31 Jan 2025 » 10 min read
I. The Passage of the Light Barry N. Malzberg died on December 19, 2024. I got an email from my friend Michael A. Burstein on December 20th alerting me to his passing. Of the many writers I got to know over the years, Barry was the closest thing to a mentor that I had. Each…
08 Jun 2012 » 1 min read about Reading & Books
As incredible as it is to believe, Barry N. Malzberg wrote twelve novels in 1973. Ten of the twelve novels make up the first 10 books of the Lone Wolf crime novel series. These books have been out of print for a long time, but they have recently been brought out in e-book form by…
20 Oct 2011 » 1 min read about Blog & Site Meta
I had the pleasure of interviewing Barry N. Malzberg1 for SF Signal last week. We talked about the science fiction of the 1950s and his involvement with The Galaxy Project, an effort to bring back some of those classic novelettes and novellas that appeared in Galaxy during that decade. Head on over there to check it out. This…
25 Jun 2011 » 2 min read about Travel
I got my schedule of Readercon panels the other day. Since the schedule is still tentative, I’ll hold off posting the schedule until it is finalized. But I will tell you that I will be appearing in two panels: We All Produce, We All Consume.¬†Paul Di Filippo, Gemma Files, Robert Killheffer, K.A. Laity (leader), Jamie…
19 Mar 2011 » 3 min read
I have been reading and–for the most part–enjoying Jo Walton’s journey through the Hugo Nominees on TOR.com. Yesterday, however, while reading her post on Hugo Nominees 1973, I was floored. It wasn’t that she didn’t particularly like Isaac Asimov’s The Gods Themselves. I happened to think that the whole book was terrific, but I agree…
16 Mar 2011 » 3 min read about Writing & Publishing
I’ve now written 2-days in a row, despite my slump and last night I managed a cool 1,000 words, and completed a scene in the story. I like the scene, but at 1,700 words, it is almost certainly way too long in proportion to the overall novelette. That’s okay though, it’s a first draft and…
01 Feb 2011 » 3 min read about Writing & Publishing
I think that there is some kind of transition period between being just a fan of science fiction to being a science fiction writer. At least, that’s the way it is working out for me. Despite having some street cred (3 professional sales), I still look at other writers as if they are, well, Writers.…
22 Jan 2011 » 2 min read
I’ve done my nominations for the Hugo and Nebula awards for 2010. There were several good novels and one superbly outstanding one. I didn’t read a whole lot of short fiction from 2010 so some of those categories are blank. Nominations within each grouping are listed alphabetically by author. Nebula Nominations Best Novel Echo by…
15 Jan 2011 » 3 min read
There are a few good “related” books out there this year, but I want to make the case why I think one in particular is most deserving of a Hugo award: and that one is Mike Resnick’s and Barry N. Malzberg’s The Business of Science Fiction (McFarland). The book is a collection of 26 of…
10 Dec 2010 » 3 min read
I had an epiphany the other day. There is a certain kind of science fiction story (including novels) that I particularly like. It’s been hard for me to classify what these stories are. In the past I’ve thought of them as space opera, like Isaac Asimov‘s FOUNDATION series or Arthur C. Clarke‘s ODYSSEY series. But…
08 Jan 2007 » 1 min read about Science Fiction
Last week, in my notes on volume 1, issue 1 of SCIENCE FICTION AGE, I discussed a story by Barry N. Malzberg and noted how he was one of my favorite all-time writers. Someone, who shall remain nameless, pointed Mr. Malzberg to my comments on his story and last night, as I was waiting for…