Ansible logo Older Home/Links: 2011

This page is the final repository for 2011 links from the ever-scrolling sidebar column at the right of the Ansible Links page. The editor has no intention of running regular checks on their continued validity.

December 2011
Wimpy/Zombie Kid lawsuit
Another Avatar lawsuit; more
The Hobbit: "blatant Anti-Christian bigotry and Atheist propaganda"; a reality-based comment
Ballard daughter denounces the biography
Russell Hoban (1925-2011)
"The once New Worlds of Charles Platt"
Langford babbles in the Sunday Telegraph
Jacqueline Monahan wins TAFF
Shock horror poster ban (BBC); here's what we are being saved from (Guardian)
Lightspeed and Fantasy magazines to merge
Worldcon bids: latest
"The Muppets Are Communist"
SF authors explain symbolism, 1963
"Enormous Changes" at NYRSF
Those Doctor Who film rumours
"Can science fiction lead us away from economic collapse?" (Guardian)
Oscar Wilde's tomb made kissproof

November 2011
Ellison In Time lawsuit dropped
SFWA allows Night Shade back into the fold
Clute on Atwood and space squids
What's the connection between yoga and Harry Potter?
Daleks behind your sofa
Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011); Del Rey; Guardian obit by Chris Priest; HuffPost
"How women are winning sci-fi's battle of the sexes"
Teletubbies analysed by Adam Roberts
Don't say hobbit, say halfling
Nature and sexism
SF at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Harlan Ellison and In Time; story debunked; the source revealed
Weird Fiction Review
Another dodgy publisher
Realms of Fantasy dies again

October 2011
Farewell, Murky Depths
Dick estate sues the movie-makers
Suzette Haden Elgin is unwell
The Kitschies
Podcast interviews with the 2012 TAFF candidates
Good news for Peter Beagle
Salman Rushdie interview
2012 GUFF ballot [PDF]
Nova Awards ballot (deadline 7 November)
"What the Booker prize really excludes"
A life in writing: Terry Pratchett
Will Harry Potter news stories never cease?
British Fantasy Awards; Steve Jones objects; Sam Stone responds; The Guardian notices; David J Howe on statistics; official BFS statement
• 2012 TAFF ballot: DOC, RTF, PDF
Terry Pratchett does a Harlan

September 2011
"Censoring Joss Whedon's Firefly ..."
Amazing Stories resurrection plan
Gollancz Gateway/E-Reads deal
Roald Dahl's shed; more
Dr Dave McKean
Harlan Ellison sues again
"4 Brilliant Authors and Why They're Douchebags"
Concatenation's Autumn 2011 newsdump
Orson Scott Card rewrites the Bard; Scott Lynch can do it too
In praise of Doctor Who
"Novelists Predict Future With Eerie Accuracy"

August 2011
2012 TAFF nominations called for
"Whiny Tea Partiers feel threatened by Jane Yolen"
"When science goes bad"
Weird Tales sold
Hugo winners
Worldcon 2013: LoneStarCon 3
Rob's Oak
PublishAmerica and J.K. Rowling; more at PW
"Most Australians duped by science fiction"
GRRM in Foxtrot cartoon strip
The musical Adam Roberts
Do thrillers or sci-fi deserve literary status? (Guardian poll)
The World SF Travel Fund

July 2011
"It may look like science fiction but it’s not"
Chris Foss interview
Headline of the month
World Fantasy Award shortlist, lifetime winners
Sakyo Komatsu (1931-2011)
Matrix (1975-2011)
"George Lucas defeated by Stormtrooper helmet man"
Fame at last for Jonathan Carroll
Gollancz SF Gateway
Willy the Wizard vs Bloomsbury and Rowling: UK plagiarism claim abandoned
Another Worldcon bid: Orlando in 2015
Mythopoeic Awards: 2011 winners
Squids in outer space: the saga continuums
Harry Potter and Star Trek mazes
Steph Swainston: back to day job
J.K.Rowling gives her agent the push

June 2011
British Fantasy Awards 2011 shortlist
European SF Awards 2011
Doctor Who is everywhere
Fanzine Hugo tinkering: latest
Martin H Greenberg (1941-2011); Locus obit
As Others See Us, redux
Locus Awards
Patrick Ness wins Carnegie Medal; interview
Gemmell Legend Awards
Bram Stoker Awards
Rowling "Pottermore" hype in progress; unveiled
Asterix and brain injuries
John Glasby (1928-2011); SFE
Salman Rushdie does tv sf
2011 Sturgeon Award shortlist
2011 Campbell Memorial Award shortlist
David Cake wins DUFF
EightSquared: a 2013 Eastercon bid

May 2011
2011 Chesley shortlists
Prix Aurora (Canada) shortlists
R.I.P. Terry Jeeves
Worldcon bid: Spokane in 2015
Mythopoeic Awards shortlists
British Library sf exhibition reactions; more; Daily Mail; review links at BL site
Nebula winners
"Could They Beat Up China Miéville?"
"Space beer" (Independent)
SFX Weekender 3 "pre-launch offer"
Iain M. Banks speaks out (Guardian)
Ursa Major Awards
Locus Awards shortlist
A Storm of Hobbit Swords
Squids in space!
Neil Gaiman vs a very silly Republican
On the British Library sf exhibition (Guardian 1 May)

April 2011
Joanna Russ (1937-2011); some memories; New York Times; Guardian (Chris Priest)
Fairytales: Russia vs Ukraine
Royal wedding; silly hats go viral
Clarke Award: Lauren Beukes, Zoo City
2011 Milford UK booking opens
John Coxon wins TAFF; newsletter; post-mortem
2011 Hugo nominations
BSFA Awards
Eastercon 2011; newsletters
Could this be your publisher?
Gemmell/Legend shortlist
Olympus 2012 PR1 available
On military sf (Guardian 22 Apr)
Ditmar Awards; post-mortem
New Worlds revival
R.I.P. Sarah Jane ; Independent; Telegraph; Matt Smith (NME)
Genre writers vs the BBC
George R.R. Martin speaks (Indy 17 Apr); appears in 2011 Time 100 list of "most influential people"
English Heritage plaque for former household name of fandom
Fun with Ken Livingstone (Telegraph)
SF Hall of Fame: 2011 intake
Summer Concatenation news
Shirley Jackson Awards shortlist
New TAFF newsletter [PDF]
2013 UK World Fantasy Convention
China frowns on time travel
Ban Brave New World! (Guardian 12 Apr)
Eisner Awards shortlist
Pre-Wells time machine
DUFF 2011 candidates announced; ballot form available
Prometheus Award shortlist
Craig Thomas (1942-2011)
Pratchett writing prize shortlist
Joe Haldeman and Source Code
Stross sellout shock horror

March 2011
Soulmates: Bill Gates and Robert J Sawyer
2013 Worldcon site selection
Shaun Tan wins Astrid Lindgren Award
Fantasycon rates rise 1 April
Dorchester/Leisure naughtiness and boycott; retrospective at Making Light
Google Books Settlement unsettled
The Glacier of Publishing
Just when you thought it was safe to forget John Norman ... (io9, 22 Mar)
Willy the Wizard and the price of justice
Hobbit filming begins at last (BBC 21 Mar)
Tiptree Award winner announced
Creative Science Foundation
BBC/Doctor Who/Davros lawsuit
Mike Glicksohn (1946-2011)
SFX blog awards shortlists (including Ansible!)
"10 Most Technophobic Novels of All Time" (page taken down 2012)
Lambda Awards [LGBT] shortlist
Frankenstein: what does it mean, Professor? (BBC 14 Mar)
David Gemmell Awards – voting extended to 21 April
Prometheus Hall of Fame 2011 finalists
Here we go again; Stephen Hunt's view
Lilian Edwards and Asimov's Laws
"The History of Science Fiction"
Sponsor Paul Cornell's beard!
TAFF 2011 candidate interviews (Pips 5 PDF)
Granta "Aliens" theme issue – move along, no sf here
"Sci-fi v Literary Fiction"
Dick and Hollywood (Boston Globe 6 Mar)
Star Wars stormtrooper helmets: more litigation (Indy 6 Mar)
Clarke Award shortlist
Terry Pratchett, champion of swans (BBC 2 Mar)
Stoker Award nominations
H.P. Lovecraft's favourite words, gods, tomes
Wikipedia and "non-notable" sf fan groups

February 2011
"Is paranormal romance sucking the blood out of the children's book market?" (Indie, 27 Feb)
Tolkien estate vs Mirkwood (Guardian 26 Feb)
Tolkien: the name too dreadful to print; more; more. Later: Tolkien estate lawyer contradicts the badge story; further revelations
SF and the Oscars (BBC 24 Feb); the winners (BBC 28 Feb)
Farewell to the Brigadier
Nebula nominations (22 Feb)
Suing Stephen King
Litigious fannish fun in Roanoke
Fanzines in the New York Times
George R.R. Martin and Parris are married
Analog online submissions to open 22 Feb
Borders files for bankruptcy at last; big Australian bookshop chain follows
Ishiguro admits to sf
The Bankrupt Nihilism of Joe Abercrombie
Brian Jacques (1939-2011)
Guillermo del Toro and Forrest J Ackerman (New Yorker, 7 Feb
Liverpool Literary List: spot the genre writers
Another sf "market" to avoid
Moorcock interview (Guardian 4 Feb); full interview transcript
Contractwatch: a nasty clause from Macmillan
John Brunner's typewriters
"Is speculative fiction poised to break into the literary canon?" (Guardian 2 Feb)
Lan Wright (1923-2010)

January 2011
TAFF voting deadline extended to 26 April
"Save h2g2" (from the BBC axe)
Alan Garner's honorary degree
Forty guests. No women.
Concatenation news, Spring 2011
WHC Grand Master: Jack Ketchum
Dick Award shortlist
Goodbye Ikarie, hello XB-1
Australian SF Bullsheet relaunches
BSFA Award shortlists (17 Jan)
"Are You A Moral Author?"; Ursula Le Guin says she isn't
Another archive project: Novae Terrae
Down and out in Oregon
Mike Moorcock: more surgerysuccessful
CRSF 2011 call for papers
2012: most absurd sf film of all time, says NASA [The Guardian was seemingly hoaxed and has taken this story down: see link.]
2010 FAAn Awards ballot [PDF]
Neil Barron (1934-2010)
Hydroponic fungus vs starship Voyager
Harry Potter/Willy the Wizard: US judge dismisses plagiarism claim
Steve Aylett self-exposes
People's Choice awards infested with Twilight
Moon Hugo gloat
Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year: call for 2011 submissions
BSFA Awards nominations so far
Hugo nominations open (1 Jan)