This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Flatiron Books, publisher of Oliver Loving by Stefan Merrill Block.
The 2018 Hugo Awards Finalists
From Best Novel to Best Fan Artist, the finalists in each category of the Hugo Awards were announced over the weekend. Those selected for the science fiction and fantasy prize include Ann Leckie for Provenance (Best Novel), N.K. Jemisin for The Stone Sky (Best Novel), Martha Wells for All Systems Red (Best Novella), and Nnedi Okorafor for Binti: Home (Best Novella). If Jemisin, who became the first black person to win the Hugo for Best Novel, wins this year, it will be her third in a row. The winners will be announced at Worldcon in August 2018.
Describe Yourself Like A Male Author Would
In a Twitter thread that went viral, Gwen C. Katz, author of Young Adult novel Among the Red Stars, responded to a male author’s claim that he can write authentic female protagonists. The male author proclaimed his skills as an argument against the need for the #OwnVoices movement. Katz published excerpts from the author’s work illustrating his “expertise” in representing women on the page. The thread turned into a call for women to write themselves as a male author would when podcaster Whit Reynolds proposed the Twitter game. The responses are pure gold.
A Shakespearean Kerfuffle
A Shakespearean scholar is at odds with his peers, claiming his reputation was damaged by people associated with the New Oxford Shakespeare. Professor Sir Brian Vickers said a string of hostile reviews has become a roadblock to the publication of his complete edition of works by Thomas Kyd, and that he has been labeled “controversial.” Vickers used anti-plagiarism software to conclude that Thomas Kyd was the author of three anonymous plays. Of his claims, an editor of the New Oxford Shakespeare said, “I doubt that his conspiracy theories will convince anyone who isn’t already paranoid.”
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