Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for March 4, 2016

Here is our weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with lots of award nominations and wins, several writer profiles, the first trailer for the new all-female Ghostbusters as well as the usual mix of writing advice, interviews, reviews, con reports and crowdfunding projects as well as free online fiction. 

Speculative fiction in general:

• Duncan McGeary attempts to answer the question "What is genre anyway?"
• Eleanor Arnason wonders what happened to science fiction since the 1980s and 1990s.
• Sharman Apt Russell discusses how science fiction tackles climate change. 
• Roz Kaveney talks about Tolkien's English mythlogy.
• Megan Quibell explains how fantasy stopped her from going insane. 
• Emily Asher-Perrin finds an unexpected connection between J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
• Jim C. Hines explains that being products of their time does not excuse the racism of H.P. Lovecraft and other classic SFF writers.
• Michael R. Brown remembers the early super-villain Dr. Mabuse.  
• Robert McKie recounts how the town of Woking celebrates H.G. Wells' 150th birthday. 
• The participants of the SF Signal Mind Meld discuss their favourite C.J. Cherryh books.  
• Marc Buxton shares his favourite Joe R. Lansdale novels.
• Mary Reinholz profiles Harlan Ellison. 
• Ravenna Koenig profiles Naomi Novik. 
• Andrew Liptak profiles Tom Doherty. 
• J.C. Reindl profiles Amanda M. Lee and Boyd Craven.
• Philip Sander profiles Carribbean SFF writers Nalo Hopkinson, Tobias Buckell, Karen Lord and R.S.A Garcia.
• Chinelo Onwualu talks about emerging trends of African speculative fiction. 
• Geek Girl Diva points out that everybody ships.
• Martin Prinzon explains why he feels that Serenity is better than The Force Awakens.
• Brian Childs and Jason Tabrys share 40 actors and other celebrities you didn't know where in Star Trek.
• Cheryl Eddy claims that The Silence of the Lambs is secretly about mind control. 
• Keith Uhlich explains how The X-Files changed television. 
• Leah Schnelbach shares her appreciation for the TV show Quantum Leap.
• Liz Bourke praises the relationships between women in The 100.

Awards:

• The winners of the 2016 Academy Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2016 Saturn Awards have been announced. 
• The nominees for the Spectrum 23 Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2015 This is Horror Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2015 Dwayne McDuffie Award has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2016 Darrell Awards have been announced.
• The nominees for the 2016 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards have been announced.
• Molly Driscoll wonders why no science fiction movie has ever won the Best Picture Oscar.
• Ian Mond wonders what the purpose of awards shortlists is.

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Tim Marquitz geeks out about writing.
• Steve Vernon explains why writing isn't rocket science.
• Damien Walter declares that quality writing is not subjective.
• Gwenda Bond shares advice for young women writers. 
• Kameron Hurley talks about her writing process.
• Michael Lachman tells writers not to worry that they will have only one good idea. 
• Alexander Darwin explains what makes a good fight scene. 
• S.K. Dunstall talk about spaceship design in science fiction.
• Joe Vasicek attempts to answer the question "Can you make a living writing short fiction?"
• Veronica Sicoe shares the top ten productivity books for ambitious writers. 
• Jim Johnson shares some video tutorials about how to use Scrivener.
• Colleen Gleason talks about relaunching and marketing a book after getting the rights back. 
• Cat Rambo shares ten ways the SFWA can help you to promote your new book.
• Kyle Cassidy shares photos of the work spaces of various SFF writers. 

Interviews: 

• The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews David Mitchell. 
• Lucy Smee interviews Aliette de Bodard.
• Lauren K. Alleyne interviews Marjorie M. Liu.
• Raymond Bolton interviews Laura Resnick.
• David Barnett interviews Sarah Pinborough. 
• Connie Ogle interviews Peter Straub. 
• Dave Davies interviews Joe R. Lansdale. 
• Peter Giglio interviews Nick Mamatas.
• Dag Rambraut interviews Robert J. Sawyer.
• Carl Slaughter interviews Nathan Lowell.
• Carl Slaughter also interviews J.L. Doty.
• Carl Slaughter also interviews Christopher Kastensmidt.
• Mieneke van der Salm interviews Addison Gunn.  
• Preston Leigh interviews Jim Johnson.
• Carl Slaughter interviews Loren Rhoads.
• Carl Slaughter interviews Brian Pinkerton.
• Nicholas Yanes interviews Erik Therme.
• Kristin Centorcelli interviews Matthew De Abaitua. 

Reviews:

• Joe Sherry reviews Black Wolves by Kate Elliott. 
• Paul Weimer reviews Daughter of Blood by Helen Lowe.
• nerds of a feather reviews The Honey Mummy by E. Catherine Tobler.
• Charlie Jane Anders reviews Shadow of Empire by Jay Allan.
• Joe Gordon reviews Ancestral Machines by Michael Cobley. 
• John DeNardo reviews Arkwright by Allen Steele. 
• Jeff Somers also reviews Arkwright by Allen Steele. 
• Jeff Somers also reviews The Courier by Gerald Brandt.
• Sharon Browning reviews The Secrets of Solace by Jaleigh Johnson.
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Shootout Solution and The Absconded Ambassador by Michael R. Underwood. 
• Nicole Kastronis reviews Pawn's Gambit and Other Strategems by Timothy Zahn.
• Jason Heller reviews Version Control by Dexter Palmer.
  

Crowdfunding:

• Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling, an anthology by Apex Publications, is looking for funding.
• Unidentified Funny Objects 5, an anthology of humorous SFF edited by Alex Shvartsman, is looking for funding.
• The Invention of E.J. Whitaker, a Steampunk comic by Shawnee and Shawntelle Gibbs, is looking for funding. 
• The Legend of Everett Ford, a Steampunk western comic by Scott Wilke, is looking for funding.
  

Con reports:

• Michael R. Brown shares his experiences at Pulp Adventurecon 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• R.S. Belcher shares his experiences at MystiCon in Roanoke, Virginia, and particularly at a writing workshop there.
• Kevin Henney compares ConFederation, the 1986 WorldCon in Atlanta, Georgie, to Loncon 3, the 2014 WorldCon in London.
  

Science and technology:

• The Planetary Society introduces LightSail 2, a new solar-sailing cube sat.
• What if aliens called, but no one listened? 
• Repeating fast radio bursts have been recorded for the first time. 
• Quantum Physics for the terminally confused.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Shadow Collector" by Shveta Thakrar in Uncanny Magazine.
• "Love Is Never Still" by Rachel Swirsky in Uncanny Magazine. 
• "A First of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers" by Alyssa Wong at Tor.com.
• "Red Mask" by Jessica May Lin in Shimmer. 
• "Princess" by Dennis Etchinson in Nightmare Magazine.
• "Braveheart's Homecoming" by Dilman Dila in Mithila Review. 
• "Resurrection Points" by Usman T. Malik in Mithila Review. 
• "Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0" by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed.
• "Polyglossia" by Tamara Vardomskaya in GigaNotoSaurus.
• "The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss" by David Brin.
• Chapter 6 of "Homage", part 92 of The Descendants by Landon Porter.

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Ghostbusters.
• Watch a trailer for April and the Extraordinary World.
• Watch a trailer for Kill Command.
• Watch a trailer for Destination Planet Negro.
• Watch a trailer for Finding Dory.