From the desk of Robert Runte I first heard Dr. Hargreaves read Dead to the World in 1976 just before North by 2000 was published. The story was funny and thought provoking and was something of a revelation, because it was the first time I was able to pinpoint what it was about Canadian SF that was different. North by 2000 was the first short story collection ever marketed as Canadian Science Fiction, and it…
Had an urgent email today from an author who had awakened in the middle of the night with the nagging feeling there was something wrong with the manuscript we’d just sent off to the publisher. The author had started work on the sequel and couldn’t remember whether one of the minor (i.e., non-speaking, almost entirely off-stage) characters was the King’s sister or daughter. So went to check the manuscript and found that the character was…
“Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should stay.” Christopher Hitchens Okay, some demotivational columns worth reading: Notes from the Drunken Editor: You Are the Joke Here Nobody gives a F*** that you wrote something Besides being Editor-in-Chief at Five Rivers Publishing, I (Robert) also do freelance development editing. The funny thing about being a development editor is that I can divide most of the authors that cross…
About 18 months ago, I (Robert Runté) signed H. A. Hargreaves to reprint his classic 70’s SF collection, North by 2000 (the first SF collection ever marketed as “Canadian SF”.) I wanted the collection because I often give lectures on Canadian SF to English teachers, etc., and often use Hargreaves (especially his, “Dead to the World” story) as the exemplar of Canadian / US differences. In one of my more recent talks, someone had pointed…
I (Robert Runté) attended the When Words Collide festival in Calgary again this year. Last year was WWC’s first convention, and I have been writing rave reviews ever since. Indeed, the organizers won a well deserved Aurora Award for their efforts. but I was nevertheless a bit worried that it might have been some kind of fluke. Could they repeat their initial success? I am here to say that yes, this was once again the…