Loose-leaf Links is a feature where I gather together the interesting bits and pieces on sci-fi and fantasy I’ve come across and share them with you over tea. Today’s tea is the Salamanca Blend from The Art of Tea. A mix of green and black, it’s a light tea with a strong combination of fruity and floral scents.
I’m a little light on links for this edition. My energy has been going to finishing off the last of the reading for the Aurealis Awards, leaving me without much left for my usual news sources. However, since I have just one book to go (!!), I should be back up to speed for my next edition.
Follow Up
As I mentioned in my previous Loose-leaf Links post, there continue to be some great interviews and guest posts with the editing team for the forthcoming Problem Daughters anthology. There’s a round-up at the Future Fire. However, I think it’s particularly worth drawing attention to the conversation between Rivqa Rafael and Gillian Polack (whose novel The Wizardry of Jewish Women I reviewed last year) on being Jewish in Australia.
Community and Conventions
GenreCon have announced their guests of honour. The international guests will be Nalini Singh and Delilah S. Dawson. The Australian guests will be Angela Slatter and Emma Viskic. GenreCon takes place on 10-12 November in Brisbane.
Voting is currently open for the Down Under Fan Fund. DUFF’s aim is to bring one candidate from the USA to Australia to attend the Natcon. Unlike GUFF, DUFF only has one candidate this year: Paul Weimer. Voting helps to raise funds to bring Paul here, so please go and contribute!
On Equity
The New York Times has recently reworked its bestseller lists, resulting in the axing of several lists. These included YA e-books and romance e-books, categories that are largely dominated by women writers. The Romance Writers of America have written an open letter in response, calling the decision sexist and urging the NYT to reconsider.
Readers interested in diversity may want to check out the recently formed Kraken Collective, an alliance of indie authors who write LGBTQIA speculative fiction. The website is currently a little bare, but their Twitter account is active.
For Readers
Shira Glassman offers a list of diverse SFF recommendations for adult readers.
Along similar lines, the Happy Ever After blog offers some gay speculative fiction romance recommendations.
Over on Book Riot, Rachel Cordasco recommends some Japanese speculative fiction in translation.
Locus Online have released their 2016 recommended reading list. I was pleased to see a few Aussie names included.
Lastly, comes this article on two British spinsters who used the proceeds from writing romance novels for Mills & Boon to assist Jewish families in smuggling their valuables out of Germany. Special thanks to Cecily for the link.