Topics – Page 254 – Queer Sci Fi

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Channing Tatum To Play The World’s Last Straight Man In Coming Sci-Fi Flick

May 30, 2015 by scott

Warner Bros. has just snatched up The Forever War, an adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel by Joe Haldeman, with Channing Tatum set to star. The film follows William Mandella, a young student enlisted by Earth’s leaders to help fight the alien Taurans. But his travels through space create a time distortion, meaning while only a few years passes for William, centuries go by on Earth. When he returns home, he doesn’t recognize the planet, which now has one homogenous race and a new language and values. Also new: Overpopulation has led to heterosexually being outlawed. As the leader of … Read more

The Hidden Gay World of Star Trek

May 29, 2015 by scott

What’s great about imaginary futures is that they’re places of potential, an escape to a place where where everything’s better, or sometimes worse. And whatever problems we have today have all been solved. Or maybe exacerbated. My guest on this week’s Sewers of Paris (a podcast about entertainment that changed the lives of gay men) is Charlie Logan. He’s the founder of the Pink Parties, a regular series of huge queer nerd gatherings that are timed to Seattle’s biggest comic and videogame conventions. Charlie started throwing Pink Parties as a way to find other gays who shared his love of … Read more

Announcement: Invisible 2, Various Authors

May 25, 2015 by scott

QSFer Angelia Sparrow has an essay in a new book about representation in science fiction and fantasy: In addition to 19 personal and powerful essays about representation in science fiction and fantasy, this also includes an introduction by award-winning author Aliette de Bodard, as well as a list of all the suggested books and stories from the comments and conversations online. Plus cover art by Mark Ferrari. Among other things, the authors talk about the portrayal of asexuality, the intersection of different aspects of identity, the treatment of Native Americans in fiction, myths and assumptions about military life, Princess Leia … Read more

Me Me Memorial Day Monday

May 25, 2015 by scott

Welcome to ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post, so I can also share it over to our FB page (as opposed to this discussion group). –If you want, send me your book announcement info at … Read more

Do Facebook Events Work?

May 23, 2015 by scott

We all get them. Invitations to attend a Facebook cover reveal, or author chat, or page takeover. I’ve gone to a few – I’ve enjoyed them, and even won a free book or two. But as promotional vehicles for authors, do they work? As a writer, do you use them, and if so, what have they done for you? And as a reader, do you like attending events on FB with authors?

Vietnam Bans Gay Romance Novels

May 22, 2015 by scott

Vietnam has banned gay romance novels following media reports that they are ‘poisoning’ young people. The ministry of culture sent a letter to publishers ordering them to stop printing ‘clichéd, useless, obscene and offensive’ romance novels, most of which are translations from Chinese. It also told them to review all their published books and remove anything ‘indecent.’ Earlier this year, the media condemned Chinese romance novels, singling out danmei – gay erotica – for special criticism. The books, most of which started as web fiction, were accused of giving young people unrealistic ideas about love and relationships and even promoting … Read more

Me Me Monday!

May 18, 2015 by scott

Designer Babies

May 14, 2015 by scott

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Aidee Ladnier: “We’ve all heard the scare tactics of politicians warning of the dangers of designer babies, but genetically modified humans are literally due to be born in the next decade. Medical science has made our lives longer and healthier. “But what if scientists modify those things that make us fundamentally who we are? Why is it okay to make sure a child is not born with a genetic disease that will kill them prematurely (like cystic fibrosis) but not okay to give an child a higher IQ which would give it a better chance … Read more

Bring Me Your Covers!

May 13, 2015 by scott

I’m afraid it may have gotten lost at the bottom of our flash fiction contest announcement, but we are also doing a cover contest for the resulting eBook! Please forward this to any cover designer friends you may have! Cover Contest With the planned eBook this year, we’re also adding a new twist – a contest to create the perfect cover for the book. Cover designers, we’d love to see your work – we’re looking for speculative fiction covers that embrace the theme of discovery. Here are the ground rules: The cover must somehow embrace the theme of “discovery”. The … Read more

Writing LGBT Characters

May 13, 2015 by scott

Today’s topic comes from QSFer John Allenson – “How to write gay/trans/bi/gender-queer/male/female experience better.” I’ll redirect this one a bit. We all write characters that are like us in various ways, but inevitably we also have to write characters who are different. Sometimes it’s the little things – where they live, how they talk, their personal style – and sometimes it’s the bigger ones, like gender or sexual orientation. So my question for you today, and it’s a simple one – how do you research a character who is unlike you, especially in gender or orientation, so you get the … Read more