The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 100 -- July 2010

The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 100 – July 2010

The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet 100 JULY 2010
ISSN 1445-4319 (print version), ISSN 1445-4327 (online version)

100 not out!

TERRY PRATCHETT and TRANSWORLD Publishers have launched a new award – the Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Any When but Now Prize for aspiring debut novelists. The winner will receive a publishing contract with Transworld and a 20 thousand pound advamce. Submissions close 31st December, a shortlist of 6 entries will be announced on 31st March 2011, with the winner announced at the end of May 2011. Entrants must be over 18 years old, with no full length (book length? EH) work of fiction previously published and must also live in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth (that's us, guys! EH) E-mail entries to PratchettPrize@transworld-publishers.co.uk

CONGRATULATIONS to GINA GODDARD who is the winning NAFF (National Australia Fan Fund) delegate for 2010 and will be travelling to Dudcon, the 2010 Natcon held in conjunction with Aussiecon 4. (Reported by Thomas Bull)

CONGRATULATIONS to CAT SPARKS for taking the initiative to raise money to bring Canadian SF author PETER WATTS to Australia for Aussiecon. Due to an altercation with border guards on the US/Canadian border, Watts is no longer welcome in America. Aussiecon gives him the opportunity to enjoy a Worldcon on neutral ground.

GARTH NIX will be the Master of Ceremonies at the Hugo Awards presentatiion at Aussiecon 4.

And speaking of the HUGOS, all supporting and attending members of Aussiecon 4 are reminded that voting for the Hugo awards can be done by snail mail or online, but voting closes on 31st July.

THE AUSTRALIAN HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION (AHWA) in conjunction with Aussiecon 4, will be hosting The Nightmare Ball on Friday 3rd September, from 9pm to midnight in the Banquet Hall (Room 201) Melbourne Convention Centre. They invite you to pursue your wildest dreams and face your deepest fears in the best possible way: behind a mask. Diverse refreshments, door prize and prizes for Best Mask and Best ensemble offered. You don't have to be a member of Aussiecon 4 or the AWHA to attend. Tickets bought in advance by Aussiecon and AHWA members $30. Non-members and at-the-door tickets $40

DITMARS: The Ditmar subcommittee recently announced that nominations for the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award for 2010 are open until 23nd July, 2010. The current rules governing nominations, including Award categories, are available at: <http://wiki.sf.org.au/Ditmar_rules> The Award categories remain unchanged this year, although there have been some minor amendments to the rules themselves, which can be seen at
<http://wiki.sf.org.au/index.php?title=Ditmar_rules&diff=1827&oldid=1776> You must include your name with any nomination. Nominations will be accepted only from natural persons active in fandom, or from full or supporting members of Dudcon III, the 2010 Australian National SF Convention. Where a nominator may not be known to the Ditmar subcommittee, the nominator should provide the name of someone known to the subcommittee who can vouch for the nominator's eligibility.Convention attendance or membership of an SF club are among the criteria which qualify a person as "active in fandom", but are not the only qualifying criteria. If in doubt, nominate and mention your qualifying criteria. If you received this email directly, you almost certainly qualify. You may nominate as many times in as many Award categories as you like, although you may only nominate a particular person, work or achievement once. The Ditmar subcommittee, which is organised under the auspices the Standing Committee of the Natcon Business Meeting, will rule on situations where eligibility is unclear. A partial and unofficial eligibility list, to which everyone is encouraged to add, can be found here: <http://wiki.sf.org.au/2010_Ditmar_eligibility_list>
While online nominations are preferred, nominations can be made in a number of ways: 1. online, via this form: <http://ditmars.sf.org.au/2010/nominations.html>,
2. via email to ditmars@sf.org.au; or 3. by post to: Ditmars, 6 Florence Road. NEDLANDS WA 6009. AUSTRALIA The Ditmars will be awarded at Dudcon III, the 2010 Australian National SF Convention. Dudcon III will be held at AussieCon IV, the 2010 World Science Fiction Convention. Additional details about Dudcon can be found at http://dudcon.com. (Reported by Jeremy Byrne)

CONTINUUM (Melbourne convention) recently announced that ROBERT RANKIN will no longer be appearing as GoH at Continuum 7 (Reported by James Allen)

SLASHCON 16-18 July, GoH JAMES BUTTERWORTH. Fairbridge, Pinjara, WA. For more details see http://wiki.sf.org.au/S;ashcon (Reported by Thomas Bull)

OZTREK 3 Melbourne,Saturday, 21st Aug. GoH's MICHAEL DORN and MARINA SIRTIS. Village Roadshow Theatre, Entrance 3 Latrobe St, State Library of Vic. OZTREK 3 Sydney, Sunday 22 Aug. The Sebel, 350 Church St, Parramatta. GOH's MICHAEL DORN and MARINA SIRTIS. See http://www.firstcontactconventions.com.au/OzTrek (Reported by Thomas Bull)

Actress NANA VISITOR will be appearing at the Perth Zoo Conference Centre 10th October. See www.thehubproductions.com/events/nana-visitor/home (Reported by Thomas Bull)

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 30th ANNIVERSARY CHARITY DINNER. October 23rd, Rydges, Swanston St, Carlton ( Melb) Tickets $80 includes 3 course meal and entertainment. Costume or formal attire. Hosted by Australian Star Wars Fandom. See http://www.empire30th.com (Reported by Darren Maxwell)

INFINITAS BOOKSHOP AUTHOR VISITS AND SIGNINGS: Infinitas Bookshop, Civic Arcade, George St, Parramatta, welcomes author DUNCAN LAY promoting his book, The RADIANT CHILD from 1pm on Sat 24th July, while NALINI SINGH will be in store from 1pm on Monday, Aug 17th.

INFINITAS BOOKSHOP/BLOKEY STUFF, Civic Arcade, George St Parramatta, a shop with a loyal customer base, is being offered for sale including the strata title premises

The FUTURIAN SOCIETY OF SYDNEY is having a lunch meeting at The Sappho Café, Sappho Books, 51 Flebe Pt Rd, Glebe (Next to Gleebooks) from 11.30am on Saturday 10 July. This will be a social meeting, no formal business expected. Queries, phone John August 0419 683 353

WORLDS NEXT DOOR, an anthology of SF and fantasy stories for younger readers featuring stories by Rowena Cory Daniells, Sue Bursztynski, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Edwina Harvey, Dirk Flinthart, Kaaron Warren and Paul Collins among others, edited by Tehani Wessely will have a WA LAUNCH on Thursday 29th July, at the Murdoch Public Library, ROCKINGHAM (Dixon Road, Rockingham, WA) 5.30 pm for 6pm start

The Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) and The Edge are offering a workshop on TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING (aka multi-platform storytelling) to be presented by Hoodlum Active, the BASTA award winning team behind Spooks Interactive for the BBC TV series, Spooks. Venue: the media lab at The Edge, only 10 places available. Sat 17 July 1-6pm The Edge Lab 1. Cost $95.00 pp Bookings <http://bit.ly/9j1oVL> or phone 07 3842 9922 (Reported by Kate Eltham on the Visions List)

The NSW WRITERS CENTRE, Rozelle offers 2 evenings with independent publishing consultant, Richard Nash, Senior literary agent, Sophie Hamley and Kate Eltham, CEO of QLD Writers Centre and founder of if:book Australia discussing ( Wed 7th July) EVERYTHING AUSTRALIAN AUTHORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DIGITAL PUBLISHING (BUT WERE AFRAID TO GOOGLE and (Thurs 8th July) DIGITAL RIGHTS, LICENCES AND EARNING MONEY Thursday 8 July, 6pm – 9pm Price $35per session See: <http://www.nswwriterscentre.org.au/?yWnXv&13R&hKPW&aQJ> and <http://www.nswwriterscentre.org.au/?yh3Qz&1lB&6ofT&TYF>

Both publications from Peggy Bright Books,(www.peggybrightbooks.com) RARE UNSIGNED COPY: TALES OF ROCKETRY, INEPTITUDE AND REALLY LARGE VEGETABLES by SIMON PETRIE, and THE WHALE'S TALE by EDWINA HARVEY have been favourably reviewed in the June issue of the SF Crowsnest. See www.SFCrowsnest.com/

SPOTTED: Melbourne Bookshop manager, PENNY SYBER (Sybers Books) was spotted with her felines in a story about pets in the workplace on Animal Hospital (I think?) Sat 6th June (Spotted by Edwina)

PIGS MAY FLY? The United States National Pork Board know that Unicorns don't exist, but that didn't stop them recently issuing a "cease and desist" order to online retailer, THINK GEEK for calling a fake unicorn meat product it offered on its website as an April Fools joke "The New White Meat"Think Geek claims the Pork Board is being pig-headed in serving the order, (Reported by Andy Porter)

CELESTIAL COBBLER SILK AND CERAMICS website has been given a long-overdue spring clean. Check out the new "Buy It Now" section at www.celestialcobbler.com (Edwina)

IT's NOT YOU, IT's ME: I'm looking forward to meeting people I correspond with through Bullsheet and Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine at Aussiecon 4, but I'd like to remind people that I'm visually impaired. If I don't acknowledge you, chances are I'm not seeing you, not ignoring you. If you see me and want to talk, it'd help me greatly if you opened the conversation,

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

COEUR de LION Publishing is now open for submissions for its new Science Fiction anthology Anywhere But Earth edited by Keith Stevenson. Deadline 28 Feb 2011. For all the information see: <www.coeurdelion.com.au>

A new WERE anthology, BEWERE THE NIGHT, to be published by Prime, in May 2011 is open to submissions of stories dealing with any were-creatures including werewolves. Tthe stories should be general urban fantasy. Reprints and original fiction welcome. 1000 – 7500 words. Submissions close end of December, 2010 Paying 1 cent a word for reprints, 5 cents per word for unpublished acceptances. More detals from editor Kathy Sedia (e.sedia at gmail dot com) (Relayed through the Visions list by Marianne de Pierres.)

ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS INFLIGHT MAGAZINE Issue 45 has been printed. Issue 44 is at the printer. Subscribers of the print issues can expect issues 44 and 45 to be posted to them together Real Soon Now.

ANTIPODEAN SF 144 offers short (500 words or less) SF from the following authors: RJ Astruc, J.L Cooper, Shaun A. Saunders,Peter Downey, Violette Rose-Jones, Jamie Richter, Lily Mulholland, and P.M. Freestone, Suzanne J. Willis, and Kevin J. Phyland, and can be viewed at www.antisf.com
The latest issue of THE SPECUSPHERE featuring articles Medical Bag: Faster than the Speed of Light by Brendan Carson, Defining Australian Literature by Benjamin Solah, Cheap Options for 3D TV by Damien Kane. Vampirefest by Jason Nahrung, Avatars by Stephen Thompson, Interview with Nicole Murphy by Astrid Cooper is now available: <http://www.specusphere.com>

TERRA INCOGNITA PODCAST 20 featuring PETER M BALL reading "Black Dog" & Keith Stevenson reviewing Greig Beck's "Return of the Prophet" is up at www.tisf.com.au. and on iTunes too.

The first book of the KING ROLEN's KIN series by ROWENA CORY DANIELLS comes out on July 15th.

IVAN AND MARYA is a new novel by ANNA KASHINA. Every Solstice every year a young girl dies to prolong the life of a madman. Every Solstice a hero tries to stop the sacrifice. This year it's Ivan's turn. He believes his love will save Maraya from her fate/ Available from Drollerie Press as a downloadable book. More details can be found at http://drolleriepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=104 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejhoW9qrQTY&fmt=18

SLAVE TO SENSATION Psy-Changeling Book 1, VISIONS OF HEAT Psy-Changeling Book 2 and CARESSED BY ICE by NZ writer, NALINA SINGH,are set in a world where emotions are denied and the ruling Psy punishes any sign of desire, and where changelings can take human or animal form, these books weave romantic fantasy into a sexy tale. Gollancz RRP $22.99.

WOLFSANGEL is a fantasy epic spanning hundreds of years combining Norse legends with werewolf myth written by M.D. LACHLAN, a pseudonym for a successful fiction and nonfiction writer who was once a British stand-up comedian. Gollancz. RRP, $32.99.

BLONDE BOMBSHELL is the debut SF novel from much-loved comedy fantasy writer, TOM HOLT. Lucy Pavlov has it all: CEO of PavSoft has it all, good looks intelligence, she's a bomb who can blow up the planet…recommended for readers who like Douglas Adams, Red Dwarf and Rob Grant. Orbit. RRP $32.99

LEIGH BLACKMORE's Raven books, specialising in dark and horror fiction also includes Sequence comics. For a catalogue e-mail lvxnox@gmail.com. Leigh also occasionally sells on e-bay as seller ID Quoth Raven Books.

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. (A cheque for $50 sent to Australian Diabetes mid-June) ***FOLCC BOOKS WILL BE FOR SALE AT MY CELESTIAL COBBLER TABLE AT AUSSIECON 4*** CHEAP Books looking for homes: Panglor by Jeffrey A.Carver ($1 + postage), Hell on High by Ted Nolan and Holly Lisle ($1+ postage). Sherlock Holmes Mystery book ($1 + post), Life signs, the Biology of Stac Trek ($5 + post), John Rockham, Alien Sea ($5 +post). The Bill – the Inside Story ($5 ea + post), (Thanks to John Tipper for donating the latest influx of books.).

HATCH MATCH AND DISPATCH.

Congratulations to photographer, LEWIS MORLEY snr, (Father of artist and SF fan Lawis Morley) honoured in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours List. (Edwina via facebook)

Congratulations to JASON NAHRUNG who got married recently (But to who?) (Edwina via Facebook)

American artist AL WILLIAMSON who had over 50 years experience in drawing comics and comic strips most noteably Secret Agent Corrigen and the Star Wars newspaper comic strip as well as Flash Gordon comic books for King Comics in the 1960's and the Flash Gordon mini-series for Marvel comics in the 1990's. Considered one of comic's most admired and influential creators, Williamson, who had been suffering from Alzheimers disease in recent years, passed away on June 12th. In lieu of flowers, his family requested donations be made to either Joe Kubert School (Attention Al Williamson Scholarship Fund) 37 Myrtle Ave, Dover, NJ 07801 USA, or Yesteryears Day program, 2801 Wayne St, Endwell, NY 13760 USA. (Reported by Andy Porter)

Author DIANA WYNNE JONES recently decided to cease chemotherapy treatment for cancer as the side effects were making her too ill.(reported in the Infinitas June newsletter)

AWARDS: & FAN FUNDS:

THE NORMA K. HEMMING AWARD is open until 31st July 2010, the award to be presented at Aussiecon 4. For full details of this award see the main website <http;//home.vicnet.net.au/ or go to http://home.vicnet.net.au/~asff/hemming.htm> (Reported by Bill Wright)

CLUBS & MEETINGS

MELBOURNE SCIENCE FICTION CLUB, Meet most Friday nights at 74 Melville Road, West Brunswick 3055. Membership to the MSFC is $35 single, or $45 family/household or overseas, and $25 for interstate members. Website www.msfc.sf.org.au/ Meetings: 2nd July, American food night, 9th July AGM, 16th July Conventions update.(Reported by Thomas Bull)

FEDERATION SQUARE (Melbourne) SF & Fantasy genres book reading group. Free to attend, Meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month from 11.30am at Café Beer Delux in Federation Square. E-mail<books@fedsquare.com>

DR WHO CLUB OF VICTORIA has been operating for over 30 years. Their newsletter - Sonic Screwdriver - publishes news, reviews & gossip on Dr Who as well as publishing fanfic & pictures 6 times a year. $35 for a family membership) which gets you 7 issues of the newsletter. Members receive discounts at ABC shops and Minotuar in Elizabeth St, Melbourne. See <http://www.vicnet.net.au/~dwcv>.

*SFFiG* SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY in GEELONG http://au.groups. yahoo.com/ group/SFFiG/ Irregular meets announced via email. Discussions, trivia & games, news and more! (Reported by Ben Hughes)

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 12033 A'Beckett St RP, Melbourne, Vic 8006. .Non-profit SF club offering monthly meetings, "Diverse Universe" newsletter and "Solar Spectrum" annual anthology. (Thanks to Geoff Allshorn for the update.)

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.

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@doctorwho australia. org, phone 0416 269 726 or check www.doctorwhoaustra lia.org

The DR WHO CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA meet on the first Saturday of each month 12.30-5pm at The Collins St Centre, Cnr Shaftesbury Ave and Collins St, South Perth. Club stalls, info, afternoon tea and entertainment. See <www.comedydownunder.com/westlodge/> or phone Aaron on (08) 0400 1957.

JAFWA is Perth's largest & oldest anime group. They offer screenings in the Jones lecture theatre, Curtin University from 5pm onall but the first Saturday of the month. See <http://jafwa.asn.au> for full details.

STARSHIP MAWSON (www.starshipmawson .com) is a South Australian Star Trek fan club, & chapter of Starfleet International, run by Stuart Blair. See <http://www.starshipmawson.com/join.html> (Reported by Stuart Blair.)

The BLACKWOOD WRITERS GROUP for spec fic authors was formed in 1996 and meets every Monday at 7pm for 2-3 hrs upstairs in the Blackwood Church of Christ Hall 367 Shepherd's Hill Rd Blackwood, Australia, 5051. For more info see http://www.blackwoodwritersgroup.com/ or phone Rob Bleckly 08 8536 3975 or Robert N Stephenson 08 8278 8995

QUEST Queensland Star Trekkers Fan Club usually meet at the PCYC Fortitude Valley on the second Sunday of the month (though this occasionally changes) . Contact Mary Kemp either by phone: 07 32904243 or by e-mail: jmkemp@bigpond. net.au. The club's snail mail address is still PO BOX 2084, Brisbane, QLD. 4001. Quest's new website will be up and running in the near future. (Reported by Mary Kemp).

VISIONS WRITERS GROUP offers meeting and critiquing for SF, Fantasy and Horror . Check the Bullsheet website for updates or contact Graham Stone (02) 9715 7129

SYDNEY FUTURIANS: (Not to be confused with the Futurian Society of Sydney, listed above.) Contact address: P.O. Box 152 Bexley North, NSW, 2207. Usually meet on the 3rd Friday of the month (except for December) in the foyer of UTS building, Broadway .

FUTURIAN SOCIETY OF SYDNEY meet at the end of each month. Check the web version of the Bullsheet for updates. Next meeting is a social event, a lunch meeting at The Sappho Café, Sappho Books, 51 Flebe Pt Rd, Glebe (Next to Gleebooks) from 11.30am on Saturday 10 July. Queries, phone John August 0419 683 353

STARWALKING (NSW) http://sydskyforce. starwalking. net holds meetings at 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.

TAG, TERRA AUSTRALIS GARRISON - a Starwars stormtrooper appreciation society. Details can be found at www.501tag.com (reported on Sci fi reporter.)

NEWCASTLE SPACE FRONTIER SOCIETY (NSFS) Regular meetings and social functions. Full details available at www.nssa.com. au/nsfs. (Reported by Jack Dwyer.)

SPOCKSOC: A SF group run by students at the University of NSW Kensington, Sydney. http://www.spocksoc .unsw.edu. au

EVENTS VORTEX SF. SF Events happening in Brisbane, can be found at <www.vortexevents.com>.

VAMPIRE DIARIES event, 3 July 2010, Venue updated to Leighton Hall, The John Niland Scientia Building, UNSW Campus, Kensington (Sydney) *NB from where the buses stop at the pedestrian crossing on Anzac Pde at UNSW, the Scientia Building is the building at the end of the Main Walkway into UNSW campus – Edwina* 4 July 2010, Melbourne Copeland Theatre, Economics and Commerce Building, Uni of Melbourne.9am-6pm. GoH: PAUL WESLEY, IAN SOMEERHALDER, NINA DOBREY.See <http://www.thehubproductions.com/events/vampire-diaries/home/> for more information.(reported by Thomas Bull)

Fantasy author, NALINI SINGH will be special guest at the Australian Romance Writers Conference on 13th August at Crowne Plaza, Coogee (Sydney). See <www.australianromancereaders.com.au> for more details. MAniFest 2010 (Melbourne ANIME Festival): 20-22 August 2010. Melbourne Showgrounds. (For more details see <http://www.manifest.org.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=40>.) (Reported by Thomas Bull)

STARGATE SG1 event 28th Aug, Police Club 27 Carrington St, Adelaide, 29th Aug Perth (venue TBA) GoH's Christopher Judge , Corin Namac

ANIMANIA FESTIVAL DATES 2010: Brisbane - Mercure Brisbane, 11-12 September - Sydney - Australian Technology Park (ATP), 2 October - Adelaide - Adelaide Festival Centre (AFC), 30 October - Brisbane - Mercure Brisbane (See http://www.animania.net.au/2009/news/animania-festival-2010.) (Thanks to Thomas Bull for this info)

STARGATE SG1 event 28th Aug, Police Club 27 Carrington St, Adelaide, 29th Aug Perth (venue TBA) GoH's Christopher Judge , Corin Namac www.thehubproductions,com/events/stargate-sg1/home (reported by Thomas Bull)

TRUE BLOOD GoH CHARLAINE HARRIS, SAM TREMMELL, JOHN BILLINGSLEY, KIRSTIN BAUER Sydney 25th Sept, Sir John Clancy Auditorium, University of NSW and Melbourne 26th Sept, venue TBA. (See <www.thehubproductions/com/events> for full details).

Actress NANA VISITOR will be appearing at the Perth Zoo Conference Centre 10th October. See www.thehubproductions.com/events/nana-visitor/home (Reported by Thomas Bull)

ARMAGEDDON : Melbourne October 16-17 Venue Melbourne Exhibition Centre. GoHs include NANA VIDITOR, MICHAEL SHANKS, CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN, JULIET LANDAU, SYLVESTER McCOY and SOPHIE ALDRED (See <http://armageddonexpo.com/au/> for more information)(Update from Thomas Bull)

GATE TO THE SANCTUARY Sydney, 11th Decr , The Sebel, 350 Church St, Parramatta. GOH's AMANDA TAPPING, (others to be announced) see <cultureshockeents.com>

GATE TO THE SANCTUARY Melbourne, 12th Dec, GoH's AMANDA TAPPING, CARMEN ARGENZIANO, EYAN ROBBINS, CHUCK CAMPBELL (Venue to be announced? EH) See <cultureshockevents.com> (Reported by Thomas Bull)

SUPANOVA Pop culture Expo (SF, TV, books, comics, trading cards, music, fantasy, cartoons, animation and heaps more) Brisbane 2011 1-3 April RNA Showgrounds, Melbourne 2011. April 8-10 Melbourne Showground. See: http://www.supanova.com.au for more information./ (Reported by Royd Burgoyne)

THE YEAR OF SF & FANTASY with PAUL COLLINS Course. Join Paul, author of over 120 novels and 140 short stories, editor and publisher (Ford Street Publishing) as he guides you through the process of writing your own novel. Participants will benefit from brainstorming ideas with others through the year and the outcome should be a completed, polished novel ready to submit to publishers. Saturdays 24 July, 25 September, 27 November, 10am – 4pm Cost: $600, Members $540/$500 Victoria Writers Centre, 176 Little Lonsdalel St, Melbourne

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

AU CONTRAIRE, NZ Natcon, Fri 27-Sun 29th August, 2010 (the week before Aussiecon 4 for those northern hemisphere fans looking to extend their antipodean SF experience) Quality Hotel, Wellington. Full attending membership currently NZ $60. Day & supporting memberships also available. See http://aucontraire.org.nz/ for full details. Snail mail address is PO Box 10104, Wellington NZ.

CHANGING THE CLIMATE: Utopia, Dystopia and Catastrophe, The Fourth Australian Conference on Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction.30 Aug – 1 Sept 2010. Monash Conference Centre, Level 7, 30 Collins St, Melbourne. (See http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/cclcs/conferences/utopias/4/ for more information.)(Thanks to Thomas Bull for this.)
THE TOLKIEN SOCIETY and Australian Smial, TOL HANDOR are presenting "TOLKIEN's ODYSSEY: MIDDLE EARTH AND BEYOND" on Saturday 28th August (The weekend before Aussiecon 4) in Melbourne. ) and are currently calling for papers seeking presentatioins of 20 minutes and 45 minutes in length. Melbourne Artist, TONY GALDAMEZ has been commissioned to create artwork on a Tolkien theme for the Moot. See http://tolhandor.org/seminar09.html for full details.

AUSSIECON 4. Worldcon in Melbourne. 2-6 September 2010, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank. GoH's: Kim Stanley Robinson, Shaun Tan, Robin Johnson. Attending membership until 31 July, Adult Attending: AUD:$ 310, Supporting: AUD: $70, Convert Supporting to Attending: AUD $ 250, Child Attending: AUD$ 50, Memberships may be purchased with cash, PayPal, cheques in AUD and USD, Visa, and MasterCard. All credit card charges will be processed in Australian dollars. Aussiecon 4 is now taking bookings for the Art Show <http://www.facebook.com/l/14896;www.aussiecon4.org.au/index.php?page=56)>and the Dealers Room <http://www.facebook.com/l/14896;www.aussiecon4.org.au/index.php?page=57)>Please see the relative pages under the Exhibits section at http://www.facebook.com/l/14896;www.aussiecon4.org.au. Queries can be directed to Steve Francis (Dealers Room Manager) or Emma (Art Show Curator).

DUDCON, the 49th Australian National SF Convention (Natcon) that will be held in conjunction with Aussiecon 4, 3-5th September, 2010, and will be responsible for the serious natcon stuff of running the Ditmars and holding the business meeting for the natcon Fan Guest of Honour: Jacob Blake. Other GoH's to be announced. Various memberships on offer starting with Cheapskate member for $10, Generous member $20, Friend of the Ditmars m/ship $30, Protector of Kittens m/ship $40, All around good bloke/blokess m/ship $50, and Absolute Fucking Legend m/ship $100. Contact details, Paul Ewins, e-mail paulewins@optusnet.com.au, or PO Box 1126, North Melbourne. VIC 3132. (Reported by Bruce Gillespie.)

(Note to SF Travellers:You're spoiled for choice! You can attend the NZ Natcon, the Tolkien Moot, the Worldcon, Changing the Climate, Aussiecon 4, and Dudcon, the Australian Natcon for 2010 held within Aussiecon 4 all in one week. NZ is a 3 hour flight from Melbourne. Get more cons for your Antipodean buck!)

Gen Con™ Australia 23rd-26th September. Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Electronic gaming, anime, card games, board gamesm celebrity appearances, clothing manufacturers, comic and alternate stores for enthusiasts. anime, cos play, board games, card games, war gaming, computer games, guest appearances from sci-fi/fantasy authors. Currently seeking businesses & organizations to book exhibition spaces (attendances expected to be over 10,000 over 4 days.

RENOVATION is the Worldon in Reno, Nevada, USA August 17-21, 2011. GoH's: Tim Powers, Ellen Asher, fantasy artist Boris Vallejo/ Venue: Reno-Sparks Conventioin Centre & The Atlantis Hotel main venues. See <http://renovationsf.org/> for more details. Australian Agent: Jean Weber

WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 2010 will be held October 28-31 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Columbus, Ohio (USA) Attending membership US $125. Snail mail WFC 2010, 3824 Patricia Dr, Upper Arlington, OH 43220, USA. Or see <www.contextsf.org/WFC> for more details. (Thanks to Thomas Bull for the update)

SFContario, Toronto, Canada. November 19-21, 2010. Ramada Plaza Hotel in Toronto. GoHs: Michael Swanwick, Hugo- and Nebula-award winning author of Bones of the Earth, Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Tor Books editors, Geri Sullivan & Karen Linsley. Attending mshipCAN $45. Seet <http://sfcontario.ca >

NULLUS ANXIETAS III. 8-11 April 2011.Panthers World of Entertainment, Penrith, NSW.Membership prices until 30 June 2010: $150 (full), $100 (concession),$60 (child), $30 (supporting).(See http://ausdwcon.org/ for more information.) (reported by Thomas Bull)

SWANCON THIRTY SIX | NATCON FIFTY. 21-25 April 2011 Hyatt Hotel, Adelaide Tce, Perth. Membership prices until 6 Sept 2010: $185 (full), $140 (concession) $20 (supporting). See <http://2011.swancon.com.au/> for more information. (reported by Thomas Bull)

CONTINUUM 7 will be held 10-13 June, 2011. Guest of honour tba Memberships will be launched at Aussiecon 4, and will be available from their website http://www.continuum.org.au/ (Reported by James Allen)

ConText: The 2011 New Zealand National Convention. Literary Guest Catherine Asaro, Fan GoH Lynelle Howell website: http://context.sf.org.nz/wiki/index.php/Main_Page e-mail address: mailto:enquiries@context.sf.org.nz (NB: this is for initial enquiries only.
Postal address: PO Box 74-013 Market Rd Auckland 1543 New Zealand Phone: +64-9-9629806

CON 9 FROM OUTER SPACE< Old style fannish convention celebrating SF movies, TV and radio pre-1965. Melbourne, June, 2012. See jttp://www.con9fromouterspace.com.

OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES:

The Inkspillers web site, < http://www.inkspill ers.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.collectingbooksandmagazi nes.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

SMW Editing & Proof reading services for academic (including theses), fiction & non-fiction. For more details or arrange a quote, e-mail s.murraywhite@gmail.com (Please note new e-mail address.)

KopperKat Manuscript Assessment and Editing service. Industry professional with many years' experience as an editor and best-selling author goes beyond the norm to assist you with your writing. Enquiries: kopperkat@gmail. com

If you want a great fanzine resource offering fanzines in PDF format, go to http://efanzines. com where Bill Burns hosts the electronic versions of a wide variety of the world's best fanzines, including many Australian fanzines.

The Bullsheet is available online at <www.bullsheet.sf.org.au>. and as a FREE monthly e-mail through the AUSSFBULL mailing list. To join send a blank e-mail to AUSSFBULL-subscribe@yahoogroups. com. Send your news e-mail to edwinafan@yahoo.com.

Looking for hand-made original ceramics and silk with a SF or Fantasy (and increasingly horse and donkey) theme? Check Edwina's CELESTIAL COBBLER SILK and CERAMICS see www.celestialcobbler.com. Say you read the Bullsheet and get a "staff discount"

BRRRRRRR! Baby, it's cold outside! So where's my facebook message from the Queen then, eh? ;-)

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