THE AUSTRALIASN SCIENCE FICTION BULLSHEET #34 – June 9th 1994
A slack but frequent little science fiction newsletter produced for the
Australian National Science Fiction Association by Marc Ortlieb, P.O.
Box 215, Forest Hill, Vict, 3131, AUSTRALIA (e-mail:
Marc_A._Ortlieb@fc.ausom.oz.au).
Postal subscriptions $6-00 for ten issues.(Cheques made out to
Marc Ortlieb please. Stamps accepted). Available for items of gossip.
E-mail copies free. Ask to be put on the mailing list, or grab it from
aus.sf on Internet, the Ausom FC BBS 9543 3411 or Psibaud (03) 9804
3205.
IN PRINT
Julie Haydon's novel, LINES UPON THE SKIN, was launched in
Melbourne on June 4. Katherine Phelps, Melbourne fan and author of
SURF'S UP:INTERNET AUSTRALIAN STYLE is featured in an article on Net
Surfing in the May 1995 issue of The Australian Way, Qantas's inflight
magazine. The book was also reviewed in The Sunday Age 4/6/95
ON THE BOX
ABC 's TVTV 24/5/95 covered Thunderbirds, including comments by
local fans. Meanwhile Melbourne's Channel 31 is running a regular show
entitled Melbourne Science Fiction Review on Tuesdays at 7.30.
WORLDCON JUNKIE
In addition to being Australia in '99's eminence grise,
Eric Lindsay is currently agent for Intersection (The Scottish
Worldcon) and LACon and is on the bidding committee for Niagara falls
in '98.
UPCOMING CONVENTIONS
THYLACON 1995 Lit NatCon,June 9-12,
Hadley's Hotel, Hobart. GsoH Kim Stanley Robinson, Peter Nicholls and
Grant Stone.$75-00. Sup $20-00. Voting $5-00. P.O. Box 418, Sandy Bay,
Tas 7005 (002) 313-779 e-mail cary_jl@postoffice.sandybay.utas.edu.au
ARCON Aussiecon Reunion Convention- celebrating twenty years of
Australian Science Fiction. September 22-24 GsoH Robin Johnson & David
Grigg Savoy Plaza Hotel Melbourne. P.O. Box 215 Forest Hill, Vic 3131
Att $50-00. Att Ages 12-18yrs $30. Supp $20.
CONTINUUM (Conquest 95)October 13-15 GsoH Jerry Hardin O.C.P. & Richard
Arnold. Gateway Hotel, Brisbane GPO Box 1376 Brisbane 4001 (07) 273
6512 Att $85 until August
BASICON 1995 Media Natcon October 14 venue tba $20 Att ($100
at the door.) Hucksters $30. Banquet $7 P.O. Box 567 Blackburn 3130
TERROR 95 Horror Convention. October 27-29 Caulfield Arts Complex
Victoria. GsoH Richard Harland, Michael Helms & Big Bad Ralph. $40 to
1/6/95; $45 to 25/10/95; $50 at the door. Hucksters $75. P.O. Box 7545
St Kilda Rd Melbourne 3004 (03) 9509 0766
MUDCON November 18-19 Winery tour/Convention. Susan Clarke 6 Bellevue
Road Faulconbridge NSW 2776
MUTAGEN '96 January 26-29 1996, Dr Who GsoH Peter Davison (O.C.P.)
Chris Barrie (O.C.P.) Paul Cornell. Att $90-00. GPO Box 910G Melbourne
3001. (03) 534-2752
THE FESTIVAL OF THE IMAGINATION '96 ( Confusion 96/Swancon 21)
Lit/Media NatCon April 4-8 1996. Kings Hotel Perth. GsoH Bruce
Sterling, Neil Gaiman & Robin Pen. Membership $50 until May 31; $60
from then until September 30; Supp $20; Voting $10. GPO Box G429,
Perth, 6001 Ph:(09) 434 4167. E-mail julian@multiline.com.au
CONSTELLATION NZ Natcon: Queens Birthday Weekend 1996 The Christchurch
City Travelodge, NZ GsoH Michael Moorcock, James Dignan $50.00 during
1994/5 P.O. Box 29-119, Fendalton, Christchurch NZ. Email:
c.brandenburg@lincoln.ac.nz
MEDTREK V Australia Day Weekend 1997 UWS Hawkesbury Richmond NSW
Susan Clarke 6 Bellevue Road Faulconbridge NSW 2776
CONSPIRACY 1997 18th New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention
(bidding for the 15th Australasian SFMedia Con) March 28 to 31 1997.
Airport Hotel Wellington N.Z. GsoH tba. PO Box 10104, Wellington, New
Zealand.Email: concom@sans.vuw.ac.nz
AUSTRALIA IN '99 Bid for the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention.
$10 pre-supporting rate. P.O. Box 99 Bayswater 3153.
GoH = Guest of Honour
O.C.P. = Other Commitments Permitting
tba= to be announced.
OTHER EVENTS
N.S.W.
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON June 15 6pm Galaxy Books
SYDNEY FUTURIANS June 16 7pm Room 1614, Tower Building, University of
Technology, Broadway, Sydney.
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON June 17 Powerhouse Museum $10. 12noon to 5pm.
Other speakers include Professor Malcolm Walter.
SOUTHERN SF GROUP June 17 2pm Interplanetary settlement 15 Shade Place
Lugarno (02) 534-3595
TERRY DOWLING June 22 6pm Galaxy Books. Reading from AN INTIMATE
KNOWLEDGE OF THE NIGHT.
THE WINTER BALL July 29 Elim House, Shaftesbury St Burwood (NSW). $50.
All bookings by July 20th to Susan Clark, 6 Bellevue Road Faulconbridge
NSW 2776. Proceeds to the Linda Cox Chan Fund for Diabetes Research.
SYDNEY DR WHO FAN CLUB 4th Sunday of month Sefton District Girl
Guides' Hall. P.O. Box 381, Chester Hill, 2162 (02) 727-4272
NEWCASTLE DOCTOR WHO SCIENCE FICTION CLUB 3rd Sunday of the month,
Alice Ferguson Community Centre, 30 Caldwell St Merewether P.O. Box
140, Kotara Fair 2289, ph (049) 57 5109 (049) 43 2666
BABYLON 5 OZ Fan Club PO Box 161 Adamstown NSW 2289 Penrith SF Group
(047) 322-179 or (047) 301-073
AUSTRALIAN SF ASSOCIATION GPO Box 4440 Sydney 2000 Dr Who Fan Club of
Australia PO Box 4 Epping NSW 2121 email: Kate.Orman@mq.edu.au $9 per
year
Gargoyle Club First Friday of month 7.00pm, Royal Exhibition Hotel
Surrey Hills
THE THURSDAY NIGHT GROUP Informal eating and nattering. 5-7pm Thursday
Nights (Contact Galaxy Bookshop for details)
TAVERN Monthly booze-up for Doctor Who fans in Sydney. First Friday of
month, 6 pm. Museum Hotel (just behind the Australian Museum)
VICTORIA
MSFC 7-30pm St David's Church Hall 74 Melville Rd West Brunswick
June 9 Coffee, cake & conversation. June 16 Fannish photos. June 23
Red Dwarf Quiz. P.O. Box 212 World Trade Centre Melbourne 3005
DANDENONG VALLEY SCIENCE FICTION & Futurist Society June 13, 8pm
Dandenong Library. "Are Federations of Empires in Sf Realistic? " Ann
McGann 63 Woodside Ave, Frankston, 3199. 5971-3645.
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON June 14 12 noon Slow Glass Books Upstairs 305
Swanston Street Melbourne
GALLIFREY June 17 GPO Box 910G Melbourne 3001
SKYFORCE June 17 Star Wars 1-5pm St Mark's Church Camberwell
ENTERPRISE June 24 1-5pm Starfleet OlympicsThe Horticultural Society
Hall P.O. Box 466 World Trade Centre 3005
STAR TREK Marathons July 1 6:30pm State Film Centre 1 Macarthur St East
Melbourne (03) 9758 1807
NOVA MOB July 5 Sean McMullen on Australian Children's TV SF in the
90s. Alan Stewart's Place. Phone Alan Stewart for details (03) 9429
8354
WINTER FETE July 8 9am—3pm MSFC St David's Church Hall 74 Melville Rd
West Brunswick. Tables $15. (03) 9877-1093
FRIDAY NIGHT MOB Friday Nights 6-7.30pm. Informal eating and nattering.
K&Ms, Myer Arcade Melbourne
GAMMA QUADRANT OUTPOST A local chapter of the U.S. based Bajoran
Alliance, (Deep Space Nine) P.O. Box 567 Blackburn 3130
k.pender-gunn@latrobe.edu.au
AUSTRALIAN BABYLON 5 FAN CLUB P.O. Box 41 West Brunswick 3055 Fanzine
Babbling On
QLD
QUEST Star Trek June 11 12 noon - 4.00 pm Yungaba Community Centre, 100
Mains Rd Kangaroo Point (07) 356 5472
INTERCLUB SOFTBALL MATCH June 12 11 am Burke Park, Kangaroo Point
BRISBANE DR WHO CLUB June 18 P.O. Box 10308 Adelaide St Brisbane 4000
11:21 (QLD X-FILES CLUB) June 18 10am-4pm Metro Arts Building Edward St
Brisbane Contact Flat 2, 10 Roseglen St Greenslopes 4120
WARP SPEED (Sunshine Coast) June 24 GPO Box 2004 Brisbane 4001 (07) 356 5472
CONQUEST 95 July 2 GPO Box 1376 Brisbane 4001 (07) 273 6512
NEW HORIZONS July 2 British Sf 776 Cavendish Rd Holland Park 4121 (07)
349 2229
S.A.
CRITICAL MASS July 5 8pm SA Writers' Centre, Second Floor, 187 Rundle
Street, Adelaide. 6:30 Five Spices Restaurant
The 'Nock June 14 6:30pm The Brechnock Hotel, King William St,
Adelaide.
AUSFA, c/- Clubs Association, University of Adelaide, North Terrace,
Adelaide SA 5001.
W.A.
UNISFA - University of Western Australia Science Fiction
Association.See Web page or e-mail (nulsmurf@tartarus.uwa.edu.au)
THE WEST LODGE Doctor Who Fan Club. First Saturday of the month at the
Collins Street Centre, South Perth. Snail-Mail : P.O. Box 190 Mt Lawley
6050 E-Mail : nulsmurf@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
A.C.T.
CANBERRA SFS June 15 7:30pm, Shogun Japanese Restaurant, 70 Bunda St,
Canberra ph (06) 288 6391 (ah) PO Box 47, Civic Square ACT 2608
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON June 16 lunchtime. Informal question & answer.
Australian National University. $4/ ticket. Phone (06) 249-4144 for
further details.
FANZINES
ZUGZWANG #2 Perzine Kim Huett P.O. Box 679 Woden ACT 2606;
CONSCRIPT Media Convention Zine Conquest GPO Box 1376 Brisbane 4001;
THYME #103 Newszine, including Australian SF News #63 Alan Stewart
P.O. Box 222 World Trade Centre Melbourne 3005
BBS
ECHO BASE HOTH (03) 9563-1323.
PSIBAUD, (03) 9804 3205, free single line stand-alone sf and
education BBS
THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS Star Trek (03) 9723 8344.
Ausom's First Class BBS SF conference called Sci Fi (03) 9543 3411
WEB PAGES
UNISFA
http://www.gu.uwa.edu.au /unisfa/
DAMIEN WARMAN
http://smug.student.adelaide.edu.au/~damien/
SUNDANCE BILSON-THOMPSON
http://smug.student.adelaide.edu.au/~kickaha/
DAVID GRIGG
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~drgrigg
VICNET
http://www.vicnet.net.au/vicnet/sf/sfpage.html
Deadlines
1995 Ditmar Votes June 10 1995
1995 ASFMA Nominations July 14 1995
1996 FFANZ Nominations August 11 1995
1996 FFANZ Voting December 8 1995
1996 Ditmar Nominations January 31 1996
1996 ASFMA Nominations January 31 1996
SOURCES
Warp Speed, Conscript, Cath Ortlieb. Irwin Hirsh, Kim Huett, Alan
Stewart, Thyme
FANDOM INK
Irwin Hirsh
I suggested to Marc that mentions of non-Australian fanzines
would be a useful addition to THE BULLSHEET. I thought I was sending a
beaut out-swinger but all I delivered was a weak full toss, which was
hit pass my ear to the boundary. So here I am. The brief given to me is
simple: to provide brief descriptions of some of the non-Australian
fanzines I receive. This column will appear in THE BULLSHEET about
every four issues.
Martin Tudor's "All Banks Are Bastards" will be of interest to
any Aussie following the current debate regarding bank charges and
service. Martin's article details his encounters with banks down
through the years, with the title giving the idea of that relationship.
You'll find the article in Tony Berry's EYEBALLS IN THE SKY 9, an
issue built around the theme of Banks. At first glance it would appear
to a dull theme for a fanzine, but that ol' fannish initiative comes to
the fore and this fanzine rounds out as a fine read. Other articles
cover the range from a remembrance of Gordon Banks (England's
goalkeeper in the 1966 Soccer World Cup winning side) to an account of
working in a blood bank. (Tony Berry, 55 Seymour Rd, Oldbury, Warley,
West Midlands, B69 4EP, UK, available for a Letter of Comment, fanzines
in trade, contributions, drinks and "large wads of cash.)
Simon Ounsley's "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome" is probably the
best fanzine article l've read recently. Published in Simon's LAGOON 6
the article is part con report, part fiction, and skilfully marries
effective descriptions of (some of) Simon's encounters at a Novacon
with commentary on the nature of those descriptions. Other items in the
issue include Simon chatting about a number of matters, Steve Palmer's
horror tale of his Neighbours from Hell, and D. West's review of fan
art. Noting that art in fanzines is an area which has avoided being a
matter of discussion, D's article is intended as a primer, as the spark
plug in an attempt to get some discussion going. With a large
letter-col, and rounding out at 68 pages, LAGOON 6 is a solid fanzine.
(Simon Ounsley, 25 Park Villa Court, Leeds, LS8 lEB, UK, available for
a Letter of Comment, fanzines in trade, contributions.)
FTT 17, published by Judith Hanna and Joseph Nicholas, is also
a solid fanzine. Not in its size - it is only 30 pages long - but in
the depth with which the editors give to the topics discussed. This is
not a fanzine to be read when easily distracted. Joseph has a couple of
articles, looking at the failure of sf's technocratic vision and the
catalysts for revolution. Judith article isn't as rigorous as Joseph's
contribution but it does have a high Aussie fannish content; a personal
memoir of the Aussie fandom which Joseph met on his 1981 trip to
Australia, the first GUFF trip as an on-going part of the fannish
landscape. As with any fanzine FTT has its surprises, and in this
issue I was surprised to learn that Marc and Cath Ortlieb have three
children [So were Cath and I] . (Judith Hanna & Joseph Nicholas, 15
Jansons Road, South Tottenham, London Nl 5 4JU, UK, available for a
Letter of Comment, fanzines in trade, contributions and/or UK£1.00),
A different publication to the above three is CONCATENATION 8.
This difference is expressed on a number of levels. Where-as the above
three are distributed to a known mailing list, CONCAT is mainly
distributed somewhat more anonymously as a freebie at European
conventions. Subsequently the zine's contents and tone has a more
general coverage - articles on science fiction and fact. In this way
the zine is probably more accessible to people new to fandom as
compared to the above three tides. It is also produced with the aid of
paid advertising, with almost 20% of its space being ads. This factor
influences the editorial content, with the book review section being
devoted to titles published by "recent CONCATENATION advertisers." Not
all the books are praised, but giving space to panning an advertiser's
book means that books published by (non-advertiser) competitors don't
get mentioned. In a note which went out with the mailed copies, the
editors express concern about the cost of their postage bill and ask
for some response to avoid being trimmed from the mailing list. Nothing
wrong with that. They ask for something "more substantial (than)
four-line post cards or fanzines in exchange". I agree with them about
the postcards, but I'm not sure about rejecting fanzines in trade. It's
been some years since I published a fanzine on an on-going basis, but
I'd be hard pressed to call the activities involved in publishing and
posting a fanzine as being Not Substantial. (Jonathon Cowie, 44 Brook
St, Erith, Kent, DA8 lJQ, UK, available for Letter of Comment.)
Deadline For #35
Tuesday June 20th. Distribution Friday June 23rd.