WWWednesday: September 9, 2020

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Rob Reiner, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Carol Kane, and Billy Crystal.(Photo by Dave Kotinsky/WireImage)

Congratulations to John Scalzi (The Last Emperox), Erin Morgenstern (The Starless Sea) T. Kingfisher (The Twisted Ones), and all the other 2020 Dragon Award winners! It was a great ballot this year, with lots of discussion to come, I’m sure. Oh, look! Here are some now.

Like nearly every other convention, this year’s World Fantasy Convention will be online.

Books and Writing:

The Mary Sue hosted a discussion among four Tor authors about characters who define Chaotic Good.

Tor.com shares five successful collaborations.

The Guardian offers us some fun speculative fiction books for fall! I’m especially interested in The Mother Code.

Nerds of a Feather talks to writer Don Moren about six books. I love this feature.

Comixology is offering hundreds of Black Panther stories for free.

Locus ran an article based on a survey done by Publishers Weekly about publishing in the pandemic. The corporate publishers, who originally anticipated a wholesale return to in-office work, have revised that projection. Most are saying people will not be returning to offices any time before early 2021. Several companies are discussing ways to make sure offices are safe for employees. Corporate bookstore employees, from Waterstones and Barnes and Noble, are not faring as well as those companies engage in massive layoffs.

Speaking of Publishers Weekly, they ran an article about AI Dungeon, an AI-driven storytelling game. Stripped of the glitter and flash of the AI piece, it reads like a choose-your-own-adventure game.  Am I reading that right? Game creator Nick Walton sees a potential connection to published novels; tie-in game (a reversal!) that allows the reader to “play an endless series of games inside their favorite novels’ settings.” I think this game developer is unaware of fan fiction.

On his blog, Peter Clines meditates on the challenges of writing comedy.

Caitlin Starling explains the genesis of Yellow Jessamine on Mary Robinette Kowal’s blog.

Internet:

The Princess Bride cast will reunite for a table read of the beloved film, on September 13, as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Gizmodo rounded up a set of horror films where women band together to fight monsters.

Syfy Fangrrls dissect Lexi Lewis’s stunning wardrobe in Lovecraft Country.

New Guinea singing dogs, believed to be extinct outside of captivity, have been rediscovered.

This 8.5 minute video showcases overhyped movies that never materialized.

This fun map will show you what dinosaurs lived in your area 240 million years ago.

Ars Technica looks at the nerve agent that poisoned Russian Putin critic and  human rights advocate Alexei Navalny.

Here’s an article about how much the Loch Ness Monster does to boost Scotland’s economy (spoiler alert: Lots).