New episode is up on iTunes! You can also download it directly, or stream it from our Galactic Suburbia site.

While Alisa is away, Alex & Tansy play… in ANCIENT GREECE! We talk awards, the end of publishing as we know it, stressful feminist debates, Vonda McIntyre, Twitter fiction, Stargate, and whether there’s enough Greek & Roman mythology in modern fantasy.

News
Tansy wins WSFA Small Press Award for Siren Beat

Last Drink Bird Head Award Winners

John Joseph Adams takes over from Cat Rambo & Sean Wallace as editor of Fantasy Magazine

Realms of Fantasy dies – farewell notes from the publisher and editor Shawna McCarthy

Wiscon committee disappoints through inaction…
and then finally moves to disinvite Elizabeth Moon as GoH
(warning, many of the comments on that one are pretty awful to wade through)
Reaction posts from Cheryl Morgan and Catherynne M Valente.

Paul Collins on how the ebook revolution isn’t working so well

Cat Valente on tedium, evil, and why the term ‘PC’ is only used these days to hurt and silence
Peter M Ball on how white male privilege uses requests for civility to silence the legitimate anger of others.

on Vonda McIntyre’s “Dreamsnake”, a controversial Hugo winning novel from 1979 which has been out of print for 10 years and an interview with Vonda McIntyre about the book.

What have we been reading/listening to?

Tansy – Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson; Blameless, Gail Carriger, Bleed by Peter M Ball, “Twittering the Universe” by Mari Ness, Shine & “Clockwork Fairies” by Cat Rambo, Tor.com.

Alex – Silver Screen, Justina Robson; Sprawl; Deep Navigation, Alastair Reynolds; The Beginning Place, Ursula le Guin.
abandoned Gwyneth Jones’ Escape Plans
listening to The 5th Race, ep 1 (Stargate SG1 fan podcast).

Pet Subject
Classical mythology in modern fantasy. Can it still work? Do you have to get it ‘right’?

Book mentioned:
The Firebrand, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Medea, Cassandra, Electra by Kerry Greenwood
Olympic Games, Leslie What
Dan Simmons’ Ilium and Olympos
Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips
Troy, Simon Brown
Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad and Jeanette Winterson’s Weight, also David Malouf’s Ransom – along the same lines as Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin
Robert Holdstock’s Celtika, Iron Grail, Broken Kings

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs or on Facebook, and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes!

New episode is up on iTunes!
UPDATE: New episode is also up for download, streaming

in which we discuss translated awards, constructive feminist discourse on the internet, make a special Swancon announcement, and dissect our complex relationship with the horror genre.

News
Geffen Awards (Israel)

Torque Control discussion on women & the Clarke & the dire state of women in British SF, with list of all British releases of SF or SFnal books by women in 2010.

inspired by interview with Tricia Sullivan

Torque Control announces they will be blogging about 2010 British SF releases by women in December and ask for readers to join them. Also call for contributions of top 10 female authored SF books in the last decade for a theoretical “future classics’ list.

Super Special Swancon Announcement!

What have we been reading/listening to?
TANSY: The Wiscon Chronicles IV edited by Sylvia Kelso
Azu Manga Daioh by Kiyohiko Azuma; Asimovs & F&SF, Salon Futura
ALISA: secret projects & another Book I Am Not Reading

Pet Subject: while Alex is away, let’s talk about HORROR
- we’re both pretty selective about the horror/dark fiction we read. What does it have to do to catch our eye?
- favourite horror/dark writers
- where do we draw the line on what we like/can appreciate in horror?
- does our feminism get in the way of reading/enjoying horror fiction?

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs and on Facebook! and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes!

Our special spoilerific book club episode of Galactic Suburbia is available for streaming, download and at iTunes! We separated this from our other episodes so that people who haven’t read the featured novel – Liar by Justine Larbalestier – could easily skip it.

SHOW NOTES:

Consider yourself warned. This is an incredibly spoilery discussion of LIAR by Justine Larbalestier. It’s not a little bit spoilery. It’s a LOT spoilery. And if you don’t believe us that this is the kind of book that you really truly don’t want to be spoiled for, consider the facts:
1) We invented the Galactic Spoilerific Book Club purely to discuss this book
2) We actually feel a bit uncomfortable even mentioning how much you don’t want to be spoiled for this book, because that in itself might mess with your reading experience
3) You trust us, right?
If on the other hand you have read LIAR by Justine Larbalestier, come on by and listen to us flap our hands as we try to articulate just what’s going on in this book.

Also, stretching back into the mists of time before Galactic Suburbia existed (hard to imagine, I know) check out Alex, Alisa and Tansy podcasting back in 2008 with our friend Kathryn, on the (then) entire bibliography of works by Justine. Yes, it’s a Larbalestpalooza!

New episode is up for download, streaming or on iTunes.

In which we talk about awesome women, excellent short stories, and make Alisa throw away a book! Our pet topic is film-to-book, book-to-film and why you’d want to move a story from format to format.

News
The Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2010

FemSpec: announcement of new feminist press

365 Days of Women Writers blog

New podcast: Helen Merrick and Tama Leaver

What have we been reading/listening to?
Tansy: Diana Comet, Zombies v. Unicorns
Alisa: Watching: Moon. Listening: Bad Film Diaries (discussion on “identify”) also first ep of Pangalactic Interwebs. Embargoed Reading sigh. For Aurealis Awards and TPP 2011 Toss out for the week: Succubus in the City
Alex: Subterranean (spring and summer), Is Anybody out There? (ed. Nick Gevers and Marty Halpern), Glitter Rose, Marianne de Pierres.

Pet Subject: book –> film –> book
- why make films of books?
- what makes a good film adaptation?
- conversely, why make books of films, why do they get less attention, can they be as good as the film?

Please send feedback to galacticsuburbia@gmail.com

The new episode is available from www.galacticsuburbia.com as well as on iTunes.

EPISODE SIXTEEN SHOW NOTES

In which we have apparently learned the art of conversational restraint! Clocking in at a miraculously tidy 45 minutes, the Galactic Suburbia crew discuss publishing news, a bunch of great new books, and read some feedback.

News
Strange Horizons Fundraising Drive
Tehani’s post on open short story markets in Australia
Aqueduct Press now releasing several of their titles as ebooks
Ticonderoga to publish Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror. Editors Liz Gryzb & Talie Helene
MindMeld best female characters
Alisa and Tansy on Coode Street podcast

What have we been reading/listening to?
Alex: Liar, Justine Larbalestier; White Cat, Holly Black;
Tansy: Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold; Kiss Me Deadly, Tricia Telep (ed)
Alisa: Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical; Tomorrow when the War began

Pet Subject: Feedback
from Jason Fischer & Thoraiya Dyer, plus a shout out to Celia from Worldcon!

Please send feedback to galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or follow @galacticsuburbs on Twitter

This week has been a frenzy of podcasting. We’ve put up a whole bunch of Galactic Suburbia episodes that we recorded during Aussiecon in Melbourne, and then this morning Jonathan Strahan called Alisa and I in to guest on his podcast as The Coode St Feminist Advisory Committee.

Check it out:

Galactic Suburbia 15.0 – “Live” at Aussiecon
Galactic Suburbia 15.1 – Ditmar Special and Girl Genius Interview
Galactic Suburbia 15.2 – Hugo Special
Galactic Suburbia 15.3 – Worldcon Wrap Up

Coode St Episode 17 – featuring Tansy & Alisa from Galactic Suburbia

And of course you can also find these by searching for Galactic Suburbia or Notes From Coode Street on iTunes.

It’s up! You can download/stream our “live” Worldcon episode directly from our Galactic Suburbia site, or from iTunes.

Live from Aussiecon4, speaking from the entirely unsuburban wasteland of downtown Melbourne, Alisa, Alex and Tansy faced an audience of real people, and managed to keep their chatter to a 50 minute podcast. SHOCK. Some awards news, Worldcon gossip, what we are reading and our pet topic: female heroes in SF & Fantasy.

News

World Fantasy Nominations
Sir Julius Vogel Awards Winners
European SF Society Awards
Fave bits of Aussiecon4 so far.

What have we been reading/listening to?

Alex: Beastly Bride, ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; Legends of Australian Fantasy, ed. Jonathan Strahan and Jack Dann; Secret Feminist Cabal, Helen Merrick;
Tansy: Shades of Milk & Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal; The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins; Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor
Alisa: Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson.

Pet Subject: Female heroes in SF/F

As ever, please send feedback to galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or to our Twitter account @galacticsuburbs. We’d especially love to hear your response to our “live” episode, or your highlights from Aussiecon.

Over the next week we’ll be putting up a series of mini-eps from the convention, including our post-Ditmars round up, our post-Hugos round up, a omg-the-convention-is-over round up, and an interview between Alex and Phil & Kaja Foglio of Girl Genius fame. Was Jake Flinthart correct to accuse her of giggling? Find out!

On a personal note, thanks to everyone who came to the panel, or talked to us at the con about Galactic Suburbia. We were blown away by how many people have listened to us, bought books we recced, and wanted to say hi. Extra special mention to Celia, who apparently DID have an awesome Worldcon, and to the woman who recognised Alisa & Alex gossiping in the row behind her at the Hugos, because SHE KNEW WHAT THEIR VOICES SOUNDED LIKE.

Classic.

Episode 14 is available now at iTunes! It should be available from the Galactic Suburbia site for streaming & direct download later today.

In which we rise above a chorus of dogs, babies and technological glitches to discuss Grand Conversations, why we have no opinions about Robert Heinlein, and why we’re crazy enough to be part of a project which means reading (almost) ALL the short stories.

News

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi wins Campbell Award

Jeff VanderMeer announces the closure of the Best American Fantasy anthology series

The WSFA shortlist – an award for short stories published small press.

Controversy caused by Sarah Hoyt’s Tor article on why all those women who don’t like Heinlein are actually wrong (yes, really). Hoyt also blogs here similarly, with a bit more revelation as to why she is so pro-Heinlein and again why those who are not are just WRONG.

What have we been reading/listening to?
Alisa: Watching – District 9, Caprica, Scott Pilgrim
Reading – The Grand Conversation, Timmi DuChamp,
Alex: Permutation City, Greg Egan; Galactic Suburbia, Lisa Yaszek; Shadow Unit (www.shadowunit.org); When it Changed, ed. Geoff Ryman; Swords and Dark Magic, ed. Jonathan Strahan
Tansy: Joanna Russ, How to Suppress Women’s Writing; Rosemary & Rue, Seanan McGuire
Listening – Angry Robot #2 with Kaaron Warren & Lauren Beukes

Pet Subject
How To Find the Best Short Fiction, and the Not If You Were the Last Short Story On Earth Project (LSS)
Why we LSS
What we learned from LSS
What we’re looking for in a great short story, where to find them, and what we have liked so far this year.

Rich Horton (part of our inspiration)

Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com or on Twitter @galacticsuburbs

The latest ep of Galactic Suburbia is up now for streaming and direct download.
EDIT: Now available from iTunes too!

In which we discuss girl heroes, boy books, sexy zombies with whips, why proofing makes Alisa’s brain hurt, how many limbs get hacked off in David Eddings novels, and analyse what SF awards actually mean to us.

News
Ditmar nominations now up:
Author Hannah Moskowitz complains at the lack of and treatment of boy characters in YA
Tamora Pierce responds with a discussion of why she writes girl protagonists

What have we been reading/listening to?
Tansy: The King’s Bastard, Rowena Cory Daniells; The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer.
Listening to: Starship Sofa 142 & 144, Notes from Coode St
Alisa: books she is publishing, including SPRAWL
Alex: the Belgariad, David Eddings. Worlds Next Door, edited by Tehani Wessely.

Pet Subject: SF Awards
The value in awards for writers/publishers/readers.
The value in awards when they become a long-running thing (ie does it mean more to get a Tiptree now that it’s been going for a long time?).
Difference between fan-voted, peer-voted, and judged awards.

Feedback, etc: galacticsuburbia@gmail.com

Episode 12 is available for streaming here, downloading here, and can also be found on iTunes by searching for ‘Galactic Suburbia’

In which we talk about publishers behaving badly, authors self-publishing, the future of reading and the price of a short story. Also we talk about books. Shocking, isn’t it?

News

Night Shade apologises for any problems they’ve caused any of their authors

SFWA puts Night Shade Books on probation as a qualified SFWA market for a period of one year, effective immediately.

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