

Check this one out.

Cinco De Mayo

Seems an appropriate book to mention today. Are you familiar with it?

Regarding the holiday, some people might think it's Mexican Independence Day, but that's actually on September 16. To learn more about Cinco De Mayo -- and about the May 5 (1862) battle between the French and Mexican armies at Puebla and its significance -- read articles here or here or here.

Here's a short French film, Le Voyage Dans la Lune. And, from Strange Horizons, "A Brief History of Mexican Science Fiction."

For the 3rd -- 3 ways to keep your books close

Of course, there's always this option:

Just be careful when you roll over in your sleep.

Where do you keep your science fiction (and other) books?
Do special books have a special place?
Do you have a "to be read" stack or shelf?

May 2 - some free SF for you

One of the snippets included in yesterday's blog post was from the book Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Lightspeed Magazine has a short story by Robinson that you can read for free here.

If you want a book-sized freebie, this month's Phoenix Pick free e-book is The Messiah Choice by Jack Chalker. Thanks to SF Signal for spreading the word about this offer. The code for the free e-book is included in our monthly newsletter. Not signed up yet? It's simple -- just follow the instructions on our catalogue page.

May Day and Science Fiction

Science fiction might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of May Day ... but are there connections?


May 1, 1954, was the birth day of Canadian American science fiction/fantasy author Joel Rosenberg.

There's an article at io9.com on May Day, 1871: The Day “Science Fiction” Was Invented -- What do you think? And how did you first "discover" SF?

Once you've pondered all that, check out these May Day/day references in various books:

    "It's a beautiful May day," Ofglen says. I feel rather than see her head turn towards me, waiting for a reply.
   "Yes," I say. "Praise be," I add as an afterthought. Mayday used to be a distress signal, a long time ago, in one of those wars we studied in high school. I kept getting them mixed up, but you could tell them apart by the airplanes if you paid attention. It was Luke who told me about Mayday though. Mayday, Mayday, for pilots whose planes had been hit, and ships - was it ships too? - at sea. Maybe it was SOS for ships. I wish I could look it up. And it was something from Beethoven, for the beginning of the victory, in one of those wars.
   Do you know what it came from? said Luke. Mayday?
   No, I said. It's a strange word to use for that, isn't it?
   Newspapers and coffee, on Sunday mornings, before she was born. There were still newspapers then. We used to read them in bed.
   It's French, he said. From M'aidez.
   Help me.

 ------------------------------

He looked about his little troupe of six, who were once again lowering the line with the clumsy enthusiasm of a May Day tug-o'-war. "Comrade Shillibeer! You're about this man's size—give him your trousers."

 ------------------------------

All this in the middle of a D.C. May day, the air going for a triple-triple, the sun smashing down through the wet air and diffusing until its light exploded out of a huge patch of the zenith. Sweaty gasping play, yes, but never a moment spent coaxing. Never a dull moment.

 ------------------------------

"What is this?" he demanded. "Ye'd think 'twas May Day, and the lads and lassies all out gatherin' flowers in the wood, not the dead o' winter and snow comin' on!"

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Then there's the May Day Fairie Festival. It's not exactly on May Day this year, so if you're interested but not already in the area, you have time to travel!