Welcoming the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention to Spokane

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Welcoming the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention to Spokane WHEREAS, the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) first started in 1939 in New York City; and WHEREAS, Worldcon draws thousands of authors and science fiction enthusiasts from around the world and has previously been hosted in places such as Glasglow, Scotland; Yokohama, Japan; Melbourne, Australia and the Hague in the Netherlands; and WHEREAS, the winners of the Hugo Awards, the oldest and most noteworthy award for science fiction, are presented at Worldcon; and WHEREAS, past winners of the Hugo Awards include influential and successful authors such as Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler and JK Rowling. WHEREAS, the members of the 2013 Worldcon, Lonestarcon 3 selected Spokane, Washington as the site of their 2015 convention from August 19, 2015 to August 23, 2015; and WHEREAS, the convention will feature author readings, art and writing contests, panel discussions, live music, games including role- playing, board and card games, exhibits on science and publishing, and a world-class stage masquerade with the best fan costumers; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Spokane City Council, on behalf of the citizens of Spokane, welcomes the organizers and attendees of the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention (Sasquan) to our city, and encourages the citizens of Spokane to attend and enjoy this great event. I, Ben Stuckart, Spokane City Council President, do hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Spokane to be affixed this 17th day of August in 2015 Ben Stuckart Spokane City Council President .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

ENGL 279 Course Title: Science Fiction and Dystopic Literature Units
Course name: ENGL 279 Course title: Science Fiction and Dystopic Literature Units: 3 Course Description: This course is designed to increase students’ knowledge of the literary genre known as Science Fiction. Emphasis will be on the study of literature--novels and short fiction--that depicts our future world, visionary scientific endeavor, and conflicts between humans, aliens, and sentient technology. Students will study the history, exciting contemporary trends, and the relevant contemporary issues in Science Fiction, including dystopia vs. utopia, artificial intelligence, current theory concerning technology, cloning and physical science, human psychology in a futuristic environment, and the rise of Cyberpunk and new Alternate Reality literature within the genre. Prerequisites: Completion of ENGL 101 Course Objectives: l. Analyze the role of literature as a means of reflecting and shaping thought and behavior. 2. Recognize and employ literary terminology and the language of literary criticism. 3. Identify, interpret, and compare and contrast specific leitmotifs and character types of the Science Fiction genre. 4. Practice critical reading and writing skills. 5. Conduct research and synthesize material from outside the given text in developing a written or oral project. 6. Recognize the attributes that make literary works universal and timeless, as well as unique to certain genres. 7. Demonstrate the ability to discuss literature using relevant support from the text. 8. Evaluate a literary work objectively, being able to understand and analyze critical responses to the works read. Course Content: I. In discussing the roots of many essential elements of Science Fiction, the instructor will guide students in: A. Distinguishing the important archetypes of Science Fiction.
[Show full text]
Chapterhouse: Dune Frank Herbert April 1985 Those Who Would Repeat
Chapterhouse: Dune Frank Herbert April 1985 Those who would repeat the past must control the teaching of history. -Bene Gesserit Coda When the ghola-baby was delivered from the first Bene Gesserit axlotl tank, Mother Superior Darwi Odrade ordered a quiet celebration in her private dining room atop Central. It was barely dawn, and the two other members of her Council -- Tamalane and Bellonda -- showed impatience at the summons, even though Odrade had ordered breakfast served by her personal chef. "It isn't every woman who can preside at the birth of her own father," Odrade quipped when the others complained they had too many demands on their time to permit of "time-wasting nonsense." Only aged Tamalane showed sly amusement. Bellonda held her over-fleshed features expressionless, often her equivalent of a scowl. Was it possible, Odrade wondered, that Bell had not exorcised resentment of the relative opulence in Mother Superior's surroundings? Odrade's quarters were a distinct mark of her position but the distinction represented her duties more than any elevation over her Sisters. The small dining room allowed her to consult aides during meals. Bellonda glanced this way and that, obviously impatient to be gone. Much effort had been expended without success in attempts to break through Bellonda's coldly remote shell. "It felt very odd to hold that baby in my arms and think: This is my father," Odrade said. "I heard you the first time!" Bellonda spoke from the belly, almost a baritone rumbling as though each word caused her vague indigestion. She understood Odrade's wry jest, though.
[Show full text]
The New Cosmic Horror: a Genre Molded by Tabletop Roleplaying Fiction Editor Games and Postmodern Horror
315 Winter 2016 Editor Chris Pak SFRA [email protected] A publicationRe of the Scienceview Fiction Research Association Nonfiction Editor Dominick Grace In this issue Brescia University College, 1285 Western Rd, London ON, N6G 3R4, Canada SFRA Review Business phone: 519-432-8353 ext. 28244. Prospect ............................................................................................................................2 [email protected] Assistant Nonfiction Editor SFRA Business Kevin Pinkham The New SFRA Website ..............................................................................................2 College of Arts and Sciences, Ny- “It’s Alive!” ........................................................................................................................3 ack College, 1 South Boulevard, Nyack, NY 10960, phone: 845- Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities ....................................................3 675-4526845-675-4526. [email protected] Feature 101 The New Cosmic Horror: A Genre Molded by Tabletop Roleplaying Fiction Editor Games and Postmodern Horror ..............................................................................7 Jeremy Brett Cushing Memorial Library and Sentience in Science Fiction 101 ......................................................................... 14 Archives, Texas A&M University, Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, 5000 TAMU College Nonfiction Reviews Station, TX 77843. Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction ........ 19
[Show full text]
Starlog Magazine Issue
23 YEARS EXPLORING SCIENCE FICTION ^ GOLDFINGER s Jjr . Golden Girl: Tests RicklBerfnanJponders Er_ her mettle MimilMif-lM ]puTtism!i?i ff?™ § m I rifbrm The Mail Service Hold Mail Authorization Please stop mail for: Name Date to Stop Mail Address A. B. Please resume normal Please stop mail until I return. [~J I | undelivered delivery, and deliver all held I will pick up all here. mail. mail, on the date written Date to Resume Delivery Customer Signature Official Use Only Date Received Lot Number Clerk Delivery Route Number Carrier If option A is selected please fill out below: Date to Resume Delivery of Mail Note to Carrier: All undelivered mail has been picked up. Official Signature Only COMPLIMENTS OF THE STAR OCEAN GAME DEVEL0PER5. YOU'RE GOING TO BE AWHILE. bad there's Too no "indefinite date" box to check an impact on the course of the game. on those post office forms. Since you have no Even your emotions determine the fate of your idea when you'll be returning. Everything you do in this journey. You may choose to be romantically linked with game will have an impact on the way the journey ends. another character, or you may choose to remain friends. If it ever does. But no matter what, it will affect your path. And more You start on a quest that begins at the edge of the seriously, if a friend dies in battle, you'll feel incredible universe. And ends -well, that's entirely up to you. Every rage that will cause you to fight with even more furious single person you _ combat moves.
[Show full text]
David Rozansky [email protected] 303-375-0499
News Release from August 5, 2008 Contact: David Rozansky [email protected] 303-375-0499 Flying Pen Press Announces The Summer Of Science Fiction Event Book premiere at the Tattered Cover LoDo features new titles, local authors DENVER — Flying Pen Press announced its Summer of Science Fiction event will be held in Denver at the Tattered Cover Lower Downtown (LoDo) Bookstore on August 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm. The Summer of Science Fiction includes eight science fiction novels and anthologies published in conjunction with Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention® . Flying Pen Press is a Denver-based publisher in its second year of publishing fiction and non-fiction books. David A. Rozansky, publisher, said: "The timing could not be better. We have been building a family of some really great science fiction authors, and so it is only natural that we put together a single event to celebrate their achievements during Worldcon®, when the world's greatest science fiction authors and editors will be here in our own backyard." Worldcon is an annual convention of science-fiction readers and authors from around the world. Each year, the convention members choose the winners of the Hugo Awards® for science fiction, as well as the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The 2008 Worldcon will be held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center August 6 through 10. Six titles will be featured at the Flying Pen Press Summer of Science Fiction Event, and more than a dozen authors will be signing books. Titles premiering during Worldcon include: Irreconcilable Differences, by James R.
[Show full text]
Australian SF News 43
REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST #VBG2791 Number43 SI 00 nusiMunn Shews Volume 7 Number i —X may |986 THE SF WORLD MOURNS FRANK HERBERT, L.RON HUBBARD, JUDY-LYNN DEL REY AND ORSON WELLES ARE AMONGST PEOPLE WHOSE LIFE AND WORK INFLUENCED SCIENCE FICTION AND WHO HAVE DIED THIS YEAR. ( See page 4) Hawes NEW NOVEL BY Ric DAVID LAKE by Photo FRANK HERBERT IN THIS ISSUE: PUBLISHING NEWS, BOOKS RECEIVED AND REVIEWED - THE DITMAR AWARD WINNERS and more of our usual features... nusTRnunn if hews ISSN 0155-8870 Edited and published by Mervyn R.Binns, P.O.Box 491, Elsternwick 3185, Victoria, AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN SF NEWS is registered for posting under Australia Post, publication # VBG2791 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $6.00 for 6 issues, by surface mail and $15.00 for air mail. Please make all payments to the editor, After gafiating for the last three months and Mervyn R.Binns or MERV BINNS BOOKS. At this watching what little cash that was available time I have no confirmed overseas agents, so rapidly running out, while sitting on the pier please contact me direct for new rates and cr the bank of the river holding a fishing line, payment details. I plan to keep to no more than I have finally made some decisions. AUSTRALIAN twelve pages and to publish every two months. SF NEWS will continue and I am starting a mail Depending on future size and cost the sub rate order book service from home. Depending on how will most likely increase. A list of new books things develop, I may open a small suburban by publisher, will be included and I will do a bookshop dealing largely in second hand books complete listing of all books by author, that and continue on the mail order for new science have been published in the last six months in fiction and possibly other types of books.
[Show full text]
Emerging Legal and Policy Trends in Recent Robot Science Fiction
Emerging Legal and Policy Trends in Recent Robot Science Fiction Robin R. Murphy Computer Science and Engineering Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77845 [email protected] Introduction This paper examines popular print science fiction for the past five years (2013-2018) in which robots were essential to the fictional narrative and the plot depended on a legal or policy issue related to robots. It follows in the footsteps of other works which have examined legal and policy trends in science fiction [1] and graphic novels [2], but this paper is specific to robots. An analysis of five books and one novella identified four concerns about robots emerging in the public consciousness: enabling false identities through telepresence, granting robot rights, outlawing artificial intelligence for robots, and ineffectual or missing product liability. Methodolology for Selecting the Candidate Print Fiction While robotics is a popular topic in print science fiction, fictional treatments do not necessarily touch on legal or policy issues. Out of 44 candidate works, only six involved legal or policy issues. Candidates for consideration were identified in two ways. One, the nominees for the 2013-2018 Hugo and Nebulas awards were examined for works dealing with robots. The other was a query of science fiction robot best sellers at Amazon. A candidate work of fiction had to contain at least one robot that served either a character or contributed to the plot such that the robot could not be removed without changing the story. For example, in Raven Stratagem, robots did not appear to be more than background props throughout the book but suddenly proved pivotal to the ending of the novel.
[Show full text]
1943 Retrospective Hugo Award Results
Worldcon 76 in San Jose PO Box 61363 [email protected] Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363, +1-408-905-9366 USA For Immediate Release 1943 RETROSPECTIVE HUGO AWARD WINNERS REVEALED IN SAN JOSE, CA WORLDCON 76 REVEALS WINNERS FOR SCIENCE FICTION’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS FAN-NOMINATED AWARD SAN JOSE, CA, August 16, 2018: The winners of the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards were announced on Thursday, August 16, 2018, at the 76th World Science Fiction Convention. 703 valid ballots (688 electronic and 15 paper) were received and counted from the members of the 2018 World Science Fiction Convention. The Hugo Awards, presented first in 1953 and annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award, and one of the World Science Fiction Convention’s unique and distinguished institutions. Since 1993, Worldcon committees have had the option of awarding Retrospective Hugo Awards for past Worldcon years prior to 1953 where they had not been presented 25, 50, or 100 years prior to the contemporary convention, with the exception of the hiatus during World War II when no Worldcon was convened. A recent change in this policy has now allowed for Retro Hugos to be awarded for the years 1942-1945. 1943 Retrospective Hugo Award Winners Best Fan Writer Forrest J Ackerman Best Fanzine Le Zombie, edited by Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker Best Professional Artist Virgil Finlay Best Editor - Short Form John W. Campbell Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form Bambi, written by Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, et al., directed by David D. Hand et al. (Walt Disney Productions) For Immediate Release more Page 2 1943 RETROSPECTIVE HUGO AWARD WINNERS REVEALED IN SAN JOSE, CA Best Short Story "The Twonky," by Lewis Padgett (C.L.
[Show full text]
February 2021
F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 V o l u m e 1 2 I s s u e 2 BETWEEN THE PAGES Huntsville Public Library Monthly Newsletter Learn a New Language with the Pronunciator App! BY JOSH SABO, IT SERVICES COORDINATOR According to Business Insider, 80% of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions by the second week in February. If you are one of the lucky few who make it further, congratulations! However, if you are like most of us who have already lost the battle of self-improvement, do not fret! Learning a new language is an excellent way to fulfill your resolution. The Huntsville Public Library offers free access to a language learning tool called Pronunciator! The app offers courses for over 163 different languages and users can personalize it to fit their needs. There are several different daily lessons, a main course, and learning guides. It's very user-friendly and can be accessed at the library or from home on any device with an internet connection. Here's how: 1) Go to www.myhuntsvillelibrary.com and scroll down to near the bottom of the homepage. Click the Pronunciator link below the Pronunciator icon. 2) Next, you can either register for an account to track your progress or simply click ‘instant access’ to use Pronunciator without saving or tracking your progress. 3) If you want to register an account, enter a valid email address to use as your username. 1219 13th Street Then choose a password. Huntsville, TX 77340 @huntsvillelib (936) 291-5472 4) Now you can access Pronunciator! Monday-Friday Huntsville_Public_Library 10 a.m.
[Show full text]
The Imagined Communities of Toxic Puppies: Considering Fan Community Discourse in the 2015 Hugo Awards ‘Puppygate’ Controversy
. Volume 15, Issue 1 May 2018 The imagined communities of Toxic Puppies: Considering fan community discourse in the 2015 Hugo Awards ‘Puppygate’ controversy J. Richard Stevens & Rachel Lara van der Merwe, University of Colorado, USA Abstract: In 2015, toxic fan conflicts disrupted the Hugo Awards selection proceedings. The conflict between the awards voters and a movement known as ‘Puppygate’, led by angry fans, dates back to at least 2012 and comprises thousands of networked conversations enacting toxic frames of contemporary culture wars (heated and often disruptive exchanges characterized by challenges to identity politics, arguments over representation, and conflicting tastes) from all sides. However, these toxic fan discourses emerged within the context of significant cultural changes. Fans exist in communal spaces formed among institutional and cultural forces, yet the drive to create communal culture through shared communication exchanges continually encourage toxic conflicts of social identity and taste. This article considers the toxic exchanges between various actors in the blogs, social media, and formal public statements of the Puppygate controversy to chronicle how structural change is subsumed into frames of ‘culture war’ rhetoric. Keywords: science fiction, toxic fan exchanges, fan studies, Hugo Awards Introduction In the past few years, toxic fan conflicts have increasingly captured news and social media attention. Such exchanges, which are often cited for their uncivil rhetoric and anti-social tendencies, strategically disrupt spaces of communal cultural appreciation, and represent the growing tensions between fan gatekeeping and conflicts over social values in an increasingly mediated culture. Scholarly analyses of inter- and intra-fandom Othering ‘of fans, by fans’ (Hills, 2012, p.
[Show full text]
The Death of the Book Through the Ages - Nytimes.Com
The Death of the Book Through the Ages - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/books/review/the-death-of-the... August 10, 2012 Dead Again By LEAH PRICE Two decades ago, the Book Review ran an essay, “The End of Books,” in which the novelist Robert Coover questioned whether print could survive the age of “video transmissions, cellular phones, fax machines, computer networks, and in particular out in the humming digitalized precincts of avant-garde computer hackers, cyberpunks and hyperspace freaks.” Was the book as “dead as God”? Coover’s answer was noncommittal, but his metaphor launched a thousand eulogies for the book as we knew it: a gathering of printed pages mass-produced on spec to be sold to anonymous strangers for financial gain. Back then, hyperlinks were the killer app. Coover’s title punned on the page-turning powers of the codex, which sweeps novel readers inexorably from Page 1 to The End. (He ignored how many codices, like the Yellow Pages, are designed for random access; millenniums before the advent of Bible.com, the codex allowed the first Christians to cross-reference their Scriptures.) Now, succession planners have shifted their sights from the lowly hyperlink to the seemingly indomitable e-reader. Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center calculated that the percentage of Americans who own e-reading devices doubled last December. Christmas, for centuries the publishing industry’s busiest season, became a gift to hardware manufacturers. And last year, Amazon announced it was selling more e-books than print books — hardcover and paperback combined.
[Show full text]
Business Passed on to Next Worldcon
World Science Fiction Society Business Passed on to Worldcon 76 The following items were passed at Worldcon 75 in 2017 and must be ratified by Worldcon 76 in 2018 in order to become part of the Worldcon Constitution. A.1 Short Title: What Our Marks Really Are Moved: to replace section 2.2 of the Constitution with: Every Worldcon and NASFIC Committee shall include the following notice in each of its publications: “World Science Fiction Society”, “WSFS”, “World Science Fiction Convention”, “Worldcon”, “NASFiC” “Hugo Award”, the Hugo Award Logo, and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Trophy Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society. Every Worldcon and NASFIC Committee shall include a notice in each of its publications that clearly acknowledges the service marks of the Society. The Mark Protection Committee shall supply each such convention committee with the correct form of such notice. Proposed by: The Mark Protection Committee See the 2017 WSFS Business Meeting Minutes for the makers’ commentary on page 6. ***** A.2 Short Title: The Reasonable Amendment Moved: to amend 3.8.5 (Nominee Diversity) of the WSFS Constitution by striking “best” and inserting “reasonable” in its place. The revised 3.8.5 will then read as follows: 3.8.5: If there are more than two works in the same category that are episodes of the same dramatic presentation series or that are written works that have an author for single author works, or two or more authors for co-authored works, in common, only the two works in each category that have the most nominations shall appear on the final ballot.
[Show full text]