The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 41 August 2005
The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 41
August 2005
ISSN 1445-4319 (print version), ISSN 1445-4327 (online version)
GENERAL NEWS
NEIL GAIMAN announced at a booksigning at Galaxy Bookshop on 20th
July that his book, Coraline, is to be produced as a stop frame and
CGI movie.
MONTY PYTHON'S PERSONAL BEST! Each of the 5 surviving Pythons: John
Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, will
write and present their own special program, then all will
collaborate on the 6th episode. (reported on news.com.au in an article
by Victoria Ward on July 20. Relayed by Julie Townsend.)
BLAKE'S 7, season 3 will be released as a 5 DVD disc set on August
5th. (Reported by Julie Townsend.)
SARAH JANE AGAIN: Elizabeth Sladen, who played the role of Sarah Jane
Smith, the companion to the Jon Pertwee incarnation of Dr Who, will
appear in the next Dr Who series, (reported to the Eidolist by Chuck
McKenzie.)
DR WHO VIDEOS FOR SALE: Chuck McKenzie is selling a collection of Dr
Who videos in very good condition. See
http://members.optusnet.com.au/chuckmck/buystuff.htm. (I'm surprised
the cheese sandwich Meatloaf chomped hasn't already sold! What a
bargain! - Edwina)
AUSRALIAN VOLUNTEERS TO PARTY AT INTERACTION: The Worldcon in Glasgow
(q.v.) needs all Australians going to the con to party hard! There's
a Fantastic Queensland party on the Friday night of the con, and
there'll be an Australia in 2010 worldcon bid party on the Saturday
night of the con. (Relayed by Rose Mitchell for Paul Ewins.) Lucy
Zinkiewicz also recently sent out a call for volunteers to help staff
the Gopher Hole (I'd love to know what that is – the mind boggles!
Edwina) and the Volunteers desk (because Australians have such a
friendly reputation.) If you're going to the worldcon and you'd like
to volunteer, e-mail Lucy at l_zinkiewicz@yahoo.com.
CONCLAVE, the SA con (q.v.) has sent out a final call. Could those
planning to attend their convention please buy memberships before
26th August to ensure the convention goes ahead. (Reported by Jay
Watson, co-convenor.)
SYDNEY OBSERVATORY. Roving Mars. A talk on the Mars Rover project by
Steve Squyres Mon 22nd Aug. 6.16-8pm. $15 adults. $12 concession. Ph
(02) 9241 3767.
BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
"Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too
dark to read"- Groucho Marx
MARIANNE de PIERRES book, Crash Deluxe, the 3rd vol in the Parrish
Plessis series has been published in the UK. Australian release will
be in September. Check www.marianne depierres.com for full details.
STRANGE GARDENS a collection of fantastic prose & poems of
otherworlds and othertimes by Australian author, Phillip A. Ellis, is
available as a 51 page trade paperback. You can buy it online for (US)
$8.95 from www.lulu.com/content/138935. (Reported by Ben S on the
Eidolist.)
SIMON HAYNES' book, Hal Spacejock, will be available in Dymocks
bookshops and specialty SF bookshops around Australia from September.
DONNA HANSON's publication, Australian Speculative Fiction: A Genre
Overview, will be launched by Jack Dann at the National Archives,
Canberra from 6.30 pm on November 11th.
DAVID A. SUTTON is to release a collection of his supernatural
stories called, "Clinically Dead and Other Tales of the Supernatural"
through Crowswing books in April 2006.
ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS INFLIGHT MAGAZINE ISSUE 19 featuring fiction from
Lou Antonelli, John Borneman, R. Michael Burns, Lee Emmett, Ken
Goldman, Colin Haines, Jay Lake, Sandra Mc Donald, Will McIntosh, M.
Lynx Qualey, Gale Sebold and Bryn Sparks, and edited by Ian Nicols
has been distributed to subscribers and specialty shops. You can also
buy current copies ($7.95) and back issues on line at
www.andromedaspaceways.com (NB there have been a couple of reports of
copies with incorrect pagination. If your copy's pages aren't in
correct order, please contact ASIM. (Gardner Dozois's latest "Years
Best" book gave honourable mentions to Lee Battersby, "Ecdysis",
February ASIM 11, Colin P Davies, "The Girl with the Four-Dimensional
Head", ASIM 12, Stephen Dedman, "Changes", ASIM 12, Mark W
Tiedemann, "If anyone should ask", ASIM 12, Stephen Dedman, "The
Whole of the Law", ASIM 13, Liz Williams, "The Water Cure", ASIM 14
(Spot the proud editor of ASIM 12 in this sentence. - Edwina.)
ANTIPODEAN SF No. 86 featuring short,short stories (500 words) from
Shaun A. Saunders, Brendan Carson, John Graig, Natalie JE Potts,
Jackie Hosking, Patrick Ball, Shane Griffin, Robin Hillard, Ian
McHugh and Lee Carlon can be viewed at http://www.antisf.com or
http://purl.nla.gov.au/NET/antisf/
COSMOS magazine. Fiction editor, Damien Broderick, reports he can
only buy one 2000 word story a month, but that Cosmos pays $500.
Emphasis should be first on literature, then on an element of science
at the story's heart, (new technology, different society) As the
magazine is sold to a broad readership, no profanity or explicit sex.
Send submissions as Rich Text Format to fiction@cosmosmagazine. The
next issue of Cosmos magazine will be released next week. It will
feature a story by Gregory Benford.
SHADOWED REALMS: will be paying professional rates of 8 cents a word
from issue 8. (reported by Shane Jiraiya Cummings on the Visions list.)
SPECUSPHERE features articles, fiction and poetry by Geoffrey
Maloney, Stephen Thompson, Terry Dartnall, Tony Plank, Beth Spencer &
Barry Rosenberg. It's actively seeking contributions from editors,
artists and writers. Check it out at www.specusphere.com
TICONDEROGA Issue 4 is now available on line. It features fiction by
Rob Hood and Ashley Arnold, as well as interviews with Trent Jamieson
and Jonathan Strahan.
THE OUTCAST is a new planned anthology from CSFG Publishing to be
edited by Nicole R. Murphy. Open to submissions on the subject
of "The Outcast" from June 1 to August 31 Full details available on
www.csfg.org.au
CARDIGAN PRESS are soliciting for fast fiction submissions for its
4th anthology to be published in March 06. See
www.reneal.org.au/cardigan. For full details. (Reported by Brendan
Duffy on the Eidolist.)
CROWSWING Books (UK) is seeking submissions for "When Graveyards
Yawn" anthology. Deadline 1st September. See
http://www.crowswingbooks.co.uk for full details. (Reported by Robin
Thomas via the Visions list.)
MERV BINNS perzine, Out of the Bin is available from PO Box 315,
Carnegie, Vic, 3163.
FRIENDS OF LINDA COX CHAN (FOLCC) raise money to donate to Juvenile
Diabetes Research, Australia by selling donated books etc.(Tally
$6.60 ) Books looking for new homes: "Dr Who: The Scripts, Galaxy 4"
by William Emms. "Honor Harrington: The Honor of the Queen," by
David Weber, "Arthur" and "Merlin" by Stephen Lawhead.
Audiobook: "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" by Jules Verne
featuring John de Lancie and Leonard Nimoy. Art cards autographed by
Marianne Plumridge and Bob Eggleton are also for sale. See images of
the available cards on the Bullsheet website. To buy items e-mail
Edwina Harvey at edwinafan@yahoo.com or snail mail Edwina, c/- 12
Flinders St, Matraville, NSW 2036. *Make cheques payable to Edwina
Harvey please, FOLCC is an informal entity.) You can also pay via
direct deposit and paypal.
COMPETITIONS, FAN FUNDS & AWARDS
YOUNG AND EMERGING WRITERS MENTORSHIP: Fantastic Queensland and OzCo
are joining together to offer a mentorship to a young and emerging
writer of speculative fiction. This offers the chance to work one-on-
one with an experienced author (either Rowena Cory Lindquist,
Marianne de Pierres or Geoff Maloney) over an extended period.
Eligible applicants must be aged 18 to 30, have a subtantial work of
speculative fiction in progress completed to at least first draft
stage and be a Queensland resident. For sull details see
(Reported by Robert Hoge)
The ABC has launched a competition to discover the best unpublished
manuscript between 60-120k words. First prize $10,000 with the
manuscript published by ABC books, See
http://abc.net.au/news/arts/articulate (reported by Gary Kemble on
the Visions list.)
HATCH, MATCH AND DISPATCH
DEATHS:
JAMES (JIMMY) DOOHAN. The actor best known as Montgomery Scott
(Scotty) in the original Star Trek TV series, animated series and
movies died on Wed 20 July from pneumonia and alzheimer's disease.
Doohan joined the Canadian army as a 19 year old, serving in World
War 2. He was machine-gunned 6 times during a beach landing on D-day.
Among his injuries was the loss of the middle finger on his right
hand. This flaw was usually filmed around in acting shoots. Doohan
was thrice married, and had nine children. When asked if he ever got
sick of his involvement with Star Trek by an interviewer he
replied, "It was fun". James Doohan was 85 years old. (Thanks to John
Tipper for relaying an extensive memorial of Jimmy Doohan's life.)
WALKING WOUNDED: Sydney fan Womble (aka Karen Warren) has had a
recurrence of cancer. After a brief stay in hospital she is
undergoing chemotherapy treatment at home. (Reported by Gerald Smith.)
CLUBS & MEETINGS
MELBOURNE SCIENCE FICTION CLUB, Meet most Friday nights at 74
Melville Road, West Brunswick 3055.Membership to the MSFC is $25
single, or $35 family p.a. For further details on the MSFC see
www.vicnet.net.au/~msfc. Meetings: Aug 5th, food night, casserole.
Aug 12th "Hippos in SF" (no other meeting details available when I
checked - Edwina)
CANBERRA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays
of the month. It's a relaxed social society for the discussion of SF
and fantasy. Membership $24 p.a. For more info write to CSFS PO Box
47, Civic Square, ACT 2608, or e-mail canberrascifi@hotmail.com.
SPACED OUT: a science fiction club for gays, lesbians and associated
communities. $5 joining fee, then $20 annual membership. ($15
concession.) to Spaced Out Inc. PO Box 363, Preston, Vic. 3072.Non-
profit SF club offering monthly meetings, "Diverse Universe"
newsletter and "Solar Spectrum" annual anthology.
SFSA (South Australian Dr Who fan club) Two regular meetings each
month. Annual membership $15. The regular club meeting is held at the
Adelaide High School from 3pm-10pm on the 3rd Saturday of the month.
See http://www.sfsa.org.au/ for full details or write to PO Box 3227,
Rundle Mall, SA 5000.(Reported by Martin Dunne.)
The Doctor Who Club of Australia (DWCA) Membership $16 within Aust.
provides 6 issues of Data Extract, membership pack, access to the
club's member-only internet mailing list, discount prices on a range
of merchandise, admission prices to club functions (including
Whovention, discounts at selected retail outlets for Doctor Who
merchandise. For more information contact Dwayne Bunney -
corporate@doctorwhoaustralia.org or 0416 269 726 or check
www.doctorwhoaustralia.org
QUEST Queensland Star Trek club. Contact the club at PO BOX 2084,
Brisbane, QLD. 4001, or check www.conquestforever.com (Reported by
Kevin Sheehan.)
The Brisbane Babylon 5ers website is at www.geocities.com/bb5ers
(Reported by Erica Sharp, president of the Brisbane Babylon5ers )
INFINITAS GROUP meet on the third Saturday of the month at Infinitas
Bookshop/Blokey Stuff, Parramatta, Sydney. Infinitas also has a book
review group that meets regularly. Details available from
bookshop@infinitas.com (Reported by Bill Congreve.)
SYDNEY SOUTHERN SF&F GROUP Meetings Contact Brad Row ph 9580-4369 or
e-mail Brad_Row@agd.nsw.gov.au for full details.
SYDNEY FUTURIANS: Meetings in room 1615 (floor 16) of the Tower
Block, The University of Technology, Broadway, Sydney, at 7 pm.
Upcoming meetings:19 August, 16 September, 21 October, 18 November,
16 December. Check
http://members.optushome.com.au/aussff/Futurians.html or phone Garry
Dalrymple after 7 pm on (02) 9718 5827 for updates.
STARWALKING: http://sydskyforce.starwalking.net holds meetings af the
Lidcombe Catholic Workers Club, 24 John St, Lidcombe, opposite
Lidcombe Railway station on the third Sunday of some months.
Attendance costs $8 members, $10 nonmembers. (Starwalking Melbourne
has Force 4 convention in May. q.v. conventions.)
EVENTS
GALAXY BOOKSHOP (York St, Sydney) AUTHOR SIGNINGS: Jeff Vandermeer,
Thurs 6 Oct, 6pm. (Reported by David Lynton.)
INFINITAS BOOKSHOP, (Parramatta, Sydney) AUTHOR SIGNINGS: Karen
Miller, September 11th.
VORTEX: SF Events happening in Brisbane, can be found at
www.vortexevents.com
CONVENTIONS
GoH = Guest of Honour, OCP = Other Commitments Permitting, tba= to be
announced.
SPAA FRINGE: 11-13 August. Brisbane Powerhouse. Annual conference for
emerging & low budget film & TV producers. See
www.spaa.org.au/fringe2005 for full details.
INTERACTION: 63rd WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION, GLASGOW, 2005.
Interaction, the 2005 Worldcon will be held at the Scottish
Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow over the weekend of 4-8
August 2005.GoHs Christopher Priest, Jane Yolen, critic and fanzine
editor Greg Pickersgill and veteran Scandinavian fan Lars-Olov
Strandberg. Special Guest Alan Lee who won an Oscar as conceptual
artist on Lord of the Rings. The Chesley Awards will be presented on
Friday 5th August. Day rates recently announced, available in advance
or at the door. Don't forget the Fantastic Queensland party on the
Friday night, and the Australia in 2010 bid party on Saturday night.
TOLKIEN 2005. The Ring Goes Ever On. 11-15 August, Aston Uni,
Birmingham, UK. M/ship 65 pounds.
See www.tolkiensociety.org/2005 for full details.
A Trip Through the Slipstream, An Andromeda Event. New Date now 11th
September (Was previously scheduled for 21 August) 2005. GoHs: Kevin
Sorbo, Laura Bertram. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne. VIP
memberships: $330(Limited to 20 people) General - $110 See
http://www.firstcontactconventions.com.au for full details.
CASCADIA con is the Nasfic (North American SF) con for 2005. (Nasfics
are held in the USA in years when the Worldocn is held outside the
USA). 1-5 September, 2005, Seattle, Washington. Goh's Fred
Saberhagen, Liz Danford, Kevin Standlee, Toni Weisskopf. Full
information on www.cascadiacon.org
SCI-NUT Star Trek convention. 16-18 September. Union Hall, La Trobe
University, Bundoora, Vic. GoH's Eugene Rodenberry Jnr, Vaughan
Armstrong, Steve Bacio, Anita La Selva. Mmebership $60 for 1 day,
$100 for both days. Autographs available for extra cost. Full details
at www.scinut.com
CONCLAVE: 30 Sept- 3 October, 2005. Holiday Inn, 65 Hindley St,
Adelaide, SA. GoH's: Jack Dann, Ian Irvine, Fiona McIntosh, Karen
Miller, Tony Shillitoe, Sean Williams. Attending m/ship $100.
(Supporting m/ship $20) E-mail, conclave@westnet.com.au or see
www.conclave.asn.au PO Box 7225 Cloisters Sq, WA 6580
WHOVENTION 7, 14-16 October, The Rydges Hotel, 54 Maclarn St, North
Sydney (Short walk from North Sydney railway station. GOHs Louise
Jameson (Leela) and David Warwick Membership rises incrementally
until "at door" price of $170 (Pay $50, non-refundable, to lock in
your membership at the current price. DWCA and Friends of SF members
get a $20 discount. Family rates and day rates available on request )
Friday night trivia, and banquet on Sat. night available to
convention attendees at extra cost. Make cheques and money orders
payable to WHOVENTION, and post to PO Box 148, Gladesville, NSW
2111. See www.doctorwhoaustralia.org/whovention for full details.
(Reported by Dwayne Bunny)
TERRA NOVA. 15-16 October, Holiday Inn on Hindley, Adelaide. GoH's:
Marina Sirtis, Dominic Keating, Robin Atkins, Gates McFadden, John
Billingsley. See www.terra-novaevents.com for full details.
Star Trek/Star Gate SG-1/ Babylon 5 con. 15-16 October. Melbourne
Town Hall, Melbourne, GoH's Marina Sirtis, Dominic Keating, Ronny
Cox, Robin Atkin Downes, Gates McFadden & John Billingsley. This
convention is being held in conjunction with the Terra Nova event
(above) in Adelaide the same weekend. Book tickets through
www.rcevents.com.au. Full information available under "Not just
another Trek event." (Reported by Iain McKenzie.)
STARGATE SG1/STARGARTE ATLANTIS 5 November.Sydney - Lidcombe Catholic
Club. GoH's Torri Higginson and Chris Judge. (OCP) Membership $80 for
friends of Science Fiction members, $100 non-members. Limited number
VIP tickets $350 see www.fsf.net.au for full details, or write to PO
Box 106 Caringbah NSW 1495 or phone 02 9523 8385
FANDOMEDIA: 19-20 Nov, 2005. Emerald Hotel, Perth. Simon Haynes and
Chuck McKenzie and Erika Pearson GoH's. see
http://wwwlivejournal.com/users/fandomedia for details.
SWANCON RENAISSANCE: 10-13 March, 2006. Acacia Hotel, Perth, WA.
Gohs: Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dizon & Danny Oz. Cost $100 (supporting
$35) see www.swancon.com for full details.
CONJURE. National SF convention, Brisbane, Easter, 14-17 April,
2006.GoHs Cory Doctrow, Bruce Sterling, Sean Williams, Jonathan
Strahan. Membership $200 until 27th February 2006.
(Student/Concession and High School student discounts available.
Children 12 and younger free. Check their website www,conjure,org.au
CONCUSSION: 57th British National SF convention. 14-17 April, 2006,
To be held at The Moat House, Congress Rd, Glasgow. See
www.eastercon2006.org for full details.
CONCLAVE: NZ National SF & Fantasy con. 2-5 June, 2006. Mount
Richmond Lodge, 576 Mt Wellington Hw, Mt Wellington, Auckland,
NZ.GoH's Joan Vinge, Jim Fenkel, Steve Jackson. Han GoH Kevin
MacLean. Membership. NZ $70 until end of 2005. See
http://conclave.sf.org.nz for full details. (Thanks to Andrienne
Losin for passing on this information.)
CONFLUX 3: Queens Birthday Weekend, 9-12 June 2006. National Museum.
Gohs Ellen Datlow, Kate Forsyth, Sara Douglass and Jackie French.
Attending m/ship $145. See http://www.conflux.org.au or e-mail
info@conflux.org.au .PO Box 903 Belconnen, ACT 2616
LA CON IV, the 64th Worldcon. 23-27 August, 2006. Anaheim Convention
Centre, Hilton & Marriott hotels, Anaheim. GoH's Connie Willis, James
Gurney, Howard De Vore, Frankie Thoman. e-mail info@laconIV.org,
Postal address LA Con c/- S.C.I.F.I. inc, PO Box 8442, Van Nuys, CA,
91409. USA.
CONSYDER: Sydney. 30 Sept - 2 October 2006. Venue. Guests, membership
etc to be announced. Supporting membership $20. Join their mailing
list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/consyder.
NULLUS ANXIETAS The First Australian Discworld Convention. New dates
Feb 9-11, 2007. Melbourne. Attending $120, concession $100,
supporting $50. (Gala dinner to cost an extra $90) see
www.ausdwcon.org for further details.
CONVERGENCE 2 was voted the Natcon for 07 at Thylacon this year.
Rydges hotel, Melbourne. Queens Birthday weekend, 8-11 June, Theme YA
genre fiction. See http://www.natcon.org.au/2007. (Reported by Rose
Mitchell.)
XIVAMC, Medieval re-enactment group. Easter 2007. Meeting at the
Danelaw property, Charley's Forest Rd, Wog Wog, NSW. (35 min drive
north of Braidwood, 3 hrs south of Sydney, 1.5 hrs east of Canberra.
Registration $150 fully catered for 4 days. See www.danelaw.org.au
for more details. (Reported by J. Gibbins.)
NIPPON 2007. Worldcon. Aug 30-Sept 3 2007. Pacifico Yokohama
convention centre, Japan. Gohs: David Brin and Sakyo Komatsu. Artist
Gohs: Yoshitaka Amano and Michael Whelan. Details at
www.nippon2007.org . Australian agent Craig McBride. Membership A$210
until Sept 30 2005. You can also join
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nippon2007
Geneva Convention a civilised worldcon bid for Switzerland in 2008.
http://www.thegenevaconvention.org/
Australia 2010. A Worldcon bid. See
http://world.std.com/~sbarsky/melbourne. (Don't forget to go to the
bid party at Interaction!)
OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES:
Ted Scribner's Australian SF&F home page is:
http://members.optushome.com.au/aussff/
and his list of SF oriented groups in NSW is at
http://members.optushome.com.au/aussff/SFNSW.html.
Coode St Review lists Australian publishing news and achievements by
Australian writers http://www.sf.org.au/coodestreetnews.
AUSTRALIAN WRITERS WEB, http://www.inkspillers.com. Maintained and
updated by Tony Plank.
For links to books, movies and television shows see John Tipper's
homepage: http://www.collecting books andmagazines.com
The Bullsheet is available as a FREE monthly e-mail through the
AUSSFBULL mailing list. To join send a blank e-mail to AUSSFBULL-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com. ( Alternatively, if you'd prefer to talk
to a human, send an e-mail to edwinafan@yahoo.com). The Bullsheet web
page, which is updated throughout the month can be found at
http://members.optushome.com.au/aussfbull. The Bullsheet is also
available as a snail-mail subscription for 20x50 cent stamps (or $10)
sent to Edwina Harvey c/- 12 Flinders St, Matraville, 2036. Send your
news e-mail to edwinafan@yahoo.com,
Visit Celestial Cobbler for ceramic craft with a SF & Fantasy bent.
http://members.optushome.com.au/guests/Cobbler.html.
For no sufficiently explained reason this Fanzine still supports The
Minneapolis in '73 Worldcon Bid