Friendsof the UNIVERSITY News of NEWCASTLE September 1997 Book Fair Opening Day Sets Record On 16 August, the opening day of the 1997 Book Fair, a record $28 750 in sales was made. The queue before opening stretched beyond the Ring Road; floor plans were made available to customers this year and the crowd who surged in at 10.00 am moved very rapidly to their chosen areas. Two years of hard work by the Book Team under the direction of Pat Flowers was rewarded by total sales of $60 663 by the close of the Fair on Saturday 30 August. Sales on the week days were clearly affected by parking problems, but the final day, which coincided with the University’s Open Day, again saw record sales; the Fair was concluded with a most successful Auction. Narelle Lewis, ably assisted by husband John, took over the Fair management from Bev MacDonald this year. Helpers joined together in a celebratory dinner on Thursday 28 August. The charts below show the daily takings and the progressive total takings day by day throughout the Fair. These were produced day by day as John Lambert counted the money.
The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308 http://www.newcastle.edu.au/assoc/friends/ Friends of the University of Newcastle
The chart below summarises the Book Fair takings and expenses since the first Fair in 1983. In the earlier years, the University was able to provide many more “free” services. With the continuing reduc- tion in government funding and consequent out-sourcing and cost-recovery charges, we have had to meet more expenses. It will be a month or two before we receive the final payments for a few items and deal with the last of the bills. The final profit will be about $55 000.
September 1997 Lunch with a Writer Writer Jack Dann Date Friday 24 October 1997 Time 12.15 for 12.30 pm Place The Radisson, King and Steel Streets, Newcastle Bookings Pepperina, Bolton Street, Newcastle Cost $20.00
Jack Dann Jack Dann is the author of over forty books, including the novels Junction, Starhiker, and The Man Who Melted, which Science Fiction Age called ‘one of the greatest SF novels of all time.’ Dann’s work has been compared to Jorge Luis Borges, Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, Casteneda, J G Ballard, and Philip K Dick. Jack Dann was born in Johnson City NY in 1945. He graduated from high school in 1963 and went on to attend Hofstra University, which had an excellent theatre department, and Jack wanted to become an actor. But in 1965, while attending college, he had an appendicitis attack which developed into severe peritonitis and only a 5% chance of survival. It was during his four month stay in hospital that Jack believes his career as a writer was ‘probably’ born. He started writing and selling short stories and then his first anthology, Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction, was published to rave reviews and instantly became a classic in the genre. In 1977 his first novel, Starhiker, was published, followed by Junction in 1981 and The Man Who Melted in 1984. Jack Dann’s short stories have appeared in Omni and Playboy as well as other major magazines and anthologies. He edits the multi-volume Magic Tales series with Gardner Dozois and is a consulting editor for TOR books in the USA. He has won the Nebula Award once and been a finalist for eleven times and a World Fantasy Award finalist three times. his new novel, The Memory Cathedral has won the 1996 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel and ‘Da Vinci Rising’, a novella based on The Memory Cathedral has recently won the Nebula Award. In 1993 Jack met Australian critic and academic, Janeen Webb, at a conference in San Francisco and he began to ‘commute’ between Binghamton NY and Melbourne. The same year High Steel, a novel he co-wrote with Jack C Haldeman II was published to critical acclaim and he completed The Memory Cathedral which had been six years in the making. In 1995 he married Janeen and set up his office permanently in Melbourne.
The Memory Cathedral
Imagine what would happen if Leonardo da Vinci had been given the chance to put his fabulous inventions to use… his bombs and machine guns and submarines and tanks and flying machines. Imagine Leonardo and a young Niccolo Machiavelli flying in a balloon over Egypt. Imagine Leonardo's best friend Sandro Botticelli being exorcised in Florence and riding through deserts with the Calif of Egypt. Imagine living in the dangerous day to day world of the Renaissance and knowing intimately the greatest personages of the age. That is the experience of reading The Memory Cathedral. Based on Leonardo’s own notebooks, this expansive, multi-layered novel is ostensibly about Leonardo’s flying machines. But it is really a magical exploration of the man, his drives, his loves, his friends, and fabulous inventions. It takes place in the Florence of Lorenzo de Medici and in the
The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308 http://www.newcastle.edu.au/assoc/friends/ Friends of the University of Newcastle fabled, mythical east. Indeed there is real evidence that Leonardo travelled to Egypt and Persia under the protection of the Devatdar of Syria, Lieutenant of the Sacred Sultan of Babylon. Exhaustively researched and beautifully written,The Memory Cathedral has already elicited ecstatic reviews in the US and been published to great acclaim in Germany. In Australia it recently won the 1996 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel and in April 1997 it was announced that ‘Da Vinci Ris- ing’, a novella based on The Memory Cathedral has won the prestigious Nebula Award. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the University of Newcastle will be held at 7.00 pm on Wednesday 22 October in the Purdue Room Annex (Great Hall) at the University. All members are urged to attend this meeting which will include a review of the 1996-97 year (and of the Book Fair) and elections for the Committee. The current Committee consists of the following. All positions are open for election.
President Vic Levi Past President Keith Barbour Vice-President Murray Finlay Secretary Shirley Andrews Assistant Secretary Pat Flowers Treasurer John Lambert Publicity Officer Meg Levi Committee Members Narelle Lewis John Lewis Judi McLaughlin John McLaughlin Deidre Miles Subcommittees Book Fair Pat Flowers Lunch with a Writer Meg Levi
Mr Philip Nelson is Honorary Auditor.
September 1997