Old-timers in the science-fiction field hate the term “sci-fi,” considering it derogatory; they insist the preferred abbreviation is “SF.” Me, I gave up the fight when the US cable network devoted to the genre chose to call itself SciFi. (And, in fact, the hardcover of my Rollback was branded with the SciFi logo on the […]
For the RJS completeists out there, I’ll note that the new issue, number 75, of the Canadian literary magazine CNQ (aka Canadian Notes & Queries) contains an excerpt from my now novel Wake. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
One of the highlights of my year each year is Toronto’s SF convention, Ad Astra (which in 2009 takes place March 27-29). Here’s my panel and reading schedule for this year: Sat 10:00 AMBallr. EastWhat’s In a NameEd Greenwood, Gabrielle Harbowy (moderator), Robert J. Sawyer Sat 1:00 PMCrowne RoomReadingRobert J. Sawyer Sat 2:00 PMSalon 241Those […]
So, one of my editor friends just got a partial manuscript that she liked: she took time out of her busy schedule to read it, think about it, talk it over with her colleagues, and ask to see more (and her response time was rapid by the standards of our industry). And what did the […]
Remote Viewing Tues., March 17, 2009, 10:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM PT, coast-to-coast in Canada on Vision TV During the Cold War, the U.S. government tried to harness ESP as a tool for espionage, through a technique known as “remote viewing.” Today, most dismiss the notion. But there are still those who believe remote […]
My buddy Bruce Schneier — cryptographer, security specialist, incisive commentator — does a free monthly newsletter called Crypto-Gram. Well worth signing up for — which you can do right here. His books — including the most-recent one, Schneier on Security, shown above — are also always worth reading. (Oh, and he’ll be on 60 Minutes […]
Cracked magazine puts up a photo or image every day at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, and invites people to write funny captions (or “Craptions”) for it. Today’s image is the Pioneer 10 plaque, and some of the craptions are hysterical. Check it out. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Today is, I believe, the last day of filming on the Flash Forward pilot (based on my novel of the same name). I can’t wait to see the finished product! The buzz has been amazing. The Hollywood Reporter calls Flash Forward “a strong companion to Lost.” TV Guide concurs, saying, “It could be an obvious fill-in […]
I was talking with my friend Virginia O’Dine just a couple of days ago about coincidences (after she’d watched Supernatural Investigator, which I host on Vision TV; this week’s topic — people who had dreams that seemed to presage the events of 9/11 — we both agreed could be chalked up to coincidences). Well, how’s […]
My friend David Aronovitz has just listed a one-of-a-kind library of first editions on ABE.com: all the Hugo and Nebula Award winning novels, first editions, 95% of them signed or inscribed. Wow! See here. I very fondly remember visiting David’s house in Michigan in January 2004, and having a tour of his amazing collection of […]
It’s always an especially satisfying moment when an author adds a new book to his or her brag shelf — and I just did that with my first copy of Wake, and had quite a surprise! It’s bigger (taller and wider) than any previous hardcover by me. My previous novel hardcovers were all 8.5″ by […]
… and, OMG, is it ever gorgeous. The FedEx guy just delivered a copy of the finished American edition of Wake, my eighteenth novel, courtesy of my editor Ginjer Buchanan at Ace Science Fiction. This is, I think, the best-looking book I’ve ever had (and I’ve had lots of good-looking books). It’s just stunningly beautiful. […]
Carolyn decided the picture of my Nebula Award trophy on my website sucked — and it did; it was a low-res scan of a print that we’d put up back in 1996. So she took a new one, and here it is: I won the Nebula in 1996 for my novel The Terminal Experiment. That […]
I can’t remember if he’s shooting Flash Forward today or not, but, if he is, I hope he took time out for a piece of cake (there’s always delicious cake at the catered lunches): Courtney B. Vance, one of our stars (and one of the first two actors cast for the show) is celebrating his […]
I’ve been meaning to rant about this for a while, but haven’t found the time. But the topic came up in conversation with a good friend today — a brilliant lady who had done a book with a small press, and had cringed when she finally held the finished product in her hand because the […]
When I commissioned the anthology The Savage Humanists, edited by Prof. Fiona Kelleghan of the University of Miami, for my Robert J. Sawyer Books imprint at Red Deer Press, the idea was to produce a modern teaching anthology of science fiction: recent meaty stories by Hugo and Nebula finalists that could be used in the […]
And you know what? She deserves it. Her The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of the best science-fiction novels I’ve ever read. The New York Times has the scoop. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Man! Why couldn’t they have offered courses like this when I was in high school? In the 2009-2010 academic year, a teacher named David Rice at North Park Collegiate in Brantford, Ontario, is offering a “Studies in Literature” course on science fiction. The class will do two core novels — the Hugo Award-winning Hominids by […]
So says the official review from McNally Robinson, Canada’s second-largest bookstore chain (which also includes the McNally Jackson store in Manhattan). You can read the full review here; the review is by Chadwick Ginther who is in charge of science fiction at McNally Robinson’s flagship store in Winnipeg. I will be signing at the McNally […]
My dear friend Hugo winner Jeanne Robinson is recovering from surgery. Husband Spider has the scoop here. Spider ends with, “And God bless Tommy Douglas, who created Canada’s socialized medicine.” Amen to that, brother. Amen. And best wishes to Jeanne! The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
The amazing Sonya Walger, who plays the female lead in the upcoming Flash Forward TV series, based on my novel of the same name, has just been nominated for a Saturn Award by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror Films, in the category “Best Guest Starring Role in a Television Series” for her […]
My 1997 Hugo Award-nominated and Seiun Award-winning novel Frameshift deals, in large part, with the hunt for Ivan the Terrible, a real-life Treblinka death-camp guard whose whereabouts have been unknown since the end of the war. John Demjanjuk, a Cleveland autoworker, has spent the last few decades under a cloud of suspicion: he bears a […]
Realms of Fantasy is coming back, it seems. SF Scope — as is so often the case these days, first with the news — has the scoop here. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
An episode guide for Supernatural Investigator, the series I host on Canada’s Vision TV, is here at Vision TV’s site, and below: The AntichristTues., Jan. 27, 2009, 10:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM PTDoes the Antichrist walk among us? Are we nearing the End of Days? Surprisingly, belief in the Biblical prophecies of an Antichrist […]
I always find it interesting to see who is ponying up to use my name in the Google AdWords program (the thing that puts sponsored links to the right of Google search results). Chapters.ca and Amazon.ca have both bought “Robert Sawyer,” which is fine by me, and my speakers bureau has sometimes bought my name […]
I’m Author Guest of Honor at the convention Xanadu Las Vegas next month (April 17-19, 2009). There’s now a nifty video of me talking about why you should come to the con on YouTube. (It’s also a nice tour of my living room and some of my toys.) More about Xanadu Las Vegas is here, […]
Nice checks from my agent today for royalties from Audible.com and my Spanish publisher Ediciones B, plus the Korean advance for End of an Era. W00T! The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Hee hee hee. See Cracked.com. The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
The seventh episode of Supernatural Investigator — the series I host for Canada’s Vision TV — airs tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 10. This week’s topic: Seeing 9/11: Can precognitive dreams and visions provide warnings of impending disaster? Did thousands of people with no connection to the event somehow know in advance that 9/11 was going […]
EXT. LOS ANGELES – DAY ROBERT J. SAWYER, a bald, bespectacled novelist, and CAROLYN CLINK, his beautiful poet wife, survey the dozens of trucks, the hundreds of people milling about, and all the general chaos. CAROLYN Just think — all of this because of you. ROB And it isn’t even a crime scene! As I said back on Thursday […]
