In episode 262 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction, writer John Scalzi talks about how his writing career developed, and some of the things he's learned along the way. He also talks about his involvement with SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and why he thinks the organization is important. (Mr. Scalzi is currently serving as president of SFWA.)
This episode features a never released interview with best selling author Keith R. A. DeCandido, who talks about his extensive work writing media tie-in books, stories, and comics. He discusses some special concerns and deadline problems that are part of the tie-in field. Keith also talks about his own Precinct series of novels.
Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with science fiction and fantasy author and editor Phyllis Irene Radford. Ms.Radford discusses her use of pseudonyms for her different "writing personalities," with books as Irene Radford, P. R. Frost, and C. F. Bentley (as well as future work as Phyllis Ames) Ms. Radford also talks about her involvement with the author cooperative Book View Café and her fondness for Oregon, where she lives. This interview was conducted on...
Mr. Lerner is a "hard" science fiction writer, with more than a dozen published novels and many works of short fiction. In the interview, he talks about his recent novel, Energized, his collaboration with Larry Niven on the Fleet of Worlds series, and about the day-to-day work of being a full-time writer.
Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with Hugo Award winning author Joe Haldeman. Mr. Haldeman talks about his writing and Joe's Place, his long running blog. He also discusses painting, insights gained as a writing teacher, and the political complexities of having a manned space program in contemporary America.
Stanley Schmidt. Analog is best known as the major periodical for English language "hard" science fiction. Mr. Schmidt has been the editor of Analog for over thirty years, and in this interview he describes his early relationship with the magazine. Schmidt also talks about his personal definition of science fiction, and what he looks for in a story. The interview was conducted on May 20, 2011.
Contemporary Science Fiction is now available for download. In this episode we talk with scientist and author Geoffrey A. Landis. Mr. Landis talks about his (mostly) short fiction work and his prize winning genre poetry. He also discusses his "day job" with NASA, and how interwoven his love of science and science fiction is.
Episode #243 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with Hugo and Nebula award winning author Connie Willis. Ms. Willis discusses her long awaited novel (published in two volumes) Blackout and All Clear. She talks with Fast Forward host Mike Zipser about the difficulties involved with writing time travel stories, her research of World War II era British civilian life, and some of her next writing projects.
Fast Forward:. In a slight change of pace, this month we interview an artist, the extraordinairy Bob Eggleton! In the interview Mr. Eggleton talks about his lifelong fascination with dinosaurs, spaceships and art, and how his painting career developed. He also discusses his process of creating a painting, and why he currently loves to paint with oils. He even gives a few words of helpful advice to new painters.
Ms. Buchanan talks about the business and process of book publishing - from figuring out author advances to editing the manuscript. She also discusses her personal career, and mentions some of the other influential people in the field.
Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with author Jack McDevitt. Mr. McDevitt talks about his long and winding career path - his early efforts at writing, several subsequent non-writing jobs, and his eventual successful return to writing. He also discusses his two ongoing series of novels, and his many nominations for the Nebula Award. The interview with Mr. McDevitt was recorded in May of 2011, during the Nebula Awards Weekend. His book, Echo, was a nominee for best novel.
Episode #252 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction looks back at Capclave 2010. The episode features interviews with two of the guests of honor of that convention. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer both talk about their work - Ann discusses her former job as editor of Weird Tales magazine, and Jeff talks about his acclaimed and unusual writing. As editors, they also both describe their take on the popular subgenres of steampunk and the new weird.
Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with best selling fantasy author Terry Pratchett. He discusses his latest Discworld novel, Snuff. He also talks about his involvement with the BBC documentary, Choosing to Die.
Episode 249 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with author Kathleen Ann Goonan. Ms. Goonan talks about her latest novel, This Shared Dream. She discusses her family's time living the Washington, DC area, the importance of education, and her relationship with jazz music, among many other topics.
Mr. Stephenson talks about his latest novel, Reamde. He also talks about how he organizes and keeps track of his large, complex novels, as well as his research trip to China.
Episode #248 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with best-selling author Jim Butcher. Mr. Butcher discusses his book Ghost Story, the 13th volume in his Dresden Files series. He talks about why the release of the novel was delayed, and how this book required some serious changes in Harry Dresden's character. Also in this episode: Colleen Cahill reviews View from the Imperium, a novel by Jody Lynn Nye.
Episode #247 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with novelist James Morrow. Mr. Morrow talks about his Nebula and Hugo award nominated book, Shambling Towards Hiroshima. He discusses how this book, somewhat more lighthearted than his other recent work, combines his lifelong love of black-and-white monster movies with the somber reality of nuclear war.
In Episode #284 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction, we feature an interview with author, editor, and publisher Bill Campbell. Mr. Campbell talks about the most recent developments at his company, Rosarium Publishing. He discusses several recent book projects, including one of stories inspired by the works of Samuel (Chip) Delany, an anthology of Southeast Asian "Steampunk" stories, and a book of essays and comics dealing with the current problem of police brutality in America.
Episode #246 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with author A. C. Crispin. Ms. Crispin discusses her latest novel, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom. She talks about the extensive research and revisions that were required to write this book, which reveals the early career of Captain Jack Sparrow. Also in this episode: Colleen Cahill looks at Maria V. Snyder's Glass Trilogy as a whole.
Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with author (and editor) Laura Anne Gilman. Ms. Gilman talks about a few of her many current projects, including the novel Hard Magic, part of her Cosa Nostradamus series, and the books of her Vineart War trilogy. This interview was recorded on location at the Capclave science fiction convention in October of 2010. Also in this episode: Colleen Cahill reviews Spy Glass, a the latest novel in Maria V. Snyder's Glass series. Marianne Petrino...
Episode #244 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with actor, writer, and filmmaker Matthew Mercer. Mr. Mercer has been a voice actor in some of the biggest name anime and video game projects of the past several years. He talks about the specialized art of voice acting, and the lessons he has learned while transitioning to live action film projects. He also talks about getting the job of voicing Tygra in the new version of Thundercats.
Episode #243 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with Hugo and Nebula award winning author Connie Willis. Ms. Willis discusses her long awaited novel (published in two volumes) Blackout and All Clear. She talks with Fast Forward host Mike Zipser about the difficulties involved with writing time travel stories, her research of World War II era British civilian life, and some of her next writing projects.
Episode 241 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with the husband & wife author team of J and P Voelkel. They talk about Middleworld, the first book in their Jaguar Stones trilogy, a fast paced fantasy aimed at young adults. They also talk about their education efforts, teaching school children the facts about the Mayan people and civilization.
Episode #240 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction features an interview with author Cory Doctorow. Mr. Doctorow was a Hugo Award nominee for his novel, Little Brother. He talks with Fast Forward host Mike Zipser about his latest book, For the Win, which combines globalization, labor organizing and massive multi-user video games into a near future setting.