ANSIBLE(R) 441
APRIL 2024

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,
or average air speed of the solitary oesophagus.

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LEVITATION, the Telford Eastercon, is now over. Good times were reportedly
had, both virtually and by 450+ on-site attendees.
THE BSFA AWARDS: ARTWORK cover by Leo Nickolls for _The Surviving Sky_
by Kritika H. Rao. AUDIO FICTION _The Dex Legacy_ by Emily Inkpen.
COLLECTION _Best of British SF 2022_ ed. Donna Scott. FOR YOUNGER READERS.
_The Library of Broken Worlds_ by Alaya Dawn Johnson. NONFICTION (LONG) _A
Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid_ Speller ed.
Nina Allan. NONFICTION (SHORT) _Project Management Lessons from Rogue One_
by Fiona Moore. NOVEL _The Green Man's Quarry_ by Juliet McKenna. SHORT
'How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub' by P. Djeli Clark. SHORTER _And Put
Away Childish Things_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky. TRANSLATED SHORTER FICTION
'Vanishing Tracks in the Sand' by Jana Bianchi, trans. Rachael Amoruso.
EXCLUSION ACT. One officially unnamed fan, understood to be Dave
McCarty of 2023 Hugo infamy, tried to join at the door and was turned away.
Why? _Chorus:_ 'The rules we must follow.' For commentary see _File 770_
(30 March).
EASTERCON 2026: a bid from Phil Dyson and the Reclamation 2022 team is
taking shape.
THIRST! The real ale traditionally ran out _circa_ 4pm on Sunday.
DOC WEIR AWARD, causing great bogglement at _Ansible_ HQ: David
Langford. Many thanks, kind voters!

### THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER ###

NATASHA BARDON of HarperVoyager and Magpie declined her Hugo nomination --
Best Editor, Long Form -- largely owing to 'the censorship in 2023'. Other
refuseniks are Martha Wells (Novel; see Awards below), Hai Ya (Novelette),
Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood (tweets in Related Work) and Camestros Felapton
(Fan Writer, just 'skipping this year').

DAVID V. BARRETT looked back to his 2015 triumph when _The Bookseller_ ran
a quarter-page apology from the author (academic Stephen J. Hunt) and
publisher of a book that extensively plagiarized his 1996 _Sects, Cults and
Alternative Religions_; all copies were to be destroyed. Alas, he
discovered that Routledge had since taken over the offending publisher and
reissued the 'forever withdrawn' title in their Routledge Revivals series.
'Emails are now flying around....' (Facebook, 14 March)

DONATO GIANCOLA was not happy to find a figure from his _Cyberpunk 2020:
Ravengers_ painting recycled (flipped left/right, crudely modified) on a
_Magic: The Gathering_ card by Fay Dalton. 'Copied and pasted. This is not
about "similarities", this is about direct copying.' (Facebook, 26 March)
The card's other character came from a 1958 thriller magazine cover.
Wizards of the Coast responded: 'As we have looked into this further, we're
now suspending future work with Fay Dalton.' (29 March)

GREGORY MANCHESS received the Chesley life achievement award for his career
in genre art. For all Chesley winners see _File 770_ (29 March).

BRYAN TALBOT is one of the 2024 inductees into the Will Eisner Award Hall
of Fame for life achievement in comics work.

### CONSENTIENCY ###

3-7 April [] DRAGONS & MYTHICAL BEASTS (exhibition), Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Southbank Centre, London. From GBP14. See tinyurl.com/bp8pjvmp.

SOLD OUT 6 Apr [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), King's House,
Ampthill Road, Bedford, MK42 9AZ. 10am-5:30pm. Tickets GBP49.50; under-14s
GBP20. See bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.

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

14 Apr [] STARS OF TIME (comics), LC, Swansea. 10am-4:30pm. GBP10 plus
booking fee; other rates at www.starsoftime.co.uk.

20-21 Apr [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30
reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.

27-28 Apr [] CELLULOID SCREAMS all-night horror film festival, Sheffield.
11pm-9am. GBP20. See celluloidscreams.co.uk.

3-6 May [] PARACINEMA CULT FILM FESTIVAL, QUAD Center, Derby. GBP45; GBP25
concessions. Tickets available at paracinema.co.uk.

11-12 May [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth.GBP37; GBP19.50
concessions; day rates and more at portsmouthcomiccon.com.

15-17 May [] GIFCON (University of Glasgow conference), 'Conjuring
Creatures and Worlds', online. See tinyurl.com/yfdbvdwj.

18-19 May [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.

31 May - 2 Jun [] FUNCON ONE, Palace Hotel, Buxton. _Now GBP70 reg;_ GBP80
with added 'warm fuzzy feeling'; GBP40 concessions. See funcon.lol.

23-26 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), London, various cinemas. Details to follow
at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.

24-25 Aug [] DUBLIN COMIC CON, Convention Centre, Dublin. Various ticket
prices (extra for early entry, etc.) at dublincomiccon.com.

31 Oct - 3 Nov [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL, Banshee Labyrinth and
Lauriston Castle. More at edinburghhorrorfestival.co.uk.

7-9 Feb 2025 [] CONTABILE 35 (filk), 'central UK' venue and membership
rates to be announced at www.contabile.org.uk/c35/.

7-9 Mar 2025 [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. Registration
awaited July/August at www.minamicon.org.uk.

11-13 Apr 2025 [] CORFLU 42 (fan), Chequers Hotel, Newbury. GBP75/$95 reg;
GBP25/$32 supp; GBP10/$15 virtual. More details at corflu.org.

13-17 Aug 2025 [] SEATTLE WORLDCON 2025, Seattle, WA, USA. _Now $200 reg;_
under-25s $100; under-18s $75; under-13s free; virtual $85; WSFS only (Hugo
and site voting) $50. See seattlein2025.org.

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS WE SAW OURSELVES. John Christopher fretted about sf morality in the
1950s: 'Quite apart from those magazines whose chief and obvious
preoccupation is a mixing of sex with science fiction, what should be the
honest core of the field is riddled with this form of nastiness. One of the
leading science-fiction magazines in America regularly publishes material
of an unpleasant nature. In a copy recently encountered of one of the
American second-string magazines, there was a story whose theme was simply
that of incest. One of the leading British fantasy magazines appears every
issue with a "cheese-cake" cover.' (_Authentic SF_, April 1953) [GP]

AWARDS. _Crawford Award_ (fantasy debut): _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by
Vajra Chandrasekera.
_Hugo_ novel finalists: _The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi_ by Shannon
Chakraborty, _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _Some
Desperate Glory_ by Emily Tesh, _Starter Villain_ by John Scalzi,
_Translation State_ by Ann Leckie, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who
declined nomination for her Murderbot novel _System Collapse_). The full
list is at glasgow2024.org/hugo-awards/2024-hugo-award-finalists/. 1720
valid nominating ballots were received.
_Nebula_ novel finalists: _The Saint of Bright Doors_ by Vajra
Chandrasekera, _The Water Outlaws_ by S.L. Huang, _Translation State_ by
Ann Leckie, _The Terraformers_ by Annalee Newitz, _Shigidi and the Brass
Head of Obalufon_ by Wole Talabi, _Witch King_ by Martha Wells (who
declined nomination for _System Collapse_). Full list at
www.sfwa.org/blogs/sfwa-blog/.
_Oscars._ Best animated film: _The Boy and the Heron_. _Poor Things_
had four wins in the lesser categories; _Barbie_ and _Godzilla Minus One_
each had one.
_Philip K. Dick Award:_ _These Burning Stars_ by Bethany Jacobs.
_Robert A. Heinlein Award:_ Tom Doherty.
_SFWA Infinity Award_ (posthumous Grandmaster): Tanith Lee.

THOG'S SCIENCE MASTERCLASS. 'Looks like the neutrinos from the sun have
mutated into a new kind of particle!' (_2012_ dir. Roland Emmerich, 2009)

R.I.P. _Martin Bax_ (1933-2024), UK doctor, co-founding long-time editor of
_Ambit_ magazine, and author whose sf novel was _The Hospital Ship_ (1976),
died in March aged 90. [DP]
_Bob Beerbohm_ (1952-2024), US comics fan, dealer and valued
historian, died on 27 March aged 71. [SHS]
_Viktor Benkovsky_ (1959-2024), Russian author of _Anachron_ (2000)
plus two further novels -- all with Elena Khayetskaya -- and translator of
Dick and Spinrad, died on 9 March. [AM]
_Colin Bennett_, UK actor and writer who wrote the children's sf
series _Luna_ (1983-1984, in which he acted) and _Captain Zep -- Space
Detective_ (1984), died on 23 February. He was also in the tv _Hitchhiker's
Guide_ (1981). [NJ]
_Edward Bond_ (1934-2024), controversial UK playwright who used sf
themes in the post-holocaust 'War Plays' (1984-1985) and elsewhere, died on
3 March aged 89. [JC]
_Roger Noel Cook_ (1946-2024), UK comics writer, musician and editor
who as a _TV Comic_ staff writer (from 1964) scripted many _Doctor Who_
storylines, died on 10 March aged 77. [SH]
_Dianne Crittenden_ (1941-2024), US casting director for _Star Wars_
(1977), _Howard the Duck_ (1986), _Volcano_ (1997) and others, died on 19
March aged 82. [AIP]
_Michael Culver_ (1938-2024), UK actor in _The Empire Strikes Back_
(1980) and genre tv series, died on 27 February aged 85. [LP]
_Laurent de Brunhoff_ (1925-2024), French artist and illustrator who
continued his father's now famous 'Babar the Elephant' children's books
with more than 45 titles, died on 22 March aged 98. [AIP]
_Tom Digby_ (1940-2024), US fan, filker and fanzine publisher who was
a fan GoH at the 1993 Worldcon, died on 27 March aged 84.
_Mark Dodson_ (1960-2024), US actor with voice roles in _Return of the
Jedi_ (1983) and _Gremlins_ (1984), died on 2 March aged 64. [AIP]
_Kirk Dougal_ (1966-2024), US author of the 7-volume 'Tale of Bone and
Steel' fantasy series (2020-2022) died on 18 March aged 57. [SHS]
_Max Fellwalker_ (1966-2024) US artist who worked on comics for DC and
Eclipse, and for games companies including White Wolf and WotC, died on 14
March. [SHS]
_Gunnar Gallmo_ (1946-2023), Swedish fan and translator active since
the mid-1970s -- translating Asimov, Dick, Harrison, Heinlein, Le Guin,
Simak, Tubb and others -- died on 8 December aged 77. [J-HH]
_Deb Geisler_, US fan and con-runner who edited books for NESFA Press
and chaired Boskone 36 and the 2004 Worldcon, died on 23 March aged 66.
[GS] She is survived by her husband Michael Benveniste, to whom much
sympathy.
_Louis Gossett Jr._ (1936-2024), US actor in _Enemy Mine_ (1985),
_Stargate SG-1_ (2005-2006) and the tv _Watchmen_ (2019), died on 28 March
aged 87. [AIP]
_Ron Harper_ (1933-2024), US actor in the tv _Planet of the Apes_
(1974) and _Land of the Lost_ (1976), plus sf films _Venomous_ (2001) and
_Glass Trap_ (2005), died on 21 March aged 91. [LP]
_Mutsumi Inomata_ (1960-2024), Japanese artist, videogame character
designer and former animator whose many credits include _Fist of the North
Star_ (1984) and _Future GPX Cyber Formula_ (1991), died on 10 March aged
63. [JonC]
_Dick Jenssen_ (Martin James Ditmar Jenssen, 1935-2024), long-time
Australian fan active since 1952 (when he was a founder of the Melbourne SF
Club), died on 7 March aged 88. Australia's Ditmar Awards are named after
him; he won two as best fan artist for his striking computer-graphics
covers seen on _SF Commentary_ and other fanzines, and also the 2016
Rotsler Award for life achievement in fan art. [EC/BG]
_Bernard Kops_ (1926-2024), UK author of supernatural plays and the
time-travel novel _The Odyssey of Samuel Glass_ (2012), died on 24 February
aged 97. [JC]
_Malachy McCourt_ (1931-2024), US-born Irish actor in _Q: The Winged
Serpent_ (1982), _After.Life_ (2009) and genre tv series, died on 11 March
aged 92. [LP]
_Tim McGovern_ (1955-2024), US visual effects artist who won an Oscar
for his work on _Total Recall_ (1990) and whose many other sf credits range
from _Tron_ (1982) to _Shazam: Fury of the Gods_ (2023), died on 30 March
aged 68. [AIP]
_Sam Mercer_, US producer whose films include _The Relic_ (1997),
_Unbreakable_ (2000), _Signs_ (2002), _The Last Airbender_ (2010) and _The
BFG_ (2016), died on 12 February. [AIP]
_James A. Moore_ (1965-2024), prolific US horror/fantasy/sf author
whose novels included _Under the Overtree_ (2000), _Fireworks_ (2001) and
_Blood Red_ (2005), and whose anthology _The Twisted Book of Shadows_ (2019
with Christopher Golden) won a Shirley Jackson Award, died on 27 March aged
58. [CG]
_Eli Noyes_ (1942-2024), US animator who worked on _Sesame Street_
(1973-1995) and directed episodes of _Liquid Television_ (1991-1994), died
on 23 March aged 81. [AIP]
_Grant Page_ (1939-2024), Australian actor/stuntman in _Mad Max_ (1979
plus sequel), _Son of the Mask_ (2005), _Gods of Egypt_ (2016) and many
more, died on 14 March aged 84. [SJ]
_Chance Perdomo_ (1996-2024), US actor in _Chilling Adventures of
Sabrina_ (2018-2020), _Moominvalley_ (2022) and _Gen V_ (2023) died on 30
March aged 27. [F770]
_Alek Popov_ (1966-2024), award-winning Bulgarian author of the sf
parody _Planetata na kauboite_ (_The Cowboys' Planet_, 1993) as by Bad
Alex, died on 22 March aged 58. [AM]
_Saul Reichlin_ (1943-2024), South African actor whose many audiobook
credits include Peake's _Titus_ trilogy and lots of _Warhammer_ novels,
died on 3 January. [AIP]
_Vikki Richards_ (1949-2024), Trinidad-born UK actor in _Curse of the
Crimson Altar_ (1968) and _Zeta One/The Love Factor_ (1969), died on 6
March aged 74. [SJ]
_Christian Rodska_ (1945-2024), UK actor in _The Galactic Garden_
(1985), _Doomwatch: Winter Angel_ (1999), _The Ghost of Greville Lodge_
(2000) and others, died on 21 March aged 78. [SJ]
_Barbara Rush_ (1927-2024), US actress in _When Worlds Collide_
(1951), _It Came from Outer Space_ (1953) and others, died on 31 March aged
97. [RH]
_Medeu Sarseke_ (1936-2024), Kazakh author of four sf novels
1959-1965, died on March 20 aged 88. [AM]
_Peter 'Smudge' Smith_, UK fan and convention tech worker who received
the 2012 Doc Weir Award, died on 8 March.
_Jon Stopa_ (1935-2024), long-time US fan who published short stories,
co-founded Advent:Publishers in 1955, and with his wife Joni was fan GoH at
the 1991 Worldcon, died on 4 March aged 88. [F770]
_Akira Toriyama_ (1955-2024), noted Japanese manga creator best known
for the long-running _Dragon Ball_ comic that began in 1984 and was adapted
as two popular anime tv series plus many films, died on 1 March aged 68.
[SF2C]
_Silvia Tortosa_ (1947-2024), Spanish actress in _Horror Express_
(1972), _Las garras de Lorelei_ (_When the Screaming Stops_, 1973) and
_Fratello dello spazio_ (_The Brother from Space_, 1988), died on 23 March
aged 77. [SJ]
_Vernor Vinge_ (1944-2024), US author of grand space opera and prophet
of the Singularity, died on 20 March aged 79. _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (1992)
and its prequel _A Deepness in the Sky_ (1999) both won Hugos, as did the
lighter-hearted _Rainbows End_ (2006) and his novellas 'Fast Times at
Fairmont High' (2001) and 'The Cookie Monster' (2003). He was always a
welcome and illuminating presence at conventions.
_M. Emmet Walsh_ (1935-2024), US actor whose many films include _Blade
Runner_ (1982), _Critters_ (1986), _The Iron Giant_ (1999) and _Monster!_
(1999), died on 19 March aged 88. [LP]
_James M. Ward_ (1951-2024), US game designer active in the early days
of _D&D_, who created the first sf role-playing game _Metamorphosis Alpha_
(1976) and later wrote fantasy novels, died in March aged 72. [MR]
_Paula Weinstein_ (1945-2024), US producer of _The Astronaut Farmer_
(2006) with executive producer credits for other genre films, died on 25
March aged 78. [SHS]