Out of the Woodwork 156. September 2009
Fantastic Literature - setting the standards for out of print on-line bookselling.

Welcome to our newsletter, it contains up to the minute news and gossip as well as awards details and items requiring help from the collective consciousness. If you wish to contribute please do so! We welcome your thoughts, your news items and any gossip! We do love a bit of gossip here at Fantastic HQ.

In this newsletter:

The World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award - a rare honour
Donald M Grant dies at the age of 82
Crime Writers Association announce TV deal
Canadian scientists ponder the "Zombie" problem.
Avatar news - the blockbuster is due in December
World Fantasy Convention announces additional Guest of Honour
Koontz and Lumley - Daily Mail shock in Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping case.
David Edding's will - he leaves $M10 to asthma research
Steven Spielberg to film Michael Crichton's Pirate novel
Winners of the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest. - September 1st
Collective Consciousness - success from the last newsletter. And yet another!
The CWA Dagger awards shortlists - and there's some cracking reads in this little lot.
Post apocalyptic movies for the autumn. BBC clips
Spiderman is bought out by Disney. Spidey is now owned by Disney! Bizzare or what?
Howard Waldrop wins Jack Trevor Story memorial prize at Armadillocon
Derek Gunn's Vampire tales set to go to graphic novel - New Baby Productions (where do they get their names?) Warner Bros to create a new division DC Entertainment - to maximise potential of DC Comics
Department of Smug Self Satisfaction - a smug look at kind comments from our customers around the world
Archive

OotW Blinks:
Iain Banks "Transition" reviewed in the Independent.
Ian Rankin interview in the Independent and another in Guardian
Ursula Le Guin reviews margaret Atwood's "Year of the Flood" - Guardian
Robert J Sawyer profiled in Calgary Herald
Charles N Brown's obituary in the Independent
Booker Prize shortlist (BBC)- we are looking forward to reading at least two of this years nominees
Patrick Swayze - who starred in the smash hit supernatural movie "Ghost" dies - BBC Obituary

The World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winners for 2009 are Jane Yolen and Ellen Asher. The award is presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to the fantasy field. Lifetime Achievement winners are announced in advance; other winners will be announced at this year's World Fantasy Convention, to be held October 29 - November 1, 2009 in San José, California.

Donald M Grant dies. Locus reported on the 24th August that publisher Donald M Grant died at the age of 82. We've sold a number of Don Grant titles and they were lavishly produced and opulent books. He did a great service to SF & Fantasy publishing.

Crime Writers Association announce TV deal: The Crime Writers’ Association is pleased to announce that it will join forces with Specsavers, Cactus TV and ITV3 to celebrate the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2009. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event on ITV3, the 2009 event will be merged with the Crime Writers’ Association Daggers and the new combined “Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3” will take place on Wednesday, 21st October, 2009 and be shown on ITV3 later that month. CWA

Canadian scientists ponder the "zombie" problem. If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively. That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out by researchers in Canada. They say only frequent counter-attacks with increasing force would eradicate the fictional creatures. Full BBC story

AVATAR news. UK cinema-goers are being given a taste of James Cameron's new science-fiction epic Avatar at free previews taking place around the country. They are being shown 15 minutes of the futuristic fantasy, which uses motion-capture animation, CGI and live action, and will be shown in stereoscopic 3D. One of the day's first sneak previews was held at the BFI Imax in London, home to the UK's biggest cinema screen. A trailer from the film, released on 18 December, is now available online. BBC Story and interviews

World Fantasy Convention: We are delighted to announce one additional Guest of Honor, Serbian writer Zoran Živkovic. Zoran is a past winner of the World Fantasy Award for his mosaic-novel The Library. He has also been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award (WFC)

According to the Daily Mail Philip Garrido, the alleged kidnapper of Jaycee Lee Dugard, demonstrated peculiar book choices - under a photo of his bookcase. The Mail commented "one author dominates the hundred or so paperbacks - American horror writer Dean Koontz. His book Intensity, seen in the centre of the middle shelf, features a delusional character who turns into a serial killer and rapist, at one stage keeping a young girl in the cellar. Garrido is also a fan of the Psychosphere trilogy by British writer Brian Lumley. The books revolve around a world in which people use their mental powers to control others. Garrido calls himself 'the man who spoke with his mind' and believes he has telepathic abilities". (But if you look closely you will see a Greg Bear, a McCaffrey, an Asimov and a David Eddings visible - but they don't fit the sub plot!)

Personally I wouldn't trust anyone who looked after their their books in such an appalling fashion, never mind what he read! Look at the spines on those books - horrendous. (PS. What other authors can you recognise? Is there a James Patterson in there?)

Director Steven Spielberg has acquired the film rights to Michael Crichton's final novel, Pirate Latitudes. The Oscar-winner is set to produce and possibly direct the adventure film, set in 17th Century Jamaica. Pirate Latitudes is set to be published on 24 November. The novel, which takes place in 1665, is about a daring plan to infiltrate Port Royal, one of the world's richest and most notorious cities, and raid a Spanish galleon filled with treasure.

The Heinlein Society announced on the 1st Sept the three winners of the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest..

1st Place, and $5,000 award --"Under the Shouting Sky," by Karl Bunker.

2nd Place, and $2,000 award-- "In the Shadows," by Charlie Allery

3rd Place, and $1,000 award -- "Salvage Sputnik," by Sam S. Kepfield

The three winning stories will appear, for a limited time, at the Society's website at www.heinleinsociety.org over the coming months.

One for the collective consciousness, yet another result!

Looking for the title of a book I read sometime between 2000 and 2002. And was directed to your site as a possible place to find the answer. It was a sci-fi/ horror book about a town of people that begin changing into their ideal of monsters. There was a large corporation that was doing illegal research on the town. And the mutations were being caused by nanites or something. After some murders, the main characters come to the town to investigate, and eventually the town goes to hell and the main characters have to try and survive. I remember that one kid turned into a cyborg and morphed with his computer. Some people turned into werewolves. And some changed into "Alien" like alien creatures. Any ideas on the title of this book? Roger

and they came in:

a) Hi all,

I'm pretty sure 'Midnight' by Dean R. Koontz is the answer to this month's Colective Consciousness query. I've had a look through to refresh my memory and it seems to meet all the critera. This is one of his good ones before his work deteriorated and had dogs talking to God.

Cheers .. Fay

b) This is Midnight, by Dean Koontz. Roger Lawson

The Crime Writers’ Association - Dagger Awards Shortlists:

The books shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger are When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, In the Dark by Mark Billingham, Hit and Run by Lawrence Block, A Whispered Name by William Brodrick, The Coroner by MR Hall and Dark Times In The City by Gene Kerrigan.

The books shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger are The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, The Last Child by John Hart, Calumet City by Charlie Newton, Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva, The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer, and The Interrogator by Andrew Williams.

The books shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger are Sweetsmoke by David Fuller, Bad Catholics by James Green, No Way To Say Goodbye by Rod Madocks, Old City Hall by Robert Rotenberg, Echoes from The Dead by Johan Theorin and The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell - CWA

Post Apocalyptic movies for the autumn. Hollywood is about to launch a new wave of big-budget apocalyptic spectacles, depicting a world where human life has been all but destroyed. From September, big name stars aided by impressive special effects will be bringing competing post-cataclysmic visions to cinemas. Many think this new batch of disaster films has been triggered by topical anxieties. BBC story and clips

Entertainment giant Walt Disney is to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal valued at $4bn (£2.5bn).The deal means Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. BBC story

Howard Waldrop wins Jack Trevor Story Memorial Prize. Howard Waldrop received the Jack Trevor Story Memorial Prize from Michael Moorcock at Armadillocon with rules stipulating that the prize money "be spent in a week to a fortnight and the author have nothing to show for it at the end of that time" Armadillocon, story and pics

New Baby Productions announces that a graphic novel adaptation of Derek Gunn's acclaimed Vampire Apocalypse novel series is in the works. "I'm really thrilled with this new direction as I always felt that (Vampire Apocalypse) really lends itself to this format," stated Gunn. Vampire Apocalypse was published in September 2006, and has been optioned by producer/screenwriter Richard Finney to be a feature film. A script has already been penned by Finney and Franklin Guerrero Jr. Fallout, the third book in the series, will be released this October from Black Death Books.
According to Gunn, "The stories are set in the near future in a world grown insular after a brief war has left the world depleted of resources. Fuel is rationed, states close their borders, communities die, and technology stagnates. As the world struggles to cope with these problems, the vampires come from the shadows and quietly begin to take over community-after-community. They offer power to those who will join them, and death to those who don't. It doesn't take long and, after a brutal but brief war, they take control. They use a serum and Thralls to control the population, wall the cities off, and breed humans as stock. The Thralls are humans who have been bitten but have not fully become vampires. They have enhanced speed and strength and guard the vampires during the day when they could be vulnerable."
"In recent pop culture, vampires have been turned into beings that should be loved. Derek Gunn returns vampires to the blood-thirsty dangerous monsters that they should be," stated New Baby Publisher Eric Mullarky. "This is the perfect story to launch New Baby into the horror genre." New Baby Productions

Media powerhouse Warner Brothers has created a new division, called DC Entertainment, Inc., "a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms." Barry Meyer, Warner Chairman & CEO, states that "DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular culture, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company's efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties." Warner Bros

Dept of Smug Self Satisfaction (cont)

a) This book arrived in 4 working days, well packaged and in prestine condition with a laminated book mark. I was very impressed with both the quality and the service and will definatley use them again. Highly recommended :)
b) If I could, I'd give six stars for the packaging alone - the most amazingly well-wrapped parcel I've ever seen. Book in excellent condition as described, and it arrived in one working day - amazing. Thank you!
c) Another great buy. Beautifully packaged, shame to unwrap! Many thanks
d) Fantastic Very helpfull will be buying again mint condition well packaged :)
e) Hello Simon & Laraine Gosden, The 'Science of the Discworld 3' book has arrived in good order. Many Thanks. SHS King
f) Book arrived safely in Argentina. Thank you for your first class service. Ana Maria
g) Hey, Simon, this is the easiest list to read you've ever produced! Putting spaces between each new author in the paperback section makes a huge difference! I used to know I would get a headache trying to pick out the authors and titles on your looooong list, so if I already had one from spending too long staring at a computer screen, I would just mark your list to read at a later time, sometimes days later. But today, I started on it right away, figuring I could at least manage the hardback section. And wow, you've upgraded the paperback section, too, so I was able to get through the whole thing at once. Well done, and thank you! Nancy Stewart

We also buy books and travel around the country to purchase, we will pay a finders fee to anyone who puts us in touch with a collection we later purchase.

OotW121. OotW122. OotW 123, OotW 124, OotW 125, OotW 126, OotW 127, OotW 128, OotW 129, OotW 130, OotW 131, OotW 132, OotW 133, OotW134, OotW135, OotW136, OotW 137, OotW138, OotW 139, OotW 140, OotW141, OotW 142, OotW 143, OotW144, OotW145, OotW146. OotW147, OotW148, OotW149, OotW 150, OotW151, OotW 152, OotW 153, OotW 154, OotW155