I just recorded a small portion of the Audible.com multiple-cast unabridged reading of my next novel, Wake. I am the voice in the novel of the “Online Encylopedia of Computing,” and I recorded my parts with my brand-spanking new Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Cardioid Condenser Microphone, which Wired recently recommended, and I picked up new on […]
Until Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time Audible.com has the unabridged audiobook of my Hugo Award-winning Hominids (as well as 70-odd other first volumes in series) on sale for only US$4.95. To get Hominids go here. This version features an exclusive audio introduciton by yours truly. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Over at the fascinating Teleread.org blog, David Rothman asks: Many and perhaps most e-books use straight, typewriter-style quotes rather than smart quotes—the directional kind. At least one major e-book company wants publishers to avoid smart quotes, at least when offering certain formats, to reduce the technical challenges. But would you be more likely to recommend […]
I attend a lot of science-fiction conventions, of course. At some, you find actors from past SF TV shows selling autographed photos of themselves. In my whole life, I have bought precisely one such: on Sunday, November 25, 2007, at LosCon 34 in Los Angeles I met Bob May, the actor who was inside the […]
Today — Monday, January 19 — is this year’s celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Tomorrow — Tuesday, January 20 — a black man will become President of the United States. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. […]
There are now pages devoted to my next novel, Wake, on my website at SFwriter.com, including: A master page about the book The opening chapters A techie press release (done for computer-related publications; PDF) Wake will be published in hardcover in April 2009. And you can read all my blog posts about Wake here (including […]
A few days ago, I was asked about how a pro might get the most out of attending a science-fiction convention. I gave my advice here, but another point just occurred to me. I was just directed to the lengthy list of panel topics from which to choose those I wanted to be part of […]
I’ve posted thirteen messages with suggestions for this year’s Hugo Awards (the top international honours in science fiction) and Aurora Awards (the Canadian national SF awards). You can see them all here. Attending and supporting members of last year’s World Science Fiction Convention in Denver and this year’s one in Montreal may nominate for the […]
This is the thirteenth and final post in a series of blog posts in which I’ve discussed 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, 2008, was a good one for my writing […]
It’s easy. This is science fiction: And this is fantasy: The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Yes, yes, yes, we all know that my Wake has the most beautiful cover of any book coming out in 2009. But the second most beautiful cover is doubtless that for Wondrous Strange, the debut novel by my dear friend Lesley Livingston. It’s a YA urban fantasy published by HarperCollins. She launched it at a […]
The lead story at Locus Online right now, in its entirety, is this: Del Rey editor Liz Scheier was laid off yesterday and will be joining the growing ranks of newly unemployed editors — her position at the company officially ends January 23, 2009. Get more news like this in each monthly issue of Locus […]
This is the twelfth 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. On the Hugo ballot, you also get to nominate for the […]
This is the eleventh 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. It astonishes me that Taral Wayne and I have known each […]
Pretty much bought on a whim, but will prove very handy on my loooong flight to Turkey in 14 days’ time, not to mention on the book tour for Wake: my first netbook, an Acer Aspire One, model AOA150-1049. Specs: Intel Atom Processor N270 1.60GHz, 802.11b/g WLAN, 1GB DDR2, 160GB hard drive, 8.9″ WSVGA (1024×600 […]
Yes, indeed! The Italian edition of my novel Humans just came out from Urania, and they’ve given it the Italian title Fuga dal pianeta degli umani, which is indeed Escape from the Planet of the Humans, a lovely homage to one of my favorite films, Escape from the Planet of the Apes. The Robert J. […]
Access Copyright is the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. Attention Canadian Copyright Holders: An Important Message to all Canadian Publishers, Authors and Heirs of Authors about the Google Settlement This settlement has the potential to affect every copyright owner in Canada. It is important to read the following message and forward it onto other copyright owners […]
This is the tenth 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. You know why Locus — the trade journal of the science-fiction […]
I’m a proud alumnus of Ryerson University in Toronto (where I earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts, graduating in 1982). And I guess Ryerson’s pretty proud of me, too. In 2002, they gave me their Alumni Award of Distinction, one of (as of now) only 50 alumni out of […]
BACK FLAP: Robert J. Sawyer was born in Ottawa and lives just outside of Toronto, Canada. He has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. Visit his Website at www.sfwriter.com. Photo by Carolyn Clink Jacket design by Rita Frangie Jacket photos:“Teenage Girl” Steven Biver/Getty“Light Trails” John Lund/Getty Visit our website at www.penguin.com […]
Voilà! My US editor Ginjer Buchanan just sent me the final version of the dustjacket for my novel Wake, which will be released April 7, 2009, in hardcover by Ace Science Fiction in the States. Shown above is the final front cover (slightly revised from what I’d posted before), and if you click on the […]
Robert J. Sawyer, Don Tapscott, and others on TVOntario‘s The Agenda with Steve Paikin discuss “Your Brain and Technology” (38-minute video, first broadcast January 14, 2009). The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
By coincidence, two old friends got in touch today. T. Jackson King, a science-fiction writer I’ve known since the early 1990s, emailed to say he’s established a new web site, and, as part of the contents has resurrected a 1993 interview he did with me for Science Fiction Chronicle. And Gene Wilburn, whom I’ve known […]
All the press coverage about the passing today of the very talented Ricardo Montalbán is mentioning his work on Fantasy Island and Star Trek. And, of course, I loved his portrayal of Khan. But you know what his best work was? The role of Señor Armando in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, the […]
“Where am I?” “In the Village.” “What do you want?” “Information.” “Whose side are you on?” “That would be telling. We want information. Information! Information!” “You won’t get it.” “By hook or by crook, we will.” “Who are you?” “The new Number Two.” “Who is Number One?” “You are Number Six.” “I am not a […]
A fellow writer just emailed me to say she’d been invited to do her first Guest of Honor stint at a science-fiction convention, and she asked me, since I’ve often been a GoH, for how to make the best impression so as to increase her readership. Here’s what I had to say: First, congratulations! That’s […]
Just received a beautiful thank-you card from the organizers of the 2008 Surrey International Writers’ Conference, in Surrey (Vancouver), British Columbia, with a nice selection of quotes from the evaluation forms submitted by attendees about my Friday-night keynote address “The Writer’s Story”: “Rob Sawyer was a passionate and inspiring keynote.” “Robert Sawyer on Friday evening […]
This is the ninth 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. I’ve already mentioned that Neo-Opsis and On Spec deserve your consideration […]
This is the eighth 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. So, Hugo Award-winning science-fiction critic John Clute is in Toronto right […]
Woot! I’m thrilled to announce that my next novel, Wake, will be a Main Selection of the Science Fiction Book Club! This is my second Main Selection in a row (after Rollback). I’m totally delighted about this. :) The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
