Ansible 429 -- April 2023

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE(R) 429
APRIL 2023

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE or the arithmetical total ejaculated in a leaky flow.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a429.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a429.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]


### THE PRYING FAN ###

JOHANN GRECH, not a name previously on the tip of my tongue, has seemingly used his role as Malta's film commissioner to inflate his IMDb page with links to many productions -- including _Jurassic World_ and the tv _Foundation_ -- whose credits did _not_ as claimed thank him or list him as additional crew. All this 'completely unethical' stuff was deleted from the page and replaced with links to critical articles. (_Times of Malta_, 13-14 March) [DL]

ADAM ROBERTS's Amazon blurb for _Stealing for the Sky_ has an 'About the author' coda that after the mention of his being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature ends: 'His science fiction has been praised by many critics both inside and outside the genre, with some comparing him to genre authors such as Pel Torro, John E. Muller, and Karl Zeigfreid.' [JB]

R.L. STINE'S best-selling 'Goosebumps' children's horror series has been sanitized like the works of Roald Dahl: 'more than 100 edits such as a character being described as "cheerful" rather than "plump", references to villains making victims "slaves" have been removed and "crazy" has been changed to "silly". (_Times_, 3 March) The initial _Times_ report accused Stine of self-censorship, but he protested that 'the stories aren't true. I've never changed a word in _Goosebumps_. Any changes were never shown to me.' (MSN, 8 March). It seems that Scholastic Books, determined to 'keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person's view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health', did all this without bothering to tell the author.

COLSON WHITEHEAD received a US National Humanities Medal from President Biden on 21 March, for his 'celebrated novels'. [L]


### CONTRABASSO ###

7-10 Apr [] CONVERSATION (Eastercon), Hilton Metropole near the Birmingham NEC. Advance booking closes 31 March. At the door: GBP100 reg or GBP50/day; GBP50 concessions; GBP40 supporting or online only; under-18s GBP20 or GBP10/day; under-13s GBP5. _Main hotel convention room block now filled._ More information at conversation2023.org.uk.

7-10 Apr [] _STAR WARS_ CELEBRATION, ExCel, London. Mostly sold out; Monday or Friday pass GBP65 plus fees. See www.starwarscelebration.com.

14-16 Apr [] CONPULSION (games), Teviot Row House, Edinburgh. Tickets GBP15; GBP8 for Saturday or Sunday only; see conpulsion.org.

22-23 Apr [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.

13-14 May [] STEAMPUNK FAIRYTALE, Belvoir Castle, Grantham. Tickets GBP40; under-17s GBP15; family (2 adults, up to 3 children) GBP55; carers GBP20. See www.belvoircastle.com/castle-book-tickets/.

16 May [] TOLKIEN LECTURE by Maria Dahvana Headley, Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, Oxford. 6pm. See tolkienlecture.org.

26-28 May [] SATELLITE 8, Crowne Plaza, Glasgow. GBP70 reg; under-25s GBP60; under-18s GBP20; under-12s GBP5; under-5s GBP2. _Rates are valid to 17 April 2023 and may rise thereafter._ See eight.satellitex.org.uk.

27-28 May [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials. Further 2023 'convivials' are on 5-6 August and 21-22 October.

31 May - 6 Jun [] SCI-FI LONDON (film festival); London venues include the Picturehouse Central. See sci-fi-london.com.

2-4 Jun [] CYMERA SF FESTIVAL 2023, Edinburgh and online. GBP70 or GBP40 digital, _rising to GBP80/GBP50 on 2 April_. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

3-4 Jun [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. Weekend tickets GBP26.50, _rising on 1 April_. See portsmouthcomiccon.com.

24-28 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Cineworld, Leicester Square, London. Tickets should be on sale from 15 July at frightfest.co.uk/tickets.html.

21-22 Oct [] FINAL FANTASY FESTIVAL, ExCel, London. Weekend tickets GBP159.99. See fanfest2.finalfantasyxiv.com/2023-24/eu/.

3-5 Nov [] ARMADACON 2023, Future Inns, Plymouth. Guests TBA. GBP35 reg; GBP30 concessions. More at www.armadacon.org.

2 Dec [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), Novotel Hammersmith, London. 9am-11pm. Tickets GBP15.50 at www.dragonmeet.co.uk.

8-10 Mar 2024 [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. GBP65 reg. Further details _circa_ July 2023 at www.minamicon.org.uk.

8-12 Aug 2024 [] GLASGOW 2024, Glasgow SEC. GBP170 reg; concessions GBP125; YA (under 26) GBP110; under-16s GBP75; under-11s GBP45; under-6s GBP5. _These rates will rise on 1 May 2023_. See glasgow2024.org.

RUMBLINGS. _Dead by Dawn_, the Edinburgh horror film festival, is homeless since the Filmhouse venue -- host to many events but closed last October -- will not, despite lingering hopes, be rescued by a grateful Festival City: it's 'boarded up and for sale'. (Facebook, 17 March) [ML]


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

BLURBISMO. 'Reading these poems feels like ingesting semantic MDMA, the ectoplasm of a Victorian ghost trying to reach her lover through an unstable wifi connection.' (Nadia de Vries on the jacket of _The Lunar Erratum_ by Maria Sledmere) [PE]

AWARDS. _Academy Awards_ (Oscars): _Everything Everywhere All at Once_ won in seven categories, for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Film Editing.
     _Romantic Novel Awards_, fantasy category: _I Let You Fall_ by Sara Downing.
     _SFWA Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award:_ Greg Bear, Cerece Rennie Murphy.

THE CRITICAL HERITAGE. 'I don't know who needs to hear this but most of the 1-star Amazon reviews for _The Princess Bride_ by William Goldman are people absolutely IRATE that it isn't "the original book" and is instead an "abridged version" by "the screenplay writer."' (Lauren Thoman, Twitter, 3 March) Fans of S. Morgenstern demand justice!

CANCEL CULTURE. The Hong Kong debut of the slasher film _Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey_ (IMDb: 'Pooh and Piglet embark on a bloody rampage as they search for a new source of food.') will not take place despite advance ticket sales of $4.1 million. (_The Register_, 22 March)

A SMEERP BY ANY OTHER NAME. Query to the _SF Encyclopedia_: 'Would you like to acquire the domain name ScienceCartoons.com?' If only Peter Nicholls had called it _The Bumper Book of Science Cartoons_ back in 1979, the sf world would have been so very different.

R.I.P. _Robert Blake_ (1933-2023), US actor in _The Greatest Story Ever Told_ (1965) and _Lost Highway_ (1997), died on 9 March aged 89. [LP]
     _Eric Brown_ (1960-2023), widely liked UK author active since 1987, whose first collection was _The Time-Lapsed Man_ (1990) and who published impressively many sf series and standalone novels, died on 21 March aged 62. He won two BSFA Awards for short fiction. [KB]
     _Valma Brown_ (1950-2023), Australian fanzine and convention fan long married to Leigh Edmonds -- they co-edited _Giant Wombo_ 1979-1980 and were fan guests at the 1991 Australian Natcon -- died unexpectedly on 2 March. [LE] All sympathy to Leigh.
     _Roland F. Crump_ (1930-2023), Disney animator who worked on _Peter Pan_ and others, and influenced the design of Disneyland, died on 12 March aged 93.
     _Bo K. Eriksson_, long-time Swedish fan and genre bookshop employee active from the mid-1970s in sf and Tolkien fandom, was found dead at home in March having probably died in February; he was 70. [J-HH]
     _Wally Fawkes_ (1924-2023), Canadian-born jazz musician and cartoonist who signed his work 'Trog', died on 1 March aged 98. His fondly remembered fantasy-satire strip _Flook_ ran in the _Daily Mail_ from 1949 to 1984, followed by a brief revival in the _Daily/Sunday Mirror_. [SH]
     _Christopher Fowler_ (1953-2023), much admired UK author of urban-weird and supernatural horror fiction, best known for the long 'Bryant & May' detective sequence set in a fantasticated London and sometimes edging into sf territory (as in the 1993 _Seventy-Seven Clocks_), died on 2 March aged 69. [JC] Note that the other Christopher Fowler, past editor of _Vector_ and married to Pat Cadigan, is alive and well.
     _Ed Fury_ (1928-2023), US actor with genre credits from _The Wild Women of Wongo_ (1958) to _Dinosaur Valley Girls_ (1996), died on 24 February aged 94. [F770]
     _Bert I. Gordon_, prolific US producer/director/screenwriter of genre films from _King Dinosaur_ (1955) and _The Amazing Colossal Man_ (1957) via _Village of the Giants_ (1965) to _The Food of the Gods_ (1976) and _Empire of the Ants_ (1977), died on 8 March aged 100. [LP]
     _Paul Grant_, UK actor and stuntman with credits for _Return of the Jedi_ (1983), _Labyrinth_ (1986) and _Willow_ (1988), died on 20 March aged 56. [AIP]
     _John Hale_, publisher at Robert Hale Ltd from 1956 until he retired in 2010, has died aged 92. (_The Bookseller_, 24 March) [AIP]
     _Eve Harvey_ (1951-2023), UK fanzine publisher and convention-runner active from the 1970s, died unexpectedly on 5 March aged 72. With her husband John she co-edited _Ghas_, many issues of BSFA _Matrix_, _Wallbanger_ and multiple fanthologies; she was secretary of the 1979 UK Worldcon, chaired the 1982 Eastercon and won GUFF in 1985. Eve was also an old friend. All sympathy to John.
     _John Jakes_ (1932-2023), US author best known for historical fiction, who before 1980 published space opera such as _When the Star Kings Die_ (1967) and sword-and-sorcery with the Conanesque _Brak the Barbarian_ (1968) plus many sequels -- also sending up the S&S genre in _Mention My Name in Atlantis_ (1972) -- died on 11 March aged 90. [LP]
     _Sandy Levy_, US fan who attended and worked on Chicago-area conventions including Capricon, Windycon and the 2012 and 2022 Worldcons, died on 13 March. [SHS]
     _Javier 'Chabelo' Lopez_ (1935-2023), Mexican actor in _Autopsia de un fantasma_ (1968), _Chabelo y Pepito contra los monstruos_ (1973) and others, died on 25 March aged 88. [SJ]
     _Joe McNally_, Belfast fan once active in APA-B/The Organization, who worked for _Fortean Times_ and whose fanzines included _The Flaneur_, died on 5 March. [SB] He was an occasional _Ansible_ correspondent since the 1990s.
     _Walter Mirisch_ (1921-2023), Oscar-winning US producer whose films include _Dracula_ (1979), died on 24 February aged 101. [AIP]
     _Terry Norris_ (1930-2023), former Australian MP and actor in _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_ (2010), _Mortal Engines_ (2018) and _Bloom_ (2019/2020), died on 21 March aged 92. [GC]
     _Michael Reaves_ (1950-2023), prolific US tv screenwriter and author of much sf and fantasy beginning with _I, Alien_ (1978) and including _InterWorld_ (2007) with Neil Gaiman, died on 20 March aged 72. [GVG]
     _Lance Reddick_ (1962-2023), US actor in _Godzilla vs. Kong_ (2021) and genre tv series including _DuckTales_ (2019), _Castlevania_ (2020) and _Resident Evil_ (2022), died on 17 March aged 60. [LP]
     _Tom Sizemore_ (1961-2023), US actor whose films include _Strange Days_ (1995), _The Relic_ (1997), _Red Planet_ (2000), _The Electric Man_ (2002), _Dreamcatcher_ (2003), _The Immortal Wars_ (2017) and _Night of the Tommyknockers_ (2022), died on 3 March aged 61. [SJ]
     _Valerie (Val) Smith_ (1951-2023), US literary agent whose authors included John M. Ford and Sherwood Smith, died on 2 March aged 71. [GVG]
     _Alfredo 'Pelon' Solares_ (1933-2023), Mexican actor whose films include _Mi fantasma y yo_ (1988), _El vampiro enamorado_ (1996) and _The Wailer 2_ (2007), died on 20 March aged 89. [SJ]
     _John D. Teehan_ (1967-2023), US author of short fiction from 2003, co-editor of a 2012 _SFWA Bulletin_, and publisher as Merry Blacksmith Press, died on 23 February. [SHS]
     _D.M. Thomas_ (1935-2023), noted UK author who wrote sf poems for _New Worlds_ 1968-1979 and used fantastic elements in _The White Hotel_ (1981) and other novels, died on 26 March aged 88. [DP]
     _Bill Tidy MBE_ (1933-2023), highly popular UK cartoonist whose famed tripe-magnates strip _The Fosdyke Saga_ (1971-1984 _Daily Mirror_) strayed occasionally into sf territory -- as, more often, did the science-based _Grimbledon Down_ (1970-1994 _New Scientist_) -- died on 11 March aged 89. [HB] I loved his work.
     _Topol_ (1935-2023), Palestine-born actor whose genre roles include Dr Zarkov in _Flash Gordon_ (1980), died on 8 March aged 87. [AW]
     _Dubravka Ugresic_ (1949-2023), Croatia-born author and translator whose novel _Baba Yaga Laid an Egg_ (2010) won a Tiptree Award, died on 17 March. [GVG]
     _Peter Werner_ (1947-2023), Oscar-winning US director whose credits include _Doorways_ (1994), _House of Frankenstein_ (1997), _Medium_ (2005-2011) and _Ghost Whisperer_ (2006-2009), died on 21 March aged 76. [AIP]
     _Boris Zhutovsky_ (1932-2023), Russian artist for many genre books including titles by Calvino and Lem, died on 8 March. [AM]

THE WEAKEST LINK. _Host:_ 'In the Tales of Beatrix Potter, what sort of animal is Pigling Bland?' _Contestant:_ 'A rabbit.' (ITV, _Tipping Point_) [PE]

COURT CIRCULAR. A New York district judge decided in favour of the publishers who sued the Internet Archive for what IA called 'fair use' copying and digital lending of copyright work: 'There is nothing transformative about IA's copying and unauthorized lending of the Works in Suit.' (Full judgement at Courtlistener.com, 24 March) [F770]

BSFA AWARD FINALISTS. NOVEL Adrian Tchaikovsky, _City of Last Chances_; Aliette de Bodard, _The Red Scholar's Wake_; Adam Roberts, _The This_; Gareth Powell, _Stars and Bones_; EJ Swift, _The Coral Bones_.
     YOUNGER READERS T. Kingfisher, _Illuminations_; Frances Hardinge, _Unraveller_; Kate Dylan, _Mindwalker_; Gina Chen, _Violet Made of Thorns_; Juno Dawson, _Her Majesty's Royal Coven_; Vanessa Len, _Only a Monster_; Xiran Jay Zhao, _Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor_.
     SHORT Or Luca, _Luca_; Aliette de Bodard, _Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances_; Rick Danforth, 'Seller's Remorse' (_Hexagon_ 11); Adrian Tchaikovsky, _Ogres_; Neil Williamson, 'A Moment of Zugzwang' (_ParSec_ 4).
     NON-FICTION Rob Wilkins, _Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes_; Maureen Kincaid Speller, 'The Critic and the Clue: Tracking Alan Garner's _Treacle Walker_' (_Strange Horizons_ 21/1/22); Fiona Moore, _Management Lessons from Game of Thrones: Organization Theory and Strategy in Westeros_; Wole Talabi and the ASFS, 'Preliminary Observations from an Incomplete History of African SFF' (SFWA); Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, 'Too Dystopian For Whom? A Continental Nigerian Writer's Perspective' (_Uncanny_ 10/9/22).
     ARTWORK Alyssa Winans, _The Red Scholar's Wake_ by Aliette de Bodard; Manzi Jackson, _Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction_; Chris Baker, _Shoreline of Infinity_ 32; Vincent Sammy, _Parsec_ 4; Miguel Co, _Song of the Mango and Other New Myths_; Jay Johnstone, _The Way the Light Bends_.

PHYSICS MASTERCLASS. 'It took but a slight inertia for them to leap up over the edge of the pit's mouth.' (Neil R. Jones, October 1934 _Amazing_)

RANDOM FANDOM. _Fanac.org_ announced in March that the site now hosts more than 20,000 digitally archived fanzine issues.
     _Worldcon 2023._ The Chengdu email about an online Hugo voting problem fell foul of many spam filters: 'As striving for better service and experience of the official website, the functionalities are under upgrading.' Now fixed.

NEBULA FINALISTS (selected): NOVEL _Legends & Lattes_ by Travis Baldree; _Spear_ by Nicola Griffith; _Nettle and Bone_ by T. Kingfisher; _Babel_ by R.F. Kuang; _Nona the Ninth_ by Tamsyn Muir; _The Mountain in the Sea_ by Ray Nayler.
     YA: _Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion_ by K. Tempest Bradford; _The Scratch Daughters_ by H.A. Clarke; _The Mirrorwood_ by Deva Fagan; _The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester_ by Maya MacGregor; _Every Bird a Prince_ by Jenn Reese.
     DRAMATIC _Andor_: 'One Way Out'; _Everything Everywhere All at Once_; _Nope_; _Our Flag Means Death_; _The Sandman_: Season 1; _Severance_.
     For novella, novelette, short story and game writing see nebulas.sfwa.org/58th-nebula-awards-finalists/.

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Sean CW Korsgaard of Baen Books thought to detect vote-rigging in the Nebula novel finalists listed above: 'And I will point out a book from Baen led the Nebula ballot for best novel this year ... and yet didn't get a nomination.' (Facebook, March) His smoking gun is a screenshot from a 'trusted source' of an uncaptioned list with Baen's book _The Dabare Snake Launcher_ by Joelle Presby at the top. Queried by _File 770_, the SFWA Communications Director confirmed this was the members-only Suggested Reading List -- of recommendations, not votes -- mysteriously stripped of the boldface text that says 'Please note this list is not the preliminary ballot or nomination tally and does not affect the Nebula Award nominations or final results in any way.' [F770] Presumably some naughty SFWA member was pulling Korsgaard's leg.

THE DEAD PAST. _20 Years Ago:_ 'Thog's Translator Masterclass. "... there is practically no radioactivity in the soil of this part of the galaxy." (Stanislaw Lem, _The Invincible_, 1976 Penguin UK translation)' (_Ansible_ 189, April 2003) 'A Pratchettian moment was spotted in a press release on safety testing from the snappily titled European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardization: "In one test, the luggage itself broke into the passenger compartment, potentially threatening other occupants."' (_Ibid_)
     _50 Years Ago_ at Eastercon 1973 (OMPAcon), 'The British Sf Award was not presented this year due to popular apathy.' (_Checkpoint_ 37, April 1973)

FANFUNDERY. _Canadian Unity Fan Fund:_ Garth Spencer won unopposed as delegate to this year's NASFiC, Pemmi-Con in Winnipeg (July).
     _European Fan Fund final warning:_ voting ends 10 April. See fandomrover.com/2023/02/02/eff-race-begins/.
     _TAFF final warning:_ voting ends on 11 April. See taff.org.uk/vote.php. Further free TAFF ebooks are Walt Willis's _The Harp Stateside_ (1952 trip report) and _The Harp That Once or Twice_ (the famous fanzine columns), with a final Willis collection almost completed; and three TAFF reports, Jeanne Gomoll's _TAFForensic Report_ (1987 trip), Martin Tudor's _Have Bag, Will Travel_ (1996) and Suzanne Tompkins's _Jerry's Suzle's 2005 TAFF Trip Report_ written with Jerry Kaufman. Many thanks! See all the ebooks at taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?all.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS._ In Space You Can Hear:_ 'Z -- BROOMER -- ERANGA -- OOMMERA-CRACKER -- ERASH ... ERASH ... ASH!' _The sound is explained:_ 'Sitting there, transfixed, helpless, Craig drew on his remaining strength of mind to tell himself that they were caught up in the middle of an exploding sun!' (Terence Haile,_ Galaxies Ahead_, 1963)
     _Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'The eyes of the voice opened to look at him.' 'Her eyes glided carefully over the remarkable knife sheathed at his belt.' (Terry Goodkind, _The Pillars of Creation_, 2002) [AR]
     _True Romance._ 'She moaned as she urgently collected his sac together in her greedy hand.' (_Ibid_) [AR]
     _Simile Dept._ 'Sebastian stood out like a swan among maggots.' (_Ibid_) [AR]
     _Dept of Folding._ 'Rikka folded her bare arms atop her nearly bare bosom.' (Terry Goodkind, _Naked Empire_, 2003) [AR] 'Jagang folded his husky arms across his massive chest.' (Terry Goodkind, _Phantom_, 2006) [AR]
     _Trauma Dept._ 'Richard felt goose bumps race up his legs.' (_Ibid_) [AR]


### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
     British Isles -- https://news.ansible.uk
     London -- https://news.ansible.uk/london.html
     Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


### ENDNOTES ###

PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Donate to support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
https://ansible.uk/paypal.html
https://ae.ansible.uk/
https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

GROUP THEORY.
     14 April 2023, 7:45pm: Alastair Reynolds talks to the Birmingham SF Group at Millennium Point, Birmingham. GBP3.15 via Zoom (free to BSFG members), GBP6 in person (members GBP3).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bsfg-and-millennium-point-birmingham-welcome-sf-author-alastair-reynolds-tickets-592930269397
     20 April 2023, evening: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of each month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to the Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.'
https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

EDITORIAL. Bad news for UK fanzine publishers who still cling to the Old Technology of print: postage rates increase on 3 April, with second class rising from 68p to 75p, first class from 95p to GBP1.10 and air letters from GBP1.85 to GBP2.20.
https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2023-03/royal-mail-our-prices-april-2023-ta.pdf

R.I.P. LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Shelby Bush_ (1952-2022) , US fan and convention worker who was active in APAs (SFPA, SAPS) and edited 20 issues of _Fosfax_ , died on 30 June 2022. [LAZ]
     _Joe Giella_ (1928-2023), US comics artist active from 1946 to 2016, with a two-decade stint as a DC inker plus syndicate work for _Batman_, _Flash Gordon_ and _The Phantom_, died on 21 March aged 94. [F770]
     _Frank C. Johnson_ (1953-2019), long-time US fan and associate member of First Fandom whose fanzines included _Conglomeration_ and _Schmoob_, died on 19 March 2019 aged 65. (_Scientifiction_ 75)
     _Della Van Hise_ (1955-2021), US author whose novels include _Star Trek #24: Killing Time_ (1985), died on 3 March 2021 aged 65. [JC]
     _Robert Wells_ (1929-2021), UK author of _The Parasaurians_ (1969) and three other sf novels, died on 12 November 2021 aged 92. [JC]

C.O.A. Anyone with links to John Coxon's site chickensinenvelopes.net is warned that it surreptitiously moved house during the pandemic and can now be found at procrastinations.co.uk.

THE DEAD PAST II. Can it really be thirty years ago this Easter that I edited the Jersey Eastercon newsletter _Heliograph_? The evidence, alas, persists online, both the thing itself and the 'making of' saga....
https://ansible.uk/cons/helindex.html
http://www.jophan.org/mimosa/m28/langford.htm

RUMBLINGS II. _Aliette de Bodard's and Alastair Reynolds's_ online genre writing course (weekly sessions on Tuesday evenings, November-December) was already sold out before _Ansible_ heard about it:
http://approachingpavonis.blogspot.com/2023/02/teaching-sf-and-f-with-aliette.html
http://www.tynewydd.wales/course/digital-course-sci-fi-fantasy/

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
     _Doctor Who_ in the _Radio Times_ (with thanks to Sandra Bond)
https://www.doctorwhointheradiotimes.com/
     _Eclectic Dreams: A Milford Anthology_ (with Langford story)
https://www.milfordsf.co.uk/anthology.htm
     Christopher Fowler (1953-2023)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/03/bryant-may-novelist-christopher-fowler-has-died-aged-69
     The Inquisitor meets those meddling kids, and also a famous starship.
http://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/03/21/inquisitor-1794-snack-time-by-phi/
http://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/03/28/inquistor-1795-come-into-force-by-apt/
     _TAFF est_ #1: March 2023 TAFF newsletter
https://taff.org.uk/news/TAFFest.pdf

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 189, April 2003. _Physics Dept._ '... no, affinity wasn't quite the right word, it felt more like they were two north poles of a bipolar magnet, each vigorously, automatically repelled by the other.' (Jo Clayton, _Blue Magic_, 1988)
     _Dept of Anatomy._ 'Ace crept back down the corridor, her heart pounding in her neck. She swallowed, trying to push it away, concentrate on what she was doing, but it wouldn't shift.' (Dale Smith, _Dr Who -- Heritage_, 2002)
     _Dept of Genealogy._ 'Lord Voldemort -- who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin ...' (J.K. Rowling, _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_, 1998)
     _Classics Dept._ 'We are between the wild thoat of certainty and the mad zitidar of fact -- we can escape neither.' (Edgar Rice Burroughs, _The Gods of Mars_, 1918)


_Ansible_(R) 429 (C) David Langford, 2023. Thanks to John Bark, Harry Bell, Sandra Bond, John Clute, Keith Brooke, Gary Couzens, Leigh Edmonds, _File 770_, Steve Holland, John-Henri Holmberg, Steve Jones, Denny Lien, _Locus_, Michael J. Lowrey, Andrey Meshavkin, Lawrence Person, Andrew I. Porter, David Pringle, _Private Eye_, Adam Roberts, Steven H Silver, Gordon Van Gelder, Andrew Wells, Leah A. Zeldes, and our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Brum Group), Nigel Rowe (Corflu Craic), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia).

31 March 2023