In the summer of 1980, Carolyn and I moved to Waterloo, Ontario, for four months, to share an apartment with our great friends Lynn Conway and Fraser Gunn. (Their previous roommates, students at the University of Waterloo, had moved out at the end of the academic year.) That summer, I did a few things that […]
Carolyn and I are leaving Saskatoon today for a week (then return to finish off my residency at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron). We’re both attending the NASA-sponsored Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers in Laramie, Wyoming, 14-21 July 2009. I was given early acceptance to the workshop (along with my friend Andy Duncan, a […]
I’ve been subscribing to Locus, the trade journal of the science-fiction field, since 1982. Its editor in chief, Charles N. Brown, passed away yesterday, on his way home from Readercon 20. He was 72. We ran into each other for the final time on Saturday afternoon, I think, in the Green Room. He was on […]
In 2000, my Italian editor, Sergio Fanucci of Solaria, asked me to write an introduction to the Italian edition of my novel FlashForward. Here’s what I had to say . . . The German philosopher Immanuel Kant claimed that the three fundamental problems of metaphysics are “Is there life after death?,” “Does God exist?,” and “Do we have […]
Door-to-door from Readercon in Boston to the house I’m renting in Saskatoon. Ugh. Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
Flaps failed on my plane from Toronto to Saskatoon; had to return to Pearson, and will board a new aircraft shortly. Frustrating: I’ll have spent a total five hours here at Pearson, 15 minutes from the home I haven’t been to since June 1st. Sigh. Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
Random thoughts on Readercon 20: I’m at Pearson — Toronto’s airport — changing planes on my way back to Saskatoon from Readercon 20 in Boston. It was a great, great convention — and I made a point of telling both Eric Van (this year’s programming chair) and Bob Colby (who founded Readercon 20 years ago) […]
Tomorrow (Friday, July 10, 2009), at 5:00 p.m. in Room 458 (but you have to sign up in advance at the con, and space is quite limited): an opportunity to spend an intimate hour over coffee (or whatever) with me. Always one of my favourite parts of any convention that has them. Visit The Robert […]
Click picture for larger versionOver at TrekMovie.com, someone asked, about the Star Trek Viewmaster reels from the 1960s: “Always wondered why there was not a real shot of the Enterprise and the Exeter in the set … instead of a shot of two of the model kits in space. Anyone know?” Yes, indeed. I do. […]
If you’re voting by mail, tomorrow — Wednesday, July 8, 2009 — is the postmarked-by deadline. If you’re voting online, you have until Wednesday, July 15. If you’re a member of this year’s Worldcon in Montreal (and a Canadian) you can vote for free; otherwise, there’s a $5 charge to help defray the cost of […]
Last night, Carolyn and I had dinner with some of the great writers here in Saskatoon. Back row: Saskatchewan Book Award winner Brenda Barker, Governor-General’s Award winner Arthur Slade. Front row: Books in Canada First Novel Award winner Geoffrey Ursell, Hugo Award winner Robert J. Sawyer, John W. Campbell Memorial Award finalist Barbara Sapergia. Visit […]
Well said, and well worth reading. “Life After Copyright” by Dean Wesley Smith. Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
I’m the guest blogger at Borders.com’s science-fiction blog Babel Clash right now. Here’s my latest post — but, as before, I’ve turned off comments here; come join the fun at Babel Clash, and share your views: Does the Science in Science Fiction Matter? Okay, I confess: tonight I’m off to see the new Star Trek […]
From TCON-News, the email newsletter of Toronto’s Polaris, a science-fiction media convention coming up this weekend (I won’t be there this year, but it is a very good convention): Autograph fees per actor will vary, and you can expect guests to charge between $25.00 – $30.00 per autograph, as the market is leaning this way. […]
My new editor at Penguin Canada is Adrienne Kerr. Formerly a Penguin Canada sales representative for Southwestern Ontario, Adrienne won this year’s Libris Award from the Canadian Booksellers Association as Sales Rep of the Year. Prior to joining Penguin in May 2006, she was a book buyer with HDS Retail (which operates airport bookstores in […]
I’m the guest blogger for July 2009 in Borders Books’s science-fiction blog “Babel Clash,” co-sponsored by i09. My first post — my opening salvo, if you will — is over there, and also posted below, but I’m turning off comments on this topic here; come on over to Borders.com and chime in there! Time has […]
I joined CompuServe sometime in 1987. I used to be a sysop (system operator) of the WordStar Forum there, and I hung out a lot in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum (so much so that the command GO SAWYER at the CompuServe prompt would take people there). On October 10, 1989 — almost 20 […]
I’ll be attending Readercon 20, July 9-12, 2009, near Boston. Here’s the programming I’ll be on: Friday 11:00 AM, Vineyard: Reading (60 min.) from his recently published novel WWW: Wake. Friday 5:00 PM, Room 458: Kaffeeklatsch. Saturday 10:00 AM, Salon F: Autographing. Saturday 12:00 Noon, VT: Federations Group Reading (60 min.) John Joseph Adams (host) […]
… using PayPal. See here. Carolyn and I just bought ours. Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
Con-Version is Calgary’s annual SF&F convention. Author Guests of Honour this year are Terry Brooks, Tanya Huff, and Robert J. Sawyer — and now there’s a nifty promo for the con on YouTube. Check it out. See you in August! Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
Book Banter, a podcast produced by Alex C. Telander of Sacramento, interviews Robert J. Sawyer, talking about his novel Wake. Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Siteand WakeWatchWonder.com
My favorite ebook format is eReader (now ultimately owned by Barnes & Noble), and they’ve announced some nice pricing initiatives over at eReader.com, which should help to bring some sanity to ebook pricing: eReader.com has the most competitive pricing in the industry, including: All new titles are $9.95 or less for the first week after […]
Yep, according to Speculative Fiction Examiner, this here blog is one of “10 author blogs to follow.” If that ain’t cool enough, SciFi Wire just included my Twitter feed on its list of “40 more sci-fi Twitter feeds you should be following” — one of only two author feeds to make the list (the other […]
From Ansible 264, a news note from Farah Mendlesohn: Educational Supplement. Rob Latham of the University of California at Riverside told the SF Research Association that UCR’s ‘senior-level position in science fiction writing’ was cancelled owing to huge state budget cuts — notably in higher education — announced on 19 May by Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. […]
You gotta love Edward Willett. Here it is, in the thick of Aurora Award voting, where his absolutely first-rate Marseguro is competing against Hayden Trenholm’s wonderful Defining Diana and my own Identity Theft and Other Stories, and what does Ed do? Why, he writes a glowing review of Hayden’s book, and then follows that up […]
