Issue 1, 1st November 1995: SF ROUNDUP

Welcome to ExNet On-line's new Science Fiction pages, launching purely by coincidence on the date the Sci-Fi Channel came to Europe.

What a letdown! My first thought on hearing about the Sci-Fi Channel was that I'd be spending the rest of my days glued to the sofa, staring goggle-eyed at a flickering screen. But judging by the new channel's first day's listings in my trusty Cable Guide---The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Night Gallery, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (among other creaky gems from the sixties and seventies)---it looks like I might indulge in some fresh air and exercise (well, not exercise) instead. Maybe I'll toddle down to the Science Museum and take in their Star Trek Exhibition (more details below). But first I'd better let you know what I've got in store for this first issue: news, events, con listings, web links, some recommended newsheets, mags, and fanzines and some award-winning fiction.

So let's get started!

Sally Shears shears@exnet.com.

NEWS

First, for those who didn't make it to the Glasgow Worldcon, a quick round-up of this year's Hugos:

Fanzine: Ansible
Fan Artist: Teddy Harvia
Fan Writer: David Langford
Semiprozine: Interzone
Artwork: Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book by Brian Froud and Terry Jones
Dramatic: All Good Things (Star Trek Next Generation)
Pro Artist: Jim Burns
Pro Editor: Gardner Dozois
Non-fiction: I. Asimov: A Memoir by Isaac Asimov
Short Story: None So Blind by Joe Haldeman
Novelette: The Martian Child by David Gerrold
Novella: Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick
Novel: Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
John W. Campbell Award for best new writer: Jeff Noon

Pulphouse has also moved. Their new editorial address: Box 1227, Eugene, OR 97440, U.S.A.

There's talk of another Babylon 5 convention in England, "which will explore the whole sf genre and B5's place within that genre," to be held sometime in September 1996. Those interested in supporting this idea should contact: ShadowCon, 45 Fife Park, St Andrews KY16 9UE, U.K. Email: aaa@dcs.st-and.ac.uk.

DIARY

2 November. The Wellington, Waterloo Road, London SE1. Fans and pros converge on this pub across from Waterloo Station on the first Thursday of every month for informal drink and chat. From 6 p.m. onwards. (Anoraks optional.)

3 November. Informal Interzone gathering, The Mitre, Baker Street, Brighton. Brighton area readers of the British SF mag meet for a drink and a chat every Friday evening from 9 to 11 p.m. in the smaller room of two rooms in this friendly pub near the Open Market. All welcome.

4 November. INTO ORBIT, Peterborough Museum. SF writing workshop led by Ian Watson. Contact: Pete Cox, (01733) 370542.

10, 17, and 24 November. Informal Interzone gathering. See above.

22 November. BSFA meeting, The Jubilee Tavern, York Road, London SE1. (Another pub near Waterloo Station.) Monthly London meeting of the British Science Fiction Association. All welcome. Scheduled guest is Robert Rankin (author of the Brentford Triangle, Sprouts of Wrath, Armageddon The Musical, etc). 7 p.m. in the upstairs room. Free admission. General BSFA enquiries: bsfa@ansible.demon.co.uk

Now until February. Star Trek Exhibition. The Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London SW7 (South Kensington Tube.) The museum is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day). Admission: £ 5 adults, £ 2.60 children and concessions. Free after 4:30 p.m.

CONS

Nov. 3-5. NOVACON 25. Chamberlain Hotel, Birmingham U.K. Guests of Honour: Brian Aldiss, Bob Shaw, and Harry Harrison. Special GoH: Iain Banks. Registration: £ 25. Contact: Carol Morton, 14 Park Street, Lye, Stourbridge, W. Midlands DY9 8SS, U.K.

Nov. 10-12. ANTARES 1995. Holiday Inn Central, Atlanta GA, U.S.A. GoH: Barbara Hambly. Artist GoH: Stan Bruns. Fan GoH: Ed Kramer. Special Guest: Hal Clement. TM: Brad Strickland. Contact: Antares 95, Box 1273, Lilburn GA 30226, U.S.A.

Nov. 10-12. ORYCON 17. Red Lion Columbia River, Portland OR, U.S.A. GoH: Joel Rosenberg, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith. Artist GoH: Dameon Willich, Heather Hudson. $35 at the door. Contact OryCon 17, Box 5703, Portland OR 97228, U.S.A. Email: Cthulhu@teleport.com.

Nov. 10-12. WINDYCON XXII. Hyatt Regency Woodfield, Schaumburg IL, U.S.A. Author GoH: Poul Anderson. Editor GoH: Stanley Schmidt. Artist GoH: Heather Bruton. Fan GoH: Dick and Leah Zeldes Smith. TM: Bob and Anne Passavoy. $35 at the door. Contact: WindyCon XXII, Box 184, Palatine, IL 60078-0184, U.S.A.

Nov. 10-12. SCI-CON 17. Sheraton Oceanfront Inn, Virginia Beach VA, U.S.A. GoH: Larry Bond. Artist GoH: Mark Poole. Fan GoH: Curt Harpold. $25 at the door. SASE to Sci-Con 17, Box 9434, Hampton VA 23670, U.S.A.

Nov. 17-19. ARMADACON. Astor Hotel, The Hoe, Plymouth, U.K. Registration: £ 20. Contact: Armadacon, 4 Gleneagle Ave., Mannahead, Plymouth, Devon PL3 5HL, U.K.

Nov. 24-26. CONCAT 7. Radisson Hotel, Knoxville TN, U.S.A. GoH: Samuel R. Delany. Artist GoH: Joe Phillips. Special GoH: Allen Steele. $30 at the door. Contact: ConCat 7, 805 College St., Knoxville TN 37921, U.S.A. Email: Chloie@aol.com.

Nov. 24-26. LOSCON 22. Airport Hilton, Burbank CA, U.S.A. GoH: Bob Shaw. Artist GoH: Lubov. Fan GoH: Larry Stewart. Contact: Loscon 22 c/o LA Science Fantasy Society Inc., 11513 Burbank Blvd., N. Hollywood CA 91601, U.S.A. Email: RBourget@aol.com

Nov. 24-26. SILICON. Hilton Inn, 1250 Lakeside Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, U.S.A. Writer GoH: David Webber. Artist GoH: Ruth Thompson. Toastmistress: Teresa Edgerton. Registration: $35 at the door. Contact: SiliCon, c/o A Wrinkle In Time, 19970 Homestead Road, Cupertino CA 95014, U.S.A. For dealer table and art flat or table availability, email: awit@netcom.com.

Late November. DRACON. Brno, Czech Republic. Contact: Dracon, P.O. Box 36, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic. Tel: (05) 41218426

Late November. NORDCON. Gdansk, Poland. Contact: Gdanski Klub Fantastyki, PO Box 76, 80-325 Gdansk 37, Poland

1996

Jan. 12-14. ARISIA '96. Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, Boston MA, U.S.A. GoH: Emma Bull, Will Shetterly. Artist GoH: Lisanne Lake. Fan GoH: Rob Bazemore. Contact: Arisia Inc., #322, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge MA 02139, U.S.A. Email: Arisia-info@asylum.sf.ca.us.

Jan. 12-14. TROPICON XIV. Doubletree Guest Quarters Suites, Ft. Lauderdale FL, U.S.A. GoH: James P. Hogan. TM: Mike Resnick. Contact: Tropicon XIV c/o SFSF, Box 70143, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33307-0143, U.S.A.

Jan. 12-14. CHATTACON XXI. Read House, Chattanooga TN, U.S.A. GoH: Walter Jon Williams, Charles de Lint. Artist GoH: Keith Parkinson, Mark Poole. TM: Charles L. Grant. Registration: $22 to 30 November '95; $30 to 1 January '96, then $35. Contact: Chattacon 21, Box 23908, Chattanooga TN 37422-3908. Email: Mike.Dillson@ptonline.com.

Feb. 2-4. CREMECON 2. Manchester East Hotel & Suites, Glendale WI, U.S.A. Author GoH: Lawrence Watt-Evans. Editor GoH: Sue Weinlein. Artist GoH: C.H. Burnett. Fan GoH: Richard Russell. Registration: $20 to 4 January '96, $30 at the door. Contact: SAE to CremeCon 2, Box 37086, Milwaukee WI 53237, U.S.A. Email: Cremecon@aol.com.

Feb. 2-4. OBLITER8, British National Filk Convention. Milton Keynes, UK. Contact: Obliter8, 212 Albert Road, Leyton, London, E10 6PD, UK. Email: Obliter8@orioes.demon.co.uk.

Feb. 16-18. BOSKONE 33. Sheraton Tara, Framingham MA, U.S.A. GoH: Lois McMaster Bujold. Official Artist: Gary Ruddell. Registration: $33 to 15 January '96, higher at the door. Contact: Boskone 33, Box 809, Framingham MA, 01701-0203, U.S.A.

Mar. 15-17. LUNACON '96. Rye Town Hilton, Rye Brook NY, U.S.A. GoH: Terry Pratchett, Esther Friesner. Visual Humour GoH: Phil Foglio. Fan GoH: Bruce Pelz. Origami GoH: Mark Kennedy. Registration: $33 to 15 February '96, higher at the door. Contact: Lunacon 96, Box 3566, New York NY 10008, U.S.A. Email: Lunacon@lunacon.org.

Mar. 17-19. LONDON INTERNATIONAL BOOKFAIR. Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, London, U.K. Trade fair for booksellers and publishers; not open to the public. Contact: London International Bookfair, Oriel House, 26 The Quadrant, Richmond Surrey TW9 1DL, U.K.

Mar. 22-24. 8th SF DAYS NRW. Duesseldorf, Germany. Theme: Religion. Contact: Heinrich Sporck, Am Sonnenberg 38, D-44879 Bochum 5, FRG. Tel: 49-234-461390

May 24-27. WISCON 20, Feminist Science Fiction Convention. Concourse Hotel, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

April 5-8. EVOLUTION, British National SF Convention. Heathrow (London), UK. GoH: Vernor Vinge, Colin Greenland, Jack Cohen, Brian Talbot, Paul Kincaid, Maureen Kincaid Speller. Registration: £ 20. Contact: Evolution, 13 Linfield Gardens, Hampstead, London, NW3 6PX, UK. Email: bmh@ee.ic.ac.uk.

July 26-28. SAARCON, SFCD annual convention. Germany. Themes: Eastern European SF, history of German fandom. Contact: Thomas Recktenwald, Huettenwerkstr. 40, D-66763 Dillingen, FRG. Tel: 06831-704555)

Queen's Birthday Weekend. CONSTELLATION. The Christchurch City Travelodge, New Zealand. Contact: Constellation, P.O. Box 29-119, Fendalton, Christchurch NZ.

1997

March 28-31. INTERVENTION, British National Convention. Liverpool, UK. GoH: Brian Aldiss, David Langford, Robert Silverberg. Contact: Intervention, 12 Crowsbury Close, Emsworth, Hants, PO10 7TS, UK. Email: interven@pompey.demon.co.uk.

LINKS

Visit the SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) Web Page for the answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Beginning Writers, Links to Web Catalogs, Model Contracts for Hardcover, Paperback and Anthology, Research Links, and much much more.

Explore the SF scene in Europe with the European Science Fiction Society.

Cross the Channel for the French online fanzine Quarante-Deux.

Check out the new SF news and reviews magazine SFX.

Read the on line SF mag, QUANTA.

Browse your way through European SF Bookstores.

Go square-eyed watching the Sci-Fi Channel Europe.

Try the new online SF-zine Science Fiction Weekly for a mixture of book reviews, movie, games and media news updated weekly.

Find all those theme tunes you keep humming to yourself.

SPECIAL SECTION: LINKS FOR TREKKIES

Visit London Science Museum's Star Trek Exhibition.

Visit the Star Trek Voyager homepage.

Klingon: the language of the future. Visit the home page of the Klingon Language Institute.

Let Quark the Ferengi guide you through his Star Trek Universe.

SALLY SHEARS RECOMMENDS THE BEST OF BRITISH

IZ has some stiff competition though from the new twice-yearly title, Substance. Small press it may be, but the fiction is top-rate, attracting established contributors such as Stephen Baxter, Molly Brown, Ben Jeapes, and Jessica Palmer, as well as some lesser known but promising new writers. Great illustrations, too. Subscription details.

Scheherazade is a beautifully produced and illustrated small press mag. Details of current issue and how to subscribe.

Of course the best source of SF news and (occasionally vicious) gossip has to multiple Hugo Award winner, Ansible. Available for SAE from Dave Langford, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5AU, U.K. To receive Ansible monthly by email, send a message with the single word SUBSCRIBE to: ansible-request@dcs.gla.uk.

Fans Across the World is a must for fans interested in the wider global scene. This monthly newsletter is available for SAE from B. Wilkinson, 17 Mimosa, 29 Avenue Road, Tottenham, London N15 5JF. Email: bjw@cix.compulink.co.uk.

FICTION

To kick off with, we have Molly Brown's award-winning humorous time-travel romance: Bad Timing.

Share and enjoy.