ANSIBLE(R) 434
SEPTEMBER 2023

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website
news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE,
surrealist boxing or an invitation to the Unquiet Wedding.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a434.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a434.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list
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### FITS & STARTS ###

GREG EGAN sees the writing on the wall at the X-movie formerly known as
Twitter. 'Breaking: Platinum Tier verification will require submitting
buccal swabs, and granting X dot com the perpetual, unencumbered right to
leave traces of your DNA at crime scenes.' (Ex-Twitter, 20 August)

HARRISON FORD on the snake species discovered in Peru and named
_Tachymenoides harrisonfordi_: 'These scientists keep naming critters after
me, but it's always the ones that terrify children. I don't understand. I
spend my free time cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so
they won't fear the night....' (_Hollywood Reporter_, 15 August)

SEAN CW KORSGAARD of Baen Books, perhaps best known for a daft Nebula
vote-rigging claim that was covered in _Ansible_ 429, contrived to get
himself banned from Twitter.com for posting a tasteful little fantasy about
'getting in my time machine to save cinema by killing Kevin Smith and Joss
Whedon in 2004.' (17 July). [F770]

ADAM ROBERTS on the (alcohol-free) lager brand Days: 'How much is James
Lovegrove making from licensing his novels to beer companies? I think we
should be told.' (Facebook, 9 August)

MICHAEL WHELAN was not best pleased to learn that -- on top of all the
regular illicit uploads of his artwork -- one 'creator' has not only been
training an AI to create dodgy Whelan pastiches but begging for Patreon
funds as reward for this naughtiness. 'Michael Whelan is an incredible
imaginative realist painter and now you can generate art similar to his
signature style within your own Stable Diffusion workflow.' (Twitter.com, 7
August) _Later update:_ 'The "overfit" images on display have been removed,
however, we are following up on removal of Michael's art used in training
and any product of that unauthorized use.' (11 August)

### CONTRAFISSURA ###

SOLD OUT 2 Sep [] WHOOVERVILLE 14 (_Doctor Who_), QUAD Centre, Derby.

8 Sep [] 42: THE WILDLY IMPROBABLE IDEAS OF DOUGLAS ADAMS, British Library,
London. In-person tickets at GBP16 sold out; GBP5 online. See
www.bl.uk/events/42-the-wildly-improbable-ideas-of-douglas-adams.

10 Sep [] POPCORN (media), Magna, Sheffield. Tickets GBP11.22; under-17s
GBP9.09; under-7s free. See popcorncon.com.

12 Sep - 15 Apr 2024 [] 30 YEARS OF _THE WRONG TROUSERS_, Cartoon Museum,
London. See www.cartoonmuseum.org/whatson.

15-17 Sep [] FANTASYCON 2023, Jury's Inn Hotel, Broad St, Birmingham.
GBP81.50 reg; students GBP66; under-16s GBP41 (BFS members GBP10 less);
under-4s free. See www.hwsevents.co.uk/shop-2.

22 Sep [] TERRY PRATCHETT at the Unseen University (conference), Trinity
College, Dublin, and online. Free. See tinyurl.com/y63jdcp8.

23-24 Sep [] NOR-CON (media), Norfolk Showground Arena. GBP39 reg;
under-14s GBP19; family (2+2) GBP110. See www.nor-con.co.uk.

29 Sep - 5 Oct [] BIRMINGHAM ANIME FILM FESTIVAL, Edgbaston and Digbeth.
Films separately ticketed at www.baff.uk.

29 Sep - 1 Oct [] LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL,
Bowness-on-Windermere. Weekend pass GBP20 (GBP12 concessions). Day rates
Saturday GBP16 (GBP8), Sunday GBP8 (GBP4). See www.comicartfestival.com.

30 Sep [] INNSMOUTH LITERARY FESTIVAL, Kings House Conference Centre,
Bedford. 10am-5pm. GBP20 reg; under-16s GBP15; booking closes 23 September.
See innsmouthgold.com/innsmouth-literary-festival.

6-8 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (film), Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. Full pass
for all screenings and events GBP79.50 plus fees at grimmfest.com.

7-8 Oct [] NEVERMORE (Gothic), online. GBP15 weekend or GBP10/day. See
www.thefolklorepodcast.com/store/c9/Forthcoming_events.html.

7-8 Oct [] OCTOCON, Gibson Hotel, Dublin. Euro60 reg; concessions Euro40;
YA or supp Euro20. Registration open at octocon.com.

27 Oct - 25 Feb 2024 [] FANTASY: REALMS OF IMAGINATION (exhibition),
British Library, London. GBP16; under-12s free; other discounts vary with
weekdays, school terms, etc. See www.bl.uk/events/fantasy.

26 Nov [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare. GBP10 plus
booking fee; other rates at www.starsoftime.co.uk.

2-4 Feb 2024 [] CONTABILE 34 (UK filk), Palace Hotel, Buxton. GBP39 reg;
GBP29 unwaged; other rates at www.contabile.org.uk/tripletime/.

16-18 Feb 2024 [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby. Also
online 12-15 February. See www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.

12-14 Apr 2024 [] SPRINGMOOT (Tolkien Society), annual dinner and
members-only AGM, Jesus College, Cambridge. Bookings are awaited at
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/agm-and-springmoot-2024.

31 May - 2 Jun 2024 [] CYMERA: Scotland's Festival of SF, Fantasy & Horror
Writing, Edinburgh. _New dates._ See www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

19-21 Jul 2024 [] FANTASY FOREST (cosplay), Sudely Castle, Cheltenham.
Ticket sales awaited at fantasyforest.co.uk.

RUMBLINGS. _Worldcon 2024:_ Glasgow Worldcon rates will rise on 1 October.
_Middle-earth Festival:_ the middleearthfestival.wordpress.com home
page still promises a September 2023 event at a new venue, but the website
FAQ and Facebook group suggest it won't return until 2024.
_Worldcon 2025:_ this year's Chengdu Worldcon opened the site
selection voting in August, with Seattle being the only bid on the ballot
form.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

THE WEAKEST LINK. _Bradley Walsh:_ 'In 1962, John Glenn became the first
American to eat a meal where?' _Contestant:_ 'McDonald's.' (ITV, _The
Chase_, 22 August) [RJ]

AWARDS. _Arthur C. Clarke Award:_ _Venomous Lumpsucker_ by Ned Beauman.
_Munsey Award_ (pulp community): Richard Bleiler.
_Kirkus Prize_ fiction finalists include _White Cat, Black Dog_ by
Kelly Link and Shaun Tan. [F770]
_Mythopoeic Awards:_ ADULT _When the Angels Left the Old Country_ by
Sacha Lamb. CHILDREN'S _The Ogress and the Orphans_ by Kelly Barnhill.
NONFICTION -- INKLINGS _Charles Williams and C.S. Lewis: Friends in
Co-inherence_ by Paul S. Fiddes. NONFICTION -- OTHER _Fantasy: How It
Works_ by Brian Attebery.
_Sidewise_ (alt-history) finalists: LONG _Appliance_ by J.O. Morgan;
_Babel_ by R.F. Kuang; _Beat the Devils_ by Josh Weiss; _Begin the World
Over_ by Kung Li Sun; _The Peacekeeper_ by B.L. Blanchard; _Three Miles
Down_ by Harry Turtledove. SHORT 'Kingsbury 1944' (9/22 _Analog_) by
Michael Cassutt; 'A Sky and a Heaven' (_Other Covenants_ ed. Andrea D.
Lobel and Mark Shainblum) by Eric Choi; 'Why the Bridgemasters of York
Don't Pay Taxes' (_ibid_) by Gillian Polack; _It's Real Life_ by Paul
Levinson; 'Dreams of Electric Mothers' (_Africa Risen_ ed. Sheree Renee
Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Zelda Knight) by Wole Talabi.
_Splatterpunk_ best novel: _Playground_ by Aron Beauregard. [L]
_Sturgeon_ (short): 'Rabbit Test' (11/22 _Uncanny_) by Samantha Mills.

SCIENCE METAPHOR CORNER. 'The poles of American politics were on a
collision course.' (_Washington Post_, 6 August) [PDF]

R.I.P. _David Albahari_ (1948-2023), Serbian postmodern fiction author and
translator of Thomas Pynchon's _The Crying of Lot 49_, died on 30 July.
[AM]
_Michael Bakewell_ (1931-2023), UK radio and tv producer, the BBC's
first head of plays, whose credits include _1984_ (1965), _The Year of the
Sex Olympics_ (1968) and the radio serial _The Lord of the Rings_ (1981),
died on 11 July aged 92. [AIP]
_Juleen Brantingham_ (1942-2023), US author of some 40 magazine and
anthology stories 1979-1999, died on 22 July aged 80. [SHS]
_'Butchie'_ (William George, 1947-2023), US motorcyclist and actor in
_Dawn of the Dead_ (1978), died on 10 August aged 76. [SHS]
_Philippe Curval_ (Philippe Tronche, 1929-2023), French author active
from the mid-1950s, whose sf novels won several awards including the 1963
Prix Jules Verne and 1977 Prix Apollo, died on 5 August aged 93. [JC]
_John R. Douglas_ (1948-2023), long-time US editor at Simon &
Schuster, Avon (where he ran the AvoNova sf imprint), HarperCollins and
others, recipient of a 2023 World Fantasy Award for life achievement, died
on 3 August, He is survived by his wife of many years, Ginjer Buchanan, to
whom all sympathy. [SHS]
_Ita Ever_ (1931-2023), Estonian actress in the Gogol-based Russian
Gothic horror film _Vedma_ (_The Power of Fear_, 2006), died on 9 August
aged 92. [AM]
_Sharon Farrell_ (1940-2023), US actress in _It's Alive_ (1974), _The
Premonition_ (1975) and _Night of the Comet_ (1984), died on 15 May aged
82. [LP]
_Terry Funk_ (1944-2023), US wrestler and actor in _Timestalkers_
(1987) plus genre tv series, died on 23 August aged 79. [LP]
_William Friedkin_ (1935-2023), Oscar-winning US director of _The
Exorcist_ (1973), _The Guardian_ (1990), _Bug_ (2006) and _The Devil and
Father Amorth_ (2017), died on 7 August aged 87. [LP]
_Valery Gayevsky_ (1960-2023), Crimean fan, poet and author of three
fantastic novels plus the reference works _Who's Who in Crimean SF_ (2004)
and _Encyclopedia of Crimean SF_ (2018), died on 21 August. [AM]
_Matyelok Gibbs_ (1932-2023), UK director and actress in _Erik the
Viking_ (1989), _Superstition_ (2001) and _Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows 1_ (2010), died on 14 August aged 91. [AIP]
_Marc Gilpin_ (1966-2023), US actor in _Jaws 2_ (1978) and
_Earthbound_ (1981), died on 29 July aged 56. [AIP]
_Dan Green_ (1952-2023), US comics artist working mainly as an inker
for Marvel -- co-writing and illustrating the graphic novel _Doctor
Strange: Into Shamballa_ (1986), and known for a long run on _Uncanny
X-Men_ -- died in August aged 70.
_Linda Haynes_ (1947-2023), US actress in _Latitude Zero_ (1969) and
_Human Experiments_ (1979), died on 17 July aged 75. [SJ]
_Ron Cephas Jones_ (1957-2023), US actor in _Luke Cage_ (2016-2018),
died on 19 August aged 66. [SJ]
_Mark Kemble_ (1953-2023), US actor in _Netherworld_ (1992), died on
14 August aged 69.
_Tom Kempinski_ (1938-2023), UK playwright and actor in _The Damned_
(1962), _Moon Zero Two_ (1969) and _Moonbase 3_ (1973), died on 2 August
aged 85. [AIP]
_Darren Kent_ (1987-2023), UK actor in _Jeepers Creepers: Reborn_
(2022), _Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves_ (2023) and genre tv
series including _Game of Thrones_, died on 11 August aged 36. [AIP]
_Bill Laubenheimer_ ('Moonmoth', 1956-2023), US fan and filk creator,
a past LepreCon Music GoH, died on 19 July after arriving in Winnipeg for
Pemmi-con; he was 66. [GG]
_Sarah Lawson_ (1928-2023), UK actress in _The Trollenberg Terror_
(1956-1957), _Night of the Big Heat_ (1967) and _The Devil Rides Out_
(1968), died on 18 August aged 95. [AIP]
_Mark Margolis_ (1939-2023), US actor in _Tales from the Darkside: The
Movie_ (1990), _End of Days_ (1999) and _The Fountain_ (2006), died on 3
August aged 83. [LP]
_Shunpei Maruyama_, Japanese producer of the tv anime series _Girls
und Panzer_ (2012-2013) and _Princess Principal_ (2017) -- both with film
spinoffs -- died in August. [LP]
_Francis Monkman_ (1949-2023), UK musician on the soundtracks of _The
Empire Strikes Back_ (1980), _Superman II_ (1980), _Raiders of the Lost
Ark_ (1981) and others including James Bond films, died on 12 May aged 73.
[AIP]
_Clifton Oliver_ (1975-2023), US actor in the Broadway stage musicals
_The Lion King_ and _Wicked_, died on 2 August aged 47. [LP]
_Robert 'Ozzie' Osband_ (1951-2023), Florida fan and space enthusiast
who was on the New York in '83 Worldcon bid committee, died on 6 August.
[DD]
_Hersha Parady_ (1945-2023), US actress in _Hyper Sapien: People from
Another Star_ (1986), died on 23 August aged 78. [LP]
_Sir Michael Parkinson_ (1935-2023), noted UK tv presenter who played
versions of himself in _Madhouse_ (1974) and _Ghostwatch_ (1992), died on
16 August aged 88.
_Arthur Schmidt_ (1937-2023), US film editor whose credits include
_Back to the Future_ (1985 plus sequels), _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ (1988),
_Death Becomes Her_ (1992), _Addams Family Values_ (1993) and _Pirates of
the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl_ (2003), died on 5 August aged
86. [AIP]
_Arleen Sorkin_ (1955-2023), US actress and comedian who inspired the
DC Comics character Harley Quinn and voiced the role in _Batman: The
Animated Series_ (1992-1994) plus several more animations and videogames,
died on 26 August aged 67.
_Robert Swan_ (1944-2023), US actor in _Somewhere in Time_ (1980) and
_C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America_ (2004), died on 9 August aged
78. [LP]
_R.J. Theodore_ (Rekka Jay, 1980-2023), author of the genre series
'Peridot Shift' -- opening with _Flotsam_ (2018) -- and 'Phantom Traveler',
died on 18 July aged 43. [SFWA]
_Vera Vasilyeva_ (1925-2023), Russian actress in the Bradbury-based tv
miniseries _Vino iz oduvanchikov_ (_Dandelion Wine_, 1997), died on 9
August aged 97. [AM]
_Peter Vaughan-Clarke_ (1957-2023), UK actor in _The Tomorrow People_
(1973-1976), died in August aged 66.
_Igor Yasulovich_ (1941-2023), Russian actor in sf/fantasy films from
the J.B. Priestley-based _31 June_ (1978) via _Mary Poppins, Goodbye_
(1984) to _Anyone But Them_ (2018), died on 19 August aged 81. [AM]

In article <oa24fipvtkspdkikunuuo4er0279ev5p9r@4ax.com>,
David Langford <ansible@cix.co.uk> wrote:
>SFWA will now accept poetry and translated fiction -- both in English only
>-- as membership qualifications. (Email release, 21 August)

(Hal Heydt)
What's old is new again... SWFA accepted a poem--"The Elf in the
Starship Enterprise", IF Sept. 1968, Dorothy F. Jones--as
allowing SFWA membership. Some then-members
were...unpleasant...about it, to the point that after her initial
membership lapsed, she never rejoined, even after having two
novels and 30+ short stories published.