Volume 1, Issue 24 August 2011 2 Editorial: Okay, so this is a short issue. And late. I don’t have anything awesome to include, but y’all still managed to provide seven pages of letters. Good on ya! I’m right now too excited about Worldcon to come up with a really great editorial, because in less than a week, I, and many of you, will be in Reno. I’ve been looking forward to this one. It’s gonna have a business meeting with lots of proposals around the zine categories, so I recommend those of you who care about the Hugos, and in particularly the fan Hugos, come out and make your voices heard. My voice will be distinctly quiet, as I’ll be too busy working my stopwatch and arithmetic as the timekeeper. Then there’s the site selection vote – Texas is up for the Worldcon in 2013, and I’m looking forward to the return of Worldcon to the South, so remember to vote in that, as well. Khen Moore’s extensive art collection will be on display in the art show, thanks to the efforts of Naomi Fisher, and I recommend y’all go check that out, too. Then there’s the announcement of a bid for Orlando in 2015. I really don’t know they guys behind it, but I’m looking forward to meeting them and learning more. They’ll be in a contested race with Spokane, which should be interesting. And of course, we’ve already heard about the bid for New Orleans in 2018. It’s looking like a return to good times for the South as far as Worldcon goes is coming up. I, for one, welcome our new rebel overlords. Contents: Convention Calendar – page 3 Rebel Yells – page 8 Art Credits: Cover & page 12 – Brad W Foster Page 15 – Greg Rieves Colophon: Editor & SFC President: Warren Buff [email protected] (919) 633-4993 8712 Wellsley Way Raleigh, NC 27613 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: August 12-14: Guns of August (Williamsburg, Virginia – Holiday Inn Patriot Center. Gaming convention focused primarily on miniatures, but also featuring board games and role-playing. Registration is $25 at the door. $5 discount for military, students, and gamemasters. www.odms-club.com/convention ) Sukoshicon (Birmingham, Alabama – Howard Johnson. This appears to be part of a series of events around the Mid-South featuring a cosplay contest, AMVs, anime karaoke, and rock band. Membership is $20. www.sukoshicon.com ) August 13-14: M:TG Open Cup (Poplar Bluff, Missouri – http://warhorn.net/semo-mtg- open-cup/ ) 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), Tim Powers, 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 Worldcons – South America and Antarctica, I’m looking at you). It’s also where fandom 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 $220, though there is a discounted rate of $120 available for fans 17-21. www.renovationsf.org ) August 18-21: Game Fest South (Chattanooga, Tennessee – Chattanooga Choo Choo. Tabletop gaming, mostly boardgames. Memberships are $40, with discounts for couples and families. www.gamefestsouth.com ) August 19-21: Mizu Con (Miami, Florida – Hyatt Regency Miami. Anime convention featuring Todd Haberkorn, Lisa Ortiz, Johnny Yong Bosch, and EyeShine. Passes are $30 through August 14 th , though staying at the hotel two nights gets you a free badge. www.mizucon.com ) Motaku (Kansas City, Missouri – Holiday Inn CoCo Key Water Resort. Anime convention featuring Spike Spencer, Leah Clark, Tiffany Grant, Cassandra Hodges, Sophie McNutt, and Samurai Dan. Contests will be held for art, AMVs, and cosplay. $40 at the door. www.motaku.org ) August 19-20: Onyx Con III (Atlanta, Georgia – Southwest Arts Center. This convention is focused on the cultural output of the African Diaspora, and looks like it’s got a 4 strong sci-fi/comics bent. Guests include Mshindo Kuumba I, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and N Steven Harris. Includes a writing contest in honor of the late Dwayne McDuffie. I can’t tell for sure if it costs anything or not – the website doesn’t seem to be loading images for me. www.onyxcon.com ) August 20-21: Baltimore Comic-Con (Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimore Convention Center. Stan Lee will be Guest of Honor. Ticket prices aren’t listed on the website, which claims that online ticketing will be available. http://baltimorecomiccon.com/ ) August 26-28: ArmadilloCon 33 (Austin, Texas – Renaissance Hotel Austin. Guests of Honor will be Paolo Bacigalupi, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Lou Anders, Vincent Villafranca, Fred Duarte, Jr, and Mark Finn. This is a grand old science fiction con of the South with a reputation for bringing in tons of writers, editors, etc. Memberships are $50. www.fact.org/dillo ) MechaCon (New Orleans, Louisiana – Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Anime convention featuring Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Kyle Hebert, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Daran Norris. Memberships will be $50 at the door. They don’t say what the cut-off date is. www.mechacon.com ) September 2-5: Dragon*Con (Atlanta, Georgia – several hotels in downtown, though most have already sold out. The guest list is huge, and they’ve named Terry Brooks and Michael Whelan as 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 always vibrant. Membership is $120. www.dragoncon.com ) Mephit Furmeet (Memphis, Tennessee – Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center. This furry get-together is in its fourteenth year, and going strong. Along with all the usual fun, their charity auction will benefit Tiger Haven. Attending memberships are $45. Supporting memberships are $20. www.mephitfurmeet.org ) TCEP (Laurel, Maryland – Holiday Inn Laurel West. Gaming convention with limited information on their website. Registration is $40. http://barkingmad.org/ ) Anime Fest (Dallas, Texas – Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Tower. Anime convention with Guests of Honor Dai Santo and Bowling for Soup. I don’t understand what Bowling for Soup has to do with anime. Memberships are $40 through August 26 th , then $50 at the door. www.animefest.org ) September 9-11: Glitchcon (Bentonville, Arkansas – DoubleTree Hotel. Guests include Marina Sirtis, Ethan Phillips, Peter Pixie, Troy Baker, and Airship Isabella. Pre-reg is $30. www.glitchcon.com ) 5 September 16-18: Intervention (Rockville, Maryland – Hilton Washington DC/Rockville. Billed as an internet culture convention, its guest list is a whole ton of webcomics creators. Registration is $40 through August 31 st , then $45 at the door. www.interventioncon.com ) Con*Stellation XXX (Huntsville, Alabama – Holiday Inn Express. Guests of Honor will be Gene Wolfe, Lubov, Gay Haldeman, Stephanie Osborn, and Joe Haldeman. This is a good, relaxing convention which usually sees attendance by some of the leading lights of Southern Fandom. Memberships are $40 through August 12 th , then more at the door. www.con-stellation.org/constell/index.html ) Intercon Mid-Atlantic (Bethesda, Marylnad – Hyatt Regency Bethesda. Gaming convention featuring a lot of high-brow games and scenarios, all LARPs. Registration is $55, which includes one catered meal. http://www.imalarp.com/ ) September 22-25: Hurricon (Orlando, Florida – International Palms Resort. Historical minis wargaming con with a theme this year of The Last Gasp of Colonialism. Pre-reg is $25, or $35 at the door, with a $10 discount for HMGS members. www.hmgssouth.com/hmgs ) September 23-25: FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 (Addison, Texas – Crowne Plaza North Dallas. Guests of Honor: Gail Carriger, Joe Bethancourt, Steven H Silver, Vincent Di Fate, Les Johnson, Bradley Denton, and Lou Anders. 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.