Category: Commentary
- Darren Turpin - December 22nd, 2008
Just a quick reminder that the public ballot to decide the finalists of the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy opens on December 26th.
Following a recently announced change to the voting system, the five most popular fantasy titles of 2008 – as decided by the voters – will then be put forward to a second round of public voting in April 2009 (as opposed to the original panel of judges) for final consideration, with the winner announced on Friday 19th June 2009.
The final long-list of eligible nominated titles – including entries from Orbit authors Brian Ruckley, K.J. Parker, Brent Weeks, Kate Elliott, Jennifer Fallon, Karen Miller and Russell Kirkpatrick – has been made available via the DGLA website as a pdf download and an online voting form will be available from Thursday, with an additional incentive to participate early: the fist 100 voters will receive a limited edition DGLA wristband.
Visit www.gemmellaward.com for more information on the award, or to discuss the nominated titles. And don’t forget to vote, from December 26th onwards!
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Awards, Commentary, Interviews, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Darren Turpin - December 19th, 2008
If you point your browser towards the publishing schedules section of the site, you’ll find we’ve posted a complete list of Orbit UK’s 2008 publications.
2008 has been another fantastic year for Orbit UK. In the past 12 months we’ve published a total of 80 books by no fewer than 43 different authors, including: Brent Weeks, Brian Ruckley, Celia Friedman, Charles Stross, Charlie Huston, Christopher Moore, David Farland, Drew Karpyshyn, Elizabeth Moon, Fiona MacIntosh, Glenda Larke, Iain M. Banks, Ian Irvine, J. V. Jones, Jacqueline Carey, Jeff Somers, Jennifer Fallon, Jennifer Rardin, Jim Butcher, Jo Graham, K. J. Parker, Karen Miller, Karen Traviss, Kate Elliott, Kelley Armstrong, Ken MacLeod, Laurell K Hamilton, Lilith Saintcrow, Marianne de Pierres, Marie Brennan, Pamela Freeman, Patricia Briggs, Philip Palmer, Raymond Benson, Robert Buettner, Russell Kirkpatrick, Sean Williams, Shaun Hutson, Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, Tom Holt and Trudi Canavan.
By our reckoning we’ve published 23 science fiction titles (including 4 sf tie-in novelisations), 35 fantasy or comic fantasy titles and 22 horror or urban fantasy titles. We also published 7 UK debuts, by Brent Weeks, Jo Graham, Marie Brennan, Pamela Freeman, Patricia Briggs, Philip Palmer and Robert Buettner.
So, head on over to that full 2008 publication list and double-check to see if there are any gaps in your to-be-read list that need filling! It’s not too late to add a few titles to your Christmas wish-list, or to buy a few last-minute presents for friends and loved ones. Or why not just treat yourself to some holiday reading matter (go on… you know you want to!)
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Commentary, New Titles, Orbit UK
- The Orbit Team - October 31st, 2008
Hello and a very Happy Hallowe’en / All Hallows’ Eve / Stuff-Your-Face-With-Candy Night to you all. Here are a few online treats (no tricks, we promise!) featuring Orbit Authors or coverage of their books:
- Jennifer Rardin has a zombie (!) story up at The League of Reluctant Adults.
- Marie Brennan shares a midnight revelation on the importance of blood, love and rhetoric in fiction (with a hat-tip to Tom Stoppard).
- And Marie Brennan‘s Midnight Never Come continues to attract reviewers’ attention, months after publication: NextRead.co.uk is the latest blog to label it “highly recommended”.
- Reviewer Kelly Malcher has good things to say about Orphanage, the first book in Robert Buettner‘s Jason Wander series, over at Fandomania.com.
- The latest edition of pdf e-zine Falcata Times (warning: cover art somewhat NSFW) includes an interview with Jacqueline Carey.
- New-author-on-the-Orbit-block Michael Cobley seems rather pleased with the Steve Stone cover artwork for his new novel The Seeds of Earth.
- Kate Elliott answers readers’ questions: on developing themes and on outlining her novels.
- Pamela Freeman has re-posted Stuart Mayne’s review of her latest Orbit novel, Deep Water.
- Charlie Huston‘s US Publisher, Random House, is giving away pdf copies of his three ‘Hank Thompson’ crime novels, in conjunctions with MonstersAndCritics.com.
- Meanwhile Charlie Huston has posted reader Anne Kimbol’s Joe Pitt primer – warning: spoilers! – as well as part VIII of his ongoing Book of All Future Names project.
- Glenda Larke says fantasy writers shouldn’t be afraid of using fantasy tropes, memes and clichés, as long as they use them well.
- Ken MacLeod has taken part in Spiked Online’s Enlightening the Future debate [via Futurismic.com]
- John C. Snider takes a look at Ken MacLeod‘s The Night Sessions in his SfiFiDimensions.com review.
- Two more reviews of K. J. Parker‘s new stand-alone fantasy novel The Company: Highlander’s Book Reviews calls it a novel that goes “beyond the boundaries and norms of the fantasy genre” and Fantasy Book News and Reviews uses the recent Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist review as a springboard for a discussion of the book’s central premise.
- Marianne de Pierres reveals the title of the fourth book in her Sentients of Orion series, and that our very own ‘Big Ed‘ was instrumental in the process…
- Lilith Saintcrow explains why writers do what they do and explores the myth of the destructive artist.
- Charles Stross explores that strange feeling of having just finished a novel.
- Brent Weeks is winning over even more fans out in the blogosphere with his debut series The Night Angel Trilogy: BloodOfTheMuse.com has posted Paul Stotts’ reviews of The Way of Shadows and Shadow’s Edge, Liviu C Suciu’s review of The Way of Shadows is live at FantasyBookCritic.blogspot.com and BookSpotCentral.com has run another extremely favourable review of The Way of Shadows. Don’t worry, folks – not too long now until Beyond the Shadows reveals all…
- Orbit authors Sean Williams and Allen Steele have taken part in a mind-meld on the future of Science Fiction, over at www.SFSignal.com.
And finally…
- A Hallowe’en audio-treat from our housemates at Little, Brown: a free-to-download reading of Charlotte Bronte‘s ghostly tale ‘Napoleon and the Spectre’: Part One & Part Two.
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Commentary, Interviews, Link Round-Ups, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Darren Turpin - August 27th, 2008
Two Orbit Authors – Brian Ruckley and Jeff Somers – recently took part in the first BookGeeks SF and Fantasy Writers’ Panel.
The round-robin discussion, which also includes contributions from authors Alastair Reynolds and Jaine Fenn, is on the subject of the marriage of prose and visuals. Specifically: maps (is their inclusion in sf / fantasy books a good thing / bad thing?), cover art (should an on-cover portrayal of a book’s characters or vehicles be encouraged / avoided?) and visualised representations of the authors’ work (what would they like to see, what would work best – games, comcis, movies?)
The piece is presented in round-robin format, with each authors’ responses to the three questions then commented upon by the other three authors, which works quite nicely to build up a the discussion between the participants. It all makes for some very interesting reading. Do check it out and do leave your own comments; pieces like this always work best with plenty of feedback.
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Commentary, Interviews, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- The Orbit Team - August 22nd, 2008
It’s Friday lunchtime, which can mean only one thing (well, around here, anyhow): it’s time for our weekly round-up post of links to items of interest featuring Orbit authors:
- Marie Brennan comments on varying reader reactions to her work, and possible reasons therefore, over at sfnovelists.com.
- Marianne de Pierres and Sean Williams have both contributed to an article entitled ‘How I Write‘ over at ConceptSciFi.com.
- Robert Jordan fans and collectors, take note: large parts of his collection of antique and reproduction swords, spears, hatchets and knives will be auctioned via eBay in the next couple of weeks.
- Stan Nicholls (author of Orcs, out this September from Orbit US) was interviewed on the Wonderlands ning community.
- Jennifer Rardin‘s kick-ass heroine Jaz Parks is the latest guest of Jezebel the Demon over at the Cat and Muse radio talk-show.
- A fresh slice of writing advice from Lilith Saintcrow, this time on the subject of avoiding unnecessary deletion.
- And Lilith Saintcrow has launched a Wiki to provide background for her writing – check out The Shadow Journal and feel free to contribute (as per submission guidelines).
- Sean Williams talks to ConceptSciFi.com about his recent work, including the Astropolis series and his work on the official novelisation of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
- Over at Grasping For the Wind, there’s an interesting discussion developing on the merits of urban fantasy (a subject very dear to the Orbit team’s collective heart) and what a select group of bloggers think might be the Next Big Thing, genre or sub-genre-wise.
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
by The Orbit Team • 2 Comments • Posted in: Commentary, Interviews, Link Round-Ups, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- The Orbit Team - August 1st, 2008
Welcome once more, gentle reader, to our regular Friday links round-up. We have another choice selection of Orbit authors’ online activities for you to peruse this week:
As always, if you see any online articles, reviews or interviews that feature an Orbit author, please feel free to drop us a line and let us know! We’ll happily name-check your website or blog with a heads-up credit in return (please remember to provide us with a link…)
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: Commentary, Interviews, Link Round-Ups, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews, Signings and Events
- Darren Turpin - July 18th, 2008
Former military intelligence officer turned military-sf writer Robert Buettner is the subject of the 47th Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast.
The first three volumes in Robert’s Jason Wander series are out now from Orbit US and will all be published by Orbit UK in August:
- #1 – Orphanage [US / UK]
- #2 – Orphan’s Destiny [US / UK]
- #3 – Orphan’s Journey [US / UK]
I’ve just finished Orphanage myself and I thought it was a cracking, high-octane read that will definitely appeal to fans of Allan Cole & Chris Bunch’s Sten series, but don’t just take my word for it: check out these two recent reviews of Orphan’s Journey at bookreviewsandmore and sffworld.
by Darren Turpin • 1 Comment • Posted in: Audio, Commentary, Interviews, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Tim Holman - April 21st, 2008
The April issue of Locus magazine carries its annual “British Book Summary” – a report on SFF publishing in the UK. I admire and appreciate Locus’s amazingly comprehensive reporting on all things SFF-y from around the world, but as somebody in the publishing industry I have to say that this survey always bothers me. Read the rest of this entry »
by Tim Holman • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Commentary, Contents, Orbit UK
- Tim Holman - March 27th, 2008
Following up on the post below, the cover debate continues here, here, here and elsewhere. I left a comment at Lou Ander’s blog that explains a bit more on our approach to cover design.
One thing to add: a few people have expressed the view that for a publisher the most important thing about a cover is that it appeals to buyers (those people in the book industry who determine whether or not–and in what quantity–a book gets on to the shelves). For us, that’s not true. Of course, it’s a great advantage if a buyer loves a cover we’ve come up with; and it makes things more challenging if they don’t. However, we–and I’m talking only about Orbit here, to be absolutely clear–have one thought in our mind when we’re thinking about covers: how to make it as effective as possible for the widest possible readership. And by “effective”, I mean visually exciting, distinctive, and appropriate to the book’s content and style.
Of course, we listen to buyers, we talk to buyers, we take buyers’ feedback very seriously, and we’ll sometimes change a cover as a result. But we don’t ask ourselves: what kind of cover would the buyers like? We ask ourselves: what kind of cover would potential readers like?
Another aspect of this issue that’s sometimes overlooked is what the author thinks of their cover. Some authors are more interested in their covers than others–some prefer to leave it to their publisher, others have very strong views on what they would like. Either way, I’m often struck by how revealing an author’s reaction to seeing a visual representation of their work can be. In my experience, authors themselves can be great judges of whether a cover works or not. One author reaction to seeing her cover for the first time summed it up for me when she said: “That’s exactly what my book looks like!” For her, the cover had captured something exciting and important about the book and made it instantly recognizable. If a cover doesn’t achieve this–at least to some degree–I think it’s unlikely to be a particularly effective cover.
I guess it all comes back to what one considers to be an effective cover.
by Tim Holman • 3 Comments • Posted in: All posts, Commentary, Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US
