Some recent author interviews found around the blogosphere include: Kaaron Warren at Luke Reviews, Paul Collins at We love YA, and Kim Wilkins at Grinding to Valhalla.

Carissa's Weblog

Richard Harland has created a 145 page Writing Tips Website full of solid advice for fantasy, speculative fiction and genre writers.

www.writingtips.com.au is as big as a small book and totally FREE. Richard says he took four months off from his own fiction writing—“it started out as a small service for aspiring writers and just kept growing and growing!”

The tips cover everything from getting published to good writing habits, from dialogue and action to naming and point-of-view. Check it all out at www.writingtips.com.au.

And look for an interview with Richard in June's aXp.

Carissa's Weblog

Some recent items of interest from ABC TV include:

Collectors had a segment on an Astro Boy collector. The video is available to stream or download.

Margaret and David review Terminator Salvation on At the Movies. There's a transcript and the video is available to stream or download.

Carissa's Weblog

The Ditmar Award winners were announced at Conjecture this weekend past. They are:

Best Novel – Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (published by Allen & Unwin)

Best Novella – "Painlessness" by Kirstyn McDermott (GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2)

Best Short Story (tie) – "This Is Not My Story" by Dirk Flinthart (ASIM #37) and "The Goosle" by Margo Lanagan (The Del Rey Book of Australian Science Fiction, Del Rey)

Best Collected Work – Dreaming Again edited by Jack Dann (Harper Voyager)

Best Artwork – Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)

Best Fan Writer – Rob Hood

Best Fan Artist – Cat Sparks for Scary Food Cookbook (Agog! Press)

Best Fan Publication – ASif! Australian Speculative Fiction In Focus edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Gene Melzack (Twelfth Planet Press)

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review – "Popular genres and the Australian literary community: the case of fantasy fiction" by Kim Wilkins (Journal of Australian Studies, Vol 32, Issue 2)

Best Professional Achievement – Angela Challis for Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine and Brimstone Press

Best New Talent – Felicity Dowker

Also awarded were:

The A. Bertram Chandler Award – Rosaleen Love

The Peter McNamara Award – Sean Williams

Carissa's Weblog

The winners of the 2009 Sir Julius Vogel awards have been announced. They are:

Best Novel – Adult: Dark Heart, Russell Kirkpatrick (HarperVoyager, HarperCollins, NZ)

Best Novel – Young Adult: Thornspell by Helen Lowe (Knopf, Random House Children’s Books, USA)

Best Short Story: Under Waves and Over by Grant Stone (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #37, Australia) 

Best Novella/Novelette: Stroke of Enticement by Nalini Singh, in “The Magical Cat” (The Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin; USA)

Best Collected Work: The Invisible Road by Elizabeth Knox (HarperVoyager, HarperCollins, NZ)

Best New Talent: Helen Lowe

Best Professional Publication: Deputy Dan and The Mysterious Midnight Marauder Written by Sally McLennan, Artwork by Joel Liochon

Best Professional Artwork: Emma Weakley – cover artwork for Newtons Sleep (Random Static, Wellington, NZ)

Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form: Skankenstein – the music video (Krafthaus, Wellington, NZ)

Carissa's Weblog

Some recent news items of interest from HorrorScope include:

2009 QWC/Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program for Fiction Writers now open

News: The John Marsden Prize for Young Australian Writers 2009

News: Applications now open for Regional Arts Fund (NSW) 2010

Carissa's Weblog

At IROSF, Aidan Doyle reports on his Clarion South experience in "Attack of the Killer Sock Puppets: Six Weeks at Clarion South" (registration required).

Carissa Thorp

Two items of interest from The Age: a feature on Will Elliott and his new book, and "The Fan Force" a piece on "serious acts of fandom".

Carissa's Weblog

The 2009 Australian Shadows Awards are now open for submissions, but there are some changes. HorrorScope has more details.

Carissa's Weblog

On Wednesday, 3rd of June, Margaret Throsby will interview David Eagleman, an American neuroscientist who studies "time perception, synethesia and the way neuroscience will influence the legal system" for her Morning Interview program. Their email newsletter points out that he’s also a science-fiction writer. The full audio will be available for streaming, or for download without the music.

Carissa's Weblog