Older Home/Links: 2008This page is the final repository for 2008 links from the ever-scrolling sidebar column at the right of the Ansible Links page. The editor has no intention of running regular checks on their continued validity.
December 2008
• Clute on Ackerman (Independent, 31 Dec)
• Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) (NY Times)
• Sir Terry Pratchett
• US postage stamps 2009: Poe, Hitchcock, Twilight Zone
• Obama as sf geek
• As others see sf dystopias (Dissent, Fall 2008)
• The 50 most ludicrous Britons 2008 (Independent, 14 Dec) -- spot the genre sneers
• "Who needs a new Harry Potter?" (Independent, 12 Dec)
• Oliver Postgate (1925-2008) (BBC)
• Vera Nazarian/Norilana Books rescue fund
• "Sci-fi" -- Heinlein claim exploded
• Forrest J Ackerman (1916-2008) (LA Times); NY Times; SFWA; Mr Monster fan tribute; Guardian
• Lexicongate: appeal withdrawn, revised Harry Potter Lexicon to appear
• Aussiecon 4 (Worldcon 2010) rates rise 1 January 2009
• Steve Holland on James Cawthorn (1929-2008); Ballardian; John Coulthart; Jahsonic
• As Others See Quidditch
• 2009 Eastercon price rise now delayed to 29 December
• Daily Mail froths with outrage after Doctor Who actor exposes himself on the radio! (2 Dec)
• 2009 Eastercon price hike warning
• Neil Gaiman: "Why defend freedom of icky speech?" (1 Dec)
• Doctor Who Advent CalendarNovember 2008
• Picking holes in Survivors (The Register)
• Christopher Priest Cover Gallery
• Another Pratchett interview (Independent, 29 Nov)
• Cartoon Art Trust awards
• 2009 Westbound TAFF Ballot; also PDF version
• GUFF results
• Æon Speculative Fiction closes
• Chesley Awards winners
• New Scientist sf special (but they will call it sci-fi)
• BBC report on science fiction, 1962
• Nova Awards
• Aetherica (Jun 09) cancelled
• TAFF race 2009 (final line-up, 13 Nov)
• Barrington J. Bayley: obit by Mike Moorcock (Guardian, 13 Nov)
• Lexicongate: appeal filed; Fandom Wank links
• Forrest J Ackerman: slightly better news (12 Nov)
• "Help Michael Moorcock Keep Writing" (8 Nov)
• The Original Frankenstein
• BFS Ackerman death report was premature (7 Nov) [This was picked up by Locus, sff.net and Wikipedia.]
• TAFF race 2009
• Michael Crichton (1942-2008) (BBC, 5 Nov); CBS; NY Times; Yahoo; The Onion
• "Forrest J. Ackerman ailing" (LA Times, 4 Nov)
• "The Genre Formerly Known as Horror" (PW, 3 Nov)
• Real science: "Forcefields will guard Mars ships from solar ion storms"
• World Fantasy Awards
• IHG AwardsOctober 2008
• Another Doctor Who bites the dust (BBC, 29 Oct)
• Cormac McCarthy vs Walter M. Miller? (Guardian, 27 Oct)
• Barrington J. Bayley (1937-2008) (Locus); obit by John Clute (Independent)
• As others see us: a good word for Eastercon 2009 (Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 17 Oct)
• John Norman asks his favourite question
• Peter David is detrimental to prison security
• Jonathan Ross on Watchmen (Times, 17 Oct)
• Skiffy installation at the Tate (BBC)
• Innovative cover design
• "Planet's loneliest bug revealed" (BBC)
• Tor editor notices Interzone review
• Andre Norton estate reassigned
• Terry Pratchett on Alzheimer's again (Daily Mail, 7 Oct); Telegraph; Times; Mail
• "The Bad Title Club" (NY Times)
• Driving while under the influence of Battlestar Galactica (BBC)September 2008
• New GUFF race
• Philip Pullman on censors
• David Gemmell Legend Award
• Latest TAFF newsletter
• Helix webzine to close; William Sanders speaks out
• Lexicongate: possible appeal?
• David Foster Wallace (1962-2008)
• Large Hadron Collider drinking game; "Has The LHC Destroyed The Earth?" real-time monitor site
• Torchwood episode guide controversy
• J.K. Rowling wins Lexicon court case; full decision (PDF); Scrivener's Error commentary
• Ellison vs Paramount againAugust 2008
• Ken Campbell (1941-2008)
• Geoffrey Perkins (1953-2008)
• 2009 westbound TAFF race
• M.J. Engh, "Author Emerita"
• Mythopoeic Award winners
• "Cinema stole my favourite books" (Guardian, 18 Aug)
• Aussiecon 4, 2010
• Hugo winners (Langford off the hook at last!)
• Denvention 3: LiveJournal and PDF Newsletter #1; #2; #3; #4; #5; #6; #7; #8; #9. Hugo rules changes,
• British Fantasy Awards shortlist
• World Fantasy Awards shortlist
• Denvention vs Democratic National Convention
• Chesley Awards shortlist
• Pauline Baynes (1922-2008)
• Transcriptase: after controversy concerning HelixJuly 2008
• Orson Scott Card gibbers again; one response of many
• Another Doris Lessing interview (NY Times, 27 Jul)
• Harry Harrison, SFWA Grand Master
• International Horror Guild awards shortlist
• Lust in space (NASA/Telegraph)
• Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008) (Telegraph); Guardian; Guardian; New York Times; Independent (John Clute); Washington Post
• Lost Metropolis footage found (BBC); moreJune 2008
• A classic "As Others See Us" opening paragraph (Independent, 29 Jun)
• Science fiction vs sci-fi: the statistics
• TAFF newsletters: Suzanne Tompkins's last and Chris Garcia's first (19 Jun)
• Ballard interview (Guardian, 14 Jun)
• L. Ron Hubbard -- Leaked!
• Carry On Hammering (UK stamps)
• Campbell Memorial Award finalists
• Sturgeon Award finalists
• Algis Budrys (1931-2008)
• Terry Pratchett again (Times, 8 Jun); and with Neil Gaiman (Waterstone's Books Quarterly)
• Mythopoeic Awards finalists (6 Jun)
• "No to Age Banding"
• "That's Doctor Gibson ..." (5 Jun)
• John McCain's sf inspiration (5 Jun)
• Philip K. Dick rules the Library of America (4 Jun)
• "As Others See Us" in the TLS (4 Jun)
• MTV Movie Awards
• Gordon Brown: comics product placementMay 2008
• Recommended fantasy, none of it by women (Guardian, 30 May)
• Harry Harrison in Pravda (26 May)
• Christopher Tolkien vs New Line, continued (Sunday Times, 26 May)
• Large Hadron Collider petition
• Ayn Rand's trilogy (via)
• Reno in 2011: Worldcon bid
• Robert Asprin (1946-2008)
• "When Harry met sexism" (Guardian, 22 May)
• Clarke Award in the Telegraph (10 May)
• UK SF Book News in "hibernation" (8 May)
• Michael de Larrabeiti (1934-2008)
• Barbara Bauer vs Wikipedia (2 May)April 2008
• Clarke Award (30 Apr); Guardian
• PW on Ursula Le Guin (30 Apr)
• Nebula Awards (26 Apr)
• Sidewise Awards finalists
• Star Wars madness in Wales (22 Apr)
• Remember the Hitch-Hiker text adventure game?
• Terry Pratchett at Bookseller.com (18 Apr)
• As Others See Us (Guardian, 16 Apr).
• Lexicongate trial (FW); Day One (Leaky Cauldron); Day Two (also FW); more; more; Day Three (also FW); the Times misses the point; Techdirt; Troll film dispute; New York Times (17 Apr); various trial summaries
• Minotaur-Squids of the Indigo Zone!
• Hugo voting on line
• A good word for sf fandom (Guardian, 10 Apr)
• Newsweek vs Patrick StewartMarch 2008
• "Lexicongate" yet again (Leaky Cauldron 24 Mar); more (AFP)
• Independent on Eastercon (22 Mar)
• Eastercon 2010: Heathrow again
• 2008 BSFA Awards (22 Mar)
• 2008 Hugo Nominations (21 Mar)
• Arthur C.Clarke dies (18 Mar)
• Terry Pratchett fights back; "Match It For Pratchett" now has its own website
• SFX poll: your favourite SF and fantasy authors of all time (13 Mar)
• Dave "Rocketeer" Stevens dies (10 Mar)
• Clarke Award shortlist (10 Mar); John Jarrold grumbles again
• "Lexicongate" trial date set (Leaky Cauldron, with story so far; 10 Mar); since rescheduled (LC 13 Mar); further commentary at Fandom Wank; RDR denies everything (including selling Lexicon rights in Australia and England -- so what exactly did Methuen buy?); the "denial" filing examined
• Gary Gygax dies (4 Mar) (Guardian); XKCD comment; Times
• Janet Kagan dies (29 Feb)February 2008
• "Lexicongate": summary of latest JKR/WB responses (Leaky Cauldron); full court filings (items #55-#63)
• Nebula Awards shortlist (22 Feb)
• Scrybe Press warning (19 Feb)
• "A Gut Check Moment for SFWA" (18 Feb); furthermore (21 Feb)
• Ken Slater dies (16 Feb)
• Stoker Awards shortlist
• PLR petition -- UK authors please sign
• Tolkien estate sues New Line Cinema (11 Feb)
• Steve Gerber dies (10 Feb)
• British Animation Awards shortlist
• The Iain-Banks-a-Rama
• "Lexicongate" -- the saga drags on, and on (Leaky Cauldron), and on (Ibid), and on (NY Times), and on (court filings), and on (LC again)...
• Dedalus Books vs the Arts Council
• Ballard autobiography reviewed: Telegraph; Independent; Observer
• "20 Things You [Allegedly] Didn’t Know About... Science Fiction" (Discover)January 2008
• "Science fiction's influence on technology: ideas made real" (26 Jan)
• BSFA awards shortlist
• The Shirley Jackson Awards
• SF and the Bomb, 1944 (via)
• J.G. Ballard: "time is running out" (Times, 20 Jan); Crash cover design competition
• "Why Sci-Fi Is the Last Bastion of Philosophical Writing" (Wired, 18 Jan)
• J.K. Rowling "should lose her copyright lawsuit" (Slate, 10 Jan)
• Nebulas: preliminary ballot
• Dick award finalists
• FAAn awards ballot (PDF)
• James Bond stamps (8 Jan)
• "Why do critics still sneer at sci-fi?" (Guardian, 7 Jan)
• Moorcock reviewed (Telegraph)
• "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" (Times, 5 Jan) Spot the genre authors!
• Dedalus Books petition
• George MacDonald Fraser dies (2 Jan)
• Aeon Award 2008
• Another new sf blog -- can you detect any mention of books? (Wired)
• Hugo nominations open (1 Jan)