ANSIBLE(R) 430
MAY 2023

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 information on the precise expiry date of summer's lease.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a430.html for the nice HTML version;
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CONVERSATION, the 2023 UK Eastercon, took place in the Birmingham NEC
Hilton despite the best efforts of a rail service fraught with line
closures and cumbersome replacement buses. 900+ members, with nearly 800
physically present.
_BSFA Awards:_ NOVEL Adrian Tchaikovsky, _City of Last Chances_.
YOUNGER READERS Frances Hardinge, _Unraveller_. SHORTER Aliette de Bodard,
_Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances_. NON-FICTION Rob Wilkins, _Terry
Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes_. ARTWORK Alyssa Winans, cover for _The
Red Scholar's Wake_ by Aliette de Bodard.
_Overheard_ (mostly from the Discord server): 'It's a sign of the
times -- the con has drunk the hotel dry of non-alcoholic beers.' -- Tony
Keen. 'Favourite subtitle so far: "I should buy copies for my niblings"
(i.e. nephews and nieces) was rendered as "I should buy copies for my
nipple rings".' -- Michael Abbott. Also the livestreamed BSFA Awards were
subtitled as the infinitely more fannish Beer Survey Awards. [CP]
_Eastercon 2025:_ despite the ominous intrusion of a joke bid,
'Catastrophe' run by cats, the Belfast 'Reconnect' bid was an easy winner
and takes Eastercon to Northern Ireland for the first time ever. See below.
_Doc Weir Award:_ Claire Brialey.
_Fan Funds:_ the auction raised GBP1,733, and the tombola plus other
sales and donations a further GBP360+. [GS/CB]
_Covid Watch:_ many positive tests were reported by attendees during
and soon after the con. The final figure must be well over 100, with 96
reports -- some for 'entire household' -- on Discord alone a week later.

### THE DARLING BUDS OF MAY ###

ANGELA BASSETT of _Black Panther_ fame, NEIL GAIMAN and SALMAN RUSHDIE are
all in _Time_'s list of the most influential people of 2023 -- as a Titan,
an Artist and an Icon respectively. [AIP]

JORGE LUIS BORGES's estate and copyrights are in the news again after the
death on 26 March of his widow Maria Kodama, who despite fiercely
protecting his memory since he died in 1986 seems to have made no will.
Five of her nephews very soon went to court, claiming ownership of all the
valuable rights and manuscripts. (AP, 6 April) [PDF]

AVRAM DAVIDSON's centenary on 23 April was celebrated with the release of a
new collection and (for five days only) three free ebooks including _The
Avram Davidson Treasury_. See avramdavidson.com.

FONDA LEE has been alerted by a reader to one of publishing's happy little
surprises in her fantasy novel _Jade War_, where 'instead of chapters
13-15, there are 31 pages of _A New World Begins: The History of the French
Revolution_ by Jeremy D. Popkin'. (Twitter, 3 April)

FIONA MOORE was Noticed by _QI_: 'This year, the "Non-Fiction" category of
the British Science Fiction Association Awards included a business book
titled _Management Lessons from Game of Thrones: Organization Theory and
Strategy in Westeros_.' (_QI_ on Facebook, 17 April)

JAMES D. NICOLL mused on blobby art: 'WHAT MODERN ARTIST CAN MATCH RICHARD
POWERS' "STARING AT A LAVA LAMP WHILE ON LSD" OR "STARING AT A DIFFERENT
LAVA LAMP WHILE ON LSD"?' (Facebook, 2 April)

### CONVOCANT ###

10-12 May [] GIFCON 2022 (Glasgow University online conference),
'Boundaries and Margins'. See tinyurl.com/472fpk3c.

13-14 May [] STEAMPUNK FAIRYTALE, Belvoir Castle, Grantham. Tickets GBP40;
under-17s GBP15; family (2 adults, up to 3 children) GBP55; carers GBP20.
See www.belvoircastle.com/castle-book-tickets/.

16 May [] TOLKIEN LECTURE by Maria Dahvana Headley, Pichette Auditorium,
Pembroke College, Oxford. 6pm. See tolkienlecture.org.

20-21 May [] HORRORCON UK, Magna, Sheffield. Weekend tickets GBP45 (11am
entry) or GBP55 (10am entry); more at horrorconuk.com.

26-28 May [] SATELLITE 8, Crowne Plaza, Glasgow. _Now GBP75 reg_; under-25s
GBP60; under-18s GBP20; under-12s GBP5; under-5s GBP2. Rates are valid to
22 May and may rise thereafter. See eight.satellitex.org.uk.

27-28 May [] LAWLESS (UK comics), Hilton Doubletree, Bristol. Tickets GBP70
or GBP35/day. See lawlesscomiccon.co.uk.

27-28 May [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

31 May - 6 Jun [] SCI-FI LONDON (film festival); multiple London venues
including Picturehouse Central. See sci-fi-london.com; showings listed and
individually ticketed at sci-fi-london.com/2022-info/ _[sic]_.

2-4 Jun [] CYMERA SF FESTIVAL 2023, Edinburgh and online. Weekend pass
GBP80, or GBP50 digital only. See www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

2-4 Jun [] JODIWORLD (Jodi Taylor), Doubletree by Hilton, Coventry. GBP70
reg; GBP10 supp; see www.jodiworld.org.

3-4 Jun [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. _Weekend tickets
now GBP28_. For day rates see portsmouthcomiccon.com.

8-11 Jun [] KONFLIKT (Eurocon), Uppsala, Sweden. Euro60 or 600 SEK reg;
under-26s free but must register. See eurocon2023.wordpress.com.

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

2-5 Feb 2024 [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow.
'Prehistoric Panic' theme. Details awaited at www.scotiacon.org.uk.

29 Mar - 1 Apr 2024 [] LEVITATION (Eastercon), Telford International
Centre. GBP115 reg _(may rise on 1 June)_; GBP50 concessions; GBP35
supporting; all memberships include virtual access. See
eastercon2024.co.uk.

8-12 Aug 2024 [] GLASGOW 2024, Glasgow SEC. GBP170 reg; concessions GBP125;
YA (under 26) GBP110; under-16s GBP75; under-11s GBP45; under-6s GBP5.
_Rates rise on 1 May 2023: GBP190 full adult reg._ Unconverted 'Friend'
memberships will become virtual-only, but this move (also announced for 1
May 2023) has been delayed to January 2024. See glasgow2024.org.

18-21 Apr 2025 [] RECONNECT, Hilton Lanyon Place Hotel and ICC, Belfast.
GoH Lauren Beukes, Derek Landy, Ian McDonald ('bar GoH'), Jeannette Ng,
Rebecca Roanhorse, William Simpson. GBP60 reg; GBP45 under-18s and
concessions; GBP25 supporting membership only. _These rates will rise at
the end of May._ See easterconbelfast.org.

RUMBLINGS. _Science Museum:_ the sf exhibition closing date has been
extended from 4 May to 20 August. See news.ansible.uk. [SM]
_Hugo Nominations_ close on 30 April. Many fans outside China
complained of being unable to nominate owing to persistent Chengdu website
problems.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS DEFINE US. Rachel Weisz, star of the gender-swapped tv reworking
of David Cronenberg's 1988 film _Dead Ringers_, is reassuring: '"It's not
sci-fi," Weisz says, discussing the scientific possibilities the story
wades into, it's closer than that: "It's near-fi."' (_Guardian_, 16 April)
[RM]

MORE AWARDS. _Fanzine Activity Achievement (FAAn):_ SPECIAL PUBLICATION
_1957: The First UK Worldcon_ ed. Rob Hansen. GENZINE _Portable Storage_.
PERSONALZINE _This Here ..._ LETTERHACK Jerry Kaufman. FANARTIST Ulrika
O'Brien. COVER Alan White for _Beam_ 17. FANWRITER (tie) Justin E A Busch
and Nic Farey. PAST PRESIDENT of fwa: John D. Berry and Nigel Rowe, 2022;
Keith Freeman, 1959. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Rob Hansen.
_Philip K. Dick:_ _The Extractionist_ by Kimberly Unger.
_LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize_ for sf/fantasy: _Spear_ by Nicola
Griffith.
_Prometheus_ (libertarian) finalists: _Widowland_ by C.J. Carey,
_Cloud-Castles_ by Dave Freer, _Captain Trader Helmsman Spy_ by Karl K.
Gallagher, _A Beast Cannot Feign_ by 'Dr. Insensitive Jerk' (Gordon
Hanka),_ Summer's End_ by John Van Stry.
_Seiun_ (Japan): finalists for the best translated novel of 2022
reportedly include Isaac Asimov's _Foundation_ series, translated by Yasuko
Kaji.
_SFWA Infinity Award_ (new posthumous Grandmaster): Octavia E. Butler.

MESSING WITH THE MOUSE. In his late-night HBO show _Last Week Tonight_,
John Oliver tweaked Disney's tail by adopting the original Mickey Mouse
character from _Steamboat Willie_ -- due to fall out of copyright on 1
January 2024 -- as a show mascot. Just to see what happens: 'we do like to
take a risk every now and then.' (Deadline.com, 2 April) [AIP]

R.I.P. _Harry Belafonte_ (1927-2023), US singer and actor seen in _The
World, the Flesh and the Devil_ (1959), _The Angel Levine_ (1970) and
_White Man's Burden_ (1995), died on 25 April aged 96. [SG/LP]
_Gennadi Bogachyov_ (1945-2023), award-winning Russian actor whose
credits include _Chudesnoe yabloko_ (1988 animation) and _The Master and
Margarita_ (2005 mini-series), died on 25 April aged 78. [AW]
_Bill Butler_ (1921-2023), US cinematographer whose films include
_Deathmaster_ (1972), _Demon Seed_, (1977), _Omen II_ (1978) and _Child's
Play_ (1988), died on 5 April aged 101. [LP]
_Larry Card_ (1940-2023), long-time US convention-goer and member of
First Fandom, died on 14 April. [JC]
_Michael Denneny_ (1943-2023), pioneering US editor of gay and lesbian
fiction and of the magazine _Christopher Street_, who at St Martin's Press
edited two Joanna Russ story collections and _Battlefield Earth_, was found
dead at home on 15 April; he was 80. [GVG]
_Frank Dobson_, UK comics fan and dealer who founded the first British
comics adzine, _Fantasy Advertiser_, in 1965 and published 31 issues before
handing over to others, died on 31 March. His 1975-1979 London shop was
Weird Fantasy, later becoming Dez Skinn's Quality Comics. [SH]
_Mike Foster_ (1947-2023), US academic, Tolkien scholar and Mythcon
regular, died on 12 April. [F770]
_Yevhen Gulevych_, Ukrainian editor and 'culturologist' who translated
Ray Bradbury's _Something Wicked This Way Comes_, was killed fighting at
Bakhmut, perhaps as long ago as December. [F770]
_Lee Harding_ (1937-2023), Australian author active in fandom from the
early 1950s and publishing professionally from 1961, died on 18 April aged
86. [JHW] He won the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award for
_Displaced Person_ (1979), two Ditmars, and the 2006 Chandler award for
life achievement.
_Barry Humphries_ (1934-2023), Australian actor, author, director and
scriptwriter famed for very much more than his credits in _Bedazzled_
(1967), _Howling III_ (1987), _Finding Nemo_ (2003) and _The Hobbit_
(2012), died on 22 April aged 89.
_Al Jaffee_ (1921-2023), US comics artist best known for contributions
to _Mad_ (including the famous 'fold-ins'), whose 1942-2020 comics career
holds the Guinness World Record for longevity, died on 10 April aged 102.
Genre collections include _Mad Monstrosities_ (1974). [LP]
_Michael Lerner_ (1941-2023), US actor in _Godzilla_ (1998 tv), _Tale
of the Mummy_ (1998), _Elf_ (2003) and _X-Men: Days of Future Past_ (2014),
died on 8 April aged 81. [AIP]
_Denny Lien_ (1945-2023), Minneapolis fan, librarian, collector,
worker on many Minicons and contributor to many APAs, died on 15 April aged
77. [MW] He was a valued contributor to the Fictionmags discussion list;
his research skills were a great help to Ansible Editions book projects.
_Carol Locatell_ (1940-2023), US actress in _Friday the 13th V_
(1985), died on 11 April aged 82. [LP]
_John Mansfield_, long-time Canadian fan who co-founded the Ontario SF
Group in 1966 and chaired the 1994 Worldcon in Winnipeg, died on 19 April.
[F770]
_Murray Melvin_ (1932-2023), UK actor in _Ghost Story_ (1973), three
_Starhunter_ series (2000-2018), _Torchwood_ (2007) and others, died on 14
April aged 90. [AIP]
_Kenzaburo Oe_ (1935-2023), Nobel-winning Japanese author, some of
whose work uses genre themes, died on 3 March aged 88. [L]
_Anne Perry_ (born Juliet Hulme, 1938-2023), historical mystery author
who also wrote the fantasies _Tathea_ (2000) and _Come Armageddon_ (2002),
died on 10 April aged 84. [LP]
_Rachel Pollack_ (1945-2023), US author and Tarot expert whose first
novel was _Golden Vanity_ (1980), died on 7 April aged 77. Her
_Unquenchable Fire_ (1988) won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and _Godmother
Night_ (1996) the World Fantasy Award; she created the first transgender
comics superhero while writing _Doom Patrol_ for DC 1993-1995. [SHS]
_Duane Earl Poole_ (1948-2023), US screenwriter with credits for
_Electra Woman and Dyna Girl_ (1976), _Smurfs_ (1981), _Return to the
Batcave_ (2003), _Angel in the Family_ (2004) and others, died on 1 April
aged 74. [AIP]
_Norman Reynolds_ (1934-2023), US production designer and art director
who shared Oscars for his work on _Star Wars_ (1977) and _Raiders of the
Lost Ark_ (1981), died on 6 April aged 89. Other credits include _The
Empire Strikes Back_ (1980), _Return of the Jedi_ (1983) and _Bicentennial
Man_ (1999). [AIP]
_Joseph Ross (Wrzos)_ (1929-2023), managing editor of _Amazing_ and
_Fantastic_ 1965-1967, editor of _The Best of Amazing_ (1967) and worker on
Arkham House projects, died on 7 April aged 93. He entered the First Fandom
Hall of Fame in 2016. [BNM]
_Ryuichi Sakamoto_ (1952-2023), Oscar-winning Japanese composer with
credits for _The Handmaid's Tale_ (1990), _Wild Palms_ (1993) and an
episode of _Black Mirror_ (2019), died on 28 March aged 71. [CL]
_Kate Saunders_ (1960-2023), UK author whose fantasies include the
six-book 'Belfry Witches' series opening with _A Spell of Witches_ (1999),
and the E. Nesbit homage _Five Children on the Western Front_ (2014), died
on 21 April aged 62. [AIP]
_Jerry Springer_ (1944-2023), US talk show host and actor in _Austin
Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me_ (1999) and _Sharknado 3_ (2015), died on 27
April aged 79. [LP]
_Leo D. Sullivan_ (1940-2023), US animator who worked on _Flash
Gordon_ (1979-1982), _BraveStarr_ (1987-1988), _The Incredible Hulk_ (1996)
and many more, died on 25 March aged 82. [AIP]
_Klaus Teuber_ (1952-2023), German board game designer who four times
won the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) with _Barbarossa_ (1988),
_Settlers of Catan_ (1995) and others, died on 1 April aged 70. [MR]
_Viktor Tochinov_ (1966-2023), Russian horror author whose 38 novels
since 2003 include some sf, died on 13 April. [AM]
_Richard Ng Yiu-Hon_ (1939-2023), Hong Kong actor in _Mr Vampire 3_
(1987), _Spooky, Spooky_ (1988), _Gambling Ghost_ (1991) and others, died
on 9 April aged 83. [K]