SF writer Gary Gibson

Started actually writing book two - Stealing Fire - the other day. Funny thing is, when I read the review of Stealing Light by Rick Kleffel I recently posted about, he mentioned that it wasn't in fact 'book one of the Shoal Sequence'. Well actually, as I told him by email, it is, except that I hadn't been able to think of a name for the whole thing ... except ever since I read that review, I've been unable to think of it as anything but The Shoal Sequence.

So if the name does stick, I'm going to have to credit Mr Kleffel with that one.

I hadn't heard of the Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction before, but I'm beginning to think I might want to get it, particularly since I'm sort-of in it. This from a recent writer's circle emailing from Jim Steel:

Circle members who have long memories may be intrigued by this entry in The Oxford Dictionary Of Science Fiction:

Slipstream n, [after Mainstream] literature which makes use of the tropes of genre science fiction or fantasy, but which is not considered to be genre science fiction or fantasy; the genre of such fiction. [...]
1989 [...]
1992 [...]
1995 [...]
1995 Interzone (jan) 61/2: Territories issue four is subtitled the sf and slipstream journal. In this context, the meaning of "slipstream" is refreshingly unpretentious, something along the lines of "non-SF things that are likely to interest SF readers."

And so on. How's about that? Territories is a dictionary definition example.

Which is cool, because it would be fair to say I was very heavily involved in the creation and publishing of Territories for the mere four issues it lasted (along with the editor Erich), but what made it memorable - apart from the contributions of everyone else involved - was precisely that mission statement of 'non-sf things that are interesting to sf readers'. I remember that review well.