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Joe and Mark are joined by the super successful and super-fun science fiction writer, John Scalzi.
Scalzi tells the lads about how he almost missed his first WorldCon, in Toronto, 2003, because he forget his passport at the airport. He rushed there just in time to sit on his first panel, where he was the moderator! And a couple of days later, he met Joe who interviewed him for the CBC. (Mark somehow missed this, though this is also where Mark first met Joe.)
Fast forward 21 years, and the three nerds have this entertaining conversation about science fiction, the egotistical nature of writing, and John’s hobby, which is music.
In addition to having a terrible case of G.A.S. (guitar acquisition syndrome), John loves creating “weird ambient electronic music.”
Mark and Joe learn all about John’s amazing career in science fiction, his deadline-driven process, and the economics of that trade. But the conversation doesn’t end there, as the three examine the value of creating art, just for the joy of it.
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John Scalzi is a science fiction writer and a science fiction fan. And he’s won a Hugo Award for both activities!
His 2013 novel, Redshirts, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. And earlier, in 2008, he won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer.
Scalzi is probably best known for his Old Man’s War books, and you definitely want to read them — the first book in the series is one of NPR’s top 100 science fiction books of all time.
He’s also written non-fiction books and columns and served as a creative consultant for the TV series Stargate Universe. Three of his short stories have been adapted for the Netflix show, Love, Death & Robots.
His most recent book is Starter Villain, and his next is called When the Moon Hits Your Eye, upcoming in March of 2025.
And you can always catch his latest thoughts on his delightful blog, Whatever, that he’s been posting to since 1998.
When he’s not writing, he creates ethereal and interesting electronic music, which you can check out on his YouTube channel.
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