Locus, February 2013
Page 5
Audiobook publisher Brilliance is branching out into print and e-books with the Grand Harbor Press imprint. They will publish hardcover, trade paperback, and original e-books beginning in 2013, with ten titles expected in the first year.
Masque Books, a new digital imprint of Prime Books, will launch in July 2013. Masque plans to publish all varieties of science fiction, fantasy, and SF/F romance. The first month will see 12 new titles, with six titles a month to be published thereafter. While all titles will initially see digital-only publication, successful works may eventually be published in trade paperback, with national distribution. Prime Books publisher Sean Wallace will serve as editor of the new imprint, with senior editor Paula Guran continuing her role with Masque, and Natalie Luhrs will join the team as acquisitions editor. Masque is actively seeking submissions. Guidelines can be found at
Prometheus Books (including SF imprint Pyr) will be distributed by Random House Publisher Services, beginning April 1, 2013.
Canadian SF/F small press Bundoran Publishing has been sold by publisher and founder Virginia O’Dine to author Hayden Trenholm, and will relocate from Prince George, British Columbia, Canada to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. For more:
Book sales tracking company Nielsen Bookscan US has added sales from Wal-Mart to their tracking data. Starting in January 2013, Bookscan now tracks point-of-sale data for print books sold at 4,000 Wal-Mart locations in the US and Puerto Rico. Bookscan estimates that the addition of Wal-Mart data will allow them to track 80% of print book sales in the US.
Harlequin UK has announced a new digital imprint, Carina UK.
The book industry in Quebec – including organizations of writers, booksellers, publishers, and distributors – is pushing a campaign called ‘‘One Price for Books’’, urging legislators to set a single price point for each new title published, allowing only limited discounting for the first nine months of publication. The Quebecois industry professionals say this measure will help small and independent bookstores face competition from big-box and online retailers, which otherwise threaten what they call Quebec’s ‘‘bibliodiversity’’ – the ability to offer a wide variety of works by Quebecois writers. The legislature is expected to discuss the matter this spring. For more, see French-language site
Self-publishing service Lulu.com has announced plans to stop using digital rights management on the e-books it sells directly through its website. Lulu e-books sold by third-party online retailers may continue to use DRM.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
McMaster University in Canada has released a call for papers for ‘‘Science Fiction: The Interdisciplinary Genre’’, a conference to be held September 13 - 15, 2013, celebrating Robert J. Sawyer’s donation of his archive to Mills Memorial Lirbary. The Faculty of Humanities welcomes papers on Canadian SF, the work of Robert J. Sawyer, and broader issues, including ‘‘the scientific and ethical ramifications at the core of the fictional intrigues: machines matching human capabilities (or the singularity), synthetic biology, etc. We would also welcome panel proposals should you feel inclined to organize your talk and those of willing collaborators under a single topic.’’ Send proposals (300 words maximum) to C. Annette Grisé at
The Baltimore Science Fiction Society will host several writing workshops this year. Morgan Keyes will lecture on ‘‘The Business of Writing’’ on June 15, 2013, and Catherine Asaro will teach ‘‘Using Science in Science Fiction’’ on September 21, 2013. The cost is $25 per person, and lunch is included. Contact
The National Space Centre in Leicester, England is celebrating science fiction with a special exhibit from February 9-24, 2013. Authors including Brian Aldiss, Adam Christopher, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Ian Whates, and many more will give readings and discuss science fiction. They’re also running a competition to choose the ‘‘Best Science Fiction Book of All Time.’’
For more, including a complete calendar of events:
WORLD CONVENTIONS NEWS
Lonestarcon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, August 29 – September 2, 2013 in San Antonio TX, issued Press Release #3, announcing that the 2013 Hugo Award nomination period is now open. Nomination ballots will be accepted from January 1, 2013 to March 10, 2013, 11:59 p.m. EDT, for the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Members of LoneStarCon 3 and Loncon 3 (the 2014 Worldcon) who join by January 31, 2013, and all members of Chicon 7, the prior year’s Worldcon, are invited to submit nominating ballots. More information about the Hugo Awards, including details about how to submit a nominating ballot, is available from
The 2013 World Fantasy Convention, October 31 – November 3, 2013 in Brighton, England, issued Press Release #9, announcing that reservations for the convention’s room block at the Hilton sold out within 24 hours of being opened. The convention is making arrangements with overflow hotels, though those details are not yet finalized. Artists who wish to take part in the Art Show & Print Area can find registration information at
The Data File continues after ads.
AWARDS NEWS
Alphanauts by Brian J. Clarke (Edge) won the inaugural A.E. van Vogt Award (AEVVA) for 2012. The prize is awarded to a first edition full-length science fiction novel or anthology, written by an author linked to Western Canada by birth or residency. The other finalists were The Other by Matthew Hughes (Underland) and Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder (Tor). The award is sponsored by the Winnipeg Science Fiction Association; Conadian, the 1994 Worldcon; and Science Fiction Winnipeg. It was named after A.E. van Vogt, Canada’s only Grand Master SF author. The winner received a C$1,200 cash award and a certificate.
Finalists for the 2012 Kitschies, awarded to ‘‘the year’s most progressive, intelligent, and entertaining works of genre literature published in the UK,’’ have been announced. Red Tentacle (Novel): The Folly of the World, Jesse Bullington (Orbit); A Face Like Glass, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan); Angelmaker, Nick Harkaway (William Heinemann); Jack Glass, Adam Roberts (Gollancz); The Method, Juli Zeh, translated by Sally-Ann Spencer (Harvill Secker). Golden Tentacle (Debut Novel): vN, Madeline Ashby (Angry Robot); The Panopticon, Jenni Fagan (William Heinemann); Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Doubleday); Redemption in Indigo, Karen Lord (Jo Fletcher); The City’s Son, Tom Pollock (Jo Fletcher). Inky Tentacle (Cover Art): La Boca for Ned Beauman’s The Teleportation Accident (Sceptre); Oliver Jeffers for John Boyne’s The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket (Doubleday); Tom Gauld for Matthew Hughes’s Costume Not Included (Angry Robot); Peter Mendelsund for Ben Marcus’s Flame Alphabet (Granta); Dave Shelton for his own A Boy and a Bear in a Boat (David Fickling).
The winner of the Red Tentacle will receive £1,000, and winners of the Golden Tentacle and Inky Tentacle will win £500 each. All finalists will receive a hand-crafted trophy and a bottle of rum from award sponsor The Kraken Rum.
Finalists were chosen from over 200 submissions sent by over 40 publishers/imprints. Fiction winners will be selected by judges Rebecca Levene, Patrick Ness, and Jared Shurin. Judges for the art award are Gary Northfield, Lauren O’Farrell, and Ed Warren. The winners will be announced in a ceremony February 26, 2013 at the Free Word Centre, London. For more:
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BOOKSTORE NEWS
Pearson has invested $89.5 million in the Nook Media subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, giving them a 5% stake (compared to Microsoft’s 16.8% share and B&N’s 78.2%). Pearson also acquired a warrant to acquire another 5%, subject to certain terms and conditions.
MAGAZINE NEWS
Perihelion magazine, first launched in 1967 and closed for nearly 40 years, is being resurrected as an online magazine, with original founders Sam Bellotto Jr. and Eric M. Jones returning as editor and consulting editor, respectively. For more:
FINANCIAL NEWS
US Census Bureau preliminary figures for November show bookstore sales up 3.3% to $965 million. Year-to-date sales reflected the November increase, with sales down to just below 1% at $13.51 billion.
Barnes and Nobel reported revenues falling 10.9% to $1.2 billion compared to the year before, attributed to ‘‘decline in comparable store sales, store closures and lower online sales.’’ A 13.1% increase in sales of digital content was absorbed by a decline in Nook device sales, which fell 12.6% to $311 million this year. However, the company reports that sales of ‘‘core products in the stores’’ (including books) exceeded expectations, thereby slowing the projected decline in sales to low-to mid-single digits in the coming fiscal year.
Books-A-Million reported a rise in sales for the fourth straight quarter with their third quarter results of 2012, but this increase was due to the opening of new stores after Borders closed; same-store sales were down 3.6%. Overall sales were up 11% from a year ago, to $104.7 million, and their net loss has improved, from $3.8 million a year ago to $2.8 million in the same quarter this year.
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
Bulgarian rights to Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold sold to Bard Publishers via Mira Droumeva of A.N.A. on behalf of Eleanor Wood at Spectrum Literary Agency. Spanish rights went to RBA Libros S.A. via Monste Yanez of the Julio F. Yanez Agency, and Croation rights sold to Algoritam via Reka Bartha of the Bolza and Katai Literary Agency, both on behalf of Wood. Japanese rights to The Hallowed Hunt went to Sogensha via Akiko Kashimanura of Japan Uni on behalf of Wood.
Chinese rights to Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement went to Anhui Children’s Publishing House via Big Apple Agency on behalf of Justin Bell at Spectrum Literary Agency.
Czech rights to Santiago by Mike Resnick went to Argo Spol via Tereza Dubova of Kristin Olsen Literary Agency on behalf of Eleanor Wood at Spectrum Literary Agency.
Complex Chinese rights to The Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton sold to Fantasy Foundation via Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency on behalf of James Macdonald Lockhart of Antony Harwood.
Finnish rights to Deadlocked and Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris went to Gummerus via Ib Lauritzen of Bookman on behalf of Brady McReynolds of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
Complex Chinese rights to The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker sold to Muses via Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency on behalf of Linn Prentis Literary.
Polish rights to Himmler’s War by Robert Conroy sold to Wydawnictwo Czerwone I Czarne Sp. via Lukasz Wroebel of Graal on behalf of Spectrum Literary Agency.
Thai rights to Infamous, Inferno, Illusion, Retribution, Time Untime, and Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon sold to Kaewkarn via Kate Thammano of Arika Interrights Agency, and Vietnamese rights to Night Pleasures, Night Embrace, Dance with the Devil, Kiss of the Night, and Night Play went to Le Chi via Thananchai Pandey of Tuttle-Mori Thailand, all in association with Meredith Miller of Trident Media Group on behalf of Robert Gottlieb. Italian rights to Seize the Night, Sins of the Night, Unleash the Night, and Dark Side of the Moon sold to Cristina di Clemente of Fanucci via Sylvie Rosokoff of Trident Media Group on behalf of Gottlieb.
Spanish rights to Servant of the Underworld and Harbinger of the Storm by Aliette de Bodard went to Anik Lapointe of RBA Libros via Louisa Pritchard of Louisa Pritchard Agency on behalf of John Berlyne of the Zeno Agency.
Brazilian rights to The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson sold to Texto via Karin Schindler of Karin Schindler Agency. Romanian rights sold to Trei via Simona Kessler of International Copyright Agency on behalf of Brady McReynolds of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
Czech rights to Down a Dark Hall and Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan sold to Baronet via Andrew Nurnberg Associates Prague on behalf of Sterling Lord Literistic.
Spanish rights to Richard Ford’s Steelhaven trilogy sold to Eduardo Hojman of Ediciones Urano via the Yanez agency on behalf of Joanna Kaliszewska, senior rights manager at Headline Publishing Group.
Chinese rights to The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper sold to Beijing Time, and Polish rights to Zysk, via Sally Riley of Aitken Alexander Associates on behalf of Anne McDermid of Anne McDermid & Associates.
Lithuanian rights to The Twelve by Justin Cronin sold to Jotema Uab via Tatjana Zoldnere of Andrew Nurnberg Associates Baltic in association with Meredith Miller of Trident Media Group on behalf of Ellen Levine.
Italian rights to 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce sold to Newton Compton via Alexandra Devlin of Rights People on behalf of Alloy Entertainment.
OTHER RIGHTS
Audio rights to Kat Beyer’s The Demon Catchers of Milan and a second book sold to Wil Snape at Audible via Judith Engracia of Liza Dawson Associates.
Audio rights to The Pillar to Heaven by William R. Forstchen went to Blackstone Audiobooks via Eleanor Wood of Spectrum Literary Agency.
Return to In This Issue listing.
2012: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
2012 IN REVIEW by Liza Groen Trombi, Francesca Myman, Heather Shaw • 2012: APOCALYPSE NOT (BUT MAYBE) by Gary K. Wolfe • 2012, Trends and Recommendations by Faren Miller • READING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SOMEONE WHO DEFINITELY DID NOT READ EVERYTHING THIS YEAR: A PARTIAL LIST FOR 2012 by Jonathan Strahan • Listing (But Not Yet Capsized) by Russell Letson • 2012: PLURALISM ’R’ US by Graham Sleight • 2012 in Review by Adrienne Martini • 2012 by Carolyn Cushman • 2012: A Year of Old Favorites by Tim Pratt • 2012 by Karen Burnham • 2012 in Review by Gardner Dozois • Short Fiction Survey and Recommended Reading, 2012 by Rich Horton • Best of 2012 Audio by Amy Goldschlager
2012 Recommended Reading List
Locus Poll and Survey
2012 Book Summary
2012 Magazine Summary
2012 IN REVIEW by Liza Groen Trombi
Liza Groen Trombi (2011)
‘‘Pop!’’ Or maybe ‘‘Kablooey?’’ Or even just a muffled ‘‘Oof!’’ I didn’t actually hear the sound made when the Recommended List exploded, but I’m pretty sure it was one of those. This year’s list is longer than last year’s by far – collections, anyone? – and we include books and stories on the list this year that were published traditionally or self-published in print, others that appeared in e-book and in audio, and some that can only be found and read online. The nature of publishing has been altered at a level that has broken the threshold, and we are seeing good, sometimes great fiction being published on a number of new, alternative, and viable platforms, in addition to traditional publishing.
The inherent problem with the number of titles is that we can’t possibly see, let alone read all of them. But we do see a great deal of them, and our reviewers and others who vote on the list do look at an astonishing number of books. Judging by the way votes were spread among the titles, it reads to me that there weren’t too many world-shaking standouts for the year, but there were a few, and the rest are strong contributions; we’ve ended up with a fine list of fiction we highly recommend you take a look at.
2012 was the year for quality collections; we are recommending over 50% more than last year. Another shift that we’ve seen coming for a while but stands out especially this year: eight of our notable authors appear in the young-adult list instead of adult SF or fantasy, and some in their second or third appearance there: Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Drowned Cities, James Blaylock’s Zeuglodon, Cory Doctorow’s Pirat
e Cinema, Elizabeth Hand’s Radiant Days, Nalo Hopkinson’s The Chaos, Ian McDonald’s Be My Enemy, China Miéville’s Railsea, Allen Steele’s Apollo’s Outcasts, and Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.
We’re recommending 174 books this year, up from 152 last year. There were five shorter books counted as well – standalone novellas and novelettes – the same as last year. We listed 2,031 new books, down from 2,144 in 2011. Each year we miss titles, maybe even several hundred; there are too many to see everything. We’re planning to start including a curated list of e-books in the magazine, and will work on figuring out how to cover more. We do try to include any books with genre elements, if those elements are crucial to the story, though we’ve of course not read or even received everything eligible, since the collective ‘‘we’’ can only look at titles sent to us. Please don’t just tell us what we’ve missed that you’ve seen – get us a copy (or lend it) so we can list it, describe it, and maybe recommend it.
The next section is the annual boilerplate, to read or not read depending.
We drop the various subsidy publishers from the final publishers lists – Xlibris, iUniverse, etc. We will continue to list their books in our monthly descriptive lists; we’re only dropping them from our publisher end-of-the-year numbers since they’re essentially printers.
Our Recommended Reading List – see pages 38-40 – is a consensus by the reviewing staff, outside reviewers, other professionals, other lists, etc. We are willing to bet only a few good ones got away, including obscure British books uncovered by our British compatriots late in the year, but not read by enough people. We’ll extend some of the eligibilities to next year with the US editions. To make the final list, it took at least two positive mentions without a dissent, or three with a dissent or… you get the picture. Of the recommenders who are also authors and/or editors connected with Locus, no one is allowed to vote for books they wrote or edited, but if there are enough outside votes, we put them on the list.