The 2011 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Have Been Announced! November 30, 2011
Posted by juliarios in : announcements, links, news , 3commentsThe Gaylactic Spectrum Awards for best novel (for works published in 2010) have just been announced! This year had a fantastic list of nominees, so I don’t envy the judges having to narrow it down to a short list and overall winner. The Outer Alliance would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to all the nominees!
This year’s Best Novel winner is Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja! You can read more about Kathe and this Spectrum winning novel in Outer Alliance Spotlight #53. It involves love, war, and puppets, plus it’s got a really interesting structure and voice. Kirstyn and Ian gave it a a rave review on episode #5 of The Writer and the Critic, and the Spectrum judges say, “… the
novel engages the reader from the start, provides a way to taste and smell the world through brilliantly-crafted prose, and presents a heart-wrenching romance.” You can buy Under the Poppy from Small Beer Press.
Recommended Short List:
Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts (Tor) — Urban Fantasy with dragons and adventure and a female protagonist, who has a girlfriend!
Bob the Book by David Pratt (Chelsea Street Editions) — A story about a gay book, who gets separated from his partner and interacts with other books and people as he tries to find him.
A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files (ChiZine Publications) — Weird Western with lots of action, magic, crime, and a gay couple at the center of it all.
Red Hood’s Revenge by Jim C. Hines (DAW) — The third in his Princess series, this book gives us tough, capable fairy tale heroines, some of whom are lesbians! Yay!
Stealing Fire by Jo Graham (Orbit) — Historical Fantasy set just after the death of Alexander the Great. This one features a bisexual hero, and is written by a bisexual author.
The White Road by Lynn Flewelling (Spectra) — The fifth book in Lynn’s Nightrunner series (which features a gay couple, and is often gushed about by OA members).
The Wolf at the Door by Jameson Currier (Chelsea Street Editions) — New Orleans, ghosts, and a gay hero blended into scary story with wit and sentiment.
Congratulations, all! You can read what the Spectrum Judges had to say about all of these books on this PDF handout. Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
Outer Alliance Spotlight #60: OA Podcast #2 December 17, 2010
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, links, news, Outer Alliance Podcast, publications , 4commentsWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #60. The Spotlight features news about (and sometimes interviews with) allies who are active in supporting and celebrating LGBTQI speculative fiction. This week we’ve got the second Outer Alliance Podcast episode for you!
In this episode, Natania Barron talks about her work and how she started the Outer Alliance, Lynn Flewelling talks about writing sex scenes and teaching a writing workshop on a cruise ship, and we have an excerpt of Georgina Bruce’s story from Aether Age: Helios.
You can subscribe to the podcast RSS feed here or use this link to subscribe with iTunes. You can also hit play on the embedded player in this post and listen to the podcast on the web, or visit the individual episode page to download this episode as an MP3 without subscribing.
Notes:
Gender Playful Marketplace is collecting startup funds over here.
Elisa Rolle hosted the 2010 Rainbow Awards, which recognized works by several Outer Alliance members. Congratulations, winners!
Hayden Thorne’s historical fantasy comedy (not a problem novel!) Desmond and Garrick Book One is available now at Prizm books.
Natania Barron’s website has all kinds of info about her fiction and non-fiction. Go there to find out all about stories available now and coming soon.
Lynn Flewelling has links to signups for the cruise workshop and place to buy her work (including the sexy Nightrunner short story collection that flustered prim and proper me in the interview) over on her website.
Aether Age: Helios is out now. You can find out more at Aether-Age.com. Author Georgina Bruce maintains a blog at thebeardedlady.wordpress.com, and you can learn more about narrator T.C. Parmalee at Aural Spice.
Thanks for listening, and please do feel free to leave feedback here, on the google group, or by e-mailing me at julia@juliarios.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #4: Lynn Flewelling October 9, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , add a commentWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #4. 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 Lynn Flewelling, author of the Nightrunner series and the Tamir Triad.
Lynn began writing as a child, and got serious about her craft when she was in college. She worked writing advertising copy and as a freelance journalist until she sold her first novel, Luck in the Shadows in 1995. Since then, Lynn has been writing fiction full time. The first three volumes Nightrunner series have recently been optioned for film by C-Squared Pictures, and C-Squared have stated their intentions to preserve the gay relationship between Lynn’s main characters in the film adaptations. The 4th book in the series, Shadows Return, is out now, and the fifth book, The White Road, will be available in May of 2010, just in time for the writing workshop cruise Lynn is leading in the Caribbean.
Although she is in a committed and loving relationship with a man, Lynn is glad to be an ally, and says that she would be very open minded about possible mates if she were (by some disaster) to find herself single again. In addition to supporting LGBTQI rights, Lynn supports women’s rights and human rights. She is particularly interested in the International Campaign for Tibet, and the humanitarian work of Thich Nhat Hahn.
Lynn’s cruise workshop is open for reservations now, and she’ll also be reading at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on Saturday the 17th of October, 2009.