The FACT SheetGospel of the Knife Will Shetterly (Tor) The Servants Michael Marshall Smith...

The FACT SheetA Monthly Publication of the Fandom Association of Central Texas

July, 2008FREE with your FACT Membership!

The FACT Sheet - July 2008 -

Convention Reports Wanted!

Please consider taking a few notes about panels, readings and other aspects of ArmadilloCon, and then submitting them for next month’s issue. We want to include a special section on the con, and need your submissions to make it happen!

FACT Benefit for Literacy Austin

The Charity Auction at this year’s ArmadilloCon will benefit Literacy Austin. 24% of Texans read below the 5th grade level. Literacy Austin is taking action to improve these people’s lives by improving their reading skill. Please attend the Charity Auction on Saturday at 5PM and use a little of your spending money to help benefit this wonderful program!

North Reading Group Selections

The North Austin Reading Group has selected books through the end of the year:

Sunday, August 17: The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez (Join us at ArmadilloCon to discuss!)

Monday, September 1: Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

Tuesday, September 16: Last Dragon by J. M. McDermott

Monday, October 6: The Complete Roderick by John Sladek

Tuesday, October 21: On Basilisk Station by David Weber

Monday, November 3: Gordath Wood by Patrice Sarath

Tuesday, November 18: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Monday, December 1: Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Tuesday, December 16: Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

Monday, January 5: Axis by Robert Charles Wilson

South Reading Group Selections

The South Austin Reading Group has announced selections through November. Note that the November and December meetings will be a week early because of the holidays.

Thursday, August 21: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Thursday, September 25: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?/Blade Runner by Philip K.

DickThursday, October 23: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman

and Terry PratchettThursday, November 20: Grave Sight by Charlaine

HarrisThursday, December 18: TBD

Hugo Awards Announced

The 2008 Hugo Awards were presented at Worldcon on August 9. Winners include: ArmadilloCon Guest of Honor John Scalzi as Best Fan Writer, ArmadilloCon 31 Artist Guest Stephan Martiniere as Best Professional Artists, and Brad Foster as Best Fan Artist. Here is the complete list:

Best Novel: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)

Best Novella: “All Seated on the Ground” by Connie Willis (Asimov’s, December 2007; Subterranean Press)

Best Novelette: “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” by Ted Chiang (Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 2007)

Best Short Story: “Tideline” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s, June 2007)

xxFACT EVENTS THIS MONTHFriday-Sunday, August 15-17: ArmadilloCon.

Doubletree Hotel. Writers’ Workshop: Friday, 9AM-4PMOpening Ceremonies: Friday, 4PMMeet the Pros Party: Friday, 8-10PMCharity Auction - Literacy Austin: Saturday,

5PMArt Auction: Saturday, 6PMCampfire Stories: Saturday, 9PMBoard Meeting: Sunday, 9AM, Fourth Floor

CapitalReading Group: Sunday, 2PM, de Zavala. The

Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez.Thursday, August 21, 7-8 PM: South Austin Read-

ing Group. (Pleasant Hill Branch, Austin Public Library, 211 E. Wm Cannon Dr) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

IS IT TIME TO RENEW YOUR FACT MEMBERSHIP?

Please be sure to keep your membership up to date!

Stop by the FACT table in the Dealers’ Room at ArmadilloCon, or

go to www.fact.org and pay online.Just $21 for a one year membership!

continued on page 4

The FACT Sheet - July 2008 - Page 2

Focus on the Art Show

Scott Zrubek is back this year for another year as the ArmadilloCon Art Show Director. This year’s group of artists includes some familiar names and some new ones.

The Art Show will be open Friday, 2-7PM and 8-10PM. On Saturday, hours will be 10AM-6PM, with the Auction at 6PM. It will open again on Sunday from 10AM-12 Noon. Be sure to stop by!

The exhibition space is completely booked by a varied group of artists that includes David Lee Anderson, the Artist Guest of Honor; Joe Haldeman, one of the Special Guests; Brad W. Foster, this year’s Hugo winner for Best Fan Artist; John Picacio, who has won a number of awards and was a finalist for Best Professional Artist in this year’s Hugos; Rocky Kelley, who won the 2006 World Fantasy Art Show Award; “Diesel” LaForce, who worked on Dungeons and Dragons; and more.

Visit the Art Show at ArmadilloCon to see work by all these artists!

Mary Helms Rocky Kelley (www.rockykelley.com)Diesel LaForce Lubov (www.lubov.net)Theresa Mather (www.rockfeatherscissors.com)Melia NewmanMai Nguyen Night Wolf Studios John Picacio (www.johnpicacio.com)Shelly Pinder (www.shellypinder.com)Douglas Potter Mark Roland Brandy Stark (metalpug.deviantart.com)Alison Tawney Rachel Waterfield

Anita Haddock, DragonFishArt

Works.com, Flambeau

(Necklace) & Trilobite Ear-

rings

David Lee Anderson (www.davidleeanderson.com)Kimm Antell (www.kimmantell.com)Jolie E. Bonnette (www.joliebonnette.com)Nancy Cagle (tinyurl.com/5za48p)Peri Charlifu (tinyurl.com/5vbgof)Sarah Clemens (www.clemensart.com)Daniel Cortopassi (www.dacort.com)Sara Felix Brad W. Foster (www.jabberwockygraphix.com)Fairy Glade Ashen Grey (www.ashengray.com)Anita Haddock (www.dragonfishartworks.com)Joe HaldemanKathleen Hardy Kendall R. Hart (maskedmayhem.deviantart.com)

“A Little Friend” © Brandy Stark

The FACT Sheet - July 2008 - The FACT Sheet - July 2008 - Page 5

Best Professional Editor, Long Form: David G. Hartwell

Best Professional Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Stardust, written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn; based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess; directed by Matthew Vaughn

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: “Blink” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Hettie Macdonald

Best Related Book: Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher (Oxford University Press)

Best Semiprozine: LocusBest Professional Artist: Stephan MartiniereBest Fan Artist: Brad FosterBest Fan Writer: John ScalziBest Fanzine: File 770 edited by Mike GlyerJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

(Sponsored by Dell Magazines and administered on their behalf by WSFS): Mary Robinette Kowal

World Fantasy Nominations

The 2008 World Fantasy Award nominations have been announced. ArmadilloCon 31 Guest Artist Stephan Martiniere was nominated, as was John Picacio of San Antonio.

Lifetime AchievementLife Achievement winners are Leo & Diane Dillon

and Patricia McKillip. NovelTerritory Emma Bull (Tor)Ysabel Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada/Penguin

Roc)Fangland John Marks (Penguin Press) Gospel of the Knife Will Shetterly (Tor) The Servants Michael Marshall Smith (Earthling

Publications) NovellaThe Mermaids Robert Edric (PS Publishing) Illyria Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing) “The Master Miller’s Tale” Ian R. MacLeod (Fantasy

& Science Fiction May 2007) “Cold Snap” Kim Newman (The Secret Files of the

Diogenes Club, MonkeyBrain Books)“Stars Seen through Stone” Lucius Shepard

(Fantasy & Science Fiction July 2007) Short Story“The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of

Economics” Daniel Abraham (Logorrhea, Bantam Spectra)

“Singing of Mount Abora” Theodora Goss (Logorrhea, Bantam Spectra)

“The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change” Kij Johnson (The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, Viking)

“Damned if you Don’t “ Robert Shearman” (Tiny Deaths, Comma Press)

“The Church on the Island” Simon Kurt Unsworth (At Ease with the Dead, Ash-Tree Press)

AnthologyFive Strokes to Midnight Gary A. Braunbeck & Hank

Schwaeble, Eds. (Haunted Pelican Press) Wizards: Magical Tales From The Masters of Modern

Fantasy Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois, Eds. (Berkley) Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural

Ellen Datlow, Editor (Tor)The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales Ellen Datlow &

Terri Windling, Eds. (Viking) Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories John

Klima, Editor (Bantam Spectra)CollectionPlots and Misadventures Stephen Gallagher

(Subterranean Press) Portable Childhoods Ellen Klages (Tachyon

Publications)The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club Kim Newman

(MonkeyBrain Books)Hart & Boot & Other Stories Tim Pratt (Night Shade

Books) Tiny Deaths Robert Shearman (Comma Press) Dagger Key and Other Stories Lucius Shepard (PS

Publishing)ArtistRuan JiaMikko KinnunenStephan MartiniereEdward MillerJohn PicacioSpecial Award—ProfessionalAllison Baker and Chris Roberson for MonkeyBrain

BooksAlan Beatts and Jude Feldman for Borderlands

BooksPeter Crowther for PS Publishing

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1973)

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The FACT Sheet - July 2008 - Page 4 The FACT Sheet - July 2008 -

Gordon Van Gelder for Fantasy & Science FictionJeremy Lassen and Jason Williams for Night Shade

BooksShawna McCarthy for Realms of FantasySpecial Award—Non-professionalMidori Snyder and Terri Windling for Endicott

Studios WebsiteG. S. Evans and Alice Whittenburg for Cafe IrrealStephen Jones, Editor for Travellers in Darkness:

The Souvenir Book of the World Horror Convention 2007

John Klima for Electric VelocipedeRosalie Parker and Raymond Russell for Tartarus

Press

Shirley Jackson Awards

The first annual Shirley Jackson Awards, for “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” were handed out at Readercon in July. Winners (*) and nominees are listed here:

Novel*Generation Loss, Elizabeth Hand (Small Beer Press) Baltimore, Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden

(Bantam Spectra) Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow (William Heinemann) The Terror, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown) Tokyo Year Zero, David Peace (Knopf) Novella*“Vacancy”, Lucius Shepard (Subterranean #7) 12 Collections, Zoran Zivkovic (PS Publishing) Illyria, Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing) The Mermaids, Robert Edric (PS Publishing) “Procession of the Black Sloth”, Laird Barron (The

Imago Sequence and Other Stories) The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams (PS

Publishing) Novelette*“The Janus Tree”, Glen Hirshberg (Inferno) “The Forest”, Laird Barron (Inferno) “The Swing”, Don Tumasonis (At Ease with the

Dead) “The Tenth Muse”, William Browning Spencer

(Subterranean #6) “Thumbprint”, Joe Hill (Postscripts #10, Mar 2007) Short Story*“The Monsters of Heaven”, Nathan Ballingrud

(Inferno) “Holiday”, M. Rickert (Subterranean #7) “A Murder of Crows”, Elizabeth Ziemska (Tin House

#31, Spr 2007) “Something in the Mermaid Way”, Carrie Laben

(Clarkesworld Mar 2007) “The Third Bear”, Jeff VanderMeer (Clarkesworld

Apr 2007)

“Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse”, Andy Duncan (Eclipse One)

Collection*The Imago Sequence and Other Stories, Laird

Barron (Night Shade Books) The Bone Key, Sarah Monette (Prime Books) The Entire Predicament, Lucy Corin (Tin House) Like You’d Understand, Anyway, Jim Shepard

(Knopf) Old Devil Moon, Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail) Anthology*Inferno, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Tor) At Ease with the Dead, Barbara & Christopher

Roden, eds (Ash-Tree Press) Dark Delicacies 2, Del Howison & Jeff Gelb, eds.

(Running Press) Logorrhea, John Klima, ed. (Bantam Spectra) Wizards, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois, eds.

(Berkley)

Cordwainer Smith Award

This year’s Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award was announced at Readercon. This award is given to a “science fiction or fantasy writer whose work displays unusual originality, embodies the spirit of Cordwainer Smith’s fiction, and deserves renewed attention or ‘Rediscovery.’“ The 2008 award was given to Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935).

Mr. Weinbaum had a brief but influential career in SF. His first story, “A Martian Odyssey”, was published to great (and enduring) acclaim in the July 1934 issue of Wonder. He was dead from lung cancer within eighteen months. “A Martian Odyssey” can be found in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964.

Sidewise Awards

The Sidewise Awards, which recognize the best alternate history of the year, were announced at Worldcon. The winners for Best Short Form (there was a tie) are: “Quaestiones Super Caelo Et Mundo” by Michael Flynn (Analog, July 2007) and “Recovering


Apollo 8” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov’s, February 2007). The winner for Best Long Form is: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)

WSFA Small Press Finalists

The finalists for this year’s WSFA Small Press Award (honoring short fiction published by small presses) are as follows:

“Bufo Rex” by Erik Amundsen, Weird Tales #347 “Orm the Beautiful” by Elizabeth Bear,

Clarkesworld Magazine, January 2007 “The Wizard of Macatawa” by Tom Doyle, Paradox

#11 () “Harry the Crow” by John Kratman, Aeon

Speculative Fiction #12 “Mask of the Ferret” by Ken Pick and Alan Loewen,

Infinite Space, Infinite Gold (Twilight Times Books) “The Third Bear” by Jeff VandeMeer, Clarkesworld

Magazine, April 2007 The winner will be announced at Capclave in

October.

Prometheus Awards

The Libertarian Futurist Society announced the winners of this year’s Prometheus Awards. There was a tie this year for Best Novel. The co-winners for Best Novel are: The Gladiator by Harry Turtledove and Ha’Penny by Jo Walton (which was a Reading Group seldction earlier this year). Other finalists were The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod, Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner, and Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell. The winner in the Hall of Fame category was A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

Books Needed for James Reasoner

The FACT Book Drive for author James Reasoner, who lost his professional library in a house fire earlier this year, is still going on. Please go to www.fact.org to get to the link to his Amazon shopping list, and help buy the last few books to help him reestablish his professional library.

FACToids and Friends

Paolo Bacigalupi (a favorite author of your editor) has a story in the September issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction: “Pump Six”, the title story of his recent collection),

Wheatland Press has several books of interesting newly out or due out soon. Bradley Denton’s Laughin’ Boy is currently available for preorder, as is Can’t Buy Me Faded Love by Josh Rountree, another Texas writer. Polyphony 6, co-edited by former Texan Jay Lake, is available, with a seventh volume available preorder. Polyphony volumes 3-6 are available on Wheatland’s website for download, and include stories by several FACT favorite authors.

Mark Finn was recently the special guest on the Major Spoilers podcast. Get it at tinyurl.com/6m2qa4. Finn’s piece starts about 30 minutes into the show.

Gregory Frost, who wrote the bio of Haldeman for the ArmadilloCon 30 Program Book, has a new novel out, Lord Tophet. He was interviewed about the book by the Wyrdsmiths: tinyurl.com/6mkon7.

Randy Lankford of San Antonio recently had his first novel, Aliens for Sale, published by Ayslett Press. Find out more at www.randylankford.com.

Del Rey has released another volume in a series of rereleases of Michael Moorcock’s Elric material. This new book is illustrated by acclaimed artist Michael Wm. Kaluta and includes a new introduction by Mr. Moorcock,

The International Horror Guild award nominations are out. Nominees include Texans Joe R. Lansdale and Don Webb, and former Texan Lisa Tuttle. Get details at www.horroraward.org. You can congratulate both Lansdale and Webb at ArmadilloCon.

Joe R. Lansdale will sign copies of his new thriller, Leather Maiden, at Bookpeople on August 17 at 3PM.

Moon Flights, a collection of stories by Elizabeth Moon, will be released in paperback on August 15.

Rick Riordan will appear at the 39 Steps Party at Bookpeople on September 19. Watch the Bookpeople site for additional details.

Lewis Shiner has posted his novel Black and White along with a great deal of his short fiction online. Read and enjoy at www.lewisshiner.com/liberation.


BoingBoing posted a link to an interesting talk by Neal Stephenson discussing the nature of literary genres and why these definitions are melting away. See it at tinyurl.com/5svr5z.

Bruce Sterling will be the keynote speaker at the Austin Game Developers Conference (Sept. 15-17, Austin Convention Center). Find out more at www.austingdc.net.

The new TOR.com website has launched. Material to enjoy there includes a story by John Scalzi. Read it at tinyurl.com/5ut5ra.

Former Texan Lisa Tuttle is interviewed in the July, 2008, issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction.

ArmadilloCon 30 participant Steven Utley has a short story in the September, 2008, issue of Asimov’s.

Martha Wells and Jay Lake will have stories in The Lone Star Stories Reader. Preorder a copy at www.lsspress.com/8201.html.

Martha Wells has a story in the Summer issue of Black Gate. Read an excerpt at tinyurl.com/626d92.

Writing News

The Last Theorem, the new novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, has been released.

Thomas M. Disch, American science fiction author and poet, passed away in July. He reportedly committed suicide. See articles at tinyurl.com/66ogom and tinyurl.com/6hkfrn. Disch had won a number of awards, including the John Campbell award and a Hugo award.

Terry Brooks is touring to promote his new novel, Genesis of Shannara: The Gypsy Morph. one of his appearances will be in Fort Worth, TX, on September 9 at 7PM. The location will be Casa Manana, 3101 West Lancaster Avenue, 76107. “Fans of Terry Brooks can get two free reserved seats by either sending their request with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to “An Evening with Terry Brooks” c/o The Star-Telegram, P.O. Box 1870, Fort Worth TX 76101 Attn: Melinda Mason, or by calling (817) 390-7579. There is free parking in the Casa Manana lot at the intersection of West Lancaster and University Drive.”

Robert Stikmanz will appear at Bookpeople on August 13 at 7PM at a release party for his latest novel, Entranscing.

Media News

See the trailer for a new Joss Whedon project, Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, at www.drhorrible.com. Actors include Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.

Science fiction and fantasy television productions received 49 Emmy nominations this year. The FSF shows that were nominated include: The Andromeda

Strain, Battlestar Galactica, Chuck, Heroes, Jericho, Masters of Science Fiction, Medium, Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville, Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, and Tin Man.

Fans of Moonlight continue to campaign for a new home for the show on cable. SciFi had been reported to be in discussions about picking the show up, but has passed. For more information, see: moonlight-united.com.

The Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas will shut down Star Trek : The Experience on September 1, after an 11-year run.

Convention Listing

Aug. 15-17: ArmadilloCon 30, Doubletree Austin North, Austin, TX. Literary SF convention. GoH John Scalzi; Artist GoH David Lee Anderson; Fan GoH Kelly Persons; Editor GoH Sheila Williams; Toastmaster Bill Crider; and Special Guests Joe and Gay Haldeman. www.armadillocon.org

Aug. 22-24: BuboniCon 40, Albuquerque Grand Airport Hotel, Albuquerque, NM: GoH David Weber; Toastmaster Daniel Abraham; Artist Guest Bo Eggleton; Auctioneer Robert E. Vardeman. Regular memberships $40 (at the door only). www.bubonicon.com

Aug. 29 - Sept. 1: Anime Fest, Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, Dallas, TX. Memberships $35 if paid online by Aug. 22 or if sent by mail and postmarked by Aug. 15. $15 for children (8-12). www.animefest.org

Sept. 5-7: Realms Con: 4th Annual Anime Festival, Holiday Inn Emerald Beach, Corpus Christi. www.realmscon.com

Sept. 12-14: ProtoCon 10, all-genre gaming convention, Memorial Student Center, Texas A&M. Additional focus on independent publishers and prototype games. Weekend passes currently $10, $15 at door. www.protocon.com

Sept. 15-17: Austin Game Developers Conference, Austin Convention Center. Keynote Speaker is Bruce Sterling. $895 in advance; $995 at the door. www.austingdc.net

Sept. 18-25: Fantastic Fest 2008, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. Film Badge (all time slots) $120; 2nd Half of Festival Badge $65; Day-Only Badge $40. www.fantasticfest.com

Oct. 3-5: FenCon V, Addison, TX. GoH Gregory Benford; Music GoH Three Weird Sisters; Fan GoH Gerald Burton; Special Guest Jay Lake. Regular memberships $35 before Sept. 1, $40 at door. www.fencon.org

Oct. 10-12: 2008 Browncoat Ball, Omni Hotel, Austin, TX. Memberships $150 for the weekend, $125 for Saturday and Sunday, or Saturday only $100.


www.browncoatball.comOct. 10-12: Southern Festival of Books: A

Celebration of the Written Word, Nashville, TN. Authors appearing include Janis Ian. No charge. tn-humanities.org/festival

Oct. 17-19: Capclave 2008, Hilton Washington DC/Rockville, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Literary SF con -- a long commute but looks like something an ArmadilloCon fan would enjoy. Author Guest is James Morrow. $50 through Sept. 30; $60 after that. www.capclave.org

Oct. 25-26: Star Wars Fan Days & the Sci-Fi Expo, Plano Center, 2000 E Spring, Plano, TX. www.scifiexpo.com/DCC/Next-Convention.html

Nov. 7-9: Wizard World Texas, Arlington Convention Center, Arlington, TX. www.wizardworld.com/home-tx.html

Nov. 14-16: G-Kon III, Dallas Market Hall, 2200 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX. www.g-kon.com

Nov. 21-23: Oni-Con, Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, Houston, TX. Preregsiter online for $35 (discount for groups). www.oni-con.com

March 13-15: Dallas All-Con, Crowne Plaza North Dallas, Addison, TX. www.all-con.org

At the Movies

There are still a few new F/SF/Horror films left to be released this summer.

Fly Me to the Moon 3D (Aug. 15)Mirrors (Aug. 15)Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Aug. 15)Babylon A.D. (Vin Diesel) (Aug. 29)

Austin Books & Comics has partnered with Bob Bullock State History Museum to bring The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience to Austin. Showtimes and tickets are available online at tinyurl.com/69f633.

The UT Anime Club’s last meeting for the summer semester is on Friday, August 15, starting at 7PM. Showings are free and open to the public, and are held in Welch Hall room 1.316 (in the first basement level).

The Alamo Drafthouse is bringing Mad Max to Re-public Square Park on Friday, September 12, at 7PM, followed by The Road Warrior on Friday, September 19, at 7PM, as a free accompaniment to their annual Fantastic Fest (see Convention listing).

Book Groups

August 13 (Wed.), 7 PM: Dark Forces Reading Group, Flightpath Coffee House, Danger Boy #1 by Mark London Williams. The author will attend.

August 18 (Mon.), 7 PM, Bookpeople: The

Ludicrous Speed Book Group will discuss Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Sunday, August 17, 2PM: North Austin Reading Group. Doubletree Hotel, de Zavala. The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez.

Thursday, August 21, 7-8 PM: South Austin Reading Group. (Pleasant Hill Branch, Austin Public Library, 211 E. Wm Cannon Dr) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

August 28 (Thurs.), 7-8:30 PM, Barnes & Noble Arboretum Café, Science and Religion in Fiction Book Club (Center for Inquiry) will discuss Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

Gaming

Adult Gaming: FACT gamers are invited to attend gaming at ArmadilloCon, which replaces the monthly meeting for August.

Saturdays, 12-8 PM, Great Hall Games: Austin Board Gamers meet at store for gaming.

Upcoming Social Events

August 29 (Fri.), 7:30-10:30 PM, Ursa Major Party/Meet-Up, Lynn Ward’s apartment, 3711 Medical Dr. #1614, San Antonio. Call Lynn for directions and to confirm location: 210-218-2800. www.groups.yahoo.com/group/UrsaMajorSciFi

Writing

Oct. 2-3, FenCon V Writer’s Workshop. Jay Lake will be the instructor. Spaces will be limited to 20. Submission information is available after you register ($65, including your FenCon membership). See details at tinyurl.com/5pw5wd.

2nd & 4th Tuesdays, 7-10 PM: Slug Tribe, Hancock Rec Center (41st and Red River) in Activity Room #2

August 16, 9:30-11 AM: Austin Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Barnes and Noble Westlake 9:30 - 11:00, Open Critique (9:30), Chapter Meeting (10:30), Life Drawing Session (starts at 12). Critique is totally open. Anyone can bring five pages of their work-in-progress for the rest of the group to comment and make suggestions on. Please bring six copies. Find out more about this group at www.austinscbwi.com.

Reading Group Report

June 2: Mainspring by Jay LakeTen people attended the discussion of Jay Lake’s

Mainspring. All but two people started the book. Six people finished it. Two more were planning to finish. Eight people had read something by Jay Lake before.

Mainspring is set on a world that looks a lot like our Earth, except it’s literally a clockwork mechanism.


The gears along the Earth’s equatorial wall mesh with those of the Earth’s orbital track as the planet travels around the Sun. Inside the Earth a giant spring, Mainspring, keeps the planet rotating around its axis. But now the Mainspring is becoming unwound, and world is in danger. A young man named Hethor, a clockmaker’s apprentice, is sent on a quest to find the Key Perilous for winding up the Mainspring.

Several people thought the notion of the world as a clockwork mechanism raises interesting points about religion, but they disagreed whether this novel did a good job exploring those religious implications. Hethor’s enemies, who try to derail his quest, do so because of religious differences, but it’s not clear that the inhabitants of this world have a lot of latitude in religious interpretation of their everyday experiences. As some readers pointed out, faith is a belief in things unseen, but in this world God’s presence becomes apparent as soon as you look up. The orbital track could have only been made by a super-powerful designer. So faith, as we understand it, can’t really exist here.

Another reader argued that characters’ doubts concerning religion are nonetheless justified, because a mechanical universe does not necessarily imply a conventional kind of God. “Did the maker of all these gears put the gears in motion and then walked away? The fact that the creator put the gears in motion doesn’t mean there’s someone watching day-to-day and intervening,” said the reader.

Two people noted that the book has a more religious tone than one would expect from the cover blurb. The blurb promises Monty Python, but the novel is anything but. It’s not irreverent, funny, or amusing, said one reader, who saw Hethor as a Christ figure. The fact that the key for fixing the world fit in Hethor’s heart only reinforced her impression of Mainspring as a very reverent, very religious book. Another person agreed with that impression, pointing out that all the villains were Rational Humanists and all the good people were religious. Yet he thought the view of a world as mechanism wouldn’t make a case for religion. So he found the book to be internally inconsistent.

Internal consistency of the world described in Mainspring was fodder for much discussion. For one thing, people weren’t sure whether the story should be taken straightforwardly or as an allegory. If this is straightforward science fiction, then, as one reader pointed out, it wouldn’t be possible to wind the gigantic Mainspring with a key small enough to fit in one’s heart. Another reader saw the clockwork universe as an allegory, and the key as purely symbolic, so the task of winding up the Mainspring wasn’t physical, he concluded. Others argued that it’s hard to see the gears and springs as mere metaphors when descriptions of the mechanisms that move the Earth are so detailed and tangible. Yet another

reader said the notion that the Earth is filled with gears is so nonsensical (“in that case what keeps you glued to it,” he asked) that he concluded from the very beginning this book should not be analyzed intellectually. So he took out his brain and enjoyed the adventure.

Hethor’s adventures -- his travels on airships and encounters with exotic tribes -- were found enjoyable by most readers. In that sense they found Mainspring comparable to books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, or Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. However, several people were bothered by magic that suddenly appeared in the final pages, after having been absent anywhere else in the book. Nothing in Mainspring’s setting indicated there was magic in this world. One reader even said he wondered if the book changed overnight. Before the magic appeared, he didn’t see how the character was going to achieve his goal in 30 pages, unless the story continued into the next book. He would have preferred that, instead of author pulling magic out of the hat.

There was also some confusion as to whether the people Hethor encountered in the Southern hemisphere were mechanisms or flesh-and-blood people. Hethor heard gears clicking in those people: does that mean they were, in fact, robots? Does that imply the people of the Northern hemisphere, including Hethor himself, were robots too, and they just haven’t discovered that yet? Or was the clicking of the gears some kind of allegory, not to be taken literally? This was yet another confusing aspect of the book.

Yet a lot of people enjoyed the book despite the seeming inconsistencies: they chose whichever interpretation made the most sense to them.

Overall we agreed we were probably seeing more philosophical controversy in the novel than Jay Lake put into it. For example, one reader saw in Mainspring a parable for the pressing issues of today. “Here’s a person who discovered that the world has a big problem; and there are people who don’t believe in that problem and believe that God is going to come

© David Lee Anderson, ArmadilloCon 30 Artist Guest


along and make it all OK. I wonder where Jay Lake got such an idea,” he said sarcastically.

“So you think Al Gore inspired this book?” another reader asked.

“If so, a 12 year-old Al Gore inspired it,” the first reader replied, “because it’s way too naive.”

Naivete and passivity were the main reasons why several people didn’t like the protagonist, Hethor. Somebody said “He makes a couple of decisions in the 1st chapter, and then pretty much doesn’t have any choices. He gets into situations that compel him to move in a certain direction. And then he doesn’t make another decision until [halfway into the book].” Another reader commented: “I’ve never read a quest book where the hero had it so incredibly easy.”

Others liked that while Hethor started out as a sheltered character, he learned a lot more about the world during his journey. One reader in particular liked Hethor’s humor. Even when things are going horribly, he has a way of finding something darkly humorous about the events.

Everybody seemed to like several of the secondary characters, especially the librarian, who was the universal favorite. Arellya and the drover girl Darby were also thought to be interesting. Some people were disappointed that those characters disappeared quickly and for good.

Many people also liked the images in the novel, such as the image of Earth’s brass orbital tracks, the vertical city on the equatorial wall, the airships. For some they were the best part of the novel, making up for its weaknesses.

---Elze Hamilton

FACT Board Meeting: June

The monthly meeting of the board of directors for the Fandom Association of Central Texas was called to order on Sunday, 8 June, by Board Chair at the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library, 1161 Angelina St., Austin, Texas, at 2:11 PM. Present in addition to the chair were FACT President Karen Meschke and Directors Kurt Baty, Elizabeth Burton, A.T. Campbell III, Jennifer Juday, and Charles Siros.

Mr. Price and the board observed a moment of silence in memory of lifetime member Robert Asprin, who had passed away recently.

The secretary presented the minutes of the May meeting. Ms. Meschke noted that ALAMO should properly be rendered in all uppercase letters, as it is an acronym. There being no other additions or corrections it was moved by Mr. Siros, seconded by Mr. Campbell that the minutes be accepted. There being no objections, Mr. Price so declared.

CORRESPONDENCE: Although Ms. Meschke had mail for the treasurer, there was no correspondence that required the board’s attention.

OFFICER REPORTSCHAIRMr. Price advised he has been working on the

ArmadilloCon dealer’s room, which appears to be nearly full.

PRESIDENTMs. Meschke attended the north reading group and

the Memorial Day picnic. She also attended Book Expo America, where she spoke to John Scalzi, Kage Baker, and Sean Stewart. She advised she will be attending ApolloCon and hopes to see everyone there.

VICE-PRESIDENTNo reportTREASURERMs. Moul reported via email that as of 5/31/2008

the account balances were: ArmadilloCon: $2,627.57; FACT: $10,291.36; World Fantasy: $11,650.91.

Deposits outstanding: FACT $0.00; ArmadilloCon: $0.00; World Fantasy: $0.00.

Debits outstanding: FACT $0.00; ArmadilloCon: $0.00; World Fantasy: $0.00.

SECRETARYMs. Burton reported she had been contacted by a

representative of Frost Bank to verify the signatories on the various accounts. She explained, in answer to a question from several of the directors, that because libraries don’t reserve meeting space for the latter half of the year until June, she had not yet contacted them regarding changing the date of the meeting. She advised she will do so in the coming week.

REGISTRARMr. Hollas reported active members still numbered

68 as of the end of May. Expired memberships numbered 22, a decline of 1, while inactive memberships remained static at 54.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES MANAGERMr. Siros provided an update regarding the

upcoming boat trip, noting he had obtained signed checks to ensure all necessary expenses can be paid. He noted 10 RSVPs had been received as of the day of the meeting. He was asked whether any authors had been personally invited and responded in the negative.

HISTORIANNo reportMISMs. Antell reported she is just about ready to put

the new registration procedures online. She set up a forwarder that will go to the treasurer and registrar and tested it and heard back from Ms. Moul but not from Mr. Hollas.

She requested input regarding whether to remove the name of Mr. Asprin from the member-writers’ listing on the FACT website. The board consensus was that he should be removed as a FACT member.


Concern was expressed by several directors regarding locating the registration system on the server at the MIS Manager’s place of employment. It was noted there are security concerns regarding storage of the information on a non-FACT server as well as the potential for loss of information. Mr. Price offered to discuss the board’s concerns with Ms. Antell.

PUBLICATIONSMs. Juday reported she had updated the various

flyers for the mass mailing and noted the lack of someone in charge of publicity for the convention. Mr. Baty advised Jonathan Miles had agreed to handle it. Ms. Juday said she had worked with representatives of FenCon and ApolloCon to get their flyers ready in time and advised the board of a San Antonio member seeking to be more active in the organization.

She noted she had corresponded with Lynn Ward regarding Ms. Ward’s complaint that she hadn’t received the FACT Sheet and advised her that her membership had expired. She received permission to reprint Howard Waldrop cover art; completed the FACT Sheet thanks to contributions from numerous FACT members and noted that artist Kendall Hart, whose work has appeared in several issues, had advised her he may be coming to the convention. She stated she had received compliments from Lee Martindale on the newsletter.

Ms. Juday composed and ad for the ApolloCon program book and has received a quote from Kinko’s for the ArmadilloCon program book. She recommended sticking with a black-and-white cover, as color would add a considerable premium to the total cost. Mr. Baty noted he had inquired about the possibility of a color cover on behalf of the artist guest of honor and will check with him regarding monochrome.

QUARTERMASTERMr. Siros advised he has purchased shelves and in

two weeks will, hopefully issue a call to help clean out the interior storage locker.

COMMITTEE REPORTSARMADILLOCON 30Mr. Baty noted he was attending EuroCon in Russia

on the date of the mass mailing. Ms. Meschke noted about 50 packets had come back, a percentage with address corrections; these are to be passed on to Ms. Antell so she can update the database. The next committee meeting will be in two weeks from Wednesday at Mr. Campbell’s residence. Mr. Baty called the hotel and talked to their sale representative about getting the South Ballroom for the entire weekend; negotiations ensued. He said they are reluctant to tie the room up in case they may be able to use if for some other, short term event, so Mr. Baty requested they let us have three weeks notice should they decide to let us use it; However, he has not heard back and will need to follow up. The plan would then be to use the ballroom as major function space and move the art show and special exhibits into the North Ballroom. However, as it stands we may not have a decision from the hotel until three-four weeks prior to event. The alternative, he said, is to have panels that can be moved in and out of the dealer’s room and place the displays in the hall during the day. We will have to improvise for the historical retrospective if we can’t get additional space.

Mr. Baty and Mr. Siros were reminded they need to establish ad rates for the program book. They requested Ms. Juday send the quote she received from Kinko’s to Pat Virzi for feedback.

Membership registrations to date is very low. Mr. Campbell inquired whether there were plans to do any local advertising. Mr. Baty has requested the writer’s workshop administrator do an article for the Austin Chronicle regarding the thirty years of ArmadilloCon. Mr. Price said one of the chairs needs to contact the newspaper directly and inquire how we might work out some coverage. A question was asked whether flyers had been distributed in comic shops. Mr. Baty advised he will begin distributing them shortly. Mr. Price also suggested sending press releases to local radio stations.

ARMADILLOCON 31Ms. Antell reported she has contacted all of her

proposed committee and most of them have said yes. She noted that Jonathan Miles has already started working on programming. At the meeting with the hotel on 7 June, Fred Duarte, Renee Babcock and Ms. Antell discussed the gaming component and the possibility of using the Dover Room again. They will continue to look at that.


About The FACT SheetEditor Jennifer JudayMail: The F.A.C.T. Sheet, PO Box 26442, Austin, TX 78755E-mail: [email protected]: Cover Image ©1988 by Laurie May. “A Little Friend” ©2008 by Brandy Stark. Flambeau and Tri-lobite Earrings ©2008 by Anita Haddock. “Fireleap” ©2007 by Jolie E. Bonnette. Happy Little Sunrise ©2008 by Brad W. Foster. Untitled (p.6) by William Rotsler. Pan Am/Space Station © David Lee Ander-son. Abstract (p.11) ©1980 by Tarkus. DilloTex logo is © 1988 by Brad W. Foster. Texas Fandom Logo is © 2007 by Brad W. Foster.Copyrights: All contents copyright © 2008 by the Fandom Association of Central Texas, Inc., except where otherwise noted.Trademarks: “World Science Fiction Convention,” “WorldCon,” and “Hugo” are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorpo-rated non-profit literary society. Nebula Awards is a registered trademark of the Science Fiction and Fan-tasy Writers of America.

Some guests of honor have accepted their invitation. She noted that her writer guest was thrilled to be asked and is really looking forward to attending. However, she has not heard back from her proposed artist guest. Chris Roberson is helping her on that front and has emailed him as well and not heard back, suggesting they may both have a bad address. Mr. Roberson has emailed a mutual friend of the artist to see if there is a different address to use.

Ms. Antell advised she had spoken to several people about who to ask as her special guest, as her original second choice wasn’t able to accept. The consensus was that a well-respected author who had been unable to accept a previous invitation but had expressed high interest in being asked again would be a really good choice. The only concern would be that the individual is the Guest of Honor at another convention next year. However, her advisors felt there much overlap, and that the author in question was sufficiently well-known and popular that it wouldn’t matter. The author was contacted by email and didn’t respond, so Ms. Antell contacted KD Wentworth to find out if there is a better address. As of this date she hasn’t heard back from Ms. Wentworth either, but it has only been a few days. She will ask someone who knows her well to contact her if she doesn’t hear anything within a week.

Things are moving briskly, Ms. Antell advised, and she is hopeful that by the next meeting, she will have a full line-up.

Several directors expressed concern that the individual who had been proposed at the last meeting for Special Guest had not even been asked. In addition, some wondered whether the guest of honor is sufficiently well-known to be a draw. The consensus was that, given the convention’s goal is to introduce lesser-known authors who are up and coming, the choice for guest of honor was well within the purview of the chair. Mr. Campbell stressed that the real concern wasn’t with the choice but with the fact that the proposed guest of honor wasn’t even invited. Ms. Meschke stated she felt there did need to be clear guidelines regarding communication when guests are chosen, as it could set a bad precedent if the board isn’t kept informed when proposed guest line-ups are drastically changed after the bid is accepted, with which Ms. Burton concurred. Mr. Price suggested establishing such criteria is something the convention oversight committee should take under serious consideration.

WORLD FANTASY CONVENTIONMs. Babcock advised via email that once the

Friends of Fandom donation is presented to them at ApolloCon and the check has cleared the account can be closed. Mr. Siros noted that donation could as easily be paid by FACT.

READING GROUPS

Ms. Burton reported that the South Group will meet monthly instead of bimonthly, and that she will try to meet with the library manager to determine how more interest might be generated. Mr. Campbell advised the North Group will pick new books on June 18th.

HOTEL COMMITTEEMr. Siros recommended the committee look at

various dates rather than try to lock in the current dates. Upcoming WorldCons are being competitive, as are other major conventions.

BYLAWS COMMITTEENo reportSAN ANTONIO CONVENTION EXPLORATION

COMMITTEENo report

OLD BUSINESSBook Donation: Mr. Baty will be taking the books

currently in his possession to ApolloCon to be given away. Mr. Price suggested tending to the ones in Ms. Antell’s garage after the locker cleaning has been completed.

Merchant Account: Renee Babcock, as the Sam’s Club account holder, needs to arrange to have it changed to someone else. It was reposed that Ms. Burton, as the board secretary, is the logical person to replace her, and she will contact Ms. Babcock to set up a date to do that. Additional individuals can then be added to the account as required at a later date.

There being no other business before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 3:33 p.m.


ArmadilloCon 31August 14-16, 2009

Guest of HonorScott Lynch

Artist GuestStephan Martiniere

Editor GuestChris Roberson

Fan GuestKaren Meschke

Special GuestJoan Vinge

ToastmasterScott A. Cupp

Artwork by Stephan MartiniereAll rights reserved.

FIRST CLASS

The FACT SheetThe Fandom Association of Central TexasP.O. Box 26442Austin, TX 78755-0422

In This Issue

Convention Reports Wanted! 2FACT Benefi t for Literacy Austin 2North Reading Group Selections 2South Reading Group Selections 2Hugo Awards Announced 2Focus on the Art Show 3World Fantasy Nominations 4Shirley Jackson Awards 5Cordwainer Smith Award 5Sidewise Awards 5WSFA Small Press Finalists 6Prometheus Awards 6Books Needed for James Reasoner 6FACToids and Friends 6Writing News 7Media News 7Convention Listing 7At the Movies 8Book Groups 8Gaming 8Upcoming Social Events 8Writing Groups 8Reading Group Report 8FACT Board Meeting: June 10

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