John M. Cowan won the ISFiC Writers Contest for his short story “Oracle,” announced at opening ceremonies at Windycon 36 on November 13. The ISFiC Writers Contest has been running since 1986 and is open to any unpublished author living in Illinois or an ajoining state, or any member of Windycon. This year’s entrants were judged by Roland Green, Betty Ann Hull, and Bill Fawcett. Cowan was previously an attendee at the Windycon Writers Workshop, administered by former ISFiC Writers Contest winner Richard Chwedyk.
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Actor Edward Woodward (b.1930) died on November 16. Woodward appeared in numerous films and television shows, including the title role on The Equalizer. Some of his genre work included the 1996 television version of Gulliver’s Travels, the role of Merlin in Arthur the King, and The Wicker Man.
Kansas City fan John D. Taylor (b.1946) died on November 14 from cancer. Taylor was a founding member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society in 1971. Taylor ran Kansas City’s only science fiction specialty store, founded Kansas City’s first science fiction convention, and was instrumental in running MidAmeriCon, the 1976 Worldcon in Kansas City. More recently, Taylor helped with the Heinlein Centennial. Active until the end, he co-chaired ConQuest in 2009. He is survived by his daughter and his second wife, Tina Black, to whom he was married eighteen days before his death.
Shane Senter has pled guilty to four counts of the indictment against him. When sentencing occurs later this month, he is expected to receive 5 years probation, not be allowed to own, operate, manage or control a business where he takes payments/deposits up front, and be ordered to pay restitution.
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Archaeologists working in western Egypt believe they may have discovered the remains of the army of the Persian King Cambyses II. According to Herodotus, the army, which numbered 50,000, was destroyed by a sandstorm in 525 BCE. The expedition, which has uncovered hundreds of bones, bronze weapons, and jewelry, is being led by Italian archaeologists Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni.
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One case of H1N1 has been confirmed among attendees of World Fantasy Con, held last weekend in San Jose. Australian editor Jonathan Strahan became ill immediately after the convention and has been diagnosed as suffering from the virus, although his doctor did not run clinical tests. Although other cases of concrud may affect people, no other confirmed cases of H1N1 have been reported from World Fantasy Con.
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SFWA President Russell Davis has announced that Madeleine Robins will be taking over as the Nebula Awards Commissioner as the new rules governing the Nebula Awards take effect. Robins takes over from Brook West, who has been administering the Nebula Awards for several years.
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For the new Nebula rules
A private scholarship to permit a person of color to attend next year’s International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando, FL from march 17-21. The award is a private presentation by Arthur Hlavaty, Bernadette Bosky, and Kevin Maroney.
To qualify for the scholarship, the applicant should:
- have an interest in race and fantastic literature including science-fiction and/or horror, identify
- be known as someone who is not white
- will be 21 or over in March
- want to actively participate in conference activities/discussions
- cannot get money from a university to help you attend
The decision will be made by the judges using their our own criteria, including (but far from limited to) any writing you have done that we have seen and if we already know you personally; the decision is not subject to debate.
The deadline is Thursday, November 12.
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ICFA
Golden Gryphon is holding a buy one, get one free sale at their website through the end of the year. Golden Gryphon was founded in 1997 and in 1999, founder Jim Turner won the World Fantasy Award for his work on the press.
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San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC) has announced that Kirsten M. Berry is the recipient of this year’s scholarship to attend SMOFCon 27 in Austin, Texas. Berry has been attending and working on conventions of various sizes for twenty-five years.
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