Some Remarks on Current German Science Fiction by Michael K. Iwoleit

Michael Iwoleit is the brain behind Internova, the online magazine for International Science Fiction, and an inspiration to us here at the World SF Blog. He offers Some Remarks on Current German Science Fiction:

German science fiction has had a rough ride of it since the boom time of the early eighties, when at one time no less than seven sf paperback and two sf hardcover serials were published in Germany, and Heyne Science Fiction was known as one of the largest sf publishers in the world. Unsurprisingly, most of the books published around this hey-day period were by Anglo-American writers, but this didn’t prevent German publishers from showcasing a remarkably rich and diverse selection of science fiction from all over the world. Even German language science fiction – which has rarely enjoyed commercial success and traditionally suffers from a lack of readership – went through a short-time boom.

One of the trail-blazers of the time was the extraordinarily talented young writer Rainer Zubeil – aka Thomas Ziegler from Cologne – who acted as a kind of primer for the development of a new movement in German science fiction. Ziegler’s work, which was predominantly set in a new or alternative future Germany, fore-grounded characterisation, political commentary and stylistic experimentation, marrying these with a preference for satire and irony (including ironic self-reflections on the business of sf writing). Writers such as Ronald M. Hahn, Horst Pukallus, Reinmar Cunis and Thomas Mielke were among the most prominent representatives of this trend.

Sadly, it is generally accepted that few of the German SF novels published during these boom years stands the test of time. Only a handful of its writers are still active today, and several have died (Thomas Ziegler/Rainer Zubeil died at the depressingly young age of 48). – continue reading.

Internova update and call for volunteers

There seems to be a sudden explosion in international SF magazines, with the latest being International Speculative Fiction - check it out, they’ve just published Aliette de Bodard’s Butterfly, Falling at Dawn!

The first such magazine, however – the guys who inspired me to eventually edit The Apex Book of World SF and start the World SF Blog – is InterNova, edited by Michael Iwoleit from Germany. InterNova was first published in print, with only one – yet revolutionary – issue, but has since been relaunched as a web magazine.

It publishes a wide range of fiction and non-fiction from all over the world, and is looking to continue to grow. Michael writes:

The international science fiction e-zine InterNova (inter.nova-sf.de) is facing a major upgrade. In recent months the magazine has almost doubled its audience. To provide a better service for its readers editor Michael K. Iwoleit plans a design and functionality rework of the site and more regular uploads. To make the best of the magazine, however, InterNova is looking for further volunteer collaborators. Especially wanted are native English proofreaders who are willing to read two or three stories each months. There are also plans to open a Spanish and a French section of InterNova to provide part of the magazine’s content in these languages too. To make it happen, the support of volunteer English-to-Spanish and English-to-French translators and of proofreaders in both languages will be required. InterNova also appreciates contacts with correpondents who could provide news about the sf production in their country or region. If you’re interested in a collaboration please contact editor Michael K. Iwoleit at <mki@iacd.de>

Five Continent Reading in Second Life

Michael Iwoleit got in touch recently to tell us of an incredibly cool thing he’s organising – a virtual book reading in the world of Second Life, by 5 science fiction authors each from a different continent!

Michael writes:

On May 5th an event will take place in Thorsten Küper’s and Kirsten Riehl’s steampunk location Kafé Kruemelkram that may be unique in the history of the 3d Internet world Second Life: Five science fiction writers from five continents, all writing in English, will read from their works live. The invited writers are:

For Asia: Guy Hasson (Israel)
For Africa: Jonathan Elorm Dotse (Ghana)
For Europe: Michael K. Iwoleit (Germany)
For South America: Gustavo Bondoni (Argentina)
For North America: Ahmed A. Khan (Canada)

For further information please refer to Michael K. Iwoleit’s homepage (iwoleit.wordpress.com – in English) or Thorsten Küper’s blog (kueperpunk.blogspot.de – in German).