July 2016 1 FILE 770 #166 2 File 770:166 File 770 is available for news, art, arranged trades, or by subscription: $8 for 5 issues, $15 for 10 issues, air mail rate is $2.50. Art Credits Taral: Cover, 20, 43, 45 Alan White: 2, 21 Brad Foster: 44 166 Teddy Harvia: 2, 3 Bill Rotsler: 18, 36 Peggy Ranson: 32 File 770:166 is edited by Mike Telephone: (626) 826-7737 Stu Shiffman/Teddy Harvia: 40 Glyer at 1507 1/2 S. Sixth Ave., E-Mail: [email protected] Jose Sanchez: Bacover Arcadia, CA 91006 2015 Shirley Jackson Awards each explore a single book. ukulele; and Kevin Young, on occasion, The winners of the 2015 Shirley Jackson On the new list of titles available from the watches Judge Judy on CBS. Books by these Awards were presented July 10 at Readercon program, Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link and authors will soon be added to the NEA Big 27. Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel have Read as part of a new vision for the program The awards recognize outstanding achieve- been added, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula to celebrate its tenth anniversary, as well as ment in the literature of psychological sus- K. Le Guin remains, while Fahrenheit 451 by the NEA’s 50th anniversary. Can you imagine pense, horror, and the dark fantastic, and are Ray Bradbury has been dropped. what fun communities around the country will voted upon by a jury of professional writers, An NEA spokesperson’s introduction of have chatting with them?” editors, critics, and academics. The 2015 ju- the new list emphasized the authors’ availabil- rors were Livia Llewellyn, Robert Shearman, ity for interaction. Judith Merril Selected For Simon Kurt Unsworth, Bev Vincent, and “When author Kelly Link was a kid, she Cordwainer Smith Kaaron Warren. owned a pet boa constrictor named “Baby.” Celeste Ng had dreams of becoming an astro- Rediscovery Award NOVEL naut and Kao Kalia Yang loved reading Little The late Judith Merril has been recognized Experimental Film, Gemma Files (ChiZine House on the Prairie. Before they became with the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Publications) writers, Ron Carlson was a fry cook, Emily St. Award. The announcement was made at Read- John Mandel was a professional dancer, and ercon on July 9. NOVELLA Yu Hua was a dentist who wasn’t too fond of Robert J. Sawyer, one of the judges, con- Wylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing- the inside of anyone’s mouth. Alejandro Zam- firmed the news in a comment on Facebook. UK/Open Road Media-US) bra records himself reading his entire books We did indeed select Judith Merril as the aloud (he’s lucky they’re short); Claudia winner this year and the award is presented at NOVELETTE Rankine wrote a play performed on a bus ride Readercon. Judy was the unanimous choice of “Even Clean Hands Can Do Damage,” Steve through the South Bronx; Joy Harjo plays the all four judges. The decision was reached Duffy (Supernatural Tales #30, Au- September 1, 2015. tumn) The current judges for the Cord- wainer Smith Rediscovery Award SHORT FICTION are Sawyer, Elizabeth Hand, Barry “The Dying Season,” Lynda E. Rucker Malzberg, and Mike Resnick. (Aickman’s Heirs) The Cordwainer Smith Redis- covery Award was created in 2001 SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION and goes each year to a science The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Stephen fiction or fantasy writer whose King (Scribner) work displays unusual originality, embodies the spirit of Cordwainer EDITED ANTHOLOGY Smith’s fiction, and deserves re- Aickman’s Heirs, edited by Simon newed attention or “Rediscovery.” Strantzas (Undertow Publications) It may come as a surprise that the judges reached a unanimous selection in September, considering Big Changes For Big Read that Barry Malzberg subsequently Ther Big Read program has been given wrote a column about Merril for a dramatic makeover, with sf/f novels Galaxy’s Edge, “There Is No De- added and subtracted. fense”, saying that before Merril Over the past ten years, the National moved to Canada in 1968, “She Endowment for the Arts has supported had been on an increasingly evi- more than 1,200 NEA Big Read pro- dent, now unapologetic campaign jects, with 4.2 million Americans taking to destroy science fiction.” part in community-wide programs that July 2016 3 Rob Latham Fired By Award for Distinguished Service from the SF Research Association University of California in 2012, the field’s premier award. Rob Latham, a tenured professor of Latham has made many connec- English at University of California, tions with fanzine fans. He contrib- Riverside and a member of its science uted a perceptive and well-received fiction research cluster article to Earl Kemp’s eI #37 about who evangelized the Eaton Collection using fanzines for academic re- throughout fandom, was fired by the search. Mike Horvat’s vast fanzine UC Board of Regents in January. collection landed at the University Charges of sexual harassment and of Iowa because a former student substance abuse are addressed in of Latham’s, Greg Beatty, a UI Latham’s 3,900-word statement, first graduate spotted the listing online, presented to the Regents and now and immediately E-mailed Latham. published by the Academe Blog, how- Despite the growing prestige of ever, the exact charges are not quoted. UCR’s science fiction collection He denied the charge of sexual and research, there have been signs harassment: of conflict between the administra- ….I can’t believe that this tion and faculty members in UCR’s case, which began with false science fiction research cluster. charges of sexual harassment Both Latham and Nalo Hopkinson, brought by a disgruntled gradu- a well-known sf writer and another ate student and his girlfriend, has member of that research cluster, been allowed to reach the Board publically expressed concern in of Regents. It should have been settled He levied many criticisms against the hear- summer 2014 about the way the Eaton Collec- through informal mediation long ago. ing process in his address to the Regents, in- tion was being administered (see “How However, not only was no such good cluding — Healthy Is The Eaton Collection?”). faith effort ever attempted by the UCR I have outlined, in my ten-page written Nothing that was aired in 2014 seems di- administration, but I was never even in- statement, the political pressures and rank rectly related to the issues in Latham’s hear- vited to respond to the charges or to sub- homophobia that deformed the discipli- ing, other than the foreshadowing of the toxic mit exculpatory evidence. Instead, the nary process, including acts of official professional relationships explicitly alleged in administration adopted an adversarial misconduct that are currently being inves- Latham’s statement to the Regents: posture from the outset, as if the original tigated by the Faculty Senate. All I will My hiring was the result of an interna- allegations—the vast majority of which we repeat here is that the intervention of the tional search for a senior scholar, now know to be untrue—had already been graduate student union, at an early junc- mounted by former Dean Steve Cullenberg proven. As Vice Provost Daniel Ozer testi- ture of this case, and their threats to “go and former Chancellor Tim White, two fied at the disciplinary hearing, the ad- public” if the administration did not ac- very good men and superb administrators ministration never sought to change quiesce to their demand for my “removal with whom I had an excellent working course even when it became clear that the as Professor of English,” was crucial in relationship. However, following the hire two complainants had submitted doctored setting the administration on the course of Chancellor Wilcox in 2013—and espe- evidence and leveled charges that were they pursued. This course included ma- cially of Provost D’Anieri in 2014—the proven false by a police investigation. nipulating and corrupting an ostensibly atmosphere at UCR changed from one of He argued the issue of substance abuse was fair and impartial Title IX investigation, cooperation and consultation with faculty being manipulated to support a disproportion- coaching student witnesses supportive of to one of confrontation and hostility. I say ate disciplinary action: their case while attempting to intimidate this merely to indicate that I gave seven I made a serious error of judgment in those supportive of me, and suppressing years of exemplary service to the campus relation to substance abuse, for which I evidence crucial to my defense before the but, following the lodging of false charges sought treatment one full year before any Faculty Senate. by a student with a grudge, have been charges were filed against me. The Senate, Latham spent the first 13 years of his hounded by a vengeful administration for whatever reason, gave me no credit for teaching career at the University of Iowa as a intent on railroading me out of my job. that effort at self-correction, and now Professor of English and American Studies, Readers do not have full information to Chancellor Wilcox is asking you to dis- where he ran a Program in Sexuality Studies. evaluate the case, nor is that likely to become miss me for the recurrence of a psycho- He was hired by UC Riverside in 2008 to public unless Latham follows up with a law- logical illness, rather than for the original join the English Department faculty, with suit and the suit goes to trial. The UC Regents charges of flagrant, serial sexual harass- responsibilities that included serving as an website shows the dismissal was discussed in ment—charges that were considered and informal liaison to the J.