Path: ...!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!nntp.brightview.co.uk!news.brightview.co.uk.POSTED!not-for-mail
NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:37:29 +0000
From: David Langford <ansible@cix.co.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom,uk.people.sf-fans
Subject: Ansible 451 -- February 2025
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:37:50 +0000
Organization: Ansible Information
Message-ID: <o1vppj94e9gitntk270fdfg7b2na0stkg6@4ax.com>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Lines: 453
X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com
X-Trace: sv3-U48lDRcTqWTrywfO23BEtXqEl6VaavDrwrvW6Vt03uZmXbeNW9uR6VuWePvGt6yBrvucmAMO6xn150y!CYppiV1JCi9jCsLzTftap6ACwxeve5GLDbt3Kno6UfuOYMc4G6DXjIuYA2wlWQcYrFjlaQlL+Dr2!wJcD9ghvPTbwZRw=
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly
X-Postfilter: 1.3.40
Bytes: 26133


ANSIBLE(R) 451
FEBRUARY 2025 

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 17 volumes of _Euralia Past and Present_ by Roger Scurvilegs.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a451.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a451.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]


### ONCE ON A TIME ###

NEIL GAIMAN was publicly dropped by Dark Horse Comics (Xitter, 25 January)
following more allegations of past sexual misconduct, which he denies
(blog, 14 January). [SF2C] He seems to have quietly disappeared from the
web pages of his UK film/tv/theatre agents, Casarotto Ramsay. [CE] See also
Terry Pratchett below and January links at news.ansible.uk.

MARK HODDER is unhappy with the publishers who commissioned his novel _A
Dark and Subtle Light_ as a work-for-hire deal, paid for it and announced
October 2024 publication -- but then cancelled the book when the relevant
editor left the company, and 'forgot' to tell the author or remove the
Amazon listing. In response to fan enquiries, Hodder writes: 'I'm afraid
Rebellion (I'm now naming and shaming) have not only taken the novel off
their schedule but they are also refusing to give it (or even sell it) back
to me. Their stance is that I got paid so I don't really have anything to
complain about. A fucking atrocious attitude. [...] I consider it one of
the best novels I have written and I am royally PISSED OFF that no one will
get to read it.' (Reddit, 20 January) [F770]

DEMI MOORE won a Golden Globe as best female actor 'in a musical or comedy'
for her star part in that spectacularly gross body-horror film _The
Substance_, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. _The Substance_ has
since picked up five Oscar nominations: best picture, director, screenplay,
makeup/hairstyling and (Demi Moore again) lead actress.

KENNETH MORRIS, author of that fine Celtic fantasy _Book of the Three
Dragons_,was archived at the Theosophical Society library in Altadena,
California -- destroyed, alas, by the Eaton Fire on 8 January. A huge
collection of Theosophy-related material, including some of Algernon
Blackwood's papers, has been lost. (The Wild Hunt, 9 January) [DAA/MA]

LEE MURRAY, the New Zealand sf/fantasy/horror author, anthologist and
mentor, became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to
literature in the NZ New Year honours. [GP]

GEORGE ORWELL is commemorated by the UK Royal Mint's latest GBP2 coin
design, featuring a large eye/camera lens with the legend BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU. (_Manchester Evening News_, 13 January) [AL]

TERRY PRATCHETT's estate updated the official _Good Omens_ graphic novel
fundraiser (nearly GBP2.5m raised) with a note saying _inter alia_ that
'Neil Gaiman will not receive any proceeds'. (Kickstarter, 30 January)

ROBERT SILVERBERG celebrated his ninetieth birthday on 15 January.

NORMAN SPINRAD announced the end of his long-running (since 1983)
_Asimov's_ column 'On Books', with a final forthcoming essay titled
'Speculative Literature?'. The decision to stop, he notes, was his. [PDF]


### CONOIDAL ###

Until 6 Apr [] SCI-FI GALACTIC ADVENTURES (_Star Wars_ exhibition),
Riverside Museum, Glasgow. 10am-5pm; 11am-5pm Friday and Sunday. Free. See
www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/sci-fi-galactic-adventures.

7-9 Feb [] CONTABILE 35 (filk), Wensum Valley Hotel, Norwich. GBP43 reg;
GBP33 concessions. More details at c35.contabile.org.uk.

7-10 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. 'Magical
Mayhem' theme. GBP100 reg; day GBP45. See www.scotiacon.org.uk.

8-9 Feb [] THE GREAT CONJUNCTION (_Dark Crystal_), Elstree, London. Adult
weekend passes start at GBP102.95, rising to Very Expensive with VIP
access; special rates for under-17s. See www.thegreatconjunction.com.

21-23 Feb [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby. In-person
tickets GBP75 plus fee. Also online 14-16 February, GBP50 plus fee. See
www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.

22-23 Feb [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

12-13 Apr [] CONPULSION (games), The Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ. Tickets
GBP20 or GBP10 each day, at the door only. See conpulsion.org.

25-27 Apr [] SPRINGMOOT (Tolkien Society), annual dinner and members-only
AGM, Leonardo Hotel, Cardiff. Room and dinner bookings at
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/agm-and-springmoot-2025.

7-9 May [] GIFCON (University of Glasgow conference), 'Queering the
Fantastic', online. See tinyurl.com/yfdbvdwj.

5-6 Jul [] TOLKIEN SOCIETY SEMINAR: 'Arda's Entangled Bodies ...', Glasgow
and online. Free. See www.tolkiensociety.org/events/.

13-17 Aug [] SEATTLE WORLDCON 2025, Seattle, WA, USA. _Now $250 full adult
registration, rising to $280 on 1 March 2025 and $300 on 1 May 2025._ For
the other rates see seattlein2025.org.

4-7 Sep [] OXONMOOT (Tolkien Society), St Anne's, Oxford. Registration
awaited at www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2025.

24-26 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester.
GBP110 reg, _rising to GBP120 on 1 March_. Day rates: GBP30 Friday, GBP55
Saturday, GBP45 Sunday. See fantastic-films.uk.

RUMBLINGS. _Middle-earth Festival_ is to take place on the 'weekend after
Oxonmoot', i.e. 11-12 September; UK field venue still not revealed.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS WE SEE US. 'A science fiction convention, though, was definitely the
worst. The people were loud. And friendly. And interested in you,
themselves, each other, and the arts of rhetoric and personal adornment, in
approximately that order.' Also, '... the only way female fantasy writers
could achieve respect was through bribery.' (both Rosemary Edghill [eluki
bes shahar], _The Cloak of Night and Shadows_, 1997) [BA]

AWARDS. _Philip K. Dick Award_ shortlist:_ City of Dancing Gargoyles_ by
Tara Campbell, _Your Utopia: Stories_ by Bora Chung translated by Anton
Hur, _Time's Agent_ by Brenda Peynado, _The Practice, the Horizon, and the
Chain_ by Sofia Samatar, _Alien Clay_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky, _Triangulum_
by Subodhana Wijeyeratne.

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Viking Classics (no connection with Penguin's
Viking Books, which is presumably not a problem for the beady-eyed Penguin
legal department) reissues public domain works in which 'Spelling and
grammar are carefully edited', as for example on the tasteful cover of
their Kindle ebook _Around the World in 80 Days_ by H.G. Wells -- although,
to be fair, they do show the right author on the title page. [MA]

R.I.P. _Alma Rosa Aguirre_ (1929-2025), Mexican actress in _El fantasma de
la casa roja_ (1956) and _Los diablos del terror_ (1959), died on 27
January aged 95. [SJ]
     _Britt Allcroft_ (1943-2024), UK tv producer and writer who created
the tv series _Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends_ -- later just _Thomas &
Friends_ -- and wrote 579 episodes 1984-2020 (there were also many
spinoffs), died on 27 December aged 81.
     _Laurel Amberdine_, US author, interviewer and member of the editorial
teams at _Lightspeed_ and _Locus_, died on 21 January. [L]
     _Mariano Antolin Rato_ (1943-2025), Spanish translator (of William S.
Burroughs and others) and author of six sf novels beginning with _Cuando
900 mil mach aprox_ (_When 900 Thousand Mach Approx_, 1973) -- which
introduced New Wave-mode sf to Spain -- died on 10 January aged 81. [MV]
     _Jeff Baena_ (1977-2025), who wrote and directed the zombie romantic
comedy _Life After Beth_ (2014), committed suicide on 3 January aged 47.
[SJ]
     _Christopher Benjamin_ (1934-2025), UK actor in _The Plague Dogs_
(1982), the _Jago & Litefoot_ podcast series (55 episodes spun off from the
title characters' appearance in _Doctor Who_: 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang',
1977) and _The Legend of Tarzan_ (2016), died on 10 January aged 90.
     _John Brunas_, US film historian who wrote extensively about horror
and with his brother Michael plus Tom Weaver published _Universal Horrors:
The Studio's Classic Films, 1931--1946_ (1990), died on 19 January aged 76.
[SJ]
     _John Capodice_ (1941-2024), Italian-US actor in _Q: The Winged
Serpent_ (1982), _Gremlins 2_ (1990), _Independence Day_ (1996), _The
Phantom_ (1996) and others, died on 30 December aged 83. [SJ]
     _Leslie Charleson_ (1945-2025), US _General Hospital_ actress whose
films include _The Day of the Dolphin_ (1973), died on 12 January aged 79.
[SJ]
     _Barbara Clegg_ (1926-2025), UK _Emergency Ward 10_ actress who moved
on to scriptwriting, adapting Wyndham's _The Chrysalids_ for Radio 4 (1981)
and becoming the first woman to write for _Doctor Who_ with her serial
'Enlightenment' (1983), died on 7 January aged 98. [SJ]
     _Phyllis Dalton_ (1925-2025), Oscar-winning UK costume designer whose
films include _Scrooge_ (1951), _The Water Babies_ (1978), _Unidentified
Flying Oddball_ (1979) and _The Princess Bride_ (1987), died on 9 January
aged 99. [SJ]
     _Paul Danan_ (1978-2025), UK actor in _The Queen's Nose_ (3 episodes
2002), _Are We Dead Yet?_ (2019) and _Doll House_ (2022), was found dead on
15 January aged 46. [SJ]
     _Yevgenia Dobrovolskaya_ (1964-2025), Russian actress who starred in
========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========