The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 44 – November 2005
The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 44
November 2005
ISSN 1445-4319 (print version), ISSN 1445-4327 (online version)
GENERAL NEWS
Clay models from WALLACE AND GROMMIT and Chicken Run were destroyed
in a warehouse fire in the UK. (Reported on news.com.au on 11th October.)
BEAM YOU UP, SCOTTY: The cremated remains of Star Trek actor, James
(Scotty) Doohan, will be launched into space in accordance with his
last wishes. Space Services, a commercial space flight operation,
will launch the actor's remains, (along with messages from fans) and
the remains of 120 others including an unidentified astronaut and
Mareta West, the astrogeologist who determined the site for the first
spacecraft to land on the moon, in a tube which is estimated to orbit
the Earth for 50 - 200 years, before re-entering the atmosphere, and
burning up on re-entry. Doohan's family will hold a service near the
Vanderberg Air Force Base on December 6th, the day of the launch. If
fans want to leave e-mail tributes, they should see
www.spaceservicesinc.com (Reported on Reuters, and Scifi Weekly,
relayed by Julie Townsend.)
MONSTERS! A display of Academy award winning special effects artist,
John Cox's monster models and animatronics is on show until March 06
at the Australian Museum, College St, Sydney. The exhibit will then
tour to other major cities around Australia. (Spotted by Edwina on
the ABC 7pm news, 27 Oct)
CLARION SOUTH WORKSHOP 2007 has announced Lee Battersby, Simon Brown,
Rob Hood and Janeen Webb, Kelly Link and Gardner Dozois will be the
guest tutors. (Reported by Robert Hoge on the Eidolist.).
SYDNEY MECHANICS' SCHOOL OF ARTS at 280 Pitt St, Sydney, regularly
holds a members reading group for Mystery and Crime, Romance and
Science Fiction and Fantasy. Future meetings are on 18th Nov and 10th
December. The groups start with Mystery and Crime at 10am and meander
into SF (and sometimes Romance, depending on demand) from 12 noon.
This is a very friendly, small group that is happy for attendees to
drop in for coffee and discussion. Attendance at the first meeting is
free, but if you're interested in attending more meetings, you are
asked to join the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. Annual membership
is $6.60 (or $6 concession) and this also entitles you to borrowing
rights at the School of Arts library, which seems to have a fairly
extensive collection of SF books. (I dropped in on a meeting last
Saturday, had trouble getting the lifts to stop on the right floor,
so I ended up going to the library to ask for help. Thought I'd
just "sit and listen" to the Mystery and Crime part, but I found it
easy to keep up and add to the conversation. Some attendees left
after that, while a few more joined, to form two groups – one
discussing SF and one discussing romance. It reminded me of the
Thursday night SF coffee shop meetings we used to have in Sydney –
only without the background noise to contend with! I had a great
time, and will be back. Thumbnail review by Edwina.).
An interview with JOSS WHEDON conducted by ROB JAN from Melbourne
radio Tripple R can be heard on-line at
www.rrr.org.au/archive.php?archive=audio
SAN FRANCISCO SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS,(SFSFC) has awarded two
SMOFCON scholarships of $300 to Michael Higashi and William Wariner.
SMOFCon is an annual convention about organizing SF conventions see
http://www.osfci.org/smofcon/ for full details of this year's SMOFCON.
Thanks to Onelia for passing on the extra convention information!
BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
"Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too
dark to read"- Groucho Marx
WRITING GRANTS. Congratulations to MARTIN LIVINGS and MARGO LANAGAN
who recently received grants from the Literary Board of the
Australian Council for the Arts to pursue their writing. (Reported by
Robert Hoge on the Eidolist.)
Congratulations to SCOTT WESTERFELD who recently won the Victorian
Premier's Literary Award for best YA novel for 'So
Yesterday.'(Reported by Robert Hoge on the Eidolist.)
FORBIDDEN NIGHTS is a new speculative fiction sensual romance
anthology from ASTRID COOPER available through
www.extasybooks.com/eb.php3?ebooid=22505. Astrid Cooper has also
launched her web site: www.astridcooper.com. (Reported on Visions list)
STRANGE PLEASURES 3: A SF anthology edited by Dave Hutchinson and
featuring stories by C.S. Thompson, Lauren Halkon, John Grant, Chris
Amies, Teri Smith, David V Barrett, Lou Anders, Robert I. Katz, Paul
Kincaid, Stuart Jaffe, Marianne Plumridge, K.Z.Perry, Ron Miller,
Randy M Dannenfeler, John Grant, Fay Sampson, Edwina Harvey, Ian
Johnson, Jean Marie Ward,and Martha Garvey. 224 pgs, Wildside Press,
ISBN 0809511606 $17.95 (US) available from Amazon.com.
NEW WAVE OF SPECULATIVE FICTION: The What If Factor is a new
anthology featuring stories from Allen Ashley, Andrew Hook, Michael
Mirolla, Gary Moeser, Lisa DuMond, Che Ballard, Jeff Gardiner,
Deborah Wright aka Sam Mills, P. Grey, Sian Orthello, Michelle Ponto,
Paul Finch and Sean Wright (editor Sean Wright) Price £10.
Softcover. ISBN 1905100027.
ANTIPODEAN SF No. 89 featuring short, short stories (500 words) from
Kellianne Smith, Francis Conaty, David Shanahan, Arnout Brokking,
Shaun A. Saunders, Eva Perrin, Adam Carson, Owen Godfrey, Tim
O'Donovan and Darren Dickey can be seen at http://www.antisf.com or
http://purl.nla.gov.au/NET/antisf/ Also stories by Shaun A. Saunders,
Angela Slatter and Lee Carlon were voted as the best AntiSF stories
in 2004.
Cat Sparks recently announced that AGOG! Press has negotiated with
Prime Books for the US distribution rights of the full back-list,
including the forth-coming Daikaiju!2: Revenge of the Giant Monster
Tales, which will also be edited by Robin Pen and Rob Hood.
Agog! Press will also be publishing another new anthology, AGOG!
Ripping Reads, in 2006. Submission guidelines can be found at:
http://www.catsparks.net/agogpress/newanthology.htm (Reported by Cat
Sparks on the Visions list.)
POTATO MONKEY now has a web page with submission guidelines and
subscription details at http://au.geocities.com/potatomonkeymagazine
TICONDEROGA ON LINE Issue 5, edited by Liz Grzyl, Russell B. Farr and
Lyn Battersby is now available at http://www.ticonderogaonline.org.
Angela Challis and Marty Young, 'Macabre - The New Era in Australian
Horror.' Anthology are looking for submissions of "the darkest, most
disturbing horror story. We want horror in its rawest form - the
unsettling, the terrifying." Reading from 1 October 2005 to 31 March
2006. Open to Australian citizens and residents only. Full details on
how to submit can be found at
http://www.shadowedrealms.com.au/macabre/
MERV BINNS perzine, Out of the Bin is available from PO Box 315,
Carnegie, Vic, 3163.
The latest RAVEN BOOKS catalogue offering horror, dark fantasy and
occult books is available via e-mail lvxnox@iinet.net.au.
FRIENDS OF LINDA COX CHAN (FOLCC) raise money to donate to Juvenile
Diabetes Research, Australia by selling donated books etc. (Tally
$10.60 ) Books looking for new homes: "Dr Who: The Scripts, Galaxy 4"
by William Emms. "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
THE PETER MACNAMARA CONVENERS' AWARD for Excellence may be given at
the discretion of the Aurealis Awards Conveners for a particular
achievement in speculative fiction or related areas in the relevant
year, is open for nominations until 15th November. Forms will be
available on the (Aurealis Awards? Edwina) website. (Reported by Lea
Greenway.)
HATCH, MATCH AND DISPATCH
BIRTHS:
GWYNNE JEANETTE WESSELY born on 7th October, a much loved daughter
for Tehani and David Wessely, and a little sister to Jakob. (And
another Andromeda Spacways: The Next Generation baby joins the ranks!
Edwina.)
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:
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 now affiliated with the Student Assoc of UTS.
Meetings in room 510C (5th floor) of The University of Technology,
Broadway, Sydney, at 7 pm. Upcoming meetings:18 November, 16
December. Check http://users.secsme.org.au/~futurians, or e-mail
John.Fox@uts.edu.au
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
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.
SYDNEY FANS IN THE PUB. Meet on the first Tuesday of the month at the
Civic Hotel, Saloon Bar, Crn Pitt & Goulburn Sts, Sydney. From
6.30pm. (Reported by Zara Baxter.)
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.
STARGATE SG1/STARGATE 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
Vortex (Brisbane) 6 November, 2005 Chifley at Lennons Hotel, 66
Queens St, Brisbane Stargate SG1 +
Atlantis GoHs Joe Flanigan Torri Higins Julie Caitlin Brown VIP
$200, General $40 Bookings: peter@vortexevents.com Website:
http://www.vortexevents.com/
TheFinal Best of Both Worlds (Sydney) 11-13 November,: The Carlton
Hotel, Church St, Parramatta. Stargate SG1/Atlantis. GoH's Teryl
Rothery, David Hewlett, Paul McGillion David Nykl, Gary Jones Ivy
IsenBerg Colin Cunningham VIP $300, General $185, $250 Ph (02) 6241
4555 or Email alc@bobw.com.au website: http://www.bobw.com.au
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.
Austrek (Melbourne) 26th November, Northcote Townhall, High St,
Northcote. Farscape Guest: Paul Goddard. Tickets: $15 Further info:
socialdirector@austrek.org Website: http://www.austrek.org/
HUB Productions (Melbourne & Sydney) 4 Feb 06 Sydney, Zenith Theatre,
Cnr Railway & McIntosh sts, Chatswood. 5 Feb Melbourne, Roadshow
Theatre, State Library, Latrobe St. GoH's: actor Jonathan Woodward
and director & Assoc producer, R.D Price. VIP $350, General $90,
Workshop with JD $30 Enquires 0402 267 541 or
carissa@thehubproductions.com, http://www.thehubproductions.com
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
Continuum. 4-6 August, 06. Venue TBA GoHs Shaun Tan, Charles
Stross, Margo Lanagan, Bruce Gillespie. Tickets:$65-$95 prior to 31
Dec 05. Website: http://www.continuum.org.au
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. Attending m/ship $225 ($au)
Conversion from supporting membership to attending, $165 (au)
Kids/supporting memberships $65. e-mail info@laconIV.org, Postal
address LA Con c/- S.C.I.F.I. inc, PO Box 8442, Van Nuys, CA, 91409. USA.
The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA)
March 15-19, 2006, Wyndham Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel. USA. GoH's:
Charles Vess, M. Thomas Inge, Kathleen Ann Goonan. Currently calling
for papers for their program. Please submit proposals by 30th
November. Themes covered include SF, Fantasy, Horror, Comics,
including Children's and YA lit.llustration. Look for Conference
Information and Updates at the IAFA website: http://www.iafa.org
(Originally announced by Dale Knickerbocker, relayed by Ted Scribner.)
CONSYDER: Sydney. 30 Sept – 2 October 2006. Venue. Guests, membership
etc to be announced. 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. Aus Natcon. Rydges Hotel, Melbourne. Queens Birthday
weekend, 8-11 June, 07. Theme:YA genre fiction. GoH Isobelle
Carmody. 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.
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 latest
Bullsheet web page, updated and with any corrections can be found at
http://members.optusnet.com.au/aussfbull/bullsheet_43.html or
http://www.geocities.com/edwinafan/bullsheet_43.html
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.
Hope you all back winners at the Melbourne Cup!
For no sufficiently explained reason this Fanzine still supports The
Minneapolis in '73 Worldcon Bid