Monthly Archives: June 2004

Everybody has their own take on what should and what should not go into book reviews. One thing I struggle with is whether reviewers should mention the publishing aspects of a book – covers, copyediting etc. – and, for the most part, I think they shouldn’t. Why? Well, firstly, usually publishers are doing the best … Continue reading »

Young adult publishing… …just wants to make things difficult for the few of us who are reading for ‘year’s best’ annuals and who may or may not have to do annual short fiction round-ups. They do this by publishing short story collections that include a lot of previously unpublished stories (and in some cases only … Continue reading »

And because I’m playing catch up… …I only just got around to reading Andy Duncan’s “Zora and the Zombie“, from SciFiction, which is a very cool story about writer Zora Neale Thurston’s encounter with zombies in Haiti. I’m going to re-read it later in the year, but at the moment I think it starts really … Continue reading »

The cd of the moment… …on my Walkman is Amy Winehouse’s debut, Frank, which is really good. She sounds like a jazz singer, but doesn’t sing jazz at all. It’s smart, sassy and sometimes funny. To be honest, one or two of the lyrics made me a feel a little older than I’d prefer, but, … Continue reading »

Got home today to find the first advance copy of both the Australian and the US editions of The Locus Awards, which was quite cool. They have different covers (both by the supremely talented Michael Whelan)and different internal designs, and look wonderful in their own way. I couldn’t be prouder of this book, and finally … Continue reading »