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From: David Langford <ansible@cix.co.uk>
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Subject: Ansible 444 -- July 2024
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 2024 17:02:09 +0100
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ANSIBLE(R) 444
JULY 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 secrets of the Temper Racket, Honeymoon Rob and Glim-Drop.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a444.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a444.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 BLUE JAUNTE ###

FORREST J ACKERMAN's 1953 Hugo as #1 Fan Personality -- much hyped as the
first Hugo ever presented -- was auctioned in June for $12,065 ($9,500 plus
'buyer's premium'). Happily it was acquired by the Worldcon Heritage
Organization for its regular Worldcon Hugo exhibit. [BB]

HILARY HARWELL, literary agent at KT Literary, incautiously tweeted: 'Just
read a query that was essentially THE ROAD meets DELIVERANCE and now I want
someone to write this for me, please?' (Xitter, 23 June). This vision of
aspiring authors being brushed off and their interesting ideas farmed out
to others was not well received ('I'd rather pitch my story straight into
the heart of the sun ...'); Harwell very soon deleted her X.com account.
Next day, KT Literary announced the departure of an agent 'whose recent
public statements directly contradict our values and the trust we work to
build with our clients'. [F770] Oh dear.

URSULA K. LE GUIN's house in Portland, Oregon, is being donated to Literary
Arts as a venue for the Le Guin Writers Residency. (AP, 10 June)

CHRIS PRIEST's library has for the most part (over 2,000 books) been
donated to Abbey Books in Paisley, Scotland, where a 'gobsmacked' bookshop
worker reported severe autograph overload: '[He] wrote his name in all of
the books he purchased so, in a sense, everyone buying any of his books
will be receiving a signed copy.' (_Daily Record_, 17 June) [GVG] The shop
owner has been told about the coming Worldcon in nearby Glasgow.

IMELDA STAUNTON, whose genre credits include _The Snow Queen_ (1995) and
the _Chicken Run_, _Harry Potter_ and _Paddington_ films, was made a Dame
in the King's Birthday Honours. (BBC, 14 June) Other honours include an OBE
for the UK Children's Laureate Joseph Coehlo, and an MBE for actor and
stuntman Kiran Shah, seen in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ (1981) plus _Star
Wars_ and _Hobbit_ films, among many others.

THOMAS TAYLOR, who for GBP500 created the watercolour cover art for the
first edition of _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ and much later
sold it for some $100,000, was, well, philosophical about its Sotheby's
auction sale in June for $1.92 million. (_New York Times_, 27 June)

J.R.R. TOLKIEN has a new bronze memorial at Pembroke College, Oxford,
created by his great-nephew Tim Tolkien and unveiled in a 12 June ceremony
with Neil Gaiman (whose Tolkien Lecture that day drew record queues) as MC
and a poem read by Roz Kaveney. (BBC, 12 June)

ROBERT CHARLES WILSON was thrilled by an irresistible offer from _New
Scientist_ Discovery Tours: 'Robert, interested in becoming a science
fiction writer?' With enormous will-power he demurred: 'Thanks, guys, but I
already crossed that one off my bucket list.' (Facebook, 20 June)


### CONTORTAE ###

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.

SOLD OUT 19-21 Jul [] FANTASY FOREST (cosplay), Sudely Castle, Cheltenham.
Waiting list at fantasyforest.co.uk.

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

2-4 Aug [] DIANA WYNNE JONES (conference/festival), Watershed, Bristol.
Enquiries to dianawynnejones2024@gmail.com 

SOLD OUT 2-5 Aug [] DISCWORLD CONVENTION, Birmingham NEC Hilton. GBP100
reg; GBP60 concessions. Waiting list at 2024.dwcon.org .

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

6 Aug [] EXTRA LONDON PUB MEETING before Worldcon: The Crown, 51 New Oxford
St, upstairs 7-11pm. If venue is closed try the Bloomsbury Tavern, 236
Shaftesbury Avenue (ground floor, same times). See also
file770.com/london-experiences-for-those-heading-to-the-worldcon/.

8-12 Aug [] GLASGOW 2024 (Worldcon), Glasgow SEC. _The planned 1 July price
rise has been cancelled._ GBP230 reg; first Worldcon and 'historically
under-represented' GBP165; Scots residents GBP150; under-26s GBP135 (GBP95
if Scots); under-16s GBP90; under-11s GBP55; under-6s GBP5. Virtual
membership GBP80. Further details and day rates at glasgow2024.org. 

9-11 Aug [] TFNATION (_Transformers_), Hilton Birmingham Metropole near the
NEC. Various day ticket rates at tfnation.com/2024.

16-19 Aug [] ERASMUSCON (Eurocon), Rotterdam, Netherlands. Euro125 reg;
under-23s Euro75; under-13s Euro10, under-3s free. Under-19s must be
accompanied by an adult. See www.erasmuscon.nl for day rates.

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

17 Aug [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare.
GBP11.55; child/concessions GBP7.21. See www.starsoftime.co.uk.

29 Sep [] FANTASY & SCI-FI SPOTLIGHT, The Nerdy Cafe, Shrewsbury. 11am-7pm.
See www.fantasyandscifispotlight.co.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. _Room
bookings are now open to members and The Boss advises fans to book early._

18-21 Apr 2025 [] RECONNECT, Hilton Lanyon Place Hotel and ICC, Belfast.
_Now GBP80 reg_; GBP40 discounted (_under-18s, concessions, Eastercon
first-timers, fans living in Ireland)_; GBP25 supp. See
easterconbelfast.org.

3-4 May 2025 [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. Tickets GBP33;
concessions and day rates at portsmouthcomiccon.com.

18 Oct 2025 [] PICTCON1, Salutation Hotel, 30-34 South St, Perth, Scotland.
GoH Francesca Tristan Barbini. GBP30 reg; GBP20 concessions. See
www.facebook.com/events/1186045639366253/.

RUMBLINGS. _Birmingham Anime Film Festival_ returns in September/October
2024: dates and prices are awaited at www.baff.uk.
     _Worldcon 2026:_ site selection voting is open at the Glasgow 2024
site, the only filed bid being Los Angeles.
     _Worldcon 2028:_ at last, several signs of life from Australia's
Brisbane bid, which in June updated its banner at x.com/brisbanein28 to say
2028 rather than 2025 and launched a new website at brisbane28.org. The
only active bid had long been Kampala, Uganda, regarded by many fans as
problematic owing to the country's horrific anti-LGBT laws (punishments
include life imprisonment and death).


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

TECHNOLOGY MASTERCLASS. _Microsoft Windows Time Estimates Predicted!_ 'In
the indicator windows of the electronic brain various groups of figures
began to appear. First, "400,000", then appeared a little sign "3 Minutes",
which promptly disappeared and gave place to "800,000 Minutes". There was a
whirring and clicking which rapidly changed to "133,33/20". Just as rapidly
these figures also vanished to the accompaniment of another clicking, then
a new row of fives began to appear, "555----".' (Vargo Statten [John
Russell Fearn], _A Time Appointed_, 1954) [BA]

AWARDS. _Bram Stoker_ (horror) novel winners: NOVEL _The Reformatory_ by
Tananarive Due. DEBUT _The Daughters of Block Island_ by Christa Carmen.
CHILDREN'S _The Nighthouse Keeper_ by Lora Senf. YA _She Is a Haunting_ by
Trang Thanh Tran. Full list at
locusmag.com/2024/06/2023-stoker-awards-winners/.
     _Lambdas_ (LGBTQ+) speculative fiction category: _I Keep My
Exoskeletons to Myself_ by Marisa Crane, [F770]
     _Locus:_ SF NOVEL _System Collapse_ by Martha Wells. FANTASY NOVEL
_Witch King_ by Martha Wells. HORROR NOVEL _A House with Good Bones_ by T.
Kingfisher. YA NOVEL _Promises Stronger Than Darkness_ by Charlie Jane
Anders. FIRST NOVEL _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
NOVELLA _Thornhedge_ by T. Kingfisher. NOVELETTE 'The Rainbow Bank' by
Uchechukwu Nwaka (8/23 _GigaNotoSaurus_). SHORT 'How to Raise a Kraken in
Your Bathtub' by P. Djeli Clark (1/23 _Uncanny_). ANTHOLOGY _Out There
Screaming_ ed. Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams. COLLECTION _White Cat,
Black Dog_ by Kelly Link. MAGAZINE _Uncanny_. PUBLISHER Tor. EDITOR Neil
Clarke. ARTIST John Picacio. NONFICTION _Space Crone_ by Ursula K. Le Guin.
ART _The Culture: The Drawings_ by Iain M. Banks. _Special_ Jeanne Cavelos
and the Odyssey Writing Workshop.
     _National Fantasy Fan Federation:_ these awards' wildcard 'none of the
above' category went to the 2023 Hugos as 'Best example of how not to run
fan awards'. [NF]
     _Nebulas:_ NOVEL _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera.
NOVELLA _Linghun_ by Ai Jiang. NOVELETTE 'The Year Without Sunshine' by
Naomi Kritzer (_Uncanny_ 11/23). SHORT 'Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200'
by R.S.A. Garcia (_Uncanny_ 7/23). CHILDREN'S/YA _To Shape a Dragon's
Breath_ by Moniquill Blackgoose. GAME _Baldur's Gate 3_. DRAMATIC _Barbie_.
========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========