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Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN

SFFaudio News

Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN.

First published in Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy. This short story was not previously known to be public domain due to a falsification on a copyright renewal. Observe the relevant page from the renewal:

RE190631-Page-2back

As you can see it shows that Of Withered Apples was supposed to have been first published in volume 1, issue 33, of Uncanny Tales (July 1955).

So, I tracked down a copy of that comic book and am providing photographic evidence that it was not published in that issue.

Normally in these cases I would simply show the copyright page and/or the table of contents page. But as comics of that era often didn’t credit writers, and most also didn’t offer a table of contents page, this is impossible.

Instead, I have had the entire issue photographed, cover to cover, to show that Of Withered Apples was:

A. Not published in that issue.

B. Was not published in that issue uncredited.

Here is the proof |PDF|.

And please note, that while the issue does contain a textual story, it is not, most certainly not, Of Withered Apples.

Of Withered Apples was published a year earlier, in Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy, July 1954. Here is the table of contents show that:

Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy, July 1954 table of contents (includes Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick)

And finally, here is a |PDF| made from that publication.

[Thanks Julie!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer (a 1963 TV documentary)

SFFaudio News

Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer is a 25 minute TV documentary produced by David L. Wolper in 1963. It includes a little dramatization of Dial Double Zero, a short story about the emergence of an artificial intelligence within the telephone system.

And it’s also available as a download |MP4|.

[via Maria Popova and Archive.org]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Galileo Radio Theater (a lost 1980 audio drama series)

SFFaudio News

Here’s an intriguing magazine ad from Galaxy Science Fiction magazine’s final issue (July 1980):

Galileo Radio Theater

And here’s the text from the ad:

The Martians have landed in New Jersey.

It might sound absurd today, but in 1938 it drove thousands of people into a panic when they thought Orson Welles’ radio production of War of the Worlds was an on-the-spot newscast. But that’s the power of radio drama, and Galileo has recaptured that power with a new series of radio shows taken from the pages of today’s liveliest science fiction magazine. Return with us now to the thrilling days of … TOMORROW! You can hear these thrilling shows even before they reach the radio stations. Galileo magazine is offering tape cassettes of the series for direct sale. Hear the new golden age of radio when you
want, as many times as you want. with no commercial interruptions. Series one includes three shows offered here for the first time anywhere. They are actual productions, not dramatic readings, produced and performed by The Open Book theater company in New York. they are professional dramas based on the best science fiction from Galileo magazine.

NOW AVAILABLE:
.”Due Process” by D.C. Poyer
-follows the Supreme Court trial of a man accused of stealing a sentient computer. But who is to say if it was theft or liberation?

·”Take My Planet-Please” by D.L. Borengasser
-in which a washed-up comedian is abducted by extraterrestrials. What hope is there for an old joke to span the gulf between man and an alien?

·”Calling Shapes and Beckoning Shadows” by Eugene Potter.
-the tale of an athlete’s search for himself in a bicycle race on the Moon. at four hundred miles per hour.

Does anybody know if the second series was produced? Or if it was ever actually broadcast? Does anybody have a copy of either cassette?

I’d never heard a whisper about Galileo Radio Theater before today.

[thanks Mike]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Shell Game by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN

SFFaudio News

Shell Game, a short story by Philip K. Dick, is public domain.

A comparison of the copyright renewal form HERE and the original publication of the short story, in Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1954 (below) proves that the copyright was not properly renewed.

Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1954

Indeed, it appears that the copyright renewal was actually intentionally falsified so as to give the appearance that the story was still under copyright. An examination of the magazine from the issue where its renewers claim it to have been published DOES NOT CONTAIN the story.

Here is the table of contents from the issue where the claimants claimed it was published:

Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1955 table of contents

Shell Game by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Here is a |PDF|.

Posted by Jesse Willis

My visit to the new Coquitlam City Centre Library

SFFaudio News

Coquitlam City Centre Library

For the last couple of decades I’ve lived on the same street as my public library. That’s been one of the reasons that I live where I do. But today the local branch of Coquitlam’s public library moved two blocks south and opened for the first time.

The new address is 1169 Pinetree Way.

And the new space is great, very open, with plenty of study areas, and lots of room to grow the collection – and best of all it’s still within walking distance!

The first thing I did when I got there was to make a donation to the library’s collection, a combination of paperbooks, DVDs, comics, and audiobooks. Patrons of Coquitlam public library system should soon see these items on their shelves:

donations to the library's collection

Here’s a partial list:

City Of Dragons by Kelli Stanley |SFFAUDIO PODCAST #061|
Fate Of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
Elidor by Alan Garner
Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris’ Ex Machina (volumes 1-5)
The complete Babylon 5 DVD set (all five seasons plus the movies)
Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle |READ OUR REVIEW|
V For Vendetta by Steve Moore |READ OUR REVIEW|
Armor by John Steakley |READ OUR REVIEW|
I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson |READ OUR REVIEW|

And here are some shots of the library’s facilities:

New Arrivals at the Coquitlam City Centre Library
Teens section at the Coquitlam City Centre Library
study area at the Coquitlam City Centre Library
group study room at the Coquitlam City Centre Library