Vector 248 Harrison & Melzack 2006-07 BSFA
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itish Science Fiction Association *248 • July/August 2006 • £2.S0 I I An explanation is due first. One of the problems with a year's Award - in the process bimonthly magazine (we have discovered) is lead time, becoming one of the few books particularly when something goes wrong. We were running a to ‘do the double', having little late anyway, but just before Easter this year, the already won the BSFA Best company that sent out the BSFA mailings went bust. Because Novel Award - the magnificent it happened at pretty much peak time for British Fandom - Air. Andy Sawyer provides us especially this year, when Eastercon, the Clarke Award, Sci-Fi with an in-depth review of that London and two London Meetings happened in the space of novel, exploring how and why it about three weeks - it took a little while to line up a does what it does, and what we replacement. In the meantime, Vector 246 sat at the printer for mean by a ‘Clarke novel” the best part of two months - and by the time we'd realised anyway. Meanwhile, this issue's the delay was going to be long enough that it needed Archipelago section focuses on explanation, Vector 247 was finalised as well. So, this is our the short fiction of some past first chance to reiterate that no, the BSFA hasn't died. In fact, Clarke Award winning authors, without wishing to tempt fate, we're hoping that by the time while Graham Sleight wonders you receive this you'll have received three mailings in whether ‘All Shall Have relatively quick succession. Awards', and whether that's a Of course, part of the problem was that in the absence of good thing. the mailings, too often there isn't an obvious route of We've finally managed to communication between the BSFA committee and the leave enough space to fit in some membership. We're hoping to be able to change that Particles this issue. For anyone somewhat. As we mentioned a couple of issues ago, Vector who's recently joined the BSFA, now has an excitingly shiny website (http://www.vector- Particles are capsule reviews magazine.co.uk/) to go along with the equally shiny Matrix with bite, designed to give you a website (http://www.matrix-magazine.co.uk/). Moreover, we flavour of what books are out have set up a Vector editorial blog, at there on the shelves for you to http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com/, where we'll be investigate right now. But in announcing new website content (including online reprints truth, we hope all the articles from past issues, and articles we didn't have space for in the and reviews in this issue will do print magazine), as well as posting reviews, links and news. If the same; that's one of the things the mailings go astray again, and there's nothing on the main awards like the Clarke Award BSFA website, you can check out the blog for the latest status are designed to do, after all: report. And of course, we welcome old-fashioned letters of promote great books to readers comment, to the address opposite or to One of the other purposes of [email protected]. awards, though, is to reward Thanks must go to Claire Weaver for creating and setting those who have contributed up the website for us. So much of fandom is built on the great work to the field. The efforts of volunteers; this issue of Vector, as the cover Clarke Award is given to an indicates, is celebrating twenty years of the Arthur C. Clarke author for a book. In recognising Award, an enterprise that - as Angie Edwards, Sir Arthur's the book in and of itself the niece, explains - only exists at all as a result of the work of award effectively recommends it some very dedicated volunteers. Foremost among these is as a book worth reading, but in Paul Kincaid, who retired as Chairman and Administrator of recognising the book as the work the Award at this year's Ceremony. In ‘Twenty Years After', of an author the award Paul reflects on how the Clarke came to be, and what it's recognises the contribution an achieved in its time. individual has made to the sf Paul ends his article by posing a question: of the twenty genre. We hope that as well as books that have won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, which one pointing you towards good is your favourite? Which one is your ‘Clarke of Clarkes'? We fiction, this issue of Vector will were inspired to ask as wide a cross-section of British fandom also serve as a recognition and Editorial as possible, from academics to authors to former judges to an appreciation of the work of fanzine editors, to give us their take on what the Clarke the people who made and are by means to them and, if possible, to answer Paul's question. making the Clarke Award the (Our answers are in there too.) Later in the issue we have success it is. Geneva longer reflections by Neil Gaiman - whose preface to The Arthur C. Clarke Award: A Critical Anthology we reprint Melzack here - by Tom Hunter, who is taking over one-half of Paul's duties, as the new Clarke Award Administrator, and by Geoff & Niall Ryman. Ryman, of course, is the author of the novel that won this Harrison 3 I printing, postage and most advertising. It became clear that he could not sustain this generosity much longer, so in 2003 his company, Rocket Publishing, had to make the difficult decision to keep funding the prize money but not the ceremony costs. Unfortunately in this same year the Science Museum found itself unable to carry on generously providing a venue. This was our lowest point. After years of struggling and touting the Award around we felt we had finally got to the stage where it was recognised as not only the largest and most prestigious SF award in the UK, but had developed a gravitas which meant that the publishers and nominees were very happy to attend. Poor Paul nearly had a heart attack. For the next couple of years we had a real struggle to try and find affordable venues and rustle up sponsorship to pay for it. This has been the most dispiriting and frustrating exercise. However, the recent collaboration with the Sci-Fi London, Britain’s premier science fiction film festival at the Apollo Cinema, was a great success, and the generous sponsorship by Cobra Beers was hugely appreciated. The fact remains, however, that the Award is still on very thin ice. Many people have absolutely no idea that no-one is paid to keep this Award going. The Administrator works for nothing. The judges receive nothing either, and they have to wade through a huge number of nominated books to get to the shortlist stage before re-reading the six finalists. They usually attend one ore than 20 years ago my father, Fred Clarke, was shortlist meeting and one final choice meeting on the day of the talking to George Hay about The Future of Science ceremony. Many of the judges over the years have not only Fiction. To quote Fred, they recognised the fact that generously given their time but have not claimed for the many M“the great writers were already piling on the years and tophone keep calls and even travelling expenses they have incurred. the profession alive it was obvious that one day we would need They really are the unsung heroes of the Award. new blood”. George came up with the idea of an award and But from my own perspective, this is part of what makes this asked if Arthur would be prepared to sponsor it. This he readily Award so very special. The fact that the judges support us so agreed to. He had always tried to encourage the young writers staunchly and obviously love the genre and have an incredibly who were constantly approaching him with ideas, and he has deep background knowledge of it means that we really do have a always been privately very generous, so it seemed a natural group of people debating the outcome with great passion. The extension of his activities. fact that authors have always been very proud to be nominated Originally it was mooted that the Award should be confined and to win the Award is due in no small measure to the to British writers, but Arthur’s reputation was already effectiveness of the judging. It may not always be predictable, but acknowledged worldwide, so it was decided to take books it is always properly and thoughtfully debated and democratically published in Britain. A team was set up to publicise the Award, decided. Amazingly, although the Award has got bigger and read the recommendations, select the shortlist and organise an bigger, the core of the original ceremony guest list is unchanged, award ceremony. A small but enthusiastic group thus started the which means that we get to see the same people year after year. It ball rolling. Fred, very wisely, at this point withdrew from all is always a great pleasure to see them, and I hope their continued organisational duties and confined himself to designing the appearance can be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the Award (a leather-bound book end - still given each year) and Award. waiting for the invitation to the ceremony to drop onto his mat The Administrator’s job, latterly undertaken by Paul Kincaid, each year.