Happy July!

I have some links to share with you today...

* My latest "History of the Genre" segment is up at StarShipSofa: The Audio Science Fiction Magazine, the second of a three-part series on "Proto-Science Fiction," from the classical age through the early nineteenth century. Today's segment is available for download or streaming here. (You can hear or download part one of this series here.)

* The Tolkien Professor Podcast is a new series of lectures on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien by Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor of English at Washington College in Maryland. Olsen describes the podcast in these words: “In my lectures, I am working through The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings in detail, doing close readings of the stories (and the songs!) in order to explore the fascinating details of Tolkien’s world while also tracking some of the large, important themes in Tolkien’s fiction.”

* Peadar Ó Guilín (a.k.a. peadarog) -- the author of one of the most original and engrossing post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels I've read in a long time, YA or adult, The Inferior (2007), which I highly recommend -- has a guest post at Eoin Purcell's blog: "An Author’s View of Electronic Publishing."

* Travis Prinzi of The Hog's Head contributes to the Harry Potter Alliance's "What Would Dumbledore Do?" Campaign with a new post: "Save the Malfoys, Save the World."

* Lovecraft fans should check out the first issue of Innsmouth Free Press, now available online or as a PDF download. The six Lovecraftian stories in this issue share a water theme, perfect for reading on an eldritch beach during your vacation! (Thanks to ankh_hpl.)


"The Summer looks out from her brazen tower,
Through the flashing bars of July."
- Francis Thompson, A Corymbus for Autumn