Ansible 384 -- July 2019

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE(R) 384

JULY 2019 

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 an invisible whistling octopus. 

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a384.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a384.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 MANDRAKE SHRIEKS ###

PETER S. BEAGLE won a technical victory in his lawsuit against his former manager Connor Cochran when on 21 June a US state judge ruled that while some claims had not been proven (elder abuse by causing mental suffering, conversion of assets), others had (financial elder abuse, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, defamation), and awarded $332,500 damages plus 'reasonable' legal fees. But owing to Cochran's filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2018, both collection of damages and further litigation about co-owned companies remain on hold pending action by the US Bankruptcy Court. (_File 770_, 24 June)

BRIAN ENO received the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication in June; and asteroid 81948 has been given his full name, Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno, but mercifully will be called Eno for short. (Consequenceofsound.net, 26 June) [SB]

NEIL GAIMAN was thrilled -- and so would Terry Pratchett have been -- that 20,000 Americans organized by the 'Return to Order' Christian campaign signed a petition demanding that the _Good Omens_ tv series be cancelled. Among the outraged complaints are that this is 'another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable', that it 'mocks God's wisdom', and worst of all that God is voiced by a woman. By way of punchline, the petition was addressed to Netflix rather than the makers BBC/Amazon Prime. Neil tweeted: '... This is so beautiful ... Promise me you won't tell them?' (_Guardian_, 20 June) But somehow they found out, and redirected their wrath. (_Guardian_, 21 June)

IRENE GALLO, multiple award-winning art director at Tor Books, is now vice president and publisher of Tor.com. (Tor.com, 20 June)

JIM JARMUSCH, discussing his zombie film _The Dead Don't Die_, revealed a personal nightmare: 'Also, I've been kind of obsessed for some years about what might happen if the earth slipped off its axis. It's been tipping very slightly for some time, but what if there's a jump in that? We'd be totally screwed.' (_Sight and Sound_, July 2019) [SC]

PHILIP PULLMAN was asked, 'If you could walk out of the back of a wardrobe into a fictional world, which would it be?' _Answer:_ 'There are so many ... But if I wanted to live in a world that was full of strangeness and delight, of fear as well as reassurance, of both transience and permanence, I'd hope to find myself among Tove Jansson's Moomins.' (Interview by James McConnachie, _The Author_, Summer 2019)

### CONSUBSTANTIATION ###

3-4 Jul [] SCIENCE FOR FICTION, Imperial College, London. Science presentations _for published authors only_: afternoon of 3rd, all day 4th. GBP30 including catering. Contact Dave Clements, davecl at mac dot com.

4 Jul [] BRAM STOKER & _DRACULA_ IN LONDON: talk by Roger Luckhurst, Carlyle's House, Chelsea, London SW3. Tickets (inc glass of prosecco) GBP15 from acuriousinvitation.com/stokeranddracula.html.

5-7 Jul [] LAVECON (sf/fantasy/gaming), Sedgebrook Hall Hotel, Northants. Tickets at various prices from www.hwsevents.co.uk/shop-1.

5-7 Jul [] LONDON ANIME & GAMING CON, London Met, N7 8DB. GBP29 reg; for day and VIP rates see summer.londonanimecon.com.

10 Jul [] ALEISTER CROWLEY ON DRUGS: talk by Gary Lachman, Century Club, Soho, London W1. 6:30pm for 7pm. Tickets GBP12 from acuriousinvitation.com/aleistercrowleyondrugs.html.

13 Jul [] SUMMER COMIC JAM, Tyne Bank Brewery. Noon to midnight. Canny Comic Con event (see cannycomiccon.blogspot.com) on Small Press Day, whose links list is at smallpressday.co.uk/spd-2019/.

13 Jul [] EDGE-LIT 8, QUAD Centre, Derby, DE1 3AS. 10am-9pm. GBP30. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/whats-on/events/edge-lit-8.

17 Jul [] ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD presentation, Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road, London. 6:30-9pm. Tickets GBP13 at tinyurl.com/y2u792zl.

17 Jul [] _PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE_ 60th anniversary showing at Fontaine's, 176 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16. 8pm for 8:30. Free?

20 Jul [] AVON VALLEY RAILWAY SF DAY, Bitton Station, 3 Bath Rd, Bristol, BS30 6HD. GBP8.50; over-60s GBP7.50; under-15s GBP6.50; under-5s free. See www.avonvalleyrailway.org/events/sci-fi-fun/.

7-11 Aug [] TOLKIEN 2019 (Tolkien Society), Macdonald Burlington Hotel, Birmingham. GBP125 reg. See www.tolkien2019.com.

15-19 Aug [] DUBLIN 2019 (Worldcon), Dublin, Ireland. Euro260 reg; young adult and Irish First Worldcon Euro160; child Euro80; infant Euro5; supp Euro40. See dublin2019.com. Adult day rates: Euro35 Thu or Mon, Euro50 Fri, Euro75 Sat or Sun; more at dublin2019.com/memberships/day-passes/. _Note that the voting deadline for the Hugo Awards is 31 July 2019._

22-26 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Leicester Square, London. Tickets on sale from 6 July at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsevents.html. There's also a Hallowe'en special at a Leicester Square venue on 2 November.

7-8 Sep [] FILM & COMIC CON CARDIFF, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff. Tickets GBP8 or GBP15 for early entry. See filmandcomicconcardiff.com.

3-6 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (horror/cult films), Odeon Manchester Great Northern cinema. GBP90 (GBP76 concessions) plus fees from grimmfest.com.

14-15 Sep [] OTHER WORLDS WORKSHOP WEEKEND, Nottingham. GBP27.50 plus GBP2.40 booking fee per day. See tinyurl.com/yy7fawgo.

13 Oct [] OCTOCON, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland. (Venue is 12km from city centre.) At last we have a date -- NB one day only -- and online registration is awaited at octocon.com.

25-26 Oct [] BICENTENNIAL VAMPYRE BALL, Century Club, Soho, London W1. 9pm-3am. 'Super early bird' tickets GBP20 (five or more GBP15) at acuriousinvitation.com/halloween2019.html.

25-27 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. GBP85 reg. See fantastic-films.com/festival/ for hotel booking (rooms are held to 31 July only). The rumour mill says this 30th event may be the last unless there's a significant change of organization.

SOLD OUT. 30 Oct - 3 Nov [] SCI-FI WEEKENDER PART 2, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. Weekend pass GBP99; for camping, accommodation and possible cancellations see www.scifiweekender.com.

8-10 Nov [] NOVACON 49, Nottingham Sherwood Hotel (was the Park Inn). Contact 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield, S2 3HQ. GBP49 reg to end of August; under-17s GBP12; under-13s free. See www.novacon.org.uk.

30 Nov [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), Novotel London West, W6 8DR. 9am-midnight. GBP10 reg, GBP12 from 1 October: www.dragonmeet.co.uk.

23-26 Apr 2020 [] SCI-FI WEEKENDER, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. Basic weekend pass GBP99; for camping and accommodation packages see www.scifiweekender.com.

16-17 May 2020 [] HORRORCON UK, Magna Science Adventure Centre, Sheffield. Ticket sales awaited at horrorconuk.com.

5-7 Jun 2020 [] CYMERA: Scotland's Festival of SF, Fantasy & Horror Writing, Edinburgh. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk,

29 Jul - 2 Aug 2020 [] CONZEALAND (Worldcon 78), Wellington, New Zealand. _Now NZD $400 reg; $250 YA/unwaged._ $105 child (born 2005+), infants (born 2015+) free, $75 supporting. See conzealand.nz.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS SEE US. 'UFOs are usually the preserve of science fiction ...' (Miranda Bryant, _Guardian_ story headlined '"We're watching": Trump stokes UFO rumors during ABC News interview', 22 June) [PB]

AWARDS. _Betty Trask_ (under-35s) winners of genre interest: _The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock_ by Imogen Hermes Gower; _The Water Cure_ by Sophie Mackintosh.

     _Ditmar_ (Australia) best novel: _City of Lies_ by Sam Hawke.

     _Grand Prix de L'imaginaire_ (France) for translated novel: _Underground Airlines_ by Ben H. Winters. [ESF]

     _John W. Campbell Memorial:_ _Blackfish City_ by Sam J. Miller.

     _Kate Greenaway Medal:_ _The Lost Words_ by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris.

     _Kurd Lasswitz Preis_ (Germany) for translated novel: _Eiswelt_ [_Early Riser_] by Jasper Fforde. [ESF]

     _Lambda_ (LGBTQ) sf/fantasy/horror category: _The Breath of the Sun_ by Isaac R. Fellman. [F770]

     _Locus_ (novels only): SF _The Calculating Stars_ by Mary Robinette Kowal. FANTASY _Spinning Silver_ by Naomi Novik. HORROR _The Cabin at the End of the World_ by Paul Tremblay. YA _Dread Nation_ by Justina Ireland. DEBUT _Trail of Lightning_ by Rebecca Roanhorse.

     _Sturgeon_ (short story): 'When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis' by Annalee Newitz (Slate.com).

PLAGIARISM LATEST. 'So someone just tried to submit _The Three-Body Problem_ (the novel by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu) to _Clarkesworld_ as their own work. Stunned.' (Neil Clarke, Facebook, 28 June)

R.I.P. _Milan Asadurov_ (1949-2019), Bulgarian sf author, publisher (the 'Galaxy' imprint) and translator (notably of the Russian Strugatsky brothers), died on 8 June aged 69. [PDF]

     _Adrish Bardhan_ (1932-2019), Bengali author, editor, translator and publisher who launched Bengali sf ('kalpavigyan') in 1963 with the magazine _Ashchorjo_ -- edited as by Akash Sen -- died on 21 May aged 86.

     Late report: _Paul Barrett_ (1940-2019), UK rock-and-roll agent, Festival of Fantastic Films regular and occasional actor in such horror films as _Bloody New Year_ (1987), died on 20 January aged 78. [SF2C]

     _Edward P. Berglund_, US Lovecraftian author, scholar and editor -- magazines _From Beyond the Dark Gateway_ (1972-1977) and _Nightscapes_ (1997-2001); anthologies include _The Disciples of Cthulhu_ (1976) -- reportedly died in June. [PDF]

     _Keith Birdsong_ (1959-2019), US Native American artist best known for his prolific output of covers for _Star Trek_ novelizations, died on 4 June from car-crash injuries; he was 59. [PDF]

     _William F. Brown_ (1928-2019), US playwright, librettist and cartoonist who wrote the book for the Oz-based hit musical _The Wiz_ (1975), died on 23 June aged 91. [PDF]

     _Alistair Browning_ (1954-2019), New Zealand actor whose credits include _Hercules_ (1997-1998), _The Lord of the Rings_ (2002, 2003) and _Power Rangers Dino Charge_ (2016), died on 2 June aged 65. [PDF]

     _Paul Darrow_ (1941-2019), UK actor and author best remembered as Avon in _Blake's 7_ (1978-1981), died on 3 June aged 78. He was also in the _Doctor Who_ serials _Doctor Who and the Silurians_ (1970) and _Timelash_ (1985); his novels include the _B7_-related _Avon: A Terrible Aspect_ (1989). [JM]

     _Bob Dorian_ (1934-2019), US magician, tv host and actor in _The Curse of the Jade Scorpion_ (2001) and _The Evil Dead_ (2013), died on 15 June aged 85. [PDF]

     _Billy Drago_ (1945-2019), US actor in _Vamp_ (1986), _Cyborg II_ (1993), _Lunarcop_ (1995), _Sci-fighters_ (1996), _Tremors 4_ (2004), _Demon Hunter_ (2005) and others, died on 24 June aged 73. [PDF]

     _Peter Allan Fields_, US screenwriter and producer with many genre credits from _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._ (1965-1966) to _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ and -- as both writer and producer -- _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_ (1993-1999), died on 19 June. [PDF]

     _Yuzuru Fujimoto_ (1935-2019), Japanese voice actor in _Gigantor_ (1963) and many more anime productions to 2015, died on 10 June aged 83.

     _Eddie Garcia_ (1929-2019), noted Filipino director, tv personality and actor seen in _Beast of the Yellow Night_ (1971), died on 20 June aged 90.

     _Nonnie Griffin_ (1933-2019), Canadian actress with voice roles in _Star Wars: Ewoks_ (1985-1986), _Care Bears_ (1986-1988) and _The Care Bears Movie_ (1986), died on 7 June aged 85.

     _Steve Hawkes_ (1942-2019), US actor born Stjepan Sipek in Croatia, whose films include _Blood Freak_ (1972) and unauthorized Spanish-language Tarzan adventures (character name changed to Zan for English release), died on 23 June. [PDF]

     _Sean Hewitt_ (1935-2019), Canadian actor in _Vampire Circus_ (1972), _Thinner_ (1996), _Battlefield Earth_ (2000) and _Crimson Peak_ (2015), died on 6 June aged 83.

     Late report: _Sandra Rae Laney Holland_ (1940-2018), Francis Towner Laney's daughter and former child mascot of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (see _Ah! Sweet Idiocy!_), died on 11 September aged 78. [RH]

     _Timothy Wade Huntley_ (1939-2019), US author of _One on Me_ (1980) and the 1999-2002 Earthgame trilogy, died on 13 June aged 79. [PV]

     _Andrey Kharitonov_ (1959-2019), Russian actor who starred in the Wells-based Soviet film _The Invisible Man_ (1984), died on 23 June aged 59.

     _Kevin Killian_ (1952-2019), US poet, editor and gay fiction author who contributed to several genre anthologies, died on 15 June aged 66. [PDF]

     _Yoshio Kobayashi_ (1951-2019), Japanese fan, editor and (as Takashi Ogawa) translator of much English-language sf for publication in Japan, died on 13 June. [L]

     _Al Johnston_, UK fan and convention-goer -- a familiar figure at Novacons -- died on 8 June. [TD]

     _Sean McCann_ (1935-219), Canadian character actor in _Starship Invasions_ (1977), _The Uncanny_ (1977) and _Naked Lunch_ (1991), died on 13 June aged 83.

     _Bryan Marshall_ (1938-2019), UK actor in _The Witches_ (1966), _Quatermass and the Pit_ (1967), _The Boy Merlin_ (1979) and _Selkie_ (2000), died on 25 June aged 81. [SG]

     _Sylvia Miles_ (1924-2019), US actress whose genre films include _The Sentinel_ (1977), _The Funhouse_ (1981) and _Sleeping Beauty_ (1987), died on 12 June aged 94. [F770]

     _Nickianne Moody_, UK academic who was a trustee of the SF Foundation and contributed to books of genre criticism including _The Parliament of Dreams_ (1998) and _Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature_ (2000), died on 9 June. [AS]

     _John Llewellyn Moxey_ (1925-2019), Argentina-born UK director whose genre productions include _The House That Would Not Die_ (1970) and _The Night Stalker_ (1972), died on 29 April aged 94. [AIP]

     _Holly Prado_ (1938-2019), US author who explored mythic themes in _Esperanza: Poems for Orpheus_ (1998) -- one selected for _Year's Best Fantasy and Horror_ -- died in June aged 81. [PDF]

     _Carl Schell_ (1927-2019), Austrian actor in _Lycanthropus_ (1961, aka _Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory_), died on 6 June aged 91.

     _Edith Scob_ (1937-2019), French actress whose films include the sf/horror classic _Eyes Without a Face_ (1960), died on 26 June aged 81. [PDF]

     _William Simons_ (1940-2019), Welsh actor in _Doctor Who_: 'The Sun Makers' (1977) and _The Woman in Black_ (1989), died on 21 June aged 78.

     _Andrew Sinclair_ (1935-2019), UK author of _The Project_ (1960) -- which ends on the brink of nuclear holocaust -- and the fantastical Albion trilogy opening with _Gog_ (1967), died on 30 May aged 84. [MJE]

     _Peter Whitehead_ (1937-2019), UK film-maker and author whose film _Fire in the Water_ (1977) and novel _The Risen_ (1977) both have fantasy elements, died on 10 June aged 82. [SG]

     _Max Wright_ (1943-2019), US actor best known for the sf sitcom _ALF_ (1986-2004), died on 26 June aged 75. Other credits include _Misfits of Science_ (1985-1986). [CH]

KAIJU HORROR! 'Rogue slug blamed for Japanese railway chaos', says the BBC headline (22 June), and the story can only be an anticlimax.

     Another headline full of sf sense-of-wonder is 'The Latest: Trump to Nominate Esper to Lead Pentagon' (Associated Press, 21 June). [PDF]

COMIC CUTS. DC Comics has announced that its Vertigo imprint -- and also the DC Zoom and DC Ink imprints -- will close in January 2020, laid waste by a 'new publishing strategy'. (_Hollywood Reporter_, 21 June)

INFODUMP MASTERCLASS. "'They're the Glashan, fallen Seruvim and followers of Pyratheon. They intend to capture the Keruvim and wage war against Riathamus ...'" (G.P. Taylor, _Shadowmancer_, 2002/2003) [BA]

     '"Tell me of the ships as if I know nothing of them. Tell me as if I were a child."' (Becky Chambers, _Record of a Spaceborn Few_, 2018)

RANDOM FANDOM. _Bruce Gillespie_ received Australian fandom's rarely presented Eternity Award for life achievement (the only other recipient having been the late Merv Binns).

     _Martin Hoare_ is booked for an operation on 9 July: 'They are going to remove 10cm of my bowel.' He sternly warns me against making 'semi colon jokes'. Good luck, boss.

     _Remembering Vonda_, memories of Vonda N. McIntyre ed. Stephanie A. Smith and Jeanne Gomoll, is available as a paperback and a free PDF: tinyurl.com/RememberingVonda, tinyurl.com/RememberingVondaPDF.

THE DEAD PAST. _20 Years Ago:_ ' Another conflicting origin story for our barbarian critic Thog the Mighty! In _Imaginary Worlds_ (1973) the late Lin Carter deplored Robert E. Howard's inept coining of fantasy names ... "Thak, Thaug, THOG, Yog, Yara, Yogah, Zang, Zogar, Sag." I confidently expect Tom Holt to set this catchy chorus to music.' (_Ansible_ 144, July 1999)

     _40 Years Ago_ (argh): 'AND TAFF, ALREADY seems to have two probable candidates in the shape of Jim Barker and the ubiquitous Dave Langford.' (Peter Roberts in _Checkpoint_ 98, July 1979)

     _80 Years Ago_, the first Worldcon was held in New York, 2-4 July 1939, with Frank R. Paul as GoH and 200 attending fans. A twentieth anniversary report by co-organizer James V. Taurasi in _Science Fiction Times_ 239 (July 1959) gave great prominence to "the communist element then in fandom" who "wanted the World Con for their propaganda machine" and were very properly Excluded. Thus science fiction was saved from the red menace of Cyril Kornbluth, Frederik Pohl, Donald A. Wollheim....

FANFUNDERY. _TAFF Site Free Ebooks._ Newly added: _The Complete Patchin Review_, assembling all issues of Charles Platt's controversial 1980s magazine about sf and publishing, with a new introduction by Charles himself: download at taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=Patchin. _The Complete Cheap Truth_, the full run of the polemical cyberpunk 'samizdat' fanzine from impenetrably pseudonymous Vincent Omniaveritas (Bruce Sterling): taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=CheapTruth. _The Meadows of Fantasy_, Archie Mercer's humorous 1965 novel of UK fandom (also hosted by Bill Burns at eFanzines.com): taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=Meadows.

     _CUFF_ (Canadian Unity Fan Fund): the 2019 winner is Fran Skene.

C.O.A. _The Cartoon Museum_, 63 Wells Street, London, W1A 3AE.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Line of Sight Dept._ '... such a firm, round, lively and truly impressive behind that the haunting vision of this interesting aspect of her personality frequently obscured the face of my math teacher at school.' (Romain Gary, _Promise At Dawn_, 1960; trans John Markham Beach, 1961) [MMW]

     _Dept of Expressive Eyes._ '"Well, m'boy," the physiologist's fleshy eyelids quivered....' (Isaac Asimov, 'Blind Alley', _Astounding SF_, March 1945) [DR]

     _In Space, No One Can Hear You Complain._ 'Interstellar travel, though it had improved over the last five hundred years, was still anything but quick, and boredom had replaced death as the most common complaint.' (Gustavo Bondoni, _Outside_, 2017) [AK]

     _None So Blind._ 'His feet were sure, but they could not see.' (Guy Gregory, _Heroes of Zara Keep_, 1982) [TPR]

### 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

### ENDNOTES ###

APPARITIONS.

     ? July 2019: Shoreline of Infinity Event Horizon, Edinburgh. 7:30pm. Free. See link below for details (date not announced when this _Ansible_ went to press)_. https://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/category/event-horizon/

     12 July 2019: Christopher Priest and Nina Allan talk to the Brum Group. 7:30pm for 8pm at the Briar Rose Hotel, Bennett's Hill, Birmingham city centre. GBP6 or GBP3 for members. Contact bhamsfgroup at yahoo co uk. Future events/speakers: 9 August 2019, summer social; 13 September 2019 TBA, 11 October 2019, Dr Amaury Triaud; 1 November 2019, TBA; 6 December 2019, Christmas social.

     24 July 2019: BSFA Open Meeting, Central Station, 37 Wharfdale Road, King's Cross, N1 9SD. 6pm for 7pm. Guest(s) TBA. Free. Date or venue changes may be announced after _Ansible_ has gone to press: always check bsfa.co.uk for the latest information.

PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. 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://ae.ansible.uk/ebooks.php https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

LATE R.I.P. _Paul Darrow_'s death was reported after _Ansible_ 383 had been printed and mailed, and the obit appeared only in digital editions under this heading; now expanded in the main R.I.P list above.

SHAMELESS PUFFERY. _New Maps: More Uncollected John Sladek_ (Ansible Editions, 2019) has sold modestly well in paperback, and doing the half-yearly royalty statement reminded me that I still have a few spare copies of the first-state printing left over from Eastercon. Available _within the UK only_ for just GBP17.00 including postage and packing. If interested, please email me at the usual address or via ansible.uk/contact.php. Also available worldwide from Lulu: see ae.ansible.uk/?t=newmaps.

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.

     _Amazing Stories_ events calendar https://calendar.amazingstories.com/

     Ian Stewart remembers Jack Cohen https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/03/jack-cohen-obituary

     _Locus_ Awards: full list of winners https://locusmag.com/2019/06/2019-locus-awards-winners/

     Mythopoeic Awards finalists https://mythsoc-rohan.blogspot.com/2019/06/mythopoeic-awards-finalists-for-2019.html

THOG'S SECOND HELPING. _Portrait of a Scientist._ 'The professor was muttering contentedly in the brush, pocketing plant specimens and dissecting small vermin with his fingernail clippers.' (John Silbersack [anonymously], _No-Frills Science Fiction_, 1981) [TPR]

_Ansible_(R) 384 (C) David Langford, 2019. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, Paul Barnett, Sandra Bond, Stephen Cox, Theresa Derwin, Paul Di Filippo, Malcolm Edwards, Europa SF, _File 770_, Steve Green, Rob Hansen, Chip Hitchcock, Amanda Kear, _Locus_, Joe McNally, _The Patchin Review_, Andrew I. Porter, Dan Reid, Andy Sawyer, _SF2 Concatenation_, P. Villars, Martin Morse Wooster, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).

1 July 2019