The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 57 – December 2006

The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 57
December 2006 
ISSN 1445-4319 (print version), ISSN 1445-4327 (online version)

GENERAL NEWS

HOBBITS ON HOLD: In a recent e-mail from PETER JACKSON it was 
announced that until a law suit regarding accountancy practices 
between Wingnut Productions and New Line could be settled there would 
be no plans to produce a Hobbit movie. (Reported on Sfcrowsnest).

TICONDEROGA is conducting a survey of Australian SF reading habits on-
line at http://ticonderogaonline.org/readerssurvey06.html. They will 
be collecting responses (and offering the chance to win prizes if you 
fill out the survey!) until early December. Constructed by Australian 
independent SF publishers, it's envisaged that the survey will be a 
yearly occurrence. (Reported by Russell B Farr.)

Award winning SF website, EMERALD CITY has ceased publication. The 
editor, CHERYL MORGAN has announced that the website will remain on 
line for the foreseeable future. (And our thanks to Cheryl for her 
help over the years!) (Reported on SFCrowsnest.)

MMM COMMENTARIES (www.mmmcommentaries.com) will be at Sci Fi Extreme 
convention, Sydney December 10th (q.v. conventions) will be recording 
podcast material with Jonathan Frakes & Garrett Wong. They invite all 
attendees to the MMM table to take part in recording session. 
(Reported by Trevor Gensch.) 

NULLUS ANXIETAS - a Discworld convention (q.v. conventions) recently 
announced their convention program is now online. They have also 
recently announced that the price of the Gala Dinner has been dropped 
from $90 to $60. Also, accommodation for the convention at the 
Carlton Crest hotel is booking fast.

CONVERGENCE 2 (q.v. conventions.) recently announced American 
illustrator and writer, and former architect behind the anime/manga 
inspired webcomic, Megatokyo, FRED GALLAHER (aka PIRO) is their Anime 
GoH 

CONFLUX 4 will be held from Sept 28th to October 1, 2007. GoH's: 
Graham Joyce, Garth Nix, Simon Brown, Karron Warren, Donna Maree 
Hanson and Sharyn November. Full membership is $110, Student & 
Concession $75, and Supporting members $35. Prices rise on 1st 
January 07. They are also running a SHORT STORY COMPETITION on the 
theme "Heroes from Near and Afar", opening on 1st January, closing on 
31st January, for stories under 2,000 words. Competition entry is 
free to Conflux members, or $10 for non-members. (though this will be 
refunded if you later join the convention.) See www.cinflux.org for 
more details. (Reported by Nicole R. Murphy.)

The TOLKIEN SOCIETY SEMINAR, Aug 25th 07 (q.v. conventions) is 
calling for papers on Middleearth. Presentation of these papers 
should run for 20 or 46 minutes. (This allows time for questions and 
discussions after the paper has been presented.) Send a title and 
summary/abstract to pacific@tolkiensociety.org by 1st June 07. 
(Reported by Ted Scribner.)

The Sydney Mechanics School of Arts has recently ceased its SF 
reading group due in no small part to the interference of a bombastic 
Sydney fan, and his lack of respect for the privacy of others. 

BULLSHEET SNAIL MAIL subscriptions rising in the new year. Apologies 
to those readers who receive Bullsheet as a snail mail subscription. 
From next year your subs rise to $12. This is the first price rise in 
4 years. (Edwina) 

BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
"Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too 
dark to read"- Groucho Marx 

SAILS AND SORCERY anthology is open to submissions of short stories 
3000-9000 words on the theme of Fantasy on the High Seas, from 
Pirates to Privateers, Explorers to Advenurers. Pays 5c a word and a 
share of 35% of net revenue. Submissions close 15th January. See 
http://www.fantasistent.com/submissions/ (Reported by Wendy Waring on 
the Visions List.) 

THIS POINTLESS THING CALLED LIFE is an audiobook set against an 
evocative musical background and said to be "an extrpadinary piece of 
theatrical storytelling...on par with the Hitch-hikers Guide to the 
Galaxy." See www.this-pointless-thing-called-life.com for more 
details. 

ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS INFLIGHT MAGAZINE 26 has been published and 
distributed. Edited by Andrew Finch it features stories by Matthew 
Kressel, Steve Wylie, John Bowker, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Paul Hosek, 
Alison Venugoban, Michael Simon, Adam Browne with John Dixon, and 
Michael Merriam. There's also an article by Elizabeth Bear, and cover 
art from Les Petersen, and internal art by NL Robinson, Lance King 
and Greg Highes. ASIM 26 is available through specialty SF bookshops 
around Australia, or direct from www.andromedaspaceways.com. Back 
issues and PDF's of recent issues are also available to purchase on 
line.

ASIM RECRUITMENT DRIVE!!! Andromeda Spaceways is currently looking 
for new recruits to join their publishing co-operative. Co-op members 
all pay $100 a year (but includes an annual subscription to the 
magazine) and can contribute to the co-operative by reading and 
assessing submissions, proof reading, sub-editing, editing, lay-out, 
design and marketing the magazine. If you want to become part of one 
of Australia's spec-fic success stories, or if you want to learn more 
about the publishing trade by working on a small press magazine, we'd 
love to hear from you! E-mail Tehani, 
dragonkat@andromedaspaceways.com for more information. 

ANTIPODEAN SF ISSUE 102 featuring short, short (500 words) stories 
from Peter M Bell, Eva Perrin, Stephen L. Thompson, Zibethicus, Shaun 
A. Saunders, Wesley Parish, Karina Kantas, David McVeigh, Joan 
Malpass & Gregory Adams can be viewed at http://www.antisf.com or 
http://purl.nla.gov.au/NET/antisf/ 

SPECUSPHERE, refreshed and revitalised by Amanda Greenslade, and now 
featuring local and international spec fic links is looking at 
publishing an e-journal or e-book in the near future. Check their 
website at www.specusphere.com/joomla for full details.

BLOOD, BLADE & THRUSTER is a magazine of Speculative Fiction and 
Satire. See www.bbtmagazine.com for more details.

LEIGH BLACKMORE's Raven books, specialising in dark and horror 
fiction also includes Sequence comics. For a catalogue e-mail 
lvxnox@iinet.net.au. Leigh has also recently launched an e-bay store 
called Quoth Raven Books which can be viewed at 
http://www.stores.ebay.com.au/QuothRavenBooks. 

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. (Current 
tally $0) Books looking for new homes: "The Truth About Magic" by 
Dave Luckett (new and autographed by the author!), World's Apart by 
Chuck McKenzie.(Autographed by the author!) Audiobook: "Journey to 
the Centre of the Earth" by Jules Verne featuring John de Lancie and 
Leonard Nimoy, and A-Team colouring and activity books: 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. 

HATCH, MATCH AND DISPATCH

DEATHS: 
NIGEL (TOM) KNEALE died on Sunday 29th October aged 84. He was 
considered by many to be the Godfather of television SF. He worked 
for Hammer Film Productions and created the character of Bernard 
Quartermass of the 3 Quartermass serials and a live boadcast of 
Nineteen Eighty Four to television. (Reported by Jon Swabey on the 
Eidolist.)

JACK WILLIAMSON died on 11th November aged 98. He wrote many short 
stories for pulp magazines, and "The Humanoids" published in 1947 is 
possibly the most famous of his novels. A Hugo and Nebula award 
winner, he was said to be the first person to write about genetic 
engineering and anti-matter. He also taight at the Eastern New Mexico 
University, which has a dedicated SF library comprising 17,000 
volumes including manuscripts, correspondance and photos from 
Williamson's own collection, named in his honour. (Reported by Ian 
Nichols) 

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. 

AUSTREK, the Star Trek fan club in Victoria celebrates its 30th 
anniversary this year and is still going strong with meetings on the 
1st Saturday of every month from 2pm at the Northcote Town Hall, 
Melbourne. Annual membership to the club is $30. See www.austrek.org 
for more detailks. (Reported by Clare McDonald.) 

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.

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.

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

SHUTTLE MAWSON (www.shuttlemawson.com) is a South Australian Star 
Trek fan club, & chapter of Starfleet Internatioinal, run by Stuart 
Blair. They will also be having a SF weekend featuring Star Trek & 
Stargate on 4-5 November. (Reported by Stuart Blair.)

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 )

VISIONS WRITERS GROUP offers meeting and critiquing for SF, Fantasy 
and Horror writers in QLD Monthly meetings from 11am -2 pm, first 
Sunday of the month (except Jan and Dec) at Dymocks City Store, Queen 
St, Brisbane. $10 joining fee, and $4 per meeting. (reported by Nigel 
Stone)

INFINITAS BOOKSHOP/Blokey Stuff, Shop 22 Civic Arcade, 48 - 50 George 
Street Parramatta NSW. has 2 groups regularly meeting at its 
premises. The SF Discussion Group meets at 6:30pm on the first 
Thursday of each month except January. A SF Writers Group also meets 
at the shop once a month on Saturdays See 
http://www.infinitas.com.au/WritersGroup.php for meeting dates. 
(Reported by Tim Martin via Ted Scribner). 

SYDNEY MECHANICS' SCHOOL OF ARTS at 280 Pitt St, Sydney, no longer 
holds a SF & Fantasy reading group for members. A members reading 
group for Mystery and Crime starts at 10am. Meetings held every 3rd 
week. Next Mystery & Crime meeting 9th Dec. 

Sci-Fi Monthly is a relaxed, casual SF book discussion group that 
meet at 2pm on the 2nd Sunday of each month at the Gloria Jeans 
coffee shop in Borders Bookshop, Westfield shopping centre, Bondi 
Junction, Sydney. Next meeting Sunday 10th December. See www.sci-
fimonthly.com for more details.

SYDNEY FANS IN THE PUB. Meet from 6.30pm on the first Tuesday of the 
month at the Civic Hotel, Crn Pitt & Goulburn Sts, Sydney. 

SYDNEY FUTURIANS rumoured to be looking for a new venue and/or 
ceasing meetings in the near future. Check 
http://users.secsme.org.au/~futurians, or e-mail John.Fox@uts.edu.au 
for full details. 

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 non-members.

FRIENDS OF SCIENCE FICTION (fsf) meet at Bankstown Sports Club, 8 
Greenfield Pde, Bankstown (a short walk from Bankstown railways 
station.) on the 2nd Sunday of each month.Check fsf.net.au for more 
information.

NEWCASTLE SPACE FRONTIER SOCIETY (NSFS) have their Christmas Party on 
2nd December and December's monthly meeting will feature Kerrie 
Dougherty. $2 attendance fee. Full details available at 
www.nssa.com.au/nsfs. (Reported by Jack Dwyer.) 

EVENTS

VORTEX: SF Events happening in Brisbane, can be found at 
www.vortexevents.com

SYDNEY MEDEIVAL FAIR December 2-3. Castlehill Showground. (They're 
currently looking for stall holders) See www.unitedswords.com.au or 
phone 07 5471 3161, (Spotted in the weekend shopper section of the 
Daily Telegraph. Edwina.) 

FAN FUNDS AND WRITERS GRANTS

FFANZ (Fan Fund for Australia and New Zealand) Nominations for 2007 
(sending someone from Australia to the NZ natcon, Conspiracy 2, in 
June) close December 31st. Voting closes 31st March, 07
Nominations must be signed by the nominee and accompanied by a 
donation of AUD$10.00 to FFANZ. Each nomination must also have the 
signed support of one fan currently residing in NZ and two fans 
currently residing in Australia (these can be sent separately). The 
nominee should provide a written platform of 100 words or less for 
the ballot and a photo if possible. Nominations should be sent to 
Rose Mitchell, GPO Box 1212K, Melbourne,Vic, 3001. E-mail 
Mitchell@vicnet.net.au for further information, More information 
about FFANZ Fan Fund can be found at http://ffanz.sf.org.nz/index.htm 

CONVENTIONS
GoH = Guest of Honour, OCP = Other Commitments Permitting, tba= to be 
announced.

Star Trek 40th Anniversary event Jonathan Frakes and Garrett 
Wang "Live on stage." December 9 -10 at the Avillion Hotel, World 
Square, Pitt St Sydney. Tickets now on sale. www.scifiextreme.com 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?
t=866bzybab.0.m8ekiybab.vyiszpbab.442&ts=S0211&p=http%3A%2F%
2Fwww.scifiextreme.com) (Reported on Sci fi Reporter.)

GhengisCon. Perth. SF & Gaming focus. 19-21 January, 2007. Trinity 
College Centre, Crawley (Near UWA) Attenance $10 per day or $25 for 
all 3 days. Trinity college offers motel-style accom, luxury room and 
budget room. All rooms include complimentary breakfast. Accomodation 
should be booked by 9th Jan. For more details phone Mark Turnkey on 
0404 9955 92 or see http://www.genghiscon.org 

NULLUS ANXIETAS The First Australian Discworld Convention. Feb 9-11, 
2007. Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne. GoH's Terry Pratchett. Virtual 
GoHs: Stephen Briggs, Bernard Pearson & Colin Smythe. Attending $200. 
Gala dinner now only $60) see www.ausdwcon.org for further details, 
program and accommodation news.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS (BoBW) 10-11th Feb, Carlton Crest Hotel. GoH's 
Joe Flanigan & Teryl Rothery. See www.bobw.com for full details.

ALPHA 2OMEGA. A literary & dramatic arts convention apparently for 
Chtistian writers. May 5-7 (Labour Day long weekend, QLD) Sydney St 
Theatre, Sydney St, New Farm, Brisbane. Membership until 1st March 
$125, $100 concession, $60 day, after 1st March $150, $115 
concession. See http://members.optusnet.com.au/A2O/Index.html for 
full details. (Reported by James Collins) 

FIRST CONTACT conventions. (Melbourne) 25th March 07, State Library 
of Victoria, LaTrobe Entrance. GoH John Barrowman (Capt. Jack from Dr 
Who) VIP membership $250, Adult $65. See 
www.firstcontactconventions.com.au or e-mail 
info@firstcontactconventions.com.au for more details,

XIVAMC, Medieval re-enactment group. Easter 5-8 April, 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.) 

INCONCEIVABLE, SWANCON 32, Easter 5- 9 April, 2007. Acacia Hotel, 
Northbridge, W.A. GoH's: Elizabeth Moon, David Gerrold, Matthew 
Reilly, Russell B. Farr. Damian Magee. Membership $110 ($90 
concession. See http://www.swancon.com. Or e-mail 
swancon32@gmail.com 

CONVERGENCE 2. Australian Natcon, 2007. Rydges Hotel, Melbourne. 
Queens Birthday weekend, 8-11 June, 07. Theme:YA genre fiction. GoHs 
Australian fantasy author Isobelle Carmody & Melinda M Snodgrass, 
Star Trek script writer, author of The Circuit Trilogy and co-author 
of the Wild Cards series with George R.R. Martin.. Anime GoH: Piro. 
See http://www.natcon.org.au/2007. Attending membership $153, 
concession $103 until 31.12.06. Student membership $55, supporting 
membership $33 (Prices sourced from Convergence promotional 
postcards). You can pay using paypal (Reported by Rose Mitchell.)

CONSPIRACY II, NZ Natcon Mercure Hotel, Willis St, Wellington, NZ. 
See http://conspiracy2.sf.org.nz GoH's: Marianne de Pierres, 
Isolbelle Carmody. Dylan Horrocks. Fan GoH: Barbara Clendon. 
Membership NZ$ 70 until the end of 2006. then NZ $80 from 1 Jan until 
20th May, then NZ $90 from 20th May until the door. Day rates also 
available. 

TOLKIEN SEMINAR: 25th August, 2007. NSW Writers Centre, Rozelle, 
Sydney. As the first Tolkien seminar to be held outside the UK, this 
event is endorsed by the Tolkien Society. To get updates of this 
function see http://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/index.php. 

SCINUT Conventions Eastern Seaboard 4 City Tour: Canberra, Melbourne, 
Brisbane, Sydney. 25th Aug 07 - 2 Sept 07. Celebrating 40 years of 
Star Trek in Oz. Guests Jack Donner, (Dragon Dronet Props), Wanda 
Piety, Susan Schwartz. $60 adults, $30 concession. Bookings via e-
bay: http://stores.ebay.com.au/Sci-nut-Conventions, or see 
www.scinut.com. (Reported on Scinut newsletter) 

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 

CONFLUX 4 will be held from Sept 28th to October 1, 2007. GoH's: 
Graham Joyce, Garth Nix, Simon Brown, Karron Warren, Donna Maree 
Hanson and Sharyn November. Full membership is $110, Student & 
Concession $75, and Supporting members $35. Prices rise on 1st 
January 07. They are also running a SHORT STORY COMPETITION on the 
theme "Heroes from Near and Afar", opening on 1st January, closing on 
31st January, for stories under 2,000 words. Competition entry is 
free to Conflux members, or $10 for non-members. (though this will be 
refunded if you later join the convention.) See www.cinflux.org for 
more details. (Reported by Nicole R. Murphy.)

DENVENTION: The Worldcon in 2008 will be held in Denver, 6-10 August 
08. See http://www.denver2008.com.

Australia 2010 Worldcon bid. Let's do it again in 2010! The Aussie 
Worldcon bid seems to be getting good support from overseas. Pre-
supporting m/ships $20. Firend m/ships $100. E-mail 
treasurer@vsfc.org.au for information about paypal and credit card 
payments. See http://www.australia2010.org/ or e-mail 
info@vsfc.org.au. Postal address Australia in 2010, GPO Box 1212 
Melbourne, Australia. 3001. US AGENT: David Evans, UK Agents Eve & 
John Harvey, European Agent: Vince Docherty.

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. 

The Inkspillers web site, http://www.inkspillers.com. is a great 
source of market information for SF writers that is always being 
updated by Tony Plank. 

For links to books, movies and television shows see John Tipper's 
homepage: http://www.collecting books andmagazines.com

Sci-fi REPORTER is a SF news service covering cons, fan clubs and 
media, edited by Stuart Blair. To subscribe to this list send an e-
mail to scifireporter@yahoo.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. The latest version is also on the 
Bullsheet web page 
http://members.optusnet.com.au/aussfbull/bullsheet, 
http://www.geocities.com/edwinafan/bullsheetThe Bullsheet is also 
available as a snail-mail subscription for 24x50 cent stamps (or $12) 
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 
see. http://members.optushome.com.au/Cobbler42.

Happy Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Summer Solstice, Happy 
Holidays. Happy Everything! And a safe New Year! See you all in 2007! 
Edwina & Ted.

For no sufficiently explained reason this Fanzine still supports The 
Minneapolis in '73 Worldcon Bid