Library Journal on Wake : "Sawyer's erudition, eclecticism, and masterly storytelling make this a choice selection."
W00t! I'm honoured and thrilled to be a Guest at SETIcon , sponsored by the SETI Institute, in Santa Clara, California, August 13-15, 2010. Other guests include Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, Jill Tarter, Phil Plait, and Andre Bormanis. My bio from the SETIcon website: Robert J. Sawyer is one of only seven writers in history to win all three of the science fiction field’s top awards for best novel of…
All events are free and open to the public. I'll be reading from Watch , doing a Q&A, and signing books at each one: # Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver Public Library Central Branch Alma VanDusen Room on the lower level 350 West Georgia Street In conjunction with (but not at) White Dwarf Books Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. # Calgary, Alberta Pages on Kensington 1135 Kensington Road NW…
As they did for Wake (see here ), Penguin Canada is advertising Watch in Toronto subway cars -- and I happened to be on the subway today, and managed to get these shots. (Thanks also to my friend Lance Sibley, who also sent me a photo that he took.) This is made out of awesome! Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email
Today is the official publication date for WWW: Watch , second volume in my WWW trilogy. The US edition is out in hardcover from Ace Science Fiction, and the Canadian edition is out in hardcover from Viking Canada (Penguin). Sawyer shows his genius in combining cutting-edge scientific theories and technological developments with real human characters. -- The Globe and Mail Robert J. Sawyer online:…
Toronto area-authors Robert J. Sawyer and Robert Charles Wilson are facing off once again for science-fiction's top international honour, the Hugo Award for Best Novel of the Year. Sawyer's Wake (published by Viking Canada / Ace USA / Gollancz UK) and Wilson's Julian Comstock: A Novel of 22nd Century America (Tor Books) are two of the six finalists for the Hugo, which will be awarded Sunday,…
Join me for the Toronto book-launch party for Watch , the second book in the WWW trilogy, this Tuesday, Apirl 6, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at The Dominion on Queen pub, 500 Queen Street East (East, not West), Toronto, with book sales by Bakka-Phoenix Books, and the unveiling of the new Watch book trailer! Admission is free and everyone is welcome! Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook •…
Okay, I won't kid anyone by saying the ratings for the return of FlashForward , the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name , were what we'd hoped for. But let's bring some clarity to the discussion. Here's a good analysis of how we did from RBR.COM ( Radio Business Report / Television Business Report -- "the Voice of the Broadcasting Industry"): “FlashForward” (8:00-10:01 p.m.) Returning…
Received my author's copies today of the new Red Deer Press edition of Starplex , my 1996 novel that was nominated for the Hugo and the Nebula and won the Aurora Award. I gotta say this is one gorgeous-looking trade paperback! W00t! It'll be in stores across Canada shortly, and out in the US in October 2010 (having the US release later is the norm for Red Deer Press's parent company, Toronto-based…
Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, has issued a call for papers for an academic conference entitled "Social Science on the Final Frontier." Guest authors at the event: Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, and Julie E. Czerneda. Dates: Monday, August 23, to Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Sudbury, of course, is where my novels Hominids , Humans , and Hybrids are set, and in 2007, Laurentian…
Great blog post from Canadian computing trade journal ComputerWorld Canada about quantum computing in the novels of Robert J. Sawyer -- and now in reality. W00t! Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email
Jim C. Hines's survey results on how writers broke into print is well worth looking at. Among Jim's conclusions: "To those proclaiming queries and the slush pile are for suckers, and self-publishing is the way to land a major novel deal, I have bad news: only 1 author out of 246 self-published their book and went on to sell that book to a professional publisher." Robert J. Sawyer online: Website…
I revealed in this blog post that the character of Kuroda, the information theorist from my WWW trilogy consisting of Wake , Watch , and Wonder , is named for the PROBE Control telemetry specialist Kuroda from the 1972 TV series Search , which had a big influence on me. But I should note that there's another Kuroda in science fiction: the man known as "The Last Kamikaze" from the episode of that…
After a three-month hiatus, FlashForward , the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name , returns to television this week. On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific (9:00 p.m. Central), a one-hour clip show entitled "What Did You See?" (a catch-phrase straight out of my novel) airs (immediately following Lost ). And on Thursday, March 18, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and…
I received this note from a Canadian academic today: Interestingly enough, WWW: Wake is filed at my local library as a young-adult book, presumably because the protagonist is 15. I'm just curious: do you consider Wake to be a YA novel? And if so (or not) why? Here's my response: Am I a young-adult author -- and is this a new thing? Yes to the former, and no to the latter. I made the New York…
"Get your pitch to zero!" "Pitch is out. I can't hold altitude." "Correction, alpha hold is off. Trim selectors -- emergency!" "Flight Com! I can’t hold it! She’s breaking up, she’s break --" One of the reasons I'm thrilled to have my novel FlashForward adapted for television on ABC is that one of my favorite shows when I was a teenager -- The Six Million Dollar Man -- was on ABC, and it, too, was…
Sponsored by Ad Astra , Toronto's SF convention: FlashForward Pub Night Celebrating the Success of our Guest of Honour Robert J. Sawyer Type: Party - Movie/TV Night Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010 Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Scruffy Murphy’s Street: 225 The East Mall Etobicoke (Toronto), Ontario, Canada So you *think* you know what the future holds? FlashForward , based on Rob’s book of the…
I'm in Los Angeles, on the sound stage for FlashForward , the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name , and they're filming the episode I wrote. Woohoo! My episode, entitled "Course Correction," airs Thursday, May 6, 2010. Above, that's me with Christine Woods , who plays FBI agent Janis Hawk. Pictured: Christine Woods and Robert J. Sawyer Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook…
A suggestion for Barnes and Noble re the nook ebook-reading device: The very first Palm Pilot going back all the way to 1996 and the original Rocket eBook from 1998 allowed you to do handwriting recognition (on Palms, using the Graffiti or Graffiti 2 system, the former of which used simplified characters, the latter of which recognized fully formed characters; on the Rocket, using the similar…
The nominees for Canada’s 2010 Aurora Awards are as follows. Winners will be announced at KeyCon 27/Canvention 30 during the May 21-24 weekend. BEST NOVEL IN ENGLISH The Amulet of Amon-Ra , by Leslie Carmichael, CBAY Books Druids , by Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Wake , Robert J. Sawyer, Penguin Canada Steel Whispers , Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press…
Now that the first 10 episodes of FlashForward are out on DVD, I have a favour to ask. Could somebody please send me high-resolution screen captures of my two credits from the ending credits (from any of the 10 episodes)? My first credit is the first one in the ending credits, and says "Based on the Novel by Robert J. Sawyer." My second one is about half-way through the end credits and is a shared…
I'm delighted and thrilled to be on the 2010 Aurora Award ballot twice: in the "Best Long Form English" category for Wake , published by Viking (Penguin) Canada, and in the "Best English Other" category for Distant Early Warnings: Canada's Best Science Fiction , which I edited for Red Deer Press. The full list of nominees is here . Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook • Twitter…
ABC remains totally committed to FlashForward , the TV series based on my novel of the same name, and we'll be having a massive relaunch in March: On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right after Lost , ABC will be airing a one-hour clip show summarizing our first ten episodes. Two days later, on Thursday, March 18, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, two new episodes are airing back-to-back…
I'm giving a keynote at this upcoming conference, my great friends James Kerwin and Chase Masterson will be on hand to talk about their quantum-physics noir movie Yesterday was a Lie , and Chase will be singing songs from Star Trek on Wednesday night. Join us! Toward a Science of Consciousness 2010 April 12-17, 2010 Tucson Convention Center and Hotel Arizona, Tucson, Arizona Sponsored by the…
That's the cover for the Hungarian edition of FlashForward , my novel that's the basis for the TV series of the same name, published by Galaktika. I think it's terrific. For more about the Hungarian edition, see the publisher's website . Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email
The first ten episodes of FlashForward , the ABC TV series based on my novel of the same name , are now available on DVD. W00t! Robert J. Sawyer online: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsgroup • Email