Outer Alliance Spotlight #27: Sumana Harihareswara March 26, 2010
Posted by juliarios in : interviews , 1 comment so farWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #27. Each Friday, the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Sumana Harihareswara, co-editor of Thoughtcrime Experiments.
Sumana is a straight ally, who is committed to promoting diversity and acceptance in everything she does. She has written for Salon and Bookslut in the past, and currently writes for the Geek Feminism blog. Together with her husband, Leonard Richardson, she edited the anthology Thoughtcrime Experiments in 2009. Thoughtcrime experiments has been longlisted for the British Fantasy Award, and one of the illustrations in it (“Gaia’s Strange Seedlike Brood (homage to Lynn Marguils)” by Patrick Farley) is on the shortlist for the Ursa Major Awards.
In her non-writing and editing life, Sumana dabbles in all sorts of pursuits from standup comedy to technical project management. She has managed projects for Fog Creek Software, Behavior Design, and Collabora, and one of her former colleagues recognized her as an exemplary woman in technology for Ada Lovelace Day this year. Sumana keeps a personal journal on her website, a fanfiction profile at Archive of Our Own, and a micro journal on identi.ca (also available on Twitter).
Linkdump #9 – libraries and politics March 23, 2010
Posted by zeborah in : links , add a commentFiction and libraries
GLBT Reading (The Blog That Dare Not Speak Its Name) has focused this March on graphic novels and manga.
Shelf Check is a webcomic set in a public library that frequently touches on GLBTQ issues – see for example the strip on ‘transgender’ in the Library of Congress subject headings and a recent blog post asking “As a GLBTQ library patron, I feel welcomed when…” [complete the sentence].
Politics
Got an iPhone? You can now use it to sign a petition to repeal Proposition 8 in California. Sign the petition at http://restoreequality2010.com/ipod.htm or signal boost this article about it.
Benjamin Solah writes about a protest for same-sex marriage in Melbourne.
Kei Kei has created a sourced timeline of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
And of course, remember to Queer the Census!
For more regular linkdumps, please let me know of any interesting links in comments, by email, on the Outer Alliance forum or bookmark them on delicious or diigo with tag “outeralliancelinks“.
Announcing the Science in My Fiction short story contest! March 22, 2010
Posted by bartleib in : announcements, events, publications , add a commentOuter Alliance members Bart Leib and Kay Holt, founders of Crossed Genres and Science in My Fiction, have announced the Science in My Fiction short story contest!
“Here’s how it works: Authors write a science fiction or fantasy short story which is inspired by a scientific discovery or innovation made or announced within the past year. It can’t be peripherally added: the science must be integral to the story. Writers must include a link to a relevant article or study of the applied science when they submit their stories.”
A panel of 6 amazing judges will vote on the finalists. Two of the six judges (Nicola Griffith and Cat Rambo) are members of Outer Alliance.
There’s $400 of cash prizes to be won, plus subscriptions, books, etc.
Please visit the contest page, read the entry guidelines, see who the judges are, and read about our Kickstarter drive to put the winning stories in print!
Then, enter your story! The contest will be open for entries from April 1 through June 30. Winners will be announced on July 21.
Show us there’s still room for real Science in fiction! Huge thanks to everyone who helped us make the contest happen!
Outer Alliance Spotlight #26: Katharine Beutner March 19, 2010
Posted by juliarios in : interviews , 2commentsWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #26. Each Friday, the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Katharine Beutner, author of Alcestis.
Katharine is currently a graduate student specializing in 18th century British Literature at the University of Texas in Austin, but her first novel, Alcestis, reflects her B.A. in Classical Studies from Smith College. Alcestis is a retelling of a Greek myth from the point of view of a woman who usually doesn’t get a voice. It explores the gender roles and sexual politics in Greek mythology, and the inherent power imbalance in relationships between mortals and gods.
Katharine has a short short in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #19, and She is currently working on another novel, Killingly. She identifies as bisexual, and appreciates the Outer Alliance for its ability to bring queer-friendly speculative fiction fans and writers together. In addition to her personal webpage, Katharine maintains a Twitter feed as @katharine_b. She lives with her husband and two cats.
Linkdump #8 – books and bookstores, politics and religion March 15, 2010
Posted by zeborah in : links , add a comment(Some of these links I’m a bit late in picking up on, sorry!)
Books and bookstores
After 35 Years, Lambda Rising [bookstore] to Close (that is, in the January that’s just been).
Chris / M-Brane SF reviews Wired Hard 4, an anthology of m/m erotica “packed with terrific speculative fiction”.
The Science Fiction for Lesbians Website “is a list of science fiction books with lesbian characters or by lesbian authors” (specifically excluding fantasy). The site is divided into categories for:
- Lesbian Authors
- Lesbian/Bi Female Characters
- Female/Gay Dominated Worlds
- Other Books of Interest
Politics and religion
Chris / M-Brane SF writes that [Senator Inhofe (R-OK)] needs to be removed from office regarding his involvement in Uganda and its anti-gay laws.
News worth celebrating: Fiji’s new decree says gay sex is now legal. The article quotes (among others) Christian church ministers both for and against the law change, and so I segue neatly into an essay describing the way Jesus affirmed a gay couple (from the Would Jesus Discriminate? collection extracted from The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by gay Christians Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley).
For more regular linkdumps, please let me know of any interesting links in comments, by email, on the Outer Alliance forum or bookmark them on delicious or diigo with tag “outeralliancelinks“.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #25: Lee Thomas March 12, 2010
Posted by juliarios in : interviews , 2commentsWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #25. Each Friday, the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is horror author, Lee Thomas.
Lee has been writing for as long as he can remember, but only submitting stories for publication since 2001. He won a Stoker Award for his first novel, Stained, and went on to win a Lambda Award for The Dust of Wonderland. Currently his short story collection, In the Closet, Under the Bed, is up for another Stoker.
Lee is gay, and writes horror feautring queer and straight protagonists for adults and young adults under the names Lee Thomas, Thomas Pendleton, and Dallas Reed. He has short fiction forthcoming in Dead Set, Darkness on the Edge, Armageddon Lightshow (Bloodletting Books), and Best Gay Stories 2010 (Lethe Press). Two of Lee’s novellas, The Black Sun Set (Burning Effigy Press) and Focus, co-written with Nate Southard, will also be released this year as standalone books.
In addition to his personal website, Lee maintains a LiveJournal and a Facebook page. He is the chair of the 2011 World Horror Convention, which will take place in his current hometown of Austin, Texas. He lives with one good dog, one good cat, and one evil cat.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #24: Djibril Alayad March 5, 2010
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, queer-friendly publishers, submissions , 1 comment so farWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #24. Each Friday, the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Djibril Alayad, editor of The Future Fire.
Djibril has always assumed that explorations of sexual difference were key to science fiction, so The Future Fire has welcomed queer fiction since it began in 2004. The most recent issue has a feminist theme, and Djibril is currently reading for a queer themed issue, which should be out soon. In addition to the magazine, The Future Fire also has a reviews blog, which focuses on reviews for small press publications.
Djibril has lived and worked on both sides of the Atlantic, and is currently based in London, UK. He is a formally trained historian with a collection of animal skulls. He maintains a Twitter feed as @thefuturefire.