… on Friday, August 19, 1988, I bought what was then, and still is, the most expensive computer I’ve ever owned (and, at that time, was the most expensive thing I’d ever bought — and, come to think of it, I think it still is, except for cars and real estate). Moore’s Law rocks — […]
My three favourite things are dinosaurs, science fiction, and beautiful women — so what could be a more perfect way to start the day than getting an email from the beautiful Kirstin Morrell containing a link to an article about dinosaurs in science fiction? Check it out here, on the blog “Prehistoric Pulp.” The Robert […]
Challenging Destiny is a really well done Canadian science-fiction ezine, available through the good folks at Fictionwise, and the current issue (number 24) contains the story “Like Water in the Desert” by one of my best friends, Hayden Trenholm. Visit the zine’s website here, and pick up the latest issue online over here. The Robert […]
Riffs on Michaelangelo’s painting on the roof of the Sistine Chapel are common, and, as it happens one of my favorite nonfiction authors, Frans de Waal, has just gotten one on the cover of his latest book, Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved, published by Princeton University Press. But I think Tor Books did a […]
I was writing an article about this new-fangled thing called “Windows” for ProFiles: The Magazine for KayPro Users, and it was a bitch to write. Here’s what I said in my work journal for August 10, 1987: I’m still having problems with Windows article. I have to explain how it integrates and replaces the familiar […]
Over in the LiveJournal for Bakka-Phoenix Books, Canada’s oldest science-fiction specialty store, the wise and wonderful Chris Szego, manager of same, posted this open letter: Dear Writer who, because the publishing industry is so tough to break into decides to publish her novel on her own, or believes his interests are best served by self-publication, […]
British Columbia writer Nina Munteanu profile my website at SFWRITER.COM today, as well as having us take a fanciful journey in space together. You can read all about it in Nina’s blog. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
I am a judge for the Writers of the Future contest, and am so very proud this year, because two of the winners are former writing students of mine: Stephen Kotowych came to see me when I was writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library’s The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy in 2003 […]
Over at Yahoo! Answers, someone asked “What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy?,” and I decided to post my own answer to that common question: Science fiction deals with things that might possibly happen (or, in the case of the subgenre of science fiction known as alternate history, things that possibly could have […]
January Magazine reviews Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer today. It’s a positive review, with some cavils. One comment struck me as … well, the reviewer writes, “I … believe that had Sarah been the one to undergo successful treatment, while her husbands had failed, it would have changed a great deal of the story.” Well, […]
I’m very proud of my novel Starplex. It was the only 1996 novel to be nominated for both the Hugo and the Nebula, it won the Aurora, it was a finalist for the Seiun, and it was a Locus bestseller and a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. But it’s been out of print […]
I’ve often been known to criticize government officials here in Canada, but not today. Today, I’m standing up and cheering. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced a $39-million plan to give free voluntary vaccinations to girls in grade 8 in Ontario against the most deadly forms of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical […]
We’re already sliding into autumn here in the far north. Here in Dawson it was 19 degrees Celsius this afternoon, and it’s going down to 2 degrees tonight. In Fahrenheit, that’s a swing from 66 to 37. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
From VCon in Vancouver in October 2005 (I stumbled on this by complete accident; it’s not captioned): Robert J. Sawyer And here’s one from the same con of me with Danita Maslan, one of the authors I edit:Danita Maslan and Robert J. Sawyer The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Just stumbled on the fact that one of my stories is online for free over at the Baen website: “The Right’s Tough” by Robert J. Sawyer. This was commissioned for the Libertarian anthology Visions of Liberty, a collection devoted to the notion of throwing off the yoke of government. I think the best thing about […]
CBC Online — the web service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation — has just posted a new text interview with Robert J. Sawyer as part of its “Words at Large” section. You can read the whole thing right here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
My great pal Louise Marley has updated her website with some nifty PowerPoint presentations on how to write, as well as “Five Music Lessons for Writers.” Check it out here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
The dramatic reading of my Hugo Award-nominated short story Shed Skin — the basis for my novel Mindscan — is now available on both Audible.com and iTunes, and it’s still available at Fictionwise.com. It’s an excellent reading by actor Stephen Hoye. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
V-Con, this year’s CanVention (Canadian National Science Fiction Convention), has announced a break from CanVention tradition and is having on-site voting for the Aurora Awards (in addition to mail-in voting). Says V-Con Progress Report #2: Vote at VCON There is no fee to submit an Aurora nomination, but final voting is restricted to CSF&FA members. […]
[2008 update: Also see here.] I am delighted to report that my latest novel Rollback is on the Locus bestsllers’ list for a second consecutive month. Locus is the US trade journal of the science-fiction field. The August 2007 issue, just out, lists these hardcover bestsellers (for the data period May 2007); the numbers at […]
Apropos of this, here’s the letter I just sent — in hardcopy and electronically — to Toronto Mayor David Miller (pictured above): Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Mayor David MillerToronto City Hall100 Queen St. West 2nd FloorToronto ON M5H 2N2 Dear Mayor Miller, I’m shocked and severely disappointed to read of the huge reductions in services […]
The Toronto Public Library — the largest system in North America, and the second-largest in the world — is in trouble. See: Quill & Quire’s blog This report in The Toronto Star This letter from the Library Board Chair This report on the fiscal actions taken Want to protest the budget cuts? You can let […]
DAW Author Ed Willett has the best voice in all of science fiction, and here he sings the original Star Trek theme song (betcha didn’t know it had lyrics!). Enjoy! (If you have trouble with the link on Ed’s blog, you can also get it here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
My poor baby is lost! There’s a glitch in the database over at Amazon.com. If you search there on either “Mindscan” or “Robert J. Sawyer,” you’ll only find the hardcover of Mindscan — even though the paperback has been out for over a year. The only way to get to the ordering page for the […]
Quill and Quire reports today on changes at Red Deer Press, including the departure of long-time publisher Dennis Johnson; Red Deer press publishes Robert J. Sawyer Books, the imprint I edit. In the article, posted in the subscription-only area of their website, they quote briefly from an email response I sent to Q&Q editor Derek […]
My friend H. Don Wilkat found a higher-resolution version of the mass-marekt paperback cover for Rollback online. On this one, it’s easy to read the blurb in the lower-left: “This is what SF is supposed to be about: discovery as carried out by real people. A joy to read: a superb novel.” — Jack McDevitt, […]
Carolyn and I are both proud supporters of the Montreal in 2009 Worldcon bid — a bid to bring the World Science Fiction Convention back to Canada. And it’s time to vote! All the information is here. Check it out! The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Amazon.com has just put up the first glimpse I’ve seen of what the mass-market paperback of Rollback will look like. Looks gorgeous to me — although I’m dying to know what the text in the lower left says! (The stuff under my name says, “Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best novel.”) The […]
For those of you actually here in the Yukon, I will be doing a reading from Rollback followed by a Q&A at the Dawson Public Library on Tuesday, August 14, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. Free refreshments will be served. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
In April 2007, The Ottawa Citizen — the largest circulation newspaper in Canada’s capital city — published a commissioned op-ed piece by me, which I called “A Bright Idea for Atheists.” In that piece, I took to task some of the people who are currently trying to overcome the problems religions causes in our world: […]
