Creative Commons Science-Fiction http://www.feedbooks.com/list/22 Many science-fiction writers are releasing part of their works under a Creative Commons license. If you'd like to discover new writers, and you're interested in modern sci-fi, you'll find the right content in this list. 37 96 Hugo Awards & Nominees http://www.feedbooks.com/list/140 The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugo Awards have been presented every year since 1955. Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the annual Worldcon (although only about 700 of several thousand Worldcon members actually vote) and the presentation evening constitutes its central point. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees (except in the case of a tie). The Hugo Award trophy was co-designed by longtime SF fan and booster Benedict Jablonski. The rocket design has become standardised in recent years and the rockets are currently produced by UK fan Peter Weston. The design for the base on which the rocket is mounted is the responsibility of the Worldcon committee and therefore changes each year. The base design has been selected by various means including committee selection, direct commission and open competition (currently the most common method). Source: Wikipedia 17 13 Cyberpunk http://www.feedbooks.com/list/26 Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". It is also a musical subgenre of metal. The name is derived from cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk" published in 1983, though the style was popularized well before its publication by editor Gardner Dozois. It features advanced science such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or a radical change in the social order. According to Lawrence Person: "Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body." Cyberpunk music often features heavy bass, bass drums, and synthesized sound effects. It is considered a subgenre of metal or EBM (electronic body music). Lyrics tend to lean toward the obscene, but usually include a message of some meaning that fits in with the classic punk. These meanings are often modernized and anti-establisment messages are not quite as common as in regular punk music. Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and mega corporations. They tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than the far future settings or galactic vistas found in novels like Isaac Asimov's Foundation or Frank Herbert's Dune. The settings are usually post-industrial dystopias, but tend to be marked by extraordinary cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its creators ("the street finds its own uses for things"). Much of the genre's atmosphere echoes film noir, and written works in the genre often use techniques from detective fiction. Primary exponents of the cyberpunk field include William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker and John Shirley. Postmodernist investigation of cyberpunk became a fashionable topic in academic circles, and the genre reached Hollywood to become one of cinema's staple science-fiction styles. Many influential films such as Blade Runner, Hackers (film), the Matrix trilogy or the more recent adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly can be seen as prominent examples of the cyberpunk style and theme. Computer games, board games and role-playing games (such as Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2020) often feature storylines that are heavily influenced by cyberpunk writing and movies. Beginning in the early 1990s, some trends in fashion and music were also labeled as cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is also featured prominently in anime, Ghost in the Shell being the most notable. As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new-subgenres of science fiction emerged, playing off the cyberpunk label, and focusing on technology and its social effects in different ways. Examples include steampunk (cyberpunk themes in the early industrial age), pioneered by Tim Powers, K. W. Jeter, and James Blaylock, and biopunk (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology, including Paul Di Filippo’s half-serious ribofunk). In addition, some people consider works such as Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age to be postcyberpunk. Some of the more popular cyberpunk bands include Angelspit, ASP, Chiasm, Combichrist, Das Ich, Seraphim Shock, Suicide Commando, and Zombie Girl. Source: Wikipedia 15 13 Locus Awards http://www.feedbooks.com/list/141 The Locus Awards were established in 1971 and are presented to winners of Locus Magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet. Unusually, the publishers of winning works are honored with a certificate. The first Locus Award was given in 1971 for works published in 1970. Source: Wikipedia 5 6