Robert J. Sawyer

Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Science Fiction Writer

Archive for January, 2009

Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait: Put two shrimps on the barbie!

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

On Thursday, August 26, 2004, I was called upon to welcome visiting Australian SF writer K.A. Bedford on behalf of the Canadian SF scene at his reading and signing at the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto, and we’ve been friends ever since. Although he lives Down Under, he’s published here in Canada (he was “discovered” […]

On TVOntario Wednesday night

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Tomorrow night (Wednesday, January 14, 2009), I’ll be part of a panel discussion on TVOntario‘s flagship current-affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin, discussing what being online does to the human brain and our concepts of socialization. It’s all part of the show’s “Mysteries of the Mind” week. The hour-long program airs at 8:00 p.m. […]

James Alan Gardner for the Hugo and Aurora

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

This is the seventh in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. Those of you who’ve read my novel Wake as it was […]

Rollback the "One Book, One Brant" choice

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Woot! Woohoo! My latest novel Rollback has just been selected by the County of Brant, Ontario, for its annual One Book, One Brant community-wide reading program. The program is sponsored by the County of Brant Public Library and the Friends of the Library. Brant includes the city of Paris, Ontario, and several smaller communities. I’ll […]

Vision TV: Sci-Fi and Supernatural Tuesdays!

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

We got your Quantum Leap, we got your Poltergeist, we got Rob Sawyer hosting Supernatural Investigator, and we’ve got a new documentary featuring Rob on science fiction’s attempts to predict the future! Starting January 27, Tuesdays are Science Fiction and Supernatural Nights on Canada’s Vision TV! The Vision TV press release is here, and also […]

Why there’s no Aurora Award for … whatever

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

People kvetch that we don’t have an Aurora Award for whatever their favourite art form is, and recently someone put forth the silly argument that the reason we don’t is because of the cost of making trophies. Poppycock. The reason we don’t have Aurora Awards for every possible form of expression is that no one […]

SFWA Pressbook on Supernatural Investigator

Monday, January 12th, 2009

The SFWA Pressbook — the news service of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America — has just put up a release entitled Robert J. Sawyer hosts Supernatural Investigator. Older SFWA Pressbook articles about RJS: ABC buys TV rights to Robert J. Sawyer’s novel Flashforward New Short Story Collection from Robert J. Sawyer Sawyer […]

Identity Theft for the Aurora

Monday, January 12th, 2009

This is the sixth in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. Okay, okay, what about little ole me? Well, although I didn’t […]

Caitlin gets a boob job

Monday, January 12th, 2009

My friend Debi Ancel is a librarian in Montreal, and she just forwarded me the Library of Congress catalog information for Wake, my upcoming novel about 15-year-old blind math genius Caitlin Decter. Among the Library of Congress subject headings are “Women mathematicians” and “Implants, Artificial.” Hee hee. (The full list of subject headings: “Blind women,” […]

WATCH: The Soundtrack, Part 2

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Another track from the soundtrack for my upcoming novel Watch, the sequel to Wake, which I’m writing right now: “Good Morning Starshine” from the musical Hair (YouTube video clip). The song is alluded to in the book. :) Good morning, starshine!The Earth says hello … (Previous entry: the theme from The Good, The Bad and […]

Stanley Schmidt for the Hugo

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. Okay, folks, y’all have been very good to me when it […]

Reminder: Canadian SF Works Database

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Marcel Gagné and I founded the Canadian SF Works Database in 2007 as a resource for those interested in nominating for Canada’s Aurora Awards, and for those who want to know what Canadian works are eligible for international science fiction and fantasy awards. If you are a creator, please make sure your creations are listed. […]

Hayden Trenholm for the Aurora

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. In the previous post in this series, I talked about a […]

Analog electronic back issues with Wake

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Did you miss any of the four installments of my novel Wake as it was serialized recently in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine? The electronic versions of the four issues in question are all still available for a while longer from Fictionwise.com: November 2008 (Part One) December 2008 (Part Two) January-February 2009 (Part Three) […]

Nick DiChario for the Hugo

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

This is the third in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. Respectfully submitted for your consideration for the Hugo Award for Best […]

An anti-Hugo suggestion

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

A friend sent me an email today suggesting he was going to nominate me for the Hugo for Best Professional Editor (Long Form), for the work I do on Robert J. Sawyer Books. My reply: That’s super-kind of you, but I just don’t deserve it. I edited just two books last year (granted, very good […]

Randy McCharles for the Aurora

Friday, January 9th, 2009

This is the second in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. The Aurora Awards are often called “the Canadian Hugos,” but that’s […]

Flash Forward is in good hands

Friday, January 9th, 2009

I’m astonished by just how much online and print coverage there’s been for the pilot for Flash Forward, the TV series being developed by David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga based on my novel of the same name. People have been poring over what’s purported to be drafts of the script, supposed casting-call notes, and […]

Canadian Foundation for Innovation and CBC interview RJS

Friday, January 9th, 2009

The Canadian Foundation for Innovation has a terrific interview with me on its website. And the CBC has a nice news story about me on its website, too. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Wake me when it’s over

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

The Canadian publishing trade journal Quill & Quire‘s January/February 2009 issue reports in its article “2009 Spring Preview: An advance look at the season’s hottest books:” This could get awkward: two of the season’s high-profile novels share a title. Sci-fi giant Robert J. Sawyer has moved to Penguin Canada for Wake ($30 cl., April), an […]

Promoting your book

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

A writer asked me today for advice on promoting his upcoming book. I referred him to these pages on my website: Self-Promotion Getting good press Publicity doesn’t just happen: A case study Using traditional media to promote your book More advice on self-promotion for writers Using your website to promote your book Advice for authors […]

Brannon Braga talks Flash Forward

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

SciFi Wire has a nice interview with Brannon Braga about the Flash Forward TV series today. Among other things, Brannon says: “The core concept is very much the same as Robert Sawyer’s novel. That was the impetus for it and the idea of the entire world blacking out at the same time for a discrete […]

Rob on CBC Regina today

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

I’ll be interviewed today live on CBC Radio One Regina’s “Blue Sky” with Michelle Higley at 12:50 p.m. Saskatchewan time (1:50 p.m. Toronto time / Eastern time) about my upcoming residency at the Canadian Light Source. It’s 540AM in Regina, or you can listen online here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Writer-in-residence at Canadian Light Source

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

On April 19, 2005, as part of the Rob and Bob Tour — the joint book tour for Robert J. Sawyer’s Mindscan and Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin — Bob and I visited the Canadian Light Source synchrotron facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Out of that visit, the following has come to pass; I will be the […]

Rob’s 2009 convention schedule

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Here are the science-fiction conventions I’m planning to attend in 2009: Program ParticipantInternational Conference on the Fantastic in the ArtsOrlando, FloridaMarch 18-22, 2009www.iafa.org Program ParticipantAd AstraToronto, OntarioMarch 27-29, 2009ad-astra.org Guest of HonourFilkOntarioToronto, OntarioApril 3-5, 2009www.filkontario.ca Program ParticipantNorwescon 32Seattle, WashingtonApril 9-12, 2009www.norwescon.org Guest of HonorXanadu Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaApril 17-19, 2009www.xanadulasvegas.com Program ParticipantKeycon 26Winnipeg, ManitobaMay 15-17, […]

On Spec and Neo-Opsis for the Hugo

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

This is the first in a series of blog posts in which I’m going to discuss people and things that I think merit consideration for this year’s Hugo and Aurora Awards; both sets of awards will be given at the Montreal Worldcon this year. Last year, at the World Science Fiction convention in Denver, a […]

The voice of Caitlin

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Audible.com is doing unabridged recordings of my novels Wake, Watch, and Wonder. Today was the first recording session for Wake, and actress Jessica Almasy, who is voicing Caitlin Decter, reports that it went well. Other voicing is being done by Aze Fellner, who, like me, turns out to be a fan of Julian Jaynes’s The […]

This is delightful! I know you! All of you!

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

So, Norman Spinrad just confirmed me as a friend on Facebook. Early next month, David Gerrold and I are giving joint keynote addresses at a conference in Istanbul. A little while ago, George Clayton Johnson left a message on my answering machine to say how much he loved one of my stories. Oh, and every […]

Orion to publish Sawyer in UK and Australia

Monday, January 5th, 2009

British and Australian rights to Robert J. Sawyer‘s new novels Wake, Watch, and Wonder, plus backlist title Flashforward, have gone to Malcolm Edwards at Orion Publishing Group in a handsome deal negotiated by agent Ralph Vicinanza. (Orion publishes most of its SF under the Gollancz imprint; their other SF&F authors include Stephen Baxter, Arthur C. […]

F&SF going bimonthly

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Details are here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site