May 22, 2013
Super Bass
Is Gian’s love for the Summer King stronger than his hate?
May 15, 2013
The Button Man and the Murder Tree
An all-new Wild Cards story
May 14, 2013
Shall We Gather
When one world brushes another, asking the right question can be magic…
May 8, 2013
Fire Above, Fire Below
The dragon below our city has died. What is to be done?
Tor Books has just received word that Brandon Sanderson's first young adult novel The Rithmatist has debuted at #6 on the New York Times YA Bestseller List!
Congratulations to Brandon Sanderson and illustrator Ben McSweeney on the debut! Curious about the book? Read the first six chapters for free right here.
And read up on how Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithmatist Could Have Been an RTS Named ChalkCraft.
In the lead-up to this year’s BookExpo America, BEA is publishing a series of author inteviews called “BEA In Your Space." We’re excited to reveal that one of the first ones is an interview with notable comics creator Paul Pope, author of the upcoming First Second graphic novel Battling Boy.
Paul Pope will be autographing and speaking at BEA courtesy of First Second Books. Check out when and where, and see what other creators from the MacKids stable will appear! You can find them at Macmillan’s booth #1557.
Unfettered is coming, a masterful anthology of epic fantasy edited by author Shawn Speakman, featuring unfamiliar stories set in familiar worlds. A sneak peek of Unfettered will debut at this year’s Phoenix Comicon, which runs through Memorial Day weekend, and all this week Tor.com will be discussing the stories included in that sampler: including new tales from the worlds of Terry Brooks, the Vault of Heaven, and what may possibly be the last glimpse we’ll get from inside the world of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.
Unfettered is more than just an anthology, however.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced the winners of the 2012 Nebula Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award, and the Andre Norton Award.
Tor.com was eye-wideningly honored to be represented so heavily in the Novelette department by Brit Mandelo for “The Finite Canvas,” Meghan McCarron for “Swift, Brutal Retaliation,” and Rachel Swirsky for “Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia.” All three novelettes can be read for free in the above links. Tor Books was thrilled to have two nominees in the Novel division, Tina Connolly’s Ironskin and Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamour in Glass.
Congratulations to the winners and all the honorees!
Book Expo America 2013 takes place in New York City from May 29th to June 1st and Tor Books will be there! Take a look below to see which Tor authors, editors, and more will be appearing. Meet Brandon Sanderson, Ellen Datlow, Kendare Blake, and more!
Tor Books will also be present in the Macmillan section at booth 1557 for the entirety of the conference. Stop by and say hello!
Tor.com is going to be exploring Glen Cook’s beloved and awesome fantasy series, The Black Company. Starting next week, Tor.com will launch The Black Company reread, which will delve deep into this epic series, revisiting all your favorite moments. But if you’re new to this dark fantasy series, now is the time to jump in! This is gritty fantasy with aspects of military fiction and intrigue, playing out over an epic span of time.
As an incentive, for one week only, the ebook version of The Black Company, the first novel of the Chronicles of the Black Company series, is available for just $2.99. Links below, or at your preferred ebook retailer.
And join us next week for the Black Company Reread! Read the details on how Graeme Flory will break the series down and why he was inspired to tackle a reread.
Tor.com is pleased to announce that the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas has revealed the 2013 finalists for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best novel of the year. The nominees include three Tor novels: Existence, by David Brin, The Rapture of the Nerds, by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, and The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi. Congratulations to them, and to all the other nominees! You can see the full announcement below.
For over a decade, Barnes & Noble buyer Jim Killen has been a driving force behind Barnes & Noble’s science fiction and fantasy sections. Each month on Tor.com, Mr. Killen curates a list of science fiction & fantasy titles, sometimes focused on upcoming titles and sometimes focused on a theme.
Here’s the Barnes & Noble science fiction and fantasy picks for May.
Welcome back to The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe, a recurring series here on Tor.com featuring some of our favorite science fiction and fantasy authors, artist, and others!
Today we’re joined by Benjamin Percy, winner of the Whiting Writers’ Award and author of the upcoming novel Red Moon, out from Grand Central Tuesday, May 7.
Join us as we cover subjects ranging from a spiderwebby dungeon to a romantic picnic with Galadriel, and more.
In honor of the famed author of The Haunting of House and the seminal short story, “The Lottery,” the Shirely Jackson Awards focuses on works of literature which approach the fantastic and are often horror-themed. Spanning all publishing spheres, these awards frequently recognize literary and genre writers alike. Check out the list of nominees for this year, including many Tor.com favorite authors, novels and stories, including Tor Books’ own Brian Evenson!
The British Science Fiction Association is reporting that Dark Eden by Chris Beckett has won the 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award. Congratulations to Beckett and the nominees.
The Clarke Award is given to the best science fiction novel of the year, pulled from a shortlist of novels whose UK first editions came out in the previous calendar year. It was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1987, and is now overseen by the Serendib Foundation.
Last month, Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—announced a new mobile campaign for fans of the Wheel of Time® series and Tor author Brandon Sanderson.
Tor’s Epic Fantasy mobile alert list is still going strong. Fans can sign up to receive The Wheel of Time®, Rithmatist chalkling drawings, and special Brandon Sanderson content sent right to their phones.
Today, April 28th, marks Sir Terrence David John Pratchett’s birthday, and along with being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 (an honor that caused him to forge his very own sword from iron that he dug out of the ground), he is also the most shoplifted author in Britain. And what that tells us is actually very simple; Terry Pratchett writes wonderful books and we love to read them.
An only child and self-described “nondescript student,” Pratchett was first commercially published at age 15, and claims to have received his true education from the Beaconsfield Public Library. He has been an astronomy enthusiast all his life, and has an observatory in his home garden. There is an asteroid named after him. He has a love of wide-brimmed black fedoras, and a wit welcome among the likes of Twain and Wilde. While a great deal of fantasy spends its time displaying the grimmer aspects of life, the world loves Terry Pratchett for his ability to tell the truth in ways that make us laugh.
Actor and screenwriter Richard LeParmentier, who played Admiral Motti in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, has passed away. In his role as the brash, arrogant Imperial Officer who dares to defy Darth Vader, LeParmentier was the unlucky target of Vader’s throat-crushing displeasure and the recipient of one of the most chilling, iconic lines of the series: “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” Since then, Admiral Motti has been seen as both a symbol of the Empire’s hubris and an unforgettable example of the power of the Force at its darkest…
In addition to his memorable appearance in Star Wars, LeParmentier made his mark as a character actor in other blockbuster genre films including Rollerball, Octopussy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Superman II (in which he co-starred with his then-wife, Sarah Douglas, who played the villainess Ursa). An American actor who worked primarily in England, he had concentrated more on screenwriting, along with some video game voice work, since the mid-90s. A fan favorite who regularly appeared at Star Wars conventions, LeParmentier will be greatly missed.
Tor.com is pleased to reveal the Alejandro Colucci’s cover art for James A. Moore’s upcoming novel Seven Forges, published by Angry Robot. Read the cover copy, and check below the cut to see a larger version of this gorgeous piece.
The people of Fellein have lived with legends for many centuries. To their far north, the Blasted Lands, a legacy of an ancient time of cataclysm, are vast, desolate and impassable, but that doesn’t stop the occasional expedition into their fringes in search of any trace of the ancients who had once lived there... and oft-rumored riches.
Captain Merros Dulver is the first in many lifetimes to find a path beyond the great mountains known as the Seven Forges and encounter, at last, the half-forgotten race who live there. And it would appear that they were expecting him. As he returns home, bringing an entourage of strangers with him, he starts to wonder whether his discovery has been such a good thing. For the gods of this lost race are the gods of war, and their memories of that far-off cataclysm have not faded.
[Full cover art below]
Tor.com favorite Faith Erin Hicks and writer Prudence Shen are releasing a new original graphic novel called Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong on May 7th. The novel is currently being serialized over on her website and things are really gearing up for the impending release! If you decide to pre-order Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, you could win some fun prizes, including signed copies of Friends With Boys, original art, and more!
Head over to Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong for details and read our excerpt of the book here.
Now that we’ve come to the end of the 13 episode serialization of John Scalzi’s The Human Division, it can be told: A second season has been commissioned!
Author John Scalzi broke the news this past Tuesday, revealing that the story of the Old Man’s War universe will continue for at least one more season. The story, still in its very early stages, will be collected in a novel in a manner similar to The Human Division, which will hit shelves on May 14th, containing two extra stories set in the Old Man’s War universe.
Venerable SFF magazine Locus has opened its award and survey ballot, which covers all works in the field from 2012. In each category, subscribers may vote for up to five works or nominees based on the Locus 2012 Recommended Reading List. Tor.com is also very, very proud to be represented in the short story, novelette and webzine categories.
For novelettes we’ve got: “The Witch of Duva” by Leigh Bardugo, “The Ghosts of Christmas” by Paul Cornell, and “Swift, Brutal Retaliation” by Meghan McCarron. For the short story category we’ve got “Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz” by Marissa K. Lingen and “About Fairies” by Pat Murphy.
If you are a Locus subscriber, head on over to their website for full details and cast your ballot!
The shortlist for the 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award have been announced. Congratulations to all.
The Clarke Award is given to the best science fiction novel of the year, pulled from a shortlist of novels whose UK first editions came out in the previous calendar year. It was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 1987, and is now overseen by the Serendip Foundation.
This year’s winner will be announced on May 1. This year’s judging panel consists of Juliet E. McKenna (BSFA), Ruth O’Reilly (BSFA), Nickianne Moody (Science Fiction Foundation), Liz Williams (Science Fiction Foundation), and Robert Grant (SCI-FI LONDON film festival).Here they are:
Neil Gaiman’s new novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane is almost here! Gaiman will attend the UK release event at St. Mary’s Church in Bathwick on June 14th, and after that he’s coming to America. Over on his website, Gaiman has released his full tour schedule in the United States. Most events are ticketed, and we’ve included as many links to each one as are available. It all starts the day the book comes out on June 18th June in Brooklyn, New York! Check the list below to see if Gaiman is coming to your city!
