Prix Aurora Nominees Announced

Nominations for the 2015 Prix Aurora have been announced! Awarded annually, the Prix Aurora recognizes the best Canadian fantasy, science fiction, artworks, and fan activities of the past year.

Winnipeg graphic novelist GMB Chomichuk has picked up two nominations in the "Best Graphic Novel" category. Sherry Peters, also of Winnipeg, earned a nomination in the "Best Young Adult Novel" category for her novel Mabel the Lovelorn Dwarf. Finally, Kevin B. Anderson was nominated in "Best Fan Related Work" for his project depicting scenes from Chadwick Ginther's Thunder Road.

You can see the full list on the Prix Aurora Website. The winners will be announced the weekend of November 20-22, 2015.

Who watches the Watchmen?

More importantly, who reads them?

Well, you should. And there's no better time to get into the universe of the Watchmen than now, with the release of the Before Watchmen series.

Acclaimed for its psychological depth and realism, Watchmen takes place in an alternate world where superheroes have changed history: The US won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect.

But what happened before the Watchmen?

The Before Watchmen series features four long-awaited prequels to the best-selling graphic novel of all-time. For over twenty years, the back stories of the now-iconic characters from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's landmark graphic novel had been the subject of much debate and theorizing. Now, DC Comics has assembled the greatest creators in the industry to further paint the world of Watchmen. Newly collected in trade format and released this month, there are four volumes in the Before Watchmen series: Minutemen/Silk Spectre by Darwyn Cooke, illustrated by Darwyn Cooke & Amanda Conner; Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair by Len Wein, illustrated by Jae Lee & John Higgins; Comedian/Rorschach by Brian Azzarello, illustrated by J.G. Jones & Lee Bermejo; and Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan by J. Michael Straczynski, illustrated by Adam Hughes & Joe Kubert.

You can find all four volumes in both our Winnipeg and Saskatoon stores. Buy online, or visit your nearest McNally Robinson bookstore to pick one up. Call or email ahead to get a copy held for you!

Shortlist for the Hugo Awards 2013

The Hugo Awards, named for Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction," are the most prestigious awards for Science Fiction.

Here are this year's shortlists for Best Novel and Best Graphic Story (click on a link to see more about that title):

Best Novel

• 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)
• Blackout by Mira Grant (Orbit)
• Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)
• Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi (Tor)
• Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Graphic Story

• Grandville Bête Noire, written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse Comics, Jonathan Cape)
• Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks, written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
• Saga, Volume One, written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: Random Access Memorabilia, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (Hypernode Media)
• Saucer Country, Volume 1: Run, written by Paul Cornell, illustrated by Ryan Kelly, Jimmy Broxton and Goran Sudzuka (Vertigo)

For a list of all the categories and nominees, click here.

To much disdain, 'Persepolis' pulled from curriculum

In a move that's been dubbed "Orwellian", Marjane Satrapi's critically acclaimed graphic memoir Persepolis was recently banned from Chicago classrooms and school libraries. Persepolis, which was originally published in France in 2000, details Satrapi's childhood surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, followed by her adolescence studying in Vienna, and her return to Iran as a young adult.

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