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From: David Langford <ansible@cix.co.uk>
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Subject: Ansible 443 -- June 2024
Date: Fri, 31 May 2024 16:39:10 +0100
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ANSIBLE(R) 443
JUNE 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 the collected _Pensees_ of the Abbe Fausse-Maigre.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a443.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a443.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 HIGHER COMMON SENSE ###

NEIL CLARKE loves these AI instructions on how to sell to his
_Clarkesworld_: 'While prior composing experiences can be valuable, it's
not in a general sense required to surrender to Clarkesworld Magazine.
_[...]_ From writer's piece to expulsion, learn how to overcome common
obstructions and stay impelled on your composing journey. / Writers
commonly hold the rights to their work when submitting to Clarkesworld
Magazine, in showing disdain toward the truth that specific terms may move
depending on individual contracts or agreements.' (Facebook, 28 May)

JOHN LINWOOD GRANT has engaged with happy user-friendly Kindle Direct
Publishing. 'ME: "Please unpublish this book because the publisher died.
Here is the Funeral Home Notice, the pertinent contract, and all the book
details." KDP: "Please have them contact us from their own email. Have a
lovely day."' (Facebook, 10 May) Ouija boards are now sought.

RYAN REYNOLDS, co-star with Hugh Jackman of the superhero movie _Deadpool &
Wolverine_, issued a brutally honest disclaimer: 'This film is as paper
thin as a sequel to _Battlefield Earth_.' (IMDb, 21 May)

ADAM ROBERTS, in a backward-gazing review of Chris Foss's 1990 graphic work
_Diary of a Spaceperson_, boggled at its rich mix of hardware (massive
spaceships) and soft porn (the narrator's all too frequently bare bosom,
partly because future muggers strip you of everything from the waist up):
'You can see the lubricious cynicism of the pairing: you know who likes
science fiction? Teenage boys. You know what else teenage boys like?
Boobies. Let's combine them! It'll be a smash! It's _Flasher Gordon_. It's
_The Empire Strips Off_. It's _Book of the New Page-3-of-the-Sun_. It's
_The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Nudity_.' (Sibilant Fricative, 9 May)

JEFF VANDERMEER discovers another anomaly of Area X: 'I'm on the _Locus_
finalist list for best editor with Ann _[VanderMeer]_ ... despite not
having edited anything in ages. Ann has, but not me. So, anyways ... just
cross my name out.' (Facebook, 10 May). As usual the list is too long for
_Ansible_: see locusmag.com/2024/05/2024-locus-awards-top-ten-finalists/.


### CONTREFORT ###

31 May - 2 Jun [] CYMERA: Scotland's Festival of SF, Fantasy & Horror
Writing, Edinburgh. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

31 May - 2 Jun [] FUNCON ONE, Palace Hotel, Buxton.GBP65 reg; GBP80 with
added 'warm fuzzy feeling'; GBP40 concessions. See funcon.lol.

8-9 Jun [] EM-CON (media), Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham. Weekend tickets
GBP30 (11am entry) or GBP40 (10am) at www.em-con.co.uk.

9 Jun [] SEEK-LOCATE-CELEBRATE (_Blake's 7_; formerly Forever Avon),
Steventon Village Hall, Steventon, Oxford, OX13 5RR. 10am-4pm. See
www.facebook.com/TeamBlakeForeverAvon.

12 Jun [] TOLKIEN LECTURE by Neil Gaiman, Oxford Town Hall, Oxford. 6pm.
See tolkienlecture.org.

19-23 Jun [] DARKNESS IN THE FIELDS (folk horror), online. GBP45 reg, GBP25
Sat/Sun only, plus fees. See tinyurl.com/ditfmidsummer2.

21 Jun [] SUMMER SOLSTICE AT JODRELL BANK (Alan Garner event), Jodrell
Bank, Cheshire. GBP40 reg; students GBP32. See tinyurl.com/43b23xnd.

22-23 Jun [] _JUPITER'S GHOST_ (sf play by Tani Gill), The Cockpit, London.
See www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/jupiters_ghost.

22 Jun [] BSFA/SF FOUNDATION AGM online event, 9:45am-4pm. GoH Nina Allan.
See 31 May post at www.sf-foundation.org/fresh-about.

22 Jun [] STARS OF TIME (comics), LC, Steam Museum, Swindon. Adult ticket
GBP17.50; other rates at www.starsoftime.co.uk/swindon.

6 Jul [] TOLKIEN SOCIETY SEMINAR on his 'Romantic Resonances', Leeds Hilton
and online. Free. See www.tolkiensociety.org/events/.

7 Jul [] AINTREE-CON, Aintree Racecourse. 10am-4pm. Adult tickets GBP11;
other rates at www.ljeventsentertainment.com.

19-21 Jul [] FANTASY FOREST (cosplay), Sudely Castle, Cheltenham. SOLD OUT
except for a few Sunday-only tickets: see fantasyforest.co.uk.

26-29 Jul [] CONTINUUM (RPG), Cranfield University CMDC . GBP60 reg; day
pass GBP25 for any day. See continuumconvention.co.uk.

3-4 Aug [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

17-18 Aug [] FOR THE LOVE OF FANTASY, ExCel, London. Tickets GBP51.70;
under-10s GBP22; under-5s free. See www.fortheloveoffantasy.com.

17 Aug [] SMALL PRESS DAY, various events throughout the UK and Ireland,
and online. More awaited at smallpressday.co.uk.

14 Sep [] POPCORN (media), Magna, Sheffield. Tickets GBP12; under-17s
GBP9.50; accompanied under-7s free. See popcorncon.com.

7-8 Dec [] WOMEN IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC (SF Foundation conference), online.
Call for papers (by 2 August) at tinyurl.com/2s4m2bbf.

5 Apr 2025 [] 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.

RUMBLINGS. _Glasgow 2024 Worldcon:_ the Hugo Voter Packet was released on
20 May. Membership rates rise to the final at-the-door level on 1 July. See
glasgow2024.org.
     _Levitation_ (Eastercon 2024) has issued a Final Report including
venue assessment and accounts -- suggesting this event would have had
serious financial difficulties without the GBP38,000+ 'pass along' funding
from previous Eastercons -- at eastercon2024.co.uk/report.
     _Middle-earth Festival_, September (formerly at Sarehole Mill,
Birmingham; a new venue has long been promised): owing to lack of funds and
sponsorship there will be no 2024 event.
     _Son of Chengdu?_ The Chinese local-government and business interests
that apparently took control of the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon away from both
Chinese and overseas fandom have announced a grandiose ten-year sf
development plan that includes another Worldcon bid within five years.
[F770]


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS SEE US. _Which Story Was That?:_ 'The stereotypical sci-fi
citizen is cold, sombre, aloof and efficient.' (_Guardian_, 19 May) [DA]

AWARDS. _Arthur C. Clarke Award_ shortlist: _Chain-Gang All-Stars_ by Nana
Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, _The Ten Percent Thief_ by Lavanya Lakshminarayan, _In
Ascension_ by Martin MacInnes, _The Mountain in the Sea_ by Ray Nayler,
_Some Desperate Glory_ by Emily Tesh, _Corey Fah Does Social Mobility_ by
Isabel Waidner. Winner to be announced on 24 July.
     _Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award:_ William Shatner.
     _SFRA Award for Lifetime Contributions to SF Scholarship:_ Lisa
Yaszek. [L]
     _SFWA Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award:_ Jennell Jaquays (posthumous).

BLURBISMO. _Dept of Contemporaries:_ 'The best writers of the early 1900s
were the first to flood New York with tidal waves, destroy Illinois with
alien invaders, paralyze Washington with meteors, and lay waste to the
Midwest with nuclear fallout. Now collected for the first time ever in one
apocalyptic volume are those early doomsday writers and their
contemporaries, including Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Lucius Shepard,
Robert Sheckley, Norman Spinrad ...' (Amazon description of Martin H.
Greenberg's anthology _The End of the World_, 2010) [AW]

R.I.P. _Susan Backlinie_ (1946-2024), US actress in _Jaws_ (1975), _Day of
the Animals_ (1977) and _The Great Muppet Caper_ (1981), died on 11 May
aged 77. [AIP]
     _Georg Bobjork_ (1952-2024), Swedish fan and convention worker active
from 1979, whose infrequent fanzine was _40th Century Cat_, died on 15 May
aged 72. [J-HH]
     _Roger Bozzetto_ (1937-2024), noted French critic who published many
studies of sf and fantasy from 1992 to 2014, died on 20 March aged 87.
[P-SP]
     _John Michael Burns_, UK comics artist/colourist who worked on many
Marvel UK titles including _X-Men_, died in February aged 76. [SH]
     _Caleb Carr_ (1955-2024), US author and screenwriter whose sf novel
was _Killing Time_ (2000), died on 23 May aged 68. Film credits include
_The Osiris Chronicles_ (1998) and two in the _Exorcist_ franchise. [SJ]
     _Dabney Coleman_ (1932-2024), US actor in _WarGames_ (1983), _Target
Earth_ (1998), _Stuart Little_ (1999), _Meet the Applegates_ (1990) and
_Devil's Food_ (1996), died on 16 May aged 92. [LP]
     _Roger Corman_ (1926-2024), US film-maker notorious for many
low-budget exploitation movies from 1954 onward, including _Attack of the
Crab Monsters_ (1957), _The Little Shop of Horrors_ (1960) and _X: The Man
with the X-ray Eyes_ (1963) -- also some enjoyable Poe-based films starring
Vincent Price -- died on 9 May aged 98. His last work as director was
_Frankenstein Unbound_ (1990) from the Aldiss novel; as producer, _Death
========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========