While you’re making lists of all the marvelous Orbit books you can buy for your friends and family for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any other year’s end holiday of your choice (or any other time of the year, for that matter), let’s take a fast look back on what happened around these parts last week.

Our attention turned to the Southern Hemisphere last week as Marianne de Pierres reflected upon the good work done in the past year by our AUZ authors, and the nominees for the Aurealis Awards were announced.

Joe Abercrombie had a spirited interview at Patrick Rothfuss’s blog about fantasy, film editing, shameful self-promotion, Muppets, and the orbital seque sander he proposes as a useful tool for the writer’s kit.

Gail Carriger, in the persona of her character Alexia Tarabotti, presented tips for coping with the holidays Victorian-style (once the werewolf has the doily on his head, of course, all is lost).

And Orbit UK’s Rose Tremlett was pleased to report on the spectacular press in the UK that both Palmer’s Red Claw and Jesse Bullington’s The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart have received.