SFX Summer Of SF Reading starts here

It's book week on the SFX website to celebrate the launch of SFX 196 and our Summer Of SF Reading campaign

Fancy reading interviews with Terry Pratchett, joining top SF authors for a party in London, getting tons of new book recommendations and more? Then you're going to enjoy the next three issues of SFX magazine which are dedicated to our Summer Of SF Reading campaign. And it all starts right here with book week on SFX.co.uk.

Science fiction and fantasy remain massive in the cinema and on TV at the moment, but books are a key part of SFX's monthly coverage and in 2010 we'll be truly celebrating the literary scene in style. We want to remind everybody the joy to be had from tucking into some written fiction. We never forget the importance of books, but for three months we'll be especially focussing on SF and fantasy novels - the classics as well as the latest superstars - and encouraging everybody to get reading.

Waterstone's are helping out, so do head to a store or the online shop to pick up any books you fancy reading along with us. And of course on 10 May we're putting on a free signing event at Waterstone's Piccadilly (London) where you can come and meet Adam Roberts, China Miéville, Michael Cobley, Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Stephen Hunt. If you want to stay behind for the VIP party, however, you'll need to win one of the 80 tickets . During the party there'll be a panel: "Millions of people watch SF on TV and at the cinema – why don't more people read SF books too?"

Then in SFX 196, 197 and 198 you'll encounter more current author interviews and more features about the classics of SF and fantasy (including a celebration of the 25th anniversary of influential cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, and an ambitious three-part history of SF literature) than ever before. The dedicated in-mag section is sponsored by Gollancz .

The whole thing will be launched on 5 May 2010 in an issue of the world's number one sci-fi mag guest edited by Terry Pratchett himself! The top novelist and author of over 30 Discworld books shares his personal SF passions and helps SFX kick-start the campaign. We've already uploaded an exclusive blog with his views on Doctor Who ...

Actively involved in planning and guest editing the July issue, Terry Pratchett spent time with the SFX team, using his editorial privilege to commission a retrospective of Blade Runner. Also in the July issue you'll find the first part of an ambitious history of the most influential SF authors ever, a retrospective on the writings of John "Day of the Triffids" Wyndham, plus a behind-the-scenes report from the Sky1 adaptation of Terry Pratchett's book Going Postal.

Dave Bradley, Editor-in-Chief of SFX, says, "As a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's work it was a thrill to spend time with him planning SFX and having his support for our reading campaign. His genre interests are broad and we spent a long time discussing videogames, Doctor Who, travel, the TV adaptations of his books, and other authors he's met over the years – creating a very strong issue, with his influence throughout. We routinely dedicate many pages to books in every issue of SFX, with author interviews, features and reviews. The power of the written word is stronger than ever, and the importance of books to our genre is something that deserved a special celebration, so we are committed to three months of extra literary coverage and hope to see beaches packed with people reading sci-fi and fantasy novels this summer!"

Continuing the Summer of SF Reading campaign through our July and August issues you can look forward to a guide to the work of HP Lovecraft, as well as Q&As with contemporary authors on SFX.co.uk starting this week. Keep checking back for more content, and bookmark this tag .

The SFX Summer Of SF Reading is in association with Waterstone’s , where you can find all the books you'll be reading about.