Autumn feels a long way away, but as the days shorten and the mercury drops, it’s time to start thinking ahead… to SciFiMonth. Sign up is now open – come geek out with the finest crew of genre lovers as we celebrate the joys and horrors of but what if? through the dark days of November.

What is SciFiMonth?

SciFiMonth is an annual celebration of all things science fictional, exploring unknown futures and parallel timelines as the crew read, watch, listen, and play their way through one of our favourite genres. Lisa and I will be your co-captains for this online event, helping you navigate the crew’s blog posts, Booktubes, Bookstagrams, Litsy posts, Booktok, Twitch streams and above all a great deal of chatter on Twitter.

Join the crew

Anyone can join the SciFiMonth crew – whether you’re looking to dip your toe for the first time, revisit the classics, or explore the outer reaches of indie titles (or the extremes of your towering TBR), we will want to hear all about it. Please sign up to let us know you’re planning to come along for the ride – and where we’ll be able to find you.

Signing up is not a commitment! It’s just a signal to let us know to expect you aboard. Once we’re in flight, you can make as much or as little noise as you wish – you’re just as much a member of the crew if you chat on Twitter and/or in the comments or if you post every day on your preferred channel. Me, I’ll be somewhere in between – my best-laid plans inevitably derail by the end of week one and then I fly by the seat of my pants until November’s end.

Things to look forward to

SciFiMonth means reviews, interviews, book tags, recommendations galore and a great deal of fun. Lisa will be hosting a read-along of Everina Maxwell’s space opera debut Winter’s Orbit and I am cooking up a plan for a series of group reads and discussions of novellas.

There will also – of course! – be our traditional SciFiMonth Challenge, with a prompt a day to stir your creative juices; and (because why not) a SciFiMonth book bingo to help you navigate your TBR.

Watch out for full details and further thought starters in the coming weeks!

Got an idea for something you’d like us to help you put together for SciFiMonth? Get in touch – you can find us at @SciFiMonth on Twitter.

Win books

There’s no deadline for signing up – if you only hear about us on the second-last day of November, you’re welcome to join in what’s left of the fun. But if you sign up and make a SciFiMonth post before November 7th, you will be eligible for our sign up giveaway(s). Posts can be on your social media channel of choice (if you choose Twitter, a single tweet does not qualify, but a thread does) – remember to share your link with us to ensure we see it. Full terms and conditions on the sign-up form.

I’m all about novellas this SciFiMonth and also all about introducing as many people as possible to Premee Mohamed, who has knocked it out of the park with amazing novellas this year, so I will be offering one international winner e-book editions of:

• The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed plus
• either a digital season pass for the 2021 Solaris Satellites (These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed; The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos; Pollen From a Future Harvest by Derek Kunsken)
• or Neon Hemlock’s 2021 SF novellas (And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed; The Necessity of Stars by E Catherine Tobler)

…or any one* of these titles in paperback, if e-books are not your jam (*I’ll go up to ca. £20 including shipping – if that covers 2 for your location, bonus!)

But that’s not all! My co-captain Lisa also has some giveaways lined up – and I’ll be back at the end of the month with a second giveaway as part of this year’s SciFiMonth book bingo!

Credits

The gorgeous artwork in this year’s banners is licensed for use to promote the event online. You are welcome to use the banners and buttons to signal you are part of the crew, but please do not make any changes (except to resize). As always, please credit the artist.

ARTWORK by Liu Zishan from 123RF.com

QUOTE from Babylon’s Ashes by James S A Corey