Robert J. Sawyer

Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Science Fiction Writer

Important update on Waterloo Wake event

by Rob - April 17th, 2009

An important update on the Robert J. Sawyer event for Wake at the Waterloo Entertainment Centre in Waterloo, Ontario, on Thursday, May 21, at 7:30. I just learned this myself (I was not involved in the discussions between the bookseller and my publisher):

Waterloo’s venerable bookshop Words Worth Books is sponsoring this event, and paying the rental fee on the Waterloo Entertainment Centre.

The bookstore’s policy is to let people in for free who have bought the book (either at the start of the event, or in advance at Words Worth), and to charge $10 to those who just want to attend but not buy the book from Words Worth. (As you can see, they do this for most of their out-of-store events.)

I apologize for the inconvenience, and hope people will still come out for what I’m sure will be a great evening.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Library Journal loves Wake

by Rob - April 17th, 2009

Library Journal has weighed in on my novel Wake:

Sf veteran Sawyer (Hominids) continues to push the boundaries with his stories of the future made credible. His erudition, eclecticism, and masterly storytelling make this trilogy opener a choice selection.

W00t!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

SFFaudio reviews Wake

by Rob - April 16th, 2009

And a lovely review it is, too. Of course, they’re reviewing the unabridged audio book version from Audible.com, but the review says lots of nice things about the novel. Particularly gratifying to me is this:

Is Caitlin’s blindness realistic? This is where my own personal experience comes into play. I’ve been legally blind since birth, although since I have some residual vision the comparison isn’t exact. Even so, it’s evident to me that Robert J. Sawyer has done his homework in this regard. Caitlin’s life is replete with all the trappings associated with blind life: white canes (which I just traded in for my first guide dog), text-to-speech screen-reading software, and braille displays. More importantly, Sawyer understands how the world is conceived and constructed for those of us with either no vision or limited vision.

And the reviewer (Seth Wilson) likes my characters, too:

Wake strikes a good balance between the cerebral and the emotional. [Caitlin] Decter is a complex and ultimately likable character. … The supporting cast of characters in Caitlin’s life are just as three-dimensional. … The interactions and conflicts between the characters are subtly portrayed, lending Wake a sense of realism despite the bizarre goings-on behind Caitlin’s eyes.

You can read the whole review here, and get Audible.com’s version of the novel here, and learn more about my novel here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Penn & Teller

by Rob - April 16th, 2009

Just saw Penn & Teller’s live show here in Las Vegas. It was awesome — funny, amazing, thought-provoking. Nice to have a little break before the truly hectic part of the book tour begins!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Next tour stops: Vancouver and Calgary

by Rob - April 15th, 2009


Next up on the book tour for Wake: stops in Vancouver and Calgary. Come on out and say hello!

  • Bookstore Signing
    White Dwarf Books
    3715 West 10th Avenue
    Vancouver, British Columbia
    Monday, April 20, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
    http://www.deadwrite.com/wd.html
  • Bookstore Signing
    Sentry Box
    1835-10th Ave SW
    Calgary, Alberta
    Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
    www.sentrybox.com

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Ottawa book-tour event: time change!

by Rob - April 15th, 2009

Uh-oh! The time for my event in Ottawa on April 29, 2009, is 7:30 p.m., not 7:00 p.m. as previously announced. Sorry about the confusion!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Autographed copies of Wake at Mysterious Galaxy soon

by Rob - April 15th, 2009

Mysterious Galaxy, the wonderful science-fiction specialty bookstore in San Diego, California, shipped a carton of 24 copies of my Wake to Borderlands Books in San Francisco, where I was reading on Monday, April 13, and I autographed them all, so you’ll soon be able to get signed copies there, too. Yay!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

SLACking off near San Francisco

by Rob - April 15th, 2009


I took a little time for sight-seeing in San Francisco, accompanied by my dear friend Kaye Mason, Ph.D., who works at EA. We had private behind-the-scenes tours at the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Museum of Vision, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the Googleplex — I love my job!

I’ve now arrived in Las Vegas (where the weather is cold and rainy — dang!). Carolyn has joined me here. In two days the convention Xanadu Las Vegas, at which I’m Author Guest of Honor begins, but until then, we’re chillaxing. Tonight we go see Penn & Teller, and tomorrow we go see comedian Louie Anderson.

Pictured, left to right: Kelen Tuttle and Daniel Ratner of SLAC; Dr. Kaye Mason; the tunnel over Kelen’s shoulder runs for two miles into the distance

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Borderlands signing rocked

by Rob - April 15th, 2009


My event at Borderlands Books went fabulously: big crowd, lots of books sold, and lots of fun. A special treat was that my cousin Eric Peterson came to the event.

Before my reading, I met a fellow named Sean, who seemed intrigued by my books. He bought a mass-market paperback of Calculating God — used! But he gave me the 56 cents in royalties I would have earned if he’d bought it new — two quarters, a nickel, and a penny. :)

It was also great meeting a young man named Don and his father; Don had never read until he’d discovered my books, starting with Starplex. It was very gratifying to meet someone who’d become a reader because of me!

I signed lots of stock of various titles at Borderlands, so you can still get an autographed copy of Wake or my other books if you stop by the store.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Wake links

by Rob - April 12th, 2009


Print interviews with Rob about Wake:


Audio interviews with Rob about Wake:


The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Rob interviewed by Peter Anthony Holder

by Rob - April 11th, 2009


Peter Anthony Holder hosts Holder Tonight on Montreal radio station CJAD-AM and Toronto radio station CFRB-AM. He had Robert J. Sawyer on this past Thursday, April 9, 2009, to talk about his new novel Wake. You can hear the whole half-hour interview right here (click to play; right click to download the MP3 file).

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Rob in San Francisco on Monday

by Rob - April 11th, 2009


Robert J. Sawyer will be reading and signing Wake at Borderlands Books in San Francisco this Monday, April 13, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.:

Borderlands Books
866 Valencia Street
San Francisco, California
Monday, April 13, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

Other Wake book-tour events

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

WWW milestones

by Rob - April 11th, 2009

Yesterday, Wake started showing up in Canadian bookstores (and I myself saw the nice display of copies at the Indigo on Yonge Street just north of the 407 in Greater Toronto).

And I got to do something that’s very special: I got to autograph the first copy of the finished book. I always annotate that copy (“First copy signed by the author”), and the one for Wake went to Kelly Smith, a friend from Willowdale Junior High. (It also got inscribed, “Thanks for the kiss all those years ago” — but that’s another story …)

See, last night, a few of us who went to Willowdale Junior High or Northview Heights Secondary School got together at the Kelsey’s restaurant next to that Indigo for a little reunion (made possible by the magic of Facebook). Kelly (as well as old friends Roberta Torkoff [now Roberta Blank] and Ginter Karosas) went off to the store during dinner to buy copies of Wake, which was very kind of them.

And today, right on the heels of Wake coming out, I finished my final revisions on Watch, the second volume in the WWW trilogy.

And that got done just in time for me to hit the road promoting Wake: in two days, I leave for San Francisco (and am reading and signing at Borderland Books there Monday night at 7:00 p.m.).

Whew!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Rob the technothriller writer?

by Rob - April 9th, 2009

To my astonishment and delight, my Wake is the #1 “Technothriller” bestseller on Amazon.com:

(Posted at 12:05 a.m. on Friday 10 April 2009)

1. Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
2. State of the Union by Brad Thor
3. Daemon by Daniel Suarez
4. Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
5. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
6. Vixen 03 by Clive Cussler
7. State of Fear by Michael Crichton
8. Death Match by Lincoln Child
9. Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
10. Utopia by Lincoln Child

So — w00t!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Wake at Bakka-Phoenix

by Rob - April 9th, 2009


First reported Canadian bookstore sighting of my new novel Wake was today, appropriately enough at Bakka-Phoenix, Toronto’s SF specialty store. I used to work there in 1982, and the store is hosting the Toronto launch party for Wake on April 30 at the Dominion on Queen pub at 500 Queen Street East, at 7:00 p.m. (everyone is welcome!).

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Canadian SF writer John Mireau is podcasting his fiction

by Rob - April 9th, 2009

Check out John’s podcast “Serving Worlds” here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The Page 69 Test on Wake

by Rob - April 9th, 2009


Marshal Zeringue’s fascinating blog “The Page 69 Test” features Wake today. The idea is you flip to page 69 of a book, and discuss whether it’s typical or not, and so on. Lots of fun.

Marshal also talks about Wake here and here.

(I also did “The Page 69 Test” for Rollback back in 2007.)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Tor.com interviews RJS

by Rob - April 9th, 2009


Proving that there a great bunch of people, my previous publisher Tor.com has a wonderful, lengthy interview with me today about Wake, my new novel for Ace. The interview was conducted by the terrific John Klima, who is a Hugo finalist this year for his fanzine Electric Velocipede.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Nina Munteanu on my op-ed

by Rob - April 9th, 2009

On March 20, 2009, I had an op-ed piece in The Ottawa Citizen about the use of computers by children. Nina Munteanu — always a fascinating blogger, as well as a very fine SF writer — responds with some very interesting ruminations here.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

When am I supposed to sleep?

by Rob - April 9th, 2009

Today started at midnight, of course — and at 12:30 a.m., I was on the air, doing a live half-hour radio interview with Peter Anthony Holder, simultaneously on CJAD-AM in Montreal and CFRB-AM in Toronto.

Just eight hours later, I was back on the air again, this time for a full-hour on The Mike Shinabery Show on Alamagordo KRSY-AM. Now, yes, eight hours is more sleep than I normally need, but I can’t come off doing an energetic, lively interview and immediately fall asleep.

I predict a nap this afternoon. :)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

SF Signal interviews RJS

by Rob - April 9th, 2009


A good, meaty interview, on the occasion of the publication of Wake, is now up over at SF Signal. John DeNardo conducted the interview.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Wake — what’s the big idea?

by Rob - April 9th, 2009


Go on over to John Scalzi’s “Whatever” blog and find out: I’ve got a 1,000-word “Big Ideas” essay over there today. Check it out!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The Earth says hello

by Rob - April 9th, 2009

Good morning starshine
The earth says hello
You twinkle above us
We twinkle below

Good morning starshine
You lead us along
My love and me as we sing
Our early morning singing song

Gliddy glub gloopy
Nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo
Sabba sibby sabba
Nooby abba nabba
Le le lo lo
Tooby ooby walla
Nooby abba naba
Early morning singing song

Good morning starshine
The earth says hello
You twinkle above us
We twinkle below

Good morning starshine
You lead us along
My love and me as we sing
Our early morning singing song

Gliddy glub gloopy
Nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo
Sabba sibby sabba
Nooby abba nabba
Le le lo lo
Tooby ooby walla
Nooby abba naba
Early morning singing song

Singing a song
Humming a song
Singing a song
Loving a song
Laughing a song
Singing a song
Sing the song
Song song song sing
Sing sing sing sing song

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Booklist on Wake

by Rob - April 8th, 2009


W00t! The American Library Association’s Booklist has weighed in on Wake:

Sawyer’s take on theories about the origin of consciousness, generated within the framework of an engaging story, is fascinating, and his approach to machine consciousness and the Internet is surprisingly fresh.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The Maine Edge reviews Wake and interviews Rob

by Rob - April 8th, 2009


The April 8, 2009, edition of The Maine Edge — the weekly arts and culture newspaper in Bangor, Maine — has a glowing review of Wake on page 7, and an interview with me on page 8.

You can read them both in the PDF version of the newspaper here.

Or read the interview online here and the review here.

Among other things, the review says:

Wake is about as good as it gets when it comes to science fiction. In Caitlin, Sawyer has created a likable and sympathetic hero. She’s smart, sure, but also full of sass, which lends itself to some wildly entertaining reading. Sawyer’s combination of writing skill and computing background come together marvelously in this book. The characters are rich and realistic, while the ideas are fresh and fascinating.

The interviewer and the reviewer is Allen Adams.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The Authors Guild responds to the National Federation of the Blind

by Rob - April 7th, 2009

From The Authors Guild, of which I am a member:

Today, the National Federation of the Blind led a protest in front of the Guild’s offices in Manhattan. This protest stems from Amazon’s announcement in February that it would allow publishers to disable the voice-output feature of its Kindle 2 after we had objected that the feature threatened audio markets, violated authors’ copyrights and exceeded the e-rights licenses that authors granted publishers.

The Guild, of course, is strongly supportive of making books accessible to the blind and other print-disabled readers through the Kindle and other devices. For decades (we think going back at least to the 1930s), authors have donated their rights so that Braille and audio versions can be made freely available to those who need them. The key is to make this technology accessible to print-disabled readers without undermining authors’ audio markets.

There’s an easy technological fix here: those with certified disabilities could have a Kindle operating system that is subtly modified to permit voice output for all books, overriding any limitations put in place by publishers. This could work in conjunction with existing programs such as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Bookshare and the National Library Service.

We issued the following statement today in response to the protest:

Authors want everyone to read their books. That’s why the Authors Guild, and authors generally, are strong advocates for making all books, including e-books, accessible to everyone. This is not a new position for us. For decades, we’ve informed new authors that the expected and proper thing to do is to donate rights so that their works can be accessible to the blind and others. In October, we were praised by the National Federation of the Blind for the settlement of our lawsuit against Google, which promises “to revolutionize blind people’s access to books,” according to the Federation’s press release.

E-books do not come bundled with audio rights. So we proposed to the Federation several weeks ago the only lawful and speedy path to make e-books accessible to the print disabled on Amazon’s Kindle:

1. The first step is to take advantage of a special exception to the Copyright Act known as the Chafee Amendment, which permits the blind and others with certified physical print disabilities access to special versions, including audio versions, of copyrighted books. Technology makes this step easy: certified users of existing Kindles could activate their devices online to enable access to voice-output versions of all e-books. This process could be ready to go within weeks.

2. Since step one would help only those with sufficient eyesight to navigate the current Kindle, we encourage Amazon or another e-book device manufacturer to make an e-book device with voice output capability that would be truly blind-accessible, with a Braille keyboard and audible menu commands.

3. Finally, we need to amend existing book contracts to allow voice-output access to others, including those with learning disabilities, that don’t qualify for special treatment under the Chafee Amendment. There’s no getting around the need to amend contracts: for the past 16 years, standard publishing contracts with most major trade publishers do not permit publishers to sell e-books bundled with audio rights. Fortunately, publishing contracts are amendable, and can (once terms have been negotiated) be handled in a systematic fashion.

The Authors Guild will gladly be a forceful advocate for amending contracts to provide access to voice-output technology to everyone. We will not, however, surrender our members’ economic rights to Amazon or anyone else. The leap to digital has been brutal for print media generally, and the economics of the transition from print to e-books do not look as promising as many assume. Authors can’t afford to start this transition to digital by abandoning rights.

Knowing how difficult the road ahead is for the already fragile economics of authorship, we are particularly troubled at how all this arose, with Amazon attempting to use authors’ audio rights to lengthen its lead in the fledgling e-book industry. We could not allow this rights grab to happen. Audio books are a billion dollar market, the rights for which are packaged separately from — and are far more valuable than — e-book rights.

That said, our support for access by all disabled readers is steadfast, and we know how to make it happen. The Federation rightly heralded the settlement in Authors Guild v. Google. That class-action settlement represents a quantum leap in accessibility to books for the disabled. It will, if approved, make far more books than ever before, potentially tens of millions of out-of-print books, accessible to not only the blind, but to people with any type of print disability.

Through the Google settlement, we have a solution for out-of-print book accessibility. We’re confident we can arrive at a solution for in-print books as well.

Today’s protest is unfortunate and unnecessary. We stand by our offer, first made to the Federation’s lawyer a month ago and repeated several times since, to negotiate in good faith to reach a solution for making in-print e-books accessible to everyone. We extend that same offer to any group representing the disabled.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

The Paper Chase, Season One!

by Rob - April 7th, 2009

“I’m arguing for justice, sir … I’m arguing for people — for a wholehearted, indivisible commitment to humanity.” —James T. Hart

As I said back in December 2008, Shout! Factory is issuing the first season of The Paper Chase on DVD — and the three-disk set arrived today, via Amazon.ca! All 22 first-season episodes. W00t!

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Wake audio book released

by Rob - April 7th, 2009


Audible.com has the exclusive audio book of Wake, released today to coincide with the release of the American hardcover edition. It’s a terrific multi-voice unabridged reading, narrated by Jessica Almasy, Jennifer Van Dyck, A.C. Fellner, Marc Vietor, and yours truly, Robert J. Sawyer, and featuring an exclusive audio introduction by me.

You can get it, and all my Audible.com audio books, here.

(Audible has unabridged audiobooks of Wake, Rollback, Calculating God, Flash Forward, The Terminal Experiment, Hominids, Humans, and Hybrids, plus my short story “Shed Skin.”)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

Email woes — some messages lost

by Rob - April 7th, 2009

If you wrote to me, and haven’t heard back — I apologize! My Yahoo! Mail account has been eating some of my email; I don’t know why. (It hasn’t just been misfiling it as spam; it’s actually just not showing up in the account at all.)

All email to my sfwriter.com domain gets mirrored to both a Yahoo! Mail Plus account (a premium one that I pay for) and a Gmail account. I’ve recently discovered, though, that some of it just seems to disappear at the Yahoo! end (including some very important emails).

I like the Yahoo! interface better, and really was only using the Gmail account for backup … but looking through it I’ve found dozens of important, legitimate emails that should have shown up at Yahoo! as well (since they were addressed to me at sfwriter.com), but never did. And I’m sure a bunch have fallen through the cracks.

So, apologies if you wrote to me and never heard back! I reply personally to all my fan mail, and all business stuff, too; if you didn’t hear from me, it was inadvertent. Please write to me again, and please accept my apologies.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

"On the Edge" podcasts RJS

by Rob - April 7th, 2009


Marie Bilodeau of Canadian publisher EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy interviewed me at the World Fantasy Convention in Calgary on Sunday, November 2, 2008 — and the interview has just gone live. It lasts 14 minutes and talks about my experiences co-editing the anthology Tesseracts 6, my advice for writers marketing manuscripts, what I think is the central theme of Canadian SF (consciousness!), and my new novel Wake. Have a listen!.

On the Edge with Robert J. Sawyer (MP3)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site