We’re nearly there: the countdown to SciFiMonth will start any day! Time to plot our course to far-flung star systems, parallel universes, possible futures and poorly-designed research labs full of dubious experiments (what can possibly go wrong?)
SciFiMonth is whatever you make it – we’re looking forward to your reviews and discussions, recommendations and strong opinions on books, movies, games and the latest events in the SFnal community. This week, we’re sharing what we’ve been putting together – you’re very welcome to get involved
Read-along
This year we’ll be returning to the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers universe to read Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. If you haven’t yet read these books yet, this is a brilliant opportunity to find out what the fuss is about. Lisa and Jorie will be taking on hosting duties – all the details on how to join in the fun can be found over at Dear Geek Place.
Banner art taken from the UK special edition – designed by the amazingly talented Kiku ‘Bee’ Hughes.
Note: if you haven’t read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, there are some plot spoilers in Spaceborn Few (but none for A Closed and Common Orbit), but each of the three books can be read as a stand-alone novel.
SciFiMonth Prompt Challenge
Last year, we had a SciFiMonth photo challenge and it quickly morphed into a blog tag and useful set of post prompts, which we loved. So hell yes we’re doing it again! We’ve come up with a month’s worth of prompts for you to…
- share a photo on Instagram, Litsy or Twitter;
- use as inspiration for a post (…or several);
- pick any ten and call it a blog tag;
…or come up with a new and exciting twist on how to use them!
The prompts
| 01/11/2019 | Your SciFiMonth TBR |
| 02/11/2019 | You had me at hello |
| 03/11/2019 | Where no man has gone before |
| 04/11/2019 | Well said |
| 05/11/2019 | Blow it all up (Guy Fawkes Night) |
| 06/11/2019 | Space race (Melbourne Cup Day) |
| 07/11/2019 | Future imperfect |
| 08/11/2019 | Can’t wait to read |
| 09/11/2019 | Against all odds |
| 10/11/2019 | Book rainbow |
| 11/11/2019 | Remember them (Remembrance Day / Veteran’s Day) |
| 12/11/2019 | Stay on target |
| 13/11/2019 | Stunning debut |
| 14/11/2019 | What can possibly go wrong? |
| 15/11/2019 | Current read |
| 16/11/2019 | #StackSaturday |
| 17/11/2019 | Nonbinary fave |
| 18/11/2019 | Kickass heroine |
| 19/11/2019 | Top bloke (International Men’s Day) |
| 20/11/2019 | Trans hero (Trans Day of Remembrance) |
| 21/11/2019 | We come in peace (World Hello Day) |
| 22/11/2019 | Back to tomorrow |
| 23/11/2019 | Trenchcoats and mirrorshades |
| 24/11/2019 | #ShelfieSunday |
| 25/11/2019 | Aim to misbehave |
| 26/11/2019 | Stop me if you’ve heard this before |
| 27/11/2019 | Stand-out series |
| 28/11/2019 | Science the shit out of this |
| 29/11/2019 | Spine poetry |
| 30/11/2019 | Favourite SciFiMonth read |
Not sure what the prompts mean? Check out the supporting notes, but it’s safe to assume they’re meant to be open to interpretation!
Top Tens
Who doesn’t love a good list? This November’s Top Ten Tuesday prompts don’t immediately lend themselves to a scifi spin, so we had a quick brainstorm to get you started with some SciFiMonth topics! How about your top:
- Space ships
- AI characters
- Alien races or cultures
- SF disaster scenarios (what can possibly go wrong? Except that. And that. And that)
- Terrible character choices (Prometheus, we’re looking at you)
- Time travel stories
Navigation chart
What have you got planned? We have opened the master schedule in GoogleDocs – so feel free to start adding items or links whenever you’re ready (don’t worry, it’s fine not to add things until they actually go live in November).
Lisa and I use the schedule to keep track of what is going on – if you’re in the schedule, your posts will get promoted once SciFiMonth starts and included in a weekly Mission Log!
Join the crew
Don’t worry, it’s never too late to join SciFiMonth – if 30 days of sharing your enthusiasm for all things science fictional sounds like a good way to while away your mid-autumn blues, we’d love to have you along for the ride!
Sign up here to let us know you’ll be coming aboard. Anyone who signs up before October 31st and posts during the first week of the event can also enter our sign-up giveaway to win your choice of recent SF award winner:
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Hugo)
- Embers of War by Gareth L Powell (BSFA)
- I Still Dream by James Smythe (Subjective Chaos)
Wear the badge
If you’d like to add a SciFiMonth badge or banner on your blog or social channels, you’re welcome to! You can download from our stash over here.
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo by Sebastien Decoret from 123RF.com.
QUOTE from This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
onemore.org 