Comments on: io9’s top 20 science fiction movers and shakers for 2009

By: Kathryn Cramer

Kathryn Cramer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:17:17 +0000

From that perspective, I suppose 2008’s most influential ought to be people like Bill Gibson and Lou Aronica.

By: Paul Raven

Paul Raven — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:55:49 +0000

Hi Charlie Jane, thanks for dropping by! I understand the ‘why’ of your list; if anything that’s exactly what makes it so frustrating to someone very much in the books-and-stories camp. The writer provide the innovation, and twenty years later Hollywood flogs it for a fortune to Joe Average. I guess we should be glad to be sat out lonely on the cutting edge!

By: Kathryn Cramer

Kathryn Cramer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:00:03 +0000

I posted my thoughts HERE.

By: Charlie Jane Anders

Charlie Jane Anders — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:50:39 +0000

Hey Paul, thanks for the feedback! We went back and forth about who to include, and the rankings were certainly pretty arbitrary. On the other hand, this was a list of people who helped bring science fiction to mainstream attention in 2008, not people we like. There are certainly plenty of SF writers who would have been on a list of creators that wowed us in 2008. And for what it’s worth, I do think Will Smith had more impact on the larger zeitgeist (outside of science fiction fans) than Neal Stephenson this year. Kanye West is more debatable, I’ll admit. Like I said, the rankings were a tad arbitrary. Thanks again for the feedback!