REVIEW: “Resonates with a buoyancy that can often be lost in contemporary science fiction […] great reading for fans of the space cowboy antics of Guardians of the Galaxy.” —RT Book Reviews, on COSMIC POWERS

“The newest short story collection edited by Adams resonates with a buoyancy that can often be lost in contemporary science fiction, reminding us that futuristic doesn’t always have to mean gritty. But don’t take that to mean that these stories lack depth or feeling. The authors deftly balance the adventure and sense of wonder with solid worldbuilding and characters who quickly become familiar friends by the time their tales end. This collection will prove to be great reading for fans of the space cowboy antics of Guardians of the Galaxy, Firefly and Cowboy Bebop.” —RT Book Reviews [review]

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NEWS: UPON A BURNING THRONE and THE BLIND KING’S WRATH by Ashok Banker Acquired for John Joseph Adams Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

In my role as editor of John Joseph Adams Books for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I just acquired two books in a new epic fantasy series by Ashok Banker. Here’s the deal memo that just ran on Publishers Marketplace:

Indian author Ashok Banker’s UPON A BURNING THRONE and THE BLIND KING’S WRATH, the first two books of an epic fantasy series (pitched as like an “Indian GAME OF THRONES”) about siblings battling for control of a vast empire while a powerful demonlord pits them against each other, to John Joseph Adams Books, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2018 and 2019 (world).

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NEWS: Best-of-the-Year Reprints

Several stories from LightspeedNightmare, and the Destroy special issues have also been selected for reprint in several best-of-the-year volumes. They’re listed below, with the original venue and then the best-of-the-year editor(s)’s name following in parenthesis:

  1. “RedKing” by Craig DeLancey (Lightspeed | Horton, Dozois)
  2. “I’ve Come to Marry the Princess” by Helena Bell (Lightspeed | Horton)
  3. “A Good Home” by Karin Lowachee (Lightspeed | Clarke)
  4. “Those Brighter Stars” by Mercurio R. Rivera (Lightspeed | Dozois)
  5. “Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed | Clarke)
  6. “The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch” by Seanan McGuire (Lightspeed| Guran)
  7. “Fifty Shades Of Grays” by Steven Barnes (Lightspeed | Horton, Dozois)
  8. “Red Dirt Witch” by N.K. Jemisin (Fantasy | Strahan, Guran)
  9. “Whose Drowned Face Sleeps” by An Owomoyela & Rachael Swirsky (Nightmare | Guran)
  10. “Wish You Were Here” by Nadia Bulkin (Nightmare | Guran, Datlow)
  11. “The Finest, Fullest Flowering” by Marc Laidlaw (Nightmare | Guran)
  12. “The One Who Isn’t” by Ted Kosmatka (Lightspeed | Dozois)
  13. “The Bad Hour” by Christopher Golden (What the #@&% is That? | Datlow)

I’ll update this list if we uncover any additional such honors!

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INTERVIEW: Feature Interview with Me in LOCUS!

In the March 2017 issue of LOCUS, there’s a long feature interview with yours truly, in which I discuss my origins as an editor, editing my first anthologies, launching Lightspeed and John Joseph Adams Books, and all manner of things. (Surprisingly, I somehow got through the whole thing without once mentioning death metal.) If you’d like to check it out, you’ll need to buy the issue, but they’ve got some extended excerpts up on their website. To investigate either option, visit locusmag.com.

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NEWS: Locus Recommended Reading List / Locus Awards Voting

Locus Magazine released their annual recommended reading list, and we’re pleased to report Lightspeed has fifteen stories on the list, Nightmare has five stories, and my anthology What the #@&% is That? has two stories:

  • “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” Dale Bailey (Nightmare)
  • “Fifty Shades of Grays” Steven Barnes (Lightspeed)
  • “Salto Mortal” Nick T. Chan (Lightspeed)
  • “Ghost Pressure” Gemma Files (What the #@&% Is That?)
  • “Little Widow” Maria Dahvana Headley (Nightmare / What the #@&% Is That?)
  • “Red Dirt Witch” N.K. Jemisin (Fantasy)
  • “The One Who Isn’t” Ted Kosmatka (Lightspeed)
  • “The Finest, Fullest Flowering” Marc Laidlaw (Nightmare)
  • “Sparks Fly” Rich Larson (Lightspeed)
  • “A Good Home” Karin Lowachee (Lightspeed)
  • “Those Brighter Stars” Mercurio D. Rivera (Lightspeed)
  • “Angel, Monster, Man” Sam J. Miller (Nightmare)
  • “Unauthorized Access” An Owomoyela (Lightspeed)
  • “The Red Thread” Sofia Samatar (Lightspeed)
  • “Vulcanization” Nisi Shawl (Nightmare)
  • “Wednesday’s Story” Wole Talabi (Lightspeed)
  • “Dragon Brides” Nghi Vo (Lightspeed)
  • “Secondhand Bodies” JY Yang (Lightspeed)
  • “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0” Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed)

Congratulations to all of the above, and to everyone who made the list!

The release of the Recommended Reading List also means that voting for the Locus Awards is now open. Anyone is eligible to vote. Visit locusmag.com to cast a ballot or learn more. Voting closes April 15, 2017.

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NEWS: Two LIGHTSPEED Stories Make the Nebula Ballot!

In case you missed the news, the first of the major awards have announced their lists of finalists for last year’s work, and I’m pleased to announce that Lightspeed stories “Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea” by Sarah Pinsker and “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station│Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0” by Caroline M. Yoachim are finalists for the Nebula Award this year. Congrats to Sarah and Caroline and to everyone else on the Nebula ballot!

That brings Lightspeed’s lifetime Nebula nomination total to eighteen since we launched in June 2010. Lightspeed has currently lost sixteen in a row, so here’s hoping Sarah and/or Caroline breaks the streak! (Though of course, Alyssa Wong’s story, “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers,” from Nightmare won the Nebula last year, making Nightmare 1-for-1.) You can find the full slate of nominees at sfwa.org. The Nebulas will be presented at the 2017 Nebula Awards Conference, held this year in Pittsburgh, PA, May 18-21.

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NEWS: “The Bad Hour” from WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT? is a Stoker Awards Finalist!

The Bad Hour” by Christopher Golden, from my horror anthology co-edited with Douglas Cohen, What the #@&% is That?, made the final ballot of the Bram Stoker Awards, so big congrats to Christopher for that honor. You can find the full slate of what made the final ballot at horror.org. The Stoker Awards themselves will be presented at StokerCon 2017, which is being held in Long Beach, CA, April 27-30.

 

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