Ansible logo Older Home/Links: 2014

This page is the final repository for 2014 links from the ever-scrolling sidebar column at the right of the Ansible Links page. The editor has no intention of running regular checks on their continued validity.

December 2014
EU VAT horror coming in the New Year: my summary with added links, now moved from Ansible 329 to a page of its own; one small concession from HMRC
"From androids to zombies: taxation of the undead"
"Arthur Machen Collection at Risk"; more (BBC 29 December)
"Alert: Questionable Terms of Use in HBO's Game of Thrones Compendium"
Jerry Pournelle: small stroke, prospects good
Gabriel García Márquez: what's his archive worth?
"How I Defeated the Tolkien Estate"
Sue Mason wins Rotsler Award
Stu Shiffman remembered
Home Office changes its official reason for refusing "L. Skywalker" passport
"Interstellar is not a science fiction film ..."

November 2014
Chris "Mr Controversy" Priest rides again!
Ursula K. Le Guin at the National Book Awards (Guardian); video
"Winnie the Pooh banned ..."
Sex, violence and Paddington Bear; more
Terraform: new online magazine
World Fantasy Awards 2014
One London, fifty Paddingtons
"A Report on Damage Done by One Individual Under Several Names" [now PDF]; an impressive collection of links by Ann Somerville; a word from Peter Watts; Wikipedia debates reliable sources for all this
"When Greg Bear Has Open Heart Surgery"
France in 2023: Worldcon bid revived

October 2014
"Hammer horror archive opens to public for first time"
"Jack Kirby is Now Credited in Marvel Comics as the Creator ..."
SF&F Translation Awards Closing Down
David Mitchell interviewed
Eastercon 2015 news!
Someone else better not reviewed
SF "bit of plastic" valued at £40-£50,000
"The New Death of New Worlds"
#GamerGate: Brianna Wu targeted by online psychopaths; File 770; Guardian; defence fund planned
Langford interview at Nocturnia
Mild-mannered Thai author and notoriously abusive blogger revealed to be one and the same; huge discussion thread ensues; apology links
Harlan Ellison survives stroke
Death of the Book Award: 2014
October Batman stamps confirmed
On "Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination"
Asimov Will Be Watching You

September 2014
Asterix lawsuits over at last
"Science Fiction Fanzines Before the Future Got Broken"
"Marvel and Jack Kirby estate settle their disputes"
Disney's Frozen allegedly plagiarized; more
"Celebrity Trekkies"
Did Jeff Bezos invite you?
"Hypocrisy, Race and Literary Gentrification"
Slate on urban dystopias
Aieee! Roleplayers of Gor?
Lou Anders leaves Prometheus/Pyr; a gloomy view is taken
Roger Dean loses his Avatar lawsuit
"Save Bradbury’s Hugo"
SF2 Concatenation: Autumn newsdump
Salon on Lovecraft's racism and the WFA trophy; The Guardian joins in
Graham Joyce (1954-2014); Obituary by Chris Priest; Guardian; io9; Tor.com; Leicester Mercury; Graham's last blog post
Ursula K. Le Guin honoured by US National Book Foundation
Man Booker Prize Shortlist
British Fantasy Award winners
George R.R. Martin on Kirby McCauley (1941-2014)
Life achievement Oscar for Hayao Miyazaki

August 2014
Writing SF punishable as thoughtcrime?; "Did This Teacher's Novel Cause Craziest Police Overreaction Ever?"; more; The Atlantic weighs in; Change.org petition; Nalo Hopkinson at LA Review of Books; "Suspended Teacher Speaks Out"
Google doodle for Sheridan Le Fanu's 200th birthday
Post-Loncon TAFF newsletter [PDF]
Barcelona wins Eurocon 2016; discounted membership until 31 August 2014
Paris in 2023: Worldcon bid withdrawn
A good word from The Guardian; "World Science Fiction Convention 2014 beams [oh dear] into London"; Loncon 3 in pictures
Hugo winners; full voting details [PDF]
Worldcon 2016: Kansas City (defeating Beijing)
Retro Hugo winners
Howl's Moving Castle Google doodle for Diana Wynne Jones's 80th birthday
Eaton Collection under threat? An update; $3.5m donation from Jay Kay Klein
Sasquan (Worldcon 2015) rates rise 1 September
Mythopoeic Award winners
TAFF winner arrives
Lolita and the Chocolate Factory; more
That GISHWHES thing; Charlie Stross
More on that Sherlock Homes copyright case
Paris in 2023

July 2014
"Skywalker" verboten on passport
"Welcome to Westerminsteros!"
Momentous Changes at HWA
"Science fiction takes over London"
A fan in need: Velma (Vijay) Bowen
Tove Jannson on Finnish 2-Euro coins
Seiun Awards
US Supreme Court rebuffs Conan Doyle estate
2014 World Fantasy Award shortlist, plus two life-achievement honorees
BBC Worldwide leaks Doctor Who scripts; and apologizes
"Terry Pratchett forced to cancel [Discworld convention] appearance by Alzheimer's"
"Classic books become London benches"
"Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature"

June 2014
"Authors dress up as their favourite characters"
Locus Award winners
Loncon programme overview
SF Hall of Fame 2014
Chris Priest on Felix Dennis
Jim C. Hines on Marion Zimmer Bradley; File 770; Liz Williams; The Guardian
Silly Season at the Daily Mirror; and at the Daily Star
Proposed Worldcon/WSFS constitution change
Angry Robot shuts down two imprints
"Philip K. Dick in Orange County"
"Conan Doyle Estate Loses Appeal Over 'Sherlock Holmes' Rights"
Daniel Keyes (1927-2014); SFE
As Others See Us
"George RR Martin to kill off crowdfunding donors in Game of Thrones books"
2014 GUFF result
Anthracosuchus balrogus
Mythopoeic Awards shortlists
Campbell Memorial & Sturgeon winners
Ditmar winners
Sidewise Awards shortlists
British Fantasy Awards shortlists
Kickstarter for film of David Langford's "BLIT"

May 2014
Jay Lake (1964-2014)
2014 Hugo Voter Packet
Jay Lake: "Well, the news isn't good"; more; and more
Ray Bradbury's house for sale
Campbell Memorial Award shortlist
Nebula Winners; SFWA's accidental omission
Ian McEwan archive sold (with sf revelation)
"Jaws" dental technician mechanic fined
Orbit Books and the Hugo Voter Packet; What Orbit Authors Say; John Scalzi
RIP: H.R. Giger and Patrick Woodroffe
Bram Stoker Awards
Shirley Jackson Awards shortlist
Locus Awards finalists
"Daily Mail pays damages to JK Rowling"
Eyeballs in the Sky; Thog hits at that site
Sturgeon Award shortlist
Who'll pay a silly price for Science-fiction.org?
Arthur C. Clarke Award winner
"How 'Star Wars' ruined sci-fi"

April 2014
Gravity author sues Warner
Atari E.T. game trove found in New Mexico desert
SFWA membership plunges by 1 ... 2 ... 3 ...
Posthumous Octavia Butler collection includes another refugee from The Last Dangerous Visions
SF2 Concatenation: Summer newsdump
Shock horror yawn: Matrix not plagiarized!
"Czech chief rabbi revealed as the author of sci-fi bestseller"
Curt Phillips wins TAFF; official release with voting breakdown; newsletter TAFFtastic 3
Eileen Gunn in The Smithsonian
Gemmell Awards shortlists
Hugo shortlist commentary: John Scalzi (plus rebuttal links), James Nicoll, Guardian; Brandon Sanderson, Making Light (plus clarification; continuation thread); Kameron Hurley; Tor.com; Scalzi again; Abigail Nussbaum; Bleeding Cool; Jim C. Hines; Scrivener's Error; Mark Tiedemann; Larry Correia; We Hunted the Mammoth; Cheryl Morgan; USA Today via File 770; PZ Myers; Steve Davidson; Martin Wisse; ongoing accumulation of links at Far Beyond Reality.
Guardian archive: Eastercon 1965
GUFF 2014: new online voting form
BSFA Award winners
Tolkien Society awards
Hugo shortlist and Retro Hugos
2014 Dick Award
Glasgow Evening Times on Eastercon; The Herald
Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014)
"Man ruins Game of Thrones with series of novels full of spoilers"
Chris Priest interview
Clute and Langford interviewed at Amazing Stories
David A. Hardy painting stolen? ... recovered ... more
April Foolery at The Register; Ancestry.com; Tor.com; and again and again; SF Signal

March 2014
SF Encyclopedia themed slideshows
"Lawsuit of the Rings": dark lord's triumph
Anti-Beijing Worldcon Bid site
Lucius Shepard (1943-2014); Guardian (Christopher Priest)
Clarke Award shortlist
TAFF: 2014 candidates reveal all
The Orthodox Church of Heinlein
David Gemmell Legend Awards: longlists and voting
[Loncon 3's page announcing Jonathan Ross as Hugo Awards MC has been taken down]; controversy [Farah Mendlesohn's ensuing public letter of resignation from the Loncon committee (which was not given a say in this MC choice) has been taken down but is partly quoted here]; controversy rapidly defused; "How Could You Not Have Seen This Coming?"; Bleeding Cool; Charlie Stross; Daily Dot; File 770; Wertzone; Shattersnipe; Cheryl Morgan (again); Guardian; Chuck Wendig; New Statesman; Tor.com; Loncon 3 apology to all and sundry; Evening Standard; TeleRead; Neil Gaiman; Cora Buhlert looks back, with many links; David Perry; James Nicoll.

February 2014
"Oscars: Gravity 'not sci-fi'"
HWA Life Achievement Awards
"For the Love": on semiprozines
Nebula Awards nominees
Shamrokcon Call for Volunteers
Bram Stoker Awards finalists
"How Not to Get an Actor to Be in Your Zombie Movie"
"For me, science fiction classic is an oxymoron" (scroll down)
2016 Worldcon site selection: Beijing vs Kansas City
Loncon 3 membership rates rise 1 March [PDF]
Tiptree Award winner announced
Further SFWA dispute fallout. With added lawsuit action: "Science Fiction Community Generates This Weekend's Buffoonish Defamation Threat". And more; and more; and more. Newer writers now deemed "insects". Still more ... but can this be the end (for now)? On accepting apologies; Jim C Hines summary
Kitschies winners
More SFWA fun; the current call to arms; more links; Daily Dot summary; George Orwell invoked; a parody; SFWA presidential statement; Scalzi summary in ever so general terms; more.
A modest proposal: "Require Every Hugo Award Category to re-qualify every five years"
FAAn Awards ballot
LibDems and SF
"Redfearn and Wood promoted at Gollancz"
Locus Poll Online Ballot
Little, Brown buys Constable & Robinson
Ansible on Twitter at last ...
Locus Recommended Reading List for 2013
"The Lib Dems are a party of science fiction fans"

January 2014
Phil Foglio belabours Tor; Patrick Nielsen Hayden responds; more Foglio
Clarke Award Submissions: full list
BSFA Awards shortlist
Nick Mamatas on Harlan Ellison
Kitschies shortlist
Quercus (including Jo Fletcher Books) up for sale
Beijing in 2016 Worldcon bid; official site
Bram Stoker Awards preliminary ballot
Clarke Award Submissions I: Female
Loving Big Brother
2014 DUFF ballot [PDF]; announcement
"Iranian news agency says the U.S. is secretly run by Nazi space aliens. Really."
SF2 Concatenation: Spring newsdump
Alexandra Bastedo (1946-2014)
Hugo nominations are open
More sf art "appropriation"
Farewell to a major Tolkien litigator
Adam Roberts on award pimpage
Klingon gets everywhere
2014 TAFF voting begins
Another Harry Potter political metaphor
• Happy New Year, everyone!