Genre News

Got some more emails about things you may be interested in.

Phoenix Picks' free ebook for July is Joan Slonczewski's first Elysium Cycle novel, Daughter of Elysium.  According to my husband, she's a great hard SF author (one of the Elysium Cycle novels, Brain Plague, is sitting on a shelf near me waiting to be read).

The coupon code is 9991545 and will be good from July 2 through July 31. Links for downloading the book (as usual) from our online catalogue, http://www.PPickings.com

"The Pristine City of Elysium floats on the water world of Shora, inhabited by 'immortals' who have succeeded in unlocking the secrets of life.

Outsider Blackbear Windclan wants to share the secret of immortality with his own people, but can he, and the City of Elysium survive the corruption and decadence that immortality has bred into the ageless society?

And what of the consciousness of the self-aware nano-sentient servitors and their quest for vengeance?"

Sounds good, doesn't it?

July is Monster Movie Month at MonsterLibrarian.

July 1 will mark the beginning of Monster Movie Month at MonsterLibrarian.com. Monster Movie Month will celebrate the connections between books and movies in the horror genre. The site will offer lists of movies horror fiction lovers might enjoy, reviews, and suggestions for readers advisory and marketing horror in the library.  Our blog, Musings of the Monster Librarian, will cover related topics and offer guest posts, including a contribution from Becky Siegel Spratford, author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror Fiction.  Come visit to find out what the horror genre has to offer readers and libraries this July at MonsterLibrarian.com!

Visit the Monster Movie Month page at:
http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/monstermoviemonth.htm
and the Musings of the Monster Librarian blog:
http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/TheCirculationDesk/

If you're in the UK, this announcement by Angry Robot Books will be of interest to you:

As part of Independent Booksellers’ Week, award-winning SF & fantasy publisher Angry Robot have announced they are going to start giving away the digital version of each of their novels free with the physical paperback, in selected indie bookstores.

The Angry Robot Clonefiles, as they are whimsically calling them, will first be trialled with Mostly Books of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, starting Wednesday July 4th. Angry Robot will then be rolling out the scheme through other independent bookshops. Customers purchasing an Angry Robot novel will be emailed the digital version of the book in the format of their choice.

The Clonefiles programme was set up by Angry Robot’s UK Sales Manager Roland Briscoe and Mark Thornton of Mostly Books.

Independent bookshops wanting to join the Clonefiles promotion can contact Roland Briscoe at indie@angryrobotbooks.com.

Amazing Stories is doing a relaunch prelaunch issue, with several articles and a story becoming available as the month progresses.

You can find Volume 0, Number 1 here, and their facebook page here.  They'll be announcing the relaunch at  Comic Con in San Diego.

Speaking of which, if you're a US Citizen attending Comic Con and write fan fiction in one of the following settings: Star Wars®, The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, then Random House Audio has a contest you might be interested in.

At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor--inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and released as a digital audiobook.

Aspiring authors (who must be legal residents of the U.S. and 18 years or older) can sign up for a time slot to record their five-minute sample during the convention, July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. Random House Audio producers will listen to the entries (no mashups, please) and select one to be professionally recorded and mixed by Random House Audio for streaming at www.randomhouseaudio.com. The grand prize winner and five runner-ups will have clips from their stories featured on the Random House Audio weekly podcast.

Sessions will be available Thursday through Saturday, July 12-14, from 10am-12pm and 1pm to 4pm at the Random House Audio booth #1515. Registration for morning slots is open now through July 10 at www.randomhouseaudio.com, and afternoon slots will be available for same-day sign ups beginning at 9am the first day of the con on a first-come, first-served basis.

Don’t see your fandom included on the list above? Sunday, July 15 is Open Mic Day! Fans of other series will get their chance to record their stories as well from 11am to 3pm and enter to win a collection of audiobooks.

Even if you’re not a writer, be sure to stop by the Random House Audio booth (#1515) for exclusive Comic-Con giveaways, including buttons, posters, headphones and mini microphone recorders.