As baby boomers have aged, they have accumulated more assets leading to more discretionary spending. Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game.Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to a science fiction convention in Scotland and a Disney cruise soon after that, along with a trip next year to neolithic sites in Great Britain.“I really have more money to spend now than when I was working,” said Harris, 64, an engineer who worked 29 years for the federal government and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Back then, she and her now-ex-husband were paying for their children’s college educations and piling money into savings accounts. Now, she’s splurging a bit and, for the first time, is willing to pay for first-class plane tickets. She plans to fly business class to Scotland and has arranged for a higher-level suite on the cruise.“I suddenly realized, with my dad getting old and my mom dying, it’s like, ‘No, you can’t take it with you,’ ” she said. “I could become incapacitated to the point where I couldn’t enjoy something like going to Scotland or going on a cruise. So I better do it, right?”Older Americans like Harris are fueling a sustained boost to the U.S. economy. Benefiting from outsize gains in the stock and housing markets over the past several years, they are accounting for a larger share of consumer spending — the principal driver of economic growth — than... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2024-04-29 13:22:05 UTC ]
Tom Doherty, president and publisher of Tor Books, worked his way up through the sales force ranks at Simon & Schuster and was mentored by Betty and Ian Ballantine when they launched the first science fiction and fantasy line in the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two authors and a fanzine have withdrawn their work from the Hugo science fiction awards, claiming alleged right-wing activists are skewing the voting process. The annual awards honour the best science fiction and fantasy works and achievements of the previous year across a number of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Sword (Orbit), the sequel to her multi award-winning Ancillary Justice (also Orbit), is among the finalists for this year’s Hugo Awards. The annual awards honour the best science fiction and fantasy works and achievements of the previous year across a number of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sir Terry Pratchett, the author best known for his Discworld series, has died aged 66. His novels weaved fantasy, science fiction, satire and whimsy to great effect -- more than 80 million Discworld books have been sold worldwide. Despite publishing ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'PW' catches up with director Scott Bonner for a wide-ranging talk about life in Ferguson, MO, and the library’s much lauded efforts following the shooting of Michael Brown. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You send a command from your smartphone and your house automatically decorates itself with a holographic Christmas tree complete with decorations and a suitably conifer-like smell. Sound like science fiction? Maybe, but this is among the predictions by the authors of a new book that looks at how... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a passionate speech, writer takes aim at publishers who put profit before artUrsula Le Guin cries freedom as she is honoured for contribution to literatureTo the givers of this beautiful reward, my thanks, from the heart. My family, my agents, my editors, know that my being here is their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Terraform, Brooklyn-based Vice Media Group's first standalone literary platform, will be dedicated to original pieces of science fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle Scout is now taking submissions for titles in romance, mystery and thriller, and science fiction and fantasy genres. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Specs Who LeVar Burton Age 57 Claim to fame Emmy-winning actor (Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation); host and producer of Reading Rainbow; author of the children’s book The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm (available Oct. 7) Base Los Angeles Twitter @levarburton What’s the first information you... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Ancillary Justice' is the first novel ever to win the science fiction 'triple crown' – the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Arthur C. Clarke awards – all in the same year. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With integrity and vision as its publishing cornerstones since 1984, Baen Books, the second largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy and #1 in space opera and military science fiction, is pleased to be celebrating its 30th anniversary with special events, author signings, and giveaways... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Specs Who Harry Hamlin Age 62 Accomplishments Emmy-nominated actor on AMC’s Mad Men (Sundays at 10/9c); appearing in the upcoming film Shiva and May Base Los Angeles What’s the first information you consume in the morning? I am really old school. The first thing I do is read the Los Angeles... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ALA executive director Keith Fiels told PW the event was designed to help "get in front of things that might affect libraries in the long term.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's popular, long-running Best American Series is adding a volume on science fiction and fantasy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kensington Publishing has acquired the ebook house, Lyrical Press. Lyrical, which was founded in 2007, and specializes in contemporary, paranormal and erotic romance; thrillers; and science fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction has a long tradition in North Korea and SF authors enjoy greater freedom to explore edgy subjects, such as crime and violence, than their counterparts. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Manhattan court case about digitisation rights has brought books and the web a step closer togetherOn 14 November, after eight years of wrangling, Judge Denny Chin of the Manhattan district court finally ruled in the case of Google versus the Authors Guild. At issue was Google's scanning and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nicola Griffith's radical departure from her previous fiction results in the 7th century epic 'Hild.'Author Nicola Griffith is as unpredictable and fascinating as one of her heroines. Her first two novels, "Ammonite" and "Slow River" (which won a Nebula Award), were science fiction. And from... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's 2050. Somehow we haven't joined the dinosaurs in extinction, succumbed to the Secret Society of Super Villains, or been raptured up to the clouds. And the robots are friendly, not evil. Futurologist and environmentalist Sir Jonathan Porritt's The World We Made: Alex McKay's Story from 2050,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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