Today science fiction author John Scalzi announced that he has launched a new website, BigIdeaAuthors.com, as a standalone site for the "Big Idea" guest blog posts which he has been running on his own blog for some time now. Scalzi will serve as the Executive Editor, sharing the masthead William Schafer (Publisher) and Yanni Kuznia (Editor) from Subterranean Press.
The "Big Idea" guest posts have been a fascinating look into the process and background behind many of modern science fiction publishing's best and most interesting novels. I always read the "Big Idea" posts with interest, both for books that I have and books that I haven't read.
There is no such thing as a typical "Big Idea" post. In a general sense, it's the literary equivalent of a director's DVD commentary track. "Big Idea" posts have included:
- Margaret Ronald (Spiral Hunt) talking about Irish folk hero Finn Mac Cool, and the strange turns a research process can take.
- Dave Freer (Slow Train to Arcturus) riffing on the idea of long distance space travel.
- Nick Stone (The King of Swords) about his history with the Tarot cards, from his first reading, to his experience reading the Tarot for others.
- Christopher Barzak (The Love We Share Without Knowing) discussing his experience as an English teacher in Japan.