The official release from Angry Robot Books:

On December 1st 2010, Angry Robot will be launching “Nano Editions”. Exclusive to the publisher’s own webstore at angryrobotstore.com, Nanos are digital short stories by Angry Robot novelists, sold at sensible prices in ePub format, ready to load onto the world’s most popular eBook readers.

Most Nanos will be in the 5,000 – 15,000 word range. Shorter works than that will be automatically bundled with another story to ensure value for money.

Talking of which – stories will cost just 59p each (approximately US $0.95). Readers can bundle a collection of any 10 by any combination of authors, for only £3.49 (US$5.59). The files will be DRM-free and available worldwide. If demand for the stories takes off, AR plan to also sell them via eBook retailers.

Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris said, “Publishing is changing, but our role as publishers remains the same – to find cool stories and bring them to readers. This is another step in Angry Robot’s ongoing plan to embrace the new opportunities digital formats provide – and an excellent way for readers to sample unfamiliar authors, without breaking the bank.”

Authors included in the Nanos series include multi-million-selling novelist Dan Abnett and award-winning short fiction authors Kaaron Warren and Aliette de Bodard, along with many others. We will have at least 30 Nanos available for the December 1st launch, with more added at regular intervals.

I’m a huge supporter of eBooks and eReaders being a necessary tool in allowing short fiction to not only sustain itself, but actually grow its audience. There’s an endless supply of great short fiction available on the Internet and eReaders have finally made those stories readable in a comfortable format—no more sitting in front of the computer monitor to enjoy the latest edition of Clarkesworld or Beneath Ceaseless Skies, I can now read them from the comfortable, soothing suds of my bubble bath.

So it’s nice to see more publishers getting on board with digitally distributed short fiction. It’s a bit of a shame that, like Orbit Books, Angry Robot Books is opening the platform only to authors already in their library (as opposed to Tor.com, who is open to submissions from all authors), but it’s a start. Selling them for a fee (even a small fee) is also a concerning given how many publications provide their fiction for free on their websites. Still, the writers of these stories deserve to be paid, and, no doubt, they won’t be supported by ads, sponsors or donations like many of those websites that offer free fiction. I do like the idea of a make-your-own-anthology style bundle and hopefully the small cost means we’ll see eBooks created with proper care and attention to aesthetics, something still lacking in much of the ePublishing world.

Over at Speculative Horizons, James Long is hanging them up and ceding his spot in the race to become the most awesome, money-hatted and influential blogger in the SFF Blogosphere, moving me one step closer to claiming that illustrious title (damn you Wert and Pat!) James leaves the blogosphere to pursue his efforts to become the world’s scariest Sting impersonator.

James Long:

Sting:

Long still has a *ahem* long way to go.

In all seriousness, James has accepted a gig at Orbit Books as their new Editorial Assistant and the blogosphere will soon be a poorer place for his absence. The blogosphere’s bigger than ever, but for my money Long’s Speculative Horizons was king of the hill. He wasn’t the most prolific blogger, nor did he have the largest audience, but I always anticipated his reviews and commentary and often weighed my own blogging endeavours against his blog. We’ve often seen eye-to-eye on most of the major brushfires that’ve swept through our community and our taste in books (not to mention our reading speed!) has always been eerily similar. Always witty, James was able to balance acidic humour with keen criticism, a combination that made him one of the most interesting voices among independent bloggers. I remember when Speculative Horizons first arrived and watching it grow from that infancy has been great fun. In a huge sea of bloggers, there were few I appreciated as much as James Long. Orbit Books is a lucky organization to have him joining their ranks.

Congrats, Long. Now… can you help me find my new favourite blog?

Via Winter is Coming:

Jaime Lannister

Jon Snow and Bran Stark

Tyrion Lannister and Catelyn Stark

Eddard Stark

Tyrion Lannister

The colour palette of the show is fantastic. Lots of browns and greys, absolutely perfect for the northern reaches of Westeros, where much of A Game of Thrones takes place. I’ll be interested to see how that palette changes as the show moves locations to King’s Landing, Dorne, The Dothraki Sea, The Iron Islands, etc… it should be a great opportunity to show the variety and depth of Martin’s world.

Several more photos, including Cersei Lannister, Danaerys Targaryen and Samwell Tarley, can be found on Entertainment Weekly’s Game of Thrones Photo Gallery.

Francesca DeVega is a successful healer in the city of Avel, wielding magical text to close wounds and disspell curses, but her life is thrown into chaos when a dead patient suddenly sits up and tells her to run. Now Francesca is in the middle of a game she doesn’t understand, one that ties her to the notorious rogue wizard, Nicodemus Weal, and brings her face to face with demons, demigods, and a man she thought she’d never see again.

It has been ten years since Nicodemus Weal escaped the Starhaven Academy, where he was considered disabled and useless, where he battled the demon who stole his birthright and killed his friends. Unable to use the magical languages of his own people, Nico has honed his skills in the dark language of the kobolds, readying himself for his next encounter with the demon. But there are complications: his mentor suffers from an incurable curse, his half-sister’s agents are hunting him, and he’s still not sure what part Francesca DeVega will play. He certainly doesn’t know what to make of Francesca herself….

Introducing new twists to the unique magical system of Spellwright and uncovering more sinister dangers, Spellbound is sure to please Blake Charlton’s fans and earn him new ones.

Blake Charlton‘s a good friend (and reader!) of the blog, so I’m always excited to hear more about Spellbound. Spellwright was a strong debut novel, but wasn’t without its kinks. Blake assures me that he’s taken a lot of the feedback to heart and that Spellbound will refine and expand on many of Spellwright‘s strongest features. I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it!

Thanks to Wert for digging this out:

Embassytown: a city of contradictions on the outskirts of the universe.

Avice is an immerser, a traveller on the immer, the sea of space and time below the everyday, now returned to her birth planet. Here on Arieka, humans are not the only intelligent life, and Avice has a rare bond with the natives, the enigmatic Hosts – who cannot lie.

Only a tiny cadre of unique human Ambassadors can speak Language, and connect the two communities. But an unimaginable new arrival has come to Embassytown. And when this Ambassador speaks, everything changes.

Catastrophe looms. Avice knows the only hope is for her to speak directly to the alien Hosts.

And that is impossible.

Sounds lovely. I’ve only read The City & The City by Mieville, but this sounds just wonderful. Mieville’s known for writing dense, weird stories, and big Space Opera seems like a great opportunity for him to really let loose. It’s easy to see some similarities to Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness in the blurb. It should be interesting to see how he handles some of the genre’s more prominent tropes. I’m prepared for my mind to melt as it tries to comprehend Mieville + spaceships.