28 August 2003

News Update Notice
Although a lot of news is expected to come out of Torcon this weekend, it may not appear on the SF Site news page as quickly as we would normally like due to various schedule conflicts, web access, and other matters.

Service to SFWA Award Announced
SFWA President Catherine Asaro has announced that a Service to SFWA Award will be presented to Ann Crispin and Michael Capobianco in recognition of their more than twenty years of combined service to the organization as officers, volunteers, committee chairs, liaisons to other writers' organizations, and many other activities. The Service Award has only been presented four times previously to Chuq Von Rospach (1996), Shelia Finch (1997), Robin Wayne Bailey (1998), and Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski (2000).

Final Columbia Report Issued
The final report on the Columbia Disaster has been issued and, in addition to finding a piece of foam as the cause of the destruction of the space shuttle as it attempted to land on February 1st, the report also takes NASA to task for a corporate culture which did not encourage dissent, citing many of the problems which infested the agency prior to the Challenger disaster as still being a problem. The entire 248 page report can be read on-line at http://boss.streamos.com/download/caib/report/web/full/caib_report_volume1.pdf.

Lord of the Rings Marathon
New Line Cinema has announced plans to re-release The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to theatres prior to the debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in December.

20 August 2003

New Membership Requirements for SFWA
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced new membership guidelines. The guidelines, which are an attempt to make membership requirements more clear, are available at http://www.sfwa.org/org/qualify.htm.

Sizemore Convicted
Actor Tom Sizemore, who appeared in the horror film "The Relic" and the science fiction film "Red Planet" has been convicted of domestic violence, criminal threats, vandalism, and making obscene phone calls to his former fiancée Heidi Fleiss. Sizemore was acquitted of nine other charges, but may face up to four years in prison when he is sentenced on October 2.

SMART-1 Launch Set
The European Space Agency will launch the SMART-1 on September 3 as the first European mission to the Moon. The SMART-1 will use an ion propulsion system, only the second time such a system has been used in spaceflight, although it was popularized in science fiction films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the "Star Trek" series. SMART-1 is scheduled to explore dark craters near the lunar poles where water ice may exist as well as a mountain known as the Peak of Eternal Light because the sun always shines on it.

16 August 2003

Freas, Bryant Recuperating
Artist Frank Kelly Freas and author Edward Bryant are both recuperating following surgery earlier this week. Freas underwent surgery on Sunday, August 10 after breaking his hip on Friday evening and Bryant underwent scheduled heart surgery on August 11.

Haldeman Named to Heinlein Board
Author Joe Haldeman has been named to the board of the Heinlein Society. He joins Bill Patterson, David M. Silver, Charles N. Brown, Yoji Kondo, and Alan Milner. The Heinlein Society was founded in 2000 as a non-profit corporation formed to advance the fiction and pay forward ideals of Robert A. Heinlein,

SFSFC Issues New Challenge Grant
Their challenge grant for the continuation of SF-Lovers complete, San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc (SFSFC) has issued a challenge grant of up to $2,000 to non-profit groups and individuals to help fund the Student SF Contest which has been part of Worldcons since 1998. In addition, SFSFC has granted $1,000 in outright aid to the effort. With this challenge, the SFSFC board notes that the original funding for the contest is expected to run out with the sixth annual competition this year at Torcon 3. Groups and individuals interested in making donations to fund the Student SF Contest and qualify for the matching grant to contact the organizers directly at contest@bucconeer.worldcon.org.

Politics Intrudes on SF
The California recall has intruded on the lives of science fiction fans with the announcement by at least two cable networks, FX and Sci Fi Channel, that they will refrain from showing any films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger between now and the October 7 election. Sci Fi Channel has announced plans to replace a Schwarzenegger marathon of 'The Running Man," "Conan the Destroyer" and "Terminator 2" with a day's worth of California disaster films. Although Equal time laws would require any network that shows a film or television show starring a declared candidate to provide equal time to any other candidate who requested it, cable channels are exempt from the law.

Obituaries
SF fan Louis Russell "Russ" Chauvenet (b.1920) died in his sleep on June 24. Chauvenet is credited with coining the terms "prozine" and, perhaps more importantly, "fanzine."

Fan artist Mike Hinge (b. 1931) died sometime around August 7. Police gained access to his apartment in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania after he had not been seen for several days. Hinge moved to the United States from his native New Zealand in 1958 and his work appeared in numerous fanzines as well as on the cover of Amazing Stories and Time Magazine. In 1984, he was an impromptu guest of honor at the New Zealand National convention.

British fan Martin Smith (b.1963) died on liver failure. In recent months, Smith, who attended numerous cons in the United States as well as in Britain, was diagnosed as diabetic.

11 August 2003

Writers of the Future Gold Medalist Named
Matthew Candelaria of Lawrence, Kansas received the Writers of the Future Gold Medal for his story "Trust is a Child." The winners were announced at a banquet in Los Angeles, California at the culmination of a week of workshops. The Gold Medal includes a cash prize of $4,000.

Ed Bryant to Undergo Heart Surgery
Horror author Ed Bryant is scheduled for quadruple/quintuple bypass heart surgery on Monday, August 11. He is expected to have many weeks of recuperation. Updates on Bryant's progress, along with an explanation for why he is undergoing the surgery now, can be found at www.wormholebooks.com by scrolling down to the Writing News link.

Freas Surgery Postponed
Frank Kelly Freas's surgery for his broken hip was postponed from Saturday, August 9 to Sunday, August 10. The surgery appears to have been successful and Kelly is recovering in hospital.

Marriage Successful
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko married Ekaterina Dmitriev on Sunday, August 10 as planned. Malenchenko is currently serving aboard the International Space Station while Dmitriev was in Houston, Texas. The ceremony was performed using a video hookup. This is the first time a wedding has been performed while one of the participants was in orbit.

10 August 2003

Kelly Freas Breaks Leg
Hugo-Award winning artist Frank Kelly Freas fell on August 8 and broke his leg. According to his wife, Laura Brodian Freas, Kelly was scheduled for surgery on the morning on August 9. Freas is scheduled to be honored at Torcon 3 at the end of the month as the worldcon's Artist Guest of Honor.

Sf-Lovers Challenge Grant Completed
On March 15, San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. issued a challenge grant to raise money in support of the SF-Lovers web Site. SFSFC offered an outright grant of $450 along with matching funds of up to $1,050. In early August, SFSFC issued the final matching grant for a total donation of $1,500 to SF-Lovers, in addition to $1,050 donated by individuals and other non-profit organizations.

Pegasus Award Ballot Deadline
Nominations for the Pegasus Award, honoring excellence in filk music, are open through August 15. Although only members of OVFF (Ohio Valley Filk Festival) may vote for the awards, anyone in fandom may nominate songs for the ballot. Nominating ballots can be found at http://www.ovff.org/pegasus.html, which also has a link to a brainstorming session of eligible works.

Asteroids Honor Astronauts
Seven asteroids have been named in honor of the seven astronauts who were killed when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas on February 1. The asteroids, which orbit in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, were all discovered in 2001 by Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer Eleanor Helin and range from 3.1 to 4.3 miles in diameter.

World Fantasy Award Nominations
The ballot for the World Fantasy Awards has been announced. This year's awards will be presented at World Fantasy Convention 2003 in Washington, DC on November 2. This year's judges included Justin Ackroyd, Les Edwards, Laura Anne Gilman, Lawrence Watt-Evans, and Jane Yolen. The awards administrator is Peter Dennis Pautz. In addition to these categories, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at the con.

Novel:
The Facts of Life, Graham Joyce
Fitcher's Brides, Gregory Frost
Ombria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillip
The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque, Jeffrey Ford
The Scar, China Miéville

Novella:
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
"The Least Trumps", Elizabeth Hand
"The Library", Zoran Zivkovic
Seven Wild Sisters, Charles de Lint
A Year in the Linear City, Paul Di Filippo

Short Story:
"Creation", Jeffrey Ford
"The Essayist in the Wilderness", William Browning Spencer
"Little Dead Girl Singing", Stephen Gallagher
"October in the Chair", Neil Gaiman
"The Weight of Words", Jeffrey Ford

Anthology:
The American Fantasy Tradition, Brian M. Thomsen, ed.
Conjunctions 39: The New Wave Fabulists, Peter Straub, ed.
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds.
Leviathan 3, Jeff VanderMeer & Forrest Aguirre, eds.
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, eds.

Collection:
City of Saints and Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer
The Fantasy Writer's Assistant and Other Stories, Jeffrey Ford
Figures in Rain, Chet Williamson
The Ogre's Wife, Richard Parks
Waifs and Strays, Charles de Lint
Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, Robin McKinley & Peter Dickinson

Artist:
Kinuko Y. Craft
Tom Kidd
Gary Lippincott
Dave McKean
John Jude Palencar
Charles Vess

Special Award, Professional:
Paul Barnett (for Paper Tiger art books)
Ellen Datlow (for editing)
William K. Schafer (for Subterranean Press)
Gary Turner & Marty Halpern (for Golden Gryphon Press)
Gordon Van Gelder (for F&SF)
Terri Windling (for editing)

Special Award, Non-Professional:
Peter Crowther (for PS Publishing)
Gavin Grant & Kelly Link (for Small Beer Press)
Sean Wallace (for Prime Books)
Michael Walsh (for Old Earth Books)
Jason Williams, Jeremy Lassen & Benjamin Cossel (for Night Shade Books)

Chesley Nominations
The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA) has announced the nominees for the Chesley Awards. The awards recognize excellence in science fiction and fantasy art. Named for artist Chesley Bonestell, awards will be presented at Torcon 3, the World Science Fiction Convention, in Toronto.

Contribution to ASFA:
Ted and Bonnie Atwood for years of service
Holly Bird production design & layout of ASFA Quarterly
Joni Brill Dashoff for fund-raising efforts and years of service
Morgana years of service hosting the ASFA suite at Worldcons
Geoff Surette for ASFA webpage management

Best Monochrome Unpublished:
Maurizio Manzieri for The Skimmer's Lagoon
James Owen for Old Tom's Study
Jean-Pierre Targete for Morgana Reborn
Mike Weaver for Miss Fix-it
Lawrence Allen Williams for Still Waters

Best Color Unpublished:
Richard Hescox for The Storm
Tom Kidd for The Rungius Pass
Maurizio Manzieri for Briony, Princess of Shadowmarch
Theresa Mather for Wings of the Wind
Christopher Vacher for The Endless Dream
Michael Whelan for Bean Stalk

Best Three-Dimensional:
Kim Graham for Con Jose Dragon
Daniel Hawkins for The Alchemist
Real Musgrave for Rocket Science
Laura Reynolds for Hippocampus
Lisa Snellings Clark for Winter Guardians

Best Art Director:
Irene Gallo for Tor Books
Dana Knutson for Wizards of the Coast
Julia Kushnirsky for St. Martin's Press
Dave Land for Dark Horse Comics
David Stevenson for Ballantine & Del Rey Books

Best Interior Illustration:
Kinuko Y. Craft for Sleeping Beauty by Mahlon F. Craft
Bob Eggleton for Dragonhenge by John Grant & Bob Eggleton
Scott Gustafson for Classic Fairy Tales by Scott Gustafson
William Stout for Abu & the Seven Marvels by Richard Matheson
Bernie Wrightson for Stuff Out' A My Head by Joseph M. Monks & Bernie Wrightson

Best Cover Illustration: Magazine:
Kenn Brown for Wired, December '02
David Cherry for Computer Gaming World, November '02
Matt Hughes for Corporate Knights, October/November '02
Todd Lockwood for Dragon Magazine #302, December '02
Ron Miller for Asimov's, February '02

Best Gaming-Related Illustration:
William Hammock for Darkness and Light
Todd Lockwood for Spider Queen
David Martin for Mirari's Wake

Best Product Illustration:
David Cherry for New Age of Mythology Trio
James C. Christensen for Garden Rendezvous
Scott Gustafson for Happily Ever After
Dean Morrissey for The Light Ship
Michael Parkes for The Court Painter

Best Cover: Paperback:
Tom Canty for The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman
Tristan Elwell for Briar Rose by Jane Yolan
James Gurney for Dinotopia: Dolphin Watch by John Vornholt
Don Maitz for Stealing the Elf King's Roses by Diane Duane
Matt Stawicki for Restoration by Carol Berg

Best Cover: Hardback:
Bob Eggleton for Resurgence by Charles Sheffield
Mark Harrison for Diuturnity's Dawn by Alan Dean Foster
Todd Lockwood for The Thousand Orcs by R.A. Salvatore
Alan Pollack for Argonaut by Stanley Schmidt
Michael Whelan for Sorcery Rising by Jude Fisher

Award for Artistic Achievement:
Jim Burns
Kinuko Y. Craft
Tom Kidd
Hayao Miyazaki
Maurice Sendak

6 August 2003

Frederik Pohl Wants You
The Official Frederik Pohl website is looking for contributions, including brief scholarly essays suitable for a wide audience, book reviews, brief synopses of works by Pohl, appreciations, reminiscences, .gif or .jpg (picture) files, suggested links to other sites / permission to link to your website, and study guides. Suggestions, articles and permissions should be sent to Rich Ehrlich at erlichrd@muohio.edu

Mythopoeic Award Winners
The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award is given for a fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during 2002 that best exemplifies "the spirit of the Inklings." In addition to the two fiction awards, two scholarly awards are presented for works on the Inklings and more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The scholarly award eligibility is three years. This year's winners were announced on Sunday, July 27th, during Mythcon XXXIV, which was held in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 25-28th, 2003.
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Adult Literature: Patricia A. McKillip, Ombria In Shadow
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Children's Literature: Michael Chabon, Summerland
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies: Michael D.C. Drout, ed., Beowulf and the Critics By J.R.R. Tolkien
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies: Graham Anderson, Fairytale In the Ancient World

NASA to Launch Phoenix
NASA has announced plans to launch a spacecraft named Phoenix to Mars in 2007. The Phoenix mission will dig a trench up to a metre deep in the Martian soil and then deploy a suite of instruments to study the accessible ice, soil and rock. In addition the mission will study the Martian atmosphere. Metrological instruments for the mission are being supplied by Canada. The craft is expected to land on Mars in 2008.

Space Wedding May Be Back On
Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who last month announced the cancellation of his plans to marry fiancée Ekaterina Dmitriev while he was aboard the International Space Station and she was in Houston, has stated that their wedding will take place as planned on August 10. Malenchenko is defying the wishes of Russian officials in order to go ahead with the first marriage in space.