AboutSF AUDIO

Episode 011 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of Ian McDonald reading the Frederik Pohl short story “The Day the Icicle Works Closed,” which was first published in Galaxy Magazine, in February, 1960.  In that same year, the story was included in the Frederik Pohl short story collection The Man Who Ate the World.  Since then, it has been included in a number of anthologies of Mr. Pohl’s work, most recently in Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories.

Mr. McDonald was recorded reading “The Day the Icicle Works Closed” at the 2011 Campbell Conference, where he also received the 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel The Dervish House.  Ian McDonald is the author of a number of science fiction novels, including Brasyl, River of Gods, Cyberabad Days, Desolation Road, King of Morning, Queen of Day, Out on Blue Six, Chaga, and Kirinya.  His is a past winner of the Philip K. Dick Award, the BSFA Award, and the Hugo Award.  He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, and a Quill Book Award, and has had several nominations for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Episode 010 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of Geoffrey A. Landis reading the Frederik Pohl short story “The Deadly Mission of Phineas Snodgrass.”  “The Deadly Mission of Phineas Snodgrass” was first published in Galaxy Magazine in 1962, and has since been included in numerous collections of Mr. Pohl’s work.  Most recently, in 2005, the story was included in The Enchanter Completed: A Tribute Anthology for L. Sprague de Camp.

Mr. Landis was recorded reading “The Deadly Mission of Phineas Snodgrass” at the 2011 Campbell Conference, where he also received the 2011 Theodore Sturgeon Award for his short story “The Sultan of the Clouds,” published in Asimov's Science Fiction.  Mr. Landis is a prolific writer of Science Fiction, having won a Nebula Award, two Hugo Awards and a Locus Award for his short fiction and novels.  He has also received two Rhysling Awards for his poetry, and his poetry collection Iron Angels was published by Van Zeno Press in 2009.

Aside from these sizeable literary accomplishments, Geoffrey Landis works as a scientist for NASA at the John Glenn Research Center, where he has worked on the Mars missions and on developing advanced concepts and technology for future space missions.  More information about Mr. Landis’ scientific research is available on his website, as well as a list of links to his scientific papers available online.

Dr. Elizabeth Anne Hull is an accomplished scholar and editor in the field of Science Fiction.  She edited the anthology Gateways: Original New Stories Inspired by Frederik Pohl, published by Tor book in 2010.  She has been a member of the selection jury for the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science-fiction novel since 1986.  She has been an active member of the Science Fiction Research Association, serving as its president, and the editor of the SFRA newsletter.  She was awarded the Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service by SFRA in 1997.  Dr. Hull has been a frequent contributor to the programs at Worldcons, and will be the co-organizer of the academic track at Chicon 7 in 2012.  At the 2011 Campbell Conference, Dr. Hull read the story “The Mayor of Mare Tranq” written by her husband Frederik Pohl.  The story was first published in 1996 in The Williamson Effect, an anthology of fiction and poetry inspired by the work of Jack Williamson, edited by Roger Zelazny.

Episode 008 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of Bradley Denton reading the Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth story “The Meeting.”  “The Meeting” was first published in November, 1972, in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  The story went on to win the 1973 Hugo Award for the Best Short Story.  Mr. Denton is the author of numerous short works of fiction and novels, including Laughin’ Boy, Lunatics, Blackburn and Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede.  A film version of Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede , which won the 1992 John W. Campbell memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year, is currently in production with Dahlia Street Films.  Mr. Denton is also an accomplished musician who performs under the name “Bland Lemon Denton”. 

This story was read as part of the festivities at the 2011 Campbell Conference.

Episode 007 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of Kij Johnson (www.kijjohnson.com) reading the Frederik Pohl short story “Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair.”  Kij has won numerous awards in the fields of Fantasy and Science Fiction, including the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, the Crawford Award, the World Fantasy Award and the Nebula Award.  Kij is also a multiple Hugo Award nominee.  She is an associate director for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction (www.sfcenter.ku.edu) at the University of Kansas, and is the Vice Chair of the Clarion West Board of Directors (www.clarionwest.org)

At the 2011 Campbell Conference Kij agreed to read Frederik Pohl’s story “Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair,” which was first published in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1983.

Episode 006 of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of Sheila Williams reading the Frederik Pohl short story “Fermi and Frost.”  Sheila Williams has worked at Asimov’s Science Fiction since 1982 (www.asimovs.com).  She has been the editor of the magazine since 2004.  Sheila cofounded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (www.dellaward.com).  Her many editing credits include the Isaac Asimov’s anthology series (co-edited with Gardner Dozois), A Woman’s Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (edited with Connie Willis) and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology.  She has been nominated for five Hugo Awards as editor of Asimov’s.  At the 2011 Campbell Conference Sheila agreed to read Frederik Pohl’s well-known and critically hailed story “Fermi and Frost,” which was first published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in 1985, and which won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1986.

Episode five of the AboutSF podcast is a recording of a 1984 interview John C. Tibbetts conducted with Science Fiction writer Frederik Pohl. John Tibbetts, associate professor in the department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Kansas, has donated recorded audio interviews with luminaries in the fields of Science Fiction and Fantasy, including Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl and Stephen King, among others, to the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction in Lawrence, KS. The interviews, gathered during the course of a lifetime of reading, collecting, and writing about Science Fiction, include conversations with Poul Anderson, Jack Williamson, L. Sprague de Camp, children’s book author Chris Van Allsburg, and many more.

This interview with Frederik Pohl seemed like an appropriate selection for the first of the podcast episodes using the Tibbetts interview material since the theme for the 2011 Campbell Conference is “Alternating Currents: Frederick Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon.” If you’d like to learn more about the Campbell Conference, please visit the Center for the Study of Science Fiction website.

I would also like to note that Mr. Tibbetts’ forthcoming book The Gothic Imagination: Conversations on Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction in the Media will published by Palgrave Macmillan in October, 2011, so everyone should check it out.

Without further adieu, here is John’s interview with Fred Pohl from 1984, in which Mr. Pohl discusses his collaborations with Cyril Cornbluth, the influence of the New Wave on his writing, and even his poetry. We’re honored to have received such a wonderful donation from John Tibbetts, and we hope that this interview, and many others, may be of interest to fans and scholars alike.

For episode four of the AboutSF AUDIO podcast we are thrilled to share a recording of Frederik Pohl reading his story “Day Million.” Mr. Pohl graciously recorded himself reading the story specifically for this podcast.

Frederik Pohl’s career as a writer and editor spans over seventy years from his first published work “Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna” in 1937, to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led, published by Tor in 2011. He is a multiple Nebula and Hugo award winner, as well as a recipient of the National Book Award. Mr. Pohl’s other awards are too numerous to list. His beloved works include The Space Merchants, written with Cyril M. Kornbluth, and the Heechee series of novels.

Mr. Pohl blogs actively at www.thewaythefutureblogs.com

The theme for this year’s 2011 Campbell Conference, hosted by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction in Lawrence, KS, is "Alternating Currents: Frederik Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon." A reading of Mr. Pohl’s and Mr. Sturgeon’s works will be included with the other Campbell Conference events. Information about the 2011 Campbell Conference, and the writing workshops hosted by the Center for the Study of Science fiction, is available at www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/

“Day Million,” a story first published in 1966, is as keenly insightful in its exploration of human evolution, relationships and gender, as it was when first published. It is a great honor to have Mr. Pohl read this story for the podcast.

"Angela's Wisdom" is a short story by Lynda Williams and daughter Angela Lott. It deals with the value of literacy and the experience of learning to read.

It was written when Angela was 8 years old and given to Reading for the Future(rff-reflections.blogspot.com) a few years ago. Now it has been given to RFF, Inc. It will be used on the educational CD/DVD that will be given to the first 70 participants of the educator's workshop at Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Reno, Nevada from Wed. Aug 17th to Sunday, Aug. 21st.

At Renovation, RFF will present "Teaching SF", a workshop for teachers, librarians and parents on how to use science fiction as a teaching tool. The workshop is a collaborative effort, organized and presented by Reading for the Future, Inc, from a proposal by AboutSF at the University of Kansas (www.aboutsf.com). Information on how to register for the "Teaching SF" workshop can be found at www.renovationsf.org/teachingsf.php Sign-up for the workshop ends on June 30, 2011.

Kristen Lillvis reads "The Carnivore" by Katherine MacLean. The story, written by MacLean under the name G. A. Morris, was first published in Galaxy Science Fiction in October of 1953. For Kristen's full commentary on the story, visit http://www.aboutsf.com/main/