Roberto Quaglia
Encyclopedia
Roberto Quaglia is an Italian
science fiction
writer
. Many of his works have been translated and published in Romania
, and some have also been translated into English
, Russian
, Czech
, Hungarian
and Dutch
.
, internet
entrepreneur and politician. From the beginning of 1995 to the end of 1997 he was a Councilor in Genova
. Since 1989, he has been active in science fiction
fandom
, and since 2002 he has been vice-chairman of the European Science Fiction Society, the organization which coordinates the annual Eurocon
science fiction convention
.
In 1994 he became friends with American science fiction writer Robert Sheckley
. In 1999 he and Sheckley traveled together around Europe
for over a month, the first of a number of long journeys they took together. Some of Quaglia's videos and photographs of these trips can be found on the Internet. In 2004, Quaglia and Sheckley began planning to write two books together, a project which became public a few months before Sheckley's death, in an article published by the Ukrainian
press during Sheckley's last journey, a tour of the Ukraine together with Quaglia. Sheckley's death put an end to this project.
In 2003, Quaglia and British writer Ian Watson
met and became friends, which led to a literary collaboration. Together they wrote the collection of My Beloved stories, some of which are available on the Internet, having been published by Helix
, Flurb
and in the United States, Clarkesworld Magazine
. Other stories have been published in the American magazine Weird Tales
, the Canadian anthology Lust For Life, New Writings in the Fantastic, the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica volume 7 and in an other books. In 2009 these stories were collected into an anthology, The Beloved of My Beloved, published by NewCon Press, and launched in March–April 2009 at the Eurocon in Fiuggi
and the Eastercon
in Bradford
.
Other fiction
Non-fiction
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Many of his works have been translated and published in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and some have also been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
.
Life and career
Quaglia has held a variety of jobs, among them photographer, owner and barman of a pubPublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
entrepreneur and politician. From the beginning of 1995 to the end of 1997 he was a Councilor in Genova
Génova
Génova may refer to:* Spanish spelling of the city of Genoa, Italy* Génova, Quindío, a municipality in the department of Quindío, Colombia* Génova, Quetzaltenango, a municipality in the department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala...
. Since 1989, he has been active in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
, and since 2002 he has been vice-chairman of the European Science Fiction Society, the organization which coordinates the annual Eurocon
Eurocon
Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike...
science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
.
In 1994 he became friends with American science fiction writer Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and...
. In 1999 he and Sheckley traveled together around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for over a month, the first of a number of long journeys they took together. Some of Quaglia's videos and photographs of these trips can be found on the Internet. In 2004, Quaglia and Sheckley began planning to write two books together, a project which became public a few months before Sheckley's death, in an article published by the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
press during Sheckley's last journey, a tour of the Ukraine together with Quaglia. Sheckley's death put an end to this project.
In 2003, Quaglia and British writer Ian Watson
Ian Watson (author)
Ian Watson is a British science fiction author. He currently lives in Northamptonshire, England.His first novel, The Embedding, winner of the Prix Apollo in 1975, is unusual for being based on ideas from generative grammar; the title refers to the process of center embedding...
met and became friends, which led to a literary collaboration. Together they wrote the collection of My Beloved stories, some of which are available on the Internet, having been published by Helix
Helix
A helix is a type of smooth space curve, i.e. a curve in three-dimensional space. It has the property that the tangent line at any point makes a constant angle with a fixed line called the axis. Examples of helixes are coil springs and the handrails of spiral staircases. A "filled-in" helix – for...
, Flurb
Flurb
Flurb is a science fiction webzine, edited by noted science fiction author Rudy Rucker. In addition to short stories, Flurb features paintings and photography by Rucker. It is released biannually...
and in the United States, Clarkesworld Magazine
Clarkesworld Magazine
Clarkesworld Magazine is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine. The first issue was published October 1, 2006 and it has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as Sarah Monette, Catherynne Valente, Elizabeth Bear, Caitlin R...
. Other stories have been published in the American magazine Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, the Canadian anthology Lust For Life, New Writings in the Fantastic, the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica volume 7 and in an other books. In 2009 these stories were collected into an anthology, The Beloved of My Beloved, published by NewCon Press, and launched in March–April 2009 at the Eurocon in Fiuggi
Fiuggi
Fiuggi is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy.-History:Fiuggi, originally called Anticoli di Campagna, gained fame as early as the 14th century, when Pope Boniface VIII claimed his kidney stones had been healed by the mineral waters from the nearby Fiuggi...
and the Eastercon
Eastercon
Eastercon is the common name for the British national science fiction convention. From 1948 until the 1960s, the convention was held over the three-day Whitsun bank holiday at the end of May. Since then it has been held over the four-day Easter holiday weekend...
in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
.
Awards and honors
- 2009 - Eurocon ESFS Award for Best European Writer
- 2010 - BSFA AwardBSFA awardThe BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
for best short story for "The Beloved Time of Their Life"
Works
Novels- 1994: Vagabondul interspaţial ("The Vagabond of Ether"). :ro:Nemira. ISBN 973-569-30-6
- 2002: Bread, Butter and Paradoxine. Solid. ISBN 9788873600152
- 2009: Paradoxine: The Adventures of James Vagabond (revised edition of Bread, Butter and Paradoxine). Immanion Press. ISBN 1904853676, ISBN 978-1904853671
Other fiction
- 1992: Somebody up there is lusting for me – science fiction play (distributed as a free gift to all attenders of EuroconEuroconEurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike...
1993 in JerseyJerseyJersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
) - 1998: God Ltd (Italian: "Dio S.r.l.") – short stories collection, Nemira.
- 2006: with Ian WatsonIan WatsonIan Watson may refer to:* Ian Watson * Ian Watson , British science fiction author* Ian Watson , British cricketer* Ian Watson , British footballer...
: The Beloved of My Beloved – short stories collection, NewconPress. ISBN 978-0-9555791-8-9 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-9555791-8-6 (paperback)
Non-fiction
- 1995: The future of science fiction – essay (in the official Souvenir Book of Intersection, the 53rd World Science Fiction Convention53rd World Science Fiction ConventionThe 53rd World Science Fiction Convention , Intersection, was held in Glasgow, Scotland from 24-28 August 1995. The event was also the Eurocon. The venues for the 53rd Worldcon were the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the nearby Moat House Hotel...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
) - 2003: Pensiero stocastico ("Stochastic Thought") – essay collection :it: Delos Books
- 2004: Gandirea Stocastica :ro: Nemira
- 2003: "Tutto quello che avreste sempre voluto sapere sull'11 settembre 2001, ma che non avete mai osato chiedervi" ("Everything you wanted to know about September 11, but have never dared to ask yourself") – essay, in Tutto quello che sai è falso. Manuale dei segreti e delle bugie. NuoviMondiMedia. ISBN 978-88-89091-50-0 (Italian edition of Everything You Know Is Wrong Russ Kick, ed.)
- 2006: Il Mito dell'11 Settembre e l'Opzione Dottor Stranamore ("The September 11th Myth and the Doctor Strangelove Option"). PonSinMor. ISBN 978-88-902775-1-1
- 2009: 11 Septembrie, Mitul. Editura Stefan. ISBN 978-973-118-120-2
External links
- "The Beloved Time of Their Lives", The text of the 2009 BSFA Award-winning short story