Archive for Competitions
Competition Time – Remix the Robot!
Posted by: | CommentsAnnouncing! The frankly incredible Remix the Angry Robot Theme Tune contest. Woah lawd yeah!
OK, so first there were our wonderful monthly podcasts, conducted by Mighty Mur Lafferty (no really, that’s her full three-word name – check her passport if you don’t believe us). To help give her broadcasts a proper opening, our Mur commissioned the uncontainable talents of John Anealio to create the Angry Robot theme tune. And lo, toes were tapped most verily and heads they did nod.
Its life-changing twenty-two seconds were enough to lead into whichever of our intrepid authors were braving Mur’s piercing questions, but unbeknownst to us mere mortals, minds immeasurably superior to ours were beavering away behind the scenes on something far grander. For yes indeed, that man Matt Forbeck was plotting away with the selfsame Anealio to produce a version that had, oh my, verses… containing, gasp, lyrics, no less. And thus it became lead track on John’s recent Robots EP, still available for ** free ** download over at Bandcamp.
But that busy Mr Anealio couldn’t resist fiddling about. Typical human. So this week he debuted the following gentle mood manipulator, the unplugged version of “Angry Robot”, via the primitive broadcast system known as YouTube:
But why should the composer have all fun, you cry! Where’s our chance to dick around with this song, you demand! Well hush yo mouth and listen up, sparky, cos that’s what we’re getting to.
For yes, we can proudly announce our next frankly mental contest. Unlike your average genre publisher, Angry Robot has a theme tune. Now it’s time for you guys to REMIX THE THEME TUNE. Here’s all you have to do…
1) Follow the link of your choice below to download the multitracked parts of John and Matt’s full length Angry Robot song.
2) Slice, dice, layer, shuffle, remix, scratch, burn, weld, rip, belay and flense them into a totally different form. Or use these as inspiration for your own band’s version. Or get out comb, paper and vastly expensive sampling software now inexplicably available on your iPhone for only 59¢ and make the ultimate bootleg mash-up. Whatever it takes, make us a new version of the Angry Robot song and rock our metal souls.
3) Send us the resultant magnificent octopus as an MP3, by the end of April 1st.
Assisted by the astute brains of Mr John Anealio and the very Reverend Matt Forbeck we’ll pick our favourites and host them here. If we get enough good tracks, we can probably be persuaded to sort out a Bandcamp EP of all of them, for one and all to download until the robot cows come home.
And of course the very best one will win something as demented as the song: you’ll get a role in Matt Forbeck’s next novel for Angry Robot – and a very nasty death is guaranteed too!
The various parts you need are no longer available, because the competition has closed. Sorry.
John said to tell you muso types that the original files are in D minor, at 116 bpm. Yeah, like, back in the lab, professor! Anyways, send your entries as an MP3, preferably inside a .zip file, to us at incoming@angryrobotbooks.com
Don’t forget sensible stuff like your name and email address, and remember to ask your parent or guardian before using any scissors.
THE SMALL PRINT
All samples are provided as is. All samples are freely usable in any way you see fit, under Creative Commons. You are allowed to chop these samples into pieces, loop fragments, blow them up, timestretch them out, do whatever. If you use any samples from *other people’s works* for some demented mash-up and they come after you with swanky lawyers, we don’t know you. If somehow you have a top ten hit with these and are suddenly neck-deep in floozies and fast cars, ours is a pint of champers and a Ferrari. Each. You agree that we can post your mad remixes on the internet for humans to hear.
Twitter competition results
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On Friday of last week, we had a mini competition to celebrate the inclusion of Zoo City on the Arthur C Clarke Award shortlist. All we asked was for you to tell us your favourite animal joke, in a single tweet.
The winner gets a signed, limited edition hardback copy of Zoo City. Only 100 of these were ever sold.
Here are some of the runners-up:
Q: Knock knock.
A: Who’s there?
Q: The Interrupting Cow.
A. The Interrupting Cow wh–
A. MOOOO!
(from @AnnLarimer)
Why don’t ducks fly upside down?
Because they’d quack up.
(from @keithpyeatt)
Why is the desert lion everyone’s favorite at Christmas?
Because he has sandy claws!
(from @starmetaloak)
Why do elephants drink so much?
A: To try to forget!
(from @Crusaderofchaos)
What has four legs and flies? . . A dead dog.
(from @djelibeybi_meg)
A mathematical one: “What is a polar bear? A cartesian bear after a coordinate transform”
(from @odo)
“Doctor Doctor! I think I’m a dog!”
“Sit on the couch & tell me about it”
“I can’t, I’m not allowed up on the couch”
(from @MacDibble)
What did the octopus say to the loan shark?
Here’s the sick squid I owe you.
(from @annelyle)
And the winner – because it managed to contain 3 gags in one:
What disease can you get from kissing birds?
Chirpes (It’s a canareal disease, but it’s tweetable)
(from @stillisnthere)
Congratulations – your book should be with you, shortly.
Some jokes to start your Monday with a smile or a grimace
Posted by: | CommentsOn Friday we set a competition to win a proof copy of our edition of KW Jeter’s Morlock Night and Infernal Devices. The first four people from four different countries to email us a joke were the winners, along with one more, who made us laugh.
Well, there were lots of entries, and it was somewhat surprising to find so many centred around the art of self-love…
Here are the first 4 winners:
Ann Larimer from the USA
A man walks into a bar and says, “Ow.”
Ok, we didn’t state that the jokes had to be funny. Serves us right, I suppose.
Next up: Tony Lane from the UK:
A horse walks into a bar. Barman says “Why such a long face?”
Tony – seriously, you and Ann should hook up.
Lauren Smith from South Africa sent us the following:
A mother took her young daughter to an art museum. They came across a statue of a naked man. The daughter pointed to its penis and asked, “What’s that?”
The mother said, “That’s something boys have and girls don’t.”
Her daughter said, “But I want one.”
Wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible, the mother said, “Well, if you’re a good girl you’ll get one when you grow up.”
Her daughter asked, “And what if I’m bad?”
A security guard who overheard the conversation mumbled, “Then you’ll get lots of them!”
Thanks, Lauren – that’s going to get us banned from some of the better search engines…
Steven Hogan from Canada sent us the classic:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side.
Ahh, sometimes the old ones are the best.
Sometimes, they’re just old, though.
And the winner for the best* joke is John Murray from California:
What can’t you hear a pterodactyl in the bathroom?
Because the “P” is silent.
An additional prize is to be awarded to Peter Jesenszky from Hungary, who narrowly missed out on being one of the first 4. This is the I’m-sure-some-people-will-find-it-amusing-but-I-haven’t-a-clue-what-it-means prize:
In a dark, narrow alley, a function and a differential operator meet:
“Get out of my way – or I’ll differentiate you till you’re zero!”
“Try it – I’m e^x…”
Commiserations to the following, who also made us smile, but who will remain Jeter-less for the time being:
Adrianna Valencia from the US:
Stephen Hawking walks into a bar…
Jukka Halme from Finland:
What do seamonsters eat? Fish and ships.
and Andrew Byers from the US:
Q: How many steampunks does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two – one to change it and a second to glue unneccessary clock parts to it.
Thanks to everyone who entered – the winners’ books will be posted today.
.
*It’s a relative term… :-|
Friday Afternoon Quickfire Competition
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Here’s a simple competition for you -
I have 5 proof copies of KW Jeter’s Infernal Devices and Morlock Night to give away. These classic steampunk romps have been out of print since the late 1980s, but you can get your hands one one, now!
.
What to do:
1) Send an email to incoming [AT] angryrobotbooks.com with the subject heading “Jeter Giveaway”
2) Inside the email, tell us a joke. Any joke. Preferably a funny one. Also include your full name and snail mail address.
.
I will send a copy to the first 4 people to respond from different countries. So, if you’re first, you’re guaranteed to win. If you respond second, you’ll win if your address is in a different country to the first person. If you’re fifteenth, and no-one from your country has yet responded, you’ll win.
We’ll also send out a copy to the person whose joke makes us laugh the most, and we’ll put a selection of your jokes on our blog.
By entering, you are permitting us to put your joke (and name) on our blog.
And if you like the books, please consider posting a review at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, or whichever is your preferred online bookstore.
This competition closes at midnight tonight, wherever you are.
Now, go to it!
Advent Calendar day 3, Vote for the year’s best, Some podcast news
Posted by: | CommentsAdvent Calendar
It’s day 3 on our Advent calendar, and another of our authors has a festive treat for you!
(Oh, no, he doesn’t!) Stop that.
Vote for the Year’s Best
SFBook.com are having a vote – which of their Books of the Month do you think should win their Book of the Year? Every month they’ve chosen a title they enjoyed more than any other that month, and now they want you to tell them which is the best of the best!
3 out of the 12 are Angry Robot titles – pretty good when you consider we only published books in 6 months of 2010.
The Angry Robot books up for consideration are (with quotes from the SFBook reviews):
The World House by Guy Adams
The World House is a utterly original, quite crazy and simply brilliant piece of fiction.
The Road to Bedlam by Mike Shevdon
The Road to Bedlam is a rich, detailed and impressive sequel to one of the best novels of 2009 with a gripping plot, superb characterisation and is such an effortless joy to read.
Amortals by Matt Forbeck
Amortals is an action packed sci fi thriller full of fantastic tech and a great ending, highly recommended.
The books are up against some stiff competition, though – see the full list here, and go vote (on the front page)!
Podcast News
You can keep your gold and frankincense - but we’re hanging on to the Mur! Our monthly Angry Robot podcast, hosted by the queen of podcasting, the Mighty Mur Lafferty. was originally scheduled for just 6 episodes. Mur has done such an awesome job, though, we’ve asked her to do some more for us, and she’s agreed! Now that’s what I call a Christmas present!
Competition – Where on Earth is Aliette going?
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From Aliette de Bodard’s website:
So, as some of you might know, I’m leaving for my honeymoon in a bit more than two weeks. The catch is that the BF/H took the matter very much to heart, and that the destination itself is going to remain a complete surprise until the day we board the plane.
As some of you might also know, my first novel, the Aztec noir fantasy Servant of the Underworld, will be released in the US and Canada on October 26th, in a little more than a month. I’ve always said I was going to do a competition to celebrate the release, but I had no idea what it could be about.
Well, now I’ve got the perfect idea. Take a stab at where you think I might be headed, and get a chance to win a copy of Servant of the Underworld and awesome Aztec swag.
For full details of the prizes, and how to enter, head on over to AliettedeBodard.com.
Monday Morning Roundup
Posted by: | CommentsWell, what a busy week that was!
First of all, congratulations to all this year’s Hugo winners – some damn fine work being recognised, there!
There was also a bit of Angry Robot-related stuff happening around the net over the weekend.
First up, a catch-up with Dark Fiction Review, who have been running an Angry Robot Special this past week, to celebrate our new titles in the UK and US/Canada.
Fancy winning some Angry Robot books? Head over to Dark Fiction Review for a simple-to-enter competition.
A great review of Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett:
Triumff is a corking yarn which will make the stoniest-hearted soul giggle, wince and snort. Recommended.
And to follow, some interviews with Dan, Gav and Kell. Yes, Kell.
Dan:
DFR: How do you balance that level of commitment and output with technicalities like the need to eat and sleep?
DA: There is the long standing gag about me having lots of clones working at an infinite number of typewriters. And of course that’s true.
The simple answer is that I love writing. I am very lucky to be able to do for a living something I would want to be doing anyway. I spend a lot of my time doing it, and therefore produce a lot. I won’t pretend it’s never hard work, or don’t have bad days when I wish I could be doing something else, but I’m betting those are less common and easier to get past than most people’s bad work days. I also believe I work better if I’m pushed. The more stuff I’ve got to do, the faster and better I’ll do it. Work expands to fill the time available otherwise. If I get a good head of steam up, I produce better stuff: quality rises with productivity. Like I said, lucky.
Send us a photo of you in B&N and Win!
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See the display in the photo? Angry Robot displays are in Barnes and Noble stores across the USA. This one was taken in a B&N store in Springfield, New Jersey.
What we’d like you to do is to take a photograph of you, holding one of our books, standing next to one of our displays in a Barnes and Noble*. The display should be clearly in shot with you. It’s probably a good idea to get permission from the store before you start taking snaps, though.
Send your photo to us at: INCOMING @ ANGRYROBOTBOOKS.COM
We’ll blog some of our favourite photos (so by entering you’re giving us permission to use the photo in this way). And one lucky winner will receive some random Angry Robot stuff from the Angry Robot Cupboard of Win. We’ll get one of our authors to choose the outright winner, so we don’t get the blame. The prizes won’t be books this time around, though – they’ll be something… else.
Competition closes midnight Saturday 4th September (that’s midnight, wherever you are). No purchase necessary to enter (though we’d obviously like you to).
_________
*Thinking about it a little more logically, it might be easier to get someone else to take a photo of you, standing next to the display. If either Mr Fantastic or Elastic Man happen to be reading this, you can obviously make your own arrangements.
Today’s tidbits
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday was a bit of an epic blog-fest for us, so I’ll be cutting down today’s entries to just two, though it was extremely gratifying to see so much enthusiasm around the internet for our US/Canada launch yesterday.
Dark Fiction Review continues their epic Angry Robot special, with an interview with Colin Harvey:
I’m actually quite an optimist, most of the time I think that we’ll muddle through somehow, but it will be despite – rather than because of – our efforts. I have the feeling that there are going to be less of us in a hundred years. A lot of whether the human race survives the century depends on how we cope with the end of cheap oil. If we can find an alternative to oil, or deal with the scarcity equably, then we stand a chance.
and a review of Andy Remic’s blood-soaked, clockwork vampire epic, Kell’s Legend:
The vachine are an absolutely incredible concept: fascinating, slightly appalling and something I would never have expected. I loved the way they worked and found their society fascinating, although clearly unpleasant… It’s a fast and brutal fantasy adventure with some fun characters and some fantastic ideas. I am really excited to see the series develop.
Completely Booked also loves Andy’s novel:
it’s a fine start to a heart-pounding action tale, complete with quests and durance vile. Oh, and a bad guy you can really hate. I like it!
If you entered last week’s competition over at io9, the winners have been revealed.
Meanwhile, Gav Thorpe’s The Crown of the Blood gets the review treatment at Daniel’s Thoughts:
The Crown of the Blood is a very well-plotted and well-constructed book; the politics and military elements meld well together and the character-driven plot is exceedingly well-paced, pushing ahead without overlooking the more dull elements of military campaign (there’s a nice bit about waiting being the worst part, done in a fresh enough way to not be clichéd!) and moving slowly enough to let us get to know the characters and get attached to them… this is an absolutely fantastic novel; I recommend it.
That’s all for now – enjoy your day.
Win free books with Angry Robot and io9
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Everyone loves a competition – especially competitions that are pretty darn simple to enter!
To celebrate Angry Robot’s imminent invasion of the US of A and Canada, those lovely people over at io9 are giving you the chance to win some Angry Robot goodies. Head on over there to enter.
