Robert J. Sawyer

Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Science Fiction Writer

What’s wrong with this web page?

by Rob - July 22nd, 2006.
Filed under: Uncategorized.

Have a look at this web page, and ask yourself what’s missing.

The answer? The words “science fiction.” Robert A. Heinlein was never coy about what he wrote, but the web page for his centennial celebration makes no mention of the genre by name, instead calling him an “American author, futurist, philosopher and spaceflight advocate.”

Leaving out the phrase “science fiction” means that if you Google “Heinlein science fiction” or “science fiction Kansas” (which is where the event is being held), this page doesn’t turn up (although my own site does for the former search, as hit #6). (The word “Kansas” on the Heinlein Centennial website is in a graphic, not text, and isn’t searched by Google.)

I mentioned this to the conference organizers two weeks ago when I was in Kansas, by the way … Next year, the wonderful Campbell Conference will be held in conjunction with the Heinlein Centennial.

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