Ip REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST NUMBER= O34 *T Publication No VBG2791 $1.50 ausTRnunn Shews Volumes Numbers MARCH 198E985 IN THIS ISSUE: DR WHO BACK LATE EBONY BOOKS ’85; "HERETICS OF DUNE" PB DUE MAY; ANNOUNCE NEW "STARTREK III" IS A GOER; "2010" ANTHOLOGY GETS 5 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS. EBONY BOOKS ( that is, Jenny and Russell Blackford) are publishing an anthology in me very near future a small group of Americans and Russians of Oz sf later this year. It is guaran­ set oi^on me greatest adventure of mem all... teed emu and kangaroo free. What's more, 'To secH’ mere is life beyond the stars. Ayers Rock will not turn out to be an alien artifact in any of the stories. They are planning, they added, to launch the book during Aussiecon Two in August. The anthology, URBAN FANTASIES ( a term Lee Harding invented to describe his award winning novel, DISPLACED PERSON) will concentrate on life as most Australians know it. It has been edited jointly by Russell Blackford and David King, the editor of Norstrilia Press's very well- recieved anthology DREAMWORKS. Some perceptive readers will have noticed that in the about-the-author section of Ebony's first book, TRANSMITTERS by Damien Broderick, there is mentioned a story about ' a man who gives birth to a lobster who is THE. YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT really his mother'. Those intrigued by this description should be happy to find it in ROY SCHEIDER URBAN FANTASIES. Other highlights include John Baxter's first sf short story for many years, and George Turner's version of St Kilda after the greenhouse effect. LEE HARDING - which are sf, but they do have, er, BOOKS and BABIES affiliations. More on these late. And LEE HARDING reports that his novel there IS some more sf or whatever in DISPLACED PERSON has gone back to press the pipeline. Meanwhile.... for its fifth printing in Penguin and Lee's wife Irene gave birth to a baby WAITING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD went girl, Madeleine, (after Proust), on into its second printing as soon as it January 15th. Congratulations Irene was released as a Puffin Plus: the new and Lee. edition will be as a Penguin. A little confusing, but Peguins are doing this Lee attended the National Word Festival with books that have adult as well as held in Canberra early in March, where he was a guest of the Festival along with juvenile appeal. THE WEB OF TIME, is now due to be published in Puffin in Doris Lessing, Victor Kelleher, Thomas April or May, depending on the arrival Keneally and other luminaries. Which he of stock from overseas. Harding has two said was "just an excuse to have a whopping good time". new novels due out next year: GOODBYE GONDWANALAND and PROVIDENCE - neither of X> AUSTRALIA! PROPESSIOl NEWS c'l Q Anitas' Dear Readers, PAUL COLLINS has sold a story, SELECT FEW, to Ebony Books for inclusion in I must apologise for the long delay their anthology, URBAN FANTASIES. He between issues of ASFN, but business has also sold a story, THE HOUSE THAT and basically financial problems, have LIKED PEOPLE, to Oxford University Press prevented me; from putting any time into for a children's anthology, due out this typing up this issue. To complicate the year. Paul intended to publish his own problem, my usual printer who has been novel SHERRA this year, but as he has giving me a very good deal, has decided not received a grant from the Literature to close down his printing operations Board, the publication of SHERRA and and concentrate on other aspects of his other books planned, is gravely in doubt. business. So the glossy, large format' ASFN will forever be a thing of the past. In association with American Agent It was nice while it lasted, but all Cherry Weiner, Paul Collins has sold three good things must come to an end. of WYNNE WHITEFORD's books to Berkley: As space is much more limited, I will BREATHING SPACE ONLY, SAPPHIRE ROAD and not waste too much of it telling you THOR'S HAMMER. BREATHING SPACE ONLY was what will or will not be in future also published in France last year and issues, but basically we will be concen­ if anybody would like a copy in French, trating on Australian news, information write to Paul Collins. on new books published both in Australia BEASTS OF HEAVEN by VICTOR KELLEHER is and overseas and less of reviews and I an sf novel, which has just been published regret, letters. So let's get on with by the University of Queensland Press and it. distributed by Penguin Books. Kelleher won Merv Binns/ Ed. the Children's Book Award in 1983 for his fantasy novel, MASTER OF THE GROVE. PS. Changes to subscription rates will JACK WODHAMS has sold his novel FUTURE change as we work out new printing costs, WAR, to the European publisher Novelles and the size of future issues,as well as Editions Opta. Wodhams agents handled how often we can get issues published. the deal with the publishers, who will include it in their Galaxie-Bis series. Cory and Collins originally published the book in 1982. AUSTRALIAN SF NEWS ISSN 0155-8870 Edited and published by ADVERTISING: Professional Rate - Full Mervyn R.Binns back page $60.00. Interior full page ASFN is registered for posting under $50.00. Quarter page $15.00.Half page Australia Post, publication #VBG2791. $30.00. Full page copy ready size Address for all correspondence is 270mm V x 185mm H. Half page 135mm V x 305/307 Swanston St., Melbourne 3000, 185mm H. $1.00 per column centimetre. Victoria, AUSTRALIA. Quarter page or less cost will be given SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $6.50 for 4 issues on request. 10% discount applies to surface mail.$10.00 Airmail. Please advertisements placed on a regular basis. make all payments payable to the editor, A 50% discount applies to advertisements ylervyn R.Binns. Our American agent is for conventions and other fan activities. LOCUS, Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661. We are agents for LOCUS, SCIENCE FICTION Please send all payments in the U.S.A, CHRONICLE and SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW. to LOCUS: $4.50 US Surface mail and Due to the current rapidly changing $7.00 US Airmail. Subscribers in other exchange rate we cannot give specific parts of the world including Britain, rates for these publications in advance. should write to us direct for current Rates will be given on request. rate in their currency and for details ^of how to send payment. no matter how good their writing may be, DOPJS LESSING can find it very hard to get published. In Australia People & Publishing Following their teaching stint at M.I.T., JOE and GAY HALDEMAN having been enjoy­ ing themselves galavanting throughout the USA, Britain and the Bahamas. They will be attending AUSSIECON TWO, which they are eagerly looking forward to. Joe put off the writing of the third book in the " Worlds" trilogy late last year to write a new novel TOOL OF THE TRADE. KATHERINE KURTZ has sold a collection of Deryni stories to Del Rey./ MICHAEL MOORCOCK has finished rewriting THE CITY OF THE AUTUMN STARS for Pocket. He The acclaimed author DORIS LESSING, was was recently working on LETTERS FROM in Australia during February and March, HOLLYWOOD and a sequel to PHOENIX IN primarily to attend the National Word OBSIDIAN, while convalescing after a case Festival in Canberra. She stopped in of double pneumonia./ PHILIP JOSE FARMER'S other cities for brief periods and while in new novel DAYWORLD, has been optioned for Melbourne, Space Age Books had the great filming by Embassy Pictures. Farmer has pleasure of introducing her to George also signed to do the novelization of Turner at a dinner held at the Florentino FANTASTIC VOYAGE 2. The original movie Restaurant. Mrs Lessing is a very charming novel was supposedly written by Isaac and interesting person. She found quite a Asimov, but he is reported to have few items of mutual interest during her ignored it when referring to his over conversation with George Turner, and with 300 book titles. Farmer's book is written Merv Binns and Maureen Walsh, from Space from a treatment by Jerome Bixby and will Age Books. At a gathering held in Sydney, be published even if the movie does not heard on the ABC by our correspondent, get to the screen. under very poor conditions, Mrs Lessing replied to various questions from an ROBERT SILVERBERG's next two sf novels audience. In so doing she made some very have been purchased by Donald Fine Inc. interesting remarks about science fiction. for hard cover and Warner for paperback. She said that it should not be regarded The advance was reported to be more in an way other than another branch of that $600,000. Silverberg's fortunes literature, that writers have been have changed dramatically since his using for centuries. She said that she attendance of AUSSIECON I in 1975, when found it a convenient way of carrying he was on the verge of giving sf writing her ideas and was rather shocked at the up as a bad job. reactions she got from her readers, with the publication of SHIKASTA and the JACK VANCE has completed the second book in his "Lyonesse Cycle", a concept he has following books. She defines science been working on most of his life./ fiction as a literature of ideas written The issue of LOCUS due out last November by scientists, but "space-fiction" is something else again.