The Fantasticon 2018 Program Book
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE FANTASTICON 2018 PROGRAM BOOK 1 This is the official Program Book for Fantasticon 2018. It has been sent out electronically to all registered members of the convention. It forms part of The Membership Packet, also containing the official poster, the handy folder with the program overview, and the New Nordic Steampunk Anthology - based on the open writing competition we did in connection with Fantasticon 2018. Find us here: Homepage: www.fantasticon.dk / Tickets at: www.enkelbillet.dk/fantasticon / Social Media: www.facebook.com/fantasticonDK / photos, reviews, comments at #fantasticonDK Indhold Welcome to the party! ........................................................................................................................................ 3 What is Steampunk? – A short definition by Knud Larn ...................................................................................... 5 Kostumedrama og samfundskritik - Lidt om steampunk af Niels Dalgaard ........................................................ 6 Jules Verne og Dampen – en refleksion af Bjørn Larsen ...................................................................................... 9 Buy Books! - By the Guests of Honor! ................................................................................................................ 13 Events not to miss this year! ............................................................................................................................. 14 Titanic! - A short story by our GoH Lavie Tidhar ................................................................................................ 16 Con-committee 2018 - Those who made it happen: ......................................................................................... 20 The steampunk classics – what to read first? .................................................................................................... 21 Steampunk på dansk – en oversigt af Lise Andreasen ....................................................................................... 22 Buy MORE Books! – We present SF BOK & Fantask .......................................................................................... 23 Hvorfor skrive Steampunk – et interview med Billy O´Shea .............................................................................. 24 Karl-Johan Norén – our Scandinavian FILK singer! ............................................................................................ 25 What happens at Fantasticon 2018? ................................................................................................................. 28 Den første danske tema-specifikke steampunkantologi! .................................................................................. 31 Filigree and Ice, Ash and Atoms - A short story by Edmund Schluessel ............................................................. 32 Steampunk Film – en gennemgang af Tue Sørensen ........................................................................................ 36 Steampunk Spil – et eksempel af Klaus Æ. Mogensen ...................................................................................... 39 Steam Market - what you may find here… ........................................................................................................ 41 Untitled – An exclusive story excerpt by our GoH Jeannette Ng ....................................................................... 42 The Fantasticon 2018 Code of Conduct ............................................................................................................ 46 The list of members 2018 – as per August 9th 2018 (63 registered members). ................................................ 47 © All Rights Reserved 2018. Version 2/12.08.2018. Please note that this pdf. (aka The Fantasticon 2018 Program Book) is only intended for registered members of Fantasticon 2018. All contents are copyrighted by the individual authors. When no author reference is given, assume that the copyright belongs to Fantasticon. No part of this book, or the entire book, may be republished, stored, or shared in any way outside the members of Fantasticon 2018. Edited by Knud Larn; Front page by Manfred Christiansen. 2 Welcome to the party! It is time - once again - for the yearly Danish Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror Convention in Central Copenhagen, Fantasticon 2018. For the 15th time we will gather fans, makers, writers, artists, and scientists for a three- day gathering with exhibitions, panels, talks, workshops, and award ceremonies. As always we strive to present both current developments in the genre(s), as well as providing targeted insights into the many aspects of our favorite pastime! This year we want to look closer at Steampunk, one of the more vibrant children of the Cyberpunk revolution. For the un-initiated, we give a slight presentation of steampunk basics in these pages. However there will also be many program items not related to our theme, for instance will we be looking at several new Danish genre-books published here in 2018. As we have many foreign guests, and as most Danes read English-language genre books anyway, about 2/3rds of the program will be in English, the rest will be in Danish. This year, due to a generous sponsorship from Science Fiction Cirklen, we have been able to invite two Guests of Honor: Lavie Tidhar (IL) - Winner of the 2012 World Fantasy Award, the 2015 Jerwood Fiction Prize for Best British Book, and the 2017 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. We will be talking with him about novels like THE BOOKMAN TRILOGY (2010, 2011, 2012), OSAMA (2012), THE VIOLENT CENTURY (2013), CENTRAL STATION (2015), A MAN LAY DREAMING (2017), CANDY (2018). In a separate interview, we will talk with him about The APEX WORLD SF Project – a series of anthologies presenting non-anglocentic genre fiction in English. A fifth volume is currently being published in 2018. Jeannette Ng (HK) - Her debut Victorian fantastic novel UNDER THE PENDULUM SUN (2017) is nominated for this year´s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. It is that good! We will naturally talk to her about this exiting novel about missionaries in Africa, magical kingdoms, a pendulum sun, and Victorianism. As well as what we can expect from her upcoming work(s). You can read an exclusive preview elsewhere in this program book! Jeannette Ng is also an ardent cosplayer, blogger, and twitters a lot about genre fictions. I am sure these elements will come up during the con. Do Note: Jeannette Ng will lead a workshop of cosplay, from selecting/making costumes to setting hair, and she will teach the participants easy tricks to set their hair like a pro. If you are into cosplay, you REALLY should participate in this workshop! 3 Special Guest – LUX ARTIS (PL) Steampunk are many things. The esthetics of steampunk reaches into visual arts as well. Therefore LUX ARTIS will be our special guest this year. LUX ARTIS is an art publishing house promoting artists who are into fantastical and surreal art. Major Polish fantastic artist Jarosław Jaśnikowski heads the portfolio at LUX ARTIS, but several other talented painters have joined them as well. LUX ARTIS will create a sales exhibition at Fantasticon 2018, focusing on steampunk art. Other Program Participants Besides these highlighted guests, that you really should make sure to meet at the con, there are all the other program participants, more than 30 of them in fact this year! Together they will build a diverse program in two tracks throughout the con. From writers reading from their current work, over fans presenting in-depth analysis of our genre, to a scientist presenting the real science in steampunk. As always a diversity of panels will discuss current topics, like Frankenstein´s 200th Birthday, the writings of the late Ursula K. LeGuin & Brian Aldiss, how and why to squee, characters in Tamora Pierce´s work, new genre fiction, etc. In our Steam Market, we have stocked up on publications to buy, gadgets and clothes to wear, Virtual Reality Programs to test, and all the other stuff that is an integral part of a SFF convention. Do visit the tables. They are here to meet you! You, the members! Finally, we want to thank ALL the members of Fantasticon 2018. Regardless of us in the con-committee, of the special guests, of all the program participants and their preparations, it is YOU, dear member of Fantasticon 2018, that made - and make - this yearly convention possible. We hope you enjoy the party! 4 What is Steampunk? – A short definition by Knud Larn A modern definition of art goes like this: “Art is that which is presented as art”. Just like art, steampunk is whatever people make it, as long as they (or others) call it steampunk. To approach a definition is just to limit the space available for development of the phenomenon. But in order to put words down for those who want to know the basics – here is a limiting definition: Steampunk ("steam noise") is a two-part name for a sub genre of speculative fiction, which emphasizes anachronistic technology, typically from the Victorian era of England. The subgenre is related to the broader term retro- futurism and is academically one of several children of cyberpunk. The technology described often includes steam engines (hence the name), large airships, complex mechanical calculators and other mechanical technology from the 19th century. The subgenre can easily deal with modern objects such as computers, artificial hearts, and limbs - just based