Ansible 441 -- April 2024
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Apr 2, 2024, 12:20:50 PMApr 2
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ANSIBLE(R) 441
APRIL 2024
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 average air speed of the solitary oesophagus.
[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a441.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a441.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]
LEVITATION, the Telford Eastercon, is now over. Good times were reportedly had, both virtually and by 450+ on-site attendees.
THE BSFA AWARDS: ARTWORK cover by Leo Nickolls for _The Surviving Sky_ by Kritika H. Rao. AUDIO FICTION _The Dex Legacy_ by Emily Inkpen. COLLECTION _Best of British SF 2022_ ed. Donna Scott. FOR YOUNGER READERS. _The Library of Broken Worlds_ by Alaya Dawn Johnson. NONFICTION (LONG) _A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid_ Speller ed. Nina Allan. NONFICTION (SHORT) _Project Management Lessons from Rogue One_ by Fiona Moore. NOVEL _The Green Man's Quarry_ by Juliet McKenna. SHORT 'How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub' by P. Djeli Clark. SHORTER _And Put Away Childish Things_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky. TRANSLATED SHORTER FICTION 'Vanishing Tracks in the Sand' by Jana Bianchi, trans. Rachael Amoruso.
EXCLUSION ACT. One officially unnamed fan, understood to be Dave McCarty of 2023 Hugo infamy, tried to join at the door and was turned away. Why? _Chorus:_ 'The rules we must follow.' For commentary see _File 770_ (30 March).
EASTERCON 2026: a bid from Phil Dyson and the Reclamation 2022 team is taking shape.
THIRST! The real ale traditionally ran out _circa_ 4pm on Sunday.
DOC WEIR AWARD, causing great bogglement at _Ansible_ HQ: David Langford. Many thanks, kind voters!
### THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER ###
NATASHA BARDON of HarperVoyager and Magpie declined her Hugo nomination -- Best Editor, Long Form -- largely owing to 'the censorship in 2023'. Other refuseniks are Martha Wells (Novel; see Awards below), Hai Ya (Novelette), Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood (tweets in Related Work) and Camestros Felapton (Fan Writer, just 'skipping this year').
DAVID V. BARRETT looked back to his 2015 triumph when _The Bookseller_ ran a quarter-page apology from the author (academic Stephen J. Hunt) and publisher of a book that extensively plagiarized his 1996 _Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions_; all copies were to be destroyed. Alas, he discovered that Routledge had since taken over the offending publisher and reissued the 'forever withdrawn' title in their Routledge Revivals series. 'Emails are now flying around....' (Facebook, 14 March)
DONATO GIANCOLA was not happy to find a figure from his _Cyberpunk 2020: Ravengers_ painting recycled (flipped left/right, crudely modified) on a _Magic: The Gathering_ card by Fay Dalton. 'Copied and pasted. This is not about "similarities", this is about direct copying.' (Facebook, 26 March) The card's other character came from a 1958 thriller magazine cover. Wizards of the Coast responded: 'As we have looked into this further, we're now suspending future work with Fay Dalton.' (29 March)
GREGORY MANCHESS received the Chesley life achievement award for his career in genre art. For all Chesley winners see _File 770_ (29 March).
BRYAN TALBOT is one of the 2024 inductees into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for life achievement in comics work.
### CONSENTIENCY ###
3-7 April [] DRAGONS & MYTHICAL BEASTS (exhibition), Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London. From GBP14. See tinyurl.com/bp8pjvmp.
SOLD OUT 6 Apr [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), King's House, Ampthill Road, Bedford, MK42 9AZ. 10am-5:30pm. Tickets GBP49.50; under-14s GBP20. See bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.
12-14 Apr [] SPRINGMOOT (Tolkien Society), annual dinner and members-only AGM, Jesus College, Cambridge. Room and dinner bookings at www.tolkiensociety.org/events/agm-and-springmoot-2024.
14 Apr [] STARS OF TIME (comics), LC, Swansea. 10am-4:30pm. GBP10 plus booking fee; other rates at www.starsoftime.co.uk.
20-21 Apr [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.
27-28 Apr [] CELLULOID SCREAMS all-night horror film festival, Sheffield. 11pm-9am. GBP20. See celluloidscreams.co.uk.
3-6 May [] PARACINEMA CULT FILM FESTIVAL, QUAD Center, Derby. GBP45; GBP25 concessions. Tickets available at paracinema.co.uk.
11-12 May [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth.GBP37; GBP19.50 concessions; day rates and more at portsmouthcomiccon.com.
15-17 May [] GIFCON (University of Glasgow conference), 'Conjuring Creatures and Worlds', online. See tinyurl.com/yfdbvdwj.
18-19 May [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
31 May - 2 Jun [] FUNCON ONE, Palace Hotel, Buxton. _Now GBP70 reg;_ GBP80 with added 'warm fuzzy feeling'; GBP40 concessions. See funcon.lol.
23-26 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), London, various cinemas. Details to follow at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.
24-25 Aug [] DUBLIN COMIC CON, Convention Centre, Dublin. Various ticket prices (extra for early entry, etc.) at dublincomiccon.com.
31 Oct - 3 Nov [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL, Banshee Labyrinth and Lauriston Castle. More at edinburghhorrorfestival.co.uk.
7-9 Feb 2025 [] CONTABILE 35 (filk), 'central UK' venue and membership rates to be announced at www.contabile.org.uk/c35/.
7-9 Mar 2025 [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. Registration awaited July/August at www.minamicon.org.uk.
11-13 Apr 2025 [] CORFLU 42 (fan), Chequers Hotel, Newbury. GBP75/$95 reg; GBP25/$32 supp; GBP10/$15 virtual. More details at corflu.org.
13-17 Aug 2025 [] SEATTLE WORLDCON 2025, Seattle, WA, USA. _Now $200 reg;_ under-25s $100; under-18s $75; under-13s free; virtual $85; WSFS only (Hugo and site voting) $50. See seattlein2025.org.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS WE SAW OURSELVES. John Christopher fretted about sf morality in the 1950s: 'Quite apart from those magazines whose chief and obvious preoccupation is a mixing of sex with science fiction, what should be the honest core of the field is riddled with this form of nastiness. One of the leading science-fiction magazines in America regularly publishes material of an unpleasant nature. In a copy recently encountered of one of the American second-string magazines, there was a story whose theme was simply that of incest. One of the leading British fantasy magazines appears every issue with a "cheese-cake" cover.' (_Authentic SF_, April 1953) [GP]
AWARDS. _Crawford Award_ (fantasy debut): _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
_Hugo_ novel finalists: _The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi_ by Shannon Chakraborty, _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _Some Desperate Glory_ by Emily Tesh, _Starter Villain_ by John Scalzi, _Translation State_ by Ann Leckie, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who declined nomination for her Murderbot novel _System Collapse_). The full list is at glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/2024-hugo-award-finalists/. 1720 valid nominating ballots were received.
_Nebula_ novel finalists: _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _The Water Outlaws_ by S.L. Huang, _Translation State_ by Ann Leckie, _The Terraformers_ by Annalee Newitz, _Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon_ by Wole Talabi, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who declined nomination for _System Collapse_). Full list at www.sfwa.org/blogs/sfwa-blog/.
_Oscars._ Best animated film: _The Boy and the Heron_. _Poor Things_ had four wins in the lesser categories; _Barbie_ and _Godzilla Minus One_ each had one.
_Philip K. Dick Award:_ _These Burning Stars_ by Bethany Jacobs.
_Robert A. Heinlein Award:_ Tom Doherty.
_SFWA Infinity Award_ (posthumous Grandmaster): Tanith Lee.
THOG'S SCIENCE MASTERCLASS. 'Looks like the neutrinos from the sun have mutated into a new kind of particle!' (_2012_ dir. Roland Emmerich, 2009)
R.I.P. _Martin Bax_ (1933-2024), UK doctor, co-founding long-time editor of _Ambit_ magazine, and author whose sf novel was _The Hospital Ship_ (1976), died in March aged 90. [DP]
_Bob Beerbohm_ (1952-2024), US comics fan, dealer and valued historian, died on 27 March aged 71. [SHS]
_Viktor Benkovsky_ (1959-2024), Russian author of _Anachron_ (2000) plus two further novels -- all with Elena Khayetskaya -- and translator of Dick and Spinrad, died on 9 March. [AM]
_Colin Bennett_, UK actor and writer who wrote the children's sf series _Luna_ (1983-1984, in which he acted) and _Captain Zep -- Space Detective_ (1984), died on 23 February. He was also in the tv _Hitchhiker's Guide_ (1981). [NJ]
_Edward Bond_ (1934-2024), controversial UK playwright who used sf themes in the post-holocaust 'War Plays' (1984-1985) and elsewhere, died on 3 March aged 89. [JC]
_Roger Noel Cook_ (1946-2024), UK comics writer, musician and editor who as a _TV Comic_ staff writer (from 1964) scripted many _Doctor Who_ storylines, died on 10 March aged 77. [SH]
_Dianne Crittenden_ (1941-2024), US casting director for _Star Wars_ (1977), _Howard the Duck_ (1986), _Volcano_ (1997) and others, died on 19 March aged 82. [AIP]
_Michael Culver_ (1938-2024), UK actor in _The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980) and genre tv series, died on 27 February aged 85. [LP]
_Laurent de Brunhoff_ (1925-2024), French artist and illustrator who continued his father's now famous 'Babar the Elephant' children's books with more than 45 titles, died on 22 March aged 98. [AIP]
_Tom Digby_ (1940-2024), US fan, filker and fanzine publisher who was a fan GoH at the 1993 Worldcon, died on 27 March aged 84.
_Mark Dodson_ (1960-2024), US actor with voice roles in _Return of the Jedi_ (1983) and _Gremlins_ (1984), died on 2 March aged 64. [AIP]
_Kirk Dougal_ (1966-2024), US author of the 7-volume 'Tale of Bone and Steel' fantasy series (2020-2022) died on 18 March aged 57. [SHS]
_Max Fellwalker_ (1966-2024) US artist who worked on comics for DC and Eclipse, and for games companies including White Wolf and WotC, died on 14 March. [SHS]
_Gunnar Gallmo_ (1946-2023), Swedish fan and translator active since the mid-1970s -- translating Asimov, Dick, Harrison, Heinlein, Le Guin, Simak, Tubb and others -- died on 8 December aged 77. [J-HH]
_Deb Geisler_, US fan and con-runner who edited books for NESFA Press and chaired Boskone 36 and the 2004 Worldcon, died on 23 March aged 66. [GS] She is survived by her husband Michael Benveniste, to whom much sympathy.
_Louis Gossett Jr._ (1936-2024), US actor in _Enemy Mine_ (1985), _Stargate SG-1_ (2005-2006) and the tv _Watchmen_ (2019), died on 28 March aged 87. [AIP]
_Ron Harper_ (1933-2024), US actor in the tv _Planet of the Apes_ (1974) and _Land of the Lost_ (1976), plus sf films _Venomous_ (2001) and _Glass Trap_ (2005), died on 21 March aged 91. [LP]
_Mutsumi Inomata_ (1960-2024), Japanese artist, videogame character designer and former animator whose many credits include _Fist of the North Star_ (1984) and _Future GPX Cyber Formula_ (1991), died on 10 March aged 63. [JonC]
_Dick Jenssen_ (Martin James Ditmar Jenssen, 1935-2024), long-time Australian fan active since 1952 (when he was a founder of the Melbourne SF Club), died on 7 March aged 88. Australia's Ditmar Awards are named after him; he won two as best fan artist for his striking computer-graphics covers seen on _SF Commentary_ and other fanzines, and also the 2016 Rotsler Award for life achievement in fan art. [EC/BG]
_Bernard Kops_ (1926-2024), UK author of supernatural plays and the time-travel novel _The Odyssey of Samuel Glass_ (2012), died on 24 February aged 97. [JC]
_Malachy McCourt_ (1931-2024), US-born Irish actor in _Q: The Winged Serpent_ (1982), _After.Life_ (2009) and genre tv series, died on 11 March aged 92. [LP]
_Tim McGovern_ (1955-2024), US visual effects artist who won an Oscar for his work on _Total Recall_ (1990) and whose many other sf credits range from _Tron_ (1982) to _Shazam: Fury of the Gods_ (2023), died on 30 March aged 68. [AIP]
_Sam Mercer_, US producer whose films include _The Relic_ (1997), _Unbreakable_ (2000), _Signs_ (2002), _The Last Airbender_ (2010) and _The BFG_ (2016), died on 12 February. [AIP]
_James A. Moore_ (1965-2024), prolific US horror/fantasy/sf author whose novels included _Under the Overtree_ (2000), _Fireworks_ (2001) and _Blood Red_ (2005), and whose anthology _The Twisted Book of Shadows_ (2019 with Christopher Golden) won a Shirley Jackson Award, died on 27 March aged 58. [CG]
_Eli Noyes_ (1942-2024), US animator who worked on _Sesame Street_ (1973-1995) and directed episodes of _Liquid Television_ (1991-1994), died on 23 March aged 81. [AIP]
_Grant Page_ (1939-2024), Australian actor/stuntman in _Mad Max_ (1979 plus sequel), _Son of the Mask_ (2005), _Gods of Egypt_ (2016) and many more, died on 14 March aged 84. [SJ]
_Chance Perdomo_ (1996-2024), US actor in _Chilling Adventures of Sabrina_ (2018-2020), _Moominvalley_ (2022) and _Gen V_ (2023) died on 30 March aged 27. [F770]
_Alek Popov_ (1966-2024), award-winning Bulgarian author of the sf parody _Planetata na kauboite_ (_The Cowboys' Planet_, 1993) as by Bad Alex, died on 22 March aged 58. [AM]
_Saul Reichlin_ (1943-2024), South African actor whose many audiobook credits include Peake's _Titus_ trilogy and lots of _Warhammer_ novels, died on 3 January. [AIP]
_Vikki Richards_ (1949-2024), Trinidad-born UK actor in _Curse of the Crimson Altar_ (1968) and _Zeta One/The Love Factor_ (1969), died on 6 March aged 74. [SJ]
_Christian Rodska_ (1945-2024), UK actor in _The Galactic Garden_ (1985), _Doomwatch: Winter Angel_ (1999), _The Ghost of Greville Lodge_ (2000) and others, died on 21 March aged 78. [SJ]
_Barbara Rush_ (1927-2024), US actress in _When Worlds Collide_ (1951), _It Came from Outer Space_ (1953) and others, died on 31 March aged 97. [RH]
_Medeu Sarseke_ (1936-2024), Kazakh author of four sf novels 1959-1965, died on March 20 aged 88. [AM]
_Peter 'Smudge' Smith_, UK fan and convention tech worker who received the 2012 Doc Weir Award, died on 8 March.
_Jon Stopa_ (1935-2024), long-time US fan who published short stories, co-founded Advent:Publishers in 1955, and with his wife Joni was fan GoH at the 1991 Worldcon, died on 4 March aged 88. [F770]
_Akira Toriyama_ (1955-2024), noted Japanese manga creator best known for the long-running _Dragon Ball_ comic that began in 1984 and was adapted as two popular anime tv series plus many films, died on 1 March aged 68. [SF2C]
_Silvia Tortosa_ (1947-2024), Spanish actress in _Horror Express_ (1972), _Las garras de Lorelei_ (_When the Screaming Stops_, 1973) and _Fratello dello spazio_ (_The Brother from Space_, 1988), died on 23 March aged 77. [SJ]
_Vernor Vinge_ (1944-2024), US author of grand space opera and prophet of the Singularity, died on 20 March aged 79. _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (1992) and its prequel _A Deepness in the Sky_ (1999) both won Hugos, as did the lighter-hearted _Rainbows End_ (2006) and his novellas 'Fast Times at Fairmont High' (2001) and 'The Cookie Monster' (2003). He was always a welcome and illuminating presence at conventions.
_M. Emmet Walsh_ (1935-2024), US actor whose many films include _Blade Runner_ (1982), _Critters_ (1986), _The Iron Giant_ (1999) and _Monster!_ (1999), died on 19 March aged 88. [LP]
_James M. Ward_ (1951-2024), US game designer active in the early days of _D&D_, who created the first sf role-playing game _Metamorphosis Alpha_ (1976) and later wrote fantasy novels, died in March aged 72. [MR]
_Paula Weinstein_ (1945-2024), US producer of _The Astronaut Farmer_ (2006) with executive producer credits for other genre films, died on 25 March aged 78. [SHS]
THE WEAKEST LINK. _Question:_ 'The character Big Brother was introduced in which George Orwell novel?' _Contestant:_ '_The BFG_.' (ITV, _Ant and Dec's Limitless Win_) [PE]
RANDOM FANDOM. _FAAn Awards_ for fanzine activity presented at Corflu 41: LIFE ACHIEVEMENT Joe Siclari and Edie Stern, jointly. LETTERHACK Jerry Kaufman. SPECIAL PUBLICATION _Beyond Fandom_ (Rob Hansen). COVER Sue Mason for _Idea_ #13. ARTIST Ulrika O'Brien. WRITER Mark Plummer. PERZINE _This Here ..._ (Nic Farey). GENZINE _SF Commentary_ (Bruce Gillespie). PAST PRESIDENTS (of fwa) Jen Farey and Jerry Kaufman, jointly. The Artist category is being renamed for the late great Steve Stiles.
_Old Fans, and Tired._ The First Fandom Hall of Fame living-fans shortlist comprises Mary and Bill Burns (jointly) and, gulp, David Langford. [F770]
THE DEAD PAST. _40 Years Ago_, Wm. Gibson regretted the 'indefinite postponement of the fanzine-of-comment promised to British faneditors who so generously posted their product down the black hole of my Professional Activity: I was midway through the more or less final draft of ENDLESS FUCKING _NEUROMANCER_, and I'd read them and promise I'd Do Something About It as soon as I was through the damn book. Some six months later, having signed two more contracts (_Count Zero_ for Ace, _Log of the Mustang Sally_ for Arbor), I see where I slipped up.' (_Ansible_ 38, Easter 1984)
_30 Years Ago_, an award non-scandal: 'The _[UK Eastercon]_ committee let slip that "_Ansible_ had more Eastercon Award nominations than the rest of the Short Text category put together; we decided you were ineligible 'cos you won it last year."' (_Ansible_ 81, April 1994)
SMALL PRESS. Julie Ann Dawson's Bards and Sages Publishing closed down on 6 March, both for health reasons and because of the relentless flood of 'AI-generated trash' submissions. (www.bardsandsages.com)
FANFUNDERY. _Get Up and Over Fan Fund (GUFF):_ the 2024 northbound race from Oceania to the Glasgow Worldcon is now on, with candidates Kat Clay and Ian Nichols, both from Australia.Voting closes on 22 April, 23:59 BST. See taff.org.uk/guff.html for links to the PDF ballot and online voting form.
_TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ voting in the 2024 race ends on 2 April. See taff.org.uk.
_European Fan Fund:_ voting in the 2024 race ended on 1 April. Results soon at fandomrover.com/category/eff/.
_TAFF Books._ Currently being proofread for taff.org.uk: Rob Hansen's much expanded _Challenging Moskowitz_ (see _A440_) and my new compilation of all the _New Worlds_ author/artist/etc profiles published by John Carnell 1952-1963. Many thanks to Mike Moorcock for approving the latter.
C.O.A. _Bob Rickard_, 168 Wanstead Lane, Ilford, IG1 3SW.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Simile or Bust!_ 'Helen, with the breasts like clouds ...' 'Her breasts are like mounds of chicken fat.' (both Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny, _Deus Irae_, 1976) [FM] 'Her breasts were like the bags of sand that keep the scenery in place in the school play.' (Rowan Somerville, _Shape of Her_, 2011) [AR]
_Male Gaze Dept._ 'She said something to him, but he was not listening, his eyes campaigning over her buttocks.' (_Ibid_) [AR]
_Escape Velocity._ 'It was for a sum much larger than Fleet had ever seen written on a cheque before, and it took some concentration to prevent his eyebrows flying off the top of his head.' (Chris & Jen Sugden, _High Vaultage_, 2024) [DVB]
_The Charwoman's Shadow._ '_[He]_ had become enamoured of the dainty Portugese girl, and was making swift love to her daily.' (Robert E. Howard, 'Wolfshead', 1926) [JO]
_Deadly Hands Dept._ '"How do you do?" Zimmer said, and extended his hand. His grip was like a moray eel's.' (Ed McBain, _The Last Dance_, 2000) [PL]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
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### 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.
18 April 2024, 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
RANDOM FANDOM II. _Geri Sullivan_ will publish a special section of Deb Geisler memories and tributes in _Idea_ #14. Submissions -- both new and already posted material -- and queries to id...@toad-hall.com, please.
R.I.P. II -- LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Barbara Baldavin_ (1938-2024), US actress in _Star Trek_ (1966-1969) and _Skeeter_ (1993), died on 31 March aged 85. [SJ]
_Sam J. Bellotto Jr._ (1946-2023), editor of _Perihelion SF_ 1967-1969 and later contributor to _Bewildering Stories_, died on 24 December. There are plans to make the entire contents of _Perihelion_ available on Kindle with proceeds going to charity. [EMJ]
_David Kunzle_ (1936-2024), US art historian and pioneer of comics/graphic story studies with his two-volume _The History of the Comic Strip_ (1973, 1990), died on 1 January aged 87. [AIP]
_Thomas D. Sadler_ (1946-2023), US author of some short sf, and fanzine fan best known for 100+ issues of _The Reluctant Famulus_ (1980s-2015), died on 1 February 2023 aged 76. [F770]
THE FUTURE IS TEKON. 'Glasgow 2024 will be having electronic news only, and it is possible that Reconnect will be the last Eastercon with a paper newsletter.' (Levitation newsletter #5)
SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
BSFA Awards finalists
https://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist
FAAn Awards winners, 2024 (with statistics)
https://efanzines.com/TIR/Incompleat2024results.pdf
First Fandom Awards nominees
https://file770.com/2024-first-fandom-awards-nominees/
Hugo Awards finalists
https://glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/2024-hugo-award-finalists/
Levitation ReadMe
https://eastercon2024.co.uk/readme/
Nebula Awards finalists
https://www.sfwa.org/2024/03/14/sfwa-announces-the-finalists-for-the-59th-nebula-awards/
Adam Roberts: 'Under Mirk Wood'
https://medium.com/adams-notebook/under-mirk-wood-25eff4b0e3a1
Charlie Stross: 'A Wonky Experience'
https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/03/a-wonky-experience.html
Vernor Vinge (1944-2024)
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/news/vernor_vinge
THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 201, April 2004. _Transubstantiation Dept._ 'This Caramon pooled, ordering the grain pounded into flour or maize' (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, _War of the Twins_, 1986)
_Likeness Dept._ 'They weren't human; they were a new species. Humanlike, but not like them.' _Blues Dept._ 'The bassist was a tall, pretty older woman whose rugged looks matched her jeans.' (both Paul Black, _The Tels_, 2003)
_Physiognomy Dept._ 'He does a little shifting of the eyes under this shit-eating grin ...' (Steve Martini, _Undue Influence_, 1994)
_Strange Allergens Dept._ 'Primavera put a finger to my lips, her nose wrinkling in an allergy of indecision.' (Richard Calder, _Dead Girls_, 1993)
_Thin Red Line Dept._ '... battalions of blood marching into formation on the parade ground of his face.' (Malcolm Knox, _A Private Man_, 2004)
_Ansible_(R) 441 (C) David Langford, 2024. Thanks to David V. Barrett, Sandra Bond, Claire Brialey, Jonathan Clements, John Clute, Elaine Cochrane, _File 770_, First Fandom, Bruce Gillespie, Christopher Golden, Rob Hansen, Steve Holland, John-Henri Holmberg, Nicholas Jackson, Eric M. Jones, Steve Jones, Levitation, Pamela Love, Andrey Meshavkin, Fiona Moore, Jonathan Oliver, Lawrence Person, Greg Pickersgill, Andrew I. Porter, David Pringle, _Private Eye_, Adam Roberts, Marcus Rowland, _SF2 Concatenation_, Steven H Silver, Geri Sullivan, and our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).
2 April 2024
APRIL 2024
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 average air speed of the solitary oesophagus.
[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a441.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a441.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]
LEVITATION, the Telford Eastercon, is now over. Good times were reportedly had, both virtually and by 450+ on-site attendees.
THE BSFA AWARDS: ARTWORK cover by Leo Nickolls for _The Surviving Sky_ by Kritika H. Rao. AUDIO FICTION _The Dex Legacy_ by Emily Inkpen. COLLECTION _Best of British SF 2022_ ed. Donna Scott. FOR YOUNGER READERS. _The Library of Broken Worlds_ by Alaya Dawn Johnson. NONFICTION (LONG) _A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid_ Speller ed. Nina Allan. NONFICTION (SHORT) _Project Management Lessons from Rogue One_ by Fiona Moore. NOVEL _The Green Man's Quarry_ by Juliet McKenna. SHORT 'How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub' by P. Djeli Clark. SHORTER _And Put Away Childish Things_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky. TRANSLATED SHORTER FICTION 'Vanishing Tracks in the Sand' by Jana Bianchi, trans. Rachael Amoruso.
EXCLUSION ACT. One officially unnamed fan, understood to be Dave McCarty of 2023 Hugo infamy, tried to join at the door and was turned away. Why? _Chorus:_ 'The rules we must follow.' For commentary see _File 770_ (30 March).
EASTERCON 2026: a bid from Phil Dyson and the Reclamation 2022 team is taking shape.
THIRST! The real ale traditionally ran out _circa_ 4pm on Sunday.
DOC WEIR AWARD, causing great bogglement at _Ansible_ HQ: David Langford. Many thanks, kind voters!
### THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER ###
NATASHA BARDON of HarperVoyager and Magpie declined her Hugo nomination -- Best Editor, Long Form -- largely owing to 'the censorship in 2023'. Other refuseniks are Martha Wells (Novel; see Awards below), Hai Ya (Novelette), Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood (tweets in Related Work) and Camestros Felapton (Fan Writer, just 'skipping this year').
DAVID V. BARRETT looked back to his 2015 triumph when _The Bookseller_ ran a quarter-page apology from the author (academic Stephen J. Hunt) and publisher of a book that extensively plagiarized his 1996 _Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions_; all copies were to be destroyed. Alas, he discovered that Routledge had since taken over the offending publisher and reissued the 'forever withdrawn' title in their Routledge Revivals series. 'Emails are now flying around....' (Facebook, 14 March)
DONATO GIANCOLA was not happy to find a figure from his _Cyberpunk 2020: Ravengers_ painting recycled (flipped left/right, crudely modified) on a _Magic: The Gathering_ card by Fay Dalton. 'Copied and pasted. This is not about "similarities", this is about direct copying.' (Facebook, 26 March) The card's other character came from a 1958 thriller magazine cover. Wizards of the Coast responded: 'As we have looked into this further, we're now suspending future work with Fay Dalton.' (29 March)
GREGORY MANCHESS received the Chesley life achievement award for his career in genre art. For all Chesley winners see _File 770_ (29 March).
BRYAN TALBOT is one of the 2024 inductees into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for life achievement in comics work.
### CONSENTIENCY ###
3-7 April [] DRAGONS & MYTHICAL BEASTS (exhibition), Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London. From GBP14. See tinyurl.com/bp8pjvmp.
SOLD OUT 6 Apr [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), King's House, Ampthill Road, Bedford, MK42 9AZ. 10am-5:30pm. Tickets GBP49.50; under-14s GBP20. See bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.
12-14 Apr [] SPRINGMOOT (Tolkien Society), annual dinner and members-only AGM, Jesus College, Cambridge. Room and dinner bookings at www.tolkiensociety.org/events/agm-and-springmoot-2024.
14 Apr [] STARS OF TIME (comics), LC, Swansea. 10am-4:30pm. GBP10 plus booking fee; other rates at www.starsoftime.co.uk.
20-21 Apr [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.
27-28 Apr [] CELLULOID SCREAMS all-night horror film festival, Sheffield. 11pm-9am. GBP20. See celluloidscreams.co.uk.
3-6 May [] PARACINEMA CULT FILM FESTIVAL, QUAD Center, Derby. GBP45; GBP25 concessions. Tickets available at paracinema.co.uk.
11-12 May [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth.GBP37; GBP19.50 concessions; day rates and more at portsmouthcomiccon.com.
15-17 May [] GIFCON (University of Glasgow conference), 'Conjuring Creatures and Worlds', online. See tinyurl.com/yfdbvdwj.
18-19 May [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
31 May - 2 Jun [] FUNCON ONE, Palace Hotel, Buxton. _Now GBP70 reg;_ GBP80 with added 'warm fuzzy feeling'; GBP40 concessions. See funcon.lol.
23-26 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), London, various cinemas. Details to follow at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.
24-25 Aug [] DUBLIN COMIC CON, Convention Centre, Dublin. Various ticket prices (extra for early entry, etc.) at dublincomiccon.com.
31 Oct - 3 Nov [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL, Banshee Labyrinth and Lauriston Castle. More at edinburghhorrorfestival.co.uk.
7-9 Feb 2025 [] CONTABILE 35 (filk), 'central UK' venue and membership rates to be announced at www.contabile.org.uk/c35/.
7-9 Mar 2025 [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. Registration awaited July/August at www.minamicon.org.uk.
11-13 Apr 2025 [] CORFLU 42 (fan), Chequers Hotel, Newbury. GBP75/$95 reg; GBP25/$32 supp; GBP10/$15 virtual. More details at corflu.org.
13-17 Aug 2025 [] SEATTLE WORLDCON 2025, Seattle, WA, USA. _Now $200 reg;_ under-25s $100; under-18s $75; under-13s free; virtual $85; WSFS only (Hugo and site voting) $50. See seattlein2025.org.
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS WE SAW OURSELVES. John Christopher fretted about sf morality in the 1950s: 'Quite apart from those magazines whose chief and obvious preoccupation is a mixing of sex with science fiction, what should be the honest core of the field is riddled with this form of nastiness. One of the leading science-fiction magazines in America regularly publishes material of an unpleasant nature. In a copy recently encountered of one of the American second-string magazines, there was a story whose theme was simply that of incest. One of the leading British fantasy magazines appears every issue with a "cheese-cake" cover.' (_Authentic SF_, April 1953) [GP]
AWARDS. _Crawford Award_ (fantasy debut): _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
_Hugo_ novel finalists: _The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi_ by Shannon Chakraborty, _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _Some Desperate Glory_ by Emily Tesh, _Starter Villain_ by John Scalzi, _Translation State_ by Ann Leckie, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who declined nomination for her Murderbot novel _System Collapse_). The full list is at glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/2024-hugo-award-finalists/. 1720 valid nominating ballots were received.
_Nebula_ novel finalists: _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _The Water Outlaws_ by S.L. Huang, _Translation State_ by Ann Leckie, _The Terraformers_ by Annalee Newitz, _Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon_ by Wole Talabi, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who declined nomination for _System Collapse_). Full list at www.sfwa.org/blogs/sfwa-blog/.
_Oscars._ Best animated film: _The Boy and the Heron_. _Poor Things_ had four wins in the lesser categories; _Barbie_ and _Godzilla Minus One_ each had one.
_Philip K. Dick Award:_ _These Burning Stars_ by Bethany Jacobs.
_Robert A. Heinlein Award:_ Tom Doherty.
_SFWA Infinity Award_ (posthumous Grandmaster): Tanith Lee.
THOG'S SCIENCE MASTERCLASS. 'Looks like the neutrinos from the sun have mutated into a new kind of particle!' (_2012_ dir. Roland Emmerich, 2009)
R.I.P. _Martin Bax_ (1933-2024), UK doctor, co-founding long-time editor of _Ambit_ magazine, and author whose sf novel was _The Hospital Ship_ (1976), died in March aged 90. [DP]
_Bob Beerbohm_ (1952-2024), US comics fan, dealer and valued historian, died on 27 March aged 71. [SHS]
_Viktor Benkovsky_ (1959-2024), Russian author of _Anachron_ (2000) plus two further novels -- all with Elena Khayetskaya -- and translator of Dick and Spinrad, died on 9 March. [AM]
_Colin Bennett_, UK actor and writer who wrote the children's sf series _Luna_ (1983-1984, in which he acted) and _Captain Zep -- Space Detective_ (1984), died on 23 February. He was also in the tv _Hitchhiker's Guide_ (1981). [NJ]
_Edward Bond_ (1934-2024), controversial UK playwright who used sf themes in the post-holocaust 'War Plays' (1984-1985) and elsewhere, died on 3 March aged 89. [JC]
_Roger Noel Cook_ (1946-2024), UK comics writer, musician and editor who as a _TV Comic_ staff writer (from 1964) scripted many _Doctor Who_ storylines, died on 10 March aged 77. [SH]
_Dianne Crittenden_ (1941-2024), US casting director for _Star Wars_ (1977), _Howard the Duck_ (1986), _Volcano_ (1997) and others, died on 19 March aged 82. [AIP]
_Michael Culver_ (1938-2024), UK actor in _The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980) and genre tv series, died on 27 February aged 85. [LP]
_Laurent de Brunhoff_ (1925-2024), French artist and illustrator who continued his father's now famous 'Babar the Elephant' children's books with more than 45 titles, died on 22 March aged 98. [AIP]
_Tom Digby_ (1940-2024), US fan, filker and fanzine publisher who was a fan GoH at the 1993 Worldcon, died on 27 March aged 84.
_Mark Dodson_ (1960-2024), US actor with voice roles in _Return of the Jedi_ (1983) and _Gremlins_ (1984), died on 2 March aged 64. [AIP]
_Kirk Dougal_ (1966-2024), US author of the 7-volume 'Tale of Bone and Steel' fantasy series (2020-2022) died on 18 March aged 57. [SHS]
_Max Fellwalker_ (1966-2024) US artist who worked on comics for DC and Eclipse, and for games companies including White Wolf and WotC, died on 14 March. [SHS]
_Gunnar Gallmo_ (1946-2023), Swedish fan and translator active since the mid-1970s -- translating Asimov, Dick, Harrison, Heinlein, Le Guin, Simak, Tubb and others -- died on 8 December aged 77. [J-HH]
_Deb Geisler_, US fan and con-runner who edited books for NESFA Press and chaired Boskone 36 and the 2004 Worldcon, died on 23 March aged 66. [GS] She is survived by her husband Michael Benveniste, to whom much sympathy.
_Louis Gossett Jr._ (1936-2024), US actor in _Enemy Mine_ (1985), _Stargate SG-1_ (2005-2006) and the tv _Watchmen_ (2019), died on 28 March aged 87. [AIP]
_Ron Harper_ (1933-2024), US actor in the tv _Planet of the Apes_ (1974) and _Land of the Lost_ (1976), plus sf films _Venomous_ (2001) and _Glass Trap_ (2005), died on 21 March aged 91. [LP]
_Mutsumi Inomata_ (1960-2024), Japanese artist, videogame character designer and former animator whose many credits include _Fist of the North Star_ (1984) and _Future GPX Cyber Formula_ (1991), died on 10 March aged 63. [JonC]
_Dick Jenssen_ (Martin James Ditmar Jenssen, 1935-2024), long-time Australian fan active since 1952 (when he was a founder of the Melbourne SF Club), died on 7 March aged 88. Australia's Ditmar Awards are named after him; he won two as best fan artist for his striking computer-graphics covers seen on _SF Commentary_ and other fanzines, and also the 2016 Rotsler Award for life achievement in fan art. [EC/BG]
_Bernard Kops_ (1926-2024), UK author of supernatural plays and the time-travel novel _The Odyssey of Samuel Glass_ (2012), died on 24 February aged 97. [JC]
_Malachy McCourt_ (1931-2024), US-born Irish actor in _Q: The Winged Serpent_ (1982), _After.Life_ (2009) and genre tv series, died on 11 March aged 92. [LP]
_Tim McGovern_ (1955-2024), US visual effects artist who won an Oscar for his work on _Total Recall_ (1990) and whose many other sf credits range from _Tron_ (1982) to _Shazam: Fury of the Gods_ (2023), died on 30 March aged 68. [AIP]
_Sam Mercer_, US producer whose films include _The Relic_ (1997), _Unbreakable_ (2000), _Signs_ (2002), _The Last Airbender_ (2010) and _The BFG_ (2016), died on 12 February. [AIP]
_James A. Moore_ (1965-2024), prolific US horror/fantasy/sf author whose novels included _Under the Overtree_ (2000), _Fireworks_ (2001) and _Blood Red_ (2005), and whose anthology _The Twisted Book of Shadows_ (2019 with Christopher Golden) won a Shirley Jackson Award, died on 27 March aged 58. [CG]
_Eli Noyes_ (1942-2024), US animator who worked on _Sesame Street_ (1973-1995) and directed episodes of _Liquid Television_ (1991-1994), died on 23 March aged 81. [AIP]
_Grant Page_ (1939-2024), Australian actor/stuntman in _Mad Max_ (1979 plus sequel), _Son of the Mask_ (2005), _Gods of Egypt_ (2016) and many more, died on 14 March aged 84. [SJ]
_Chance Perdomo_ (1996-2024), US actor in _Chilling Adventures of Sabrina_ (2018-2020), _Moominvalley_ (2022) and _Gen V_ (2023) died on 30 March aged 27. [F770]
_Alek Popov_ (1966-2024), award-winning Bulgarian author of the sf parody _Planetata na kauboite_ (_The Cowboys' Planet_, 1993) as by Bad Alex, died on 22 March aged 58. [AM]
_Saul Reichlin_ (1943-2024), South African actor whose many audiobook credits include Peake's _Titus_ trilogy and lots of _Warhammer_ novels, died on 3 January. [AIP]
_Vikki Richards_ (1949-2024), Trinidad-born UK actor in _Curse of the Crimson Altar_ (1968) and _Zeta One/The Love Factor_ (1969), died on 6 March aged 74. [SJ]
_Christian Rodska_ (1945-2024), UK actor in _The Galactic Garden_ (1985), _Doomwatch: Winter Angel_ (1999), _The Ghost of Greville Lodge_ (2000) and others, died on 21 March aged 78. [SJ]
_Barbara Rush_ (1927-2024), US actress in _When Worlds Collide_ (1951), _It Came from Outer Space_ (1953) and others, died on 31 March aged 97. [RH]
_Medeu Sarseke_ (1936-2024), Kazakh author of four sf novels 1959-1965, died on March 20 aged 88. [AM]
_Peter 'Smudge' Smith_, UK fan and convention tech worker who received the 2012 Doc Weir Award, died on 8 March.
_Jon Stopa_ (1935-2024), long-time US fan who published short stories, co-founded Advent:Publishers in 1955, and with his wife Joni was fan GoH at the 1991 Worldcon, died on 4 March aged 88. [F770]
_Akira Toriyama_ (1955-2024), noted Japanese manga creator best known for the long-running _Dragon Ball_ comic that began in 1984 and was adapted as two popular anime tv series plus many films, died on 1 March aged 68. [SF2C]
_Silvia Tortosa_ (1947-2024), Spanish actress in _Horror Express_ (1972), _Las garras de Lorelei_ (_When the Screaming Stops_, 1973) and _Fratello dello spazio_ (_The Brother from Space_, 1988), died on 23 March aged 77. [SJ]
_Vernor Vinge_ (1944-2024), US author of grand space opera and prophet of the Singularity, died on 20 March aged 79. _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (1992) and its prequel _A Deepness in the Sky_ (1999) both won Hugos, as did the lighter-hearted _Rainbows End_ (2006) and his novellas 'Fast Times at Fairmont High' (2001) and 'The Cookie Monster' (2003). He was always a welcome and illuminating presence at conventions.
_M. Emmet Walsh_ (1935-2024), US actor whose many films include _Blade Runner_ (1982), _Critters_ (1986), _The Iron Giant_ (1999) and _Monster!_ (1999), died on 19 March aged 88. [LP]
_James M. Ward_ (1951-2024), US game designer active in the early days of _D&D_, who created the first sf role-playing game _Metamorphosis Alpha_ (1976) and later wrote fantasy novels, died in March aged 72. [MR]
_Paula Weinstein_ (1945-2024), US producer of _The Astronaut Farmer_ (2006) with executive producer credits for other genre films, died on 25 March aged 78. [SHS]
THE WEAKEST LINK. _Question:_ 'The character Big Brother was introduced in which George Orwell novel?' _Contestant:_ '_The BFG_.' (ITV, _Ant and Dec's Limitless Win_) [PE]
RANDOM FANDOM. _FAAn Awards_ for fanzine activity presented at Corflu 41: LIFE ACHIEVEMENT Joe Siclari and Edie Stern, jointly. LETTERHACK Jerry Kaufman. SPECIAL PUBLICATION _Beyond Fandom_ (Rob Hansen). COVER Sue Mason for _Idea_ #13. ARTIST Ulrika O'Brien. WRITER Mark Plummer. PERZINE _This Here ..._ (Nic Farey). GENZINE _SF Commentary_ (Bruce Gillespie). PAST PRESIDENTS (of fwa) Jen Farey and Jerry Kaufman, jointly. The Artist category is being renamed for the late great Steve Stiles.
_Old Fans, and Tired._ The First Fandom Hall of Fame living-fans shortlist comprises Mary and Bill Burns (jointly) and, gulp, David Langford. [F770]
THE DEAD PAST. _40 Years Ago_, Wm. Gibson regretted the 'indefinite postponement of the fanzine-of-comment promised to British faneditors who so generously posted their product down the black hole of my Professional Activity: I was midway through the more or less final draft of ENDLESS FUCKING _NEUROMANCER_, and I'd read them and promise I'd Do Something About It as soon as I was through the damn book. Some six months later, having signed two more contracts (_Count Zero_ for Ace, _Log of the Mustang Sally_ for Arbor), I see where I slipped up.' (_Ansible_ 38, Easter 1984)
_30 Years Ago_, an award non-scandal: 'The _[UK Eastercon]_ committee let slip that "_Ansible_ had more Eastercon Award nominations than the rest of the Short Text category put together; we decided you were ineligible 'cos you won it last year."' (_Ansible_ 81, April 1994)
SMALL PRESS. Julie Ann Dawson's Bards and Sages Publishing closed down on 6 March, both for health reasons and because of the relentless flood of 'AI-generated trash' submissions. (www.bardsandsages.com)
FANFUNDERY. _Get Up and Over Fan Fund (GUFF):_ the 2024 northbound race from Oceania to the Glasgow Worldcon is now on, with candidates Kat Clay and Ian Nichols, both from Australia.Voting closes on 22 April, 23:59 BST. See taff.org.uk/guff.html for links to the PDF ballot and online voting form.
_TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ voting in the 2024 race ends on 2 April. See taff.org.uk.
_European Fan Fund:_ voting in the 2024 race ended on 1 April. Results soon at fandomrover.com/category/eff/.
_TAFF Books._ Currently being proofread for taff.org.uk: Rob Hansen's much expanded _Challenging Moskowitz_ (see _A440_) and my new compilation of all the _New Worlds_ author/artist/etc profiles published by John Carnell 1952-1963. Many thanks to Mike Moorcock for approving the latter.
C.O.A. _Bob Rickard_, 168 Wanstead Lane, Ilford, IG1 3SW.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Simile or Bust!_ 'Helen, with the breasts like clouds ...' 'Her breasts are like mounds of chicken fat.' (both Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny, _Deus Irae_, 1976) [FM] 'Her breasts were like the bags of sand that keep the scenery in place in the school play.' (Rowan Somerville, _Shape of Her_, 2011) [AR]
_Male Gaze Dept._ 'She said something to him, but he was not listening, his eyes campaigning over her buttocks.' (_Ibid_) [AR]
_Escape Velocity._ 'It was for a sum much larger than Fleet had ever seen written on a cheque before, and it took some concentration to prevent his eyebrows flying off the top of his head.' (Chris & Jen Sugden, _High Vaultage_, 2024) [DVB]
_The Charwoman's Shadow._ '_[He]_ had become enamoured of the dainty Portugese girl, and was making swift love to her daily.' (Robert E. Howard, 'Wolfshead', 1926) [JO]
_Deadly Hands Dept._ '"How do you do?" Zimmer said, and extended his hand. His grip was like a moray eel's.' (Ed McBain, _The Last Dance_, 2000) [PL]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via email, send a message to:
ansible-news+subscribe [at] googlegroups.com
You will be asked to confirm by email that you want to join the group. To resign from the Google Groups list, send email to:
ansible-news+unsubscribe [at] googlegroups.com
More details, and an ALTERNATIVE LIST subscription form for those averse to Google, on this page (which is also where to unsubscribe from the alternative list, hosted at ansible.uk):
https://news.ansible.uk/asubs.html
Home page -- https://news.ansible.uk/
RSS feed -- https://news.ansible.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication -- http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues -- https://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.html
Printable PDFs -- https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/
Email the editor -- https://news.ansible.uk/contact.php
Books Received -- https://ansible.uk/books.php
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.
18 April 2024, 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
RANDOM FANDOM II. _Geri Sullivan_ will publish a special section of Deb Geisler memories and tributes in _Idea_ #14. Submissions -- both new and already posted material -- and queries to id...@toad-hall.com, please.
R.I.P. II -- LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Barbara Baldavin_ (1938-2024), US actress in _Star Trek_ (1966-1969) and _Skeeter_ (1993), died on 31 March aged 85. [SJ]
_Sam J. Bellotto Jr._ (1946-2023), editor of _Perihelion SF_ 1967-1969 and later contributor to _Bewildering Stories_, died on 24 December. There are plans to make the entire contents of _Perihelion_ available on Kindle with proceeds going to charity. [EMJ]
_David Kunzle_ (1936-2024), US art historian and pioneer of comics/graphic story studies with his two-volume _The History of the Comic Strip_ (1973, 1990), died on 1 January aged 87. [AIP]
_Thomas D. Sadler_ (1946-2023), US author of some short sf, and fanzine fan best known for 100+ issues of _The Reluctant Famulus_ (1980s-2015), died on 1 February 2023 aged 76. [F770]
THE FUTURE IS TEKON. 'Glasgow 2024 will be having electronic news only, and it is possible that Reconnect will be the last Eastercon with a paper newsletter.' (Levitation newsletter #5)
SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
BSFA Awards finalists
https://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist
FAAn Awards winners, 2024 (with statistics)
https://efanzines.com/TIR/Incompleat2024results.pdf
First Fandom Awards nominees
https://file770.com/2024-first-fandom-awards-nominees/
Hugo Awards finalists
https://glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/2024-hugo-award-finalists/
Levitation ReadMe
https://eastercon2024.co.uk/readme/
Nebula Awards finalists
https://www.sfwa.org/2024/03/14/sfwa-announces-the-finalists-for-the-59th-nebula-awards/
Adam Roberts: 'Under Mirk Wood'
https://medium.com/adams-notebook/under-mirk-wood-25eff4b0e3a1
Charlie Stross: 'A Wonky Experience'
https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/03/a-wonky-experience.html
Vernor Vinge (1944-2024)
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/news/vernor_vinge
THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 201, April 2004. _Transubstantiation Dept._ 'This Caramon pooled, ordering the grain pounded into flour or maize' (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, _War of the Twins_, 1986)
_Likeness Dept._ 'They weren't human; they were a new species. Humanlike, but not like them.' _Blues Dept._ 'The bassist was a tall, pretty older woman whose rugged looks matched her jeans.' (both Paul Black, _The Tels_, 2003)
_Physiognomy Dept._ 'He does a little shifting of the eyes under this shit-eating grin ...' (Steve Martini, _Undue Influence_, 1994)
_Strange Allergens Dept._ 'Primavera put a finger to my lips, her nose wrinkling in an allergy of indecision.' (Richard Calder, _Dead Girls_, 1993)
_Thin Red Line Dept._ '... battalions of blood marching into formation on the parade ground of his face.' (Malcolm Knox, _A Private Man_, 2004)
_Ansible_(R) 441 (C) David Langford, 2024. Thanks to David V. Barrett, Sandra Bond, Claire Brialey, Jonathan Clements, John Clute, Elaine Cochrane, _File 770_, First Fandom, Bruce Gillespie, Christopher Golden, Rob Hansen, Steve Holland, John-Henri Holmberg, Nicholas Jackson, Eric M. Jones, Steve Jones, Levitation, Pamela Love, Andrey Meshavkin, Fiona Moore, Jonathan Oliver, Lawrence Person, Greg Pickersgill, Andrew I. Porter, David Pringle, _Private Eye_, Adam Roberts, Marcus Rowland, _SF2 Concatenation_, Steven H Silver, Geri Sullivan, and our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).
2 April 2024
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