Ansible 462 -- January 2026

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE(R) 462
JANUARY 2026

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 secret link between Max Carrados and Mr Fisher-King.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a462.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a462.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]


### WURZEL-FLUMMERY ###

HARRISON FORD is to receive the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild -- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) Life Achievement Award for his acting and humanitarian career. (_Deadline_, 18 December)

R.F. KUANG withdrew from the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (Dubai, 21-27 January) in response to a call for a UAE boycott because of the current atrocities in Sudan. (_The Bookseller_, 4 December) [SF2C]

TERRY PRATCHETT anecdotes still keep turning up. The author of a memoir of High Wycombe Technical School bitterly recollects the games master's ruling that boys considered unfit for games owing to asthma etc. literally had to shovel coal instead. But our man found a younger pupil prepared to do the makework for a shilling, for which in 1960 'you could buy four Mars Bars or four packets of Smith's Crisps. [...] I think I can possibly lay claim to have given Terry Pratchett his first paid job.' (Stuart Rooksby, _The High Wycombe Society Newsletter_, Winter 2025)

DAVID WALLIAMS has been dropped by HarperCollins UK despite his status as a bestselling children's author, in the wake of 'allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women' which he strenuously denies. (BBC, 19 December) According to the _Telegraph_, 'Former _[HC]_ staff also told this publication that they were told to work in "pairs" when meeting Walliams and were advised not to visit his home.' (19 December) Early repercussions include his removal from the list of speakers at the 2026 Waterstones Children's Book Festival. (BBC, 22 December)

SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER of _Lolly Willowes_ and _Kingdoms of Elfin_ fame is now commemorated by a statue of her seated on a bench -- with a cat familiar in attendance -- unveiled in Dorchester, Dorset, in December. This followed a campaign asking for nominations of overlooked local women; she 'won by a landslide'. (_Guardian_, 12 December) [AIP]


### CONFINITY ###

8 Jan [] LONDON PUB MEETING, The Bishop's Finger, 9-10 West Smithfield, EC1A 9JR. All evening. Replaces the usual 'First Thursday' because the pub was closed on 1 January. See news.ansible.uk/london.html.

16-18 & 23-25 Jan [] HORROR-ON-SEA (film festival), Park Inn Radisson Palace Hotel, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2AL. Tickets GBP80 for either weekend or GBP130 for both at the-white-bus-limited.sumupstore.com.

18 Jan 2026 [] SF, COMIC & TOY FAIR, Heywood Sports Village. 11am-4pm. Tickets GBP3, children GBP1. See www.mseevents.co.uk.

25 Jan 2026 [] SF, COMIC & TOY FAIR, Ruskin Sports Village, St Helens. 11am-4pm. Tickets GBP5, children GBP3. See www.mseevents.co.uk.

30 Jan - 1 Feb [] CONTABILE 36 (filk), Wensum Valley Hotel, Norwich. GBP45 reg; GBP35 concessions; GBP20/day. See www.contabile.org.uk/c36/.

6-9 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. Western theme. GBP100 reg or GBP45/day; for membership/hotel room packages see www.scotiacon.org.uk. _Registration closes on 4 January._

14 Feb [] WREXCON (comics), Wrexham University, LL11 2AW. 10am-5pm. See www.ljeventsentertainment.com.

7 Mar [] PICOCON 42, Imperial College, London. Membership rates and website awaited.

27-28 Mar [] TFNATION (_Transformers_), Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. Ticket sales awaited at tfnation.com/TFN-Manchester-2026.

11-12 Apr [] CONPULSION (games), The Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ. Tickets GBP28 or GBP18 for either day. See conpulsion.org.

23 or 24 May [] PETER CUSHING CELEBRATION, Whitstable. GBP75 for either day -- _same programme both days_. See renownfilms.co.uk.

18-19 Jul [] WEIRD WORCESTER (film), U of Worcester Arena. GBP37; GBP47 early entry. See www.treasuredfilms.co.uk/weirdworcester.

7-9 Aug [] MCM COMIC CON, Birmingham NEC. Tickets awaited at www.mcmcomiccon.com/birmingham/en-us.html

15-16 Aug [] CAPTION (small press/comics), Seacourt Hall, Botley, Oxford, OX2 9TH. Venue TBC. See captionfestival.co.uk.

15 Aug [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare. GBP12.62; concessions/under-14s GBP8.30. See www.starsoftime.co.uk.

27-31 Aug [] LACON V, Anaheim Convention Center, California. $230 adult reg; $175 first Worldcon -- _rising to $250 and $200 on 4 January_. $125 YA (18-24); $100 teen (13-17); $50 child (6-12); infants free. $50 WSFS only. _Virtual membership $85 from 4 January._ See www.lacon.org. LAcon V will present a Best Poetry Hugo as its optional extra category. Virtual WSFS business meetings are on 17 July, 26 July, 1 August and 9 August, all starting at 9am Pacific time (6pm British Summer Time).

2-6 Sep 2027 [] MONTREAL WORLDCON 2027, Montreal, Canada. _New rates from 1 January 2026, all in Canadian dollars:_ adults $265 (inc $70 WSFS membership, required), first Worldcon $180 (ditto), under-31s $210 (ditto), under-18s $100 (inc $50 WSFS membership, optional), under-13s $55 (ditto), accompanied under-8s free. See montreal2027.ca.

RUMBLINGS. _BristolCon_ (Bristol, October) registration is expected to open on 1 February at www.bristolcon.org.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS WE SEE US. '... the influence of pulp science on real science. It is an admission both shamefaced and proud that some large proportion of scientists claim inspiration from various crude blatherings they loved when young. Satellite scientists cite Arthur Clarke, biologists are drawn to the field by the neuro- and nanotech visions of entertainers. Above all, Roddenberry's leaden space-pioneering meant a demographic bulge of young physicists attempting to replicate replicators, tricorders, phasers and transporter rooms ...' (China Mieville, _Kraken_, 2010) [BA]

AWARDS. _2026 UK New Year Honours List:_ 'services to drama' honorees with significant genre credits include Warwick Davis (OBE), Cynthia Erivo (MBE), Matt Lucas (OBE) and Meera Syal (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire).

R.I.P. _Vera Alentova_ (1942-2025), Russian actress who played the goddess Ishtar in _Empire V_ (2023, based on Viktor Pelevin's novel) died on 25 December aged 83. [AM]
     _Sergey Banevich_ (1941-2025), Russian composer who scored the sf film _Zaveshchaniye professora Dowella_ (_Professor Dowell's Testament_, 1984, based on Alexander Belyaev's novel _Professor Dowell's Head_) died on 21 December. [AM]
     _Stanley Baxter_ (1926-2025), BAFTA-winning UK comic actor in _Mr Majeika_ (title role, 20 episodes 1988-1990) and _The Jungle Book_ (1992), died on 11 December aged 99.
[]_ Steven Bond_ (1953-2025), long-time Minneapolis fan and collector, a former comics shop owner, died on Christmas Day. His character Kragar in Steven Brust's role-playing game became a regular in the long-running 'Dragaera' fantasy sequence by Brust. [BF]
     _Pierre Bordage_ (1955-2025), prolific French author of much sf and fantasy since 1992, died on 26 December aged 70. Literary honours include the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire. [F770]
     _Francoise Brion_ (1933-2025), French actress in _Attack of the Robots_ (1966), _La mort mysterieuse de Nina Chereau_ (1988) and _She Is Conann_ (2023), died on 12 December aged 92. [SJ]
     _Amanda Brotchie_, Australian director whose genre credits include _ZuZu & the SuperNuffs_ (2013) and two 2025 episodes of _Doctor Who_, died on 19 December.
     _Bob Burns III_ (1935-2025), US actor, effects technician and noted collector/historian of genre film props and costumes -- as described in _It Came From Bob's Basement_ (2001) by John Michlig -- died on 16 December aged 90. [SJ] In his many films from _Invasion of the Saucer-Men_ (1957) to 2015 he often played monsters or gorillas.
     _Yevgeny Drozd_ (1947-2025), Belarusian sf&f author (writing in Russian) of _Vampiry tozhe lyudi_ (_Vampires Are People Too_, 2009) and three collections, and translator of Aldiss's _The Malacia Tapestry_, died on 13 December aged 78. [AM]
     _Juli Erickson_ (1939-2025), US actress whose genre credits include _Bigfoot Wars_ (2014), _The Shadow People_ (2017), _Howlers_ (2019) and _Soul Frackers_ (2020), and who also did much voice work for anime dubs, died on 17 December aged 86. [SJ]
     _Susie Figgis_ (1948-2025), UK casting director for _Interview with the Vampire_ (1994), _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ (2001), _The Time Traveler's Wife_ (2009), _Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children_ (2016) and many more, died on 12 December aged 77. [AIP]
     _Pat Finn_ (1965-2025), US actor in _Space Buddies_ (2009), _Spooky Buddies_ (2011) and _Santa Paws 2_ (2012), died on 22 December aged 60. [SJ]
     _Anthony Geary_ (1947-2025), Emmy-winning US _General Hospital_ actor whose genre films include _Blood Sabbath_ (1972), _The Return of Captain Nemo_ (1978), _Grave Misdemeanours_ (1989) and _High Desert Kill_ (1989), died on 14 December aged 78. [SJ]
     _Gil Gerard_ (1943-2025), US actor who starred in _Buck Rogers in the 25th Century_ (1979 film, 1979-1981 tv), died on 16 December aged 82. Other credits include the monster movies _Bone Eater_ (2007), _Reptisaurus_ (2009) and _Dire Wolf_ (2009). [PS-P]
     _Terence M. Green_ (1947-2025), Canadian sf/fantasy author active since the late 1970s, whose first novel was the sf police procedural _Barking Dogs_ (1988), died on 19 December aged 78. [SJ]
     _Peter Greene_ (1965-2025), US actor in _The Mask_ (1994), _Earthling_ (2010), _The Time Travel Hills_ (2024) and others, died on 12 December aged 60. [LP]
     _Tiit Harm_ (1946-2025), Estonian ballet dancer and actor in the Strugatsky-based _Dead Mountaineer's Hotel_ (1979) and the Alexander Grin-based _Blistayushchiy mir_ (_The Shining World_, 1984), died on 7 December aged 79. [AM]
     _Arthur D. Hlavaty_ (1942-2025), US fan active in many APAs, whose funny and clever personalzine _The Diagonal Relationship_ (1977-2002) went through various DR titles ending with _Derogatory Reference_, died on 9 December aged 83. [BB] He was a friend.
     _Rebecca Heineman_ (1963-2025), transgender US video game developer whose titles include _Robin Hood_ (1983), _The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate_ (1988), _Dragon Wars_ (1989) and a 1990s console version of _Doom_, died on 17 November aged 62. [AIP]
     _Anatoly Korolyov_ (1946-2025), Russian author whose genre novels include _Blyustiteli neba_ (_Guardians of the Skies_, 1992), _Instinkt # pyat_ (_Instinct # Five_, 2004) and _Dom bliznetsov_ (_The House of Twins_, 2016) died on 29 December. [AM]
     _Epy Kusnandar_ (1964-2025), Indonesian actor in _The ABCs of Death_ (2012), _V/H/S/2_ (2013), _The Returning Dead_ (2025) and others, died on 3 December aged 61. [SJ]
     _Natalia Rakhmanova_ (1930-2025), Russian translator of many genre works since 1957 -- including _The Hobbit_ -- died on 21 December aged 95. [AM]
     _James Ransone_ (1979-2025), US actor in _The American Astronaut_ (2001), _Sinister_ (2012 plus sequel), _It: Chapter 2_ (2019) and _The Black Phone_ (2021 plus sequel), committed suicide on 19 December aged 46. [LP]
     _Candy Raymond_ (1950-2025/6), Australian actress in _The Phantom Gunslinger_ (1970) and _Shirley Thompson Versus the Aliens_ (1972) was reported on 1 January as having died aged 75.
     _Rob Reiner_ (1947-2025), Emmy-winning actor and film-maker who directed _The Princess Bride_ (1987), was found stabbed to death at home -- together with his wife Michele -- on 14 December; he was 78. Their son has been arrested. [MR]
     _Helen Siff_, US actress in _I Dream of Jeannie ... Fifteen Years Later_ (1985), _Earth Girls Are Easy_ (1988) and others, died on 18 December aged 88. [SG]
     _Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa_ (1950-2025), Japanese-US actor who played the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in _Mortal Kombat_ (1995 plus sequels and spinoffs), died on 4 December aged 75. Other credits include _The Phantom_ (1996), _Planet of the Apes_ (2001), _Tekken_ (2020) and _The Man in the High Castle_ (2015-2018). [SJ]
     _John Varley_ (1947-2025), US author whose dazzling sf of the 1970s and 1980s won him three Hugos, two Nebulas and a heap of _Locus_ Awards, died on 10 December aged 78. His 1977 story 'Air Raid' as by Herb Boehm was the basis of his screenplay for the film _Millennium_ (1989). [MS]
     _John L. Waggott_ (1964-2025), popular UK fan and convention-goer, active since the late 1970s and known to all as 'Wag', died on 18 December aged 61. [AT]
     _Jim Ward_ (1959-2025), US voice actor whose credits include _Jetsons: The Movie_ (1990), _The Fairly OddParents_ (95 episodes 2001-2017), _Ratchet & Clank_ (2002 videogame with many sequels) and _Wolverine and the X-Men_ (20 episodes 2008), died on 10 December aged 66. [AIP]
     _Isiah Whitlock Jr._ (1954-2025), US actor in _Enchanted_ (2007), _Europa Report_ (2013), _Pete's Dragon_ (2016), _The Mist_ (2017) and _Lightyear_ (2022), died on 30 December aged 71. [LP]
     _Vince Zampella_ (1970-2025), co-creator of the _Call of Duty_ videogame plus such sf computer games as _Apex Legends_ and _Titanfall_, died in a car crash on 21 December; he was 55.

FOR THE FAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING. Arion Press offers an art book of two rare Asimov stories, 'Nightfall' and 'The Last Question': 'The Fine Press edition is limited to 210 copies for sale and printed by letterpress on 125 gsm Zerkall mouldmade. The book features three anthotype prints by the artist and five double-page spreads of Ebtekar's "Cloud" prints. Each copy is Smythe-sewn and square-backed, and presented in an imprinted handmade slipcase.' Only $1,575, and -- as Flann O'Brien ended his spoof of such descriptions -- a gory livid bleeding bargain at the price. [JDB]

COURT CIRCULAR. Studio Gainax of Japan, noted for many anime productions including _Shinseiki Evangelion_ (_Neon Genesis Evangelion_, 1995-1996), was formally dissolved on 10 December; they had filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. All IP rights have reportedly been transferred to rightful owners and creators. (_Anime News Network_, 10 December) [LP]

AWARD SHORTLIST. _Prometheus Hall of Fame_ (libertarian classics): _The Star Dwellers_ (1961) by James Blish, _Brave New World_ (1932) by Aldous Huxley, _That Hideous Strength_ (1945) by C.S. Lewis, _Salt_ (2000) by Adam Roberts, _Singularity Sky_ (2003) by Charles Stross. Perhaps Rudyard Kipling's 'As Easy as A.B.C.', shortlisted seventeen times for this award (2006-2025) without ever winning, has at last been put to rest.

FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ nominations for the 2026 race from North America to the Berlin Eurocon (MetropolCon, 2-5 July) are still open and will close on 1 February. For the official announcement at taff.org.uk, please see taff.org.uk/news/2026race.pdf.
     _TAFF Books:_ no new announcements for once, but many thanks to everyone who bought fan-fund benefit paperbacks from the list at ae.ansible.uk/titles.php?taff. Such sales raised over GBP300 for TAFF and over GBP50 for GUFF in 2025.

SFWA announced changes to the Nebula Awards rules on 19 December, most significantly regarding use of what some call plagiarism engines: 'Works that are wholly written using generative large language model (LLM) tools are not eligible. / Works that used LLMs at any point during the writing process must disclose this upon acceptance of the nomination, and the nature of the technology's use will be made clear to voters on the final ballot.' As a crowd of outraged SFWA authors with pitchforks and flaming torches began to form, this was hastily revised:'wholly' in the first sentence became 'either wholly or partially' and the last clause of the second became 'and those works will be disqualified'. [JS/F770] Many, many ensuing pro-AI and anti-AI posts are mercifully not summarized here.

THE DEAD PAST. _20 Years Ago_, the devout website balaams-ass.com (now defunct) exposed 'the darker and esoteric meanings of the _Chronicles of Narnia_', including the author's vile profanity: 'The word "ass" appears in 4 of the books. Being British, it probably did not mean the same to him as it does to Americans (as a swear word), but he could have left it out, especially since he only used it four times and did use "donkey" in other places. However, considering the filthy state of his mind, it is possible that he thought this cute.' (_Ansible_ 222, January 2006) Why the site wasn't called balaams-donkey.com remains a profane mystery.
     _80 Years Ago_, some possible fake news about the official magazine of the National Fantasy Fan Federation: 'The ink in which the _National Fantasy Fan_s have been duplicated will fade out completely within a year unless sprayed with goat's milk. Speer has a large number of copies so treated, for which he will charge exorbitant prices for those who wish to have complete files of _TNFF_.' (_Stefnews_ 28, January 1946, ed. Jack Speer)

THE DARK WEB. Following the death of its owner Rodger Turner in June 2025, the long-running SFsite.com -- launched in 1997 -- has at last ceased to function but is preserved at the Internet Archive. [A]

RANDOM FANDOM. _Chris Barkley_, following much legal and other hassle (see _A461_ with links to older _Ansible_ coverage), has at last received the Hugo he won at the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon -- sent by administrator Dave McCarty, who, despite being twice stripped of responsibilities by the DCFCW holding company that planned to despatch the trophies itself, had begged one last chance to carry out his long-delayed duty. [F770]
     _Fancyclopedia.org_ has a not very threatening rival with the corresponding .net domain, whose entries seem to have been generated by a system trained on corporate-brochure puffery. Fandom's once notorious Claude Degler gets ten chapters analysing his various forms of 'excellence'; from 'Chapter 5: Social Dynamics and Community Excellence' we learn that 'Claude Degler social established revolutionary frameworks for community advancement while creating systematic approaches to social disruption that would influence fannish society through social methodology worthy of recognition as transformative achievement in community development deserving continued study and appreciation.' [CF/JDN] Well I never. I hardly dare read this site's ten-chapter exegesis of the Astral Leauge.

MAGAZINE SCENE. Copies of the delayed (under new management) _Analog_, _Asimov's_ and _F&SF_ have at last been seen in the wild. Some _F&SF_ covers admit to 'Summer 2025'; others mysteriously say 'Volume I'. [CP]

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Windmill Weather._ 'The day was the quixotic sort, half-gloomy, half challenging.' (Roger Arcot, 'The Timeless Man', June 1956 _Other Worlds_)
     _Scientific Units._ 'According to this little instrument, we're heading for a pile of hydrogen gas!' 'Peters informed them that they were on the edge of a thick band of hydrogen, which seemingly stretched away for incalculable distances on all sides.' 'They were travelling at enormous speed towards the largest concentrated "blob" of hydrogen any of them had experienced, and they were hopelessly out of control!' 'Those terrible explosions that followed, causing us to be bumped all over the place, were due to large lumps of flaming hydrogen gas being flung from the disintegrating sun.' (Terence Haile, _Galaxies Ahead_, 1963)
     _It's All Greek To Me._ 'Doyle searched his memory; then he recognized it -- a pentagram, with its circles and six-pointed star.' (Henry Kuttner, 'The Hunt', June 1939 _Strange Stories_) [LP]


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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.
     15 January 2026, 6pm to late: 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. Many thanks for heaps of seasonal cards and good wishes. My apologies to anyone who as a result of general Langford inefficiency didn't get a response. The link below goes to our utterly jolly festive e-card for 2025.
https://ansiblemag.substack.com/p/nearly-solstice

THE DEAD PAST II. _20 Years Ago:_ Clive James, writing about 'sludge fiction', showed no respect for '... the classically awful British television SF series Blakes Seven: no apostrophe in the title, no sense in the plot. The depraved space queen Servalan, played by the slinky Jacqueline Pearce, could never quite bring herself to volatilize the dimly heroic Blake even when she had him square in the sights of her plasmatic spasm guns. The secret of Blake's appeal, or Blakes appeal, for the otherwise infallibly fatale Servalan remained a mystery, like the actual wattage of light bulb on which the design of Blake's spaceship, or Blakes spaceship, was plainly based.' (_Times Literary Supplement_) (_Ansible_ 222, January 2006)

BAD TIMES ALL ROUND. Sean Markey's small press Psychopomp has ceased publishing novellas and novelettes, and put nonfiction and _Fantasy Magazine_ on hiatus from December. (Psychopomp.com) [F770]

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
     2026 TAFF race announcement
https://taff.org.uk/news/2026race.pdf
     Author contracts: the state of play
https://camestrosfelapton.wordpress.com/2025/12/20/new-felapton-towers-contract-for-authors/
     The Cruciverbal Inquisitor meets Michael Crichton
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/12/02/inquisitor-1935-your-move-by-ploy/

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 222, January 2006. _Dept of Nose Noises._ 'But the younger man had a nose for trouble which Acevedo had learned to trust, or at least listen very carefully to.' (David Weber. _Changer of Worlds_, 2001)
     'He whispered under his nose.' (Greg Vilk, _Golem_, 2005)
     _True Romance Dept (or, Precursors of Gor)._ 'I looked at Miellyn, took her slender unmanacled hand in mine, and smiled as we walked through the gates of the city. Now, after all my years on Wolf, I understood the desire to keep their women under lock and key that was its ancient custom. I vowed to myself as we went that I should waste no time finding a fetter shop and having forged therein the perfect steel chains that should bind my love's wrists to my key forever.' (Marion Zimmer Bradley, _The Door Through Space_, 1961)
     _Dept of Complex Mapping._ 'However erroneous the theory upon which the cartographers evolved their maps, mine were not entirely useless; though they required considerable mental mathematical gymnastics to translate them into usable information ... the actual and the apparent measurements of distance can be reconciled by multiplying each by the square root of minus one!' (Edgar Rice Burroughs, _Escape on Venus_, 1946)


_Ansible_(R) 462 (C) David Langford, 2026. Thanks to Ahasuerus, Brian Ameringen, John D. Berry, Bernadette Bosky, _File 770_, Camestros Felapton, Beth Friedman, Steve Green, Steve Jones, Andrey Meshavkin, James D. Nicoll, Lawrence Person, Curt Phillips, Andrew I. Porter, Marcus Rowland, Jason Sanford, _SF2 Concatenation_, Mike Stamm, Phil Stephenson-Payne, Adela Terrell, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia). Happy New Year to you all.

2 January 2026