The Web's full of sites that have long and comprehensive lists of links to sf & fantasy pages around the world. We offer a few links here to start you on the trail; alternatively, use one of the search engines (remember to phrase your search as tightly as possible, so that you don't end up with 478,964 hits to wade through...). Also, remember that all the sites listed elsewhere in this section will have their own sets of links (to links to links to...).

• One of the best general science fiction resources is SF Site, featuring a wide range of reviews, news, commentary and links.
• Best SF -- links to short SF on the web, plus reviews and overviews of short fiction.
• One of the longest running -- and biggest -- sf sites is the Science Fiction Resource Guide. Not the sort of site for a brief visit -- be prepared to stay for hours...
• The Ultimate Science Fiction Web Guide is full of links to authors, reviews, etc.
• The Mining Co's sf & fantasy section has an excellent set of links.
• Fright Library has a lot of links, along with a good selection of classic novels and stories on-line.
• And the Finnish site Scientifiction Links has a long (and fast-loading) list of links to literary and media sf sites, including a lot of author home pages.
• infinity plus contributor, Lawrence Dyer, runs Dowse, a portal for creative types, which includes an sf hub.
• Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works includes a handy links section.
• SFFworld is good for reviews, interviews, blogs, and a variety of other features.
• It might not be as large as some of the links sites listed here, but Dave Langford's Ansible Links is clear and well organised -- it's the page I tend to try first of all.

Newsletters, market updates, gossip ... you'll find it all here.

• The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site has advice on writing, contracts, markets, etc -- an essential reference source...
• ...as is the Horror Writers Association.
• Some magazines:
  • The paper-based (or treeware) version of Locus is a long-established market leader for genre news (they have a cabinet full of Hugo awards to prove it). Their Web site is good for news, too, but also provides access to some wonderful databases.
  • Science Fiction Chronicle, monthly sf news and commentary magazine, from DNA Publications.
  • Science Fiction Weekly. Fortnightly, actually -- sf news magazine, particularly for those interested in TV and movie sf.
  • SFRevu is a good source of reviews and interviews, updated each month. You can also receive each issue by e-mail -- details at their site.
  • The Web version of the Heliocentric Net, a newsletter providing market information, tips, announcements and more.
  • Speculations -- the web-site of a bimonthly print magazine devoted to helping writers "who wish to break into or increase their presence within the science fiction, fantasy, horror, or 'other' speculative fiction genres".
  • Tangent -- the web-site of the magazine for reviews of short fiction, and more.
• In addition to the news magazines, you can find market information from the appropriately titled Market List. Each version includes over a hundred current markets for genre fiction, with details of response times, genres accepted, payment rates, etc; plus articles, interviews and reviews.
• And perhaps the best market listing around can be found at the excellent Ralan's Webstravaganza; another good one, although less frequently updated, is Stef's and Paula's list of speculative fiction markets.
• You need to know where to be published, but you also need to know where to avoid... So check out the Literary Scams page and the SFWA's Writer Beware.
• The Speculative Literature Foundation promotes literary quality in speculative fiction, by encouraging promising new writers, assisting established writers, facilitating the work of quality magazines and small presses in the genre, and developing a greater public appreciation of speculative fiction.
• The excellent horror site, Dark Echo publishes a regular horror publishing newsletter.
• Preditors and Editors is packed with sound advice for writers.
• Get a free assessment of your short story or novel chapter: there are lots of commercial writing courses available, but what distinguishes Sublime Words is its association with stylish speculative fiction magazine, The Third Alternative. Webmaster and senior tutor is Interzone author Lawrence Dyer.
• Jeffrey A Carver offers advice and a useful set of links for aspiring writers...
• ... and Robert Sawyer has republished his On Spec how-to-write column on his web site.
• Hugo-saturated Dave Langford's Ansible is essential reading: gossip, news, convention round-ups and more. The man doesn't know how to write a dull sentence. Take a look at the Web version, run by the University of Glasgow, then add your name to the mailing list. And vote Dave another Hugo next year.
• Chris Reed's BBR offers editing and design services, as well as running an excellent mail order service for alternative press publications and publishing books and the stylish magazine Back Brain Recluse (the source of a number of infinity plus) stories.
• Science fiction and fantasy have thriving fan communities. Any writer should really be a part of that. Join your local group (check Dave Langford's Ansible Links to find your closest one); or join one of the national organizations -- in the UK that would be the British Fantasy Society or the British Science Fiction Association.
• The trAce International Online Writing Community is a pioneering project designed to benefit writers and readers around the world. It aims to "teach writers and readers how to use the internet for writing, reading and workshopping and supply an up-to-date information service and support network". It will feature on-line events, competitions, writers' and readers' groups, writers- and readers-in-residence and much more.
• The value of decent critical input for your writing can't really be over-stated. Trouble is, genre writers really need input from people who know the field, so local writers' groups aren't always the best option. The alternative is postal or on-line writers' groups or workshops -- one place to find about the on-line variety is the Critters electronic workshops page.

Science fiction writers spend most of their time thinking about futures. Dystopian futures, utopian futures ... usually somewhere in between. We're not all environmental campaigners, and those of us who are don't necessarily agree about problems and solutions. But whatever our position on the subject, we're all concerned about making the future work.

• Spend some time with the Centre for Alternative Technology -- they describe themselves as 'Europe's foremost eco-centre'. They're an educational charity working towards innovative and effective ways of developing sustainable technologies.
• The environment movement has a number of sites that help you work out what the world might be like in the future. Greenpeace International has its own excellent site, along with a comprehensive list of links. Similarly, Friends of the Earth in the UK offer a useful site, with many more links.
• The future in space? NASA is the obvious place to start.
• Keep up to date with the latest developments in science with New Scientist.
• ...and if you're serious about getting your research right, the ideal place to start is Using the Internet for Research, a comprehensive set of Frequently Asked Questions run by Charlie Harris. As well as a fine guide to getting the best out of Internet research, there's an excellent set of URLs for a Rainy Day, covering search engines, resource guides and all kinds of specialist sites.
• The SF Writers' Resource Encyclopedia is another good source of both links and answers to some of the questions SF authors need to ask.

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