Progress Report 3
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Artwork © Bryan Talbot PROGRESS REPORT 3 Loncon 3 — The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention 1 4–18 August 2014 www.loncon3.org A Bid for the 75th Worldcon Under One Roof at the Marriott Wardman Park Washington, DC August 16-20, 2017 Even Cthulhu can’t resist the call of DC17. At the Marriott Wardman Park, we’ll bring Worldcon under one roof at a price you’ll love: rooms are $149 per night, with free WiFi. And the A Strong Foundation, Metro station at the end of the driveway will help enable you to explore the Smithsonian museums and dozens of other cultural A Brilliant Future centers that are just minutes away. www.DC17.org D C17 has a large committee made up of both young and experienced conrunners. With fresh, fun ideas and the knowledge of several former Worldcon chairs, we’re bidding for a Worldcon you won’t want to miss. SMITHSONIAN CASTLE, WASHINGTON, D.C. A Letter from the Chairs Steve Cooper & Alice Lawson So now we are only months away from the want to do more in their trip than the convention convention and it will be here before we know it. there is information on tourism, travel around the Our brilliant team are still busy working hard to UK more generally and some events and tours ensure that Loncon 3 will be a great experience happening around the same time. for everyone. The programme is coming together nicely with some wonderful speakers to both We are already on track to be the biggest Worldcon entertain you and, hopefully, make you think outside the USA, so thank you for joining and – and we are honoured that as part of this Lord please encourage your friends to join in the fun Rees, the Astronomer Royal, has agreed to give a and help us be one of the biggest and best ever. talk. There will be more about that later in this PR. We look forward to seeing you there. Bye for now! Also in the PR is news about some of the things A Letter from the Editor our Events team have planned – and we are delighted to be having a world premier of The Hello, Loncon 3 members – my name is John Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. In other news, the Coxon, and the chairs have very kindly let me shortlists for the 2014 Hugo Awards and the 1939 hijack their page to write about the progress Retro Hugo Awards have been announced. The reports. Alice approached me at Renovation, the ballots to vote in both of these can be found in this 2011 Worldcon, and asked me whether I’d be PR; congratulations to everyone shortlisted. willing to put together a Progress Report Minus One (PR-1) for the London in 2014 bid. I said yes, Hospitality will be telling you about their plans and put it together using Pages in a couple of days, for the convention, which will contain the biggest fanzine-style. Then, when Chicon 7 approached, fan bar ever and lots of parties, games, and other Kees van Toorn asked me to be his deputy division fun things as well as places to just kick back and head, and I ended up putting together Progress relax. There is also information about childcare, Reports 1–3. access services (including scooter hire), and other things you need to know to make your experience This is my last job as deputy head of Publications enjoyable. before stepping down to focus on my PhD, and it’s the first time I’ve put my byline on a Loncon 3 PR. We can’t tell you everything in a PR, especially That’s because progress reports aren’t about the when there’s so much going on! So we suggest you Publications division – they’re about the myriad go and have a look at our website which contains of people that are currently working tirelessly to much more information on what we have planned bring you what I sincerely believe will be the best (www.loncon3.org). Worldcon you’ve ever attended. For instance, we’ve included some information It’s been a pleasure to bring you news of their here about getting to the convention site and endeavours. I am hugely looking forward to seeing getting around London, but the website has got everything come together in August! more information about that – and, for those who Contents Adverts 4 The Wasp Factory on Bookclub by David Haddock 2 DC17 .................................................www.DC17.org 5 No Lack of Joy in Language by Steve Jeffrey 18 Titan Books ............................... www.titanbooks.com 6 Malcolm Edwards 20 Kiva ............................. www.kiva.org/team/worldcon 7 Spaceships in the Sky by Curt Phillips 21 Sasquan ...........................................www.sasquan.org 11 Always Coming Home by Jeanne Gomoll 20 Helsinki in 2017 ................... www.helsinkiin2017.org 14 The Work and the Career by Megan Lindholm 29 Science and Fiction ...........springer.com/series/11657 16 The Rat’s Castle Writer’s Guild by Bryan Talbot 29 Redemption .................... www.smof.com/redemption 19 Help Desk: updates from our divisions & WSFS ballots 37 OnSpec ..............................................www.onspec.ca 30 Loncon 3 staff list & membership list 37 Portland in 2016 ..................www.portlandin2016.org 41 Kansas City in 2016 .......................www.kcin2016.org Loncon 3 is the trading name of London 2014 Ltd, a company 43 Detcon1 ......................................... www.detcon1.org limited by guarantee and registered in England. Company 45 Locus Magazine ..........................www.locusmag.com number: 7989510. Registered Office: 176 Portland Road, 47 Dysprosium .......................... www.dysprosium.org.uk Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 1DJ. 48 Shamrokon ................................... www.shamrokon.ie The Wasp Factory on Bookclub By David Haddock, in The Banksoniain #17 BBC Radio 4’s monthly Bookclub programme further into the shamanistic aspects of Frank. Iain covered The Wasp Factory in the edition first admitted that the book was “a dig at religion”. broadcast on 6th November 2011. The recording took place at the National Library of Scotland Asked about the twist at the end, Iain said the in Edinburgh on 19th September. The recording book was 95% planned when he realised that lasted the best part of an hour, but the broadcast there could be a surprise ending. He described his programme was edited to just under 28 minutes. internal discussion with himself about whether it would work or not, and that he only put in quite Before the recording commenced, Iain said that he subtle clues that would be easy to remove if he had good ideas for sequels to both Against a Dark changed his mind. At this point Naughtie asked Background and Matter. When I asked him about Iain if he had even been psychoanalysed, and this after the recording, he said that whether they Banks replied that he always thought of himself as were still good ideas after he has thought about pretty well balanced, adding that he did not want them in more depth remained to be seen. If these ideas did come to fruition it would be a fair way to find out if there was a reason for the way his down the line. creativity works for fear of messing with it. Iain did return to the subject of the ending saying it was The audience had applied for tickets from the partly so that readers would think he was a “clever BBC. Some were Banks fans (and a guide dog bugger” and go back and read the book again. sleeping at the front) who had read the book many times; one audience member admitted to trying to On the question of the relationship between build his own wasp factory at the age of 15 when Frank and his brother Eric, Iain replied that it is he first read the book. There were also members a little like Frasier and Niles, when you think you of local bookclubs who had read it specially for have encountered the biggest nutcase in a family the occasion, so a variety of interesting questions you find an even more extreme one. The phone were forthcoming after James’s introductory conversations with Eric were put into the narrative question about Banks’s breakthrough as a writer. when Iain felt the book was dragging. It was Iain responded to this by saying it was really always meant to be a black comedy which was the first book where he left a lot to the reader’s why Iain was bemused by some of the reviews imagination; knowing what to leave out is as which completely missed that aspect of his novel. important as knowing what to put in. The final question was about whether he had Iain said that being a science fiction writer helped researched madness, which allowed him to trot with getting into Frank’s mind-set as it was all just out his “R-word” answer “it is not mentioned extrapolation from the dam building and things he in polite company”. He admitted that his most got up to when he was a child. He just imagined researched book, Canal Dreams, is probably the how Frank would take those ideas and use them. “runt of the litter” although he was still proud of it. The wasp factory fits Frank’s character and his personal religion. Banks read the description of The back catalogue of Bookclub is available from 4 how the factory works at this point, before getting the BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s5sf No Lack of Joy in Language By Steve Jeffery, in Science Fiction Commentary #82 A review of Scores: Reviews 1993–2000 by John still not quite worked out the wrinkles of Clute’s Clute (Beccon; 2003; 427 pp.) use and interpretation of the word ‘theodicy’ – a reconciliation between divine justice and the A review of a book of reviews by another reviewer order of the world – in the context he several times is something of a hostage to fortune.