Download the episode here.

Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!

And of course get all the show notes at the original post from last year.

He’s a nice guy, seriously. Photo by joelmeadows1

Veronica and Goodreads moderator Josh Lawrence headed to the Nebula Awards to chat with some great authors. We’ll be posting these interviews in our off weeks from the regular episodes. This week it’s the legendary (and Nebula award-winning) Kim Stanley Robinson. His latest book 2312 won the Nebula award for Novel.  Enjoy!

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This past weekend, Josh Lawrence and I went down to San Jose for the Nebula Awards. While there, we interviewed several attendees, including Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, and Joe Haldeman. Those interviews will be coming up as podcasts soon, so stay tuned!

Best Novel winner Kim Stanley Robinson with Joe Haldeman.

In the meantime, let’s congratulate the winners of the 2012 Nebula Awards!, as posted on Tor.com! Winners in bold.

Novel:

• 2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW; Gollancz ’13)
• Ironskin, Tina Connolly (Tor)
• The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
• Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)

Novella:

• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
• On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
• “The Stars Do Not Lie,” Jay Lake (Asimov’s 10-11/12)
• “All the Flavors,” Ken Liu (GigaNotoSaurus 2/1/12)
• “Katabasis,” Robert Reed (F&SF 11-12/12)
• “Barry’s Tale,” Lawrence M. Schoen (Buffalito Buffet)

Novelette:

• “Close Encounters,” Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories)
• “The Pyre of New Day,” Catherine Asaro (The Mammoth Books of SF Wars)
• “The Waves,” Ken Liu (Asimov’s 12/12)
• “The Finite Canvas,” Brit Mandelo (Tor.com 12/5/12)
• “Swift, Brutal Retaliation,” Meghan McCarron (Tor.com 1/4/12)
• “Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 8/22/12)
• “Fade to White,” Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld 8/12)

Short Story:

• “Immersion,” Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)
• “Robot,” Helena Bell (Clarkesworld 9/12)
• “Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 4/12)
• “Nanny’s Day,” Leah Cypess (Asimov’s 3/12)
• “Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream,” Maria Dahvana Headley (Lightspeed 7/12)
• “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species,” Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/12)
• “Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” Cat Rambo (Near + Far)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

• Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director), Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight)
• The Avengers, Joss Whedon (director) and Joss Whedon and Zak Penn (writers), (Marvel/Disney)
• The Cabin in the Woods, Drew Goddard (director), Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (writers) (Mutant Enemy/Lionsgate)
• The Hunger Games, Gary Ross (director), Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray (writers), (Lionsgate)
• John Carter, Andrew Stanton (director), Michael Chabon, Mark Andrews, and Andrew Stanton (writers), (Disney)
• Looper, Rian Johnson (director), Rian Johnson (writer), (FilmDistrict/TriStar)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book

• Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)
• Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill (Little, Brown)
• Black Heart, Holly Black (McElderry; Gollancz)
• Above, Leah Bobet (Levine)
• The Diviners, Libba Bray (Little, Brown; Atom)
• Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst (S&S/McElderry)
• Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Random House; Doubleday UK)
• Enchanted, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
• Every Day, David Levithan (Knopf)
• Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Tu Books)
• Railsea, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan)
• Above World, Jenn Reese (Candlewick)

Solstice Awards were awarded to editor Ginjer Buchanan and astronomer and entertainer Carl Sagan, the latter of which was accepted by his son Nick Sagan.

The Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service Award was awarded to Michael Payne.

The winners are announced at SFWA’s 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend, held Thursday through Sunday, May 16 to May 19, 2013 at the San Jose Hilton in San Jose, California. Borderland Books hosted the mass autograph session from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17th at the San Jose Hilton.

As announced earlier this year, Gene Wolfe was the recipient of the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for his lifetime contributions to, and achievements in, the field. Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Celebrated author and book critic Lev Grossman answered your questions about The Magicians, and we kicked off our “laser” pick, Hyperion by Dan Simmons!

Download the episode here.

Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!

And of course get all the show notes at the original post from last year.

It’s awards season!  We have nominees for the Campbell, Sturgeon, and Locus awards and Veronica’s heading over to the Nebula Awards. Who is she wearing? Probably whoever got in her way.  She’s a Demon Hunter, after all. 

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: Fat Weasel Ale
Veronica: Cathedral Ridge Syrah

QUICK BURNS
Neil Gaiman to publish a new NEVERWHERE story (with some help from George R.R. Martin)
R. Scott Bakker update
WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE delayed by a year
FINALISTS: 2013 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards (with Free Fiction Links)
FINALISTS: 2013 Locus Awards (+ Free Fiction Links!)
Watch the intense first trailer for Ender’s Game right now!
Tor Books says cutting DRM out of its e-books hasn’t hurt business
The Real Reason Readers Might Love a Book that You Find Fatally Flawed

CALENDAR

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES
Starz moving forwards with adaptation of OUTLANDER

BOOK CHECK-IN
Wool by Hugh Howey
Casting
June Pick: Among Others by Jo Walton

BARE YOUR SWORD
May I Ask a Favor From Those Posting Book Links in Threads?
Renegade read section

ADDENDUMS

Veronica will be at the Nebula Awards this weekend with Josh to interview Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe and Joe Haldeman.  Got questions?  Post them in the Goodreads forum!

Tomorrow ends submissions for the Anthology.  NO submissions received after midnight Pacific tomorrow will be considered. We need time to read through everything, so please be patient.  We expect to make our final selections by August 15, 2013. And HUGE thanks to everybody who submitted.

Congratulations to PanamaJack and Misti, winners of our Adam Christopher limited edition books!

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service.

For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.

Download the MP3 of today’s show here!

We asked author Saladin Ahmed more viewer questions. Plus he described his new book and how he became a DM for Joe Abercrombie! There was some pretty bad audio interference on this one, so when you complain, know that we already know.

Download the episode here.

Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!

And of course, here’st the original post from last year.

We hop on the old Google Hangout to chat with Adam Christopher about alternate universes, superheroes, and atomic robot armies. His new book The Age Atomic is out right now!  Listen to this then go read that!

You can also watch the hangout on video like you were right there with us!

Direct download link for today’s podcast

The video rewind continues! One year ago, we were wrapping up “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman and we also spoke with author Saladin Ahmed, finalist for the Nebula and Campbell awards and author of “Throne fo the Crescent Moon.”

Download the episode here.

Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!

And of course get all the show notes at the original post from last year.

We asked author Scott Sigler more questions than could fit in the main episode! Plus he tries to guess the name of the dragon (no spoilers, you guys).

Download the episode here.

Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!

And of course watch the video at the original post from last year.

Controversy swirls around the Sword and Laser book picks both old and new. It makes being George R. R. Martin look downright easy. And then he goes and buys a movie theater. For real. You must listen.

QUICK BURNS
George R.R. Martin buys a movie theatre
China Mieville’s turn-it-to-11 high weirdness reboot of “Dial H”
Petition to get Isaac Asimov a commemorative plaque
Too much violence in fantasy?
In a future with one last bookstore, a boy falls in love with reading

CALENDAR

BOOK WRAP-UP
Wrap-up Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
Female characters in Pern
On the use of Dragons
A Whiteboard Reflection on Pern

EMAIL
If you remember the main trip to get back 400 years to bring the other weyr’s forward, show used the tapestry from Ruatha Hold.

The dragons of Pern need an image in the riders mind to travel between to that place. They also use an image to travel between times.

This is why the riders don’t go back in time to battle thread when necessary, they need that image to get there. It also drain’s both dragon and rider.

I don’t know how far you are into all the other books, but Lessa wasn’t the first to time travel (chronologically speaking), In “”Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern””, Moreta did some if my memory serves me.

If you haven’t read the series before, you must read Dragonsdawn! It’s the “”laser”” Dragonriders book. Basically, the first book (chronologically) of the series. I really love that book. If I had to rank the books, I would go Harper Hall trilogy, Dragonsdawn, Dragonflight, Dragonquest then The White Dragon. The others are really good, but those 7 are my absolute favorite books.

Looking forward to Sword & Laser having video shows again (really missing them!),

Dave

BOOK KICK-OFF
Wool by Hugh Howey
Controversy around Howey statements
Wikipedia entry about Wool

ADDENDUMS

Giveaway!

Limited edition Empire State and Limited Edition Age Atomic Hardcover, signed, numbered only 100 copies each. Empire State has a variant cover. Enter at this Goodreads thread.

Writer’s With Drinks

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers. For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword

Direct link to podcast download!