Could science fiction in schools foster an appreciation for math and science among kids?

West Virginia House of Delegates legislator Ray Canterbury has proposed HB 2983, a bill urging the Board of Education to include more “science fiction reading material” in the state curriculum “to stimulate interest in math and science” in young readers. Here’s the complete text of the bill:

The Legislature finds that promoting interest in and appreciation for the study of math and science among students is critical to preparing students to compete in the workforce and to assure the economic well being of the state and the nation. To stimulate interest in math and science among students in the public schools of this state, the State Board of Education shall prescribe minimum standards by which samples of grade-appropriate science fiction literature are integrated into the curriculum of existing reading, literature or other required courses for middle school and high school students.

(Via Giant Freakin Robot)

If you have dreams of selling your science fiction, fantasy or horror novel and getting filthy rich, you need to adjust your expectations. We’ve collected three testimonials from genre writers below to help aspiring writers to maintain realistic expectations.

Horror novelist Brian Keene gave a speech at Towson University’s Borderlands Boot Camp recently, laying out some frank statistics for aspiring genre novelists. Here is an excerpt:

The average advance these days, for a genre fiction novel, ranges between $2,500 and $10,000. That’s right. The novel you spent a year working on only earns you between $2,500 to $10,000 at first. When the book is published a year later, that advance will have long been spent. And you probably won’t see a royalty check until another year AFTER your book has been published (provided enough copies have sold to earn out your advance). So it will actually be two years from that advance check before you get paid again.

Read more

Nearly 10,000 readers have signed a petition at All Out, protesting DC Comics’ decision to hire science fiction author Orson Scott Card to write the first issue of Adventures of Superman.

Card has been an outspoken critic of gay marriage, drawing criticism from some fans. Zeus Comics in Dallas has already decided not carry the print edition of the comic. Here’s an excerpt from the online petition:

He’s written publicly that he believes marriage equality would lead to the end of civilization. He’s also on the board of a notorious anti-equality organization. We need to let DC Comics know they can’t support Orson Scott Card or his work to keep LGBT people as second-class citizens. They know they’re accountable to their fans, so if enough of us speak out now, they’ll hear us loud and clear. Sign and share!

Read more

Philip K. Dick‘s alternate history classic The Man In The High Castle will be produced as a four hour miniseries for the Syfy channel.

X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz will write the first hours of the show and executive produce the adaptation of the Hugo Award-winning novel. Director Ridley Scott‘s Scott Free Productions will produce, working alongside Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions and FremantleMedia International.

Follow this link to read a free sample of The Man in the High Castle.

Read more

Self-published author Hugh Howey landed a traditonal book deal for Wool, but he continues to lead our Science Fiction Self-Published Bestsellers list with another part of his popular series.

Our weekly self-published bestsellers list is often dominated by the popular genres of romance and erotica. In an effort to help GalleyCat readers find other kinds of independent authors, we will offer regular genre-focused bestseller lists for other kinds of indie writers.

To keep the list fresh, we’ve highlighted three top books from four different marketplaces. What other genres would you like us to analyze in future lists?

Read more

Tor UK has decided to accept direct submissions from writers, including writers outside the UK and authors who have previously self-published their work.

The straightforward author guidelines are now online. The publisher will only respond to submissions that interest the editors. They ask writers to assume that the editors have passed after twelve weeks without a response. Check it out:

For direct submissions we only consider complete and unpublished science fiction, fantasy and horror novels, written in English of between 95,000 – 150,000 words … We don’t publish non-fiction, poetry, short stories or novellas. If your work falls into any of these categories we regret we are unable to help. Only emailed submissions can be considered (please see below for the email address). The email must include the novel’s title in the Subject line. The body of the email should contain a short synopsis and biographical note (including details of any previously published work), and the entire novel should be attached to the email as a single standard word-processing file, preferably Microsoft Word. (Link via)

Read more

Over at the online learning site Coursera, you can take college-level writing and literature courses for free, studying alongside thousands of other students.

Below, we’ve linked to nine literary Coursera offerings, classes ranging from science fiction to writing to mythology. Here’s more about the site:

We are a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. We envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions … Classes offered on Coursera are designed to help you master the material. When you take one of our classes, you will watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at your own pace, test your knowledge, and reinforce concepts through interactive exercises. When you join one of our classes, you’ll also join a global community of thousands of students learning alongside you.

Read more

Science fiction novelist Charles Stross has inked a “ a major six figure deal” with Tor Books to publish a new trilogy set in the alternate history world of his Merchant Princes series.

Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates negotiated the deal. “I couldn’t be happier than if a sequel to Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land was discovered,” quipped senior editor David Hartwell in the release.

Here’s more about the series: “Tor published the first six books in the series to great acclaim beginning in 2004 and looks forward to publishing the new books starting in 2015 … In 2008, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman devoted an entire article to analysing the series from an economic standpoint, and, in 2009 attended the World Science Fiction convention, opening the show with a 75-minute conversation with Stross.”

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate has won the prestigious John Newbery Medal and Jon Klassen has won the Randolph Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat at the American Library Association’s annual Youth Media Awards.

We’ve linked to free samples of the winning books below.

If you want more books, we made similar literary mixtapes linking to free samples of the NBCC finalists, the most overlooked books of the year, the 2012 Man Booker Longlist, the Best Science Fiction of the Year, the Best Mystery Books of 2012and the Best Business Books of the Year

Read more

To raise money for the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation, a team of five novelists posed for a gender-flipped posed copy of a sexy science fiction cover.

You can bid on an autographed copy of the photograph at eBay. Photographer Al Bogdan shot the picture, imitating the cover of Young Flandry by Poul Anderson. The io9 blog has more about the history behind the pin-up photograph.

Check it out: “This is one of only two 16″ x 16″ high-quality prints, and has been autographed by John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jim C. Hines, Patrick Rothfuss, and Charles Stross, as well as photographer Al Bogdan. This would be a GORGEOUS piece to frame and hang over your couch, in your bedroom, or even in your office at work. You’ll be the envy of everyone you meet! Best of all, every penny raised from this auction will go to the Aicardi Syndrome Foundation, supporting the girls and families fighting this condition and helping to fund research into the cause and, some day, a cure.”