m. c. de marco

#secrethistory In 1959, the same year Olympia Press published his most famous novel Naked Lunch, the writer William S. Burroughs visited the restaurant of his friend and collaborator, Brion Gysin, in Tangiers. There, Burroughs met John and Mary Cooke, a wealthy American hippie couple who were interested in mysticism. Burroughs recalled, "There was something portentous about it, as though I was seeing them in another medium, like they were sitting there as holograms." More »

#books Not only is Iain M. Banks very generous with his time, he's also the author that British fans most want to see on the big screen. More »

#foundationweek Hari Seldon's plan is working perfectly, and thanks to psychohistory, the Foundation is well on its way to saving what remains of Galactic civilization. And then Isaac Asimov throws a wrench or two into the works, in Foundation and Empire. More »

#bookexcerpt In this excerpt from Wendy Williams' Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid, the author describes an amazing discovery: a rare giant squid. Here's the story of how it happened, and the scientists who discovered it. More »

#hotbookshelfinjection May is a blockbuster month for books, with new releases from China Miéville, John Scalzi and Charlaine Harris, plus Gilded-Age witchcraft and zombie-fighting bloggers. More »

#conceptart Chances are, you've already seen Thor — but you didn't see all the cool stuff that appeared on the screen, as well as all the insane artwork and design work that went into creating the film. More »

#bloggingthehugos On the planet Terminus, a group of academics struggles to survive as the Galactic Empire crumbles. With no weapons, all they can rely on are the predictions of a dead genius named Hari Seldon. That's right - it's time to discuss Isaac Asimov's Foundation! More »

#television A brand new promo for True Blood season four has been released. So does it show Bill's solo misery, or the beginning of a human-vampire war? More »

#io9bookclub In April, the io9 Book Club read Iain M. Banks' Surface Detail. Now Banks is coming to answer your questions about the book on Monday, May 9. More »

#bookcovers We told you a while ago that Vintage Books would be putting out special editions of science fiction classics with 3D covers — and now here's your first look at some of the cover designs. More »

Amazon.com has been redefining the way you buy books for ages now — and next up, they may be publishing the books you read, as well. Amazon Publishing just launched its fourth and biggest imprint, Montlake Romance. And the company has already said it plans to move beyond romance into other genres, including science fiction. More »

#stealthispitch We need a sexy new genre to replace all the tired old hybrids. Vampire love stories? That hot, sticky vein is tapped out. Zombies+literature? Long since decapitated. Whatever-punk? As Dirty Harry might say, we're not feeling lucky. More »

#quoteoftheday Monster author A. Lee Martinez has just published a funny essay about H.P. Lovecraft's brand of cosmic horror, and why it's always written "by humans for humans." What about cosmic horror from the perspective of someone — or something — else? More »

#bookexcerpt A new John Scalzi novel is always a cause for celebration, but Fuzzy Nation is also a "reboot" of a beloved 1962 Hugo-nominated novel, Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. More »

Over at Jeff VanderMeer's Ecstatic Days blog, VanderMeer asked his readers to name the "craziest or most experimental" science fiction novels of all time — and the answers are pretty diverse and fascinating. If you've been feeling the need for more novels along the lines of Dhalgren or House of Leaves, you could do worse than sifting through the lengthy comment thread on VanderMeer's post. There's a pretty great reading list in the making over there. [Ecstatic Days] More »

#io9bookclub Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In April we read Iain M. Banks' novel Surface Detail. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! More »

#rip One of the twentieth century's greatest science fiction authors, Joanna Russ, died peacefully this morning after suffering a series of strokes. Controversial, political, poetic, and full of crazy action, Russ' work has seduced and troubled readers for decades. More »

#exclusive Lauren Beukes won the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel Zoo City, a jarring urban fantasy about an alternate Johannesburg where criminals are matched with magical animals. More »

#io9calendar Can you survive the onslaught of entertainment that's coming for you in May? There are new movies, including Thor and Pirates of the Caribbean. New John Scalzi! New China Mieville! Tons of conventions! And loads of season finales on television! More »

#books At one point in Misconception, the "fertility thriller" by renowned fertility specialist (and Natalie Portman's dad) Avner Hershlag, someone writes a letter to the First Lady that reads: More »