Down and Out is the summer reading pick at McMaster U

/ / News

This is sweet — the McMaster University Daily News Summer Book Club has chosen my novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom as their summer reading pick.

“I chose Cory Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom because I am a science fiction fan first and foremost, and because he’s a Canadian author,” says Trzeciak. “Doctorow publishes under the Creative Commons license, which makes his work freely available in any language, which I think is really interesting. His work isn’t way-out sci-fi, but it gives us a glimpse into the possible future.”

Link

(Thanks, Derek!)

Reading/signing in San Diego, July 18, Mysterious Galaxy books

/ / News

Next week, I’ll be in San Diego, teaching the Clarion science fiction writers’ workshop at UCSD. Each of the six instructors will be giving a reading/signing at the Mysterious Galaxy bookshop — this week, it’s Karen Joy Fowler, reading on Friday, July 13, along with Emma Bull and Will Shetterly (see my review of his latest, The Gospel of the Knife).

I’ll be reading and signing on July 18 — hope to see you there!

Time: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 7:00 PM
Title of Event: Clarion instructor Cory Doctorow visits!

Mysterious Galaxy Books
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
Suite #302
San Diego, CA 92111
Tel: 858.268.4747

Link,

Link to events-page for Mysterious Galaxy

The Hacker Crackdown, Part 001

/ / News, Podcast

I’ve been podcasting my fiction since September 2005, and I’ve basically caught up. There are a couple of novels in the can that will be coming into print shortly, and some collaborative stories, but apart from them, I’ve read it all.

So now I’m reading other people’s stuff — at least while I get more in the can. I’m starting with Bruce Sterling’s brilliant, seminal book The Hacker Crackdown, a 1992 book that recounts the events that led to the founding of The Electronic Frontier Foundation, my former employer. Bruce released the book as a free electronic download nearly 10 years before I did the same with my first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

This book changed my life — and the lives of countless others. It inspired me politically, artistically and socially. Last week, I saw Bruce at his home in Serbia and asked him if he minded my reading this aloud for the next 20 weeks or so. He gave me his blessing — so here it is.

MP3 Link


Slovak fan-translations of my books

/ / News, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

Pavol Hvizdos, a Slovak speaker, has translated three of my books into Slovakian — Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, and Overclocked. The translations are Creative Commons licensed for your remixing and sharing pleasure.

I can’t tell you how awesomely cool it is to have readers spontaneously undertake major translation projects just for the fun of it. I believe that sharing my books under CC licenses inspires my readers to promote them, and this is the proof that it works. w00t!

Link

Slovak fan-translations of my books

/ / News, Overclocked

Pavol Hvizdos, a Slovak speaker, has translated three of my books into Slovakian — Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, and Overclocked. The translations are Creative Commons licensed for your remixing and sharing pleasure.

I can’t tell you how awesomely cool it is to have readers spontaneously undertake major translation projects just for the fun of it. I believe that sharing my books under CC licenses inspires my readers to promote them, and this is the proof that it works. w00t!

Link

Slovak fan-translations of my books

/ / News

Pavol Hvizdos, a Slovak speaker, has translated three of my books into Slovakian — Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, and Overclocked. The translations are Creative Commons licensed for your remixing and sharing pleasure.

I can’t tell you how awesomely cool it is to have readers spontaneously undertake major translation projects just for the fun of it. I believe that sharing my books under CC licenses inspires my readers to promote them, and this is the proof that it works. w00t!

Link

When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth wins the Locus Award!

/ / News, Overclocked

I could not be happier right now! My novella, When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth (published in my collection Overclocked) just won the Locus Award for best novelette of 2006. A million thanks to everyone who voted for it — I’ve got a 12h plane ride coming up, and this’ll keep me warm the whole way.

Also: check out the awesome company I’m in: Vernor Vinge and Ellen Kushner and Charlie Stross and Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and Naomi Novik!

This is the third Locus Award I’ve won in a row. A million thanks to Eileen Gunn for delivering this acceptance speech on my behalf: “Systems administrators are the unsung heroes of the twenty first century, our tireless morlocks who keep the entire universe running. The best sysadmins I’ve met treat their jobs as holy callings. They understand that they’re keeping the infrastructure of the information age alive and functional.

Many thanks to my sysadmin, Ken Snider, and to all the other sysadmins who make my life possible. And many thanks to Jim Baen and Eric Flint for publishing this. ”

Best Science Fiction Novel:

Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge (Tor)

Best Fantasy Novel:

The Privilege of the Sword, Ellen Kushner (Bantam Spectra)

Best First Novel:

Temeraire: His Majesty’s Dragon/Throne of Jade/Black Powder, Naomi Novik (Del Rey; Voyager); as Temeraire: In the Service of the King (SFBC)

Best Young Adult Book:

Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK; HarperTempest)

Best Novella:

“Missile Gap”, Charles Stross (One Million A.D.)

Best Novelette:

“When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth”, Cory Doctorow (Baen’s Universe 8/06)

Best Short Story:

“How to Talk to Girls at Parties”, Neil Gaiman (Fragile Things)

Link