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Volume 1, Issue 19 March 2011 2

Editorial: Late! I’m late again. I’m a bad faned. But hey, at least this one’s coming out in the month after the previous one, right? I’ll try to be timelier in April. Part of the delay was that I had to update the con listings to include URLs, since the hyperlinks I thought I was so cleverly giving you weren’t actually working. Another delay was that I’ve been trying to focus more on the job, so I wasn’t creating this when I should have been working (at least, not as much as usual). Hopefully, the result was worth the wait. We’ve got cover and interior art from Mike Moon, this time with his website noted in the pieces. We’ve got the updated con listings, which felt like they just took *forever* this time. We’ve got a great edition of the LoC column, which usually happens when I’m late – I think a few of you just need an extra week to write in. And then, we’ve got an article from SFC Vice President M. Lee Rogers/Mike Rogers (Mike, I’m never sure which name to call you by in print – could you clarify that?) about a get-together he’s organizing to celebrate the 25 th anniversary of ConFederation, the 1986 in . I was too young to attend the original, but hope to be able to join y’all for the anniversary. Thanks, Mike, for sending that in!

Colophon: Editor & SFC President: Warren Buff [email protected] (919) 633-4993 2412 F Still Forest Pl. Raleigh, NC 27607 USA All contents copyright their creators. This zine is free, either by direct email or www.efanzines.com . A letter of comment or other contribution will get you on my mailing list, as long as I remember to put you there. If I forget, bother me a second time, or however long it takes to add you. I haven’t been printing this one, which leaves me free to use as many pages as I wish, and do things like color. It also lets me use all the contributions I can muster, so fire away! 3

Calendar of Events:

March 16-20: The 32 nd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Orlando, Florida – Orlando Airport Marriott. This is the premier scholarly conference of SF, put on by the IAFA. Their theme this year is The Fantastic Ridiculous. Guests of Honor: , , Andrea Hairston, Brian Aldiss. Registration $165 at the door. www.iafa.org ) March 17-21: (Atlanta, Georgia – Sheraton Atlanta. The name should tell you just about everything you need to know. Features the original dance competition. Guests of Honor: Lacy & CP of fursuiting.com, Zhivago. $45 at the door. Minors need parental consent forms signed and notarized. www.furryweekend.com ) March 18-20: All-Con (Addison, -- Crowne Plaza North . Rather varied programming, much of which is costuming or anime related, though they also have a lot of game show type events. Tickets $40 until March 7th, extra for the burlesque. www.all-con.org ) FantaSciCon 2011 (Dalton, Georgia – Super 8 Convention Center. This is a new location, so make a note. Guest include Allen Gilbreath, Cheryel Hutton, Kimberly Richardson, Mark Helwig, Rob E. Brown, and Joe Dickerson. Membership is $50. No day rates. http://fantascicon.com ) (Woodlands, Texas – Crowne Plaza. with an over-programmed, slick-looking website. Guests include Luci Christian, Christopher Smith, Kyle Hebert, Stephanie Young, and several entertainers. $55 at the door. www.animematsuri.com ) March 19-20: NashiCon (Columbia, South Carolina – Russel House, USC campus. Student- run anime con featuring gaming, dance, and trivia contest. Pre-reg $8 until March 12 th . http://web.sa.sc.edu/clubnashi/index.php )

March 25-27: AggieCon 42 (College Station, Texas – Hilton Hotel College Station. This student-run con out of Texas A&M is one of the South’s oldest. Guest of Honor: Catherynne M. Valente. Registration is $30. http://cepheid.tamu.edu/node/2 ) BabelCon (Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Hampton Inn & Suites. Broad-based con with a difficult website. They’ve got a range of different folks as guests, from authors and artists to bands, scientists, and paranormal investigators. $25 for the weekend. www.camerakrewe.com/BabelCon/index3.html ) MegaCon (Orlando, Florida – Orange County Convention Center, Hall D. Guests include William Shatner, Stan Lee, and tons of sci-fi actors and comics creators. $60 for the weekend, $25 one-day, slight discount for pre-reg online. www.megaconvention.com ) MidSouthCon 29 (Memphis, Tennessee -- Hilton Memphis. Another of the grand old cons of the South. My friends in western Tennessee keep trying to get me to come out to this. One day, I just might. Guests of Honor: Mary Robinette 4

Kowal, Nene Thomas, Monte Cook, Kurt Busiek, Kelldar, Les Johnson, Jackie Gamber, and The Great Luke Ski. Memberships $45. www..org ) MACE West: Cudgel (Hickory, North Carolina – Gateway Hotel & Conference Center. The Central NC ’s western edition. Registration is $20 through March 23 rd , then $35 at the door. www.justusproductions.com ) EyeCon Vampire Diaries (Atlanta, Georgia – Westin Atlanta Airport. Featuring actors from the TV show. Even more convoluted ticket pricing than Creation. Looks like you pay individually for everything you want, including days, unless you pay for the big dollar packages.) March 26-27: InvaderCON (Atlanta, Georgia – Marriott Century Center. Invader Zim convention. Guests include the voice actors for Zim, Dib, and Gir, as well as several of the production-end folks from the show. By the time this hits your inbox and efanzines, the ticket price will have reached the $31 door rate, and you have to pay an extra $1.77 fee to book it online. The special event dinner and breakfast have already sold out. www.invadercon.com )

April 1-3: synDCon II (Rockville, Maryland – Rockville Hilton Hotel and Executive Business Center. Gaming convention with a difficult website. Their reg system, unfortunately, doesn’t appear to be working. http://syndcon.net ) ChimaeraCon (San Antonio, Texas – San Pedro Village Event Center. Mostly gaming, with a number of panels on SF and anime costuming. Registration $25, or $20 for students and military. http://chimaeracon.com/ ) April 1-2: Technicon (Blacksburg, Virginia – McBryde Hall at Virginia Tech. Student-run convention that’s been around for a while. Not much information on the website, so I don’t know what to tell you. It’s been around for a while, but I’d heard rumors they weren’t going to do it again. That’s clearly not the case, but I’m not sure what exactly they are doing. Registration $10, or $5 for students. http://www.technicon.org/tcon28/ )

April 8-10: RavenCon (Richmond, Virginia – Holiday Inn Koger Center. Fun, fairly big- tent convention, with John Ringo and Kurt Miller as its Guests of Honor. Expect a good deal of filk concerts and more programming than you can shake a stick at. Memberships are $35 until April 1 st , then $40 at the door. www.ravencon.com ) JohnCon (Baltimore, Maryland – on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. There will be gaming, B movies, and anime. It will last all weekend. It will probably cost money to get in. Beyond that, the website doesn’t give much in the way of specifics. http://www.jhu.edu/johncon/index.html ) April 8-9: STEAM Fest (Atlanta, GA – Unfortunately, I can’t figure out just where in Atlanta this is. The website says to contact Lainey Welsch at [email protected] for information. www.atlsteamfest.com ) FreeCon 7 (Tallahassee, Florida – second floor of the Student Services building 5 at FSU. Looks like a fan-oriented anime convention. The convention is completely free. www.tallahasseeanime.com/freecon )

April 15-17: KampingKon (Cochran, Georgia – Hillside Bluegrass RV Park. Outdoor fun. Their website includes a picture of two guys battling with plastic Bat’leths. Membership is $25 until March 31 st , then $30 at the “door”. Camping fees extra. www.kampingkon.org ) JordanCon (Atlanta, Georgia – Crowne Plaza Ravinia. A Wheel of Time oriented convention featuring as Guest of Honor. They also bring in Atlanta area authors for their program, which means they have a broader focus than just one series – it’s just their favorite. $55 until April 3 rd , $65 at the door. www.ageoflegends.net ) T-mode (Rockville, Maryland. Fusion of anime, gaming, and “all things otaku”. http://tmode.org ) Creation Twilight (Arlington, Virginia – Sheraton National Hotel. I don’t really know the actors from this one, so you’ll just have to check it out yourself if you want to know. There seem to be several of them, doing one-day appearances. The ticket structure is complicated, and seems to involve paying a lot to get in and then paying more to do things like get autographs or go to events. I leave it to the dedicated to figure it out.) April 16-17 : CyPhaCon (Lake Charles, Louisiana – Lake Charles Civic Center. They describe themselves as anime, gaming, and sci-fi. The only guests they have listed are the Bedlam Bards, who I think I saw perform once and liked. Tickets are $15. www.cyphacon.com )

April 22-24: MTAC Odyssey (Nashville, Tennessee – www.mtac.net ) Conglomeration (Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. A science fiction convention whose website is both hard to navigate and hard to read. Their Gaming Guest of Honor is Andy Chambers. Membership is $30 until April 1 st , then $40 at the door. www.conglomeration.info ) LouisiAnime (Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge. Anime convention featuring Todd Haberkorn, Alexis Tipton, and Airship Isabella. Registration is $32 until March 21 st , then $42 at the door. www.louisianime.com )

April 28-May 1: ReCon (Cocoa Beach, Florida) World (Austin, Texas – Doubletree Hotel. Guests of Honor: Steve Niles , Vincent Chong , Brett Savory , Sandra Kasturi , Sarah Langan , Joe Hill , Joe R. Lansdale , Del Howison and Brian Keene. Unfortunately, the website is as hard to navigate here as most comic conventions. Lots of noise and flashy stuff. Memberships are $125 through April 1st , then $150 thereafter. http://whc2011.org/ ) 6

April 29-May 1: Columbia Anime Con (Columbia, South Carolina – Jamil Shrine Center. Anime, manga, and comics convention featuring Richard Horvitz, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Addy Miller, and Drew Geraci. Low contrast on their website. Admission is $5 per day. www.columbiaanimecon.com ) BayouCon (Lake Charles, Louisiana – Lake Charles Civic Center. Self-described as a comic book and pop culture convention. Guests of Honor: Vaughan Armstrong, Dino Andrade, Max Grodenchik. Ticket prices are $20 through March 31 st , then $25. www.bayoucon.net )

May 13-15: Gaylaxicon (Atlanta, Georgia – Holiday Inn Perimeter. Outlantacon is hosting this year’s edition of Gaylaxicon, the premier SF con for the queer audience. Expect to find their take on Family Feud, Project , a chocolate symposium, Gaylactic Jeopardy!, and the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. Guest of Honor: Amber Bensen, Melissa Carter, Steve Scott, Don Schermerhorn & Wayne Hergenroder. Memberships are $50 through April 30 th (the website says 31 st , but I’ll cut them some slack here). www.outlantacon.org ) Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Fest (Chattanooga, Tennessee – Chattanooga Downtown Marriott Hotel. Around 30 tattoo booths, plus horror celebrities like Michael Berryman, Richard Brooker, Andrew Bryniarski, Brad Loree, Tiffany Shepis, and Stacey Dixon. $35 for the weekend, ten bucks less for each day you don’t care to go. www.fullmooninc.net/fr_nashvillefest.cfm ) Tiger Con (Memphis, Tennessee – University of Memphis campus. Student-run anime convention. Featuring Johnny Yong Bosch, ?Confusion?, and Per(sonic)fied. Free, but they request that you RSVP.) Starfleet Region 1 Summit (Pigeon Forge, TN – Mainstay Suites. Annual meeting of the Starfleet organization for Region 1. They’ll be having a duck race in the lazy river for charity. Adult registrations are $30. Banquet tickets are still available. http://sites.beyondweb.com/r1-summit/ ) Pulp Ark (Batesville, AR – Main Street. This is one of those events where the town is basically taken over for the weekend by pulp fans. Hard to explain much more than that. www.proseproductions.com/Press/pulpark.html ) May 14-15: NOLA Comic-Con (New Orleans, Louisiana –- Westin New Orleans Canal Place. Comic book convention. www.nolacomic.com ) WonderFest (Louisville, Kentucky – Crowne Plaza Hotel. Toy and model collecting convention with a focus on SF and a good selection of artists. Tickets $30. www.wonderfest.com )

May 19-22: Nebula Awards Weekend (Washington, D.C. – Washington Hilton. Annual presentation of SFWA’s top awards, with workshops, panels, and great networking opportunities for SF professionals. The weekend alone is $50, the banquet dinner alone is $125, or the whole shebang for $150. www.sfwa.org/nebula-weekend )

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May 20-22: Dice Head Siege (Chattanooga, Tennessee -- Chattanooga Choo Choo. Gaming with lots of tournaments and prizes. $25 membership, some tournaments extra. The extra, in such cases, is usually to cover the costs of material and/or prizes. www.diceheadseige.com ) Mobicon XIV (Mobile, Alabama – Ashbury Hotel & Suites. Science fiction convention with all the trimmings. Guests of Honor include Ethan Phillips and Weatherly B. Hardy. Pre-reg through May 1 st is $35, thereafter $40. www..org ) Texicon (Fort Worth, Texas – Sheraton Hotel. Gaming convention that seems to have somehow snagged a name that’s so obvious it astounds me no one was using it yet. Registration is $40, with discounts available to gamemasters. http://texicon.net )

May 26-29: (Houston, Texas – Hilton Americas . Great big guest list of film actors, artists, game designers, voice actors, etc. Looks like a pretty good assortment, too. Tickets are $35. www.comicpalooza.com ) May 27-30: Balticon 45 (Baltimore, Maryland – Marriott Hunt Valley. One of the South’s oldest conventions (I count Baltimore). Guests of Honor: Dr. Benjamin Bova, Vincent Di Fate, Bill & Brenda Sutton, Philippa Ballantine, Steve Geppi, . Pre-reg $55 through April 30 th , $62 at the door. www.balticon.org ) May 27-29: 14 (Raleigh, North Carolina – Raleigh Convention Center. Long-running anime convention in downtown Raleigh. Guests of Honor: Hiroaki Hirata, Todd Haberkorn, Cherami Leigh. Pre-reg $50 through May 8 th , $55 at the door. www.animazement.org ) Rocket City FurMeet 9 (Huntsville, Alabama – Embassy Suites Huntsville. Three days of furry fun in beautiful Huntsville. Guests of Honor: Kyoht, Scape the Goat, and a mystery GOH drawn from the paying members at opening ceremonies. $35 pre-registration, $40 at the door. www.rcfm.net ) Oasis 24 (Orlando, Florida – Sheraton Downtown Orlando. Guests of Honor: David Drake, Tommy Castillo, and Carla Ulbrich. Membership $35 until 5/26, $40 at the door. http://oasfis.org/oasis/index.php ) TimeGate (Atlanta, Georgia – Holiday Inn Select Atlanta Perimeter. Stargate and convention. Featuring Mike Dopud and Sophie Aldred. Membership $40 through May 6 th , then $50 at the door. www.timegatecon.org ) NashCon (Franklin, Tennessee – Cool Springs Marriott. Historical miniatures wargamming. Their website bears a design I find strikingly familiar, though I think they haven’t made any modifications to the layout. Membership in the convention is $25. http://hmgs-midsouth.org/nashcon/ ) Florida Anime Experience (Kissimmee, Florida – Ramada Orlando Celebration. New anime convention in Florida. Also, it appears that Orlando is following the SF Bay Area’s three-cons-this-weekend trend. Guest of Honor: Steve Blum, who voiced Spike in Cowboy Bebop . Tickets are $26 until April 30 th . www.floridaanime.com ) 8

June 3-5: ConCarolinas (Charlotte, North Carolina – www..org ) HeroesCon (Charlotte, North Carolina – www.heroesonline.com/heroescon/ ) Seishun-Con (Atlanta, Georgia – http://seishun-con.com ) HamaCon 2 (Huntsville, Alabama – www.hama-con.com ) OMGcon (Paducah, Kentucky – www.omgcon.com )

June 10-12: Sci Fi Summer Con (Atlanta, Georgia – http://sfcon.tripod.com ) Rapier (Jacksonville, Florida – www.rapiercon.com ) A-Kon 22 (Dallas, Texas – http://a-kon.com ) June 10-11: PariahCon (Lakeland, Florida – http://pariahcon.com ) Robert E. Howard Days (Cross Plains, Texas – www.rehupa.com/?p=2367 )

June 11-18: CruiseCon (Port Canaveral, Florida – www.cruisecons.com )

June 17-19: Anime Mid-Atlantic 11 (Chesapeake, Virginia – www.animemidatlantic.com ) Faerie Escape (Atlanta, Georgia – www.faeatlanta.com ) 9 (Tampa, Florida – www.metroconventions.com ) Comic & Anime Con (Knoxville, Tennessee – www.knoxvillecomicanimecon.com) Hypericon (Nashville, TN – www.hypericononline.com )

June 24-26: Apollocon (Houston, Texas – www..org ) Contamination (St. Louis, Missouri – www.con-tamination.com ) Persacon (Decatur, Alabama – www.persacon.com ) Texas Comicon (San Antonio, Texas – www.texascomicon.com )

July 1-4: (Miami, Florida – www.floridasupercon.com ) July 1-3: Delta H Con (Houston, Texas – http://detlahcon.com )

July 8-10: Shore Leave 33 (Baltimore, Maryland – www.shore-leave.com ) Anime Blues (Memphis, Tennessee – www.animeblues.com ) July 8-9: Omnicon (McAllen, Texas – www.omnicononline.com ) July 9-10: Ancient City Con 5 (Jacksonville, Florida – www.ancientcitycon.com )

July 13-17: LeakyCon (Orlando, Florida – www.leakycon.com ) 9

July 14-17: Slapsticon (Arlington, Virginia – www.slapsticon.org ) July 15-17: LibertyCon 24 (Chattanooga, Tennessee – www.libertycon.org ) PersaCon (Huntsville, Alabama – www.persacon.com )

July 17-30: Shared Worlds (Spartanburg, South Carolina – www.wofford.edu/sharedworlds/ )

July 22-24: FandomFest (Louisville, Kentucky – www.fandomfest.com )

July 29-31: (Baltimore, Maryland – www.otakon.com ) Megaplex (Kissimmee, Florida – www.megaplexcon.org ) July 29-August 1: Play On Con (Birmingham, Alabama – www.playoncon.com )

Looking Ahead:

August 17-21: Renovation, the 69 th Worldcon (Reno, Nevada – Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Atlantis Hotel, Peppermill Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott. Hotel booking will open 8 AM PST, January 17 th . Guests of Honor: Ellen Asher, Charles N. Brown (in memoriam), , Boris Vallejo. If you’ve never been to a Worldcon, you should try one. This one has the added bonus of not conflicting with the major Labor Day events so many of us go to, reducing your excuses. This is five days of science fiction, but more importantly, it’s a chance to meet fans from all over the world. It’s not uncommon for a group of friends at one of these to span three continents (or more – I’ve met fans from five at – South America and Antarctica, I’m looking at you). It’s also where presents its annual Hugo Awards – members can nominate and vote, though you’d better hurry if you want to nominate. This will be my third Worldcon, and I’m already getting a bit excited about it. I hope to see all y’all there. Membership is $180 through February 28 th , though there is a discounted rate of $100 available for fans 17-21. www.renovationsf.org )

September 2-5: Dragon*Con (Atlanta, Georgia – several hotels in downtown, though most have already sold out. The guest list is huge, and I’ll have to wait until later to figure out who they’ve named Guests of Honor. The attendance at this will be in the tens of thousands. You will be surrounded everywhere you look by folks who share some interest in fandom. It’s a great four-day weekend, and vibrant. Membership is $80 through February 15 th , rising to $90 after that through May 13 th . www.dragoncon.com )

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September 23-25: FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 (Addison, Texas – Crowne Plaza North Dallas. Guests of Honor: Gail Carriger, Joe Bethancourt, , Vincent Di Fate, Les Johnson, , and . DeepSouthCon finally comes to Texas! I’m thrilled to be returning to FenCon, as well, which I found to have the friendly atmosphere appropriate to a good Southern con. I also found that the panels tended to have actively interested audiences, the game room stayed busy, folks attended the filk concerts and circles, the art show had a great mix of stuff (including some Tolkien-inspired quilts!), the video room was actually attended, the consuite well-stocked, and the dealers room balanced. The hotel bar also carried a few local Texas beers, which I appreciated. For DSC, I’ll be in charge of the fanzine lounge, which seems like an entirely appropriate place for the SFC to set up shop. FenCon will be taking advantage of Gail Carriger’s attendance to have some fun with steampunk as well. All in all, I’m looking forward to this year’s DSC, and I hope to see many of you there. Membership is $25 through February 1 st , with a special $40 rate which gets you a t-shirt or tote bag and first crack at the autograph line with the GoHs. A $15 rate is also available for fans 21 and under. www..org )

June 15-17, 2012: DeepSouthCon 50 – Lunar Party (Huntsville, Alabama – venue TBA. This will be the first independent DSC in about a decade, and the Moon Princesses have put together quite a crew to run it. Guests of Honor will include Lois McMaster Bujold, Howard Tayler, Travis “Doc” Taylor, Larry Montgomer, David Hulan, and Dr. Demento. Larry and David ran the very first two DSCs back in the 60s, and this will be a rare opportunity to get to meet them. I’ll have more information on this con in coming issues. Attending Memberships are currently $40, or $15 for pre-supporters. Supporting Memberships are $20. www.dsc50huntsville.com )

Rebel Yells: News and note from all over

Mike Kennedy checked in, with a rather useful note:

Warren -- Were the blue con names in the Calendar supposed to be hyperlinks to the websites? If so, you may want to be aware that didn't come through. At least, they don't work for me in either Adobe Reader or Preview (Apple's default PDF reader) on my MacBook. -- Mike K.

Oops. I hadn’t realized that the software I was using to create PDFs wasn’t preserving the links. Thanks for pointing this out. I’ve updated the listings to include URLs.

Next, we heard from Uncle Timmy:

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Thanks Warren. I appreciate the call back [the first note was asking for back issues, which are available at www.efanzines.com - Warren] and I'm glad to see these things digitalized finally. You've done a lot of work into dragging the SFC into the 20th century. Maybe we can eventually drag them a little farther into the 21st. ;^)

Tim Bolgeo

Thanks, Uncle Timmy! I don’t mean to leave behind the print version entirely, but it takes a lot less time to put one of these out on the web.

Joy V. Smith checked in with news, and praise for Brad Foster:

Warren,

It glads my heart to see the smorgasbord of conventions that fen can choose from! And thanks for the TAFF and SWFF news too. That is certainly a fancy hat that Brad Foster created; 'course it's not as impressive as that mutant accordion frog!

We finally sold our house out in the serenity of the country--five acres is a lot of serenity to care for!--and will be moving into town. Blizzard, the Snow Princess, will miss those five acres more than we will, but we will go for long walks. I promise!

I took second place in the nonfiction category in the Preditors & Editors poll with my article, Man-Kzin Wars: Behind the scenes of a great and long-running series, which appeared in Tales of the Talisman.

(Man-Kzin Wars is a theme anthology series, which was started by .)

Link to final tallies: Critters Writers Workshop - P&E Readers Poll

Appreciatively, Joy V. Smith

Glad to hear you did well in the poll, Joy! Hope that the serenity of the country has given way to pleasant new digs.

A rare LoC from Chris Garcia:

Hey there Warren and all the folks down that way! Just wanted to drop a quick line and say I enjoyed the issue and wish beyond all reason that I could be going to AnachroCon, one because there’s a strong History focus and a Steampunk ring, both of which are my bag, and B) because if I were in Atlanta, I’d be able to go to Abdullah The Burtcher’s Rib Joint! It’s AMAZiNG!!!

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I’m looking forward to Renovation and especially FenCon, which will be only the second Texas convention I’ve ever been to. It’s Gail Carriger, the most excellent Steampunk authress and bon vivant, and Stephen H Silver! How could you go wrong?

Love the Brad Foster cover, but am in LOVE with the Little Pope piece. How does he do it? Brad was kind enough to send a few illustrations for 52 Weeks to Science Fiction Film Literacy, the series in The Drink Tank. He’s amazing. He certainly deserves all those shiny rockets on his shelf!

I’m excited to see SWFF (which going South should be pronounced swoff and West swiff) get off the ground and will be brow-beating…I mean discussing in a firm voice, the possibility of a couple of folks running this weekend at CorFlu.

Speaking of which – OHMYGHOD I’ve got work to do! Chris

Maybe one of these years (this summer? – see Mike Rogers’s article on the ConFederation anniversary gathering after the LoCs) you’ll just have to join me in Atlanta. I’ve been keeping up with the 52 Weeks series, and so far, I’m quite impressed.

Mike Rogers with an apology, which I’ll follow with my own:

In issue 17 of Warren Buff's SFC Update, he published a brief brain fart of mine regarding FenCon, in which I accused them of ignoring their hosting of DeepSouthCon in September 2011.

Clearly, I was grievously mistaken when I wrote those words. It turned out that I had found the previous year's FenCon web page which, of course, said nothing about DSC. Once I found the correct year's page, the DSC sponsorship was clearly mentioned.

I feel embarrassed for letting something like that slip out. I apologize to FenCon and the committee.

Maybe now they will let me into Texas for the con.

Warren, I ask that you print this in the next issue so the readers will know what an idiot I can be sometimes.

M. Lee Rogers Hixson, TN

When Mike wrote his original note, FenCon’s website hadn’t been updated yet. I marked it as something to include in the Update, in hopes that it would encourage them to include something about DSC. By the time I actually got 13 another issue together, FenCon had done so, and actually features an article on DSC by Gary Robe fairly prominently. I really like the guys at FenCon, and believe they’ll run a good DSC, and are taking it seriously. I’m sorry I failed in my editorial due diligence when I ran that LoC.

And to confirm what I just said, here’s FenCon’s own Tim Miller:

As one of the guys involved in FenCon, I forgive you, [The you here is Mike, who sent this letter to the Southern Fandom Classic Yahoo group as well as to me. Tim’s on there, since it’s a good place to keep up with Southern Fandom and our friends from other parts of the world. -Warren]

It did take us awhile to get our new website up with the new dates and the DeepSouthCon information.

We actually have a page on our website just about DeepSouthCon that has a nice article that Gary Robe wrote for us as well a a link to the history on the Southern Fandom Resource Guide. It is also explained on our brand new flyer which will be available soon.

Just to let everyone know, we are having a Fanzine lounge this year because of DSC and we have already scheduled the Hearts Tournament for Saturday afternoon. The DSC Awards will be on Saturday night at 9.00 right before The FenCon Cabaret. This is a prime programming spot at FenCon and is where we have our single largest crowd. In fact, we have moved some of our function space around to get more people into the big events this year.

We are very excited and honored to be hosting DeepSouthCon 49 this year and hope to see all of you there.

Tim Miller

Thanks, Tim, for all you and FenCon have done so far to bring DSC to Texas.

And of course, a great loc from Lloyd Penney:

1706-24 Eva Rd. Etobicoke, ON CANADA M9C 2B2

February 20, 2011

Dear Warren:

Thanks for Vol. 1, No. 18 of the SFC Update. From what you say, this issue is mostly listings, but I’ve been told I could loc a laundry list. Well, time to prove them right, I guess… 14

I’ve made the comment to Chris Garcia; I think the idea of SWFF is great. I remember the early days of CUFF, how people thought it was strange that we’d send a Canadian fan from one side of the country to the other. Well, Canada is a big country. Then came NAFF, the National Australian Fan Fund, which sent an Australian fan from one part of that country to another, and now SWFF, from the Southern US to the Western, and vice-versa. It does make sense, with travel costs keeping people at local conventions, or even keeping them at home, to get these two major regionals to send people back and forth. (An idea…could clubs all over the west and south donate a little bit of cash to this fan fund? No one’s swimming in cash these days, but a few bucks here and there can add up. Could the Westercon and DSC to come throw a few bucks in?

I have noticed how many anime conventions are embracing steampunk as a way to bring in more people and add to the costuming and cosplay there. Our own local convention, (18,000 attendees last year, as if they need more) does the same thing, so we go most years now.

Ah, Reno! We hope we can go; we’re still not certain, even though we have our room booked and memberships bought. We nominated on the Hugos earlier this evening.

Looks like you’re keeping your club membership happy, always a good sign when it comes to being a club chairman or captain. And yes, I have voted for TAFF, Steve Green. I think I am finally done all my voting and nominating for this year. Auroras, CUFF, TAFF, FAAns, Hugos…all done.

My letter…I think I will be giving Wizard World a pass this year, and probably a pass for as long as it lasts. I have to better budget my cash, especially for Reno, to make that happen.

Yup, a short letter, but at least there’s something for the next issue, and that’s where we will see you. Take care!

Yours, Lloyd Penney.

My local anime con, Animazement, far from embracing steampunk, has taken up the attitude that they’re primarily a Japanese culture event, and the rest of it can get out. I still need to nominate for the Hugos – maybe I’ll do that tonight. Thanks again for writing in so consistently!

Penultimately, we heard from John Purcell:

Warren,

Accordion frogs play hopping good music, I hear.

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Now, as for the rest of this particular issue, there are a couple of items of note. Hang on...I have them here somewhere... Ah! Found them!

Your mentioning the SouthWest Fan Fund reminds me of the idea I once had to bring West coast and East coast fans to midwestern conventions in alternating years. I called it the HAFF: officially the Halfway Across Fan Fund, but unofficially, and more descriptively accurate, the Half-Assed Fan Fund. Some year...

Even though you list a slew of cons over the March 11-13 weekend, you missed one to be held in Houston, Texas, Con-Jour 3. Here is their website: http://www.conjour.net/ It sounds like it could be a good time. The Guest of Honor is Jody Lynn Nye, and she will be accompanied by her husband Bill Fawcett (always a good idea to have the spouse along or people will talk). Quite a few other folks will be there. Valerie and I are thinking of going down on Saturday since the con's location (, Clear Lake campus) is barely over a 90 minute drive from home. Can you say "day trip!"?

Meanwhile, Aggiecon 42 is gearing up at the College Station Hilton, and I see you have that listed. You will find me wearing my bathrobe for at least one night to keep in the HHGTTG theme. That should be a fun time, too, and it actually runs from Thursday night, March 24th through Sunday the 27th. Lots of things going on during that con.

Other than those two, I doubt if we'll be at any others this summer - maybe Armadillocon over in Austin in August - but the biggie for us is FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 in Dallas in September. See you there? There better be plenty of Shiner Bock available, that's all I can say.

Well, take care of yourself, and I will see you seven months from now. It should be fun. Bring a deck of cards! Hearts Tournament!!!

All the best,

John Purcell

My apologies that I missed getting this out in time for your con listing to be timely. I tried. Excellent to hear that bathrobes are still in style for Arthur Dent costumes! I do so mean to do that one of these years. I will, indeed, be at DSC when it comes to FenCon. I look forward to seeing a lot of friends there.

And finally, a note from Scott Green:

Dear Editor;

I do two blogs that cover paying markets for sf/f/h poetry and flash fiction, www.examiner.com/poetry-in-manchester/scott-green and 16

www.greengenrepoetry.blogspot.com. Some of your members may find the blogs to be of interest.

Sincerely,

Scott E. Green

We Also Heard From: Tom Feller, Jeffrey Thompson, Steve Green, Brad Foster (with a new piece of art I’m going to hold for next ish), Mike Moon (also with art).

ConFederation 25th Anniversary Celebration! By M. Lee Rogers Why on Earth or the entire universe would a couple of Old Fhart geezers throw a party for a Worldcon that was held a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? What kind of extraterrestrial prune juice are they drinking? Some of you are old enough to remember. For everyone else, here is a brief explanation. ConFederation was not just a standard-issue World Science Fiction Convention for many of the people who bid for it and ran it. It was more than a Worldcon. To a very real extent, it was a religious crusade. The Worldcon had been held in the South a couple of times previously. Nolacon I in New Orleans ran in 1951. That was the infamous Worldcon of Room 770 where Bob Tucker met Lee Hoffman only to find out that Lee was—gasp—a woman! It was also a long, long time ago. That far back might as well have been in a different world, if not galaxy. A group of Northeastern fans ran Suncon in Miami in 1977 at the Fountainbleu Hotel. I was not there, but the reviews were mixed. By that time, there was a group of fans with sufficient self-awareness to think of themselves as Southern fans. Fans like Meade H. Frierson III and Guy H. Lillian III helped create that gestalt. Southern SF fandom had its distinctive traditions and customs, and its members were generally proud to be Southern fans. That enthusiasm was not often shared by fans outside the South. Throughout the early years of SF fandom, Southern fans remembered the dismissive treatment they received outside the region. I vividly remember reading an article in some publication—Meade himself may have written the piece. It described how most other fans considered Southern fans to be as uncivilized as the average Southerner. Those other fans did not have a high opinion of Southerners in general. Southern fans were not greatly respected in the rest of American fandom. If the term “nikulturny 17 redneck” had existed back then, it would have been used to describe Southern fans. Because of this prejudice, some Southern fans had a chip on their shoulders. We wished to prove to the rest of fandom that we were as fannish and as capable as other fans. One symbol of our second-class status was the lack of a truly Southern Worldcon. In the early 1980’s, some of us decided that enough was enough. We did not play up the crusade aspect of the bid since it would have scared off many voters. But behind the scenes, some of us felt it. If you listened carefully, you might have heard a few of us gently humming Onward Christian Soldiers in the bid meetings. Southern fandom came together to run ConFederation. It came together in a way it never has, before or since. There is little chance of another similar epiphany. With the rise of Dragon*Con, Atlanta will not see another World SF Convention for a long time. In the decrepitude of our current lives, Ron Zukowski and I believed that attention must be paid to the anniversary of such a historic and important event. The 25th anniversary seemed to be the best time. So here it is: the ConFederation 25th Anniversary Celebration!

Who: 1. You were an attending or supporting member of ConFederation. 2. You are known to the organizers. 3. Someone known to the organizers can vouch for you. (The criteria are similar to a fan fund.)

What: A party to celebrate one of Southern SF fandom's shining moments: the 1986 World Science Fiction Convention held in downtown Atlanta.

When: Saturday June 18, 2011, 12:00 noon to whenever.

Where: Embassy Suites Alpharetta, off Exit 9 of Georgia 400 (Haynes Bridge Road) near North Point Mall.

Why: Why not?!?

How Much: $20 per person. Free for members of ConFederation Executive Committee, SFWA, or ASFA. If cost is a problem, talk to Ron or Mike. Any material surplus will be donated to fan funds--this is a not-for-profit venture. We realize it is fairly short notice, but we are trying to work around Dragon*Con and other regional conventions. North Fulton is equally inconvenient to everyone in metro Atlanta. The area is also accessible via MARTA by train and bus. The adult beverage situation is BYOB. We will provide as many munchies and soft drinks as we can. Suites should be available at the hotel. The current rates are around $100 per night. For reservations, call 1-800-EMBASSY. 18

Please feel free to publicize this event in fandom, but do not publicize it in the local media. It is not open to the general public. It would help if you let us know if you are coming so we can know how many people to plan for. Please RSVP with payment to:

M. Lee Rogers 331 Celestial Lane Hixson, TN 37343-5810

As I said at the end of my closing remarks at the convention: “Y’all come back now, y’hear?”