nedjelja, 26. travnja 2015.

Croatia wins two ESFS Awards!

Vanja and Ivan Kranj?evi? accepted the Croatian awards at Eurocon 2015
Vanja and Ivan Kranjcevic accepted the Croatian awards at Eurocon 2015

And one of them is for me as best promoter! Having won an award for doing something I love – promoting science fiction – would have been great news and reason to celebrate any day. But winning one at a Russian Eurocon makes me twice as happy! I have an old report card from school which says “Mihaela’s Russian is excellent, but her English could use some work”. (Not even remotely true nowadays!)


In a twist of fate, I ended up going to Pyrkon this year rather than the St. Petersburg Eurocon. One of the reasons was that I felt that Polish fans needed to find out about fan funds and the Helsinki in 2017 bid. So I have the best possible excuse for not being there to say thank you in person: I was busy promoting science fiction in Poland! Thank you, Eurocon 2015!


The very talented writer who just had his first novel published in Croatia, David Kelecic, won the ESFS Encouragement Award. You can read one of his stories in the Loncon3/Shamrokon issue of Parsek (#125).


The 2015 ESFS Awards winners are:


HALL OF FAME



  • Best author: China Miéville (UK)

  • Best artist: Phillipe Bouchet Manchu (France)

  • Best magazine: Fantastica Almanac (Bulgaria)

  • Best publisher: Gollancz (UK)

  • Best translator: Ekaterina Dobrohotova-Majkova (Rusija)

ENCOURAGEMENT AWARDS:


  • Micheal Wozoning (Austria)

  • Kaloyan Zahariev (Bulgaria)

  • Martin D. Antonin (Czech Republic)

  • Liz Bourke (Ireland)

  • Luis Corredoura (Portugal)

  • Georgiana Vladulescu (Romania)

  • Victor Kolyuzhniak (Russsia)

  • Jana Paluchová (Slovakia)

SPIRIT OF DEDICATION AWARDS:


  • Best artist: Serhiy Krykun (Ukrajina)

  • Best fanzine: Pritiazhenie(Attraction) (Russia)

  • Best website: Europa SF (Romania)

  • Best performance: Song of the Sea (Irska)

  • Best children’s author: Anton Lomaev (Russia) & Ruth F Long (Ireland) (tie)

EUROPEAN GRAND MASTER:


  • Eugene Lukin



Croatia wins two ESFS Awards!
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

Pyrkon: Friday 2015

20150424_120234You say Pyrkon, and numbers immediately start being thrown around. It’s the Polish convention that had 15 000 members last year. No, 25 000! Or was it 30 000? You can check and recheck different sources, but it does not matter. The numbers sound so incredible, it really makes no difference. You can’t help doubting. It’s one of those things where you simply have to see for yourself. I saw. And I have never been so happy to be part of programming! This time, it saved me from spending a few hours in a line.


rsz_20150424_122454The first thing you notice about Pyrkon – other than the huge amount of fans that gather here – is the masks. This con may be a lot of things, but first and foremost, it is a festival of fannish masks and costumes. We came into the festival with the car, to unload all our stuff and set up the SFeraKon stand in the Fan Village. Getting out of the car, we walked straight into – Maleficent. Hand made, intricate and very, very impressive.  Photos away!


I must admit, I did wonder why so many of Pyrkon photos – I have been following the con online since 2013, while I was planning to visit  – focused on the costumes. Now I understand. It’s not that there are so many, there are more than quite a few. It’s not that they are exquisitely made and stunning, they are that, too. It’s the overall atmosphere of the con, the catching enthusiasm of the fans wearing them that makes you become part of this great feeling. Since you cannot magic a full costume into being right then and there, you want to take photos.


rsz_20150424_141629As an SF fan and con-runner, I exist in a world where, by virtue of these interests, I am strange. Remaining strange well into my thirties while still into the “immature”, I think it’s safe to say I’m not too susceptible to peer pressure. Yet, by the end of the first day in Poznan, I was regretting bitterly I had no costume to play with and even considering cosplaying at SFeraKon! So, yes, the enthusiasm of fans at Pyrkon is catching!


The program book lists our stand as SFeraKon. But, in reality, we are promoting so much more than a Croatian convention. Pyrkon has a raffle system in place and we put together gift packages that contained goodies like the special English issue of Parsek, the famous Zagreb licitar heart and gifts from various cons and bid, such as tattoos from the Helsinki in 2017, a T-shirt from the Dublin in 2019 bid, the Terry Pratchett calendar donated by Dysprosium, art by Nela Dunato and fridge magnets from the NZin2020 bid.


Ted Chiang, Joe Haldeman, Konrad Walewski
Ted Chiang, Joe Haldeman, Konrad Walewski

Panels are panels everywhere one goes and the one on short fiction I went to, featuring Pyrkon GoHs Joe Haldeman and Ted Chiang, turned out to be more about writing than about short fiction in general. Somehow, I keep wanting to hear famous writers’ opinions on themes, motives and tropes in the genre. I end up hearing about the writing process. I had to wonder why since there was the Architects and Gardeners panel in the evening, with the same panelists plus Jasper Fforde, and that one was explicitly about the writing process. I went to it only to see what Jasper Fforde was like and was pleased to find out I liked him as much as I liked Thursday Next.


rsz_img_0084The first ever Fan Funds Talk at a Polish convention went well, considering that it was a last-minute replacement for another, more popular programming item. Nina Horvath, the current TAFF delegate joined me to talk about her experience of having just won the race. She described how the trip planning was going and how much she was learning about fan culture even at this early stage. I may have found a Polish GUFF candidate, which, if this works out, would make me very happy.


We ended the evening with a dinner and a chat with some of the organizers who told us that 17 000 people entered the huge Poznan International Fair that is Pyrkon’s venue but that they expect many more tomorrow. Having spent the day among the throngs of fans, I am inclined to stop doubting their numbers.



Pyrkon: Friday 2015
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

petak, 24. travnja 2015.

Road trip!

I’d love to post a witty account of the 15 hour drive from Zagreb to Pyrkon I took yesterday or even some awesome photos. But had taken the time to take those, it would have been a thirty hour trip. Since we did not get out of the car:


rsz_20150423_190617


The drive was awesome because the company I was in was great. Ankica (the GPS) frequently asked us to turn left, into a river, a wall or a meadow. We failed to obey, a few times in the Czech Republic to our disadvantage too, so we had to double back. When she was indisposed and Google drunk, we resorted to gas stations and communication in my very bad German. There were trucks, small roads, some stunning nature, some startling views and some very weird public statuary. So many sites we wanted to stop and photograph and something that may or may not have been the Museum of Magic. Perhaps on the way back.


During the drive, we also managed to acquire more programming!


So, Croatians at Pyrkon:


Friday, 19:00, Fan Funds – Or how to travel to distant SF cons on zero money and loads of fun!


Sunday, 14:00, Croatian SF scene & literature


Sunday, 16:00, Space Lab


 


I now am off to meet Poznan and Pyrkon. :)




Road trip!
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

četvrtak, 23. travnja 2015.

The race is on! Become the 2016 Southbound GUFF delegate!

Want to go to Australia and meet an awesome and diverse SF fandom? Yup, it’s far away and expensive. But what if I told you that a little bit of work, a moderate amount of administration that also entails attending conventions and a lot of charm could get you to Australia and New Zealand?


And not just any Australia or any New Zealand but ones seen through the eyes of people like you, fans of science fiction, book hoarders and lovers of strange things who will show you everything that you ever wanted to know and experience about Australia but were unaware of your desire!


I speak from personal experience – my 2013 GUFF trip was both a longtime dream come true and a wondrous exploration of a world I had no knowledge of although I was convinced I did. It was exhilarating fun, a life changing experience and I only wish there was enough money in the world, or rather the GUFF bank account, to have two races, one each way, every single year.


Here is the invitation, feel free to share it as widely as possible and do not hestitate to contact me about details. Email response maybe slow until April 29th as I am in Poland, but if you are at Pyrkon, come to my Fan Funds talk this Friday, April 24th, at 19:00 t the English hall and I will answer all your questions! If not in Poland – find some answers here!



GUFF Call for Nominations


GUFF is the Get Up and Over (or Going Under) Fan Fund which transports SF fans from Australasia to Europe (and vice versa).


Nominations are now open for the southbound race, to transport a European fan (or fans) to Contact 2016 (http://contact2016.com/), the 55th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, to be held in Brisbane, Australia over Easter long weekend 2015.


Depending on the length of trip they’re able to make, the winner could also consider visiting other parts of Australia as well as visiting New Zealand (the New Zealand National Convention is in June). The winner will also be required to take over the administration of the fund for the next northbound and southbound races.


If you wish to stand, please contact us at the postal or email address below. You will need three European and two Australasian nominators (who will each need to confirm their nominations), a platform of no more than 100 words to appear on the ballot, a bond of £15/€20/AU$25 as a guarantee you will attend the 2016 Australian Natcon if you win.


If you wish to stand and are unsure about how to go about getting any of these things, what the fund pays for or the duties of a GUFF delegate and administrator, then feel free to contact us in confidence.


Nominations are open until 31st May 2015, and candidates will be announced soon after. Voting will then run until Wednesday 30th September 2015, with the winner announced online as soon as possible after voting has closed.


Nominations should be sent to books at gillianpolack dot com or rantalica at gmail dot com or Mihaela-Marija Perkovic, Maksimirska 100d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. The bond can be sent by cheque to Mihaela at the above address, or by PayPal to guffeurope@gmail.com, or contact her for bank deposit details. Cash can be given directly to Gillian Polack or contact her for bank deposit details.


Please disseminate widely.


 


 



The race is on! Become the 2016 Southbound GUFF delegate!
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

srijeda, 22. travnja 2015.

Magicna Noc knjige: Neil Gaiman i Kate Elliot u Branimir centru!

U sklopu Noci knjige, 23. travnja 2015 u organizaciji portala Inverzija.net održat ce se prvi SF&F Korner u prostoru Branimir centra u Zagrebu, u trajanju od 14 do 23 sata.


Zvijezde programa bit ce dvoje slavnih pisaca, neuhvatljiv i fenomenalni Neil Gaiman, autor kultnog strip-serijala Sandman koji je nedavno objavljen u hrvatskom prijevodu i to u lukzusnom izdanju famozne Fibre, te americka fantasy spisateljica s Havaja, Kate Elliot koja je ujedno i ovogodišnja gošca SFeraKona, najvece SF konvencije u ovom dijelu Europe na kojem je domaca publike vec imala prilike iskusiti intervjue uživo putem videolinka kada je na SFeraKonu na taj nacin gostovao u nas omiljeni fantasticar, Tad Williams.


Naravno, to nije sve. Kroz poslije podne i vecer na Noc knjige, svi ce posjetitelji, putnici namjernici iz drugih dimezija i galakticki autostoperi SF&F Kornera mo?i saznati kako objaviti pricu u casopisu Sirius B, tko je napisao prvi hrvatski steampunk roman, kakvog je okusa hrvatsko Zmajsko pivo, i što je potrebno da bi sudjelovali i pobijedi u pub kvizu o Igri prijestolja. Neki ce sretnici i osvojiti knjige, majice i šalice u zanimljivim nagradnim igrama.


Uz druženje i razgovore, održat ?e se i nekoliko promocija i najava knjiga, a ako niste iz Zagreba i ne znate se teleportitati, nema mjesta ocaju! Naime, cjelokupan program emitirat ce se u eteru Radija 808. Jer internet je zakon, a SF isto! :)



Magicna Noc knjige: Neil Gaiman i Kate Elliot u Branimir centru!
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

utorak, 21. travnja 2015.

ESFS Awards Nominations & Eurocon 2015

This year’s Eurocon, Worldcon’s European, smaller and younger cousin, will be held from April 23 to April 26, 2015 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1972 at the first meeting of the European Science Fiction Society (ESFS), Eurocon follows the pattern of Worldcons and bid for and then hosted in various places throughout Europe selected by membership vote at previous conventions.


Russia is hosting the event for the second time and has merged it, as is customary in Europe, with a major local convention. This year it is big annual Russian Science Fiction convention Interpresscon. Guests of Honor at Eurocon 2015 are Joe Abercrombie and Michael Stackpole, a Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov is the local GoH and the awesome Finnish fan Jukka Halme is Fan Guest of Honour.


Eurocon is also where the main European SF&F Awards are given out. And the nominees this year are:


 Hall of Fame


Best Author


Best Artist


Best Magazine


Best Publisher


Best Promoter


Best Translator


Spirit of Dedication


Best Artist


Best Performance


Encouragement Awards



ESFS Awards Nominations & Eurocon 2015
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:

petak, 17. travnja 2015.

The new and final Hugo ballot!

Now, some authors have withdrawn their work due to the SP controversy. This, as I understand, is the final Hugo ballot.


If you have never voted for the Hugos, 2015 is a good year to start!


Become a supporting member of Sasquan and vote away! No need to actually go to Worldcon, as I found out to my great dissapointment at Denvention in 2008, since the voting is done months in advance, and online.


The good news is, they will send the e-books, so no need to worry whether the book will reach you by snail mail in time. The bad news, the Hugo voter package used to be a lot more appealing. If you wanted it be so, again – vote! A supporting membership give you not only the voting rights for 2015 but the nominating rights for 2016. :)


BEST NOVEL (1827 ballots)


  • Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

  • The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson (Tor Books)

  • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette) (Tor Books)

  • Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos (47North) (withdrawn)

  • Skin Game by Jim Butcher (Roc Books)

  • The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu translator (Tor Books)

Note: The Three-Body Problem was originally published in Chinese in 2008. The 2014 publication by Tor was the first English-language version, and therefore it is again eligible for the Hugos, according to section 3.4.1 of the WSFS Constitution.


BEST NOVELLA (1083 ballots)


  • Big Boys Don’t Cry by Tom Kratman (Castalia House)

  • “Flow” by Arlan Andrews, Sr. (Analog, Nov 2014)

  • One Bright Star to Guide Them by John C. Wright (Castalia House)

  • “Pale Realms of Shade” by John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House)

  • “The Plural of Helen of Troy” by John C. Wright (City Beyond Time: Tales of the Fall of Metachronopolis, Castalia House)

Note: Both Big Boys Don’t Cry and One Bright Star to Guide Them were previously published in much shorter versions, and were significantly expanded to novella-length in their 2014 publication. Following previous precedents, for the purposes of the 2015 Hugos they are designated as new works.


BEST NOVELETTE (1031 ballots)


  • “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium”, Gray Rinehart (Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show, 05-2014)

  • “Championship B’tok”, Edward M. Lerner (Analog, 09-2014)

  • “The Day the World Turned Upside Down”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lia Belt translator (Lightspeed, 04-2014)

  • “The Journeyman: In the Stone House”, Michael F. Flynn (Analog, 06-2014)

  • “The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale”, Rajnar Vajra (Analog, 07/08-2014)

SHORT STORY (1174 ballots)


  • “Goodnight Stars” by Annie Bellet (The End is Now (Apocalypse Triptych Book 2), Broad Reach Publishing) (withdrawn)

  • “On A Spiritual Plain” by Lou Antonelli (Sci Phi Journal #2, Nov 2014)

  • “The Parliament of Beasts and Birds” by John C. Wright (The Book of Feasts & Seasons, Castalia House)

  • “A Single Samurai”, Steven Diamond (The Baen Big Book of Monsters, Baen Books)

  • “Totaled” by Kary English (Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, July 2014)

  • “Turncoat” by Steve Rzasa (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House)

BEST RELATED WORK (1150 ballots)


  • “The Hot Equations: Thermodynamics and Military SF” by Ken Burnside (Riding the Red Horse, Castalia House)

  • Letters from Gardner by Lou Antonelli (The Merry Blacksmith Press)

  • Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth by John C. Wright (Castalia House)

  • “Why Science is Never Settled” by Tedd Roberts (Baen.com)

  • Wisdom from My Internet by Michael Z. Williamson (Patriarchy Press)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY (785 ballots)


  • Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt, (Marvel Comics)

  • Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery written by Kurtis J. Weibe, art by Roc Upchurch (Image Comics)

  • Saga Volume 3 written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

  • Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick written by Matt Fraction, art by Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)

  • The Zombie Nation Book #2: Reduce Reuse Reanimate by Carter Reid (The Zombie Nation)

DRAMATIC PRESENTATION (LONG FORM) (1285 ballots)


  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, concept and story by Ed Brubaker, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Entertainment, Perception, Sony Pictures Imageworks)

  • Edge of Tomorrow screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth, directed by Doug Liman (Village Roadshow, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment; Viz Productions)

  • Guardians of the Galaxy written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman, directed by James Gunn (Marvel Studios, Moving Picture Company)

  • Interstellar screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan (Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Lynda Obst Productions, Syncopy)

  • The Lego Movie written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, story by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, LEGO System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation (as Warner Animation Group))

DRAMATIC PRESENTATION (SHORT FORM) (938 ballots)


  • Doctor Who: “Listen” written by Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (BBC Television)

  • The Flash: “Pilot” teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, story by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns, directed by David Nutter (The CW) (Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television)

  • Game of Thrones: “The Mountain and the Viper” written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, directed by Alex Graves ((HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)

  • Grimm: “Once We Were Gods” written by Alan DiFiore, directed by Steven DePaul (NBC) (GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV)

  • Orphan Black: “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried“ written by Graham Manson, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions, Space/BBC America)

BEST EDITOR (SHORT FORM) (870 ballots)


  • Jennifer Brozek

  • Vox Day

  • Mike Resnick

  • Edmund R. Schubert

  • Bryan Thomas Schmidt

BEST EDITOR (LONG FORM) (712 ballots)


  • Vox Day

  • Sheila Gilbert

  • Jim Minz

  • Anne Sowards

  • Toni Weisskopf

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST (753 ballots)


  • Julie Dillon

  • Kirk DouPonce

  • Nick Greenwood

  • Alan Pollack

  • Carter Reid

BEST SEMIPROZINE (660 ballots)


  • Abyss & Apex Wendy Delmater editor and publisher

  • Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine Andromeda Spaceways Publishing Association Incorporated, 2014 editors David Kernot and Sue Bursztynski

  • Beneath Ceaseless Skies edited by Scott H. Andrews

  • Lightspeed Magazine edited by John Joseph Adams, Stefan Rudnicki, Rich Horton, Wendy N. Wagner, and Christie Yant

  • Strange Horizons Niall Harrison Editor-in-Chief

BEST FANZINE (576 ballots)


  • Black Gate edited by John O’Neill

  • Elitist Book Reviews edited by Steven Diamond

  • Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Chris Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Colin Harris and Helen Montgomery

  • The Revenge of Hump Day edited by Tim Bolgeo

  • Tangent SF Online edited by Dave Truesdale

BEST FANCAST (668 ballots)


  • Adventures in SF Publishing Brent Bowen (Executive Producer), Kristi Charish, Timothy C. Ward, Shaun Ferrell & Moses Siregar III (Co-Hosts, Interviewers and Producers)

  • Dungeon Crawlers Radio Daniel Swenson (Producer/Host), Travis Alexander & Scott Tomlin (Hosts), Dale Newton (Host/Tech), Damien Swenson (Audio/Video Tech)

  • Galactic Suburbia Podcast Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Presenters) and Andrew Finch (Producer)

  • The Sci Phi Show Jason Rennie

  • Tea and Jeopardy Emma Newman & Peter Newman

BEST FAN WRITER (777 ballots)


  • Dave Freer

  • Amanda S. Green

  • Jeffro Johnson

  • Laura J. Mixon

  • Cedar Sanderson

BEST FAN ARTIST (296 ballots)


  • Ninni Aalto

  • Brad Foster

  • Elizabeth Leggett

  • Spring Schoenhuth

  • Steve Stiles

Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2013 or 2014, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).


CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER (851 ballots)


  • Wesley Chu *

  • Jason Cordova

  • Kary English *

  • Rolf Nelson

  • Eric S. Raymond

*Finalists in their 2nd year of eligibility.



The new and final Hugo ballot!
Objavio/la u Nema komentara:
Pretplati se na: Postovi (Atom)