Archive for September, 2005

SLF Newsletter Nos. 19/20 August/September 2005
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In this issue:
Assistance for writers affected by Katrina
Travel Grant winner announced
Website additions
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* Katrina Assistance from PEN

PEN WRITERS FUND FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/251
—
In response to Hurricane Katrina, the PEN Writers Fund has earmarked an initial $15,000 to assist professional writers (published or produced), translators, editors, or literary agents who have lost all or part of their homes and livelihoods in the floods that have devastated the region. Please follow the link online to a shortened application form. Approval time for grants of up to $500 has been shortened to a few days.

* Travel Grant Winner:

The Speculative Literature Foundation is delighted to announce
that its second annual Travel Grant has been awarded to
Christopher Barzak. The $600 grant will be used to help
Christopher research cultures and settings in southern Japan for
a novel with magical realism and contemporary fantasy elements.
The travel will be to the cities of Kyoto and Nara in Japan.
Christopher’s novel will feature a set of interconnected stories
set in Japan and characters of both Japanese and foreign
nationalities. “The [stories] draw on Japanese folklore and fairy
tales, as well as Japanese superstition and ghost stories,” the
author explained.

The Speculative Literature Foundation’s travel grant jurors were
again an international team comprised of Tiffany Jonas in the
United States and Colin Harvey in the United Kingdom. “The
quality of the applications was again excellent, and we
especially appreciated the diversity; we received proposals for
works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a screenplay,” said
Tiffany, founder and editorial director of Aio Publishing
Company, LLC. “Christopher’s work was particularly lyrical.  His
writing sample was fraught with humanity, singing with hopeful,
tenuous emotion.  His description of the project and its
speculative elements certainly piqued our interest.”  “Chris
Barzak’s application was supported by a fine piece of fiction,”
said Colin, a novelist and critic in the speculative fiction
genre, “that with its cool, limpid prose, shone like a gem,
presenting a different facet on each reading.”   Christopher has
published short fiction in publications such as Strange Horizons,
Realms of Fantasy, Ideomancer, The Third Alternative, and Lady
Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet in addition to poetry published in
Icon and The Penguin Review. His work has also appeared in
anthologies: his short story “Plenty” appeared in The Year’s Best
Fantasy and Horror (Vol. 15) and his story Dead Boy Found
appeared both in Small Beer Press’ anthology Trampoline and
Carroll & Graf’s The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror (vol. 15).
Wheatland Press, Viking, and Haworth Press will publish more of
his short fiction in 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively.

Christopher’s project was chosen from among thirty applications.

Further details of SLF’s Travel Grant program can be found at:
http://www.speculativeliterature.org/Awards/SLFTravelGrant.php.
Applications for next year’s Travel Grant will open on July 1st,
2006.

*Website Additions:

RESOURCES/ACADEMICS/COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY

Biology in Science Fiction:
http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/bio3/bio03syl.htm
Course website, including syllabus for teaching Biology 103
through science fiction. Prof. Joan Slonczewski. Posted to the
web in 2003.

Cognitive Science Fiction:
http://hampshire.edu/~lasCCS/courses/cogscifi-syllabus.html
CS104 syllabus by Lee Spector. Posted to the web 1998.

Feminist Science Fiction:
http://orion.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/fsff02syllabus.html
Senior Interdisciplinary Seminar ZSRS40501 Syllabus. Created by
Kathleen Fowler. Posted to the web 2004.

Politics in Modern Science Fiction:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sumanah/decalsyllabus.html
Syllabus for college course. Instructor Sumana Harihareswara.
Posted to the web 2001.

Science Fiction:
http://pages.slu.edu/student/walterj/courses/spring2004/315/sylla
bus.html
Syllabus for English 315.02. Instructor John Walter. Posted to
the web 2004.

Science Fiction:
http://www.english.ucsb.edu/teaching/resources/unlocked/coursemat
erials/english_192/sf_syllabus.asp
English 192 syllabus. Created by Melissa Colleen Stevenson.
Posted to the web 2003.

Science Fiction:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/science_fiction/sfgradsyllabus.ht
ml
English 567 syllabus. Created by Paul Brians.

Science Fiction:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/science_fiction/333syllabus.html
English 333 syllabus. Created by Paul Brians.

Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Space of Contemporary Allegory:
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/sf.html
Syllabus for English 373 course by Professor D.F. Felluga..
Posted to the web 1999.

Science Fiction and Teaching:
http://orion.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/sfts03syllabus.html
SGET 644. Created by Kathleen Fowler. Posted to the web 2003.

Survey of Science Fiction Syllabus:
http://phobos.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/ssfs03syllabus.html
SINT 34601. Created by Kathleen Fowler. Posted to the web 2003.

RESOURCES / ACADEMICS / RESEARCH MATERIALS

Course Materials for the Study of Science Fiction:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/science_fiction/Science_Fiction_G
uides.html
Created by Paul Brians.

RESOURCES / WRITERS / MARKET LISTS
The AA Independent Press Guide: http://www.thunderburst.co.uk/
“A free, online resource for writers” compiled by Dee Rimbaud.
Detailed listings of over 2,000 literary & genre magazines and
publishers from around the world, plus links to over 750 internet
magazines. Also links to writers’ and artists’ personal webpages
and other useful resources.

The International Directory of Little Magazines & Small Presses:
http://www.dustbooks.com/
Len Fulton, Ed. “The Bible of the business”, this print directory
contains over 4000 very detailed listings of magazines and
publishers.

RESOURCES / GRANTS FOR WRITERS

StarMerrow Grant for Collaborative Science Fiction and Fantasy:
http://www.starmerrow.com/
A grant of $100 (more if funds become available). “StarMerrow is
a nexus for writers, artists, and other creators of science
fiction and fantasy. Its mission is to help these creators
network with each other and market their works.” Open to members
everywhere, but oriented around Northern California and the
Pacific Northwest. Collaborations must involve at least two
persons, one of which must be a member, and one of which must
reside in N. California, Oregon or Washington state. Application
deadline is Dec. 1, 2005 for the 2006 grant.

RESOURCES / READERS / BOOKLIST INDEX

SF by Writers of Color:
http://orion.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/sfcolorlinks.html
List by Kay Fowler.

SF Deaf-themed books:
http://orion.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/sfdeaf.html
List by Kay Fowler.

Feminist SF: http://orion.ramapo.edu/~kfowler/FSFbooklist.html
“A Selected Book List of Feminist (or Proto-feminist) science
fiction/Science Fiction by Women Writers.” Created by Kay Fowler.

Children’s SF: http://orion.ramapo.edu/~kfowler/sftorals.html
List by Kay Fowler.

RESOURCES / READERS / MAGAZINES

Ultraverse E-Zine of Science Fiction and Fantasy:
http://www.ultraverse.us/
Chris Africa, Editor & Publisher; William I. Lengeman III,
Contributing Editor; Stephanie Kidwell and Kara Koester, Poetry
Editors. Submissions to: editor@ultraverse.us. Submit as text in
the body of an email (see details on site). Publishes poetry of
50 lines max.; short stories from 2,000-10,000 wds; author
interviews; book reviews; news items and announcements of new
novels by its contributors. Also accepts a SciFiMage for each
issue: an original image or a link to someone else’s image on the
web, about which Editor Africa will write a short story. Not at
present a paying market, but hopes to become one.

Raven Electrick: http://www.ravenelectrick.com/
Karen A. Romanko, Editor. “A lively and entertaining e-zine
featuring short stories and poems in the fantasy, science
fiction, horror and mystery genres. Raven’s tastes are eclectic,
with sub-genres ranging from ‘cyberpunk’ to ‘cozy’ sleuth, sword
and sorcery to hardboiled ‘noir,’ space opera to vampire yarn,
and anything in between. Pays $10 for stories up to 1000 wds, and
poems to 40 lines. Submit stories as rtf or txt files, and poems
in the body of an email. See site for details of submission
periods and other info.

RESOURCES / WRITERS / REVIEWS / SF POETRY

Multiverse: Speculative Poetry Reviews:
http://multiverse.erictmarin.com/reviews.htm
Short reviews by Eric Marin of speculative poetry in a variety of
genre magazines.

_______________________________________________________________________
Newsletter information:

Suggestions, comments, and information to be included
in the Newsletter may be sent to Editor David Lunde at
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The SLF Newsletter is a private publication of the
Speculative Literature Foundation. Unless otherwise
indicated, permission to reprint, repost, or quote is
expressly denied. Unless explicitly signed by the
Director, views contained within do not necessarily
reflect the official views of the Foundation.

David Lunde, Senior Editor
Ariana Osborne, Associate Editor