The latest issue of Focus – no. 55 – is at the printers (at last) and should be going in the post to members early next week. Here’s the cover:
And here’s some of the contents:
What does happen next?
So you’ve published your first book, now what? Gareth L Powell reflects
Christopher Priest’s Masterclass 6: Research
Christopher Priest discusses the value of research and the internet as a research tool
Poems from the stars
Poetry from Steve Sneyd & Edward Kenna (and me!)
Escape from the Tauran moon
Are some stories too good to be true? Dev Agarwal investigates…
Here be earthworms
Nina Allan considers what writers can learn from the things that obsess them
How to write a press release?
Gareth L Powell on an essential PR tool
Is this the real thing 7
Michaela Stanton on the Cola Factory
Also in the envelope with Focus will be the latest Vector, no. 262, which looks like this:
Obviously Vector has nothing to do with me, but this is a chunky issue with loads of good stuff in it.
In that envelope you’ll also get (barring last minute disasters) the BSFA 2009 Awards booklet…
I’m pretty sure some of my BSFA committee colleagues will never forgive me for the cheesy cover of the Awards booklet – but sometimes we all need a bit of cheese and I needed a cover quickly – and the slightly more stylish and restrained version I’d planned to use was giving me a nightmare when I tried to convert to CMYK – so giant spaceships with laser beams over North America it was. Hurrah!
And finally, coming to BSFA members in a separate mailing (and which will also be going in the post early next week, unless Martin Potts suddenly comes to his senses and flees with his family to the Andes while there’s still time) is a big, big project for the BSFA. Two Surveys is as comprehensive overview of the state of British science fiction over the last twenty years as you’re likely to find anywhere with a fantastic list of contributors saying some really fascinating things. Niall Harrison has done a fantastic job wrangling this book into shape. I laid it up and it was one of those jobs where I kept getting distracted with reading the text instead of putting the words down on the page – I hope I haven’t ruined it. Here’s the cover, which I also designed, based on an idea from Niall which I think worked out pretty bloody well.
So, if you’re not a BSFA member, none of that will be dropping through your door in the next fortnight or so. Jealous? You should be…