Punkie is back to intro this episode in which Paul interviews the award dominator himself, Paolo Bacigalupi. Paolo has won just about every award SF&F has to offer and the one’s he didn’t win he’s making room for on his bookshelf. Among these awards is BSFS’s own Compton Crook award which he won for The Windup Girl. If you love dystopia, you’ll love this book. Think of a world where gene modification has gone mad, and your right to grow and eat food is comes second to a corporation’s rights and patents on the seeds you’re growing. Don’t pay your licensing fees, then you don’t eat. This is the backdrop for one excellent and very well written tale.

But don’t take our word for it. Listen to the interview and hear it direct from the author’s mouth.

After much chasing, we finally pinned down the 2009 Compton Crook Award winner, Paul Melko for an interview. Paul is the author of the novels Singularity’s Ring and The Walls of the Universe. He is a multi-award winning author and a great interviewee. We guarantee you’ll enjoy our interview with this versatile and amazing man.

Paul Melko

Books by Paul Melko:

The Walls of the Universe,

Singularity’s Ring (Tor Science Fiction), and

Ten Sigmas & Other Unlikelihoods

This episode we have two exciting new things to announce. First, we have a new co-host who will be doing intros and some comedy for you. Grig Punkie Larson is an icon of DC area fandom. He is known mostly as the author of The Saga of Punk Walrus, but he is so much more multifaceted than that. Grig will be adding some much needed levity into the podcast as well as penning the intros, which have been a big hold up for Paul. This will hopefully insure that you get more content on a more regular basis. Think of Grig as the fiber of The Balticon Podcast.

Second, we are having our first ever contest. We have four (4) copies of George Hrab’s excellent new CD Trebuchet to give away. To enter, you need to leave us a review on iTunes. We hope it will be a positive one. Email a screen shot of your iTunes review and your mailing address to podcast at balticon dot org and we’ll add you to the entries. On Jan 1, 2011 we will pick 4 random winners by some nefarious means, and send your CD out. This contest is sponsored by Paul, because he loves George Hrab’s music. The contest is open to anyone on Planet Earth with a mailing address. That’s right. If you want a copy of George Hrab’s Trebuchet mailed to you in Antarctica then you’d better get writing that review and hoping you’ll be one of our four lucky winners.

Balticon 44 Guest of Honor, Tanya Huff joins us for a discussion about writing, writing for TV, working on a TV show, being a working writer, Zombies, and so much more.

PROMO: I Should Be Writing

SONG: Happy Birthday Baby by George Hrab off Trebuchet

Read it, share it, love it. Balticon 45 will be here before you know it.

Highlights!

Guest of Honor: Dr. Ben Bova

Artist Guest of Honor: Vincent Di Fate

Music/Filk Guests of Honor: Bill and Brenda Sutton

Special Guest of Honor: Steve Geppi

Fan Ghost of Honor: Mark Owings

2010 Compton Crook Award Winner: Paolo Bacigalupi

2011 Compton Crook Award Winner: TBA

A Four Day, 24-hours-a-day Extravaganza!

Howard Tayler (bio) is the creative genius behind the decade long web comic Schlock Mercenary. We talk about Baltimore, writing and doing comics full time, and much much more. Howard has some amazingly good advice for people looking to make money from their creative endeavors on the Internet.

Available from Amazon:

Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness

Schlock Mercenary: The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance

Schlock Mercenary: Under New Management

Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars

Schlock Mercenary: The Blackness Between

Schlock Mercenary: Resident Mad Scientist

Strohl Munitions Activity and Coloring Book

Dr. Tom Holtz Jr. is the Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Geology at University of Maryland College Park. He is also one of, if not the, world’s foremost authority on the T-Rex. And we talk all things dinosaurs. Dr. Holtz is an engaging speaker and one of the best science communicators out there today. If you’ve watched just about any dinosaur special on TV, you’ve probably seen him.

Here is his picture from his own website:

His book Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages is available at Amazon. It’s from 2007, and we’ve learned so much more since then. He keeps it up to date with an online appendix on his website.

Perennial New Media favorite and professional musician, George Hrab has a new album out. He has graciously allowed us to release Trebuchet to you for free.

WHAT?!?! Is he crazy? No, not at all. Well, maybe.

He hopes you like it so much you’ll buy a copy as a download or on CD. So do I. In full disclosure, George Hrab is one of my favorite musicians. Still, if you like it, please support George so he can make more music in the future.

-Paul Fischer

George Hrab [record company / podcast]  Trebuchet

featuring Phil Plait, Peter Gregson, Slau, and The Skeptical Shoe Horns.

1. God is Not Great

2. Everything Alive Will Die Someday

3. Ms.Information

4. Fifty Stories

5. FAR

6. Remora

7. Sviatoslav Lobster

8. When I Was Your Age

9. Trebuchet

10. Atlanta

11. Death From The Skies

12. Never Knew

13. Hai Yookito ‘Ya

14. Where Have You Been?

15. One Hypnopompic Jerk

16. Small Comfort

17. Happy Birthday Baby

available at cdbaby.com/hrab6 and iTunes

all songs © 2010 Geologic Records / You Call That Music

Here’s all the fun you could ever fit in your pocket. The Balticon 44 Pocket Program is here. Start planning your weekend.

Friend of the show, Lawrence M. Schoen and I sat down at Balticon to talk about his Hugo Award nomination, traveling, how exercise effects writing, and much much more.

Hugo award nominee and friend of the show, Lawrence M. Schoen reads Sweet Potato Pie from his upcoming collection of short stories. Lawrence is nominated for the 2010 Hugo Award for his short story The Moment. His new collection will be launching at Balticon 44.