Congrats…

April 20, 2016 at 3:29 pm

[… to Garth Nix, who took home an Aurealis Award for his story in OLD VENUS, “By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers.” The Aurealis was established in 1995 to recognize the achievements of Australian writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

For a full list of all of thus year’s award winners, go here: https://aurealisawards.org/

If you’d like to read Garth’s award-winning story, copies of OLD VENUS and its companion volume OLD MARS are still available from the Jean Cocteau bookshop, signed by both authors. http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/

Good work, Garth… Gardner and I are pleased and proud to have published your story.

Tags: anthologies, awards

Countdown to Hugo

April 18, 2016 at 12:59 pm

We’re one week away from the announcement of the 2016 Hugo nominations. Drum roll, please.

Should be interesting. MidAmericon II has announced that more than 4000 nominating ballots were received, shattering the previous record of 2122 set by Sasquan last year. The nominating pool included all those who were members of Sasquan and of next year’s worldcon in Finland as well as the members of MidAmericon itself.

However, to actually vote on the awards, you will need to be a member of Big Mac II. You can take care of that here: http://www.midamericon2.org/

I am hopeful that my own exhortations encouraged a few people to nominate who might elsewise have forgotten. And of course I am hopeful that a few of my own favorites, the books and stories and television shows and movies that I recommended here, will make the shortlist. But there’s no way of knowing until the nominations are announced.

Whether my own choices make the cut or not, I will be pleased if we get an honest ballot this year, with Hugo-worthy choices in all categories.

Tags: fandom, hugo awards, worldcon

This Week at the JCC

April 16, 2016 at 6:29 pm

We have a big week coming at the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

ERNIE CLINE will be here tomorrow (Sunday) for an interview and booksigning. He’ll be talking about the film adaptation of READY PLAYER ONE, and signing copies of ARMADA, his new one… and READY PLAYER ONE as well, of course. For more details, see Jenni’s post below.

The next day, Monday night, we’ll show the last two hours in our season five marathon of GAME OF THRONES. That’s “Hardhome” and “Mother’s Mercy,” two huge episodes. If you haven’t seen “Hardhome” on the big (well, medium sized) screen, you haven’t seen it at all. And best of all, admission is FREE. First come, first seated. Don’t be late.

And we another special event scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. For TWO DAYS ONLY, we will be screening the new Project Itoh anime blockbuster out of Japan, EMPIRE OF CORPSES.

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Only a few selected theatres in the US will be showing EMPIRE OF CORPSES. We’re very pleased that the JCC will be one of them. Come join us — and remember, this special screening is for two nights only.

Then, come Saturday, we’re thrilled to announced that our midnight movies are returning. First up will be FLASH GORDON. No, not the old Buster Crabbe serial (and not FLESH GORDON either), but the Sam Jones version from 1980. Brian Blessed and Ming the Merciless, what more could you want?

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Come in costume, you pathetic earthlings.

See you at the movies.

Tags: jean cocteau cinema, movies, signings

Jean Cocteau Book Sale! #GRRMinion

April 14, 2016 at 8:04 pm

Ogre Jenni speaking! I am one of George's minions, and I work for Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe. It is a delightful place! If you are ever in Santa Fe, you simply must visit. We have a full bar with a variety of signature cocktails, we host magic shows and book signings, and every last tome in our bookstore is autographed by the author.

Speaking of books, the Jean Cocteau Cinema bookstore is having a sale! The following books are 35% off—check it out!

Neal Stephenson's The System of the World: NOW $11.00

England, 1714. London has long been home to a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint and closet alchemist, Isaac Newton, and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner. Hostilities are suddenly moving to a new and more volatile level as Half-Cocked Jack hatches a daring plan, aiming for the total corruption of Britain's newborn monetary system. Learn more!

Deborah Harkness' The Book of Life: NOW $18.85

Fans of the All Souls Trilogy sent this highly anticipated finale straight to #1 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list. Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. Learn more!

Anne Perry's Death on Blackheath: NOW $17.55

As commander of the powerful Special Branch, Thomas Pitt has the job of keeping Britain safe from spies and traitors. So there’s no obvious reason why he is suddenly ordered to investigate two minor incidents: the blood, hair, and shards of glass discovered outside the home of naval weapons expert Dudley Kynaston, and the simultaneous disappearance of Mrs. Kynaston’s beautiful lady’s maid. But weeks later, when the mutilated body of an unidentified young woman is found near Kynaston’s home, Pitt realizes that this is no ordinary police investigation. Far from it. Is Kynaston—one of Britain’s most valuable scientists—leading a double life? Learn more!

Meg Cabot's Remembrance: NOW $10.40

Fifteen years after the release of the first Mediator novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot returns with a deliciously sexy new entry to a fan-favorite series. Suze Simon—all grown up and engaged to her once-ghostly soulmate—faces a vengeful spirit and an old enemy bent on ending Suze's wedded bliss before it begins. Learn more!

See you at the Cocteau!

—THIS MESSAGE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MINIONS OF FEVRE RIVER—

Tags: anne perry, bookstore, death on blackheath, deborah harkness, jean cocteau cinema, meg cabot, neal stephenson, remembrance, the book of life, the system of the world

The Wild Cards Take Brazil

April 14, 2016 at 7:25 pm

All you Wild Cards fans out there… and those of you who will be (we hope) soon… should head over to Tor.com and meet the newest ace in the WC universe. The Recycler hails from the slums of Rio, and we think you’re going to like him as much as we do.

The story is “Discards.” The Hugo-winning author is David D. Levine.

(The art is by the one and only John Picacio).

You can read “Discards” for free here: http://www.tor.com/2016/03/30/discards/

(And if you like that one, there are five other Wild Cards originals available on Tor.com, by the likes of Walter Jon Williams, Carrie Vaughn, Paul Cornell, Cherie Priest, and Daniel Abraham. Seek and ye shall find. Jetboy did not die in vain!)

Tags: short stories, tor, wild cards

Season Six Premiere

April 13, 2016 at 5:28 pm

GAME OF THRONES had its gala season six premiere last week in Hollywood, at the historic and glorious Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

The rest of the world will have to wait until April 24 to see the first episode.

But here’s the latest trailer from HBO:

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo, television

Help Fight Cancer

April 11, 2016 at 7:33 pm

R.A. Salvatore has organized a “Bookworm” drive to help fund cancer research.

Donate… and you can maybe win a big box o’ signed books, including some of my own.

Only a few days left.

You can see all the details, and make a donation, at:

http://www.seecaityrun.com/bookworms-unite/

Tags: charity, signed books

Jean Cocteau Cinema Hosts Q&A with Ernest Cline #GRRMinion

April 7, 2016 at 11:12 am

Ogre Jenni here (not George, just a minion) with a very special announcement!

Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One and Armada, will participate in an interview, Q&A, and book signing at Jean Cocteau Cinema on April 17th. There is a new paperback edition of Armada, and we are thrilled to celebrate its release with Ernest. We will have both hardcover and paperback versions of Ready Player One and Armada available for purchase at the event. If you identify on any level with geek culture, then these novels will fill your nerdy heart with pure joy!

In addition to picking Ernest Cline’s brain and getting books signed, we will have arcade games to play on our movie screen—hooray Pac-Man and Space Invaders! Who will earn the highest score? (Parzival is not allowed to participate.)

See you at the Cocteau!

ABOUT ERNEST CLINE:

Ernest Cline is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists, and is set to be adapted into a motion picture by Warner Bros. and director Steven Spielberg. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer. Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero.

—THIS MESSAGE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MINIONS OF FEVRE RIVER—

Tags: armada, ernest cline, jean cocteau cinema, ready player one

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