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	<title>LitStack &#124; LitStack, Page 78</title>
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	<link>http://litstack.com</link>
	<description>for the love of all things wordy</description>
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		<title>Love It or Hate It, It&#039;s Here: Trailer for The Great Gatsby</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/love-it-or-hate-it-trailer-for-the-great-gatsby/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/love-it-or-hate-it-trailer-for-the-great-gatsby/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2012 14:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TS Tate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soundbites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=7032</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In what can only be seen as yet another recycled version of films of old (not that old, true, but yes, this one has been done before), comes the release of Baz Luhrmann&#8217;s new trailer for The Great Gatsby. True to form, not everyone is a fan. But, then, most &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/love-it-or-hate-it-trailer-for-the-great-gatsby/">Love It or Hate It, It&#039;s Here: Trailer for The Great Gatsby</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In what can only be seen as yet another recycled version of films of old (not that old, true, but yes, this <a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/gatsby.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-7034" title="gatsby" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/gatsby.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="190" /></a>one has been done before), comes the release of Baz Luhrmann&#8217;s new trailer for <em>The Great Gatsby.</em></p>
<p>True to form, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/great-gatsby-trailer-review_n_1541043.html?ref=books&amp;ir=Books">not </a>everyone is a fan. But, then, most movie lovers weren&#8217;t huge fans of Luhrmann&#8217;s <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CG0QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Ftitle%2Ftt0117509%2F&amp;ei=XAa_T6eAG8f-2QXKiJyqCg&amp;usg=AFQjCNEIKXfFTAf6fkGyXU-m9LQmBIN-KQ"><em>Romeo and <em>Juliet</em> </em></a> (sorry, I liked his version almost as much as the &#8217;68 Zeffirelli film). It&#8217;s either that audiences and critics simply don&#8217;t like Luhrmann&#8217;s &#8220;out of the box&#8221; films (I find this hard to believe since <em>Moulin Rouge</em> did pretty well at that box office) or, perhaps, they&#8217;re just tired of the film industry&#8217;s propensity to rehash older films. Count me among the latter.</p>
<p>Good or bad, here it is. This Gatsby version stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Macguire and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1659547/">Carey Mulligan</a> and will be released in December.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rARN6agiW7o" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/love-it-or-hate-it-trailer-for-the-great-gatsby/">Love It or Hate It, It&#039;s Here: Trailer for The Great Gatsby</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Zippered Flesh edited by Weldon Burge</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/zippered-flesh-edited-by-weldon-burge/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/zippered-flesh-edited-by-weldon-burge/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tiffany T. Cole</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Short Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6980</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Zippered Flesh Edited by Weldon Burge Smart Rhino Publications ISBN-10: 0984787607 — ♦ — Zippered Flesh is an anthology with 20 short stories. Each story involves the same plot element, body enhancements gone bad, but the similarities end there (though there are a lot of stories where cancer takes a &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/zippered-flesh-edited-by-weldon-burge/">Zippered Flesh edited by Weldon Burge</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Zippered Flesh</strong><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Zippered-Flesh1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-7023" title="Zippered Flesh" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Zippered-Flesh1-e1337913699419.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="459" /></a><br />
<strong>Edited by Weldon Burge</strong><br />
<strong>Smart Rhino Publications</strong><br />
<strong>ISBN-10: 0984787607</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">— ♦ —</p>
<p>Zippered Flesh is an anthology with 20 short stories. Each story involves the same plot element, body enhancements gone bad, but the similarities end there (though there are a lot of stories where cancer takes a loved ones life). Characters vary from scientists determined to advance their experiments regardless of morality, unconventional supernatural creatures, a detective, an alcoholic druggie, and much more. Some stories are in the present time, others go back as far as the 17th century, and there are even one or two stories in alternate worlds or the future. Though I enjoyed some stories more than others, they were all well-written and creative.</p>
<p>Nine stories really stood out to me, with seven getting two stars and two getting one star (I use two stars to mark the stories that blew me away and one star to mark stories that I really liked). In Comfort by Charles Colyott, watching William&#8217;s life fall apart due to his unhealthy devotion to his obese mom is both incredibly sad and incredibly scary. The stalker in Equilibrium by John Shirley has an obsession with balance and &#8216;jokes,&#8217; and his theories and explanations are all mind screws. Though I&#8217;m usually not a fan of detective stories, Whirling Machine Man by Aaron J. French grabbed me in with its creepy, mystical fantastical elements and held on. Sex Object by Graham Masterton startled me with the woman&#8217;s willingness to make her body little more than a set of vaginas for her sick husband, while Locks of Loathe by Jezzy Wolfe &#8211; a story about how far a person would go just to have &#8216;perfect&#8217; hair &#8211; is a story that was full of surprises.</p>
<p>However, I think it&#8217;s only fitting that the first story and the last story stuck with me the most.</p>
<p>Bootstrap &#8211; The Binds of Lasolastica by Michael Bailey is a futuristic sci-fi story that takes on the following questions: How large is the mind of man? Can a mind be successfully cloned? Victor is the scientist attempting to push the limits of the human mind by digitally storing the entirety of Bill Chevsky&#8217;s mind. Bill Chevsky is willing to be the first man to undergo this experiment because he has lasolastica, an incurable cancer. If the experiment goes well, he can simply transfer the digital data of Bill&#8217;s mind to another mind and another body. That way, he can live in spite of the disease. However, the focus of this anthology is &#8216;body enhancements gone bad,&#8217; so you know that something has to go wrong.</p>
<p>Inititally, I was afraid this story would just confuse me due to all the scientific terms, but halfway through I realized the scientific terms didn&#8217;t make the story complicating at all. You could still understand the story without understanding anything whatsoever about the terms. Plus, it just made it all that much more realistic. I loved the characters, the discussions, and, most of all, I loved the ending. I feel sad for both Victor and Bill every time I think about how it ended.</p>
<p>While Bootstrap was a great way to start this anthology, Hearing Mildred by Weldon Burge was also a marvelous way to end it. Mildred Mayfield, Harold&#8217;s wife, died of a raptured aortic aneurysm, leaving an 80-year-old Harold to live on his own in spite of his son William&#8217;s insistence that he should move to a retirement home. One day, Harold starts hearing his wife through his hearing aids. At first it&#8217;s comforting to hear her again, but she&#8217;s so attached to the house that she endlessly talks about nothing else. No other story was as lighthearted and funny as this one.</p>
<p>Starting Zippered Flesh with a sinking feeling of sadness and fear and ending it with a smile is the best way to go. I LOVED this anthology. Reading through it was like riding a roller coaster in a haunted house, and anybody who knows me knows that I can&#8217;t get enough of wild roller coasters and haunted houses.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q42/WriterGurlLW/ReadersDenChoiceAward-1.jpg" alt="null" width="129" height="129" /></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/zippered-flesh-edited-by-weldon-burge/">Zippered Flesh edited by Weldon Burge</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories, by Debra Spark</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/the-pretty-girl-novella-and-stories-by-debra-spark/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/the-pretty-girl-novella-and-stories-by-debra-spark/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 15:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lauren Alwan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Literary Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Magical Realism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[novella]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Short Stories]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6977</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories Debra Spark Four Way ISBN-10: 1935536184 — ♦ — A painting can be a mirror or a window, the art historical theory goes, but in Debra Spark’s fourth and newest work of fiction, it is more likely to be a puzzle. Art is a &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/the-pretty-girl-novella-and-stories-by-debra-spark/">The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories, by Debra Spark</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong>The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories</strong></em><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/book-prettygirl-big.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-6985" title="book-prettygirl-big" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/book-prettygirl-big.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a><br />
<strong>Debra Spark</strong><br />
<strong>Four Way </strong><br />
<strong>ISBN-10: 1935536184</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">— ♦ —</p>
<p>A painting can be a mirror or a window, the art historical theory goes, but in Debra Spark’s fourth and <a href="http://www.debraspark.com/the-pretty-girl-trailer.php">newest</a> work of fiction, it is more likely to be a puzzle. Art is a product of deception after all, and in this collection, a novella and six stories, the puzzling and the deceptive abound. Illusions, miniatures, stories hidden in pictures, pictures inside stories—these run through the lives of Spark’s characters as mysteries of a familiar nature: hidden family histories, missed opportunities with those who are closest, and the inevitable unknowability of spouses, siblings, parents.</p>
<p>In “A Wedding Story,” a woman cleaning out her grandmother’s apartment unwraps a chocolate egg to find a tiny rabbi (“You want maybe to hear a story?” he asks). A copywriter becomes immersed in the tale of a doomed, schizophrenic graphic novelist (“Lady of the Wild Beasts”). In “I Should Let You Go,” a young catalog photographer, Ginny, rents an apartment with a cousin stricken with breast cancer, an arrangement that produces bouts of friction and a house guest in the form of Vaclav Havel’s press secretary. During a catalog shoot, Ginny observes:</p>
<blockquote><p>“There were a thousand sensible questions one could ask about the lengths to which they were going to create the illusion of daylight. The first being: why not just go outside?”</p></blockquote>
<p>Though sensible questions are sometimes not the most useful ones, and in fact, the characters in this collection rarely get much traction from the sensible. In the face of the unpredictable and the baffling, the best strategy is an open mind. &#8220;There was no telling what might happen next,&#8221; the troubled  protagonist of  &#8220;Chocolate Mice&#8221; says. &#8220;And for the moment she didn&#8217;t care.&#8221;</p>
<p>Spark is the author of three novels including <em>Good for the Jews</em>; the essay collection <em>Curious Attractions</em>; and editor of the best-selling anthology <em>Twenty Under Thirty: Best Stories by America’s New Young Writers</em>. Described by Booklist as a writer of &#8220;sly, funny and cutting&#8221; prose, Spark writes sentences that are a pleasure to read. They move forward in breezy dispatches and scrupulous reflection, whether conveying a momentary thought—“The flat, mournful planes of his cheeks made her think of a Modigliani painting,” or an enduring recognition, like this one from the conclusion of the novella’s Part One—“Andrea supposed she should be shocked or repulsed, that her whole picture of Rose should shatter, and that she should be down on the ground, trying to piece the shards together.” Such observations feel wrung from the characters’ most fundamental convictions, and as happens in “The Pretty Girl,” serve to open the next lock of the mystery.</p>
<p>The novella’s central character is Andrea. She is not the subject of the title, but a plain yet charming art history major: “&#8230;it wasn’t so lucky to be born beautiful. It was better to be forced into developing some attractive trait to win people over.” Andrea grows up with particular affection for her Aunt Rose, her grandmother’s unmarried sister, whom she visits regularly in her tiny Manhattan apartment. This is where Andrea first sees the painting that over time she regards “&#8230;as if it were no painting at all, but an opening into another world, one that only she, only Andrea, knew about, and one that she could climb into, just by willing herself over the painting’s heavy frame and into the world of The Pretty Girl.”</p>
<p>In the course of the novella Andrea does, in a way, climb into the world of the picture, and in doing so discovers a secret once unimaginable. The story inside the picture reveals facts that might well have gone undiscovered, but which bring Aunt Rose’s life fully to light. For Andrea, this happens in sudden and irreversible terms, but events don’t end there. There is another side to the story, so to speak, and in the course of the novella those unknowns are given their due.</p>
<blockquote><p>“Why she never married, how she handled her own loneliness. Andrea couldn’t imagine actually asking her to account for her lack of a partner. Andrea’s mother had assured Andrea that Rose had had more than her share of men, that (yes, yes) she had had lovers. But Andrea couldn’t imagine it.”</p></blockquote>
<p>This smart-yet-questioning quality runs throughout the collection. In “Conservation,” a woman entertains an affair with an eccentric friend of her husband, Jerome. One afternoon, he unexpectedly invites her to the river for a swim: “She disrobed on her side of the car, he on his, emerging in yellow swim trunks to say, ‘This way.’ He started toward the path. Dana took some comfort in the slight cushion of flesh at his abdomen. Some evidence of … what? Excessive desire? Occasional laxness?”</p>
<p>Spark’s fiction comfortably occupies both contemporary and historical settings. “The Revived Art of the Toy Theater” takes place in London, in 1862, and centers on the vandalism of a theatrical print workshop where someone, it seems, is drawing pornographic images on the toy theaters. Spark layers the mystery with multiple points of view and a Lovecraftian mood, as here, when the shop owner Sherson pays a visit to the prime suspect, an engraver and former employee, the austere loner Harper Donovan:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Cold ashes from the hearth skittered about the floor like ethereal mice; even the vermin at Harper’s seemed bound for the next world. Rather than bend for the labour of a fire, Harper was warming himself by wearing two coats and a pilling winter scarf around the neck that (in warmer weather) was always full of razor nicks.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The Victorian setting and nineteenth century diction dovetail nicely with Spark’s fluid style, yet the crux is unmistakably contemporary. “You couldn’t be ruined by what you loved,” one of the players says, “only by what kept you from what you loved.” For the characters in “Toy Theater,” the most desired things are just out of reach; it&#8217;s the unexplainable they are more likely to encounter.  The unexpected is everywhere, and like the surprise of a mirror in a dark room, is both familiar and strange (and in fact, my favorite sentence in the entire collection might be &#8220;When Sharon opens the refrigerator, it barks.&#8221;).</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/_blog/The_ProsenPeople/post/Seeking_Fact,_Finding_the_Unknowable/">essay</a>, Spark described the challenges of writing &#8220;Toy Theater&#8221; and the artistic choices involved: “To write about something, you need to know about the things that are knowable. If there are facts to be had, you need to have the facts. But you don’t need to know about what is unknowable. You just need to be present to it.” Like each of the stories in this collection, “Toy Theater” presents the facts in a careful and curious light and gives its characters the chance to be present to what they can never really know.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/the-pretty-girl-novella-and-stories-by-debra-spark/">The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories, by Debra Spark</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>LitStaff Pick: The Best Books for Graduates</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/litstaff-pick-the-best-books-for-graduates/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/litstaff-pick-the-best-books-for-graduates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LitStack Editors</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Creative Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LitStaff Picks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6982</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s that time of year&#8230;the end of many things, most notably, educational tenures. Whether you are one, or know of one, May generally breeds the pomp and circumstances of finishing up high school, college or even graduate school. So what do you get that eager grad? What profound gift would &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/litstaff-pick-the-best-books-for-graduates/">LitStaff Pick: The Best Books for Graduates</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/LitStaff-Pick.gif"><img class="size-full wp-image-7087 aligncenter" title="LitStaff-Pick" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/LitStaff-Pick.gif" alt="" width="375" height="84" /></a></p>
<p>It&#8217;s that time of year&#8230;the end of many things, most notably, educational tenures. Whether you are one, or know of <a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/cap-and-gown2.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-6989" title="cap-and-gown" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/cap-and-gown2-e1337828117153.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>one, May generally breeds the pomp and circumstances of finishing up high school, college or even graduate school. So what do you get that eager grad? What profound gift would aid in sending them on their ways out into the dark and treacherous big bad adult world? Duh, a book, of course!</p>
<p>This week&#8217;s staff pick concerns those perils of wisdom, those tomes of sage advice to set graduates on their way. A word of advice? Do not give them <em>On the Road. </em>Brilliant those it is, you give them that particular book and they&#8217;re likely to hear the call of the wild, abandon their finals and refuse to ever leave home!</p>
<p>Add your choice in the comments, LitStackers. We want to hear from you!</p>
<p>Congratulations, graduates!</p>
<p>&#8220;The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it.&#8221; – <strong>Voltaire</strong></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/litstaff-pick-the-best-books-for-graduates/">LitStaff Pick: The Best Books for Graduates</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>LitStack Review: The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/litstack-review-the-janus-affair-a-ministry-of-peculiar-occurrences-novel-by-pip-ballantine-and-tee-morris/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/litstack-review-the-janus-affair-a-ministry-of-peculiar-occurrences-novel-by-pip-ballantine-and-tee-morris/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TS Tate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured Author]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steampunk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=7002</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>&#160; The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris Harper Voyager ISBN-10: 006204978X — ♦ — Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain&#8217;s best-kept secret agents!! Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/litstack-review-the-janus-affair-a-ministry-of-peculiar-occurrences-novel-by-pip-ballantine-and-tee-morris/">LitStack Review: The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/featured-author-copy-e1314847266463.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1376 aligncenter" title="featured author copy" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/featured-author-copy-e1314847266463.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="79" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel</strong></em><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/janus-affair.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-7021" title="janus affair" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/janus-affair.jpg" alt="" width="294" height="475" /></a><br />
<strong> Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris</strong><br />
<strong> Harper Voyager</strong><br />
<strong> ISBN-10: 006204978X</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">— ♦ —</p>
<blockquote><p>Evildoers beware! Retribution is at hand, thanks to Britain&#8217;s best-kept secret agents!!</p>
<p>Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain&#8217;s latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a dazzling bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance . . . with each case going inexplicably unexamined by the Crown.</p>
<p>The fate of England is once again in the hands of an ingenious archivist paired with a beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.</p></blockquote>
<p>In five short days those clamoring for the sequel to Morris and Ballantine&#8217;s first <em>Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences</em> novel, <em>Phoenix Rising</em>, will have their year long wait finally abated. <em>The Janus Affair</em> continues where its predecessor left off, with agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun in the thick of yet another mystery&#8211;a mystery they don&#8217;t exactly have permission to unravel.</p>
<p>The pair serve Queen and country through the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences and in <em>Phoenix Rising</em>, when we met Braun, she was demoted for her refusal to &#8220;do in&#8221; Books as she was ordered. She was sent to the archives, becoming a junior archivist drone and, sadly, under the direction of the passive and perpetually proper Books. Not satisfied with being taken off of active duty, Braun teams up with Books to solve cold cases under the radar of their supervisor, Dr. Sound, or other Ministry agents.</p>
<p>Following <em>Phoenix Rising,</em> Morris and Ballantine cunningly released short stories in the <em>Peculiar Occurrences</em> universe  in the form of  <em>Tales from the Archives: the Official Anthology of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences</em> <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ministry-peculiar-occurrences/id424756892">podcast  </a>that helped to fill in the gaps via missing years and further details on both background and main characters.</p>
<p><em>The Janus Affair</em> opens with Books and Braun witnessing the remarkable and beautifully steampunk abduction of one of Bruan&#8217;s suffragette friends. She is then unceremoniously told by Sound that due to her demotion and her relationship to the victim, she is in no way allowed to investigate the crime. Well, okay then, go right ahead and raise that red flag at the ginger bull, sir.  Of course, the pair continue on under the nose of Ministry officials, avoiding would-be assassins and encountering Braun&#8217;s former, (and criminally attractive), fiance, Douglas Sheppard.</p>
<p>Braun and Books&#8217; relationship is complicated, perhaps, heightened when Sheppard resurfaces and certainly when they are forced to rely on one another when more suffragettes are taken and doubt and cooperation in the movement isn&#8217;t so forthcoming.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a difficult undertaking for the pair, having to sort out the big (and well disguised) whodunit and the many and varied obstacles in their way, but Morris and Ballantine manage to give their readers a satisfying read wrapped up in a quintessential, elegant steampunk bow. The visuals are not cliched, not overdone yet maintain the heart and spirit of <em>Phoenix Rising</em> and the essence of a vivid steampunk Victorian universe.</p>
<p>But what I found to be the most dynamic aspect of the novel (aside from a few literal laugh out loud moments&#8230;&#8221;humor&#8221; should include a detailed tintype of the writers&#8217; faces in the dictionary), is the effortless manner in which these two writers wove together such a seamless story. There are little, if any, differentiations between their two individual voices and I felt <em>The Janus Affair</em> was tailored expertly and tightly woven, not unlike an elegant leather corset with a strong foundation and bright bits and bobs of clockwork brilliance that leaves the reader wrapped securely and held delighted beneath each thread.</p>
<p>Highly, highly recommended.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/litstack-review-the-janus-affair-a-ministry-of-peculiar-occurrences-novel-by-pip-ballantine-and-tee-morris/">LitStack Review: The Janus Affair: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn Helps Out Pine Ridge Library</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/greenlight-bookstore-in-brooklyn-helps-out-pine-ridge-library/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/greenlight-bookstore-in-brooklyn-helps-out-pine-ridge-library/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LitStack Editors</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Of Interest]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6965</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>From Shelf Awareness: Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y., is encouraging customers to buy books that are being sought by the Oglala Lakota College Library, which has several branches and is the only community library for the entire Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. As the store wrote: Pine Ridge has the &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/greenlight-bookstore-in-brooklyn-helps-out-pine-ridge-library/">Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn Helps Out Pine Ridge Library</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>From <a title="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/oglala-lakota-college-library-registry" href="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/oglala-lakota-college-library-registry" target="_blank">Shelf Awareness:</a><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/greenlight.gif"><img class="alignright  wp-image-6966" title="greenlight" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/greenlight-e1337736141596.gif" alt="" width="354" height="52" /></a></p>
<p><a title="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/oglala-lakota-college-library-registry" href="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/oglala-lakota-college-library-registry" target="_blank">Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y., is encouraging customers</a> to buy books that are being sought by the Oglala Lakota College Library, which has several branches and is the only community library for the entire Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. As the store wrote:</p>
<blockquote><p>Pine Ridge has the lowest per capita income in the U.S. and not a single <img class="alignright" src="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/files/greenlight/ReadThisRegistryKids.jpg" alt="" width="268" height="200" align="left" border="1" hspace="5" vspace="5" />bookstore. The librarians are working hard to improve services for children&#8211;and you can help by donating new books for them to borrow.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Greenlight listed 22 books that can be bought; the store will ship them to the library free of charge. The list is a collaboration with <a title="http://www.readthisbook.us" href="http://www.readthisbook.us" target="_blank">ReadThis</a>, a volunteer group that brings books to book-hungry public schools, libraries and social-service agencies.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.greenlightbookstore.com/oglala-lakota-college-library-registry">Click here </a>for a registry wish list with the books requested by the library.  You&#8217;ll find instructions for purchasing the books online, and we&#8217;ll take care of the shipping.  Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/greenlight-bookstore-in-brooklyn-helps-out-pine-ridge-library/">Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn Helps Out Pine Ridge Library</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Censorship Over ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Trilogy?</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/censorship-over-fifty-shades-of-grey-trilogy/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/censorship-over-fifty-shades-of-grey-trilogy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TS Tate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Open Thread]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6962</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>From The New York Times: The New York Times posted an interesting piece about the hesitancy of some libraries to make copies of Fifty Shades of Grey to their patrons. Tim Coles, of the Greensboro Public Library in North Carolina told the NYT that he felt the series was of &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/censorship-over-fifty-shades-of-grey-trilogy/">Censorship Over ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Trilogy?</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #000000;">From <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/books/fifty-shades-of-grey-by-e-l-james-in-demand-at-libraries.html">The New York Times:</a><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/fifty-shades1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-6970" title="fifty shades" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/fifty-shades1-e1337737720889.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="452" /></a></span></p>
<p>The New York Times posted an interesting piece about the hesitancy of some libraries to make copies of <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> to their patrons. Tim Coles, of the Greensboro Public Library in North Carolina told the NYT that he felt the series was of &#8220;little literary merit,&#8221; but still obtained 21 copies due to patron requests.</p>
<div>It is a demand that seems impossible to ignore and has  &#8220;forced exasperated library officials to dust off their policies — if they have them — on erotica. In April the trilogy, which includes the titles <em>Fifty Shades Darker</em> and <em>Fifty Shades Freed,</em> was issued in paperback by Vintage Books, part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, sending sales through the roof when the publisher printed and distributed the books widely for the first time.</div>
<p>That enthusiasm has carried over to libraries. At many, <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em>, by the previously unknown British author E. L. James, is the most popular book in circulation, with more holds than anyone can remember on a single title (2,121 and counting last Friday at the Hennepin County Public Library, which includes Minneapolis, up from 942 on April 9).</p>
<p>But despite misgivings about the subject matter — the books tell the tale of a dominant-submissive affair between a manipulative millionaire and a naïve younger woman — library officials feel that they need to make it available.&#8221;</p>
<p>Cole&#8217;s assertion is that the series is a modern-day “<em>Lady Chatterley’s Lover</em>&#8220;  and that &#8220;demand is a big issue with us, because we want to be able to provide popular best-selling material to our patrons.”</p>
<p>But not all libraries can accommodate the demand: &#8220;The Brevard County Public Library in east central Florida pulled copies of the books from its shelves after library officials decided they were not appropriate for the public.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>We have criteria that we use, and in this case we view this as pornographic material,” said Don Walker, a spokesman for the Brevard County government.</p></blockquote>
<p>Further: &#8220;In Fond du Lac, Wis., the library did not order any copies, saying the books did not meet the standards of the community. In Georgia the Gwinnett County Public Library, near Atlanta, declined to make the books available in its 15 branches, saying that the trilogy’s graphic writing violated its no-erotica policy.</p>
<p>Last week a group of organizations that included the National Coalition Against Censorship formally responded, sending a letter to the library board in Brevard County scolding it for refusing to stock the book alongside standards like <em>Tropic of Cancer </em>or<em> Fear of Flying:</em></p>
<blockquote><p>There is no rational basis to provide access to erotic novels like these, and at the same time exclude contemporary fiction with similar content,” the letter said. “The very act of rejecting erotica as a category suitable for public libraries sends an unmistakable message of condemnation that is moralistic in tone, and totally inappropriate in a public institution dedicated to serving the needs and interests of all members of the community.”</p></blockquote>
<p>But Joan Bertin, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, told the NYT that censorship in the adult section is rare:</p>
<blockquote><p>The vast majority of cases that we deal with have to do with removing books to keep kids from seeing them,” she said. “That’s what makes this so egregious. There are some possible arguments for trying to keep kids away from certain kinds of content, but in the case of adults, other than the restrictions on obscenity and <a title="More articles about child pornography." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/child_pornography/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier">child pornography</a>, there’s simply no excuse. This is really very much against the norms in the profession.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Vintage, (a subsidiary of Random House) responded by saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>Random House fervently opposes literary censorship and supports the First Amendment rights of readers to make their own reading choices. We believe the Brevard County Public Library System is indulging in an act of censorship, and essentially is saying to library patrons: We will judge what you can read.”</p></blockquote>
<p>What do you think, LitStackers? Is pulling books, any books from library stacks &#8220;for the public&#8217;s own good&#8221; a wise move? Even if those titles are deemed pornographic? Let us know what you think. We want to hear from you! Be sure to check out the rest of the article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/books/fifty-shades-of-grey-by-e-l-james-in-demand-at-libraries.html?_r=1&amp;hp">here</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/censorship-over-fifty-shades-of-grey-trilogy/">Censorship Over ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Trilogy?</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Trapeze by Simon Mawer</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/trapeze-by-simon-mawer/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/trapeze-by-simon-mawer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lisa Riley Emig</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mainstream]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6957</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Trapeze Simon Mawer ISBN# 978-1-59051-527-3 Other Press — ♦ — In his latest novel Trapeze, British writer Simon Mawer has delivered an engaging and fast paced WWII thriller.  Based on actual events, Trapeze tells the story of Marian Sutro, a nineteen-year-old Brit recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/trapeze-by-simon-mawer/">Trapeze by Simon Mawer</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>Trapeze<a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trapeze.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-6960" title="Trapeze" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trapeze-e1337709172653.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="449" /></a></em><br />
Simon Mawer<br />
ISBN# 978-1-59051-527-3<br />
Other Press</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">— ♦ —</p>
<p>In his latest novel <em>Trapeze</em>, British writer Simon Mawer has delivered an engaging and fast paced WWII thriller.  Based on actual events, <em>Trapeze t</em>ells the story of Marian Sutro, a nineteen-year-old Brit recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for her fluency in French.  Already a member of the WAAF, (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force), Marian is anxious to do more for the war effort and jumps at the chance of being sent overseas.</p>
<p>Having completed her training in combat and espionage, the girl is set to embark on her first mission in the South-West of France, when she is approached by another organization offering her an irresistible assignment.  Clement Pelletier is a scientist living in Paris, who happens to be an old friend of her brother.   Marian, having never gotten over the crush she had on Clement as a girl, agrees to travel to Paris, seek him out and convince him to join a group of scientists working in England. Along the way, she becomes romantically involved with another agent and must learn to maneuver through the emotional pitfalls of adult relationships. While committed to two separate tasks, she finds herself with multiple identities and must keep them all straight while operating under the nose of the Nazis who occupy the city and are on constant alert for spies.</p>
<p>Mawer has created an admirable heroine in Marian, although she is at times not entirely likeable.  Despite her youth, she possesses the maturity and steely nerve of someone much older and experienced.   If she were a few years younger, she might still be considered precocious, but at nineteen, her confidence and delivery often come across as brash and condescending.  Her actions fall more in line with those of a cocky young man rather than those of a young woman, which brings us to one of the novel’s themes.  Marian seems to constantly exist somewhere between two worlds.  Nineteen can be a difficult age to define as it signifies the end of the teen years and the beginning of adulthood, placing her in that gray area where she is neither a girl nor a woman.  Casting her further into the ‘neither nor’ area is the fact that she is the daughter of a French mother and an English father, once again leaving her in between.  And while she is placed in situations that would be considered dangerous for the most seasoned agent, she manages to make swift and necessary decisions well enough, but often times reverts back to the emotions of a younger girl, wondering what her mother and father would think of her job.</p>
<p>Among the many agencies that operated during World War II, the SOE was not created to gather intelligence.   Its goal was instead to support resistance movements and wreak as much havoc as possible for the enemy.  During the war, the agency recruited and trained thousands of agents who were then sent to various countries in Europe and Asia to work behind enemy lines.  Mawers’ parents both served in the war and became acquainted with a woman named Anne-Marie Walters, on whom the character of Marian is based.  Walters was one of fifty female agents of the SOE, sent to France during the war.</p>
<p>Mawer does a solid job describing the conditions that existed in Paris during the war, from the coffee made out of acorns to the overcrowded trains, and the constant presence of Nazis.  The novel is well written and suspenseful, often times keeping the reader on the edge of their seat as Marian must decide who she can trust and who she must avoid while making life or death decisions on the fly.</p>
<p>For fans of WWII fiction, <em>Trapeze</em> offers a fascinating glimpse into the workings of one of Britain’s lesser known organizations.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/trapeze-by-simon-mawer/">Trapeze by Simon Mawer</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Struck by Jennifer Bosworth</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/review-struck-by-jennifer-bosworth/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/review-struck-by-jennifer-bosworth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2012 15:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stephanie Ward</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews by Genre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Young Adult]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6941</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Struck Jennifer Bosworth Farrar Straus Giroux ISBN-10: 0374372837 — ♦ — Mia Price is a lightning addict. She&#8217;s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/review-struck-by-jennifer-bosworth/">Struck by Jennifer Bosworth</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><em><strong>Struck</strong></em><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/struck.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-6951" style="margin: 10px;" title="struck" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/struck-e1337657326710.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="450" /></a><br />
<strong>Jennifer Bosworth</strong><br />
<strong>Farrar Straus Giroux</strong><strong><br />
ISBN-10: 0374372837</strong></div>
<div></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">— ♦ —</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<blockquote><p>Mia Price is a lightning addict. She&#8217;s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.</p>
<p>Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.</p>
<p>Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn&#8217;t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.<strong> </strong><br />
<strong><br />
</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>Once I started reading this book, I couldn&#8217;t stop. The story sucked me right in and wouldn&#8217;t let go. The idea of a person being struck hundreds of times by lightning &#8211; and living to tell about it? So cool. That she&#8217;s addicted to being struck by lightning? A bit weird, but I&#8217;m not judging.<br />
<strong> </strong><br />
The story is set in an apocalyptic world &#8211; just as the end of the world is about to happen. There are lots of references to the Bible and to religious theories about the end of the world. I grew up going to church, so these references were normal to me &#8211; something I was familiar with. I think that connection made it a bit more exciting and real for me too. Dystopian novels have been popular lately, but I haven&#8217;t really come into contact with many that dealt with the apocalypse. This one did that in a unique and interesting manner.</p>
<p>The characters are well rounded and believable. You feel connected to Mia because she&#8217;s struggling with a lot of the issues that teens deal with &#8211; on top of having to deal with her &#8220;problem.&#8221; There&#8217;s some romance in the book, but it wasn&#8217;t overly sappy or cheesy. I thought it went well with the story and didn&#8217;t overshadow the main plot line. The setting and story building was great. The plot develops with such realistic detail and description that I had no problem putting myself into the story. Overall, <em>Struck</em> is a well written, engaging novel that I enjoyed and that I highly recommend.</p>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/review-struck-by-jennifer-bosworth/">Struck by Jennifer Bosworth</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Congratulations to the 2011 Nebula Winners</title>
		<link>http://litstack.com/congratulations-to-the-2011-nebula-winners/</link>
		<comments>http://litstack.com/congratulations-to-the-2011-nebula-winners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TS Tate</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://litstack.com/?p=6948</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>From Tor.com The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced the winners for this year’s Nebula Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award, and the Andre Norton Award. Congratulations to all the honorees and winners! Novel Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor) &#8211; WINNER Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan (UK); Del &#8230;</p><p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/congratulations-to-the-2011-nebula-winners/">Congratulations to the 2011 Nebula Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>From <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/announcing-the-2011-nebula-awards-winners">Tor.com</a><a href="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nebula-Award-2012-flyer.jpg"><img class="alignright  wp-image-6949" title="Nebula-Award-2012-flyer" src="http://www.litstack.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nebula-Award-2012-flyer.jpg" alt="" width="291" height="194" /></a><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/announcing-the-2011-nebula-awards-winners"><br />
</a>The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (<a href="http://www.sfwa.org/" target="_blank">SFWA</a>) have announced the winners for this year’s Nebula Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award, and the Andre Norton Award.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the honorees and winners!</p>
<p><strong>Novel</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><em><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/amongothers/JoWalton" target="_blank">Among Others</a>,</em> Jo Walton (Tor) &#8211; WINNER</strong></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embassytown-china-mieville/1100051456?ean=9780345524492&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=embassytown" target="_blank">Embassytown</a>, </em>China Miéville (Macmillan (UK); Del Rey; Subterranean Press)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/firebird-jack-mcdevitt/1100481658?ean=9780441020737&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=firebird" target="_blank">Firebird</a>,</em> Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gods-war-kameron-hurley/1100387969?ean=9781597802147&amp;itm=2&amp;usri=god%27s+war" target="_blank">God’s War</a>,</em> Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mechanique-genevieve-valentine/1100822617?ean=9781607012535&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=mechanique+a+tale+of+the+circus+tresaulti" target="_blank">Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti</a>,</em> Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kingdom-of-gods-n-k-jemisin/1104395293?ean=9780316043939&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=the+kingdom+of+gods" target="_blank">The Kingdom of Gods</a>,</em> N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Novella</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>“<a href="http://www.asimovs.com/2011_10-11/exc_story1.shtml" target="_blank">The Man Who Bridged the Mist</a>,” Kij Johnson <em>(Asimov’s Science Fiction,</em> October/November 2011) &#8211; WINNER</strong></li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/i-am-43-today-have-a-novella-as-a-party-favor/" target="_blank">Kiss Me Twice</a>,” Mary Robinette Kowal <em>(Asimov’s Science Fiction,</em> June 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/valente_10_11/" target="_blank">Silently and Very Fast</a>,” Catherynne M. Valente (WFSA Press; <em>Clarkesworld Magazine,</em> October 2011)</li>
<li>“The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman <em>(The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction,</em> November/December 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://kenliu.name/binary/liu_the_man_who_ended_history.pdf" target="_blank">The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary</a>,” Ken Liu <em>(Panverse Three,</em> Panverse Publishing)</li>
<li>“With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro <em>(Analog Science Fiction and Fact,</em> November 2011)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Novelette</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>“What We Found,” Geoff Ryman <em>(The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction,</em> September/October 2011) &#8211; WINNER</strong></li>
<li>“Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky <em>(Eclipse 4,</em> Night Shade Books)</li>
<li>“Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen <em>(Analog Science Fiction and Fact,</em> December 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://giganotosaurus.org/2011/11/01/sauerkraut-station/" target="_blank">Sauerkraut Station</a>,” Ferrett Steinmetz <em>(Giganotosaurus,</em> November 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/06/six-months-three-days" target="_blank">Six Months, Three Days</a>,” Charlie Jane Anders <em>(Tor.com,</em> June 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://giganotosaurus.org/2011/07/01/the-migratory-pattern-of-dancers/" target="_blank">The Migratory Pattern of Dancers</a>,” Katherine Sparrow <em>(Giganotosaurus,</em> July 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-old-equations/" target="_blank">The Old Equations</a>,” Jake Kerr <em>(Lightspeed Magazine,</em> July 2011)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Short Story</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>“<a href="http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19022/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19022/pdf/Paper_Menagerie.pdf" target="_blank">The Paper Menagerie</a>,” Ken Liu <em>(The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction,</em> March/April 2011) &#8211; WINNER &#8211; <a href="http://podcastle.org/2011/07/12/podcastle-165-the-paper-menagerie/" target="_blank">Audio version can be found here</a>. </strong></li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/her-husband%E2%80%99s-hands/" target="_blank">Her Husband’s Hands</a>,” Adam-Troy Castro <em>(Lightspeed Magazine,</em> October 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/mama-we-are-zhenya-your-son/" target="_blank">Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son</a>,” Tom Crosshill <em>(Lightspeed Magazine,</em> April 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://escapepod.org/2011/10/13/ep314/" target="_blank">Movement</a>,” Nancy Fulda <em>(Asimov’s Science Fiction,</em> March 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://aliettedebodard.com/bibliography/online-fiction/shipbirth/" target="_blank">Shipbirth</a>,” Aliette de Bodard <em>(Asimov’s Science Fiction,</em> February 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.newhavenreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NHR-9-Goldman.pdf" target="_blank">The Axiom of Choice</a>,” David W. Goldman <em>(New Haven Review,</em> Winter 2011)</li>
<li>“<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/yu_04_11/" target="_blank">The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees</a>,” E. Lily Yu <em>(Clarkesworld Magazine,</em> April 2011)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/doctor-who-s6-ep4-the-doctors-wife" target="_blank"><em>Doctor Who</em>: “The Doctor’s Wife,”</a> Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales) &#8211; WINNER</strong></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/08/thats-an-alien-bruv-believe-it-attack-the-block" target="_blank">Attack the Block</a>,</em> Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/07/okay-so-like-nazis-but-worse-captain-america-the-first-avenger" target="_blank">Captain America: The First Avenger</a>,</em> Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/11/hugo" target="_blank">Hugo</a>,</em> John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/midnight-in-paris-turns-owen-wilson-into-a-literary-time-traveler" target="_blank">Midnight in Paris</a>,</em> Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/04/review-source-code" target="_blank">Source Code</a>,</em> Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/03/your-hat-has-been-adjusted-the-adjustment-bureau-review" target="_blank">The Adjustment Bureau</a>,</em> George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/freedom-maze-delia-sherman/1101063964?ean=9781931520300&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=the+freedom+maze" target="_blank">The Freedom Maze</a>,</em> Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House) &#8211; WINNER</strong></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/akata-witch-nnedi-okorafor/1100321716?ean=9780670011964&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=akati+witch" target="_blank">Akata Witch</a>,</em> Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chime-franny-billingsley/1100249736?ean=9780803735521&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=chime+franny" target="_blank">Chime</a>,</em> Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daughter-of-smoke-and-bone-laini-taylor/1100051896?ean=9780316134026&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=daughter+of+smoke+and+bone" target="_blank">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a>,</em> Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder &amp; Stoughton)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everybody-sees-the-ants-a-s-king/1102050633?ean=9780316129282&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=everybody+sees+the+ants" target="_blank">Everybody Sees the Ants</a>,</em> A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boy-at-the-end-of-the-world-greg-van-eekhout/1102180611?ean=9781599905242&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=boy+at+the+end+of+the+world" target="_blank">The Boy at the End of the World</a>,</em> Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/girl-of-fire-and-thorns-rae-carson/1100566488?ean=9780062026484&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=the+girl+of+fire+and+thorns" target="_blank">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a>,</em> Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)</li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ultraviolet-r-j-anderson/1102400574?ean=9780761374084&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=ultraviolet+r.j.+anderson" target="_blank">Ultraviolet</a>,</em> R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Books)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The Solstice Award</strong> was granted to John Clute and posthumously to Octavia Butler to acknowledge their significant positive impact on the science fiction and fantasy landscape. This year’s Solstice award was crafted by Mike Libby of Insect Lab.</p>
<p>The <strong>Service to SFWA Award</strong> went to Bud Webster.</p>
<p>The winners were announced at the banquet during SFWA’s 47th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend, held on Saturday, May 19 during the awards weekend at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia.</p>
<p>SFWA President John Scalzi about this year’s winner’s slate:</p>
<blockquote><p>This is a fantastic list that shows both the width and depth of our genre. It shows that Science Fiction and Fantasy are not static but continue to grow and change. We are truly blessed with a fantastic slate of finalists this year. That these authors came out as the winners, is a credit to both the strength of the slate itself and the individual authors, and I couldn’t be happier for you. Congratulations to you all.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Connie Willis was the recipient of the 2011 <strong>Damon Knight Grand Master Award</strong> for her lifetime contributions to, and achievements in, the field. Walter Jon Williams will presides as toastmaster, with astronaut Michael Fincke as keynote speaker. More information on SFWA and the Nebula Awards can be found on <a href="http://www.sfwa.org" target="_blank">SFWA’s site</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://litstack.com/congratulations-to-the-2011-nebula-winners/">Congratulations to the 2011 Nebula Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="http://litstack.com">LitStack</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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