Tuesday Link-A-Mania

SFX nominated for Best Magazine, John Hurt joins The Strain and True Blood keeps the ratings high.

• We are very proud to announce that SFX has been nominated for Best Magazine/ Periodical in the British Fantasy Awards 2013. SFX is up against Black Static , Interzone and Shadows and Tall Trees . Wish us luck!

• In only one UK event, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter will discuss their new collaboration, The Long Earth series. Tickets are available for this one-off at The Institute of Engineering and Technology,London, on 25 June.

• FX has cast Oscar-nominated and all-round good guy John Hurt in the high-profile drama pilot The Strain . The adaptation of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s vampire novel trilogy will feature Hurt as Professor Abraham Setrakian alongside Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro. [Via Coming Soon ]

• The premiere of Season six of True Blood was watched by 4.5m people. Although this is actually down on the Season five opener, which delivered 5.2m, it outranked the first episode of Game of Thrones Season 3. [Via The Hollywood Reporter ]

• Jamie Payne has been revealed as the director of the 2013 Doctor Who Christmas special . It will be Matt Smith’s final episode as the Doctor, so expect some tears this Christmas. [Via Blogtor Who ]

• With plans for a Prometheus sequel underway, it has been announced that Jack Paglen will be writing the script. The Transcendence scribe – Wally Pfister’s directorial debut – is hoping to bring together all the loose ends that left fans disappointed in the first Alien prequel. [Via Collider ]

• With filming of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in its fifth week, photos have been revealed of the hero’s new suit. [Via Coming Soon ]

• It looks like Spider-Man will not be able to take a rest in the next few years. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is already in production and Sony has announced dates for two further films in 2016 and 2018. They must have a lot of confidence in the web-slinger franchise. [Via Slash Film ]

• According to The Wrap , Ryan Reynolds has exited the upcoming reboot of Highlander . The Summit project already lost its director when Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, of 28 Weeks Later fame, left last year.

• Following Vin Diesel’s release of the new poster for Riddick , an international trailer is now available. Riddick will be in the cinemas on 6 September. [Via Coming Soon ]

• The oft-delayed Sin City sequel, A Dame to Kill For, has been hit by another setback. The long-awaited film’s release was originally planned for October 2013 but it has been pushed back to August 2014. [Via Collider ]

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.