Sunday, July 19, 2009

Tor.com turns one...with prizes!

One year ago today we launched our wee pet project Tor.com. We picked July 20th, Moon Landing Day, because exploration, imagination, and accomplishment means a lot to us.....and because the original launch date of five months prior was just crazy talk. The year has been a great one and it's just the beginning. We've got new developments up our sleeves and new acquisitions to share -- it's almost hard to have the patience needed to sit still to get them out into the world.

For our birthday we are giving away 24 prizes -- one every hour, midnight to midnight. Keep checking in throughout the day to put your name in the running.

In honor of moon landing day, we have asked over two dozen people in the science fiction community to take a brief moment and describe what July 20th, 1969 meant for them. Again, stop by throughout the day to get glimpses into the various perspectives everyone had to offer.

I have already been effected by reading a few of these testimonials as they came in. Being born six months after the event, it always seemed an occurrence that existed outside of history -- a momentous endeavour inside a bubble all it's own. Reading accounts within the context of people's everyday lives has, to some degree, recontextualized it for me.

As you read, please feel free to add your own thoughts and memories of the day.

Lastly, the Tor.com team is truly one of the most varied and creative set of people I've been involved with. A heartfelt thanks/congrats to Fritz Foy, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Pablo Defendini, Jamie Stafford-Hill, Torie Akinson, Liz Gorinsky, Megan Messinger, Bridget McGovern, Richard Rohr, and all of our amazing bloggers, writers, readers, and artists. It's an honor to be included in this group.

Oh! And Greg Manchess (designer of "Stubby" the Tor.com rocket) made us a birthday card!

1 comment:

Moai said...

I was born in 1987, long after the moon landing. Until very recently, I've taken it for granted that mankind had landed on the moon. Of course we have! I've known it my whole life. Only recently have I paused and thought about what a momentous event it was, and how incredible it must have been to know that humans have stepped onto another celestial object for the first time. Though I'm generally very glad to have been born when I was, rather than some time in the past, I do envy the people who where there to witness the moon landing. It must have been amazing.