I'm not a regular listener to the Ezra Klein Show, but I tune in for the occasional interesting guest — so I assumed that the Ted Chiang episode was not one to miss, and I was right.

Chiang is the author of the speculative short fiction like the collection Stories of Your Life and Others, and is critically acclaimed by writers and reviewers alike for the way he combines hard sci-fi and heartfelt explorations of humans living in society. — Read the rest

Years ago, Cory Doctorow gave me a copy of Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others for my birthday and I'll be forever grateful. If you haven't read Chiang's philosophically focused science fiction before, you're in for a treat. Amazon has the Kindle edition on sale at a can't-pass-it-up price.

On Electric Lit, Halimah Marcus, interviews speculative fiction author Ted Chiang (Exhalation, Arrival) on the current global pandemic and whether there will ever be a "normal" for us to return to.

HM: What's the relationship between disruption and doom?

The New York Times has inaugurated its "Op-Eds From the Future" ("science fiction authors, futurists, philosophers and scientists write op-eds that they imagine we might read 10, 20 or even 100 years in the future") with a piece from Ted Chiang (previously) that imagines a future in which genetic engineering of human embryos is commonplace, leading to a well-intentioned attempt at preventing literal speciation into the haves and have-nots by subsidizing "intelligence boosting" genetic manipulation for lower-income families.

Avi Solomon writes, "Author Ted Chiang (previously) discusses the making of The Great Silence as well as other works addressing interspecies communication, including 'Story of Your Life,' the novella which was adapted into the 2016 feature film, Arrival." — Read the rest

Why do billionaires like Elon Musk make terrified pronouncements about the imminent rise of self-aware, murderous AIs that use us to reproduce themselves, controlling us instead of serving us?

Eric Heisserer adapted Ted Chiang's novella Story of Your Life as the screenplay Arrival. Both are brilliant, but in different ways. It wasn't easy.

In all my draft work on the adaptation, I spent the most time on the intellectual and political challenges of the story.

Ted Chiang (previously) may be the best short story writer in science fiction today; though he produces very infrequently, he wins accolades and awards for every story.

Here's some spectacular news: Ted Chiang's incredible science fiction story "Story of Your Life" (which won the Nebula and Sturgeon, and was reprinted in his fantastic collection Stories of Your Life and Others) is being adapted for a feature film by director Nic Mathieu and producer Shawn Levy. — Read the rest

Published by Subterranean Press, part of its fall 2013 issue.

People consult their lifelogs for a variety of reasons—everything from reliving favorite moments to tracking down the cause of allergic reactions—but only intermittently; no one wants to spend all their time formulating queries and sifting through the results.

Avi sez, "Here is Ted Chiang presenting his take on the future. Enjoy!" Talk about two great tastes that taste great together!

From Avi: "Ted Chiang will read selections from his work at the University of California, Riverside on Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the Department of English conference room, HMNSS 2212"

Tony C Smith from StarShipSofa sez,

Come along and listen to two award-winning SF writers at the top of their games, Connie Willis and Ted Chiang, as they give a live online talk/lecture on the idea and literature of time travel.

Subterranean Press has Ted Chiang's latest novella, "The Lifecycle of Software Objects," a sweet, sad story about virtual pets and the lives they lead online. Ted Chiang is one of the greatest writers working in science fiction today, we're lucky to have him. — Read the rest

Avi: Could you introduce yourself?

Ted: My name is Ted Chiang. I'm a science fiction short story writer.

Were there any formative experiences that led you to become a
science fiction writer?

Probably the most formative experience was reading the Foundation
Trilogy when I was about twelve years old. — Read the rest

John sez, "Ted Chiang's short story "Exhalation" –which is currently a finalist for the Hugo Award and the British Science Fiction Association Award–is now available to read online in a variety of formats, via our Downloads page. Originally appearing in Jonathan Strahan's Eclipse Two, 'Exhalation' is an evocative story of an all-metal world, its argon-breathing inhabitants, and a scientist who performs the ultimate self-examination. — Read the rest

Avi sez, "StarShipSofa has made a podcast of Ted Chiang's amazing new story: 'Exhalation'. This is as good as it gets for quality SF." Ohmanohmanohman! New Ted Chiang fiction. We're all in for a treat.

Exhalation, MP3 link

(Thanks, Avi! — Read the rest

I'm a devoted listener of StarShipSofa's Aural Delights science fiction podcast. The most recent episode (No. 37) has a short story by Ted Chiang called "What's Expected Of Us," and I think it's comparable to the work of Jorge Luis Borges. — Read the rest

Avi sez, "Starship Sofa has made Ted Chiang's marvelous arabesque time travel story 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate' available as a podcast."

Oh yes, thank you very much. I brake for Ted Chiang stories — hell, I'd stop, drop and roll for a chance to read one. — Read the rest

Ted Chiang is a brilliant sf writer who doesn't write nearly enough (OTOH, he keeps beating me out on awards, so maybe that's a good thing). His magnificent story "72 Letters" is available online. Link Discuss