1998 Hugo Awards Announced
he 45th Annual Hugo Awards were announced at the 56th World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore, Md., during a ceremony hosted by SF writer Charles Sheffield.
The awards were presented by a variety of SF celebrities, ranging from Connie Willis to George R.R. Martin.
This year's winners are:
- Best Novel
- Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
- Best Novella
- "...Where Angels Fear to Tread" by Allen Steele
- Best Novelette
- "We Will Drink A Fish Together..." by Bill Johnson
- Best Short Story
- "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" by Mike Resnick
- Best Non-Fiction Book
- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute and John Grant
- Best Dramatic Presentation
- Contact
- Best Professional Editor
- Gardner Dozois
- Best Professional Artist
- Bob Eggleton
- Best Semiprozine
- Locus
- Best Fanzine
- Mimosa
- Best Fan Writer
- Dave Langford
- Best Fan Artist
- Joe Mayhew
- John W. Campbell Award
- Mary Doria Russell
The Hugo Awards--named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction"--are presented annually by the World Science Fiction Society. Both the nominees and winners are chosen by a popular vote of the WSFS. The Hugo Awards are also known by their more formal name, the Science Fiction Achievement Awards.
Tor Offers Electronic SF&F Books
F&F publisher Tor Books, along with its sister imprint St. Martin's Press, has signed a deal with electronic publisher Peanut Press to offer a variety of new and reprint titles to users of the 3Com Palm Computing platform.
Starting in early fall, owners of the 3Com Pilot--the leading personal digital assistant on the market--will be able to purchase electronic versions of books at a price "competitive with their paper counterparts."
"We're delighted to be offering our books to the handheld market for the first time," said Patrick Nielsen Hayden, senior editor and manager of science fiction for Tor. "As a PalmPilot organizer owner myself, I know firsthand that people use them to read books, and it's turned out to be surprisingly useful for that purpose."
Pilot users will be able to buy the electronic books via the Peanut Press Web-based storefront, with an average download time of one minute per book. Peanut says that a typical Palm III will be able to hold six or seven electronic novels.
Pocket Seeks Trek Fan Fiction
ollowing up on its first successful anthology of Star Trek fan fiction, Pocket Books has announced the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds II contest.
The contest will be judged by Trek writer and editor Dean Wesley Smith along with John J. Ordover, the senior Star Trek novels editor at Pocket.
The judges are looking for previously unpublished short stories up to 7,500 words in length. The three winners and up to 20 runners-up will have their work published in the anthology Star Trek: Strange New Worlds II, which is due out in late 1999.
For more details, visit the Simon & Schuster Web site.
Star Trek Anniversary CD Planned
n Nov. 2, Sony/Legacy plans to release a 20th anniversary collector's edition of the soundtrack to the 1979 movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The CD has been newly remastered and features seven previously unreleased tracks from the film, as well as both the original and new liner notes, and the album Inside Star Trek with Gene Roddenberry.
The bonus Roddenberry CD will include unreleased material and newly recorded narration by Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura in the original Star Trek series. It also features Roddenberry's interviews with William Shatner (Kirk), Mark Lenard (Sarek) and DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy).
Paramount Buys Trekkies
aramount Studios paid $1.25 million for the rights to Trekkies, a documentary about Star Trek fans written and directed by Roger Nygard, according to Variety.
The film is hosted by former Star Trek: The Next Generation actress Denise Crosby and includes interviews with Trek luminaries such as Leonard Nimoy and Brent Spiner.
But the heart of Trekkies is its focus on the offbeat fans of Star Trek, such as the man who changed his name to James T. Kirk and the woman who showed up for jury duty wearing a Starfleet uniform. Nygard told Variety that Star Trek fans will love the film because "it's not condescending, it's a celebration."
Nygard is currently at work on Six Days in Roswell, a documentary about UFO fans who gathered for the Woodstock-like 50th anniversary of the alleged UFO crash of an alien ship in Roswell, N.M.
Sci-Fi Plans Trek Sweepstakes
he Sci-Fi Channel will run a special sweepstakes from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8 as part of its efforts to promote the original Star Trek series, which debuts on the channel Sept. 1.
The winner of the sweepstakes, along with a guest, will receive a one-week trip to Dusseldorf, Germany, to attend the world premiere of the Star Trek World Tour, a 12,000 square-foot recreation of the Enterprise 1701-D that includes costumes, props and artifacts from the Star Trek TV shows and movies, as well as special screenings, fan events and collectibles.
Fans will be able to enter the contest by filling out entry cards available at 2,100 Best Western hotels in the United States and 150 Budget Rent a Car and Truck locations. The Sci-Fi Channel's Dominion Web site will also feature an online version of the entry form.
Hammer Takes Over Sci-Fi Programming
illing the void left by Barry Schulman's recent resignation as vice president of programming for the Sci-Fi Channel, Bonnie Hammer has been named senior vice president of Sci-Fi Channel programming and USA Networks original production.
In her new role, Hammer will be responsible for all facets of Sci-Fi Channel programming, and she will be actively involved in the channel's marketing strategy.
Hammer most recently served as vice president of original production and current programming for USA Networks, where she supervised such series as The Hitchhiker, Forever Knight and Ray Bradbury Theatre. She will continue to oversee the development and supervision of original production for both USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel.
USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel are part of USA Networks.
Fantastic Planet Headed Back To Theaters
antastic Planet, Rene Laloux's 1973 animated science fiction feature film, is being rereleased in theaters this October by CQN Releasing.
The film tells the story of a group of oppressed humanoids who rebel against a race of gigantic androids on a distant planet.
Fantastic Planet became something of a landmark film when it earned the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time an animated feature had earned a Cannes award.
SF Films Honored For Digital Effects
F movies claimed seven of the eight nominations for the 1998 Hollywood Digital Award, which is given annually to the best film that features "truly outstanding work in the area of digital visual effects."
This year's nominees include Contact, Starship Troopers, Men in Black, Batman and Robin, The Fifth Element, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Alien Resurrection and Titanic.
The Digital Award winner will be selected by a committee of 70 visual effects professionals and announced on Aug. 10 during a gala ceremony. The award was created by the Hollywood Film Festival and is sponsored by Caliban Filmworks.
Klea Scott Joins Millennium
ctress Klea Scott will be joining the cast of Fox's dark drama Millennium as the series heads into its third season, according to published reports.
Scott will play a young FBI agent who becomes the protege of Millennium's main character, Frank Black (played by Lance Henrickson), whose job is to hunt down serial killers.
Klea is no stranger to the cop role, having recently completed a stint on Steven Bochco's police drama Brooklyn South. She is also an accomplished thespian who has appeared in several productions staged by the New York Shakespeare Festival.
The Green Mile Gets Underway
roduction has begun on Castle Rock Entertainment's film The Green Mile, which is based on the best-selling serialized 1996 novel of the same name by famed horror writer Stephen King.
The Green Mile is set on death row in a Southern prison in 1935, when cell-block guard Paul Edgecomb is assigned to oversee four convicted killers awaiting the electric chair, including a seven-foot-tall inmate named John Coffey who has a mysterious magical gift.
Frank Darabont--who wrote and directed The Shawshank Redemption, another prison film based on a King novel--will direct. Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks is set to star as Edgecomb, while Michael Clarke Duncan (Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan) will play the role of Coffey.
The Green Mile is tentatively scheduled for release in 1999.
Warner Buys Dead World
arner Bros., in conjuction with George Clooney's company Maysville Productions, picked up a film pitch based on the Caliber Comics title Dead World, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is about a group of teenagers traveling by bus in a near-future world infested with zombies.
Antz scribe Todd Alcott will script the film, Mark Pavia (Stephen King's Night Fliers) is attached to direct, and Clooney and his partner Robert Lawrence will serve as producers.
Azaria Eyes Mystery Men
ank Azaria is in talks to play the part of "Blue Raja" in Universal Pictures' offbeat superhero movie Mystery Men, according to Variety.
Azaria, who was most recently seen in Godzilla, would join Fargo co-star William H. Macy and Oscar-winning Shine star Geoffrey Rush in the picture.
Paul Reubens and Claire Forlani are also reportedly in talks to appear in the film, which is being directed by Kinka Usher. Earlier this week it was announced that Azaria would receive an Emmy award for his voiceover role as the convenience store operator in The Simpsons.
Del Toro To Direct Hellboy
imic director Guillermo del Toro has agreed to helm the big screen adaptation of the Dark Horse comic book Hellboy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is about a supernatural detective who's brought back from hell by Nazis during World War II, only to turn on them in order to prevent the destruction of the world.
Del Toro is also working on a theatrical version of The Count of Monte Cristo for American Zoetrope and Intermedia Films, which he may tackle before starting production on Hellboy.
Seiun Nominees Announced
uthor Robert J. Sawyer reports that nominations for the foreign-language categories of the 1998 Seiun Awards--the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo Awards--have been announced.
The awards are presented annually to the best works of SF that have been translated into Japanese. This year's foreign language nominees and categories are:
Foreign Novel
- Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks
- Moving Mars by Greg Bear
- Midnight Blue by Nancy A. Collins
- Little Big by John Crowley
- Jumper by Steven Gould
- Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
- Fallen Angel by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn
- The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer
Foreign Short Stories
- "The Carhart Shale" by Grant D. Callin
- "Mitochondrial Eve" by Greg Egan
- "Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly
- "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
- "The Catherine Wheel" by Ian McDonald
- "Just Like Old Times" by Robert J. Sawyer
- "The Death of Captain Future" by Allen M.Steele
- "Come Live with Me" by James Tiptree Jr.
The winners will be announced during the Japanese National SF Convention '98, which will be held Aug. 29-30 in Nagoya, Japan.
ASFA Presents Chesley Awards
he Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists presented the 13th Annual Chesley Awards at the 56th World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore, Md., on Thursday, Aug. 6.
The winners of the Chesley Awards are:
- Best Cover Illustration, Paperback Book
- Michael Dashow for The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances (By Peter S. Beagle, Tachyon)
- Best Interior Illustration, Paperback Book
- Alan Lee for The Hobbit (By J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin)
- Best Three-Dimensional Art
- Clayburn Moore for Witchblade in coldcast porcelain
- Best Cover Illustration, Magazine
- Todd Lockwood for Dragon, August 1997
- Best Unpublished Illustration, Monochrome
- Joy Marie Ledat for "Silently Moving People"
- Best Unpublished Illustration, Color
- Stephen Hickman for "The Astronomer Prince"
- Best Art Director
- Jamie Warren Youll for Bantam Books
- Award for Contribution to ASFA
- Janny Wurts for work above and beyond the call of duty as ASFA president.
- Best Cover Illustration, Hardback Book
- Bob Eggleton for The Howling Stones (By Alan Dean Foster, Ballantine Del Rey)
- Award for Artistic Achievement
- Vincent DiFate
The Chesley, named for the great astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell, was started by ASFA in 1985 as a means for the SF and fantasy art community to recognize individual works and achievements during a given year.
Golden Duck Awards Announced
he Golden Duck Awards honoring children's science fiction were presented at the 56th World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore, Md., on Friday, Aug. 7.
The 1998 winners and categories are:
- Picture Book
- Floating Home by Michael Rex (Henry Holt)
- Middle Grade
- Mike Gonzo and the UFO Terror by Bill Crider (Minstrel)
- The Young Adult "Hal Clement" Award
- The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman (Little, Brown & Co.)
The Golden Duck Awards were created after many people "suggested that there should be a 'Hugo-like-object' for children's SF." The Young Adult category is named after SF author Hal Clement, who taught high school while writing hard science fiction stories and novels that often had young adult protagonists.
Activision Plans Dark Reign 2
ctivision has formally announced that it's at work on Dark Reign 2, the prequel to its popular science fiction-themed real-time strategy game Dark Reign.
The game will be set on Earth during the 26th century in the midst of an epic battle between futuristic tribes and an elite ruling class that marks the start of the Freedom Guard-Imperium War.
Dark Reign 2 will use a fully immersive 3-D environment that Activision is billing as the next big breakthrough for the stagnant real-time strategy genre. "Imagine being able to look at a battlefield on the macro level, zoom into an over-the-shoulder view of your favorite unit as it blasts an enemy tank, and then zoom back out again to see if your opponent is sending in reinforcements," said Josh Resnick, president of developer Pandemic Studios.
Dark Reign 2 is slated for a summer 1999 release and will be available on Windows 95, 98 and NT platforms.
Briefly Noted
- Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski was forced to cancel his appearance at the World Science Fiction Convention, where he was a special guest, after contracting walking pneumonia.
- TNT will begin airing season five episodes of Babylon 5 in the Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET/PT, timeslot on Aug. 19.
- Fargo co-star William H. Macy is finalizing a deal to play an offbeat superhero called the Shoveler in the upcoming film Mystery Men.
- Blockbuster named Buffy the Vampire Slayer to its list of the Top 10 ultimate slumber party movies.
- The character Vic Fontaine, a Rat Pack-esque singer played by actor James Darren, has been given a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, according to the Associated Press.
- X-Files semi-regular Steven Williams ("Mr. X") will star opposite Pam Grier in Showtime's new comedy series Linc's.
- The makers of the TV show Strange Universe plan to release a UFO documentary with the unwieldy title Strange Universe - Aliens are Here: Video Proof on Sept. 1. The $14.95 video supposedly presents "compelling and remarkable UFO footage."
- Universal Studios Networks has named Janet Goldsmith the managing director of The Sci-Fi Channel Europe. She succeeds David Woodman, who launched the European version of Sci-Fi in 1995.
- UPN is reportedly excising some overly violent scenes from its new SF series Seven Days before the time travel drama debuts this fall.
