...15 days...
... and I shouldn't be here... not getting so distracted as I am... why oh why is Fcon not a week later... that's all I need... H&N is definitely going to have to be after Fcon.
So next years hotel suddenly got a bit complicated... (don't ask)... which means it's now getting close to unlikely that we can announce details at this years Fcon (of which I'm mildly bitter and twisted about...) cos can't announce guest until date confirmed, can't confirm date until hotel confirmed... it's a bitch of a chain...
Of course, we may catch a break and have something... (y'know, just once, I'd have liked us to have the next years details this year... bah!)
Prism, thankfully, seems to be motoring nicely - for the next one (or possibly the one after that...) I've just got confirmation that a fabulous fantasy writer is going to be writing a regular opinion column... woohoo! (Goes along with the news that Chaz B. is now too busy to continue with his DH column... awww...) And from what my spies tell me, the line up of the next couple of DHs under Pete & Jan is going to be pretty stonking!
And, arrghh, one of the weddings is next week (there goes one day of work...) and double-aaargh... have to spend half a day picking up raffle stuff... (all in a good cause, and we're very glad it's being donated, cos it's going to be a hell of a lot of stuff in one hit...) I'm just having one of those phases when any time spent not working is cause for a major guilt fest. (What do you want to sleep for? Honestly!)
So, about mid afternoon on the 23rd I'll start calming down... and then I'll be unconscious on the 25th...
07 September 2006
05 September 2006
...17 days to go....
arrggghhh! And naturally, today is the day that my laptop decided to give up the ghost... and so did the old back up computer as well... last couple of months I've been juggling my work between the two as some programs work on one, some programs work on the other... but now... nothing works anywhere... luckily they've both been making death rattles over the last couple of weeks, and I know *exactly* what my luck's like with machines so I've been backing up like a paranoid backer upper...
And, also luckily, Comet has a back to school sale on so I've finally had to bite the bullet and buy a spanking new machine... quarter of the price and ten times as powerful as the last computer I brought... which is just wrong... but oh so right!
So once I finish loading things on, should be able to work much faster...
arrggghhh! And naturally, today is the day that my laptop decided to give up the ghost... and so did the old back up computer as well... last couple of months I've been juggling my work between the two as some programs work on one, some programs work on the other... but now... nothing works anywhere... luckily they've both been making death rattles over the last couple of weeks, and I know *exactly* what my luck's like with machines so I've been backing up like a paranoid backer upper...
And, also luckily, Comet has a back to school sale on so I've finally had to bite the bullet and buy a spanking new machine... quarter of the price and ten times as powerful as the last computer I brought... which is just wrong... but oh so right!
So once I finish loading things on, should be able to work much faster...
03 September 2006
...19 days... (wibble)
...and we may, in fact, be in Nottingham next year... will know more next week.
And, damn, but apparently I missed a good BFS Open Night on Friday (almost went, couldn't because there's just way too much that needs doing and really couldn't spare the few hours off...)
But Prism is done and at the printers, Dark Horizons is 80% done (just waiting for the cover art, an interview and a story to be sent over from the boss...), Fcon mag is, oh, let's say, 70%/80% done - contents in and proofed, just need to pretty it up, and we're waiting on an excellent *exclusive!* piece of cover art. And copy for one of the ads.
So just Fcon micro newsletter and all things Bradan left. (oh bugger, and the VAT return, and mailing of stuff...)
Back to the F. word...
If you're attending this year, you'll be please to know we've been overwhelmed with donations of stuff... so not only will the raffle be rather good this year... but we may end up having to give out 2 goodie bags per person! (or, possibly, making them goodie sacks!) If all the promised stuff turns up...
And god knows how we'll get it all down there... may need to hire a van or persuade the old man to lend his car...
I'll be there Thursday night (it's the only way I can stay sane on the Friday... :-> ), Debs and Vicky are aiming to get there Friday morning around 11ish... so it'll be fun...
...and the AGM... lawksamussy, that's going to be interesting this year... we've had all sorts of proposals come in so we may actually get people turning up and wanting to debate things for a change... (instead of the usual turn up halfway through and doze through it...)
...sorry, I'm rambling... I'll stop...
...and we may, in fact, be in Nottingham next year... will know more next week.
And, damn, but apparently I missed a good BFS Open Night on Friday (almost went, couldn't because there's just way too much that needs doing and really couldn't spare the few hours off...)
But Prism is done and at the printers, Dark Horizons is 80% done (just waiting for the cover art, an interview and a story to be sent over from the boss...), Fcon mag is, oh, let's say, 70%/80% done - contents in and proofed, just need to pretty it up, and we're waiting on an excellent *exclusive!* piece of cover art. And copy for one of the ads.
So just Fcon micro newsletter and all things Bradan left. (oh bugger, and the VAT return, and mailing of stuff...)
Back to the F. word...
If you're attending this year, you'll be please to know we've been overwhelmed with donations of stuff... so not only will the raffle be rather good this year... but we may end up having to give out 2 goodie bags per person! (or, possibly, making them goodie sacks!) If all the promised stuff turns up...
And god knows how we'll get it all down there... may need to hire a van or persuade the old man to lend his car...
I'll be there Thursday night (it's the only way I can stay sane on the Friday... :-> ), Debs and Vicky are aiming to get there Friday morning around 11ish... so it'll be fun...
...and the AGM... lawksamussy, that's going to be interesting this year... we've had all sorts of proposals come in so we may actually get people turning up and wanting to debate things for a change... (instead of the usual turn up halfway through and doze through it...)
...sorry, I'm rambling... I'll stop...
31 August 2006
I'm not here. You haven't seen me. I'm really hard at work somewhere else...
... and can I just say... 22 days to go!
Fcon 2007
Have just discovered that the Birmingham possible is out of the price range, so it's definitely the Quality at Bentley for next year. (Probably!) Have got to sort things out with them, see what they can do, then by this year's Fcon we should have confirmation of date, place and 1st GoH. Which'll be nice.
Other BFS bits
(because I'm soooo not going to be able to concentrate on much of anything else until 25th September...)
Prism is pretty much done, DH is halfway done... which is a relief, so just the Fcon mag (won't take long as it's mostly done) and the Fcon micro newsletter (really won't take long... I hope).
Having the reviews back for Prism as from Oct will be pretty interesting... (and ex-editor Debs will probably think it's terrific revenge for me to have to chase up the reviewers, as I used to be abominable when I was Small Press editor.... but you're really not surprised about that, are you?)
Ooh, and I'm trying to get a regular opinion column thingy from a wicked UK fantasy author... and also trying to get a regular column from a horror author chap for balance.. (balance in Prism is a constant concern... check out the discussions on the BFS forum about perceived BFS inbalance... best I can do, is keep my area stable...)
Although, persnonally, I'm waaay biased towards the fantasy side so the trick will be to make sure I get enough horror stuff in to keep the half of the members happy.
Bradan bits
Slow Motion Wars still looking good for Fcon... definite details on it very shortly...
H&N #8, though... unless a minor miracle happens (and you never know, there's 22 days for it to happen...) will probably be bumped to the couple of weeks *after* Fcon.
Damn but all of this is just too much fun... :->
... and can I just say... 22 days to go!
Fcon 2007
Have just discovered that the Birmingham possible is out of the price range, so it's definitely the Quality at Bentley for next year. (Probably!) Have got to sort things out with them, see what they can do, then by this year's Fcon we should have confirmation of date, place and 1st GoH. Which'll be nice.
Other BFS bits
(because I'm soooo not going to be able to concentrate on much of anything else until 25th September...)
Prism is pretty much done, DH is halfway done... which is a relief, so just the Fcon mag (won't take long as it's mostly done) and the Fcon micro newsletter (really won't take long... I hope).
Having the reviews back for Prism as from Oct will be pretty interesting... (and ex-editor Debs will probably think it's terrific revenge for me to have to chase up the reviewers, as I used to be abominable when I was Small Press editor.... but you're really not surprised about that, are you?)
Ooh, and I'm trying to get a regular opinion column thingy from a wicked UK fantasy author... and also trying to get a regular column from a horror author chap for balance.. (balance in Prism is a constant concern... check out the discussions on the BFS forum about perceived BFS inbalance... best I can do, is keep my area stable...)
Although, persnonally, I'm waaay biased towards the fantasy side so the trick will be to make sure I get enough horror stuff in to keep the half of the members happy.
Bradan bits
Slow Motion Wars still looking good for Fcon... definite details on it very shortly...
H&N #8, though... unless a minor miracle happens (and you never know, there's 22 days for it to happen...) will probably be bumped to the couple of weeks *after* Fcon.
Damn but all of this is just too much fun... :->
26 August 2006
26* days and counting...
*well it is if you have to leave on the Thursday... for Fcon, that is!
And Fcon panic has well and truly set in.... in the next couple of weeks I've got to get Prism, Dark Horizons, the Fcon Mag, the Fcon micro newsletter, H&N #8 and Slow Motion Wars all finished and off to the printer so that I can have them all back before Fcon.... (cue the annual chorus of whhhhhyyyyyyy do I always leave things to the last minute....?)
Then there's the Prism/DH/Cinema Macabre mailing to do, the trade orders for the BFS celeb book to despatch, and all those other tasks I keep putting off but need done before Fcon. (Like answering emails...)
And we've got to get the Fcon '07 hotel prelim. sorted as well. Definitely looking like the Quality in Bentley, with a return to a city venue for '08 (which we're also starting to plan...)
Happily, the ever so wonderful Chris of Pendragon has hooked me up with a cracking artist that I can grab for both BFS and Bradan things... round of applause for Steve at Estronomicon...
And for some light relief.... Desert Island Books.... what would you take?
Short stories...
So one of the other things I've been doing, is trying to read the entries for the BFS short story comp (there's a bunch of us who, long ago, volunteered for first round reading... what were we getting ourselves into...?! We've sent the shortlist off to the celeb judges now, so at least that's one thing off the long list of things to do...) - and that, along with catching up with the last few H&N subs has had me going quite potty... so many stories have good ideas in them that are let down by writing that could have been sooo much tighter. By language that could have just been... better. Or beginnings that take 3 pages before anything happens.
Not good. For a short story to work (or at least, for it to keep me reading past the first page) it needs to stop meandering and get right to it...
Actually, Nick 'Lermentov' who posts on the BFS boards, says it much better in his blog ... he's talking about books, but it goes for short fic as well... to steal one of his sub titles from the short essay "A Plot (to paraphrase Woody Allen on relationships!) Must Be Like A Shark: if it isn't constantly moving forward, it dies.."
Enough blather... things to catch up on...
*well it is if you have to leave on the Thursday... for Fcon, that is!
And Fcon panic has well and truly set in.... in the next couple of weeks I've got to get Prism, Dark Horizons, the Fcon Mag, the Fcon micro newsletter, H&N #8 and Slow Motion Wars all finished and off to the printer so that I can have them all back before Fcon.... (cue the annual chorus of whhhhhyyyyyyy do I always leave things to the last minute....?)
Then there's the Prism/DH/Cinema Macabre mailing to do, the trade orders for the BFS celeb book to despatch, and all those other tasks I keep putting off but need done before Fcon. (Like answering emails...)
And we've got to get the Fcon '07 hotel prelim. sorted as well. Definitely looking like the Quality in Bentley, with a return to a city venue for '08 (which we're also starting to plan...)
Happily, the ever so wonderful Chris of Pendragon has hooked me up with a cracking artist that I can grab for both BFS and Bradan things... round of applause for Steve at Estronomicon...
And for some light relief.... Desert Island Books.... what would you take?
Short stories...
So one of the other things I've been doing, is trying to read the entries for the BFS short story comp (there's a bunch of us who, long ago, volunteered for first round reading... what were we getting ourselves into...?! We've sent the shortlist off to the celeb judges now, so at least that's one thing off the long list of things to do...) - and that, along with catching up with the last few H&N subs has had me going quite potty... so many stories have good ideas in them that are let down by writing that could have been sooo much tighter. By language that could have just been... better. Or beginnings that take 3 pages before anything happens.
Not good. For a short story to work (or at least, for it to keep me reading past the first page) it needs to stop meandering and get right to it...
Actually, Nick 'Lermentov' who posts on the BFS boards, says it much better in his blog ... he's talking about books, but it goes for short fic as well... to steal one of his sub titles from the short essay "A Plot (to paraphrase Woody Allen on relationships!) Must Be Like A Shark: if it isn't constantly moving forward, it dies.."
Enough blather... things to catch up on...
22 August 2006
BFS Chat
Blimey... it's up to 12 pages now... the monster thread, I mean. Looks like it's slowing down now.
Although, the David Gemmell Memorial Award proposal thread on the BFS forums looks like it's taking the traffic...
Also, something came up in the DGMA thread about UK fantasy mags (look, I couldn't resist throwing in a reply when it was mentioned.) and so, crawling slowly towards the point... I started a fantasy mags in the UK thread in the Independent Press section of the BFS forum. Please pop over there and add your thrupenny bit...
Fcon 2007
So still waiting on prices for the Birmingham possible, but as a committee we're strongly leaning towards the Quality at Bentley...
Oh, and guess what... Alex Davis, he of the Alt.fiction event in Derby, will be officially joining the Headless Chickens for the 2007 Fcon! How cool is that!
H&N
Almost almost almost there with the submissions... by Fcon everything will be clear. All the queries, the orders, submissions reading...
Blimey... it's up to 12 pages now... the monster thread, I mean. Looks like it's slowing down now.
Although, the David Gemmell Memorial Award proposal thread on the BFS forums looks like it's taking the traffic...
Also, something came up in the DGMA thread about UK fantasy mags (look, I couldn't resist throwing in a reply when it was mentioned.) and so, crawling slowly towards the point... I started a fantasy mags in the UK thread in the Independent Press section of the BFS forum. Please pop over there and add your thrupenny bit...
Fcon 2007
So still waiting on prices for the Birmingham possible, but as a committee we're strongly leaning towards the Quality at Bentley...
Oh, and guess what... Alex Davis, he of the Alt.fiction event in Derby, will be officially joining the Headless Chickens for the 2007 Fcon! How cool is that!
H&N
Almost almost almost there with the submissions... by Fcon everything will be clear. All the queries, the orders, submissions reading...
21 August 2006
BFAs 2006
Rightio chaps, just got the official shortlist for the BFAs for this year...
Rightio chaps, just got the official shortlist for the BFAs for this year...
nb. Where the list has more than 5 nominations, this is due to voting ties for one or more runner-up places...
British Fantasy Awards 2006
British Fantasy Award for Best Novel: The August Derleth Award
Ramsey Campbell, SECRET STORIES
Mark Chadbourn, THE HOUNDS OF AVALON
Hal Duncan, VELLUM: THE BOOK OF ALL HOURS 1
Neil Gaiman, ANANSI BOYS
George R. R. Martin, A FEAST FOR CROWS
Mark Morris, NOWHERE NEAR AN ANGEL
British Fantasy Award for Best Novella:
Guy Adams, DEADEAT
Jeffrey Ford, THE COSMOLOGY OF THE WIDER WORLD
Joe Hill, VOLUNTARY COMMITTAL
Paul Kane, SIGNS OF LIFE
Paul Meloy, DYING IN THE ARMS OF JEAN HARLOW (THE
COMING OF THE AUTOSCOPES)
Sean Wright, DARK TALES OF SPACE AND TIME
Stuart Young, THE MASK BEHIND THE FACE
British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology:
Allen Ashley, THE ELASTIC BOOK OF NUMBERS
Peter Crowther, FOURBODINGS
Gary Fry, POE’S PROGENY
Stephen Jones, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR 16
Stephen Jones, DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHT
British Fantasy Award for Best Collection:
Leigh Brackett, SEA-KINGS OF MARS & OTHER WORLDLY STORIES
Simon Clark, HOTEL MIDNIGHT
Joe Hill, 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS
Andrew Hook, BEYOND EACH BLUE HORIZON
Tim Lees, THE LIFE TO COME
Stuart Young, THE MASK BEHIND THE FACE AND OTHER STORIES
British Fantasy Award Best Short Fiction:
Ramsey Campbell, JUST BEHIND YOU
Joe Hill, BEST NEW HORROR
Paul Kane, HOMELAND
John Lucas, APPROACHING ZERO
Will McIntosh, SOFT APOCALYPSE
Marie O’Regan, CAN YOU SEE ME?
Sean Wright, THE NUMBERIST
British Fantasy Award for Best Artist :
Clive Barker
Randy Broecker
Les Edwards
Dominic Harman
Richard Marchand
Robert Sammelin
British Fantasy Award for Best Small Press:
Andy Cox, TTA PRESS
Peter Crowther, PS PUBLISHING
Andrew Hook, ELASTIC PRESS
D. F. Lewis, NEMONYMOUS
Christopher Teague, PENDRAGON PRESS
16 August 2006
Gosh, the BFS forum's getting some action today... (3 pages worth of posts in one afternoon...blimey...)
So there's this one thread that started out as a discussion on the BFS awards process and has now turned into a debate on the genre split of the BFS and is there one, and are we too horror and if you've got an opinion please drop over and add something.... We're here...
So there's this one thread that started out as a discussion on the BFS awards process and has now turned into a debate on the genre split of the BFS and is there one, and are we too horror and if you've got an opinion please drop over and add something.... We're here...
15 August 2006
Fcon again...
... because we just can't get enough....
First up - the banquet is now sold out! Crikey oh riley. When's that ever happened?
Next up: the events schedule (which I've also remembered to post to the Fcon blog and BFS boards...)
*nb. all guests appear subject to other commitments, panel personnel may alter slightly by the time we go live…
... because we just can't get enough....
First up - the banquet is now sold out! Crikey oh riley. When's that ever happened?
Next up: the events schedule (which I've also remembered to post to the Fcon blog and BFS boards...)
*nb. all guests appear subject to other commitments, panel personnel may alter slightly by the time we go live…
Main events (all hosted in the Albany Suite, unless otherwise specified)
(nb. [the 2nd], some panels listed as being 1 hour long, will actually be 50 mins/55 mins to allow for short break between items…)
FRIDAY
18:00 – 19:00 Registration (suite foyer)
19:00 – 19:30 Welcome to FantasyCon 2006 – David Howe welcomes all, plus launch of the BFS: A Celebration book
19:30 – 20:30 Genre Quiz – join a team to break the ice, or just sit back and heckle
20:30 – 21:30 Panel: UK v US – Neil Gaiman, Juliet E. McKenna, Ramsey Campbell & Raymond E. Feist discuss fantasy on both sides of the Atlantic (moderated by Cheryl Morgan)
21:30 – 22:30 Interview: Guest of Honour Ramsey Campbell interviewed by John L Probert
22:30 – 23:00 Reading: late night reading from John L Probert
23:00 – 23:30 Reading: Tales from the Cryptkeeper – Ramsey Campbell sends you to bed with some nightmares …
SATURDAY
10:00 – 11:00 Panel: Children’s Fantasy – Terry Edge, Neil Gaiman, Juliet E McKenna & Amanda Hemingway
11:00 – 12:00 Interview: Guest of Honour Raymond E Feist interviewed by Sandy Auden
12:00 – 13:00 Scriptwriting Improvisation: Stephen Gallagher, Paul Finch, Clive Barker & others TBA
13:00 – 14:00 Official Lunch break
14:00 – 15:00 Interview: Guest of Honour Neil Gaiman interviewed by Paul Kane
15:00 – 16:00 Panel: Indie v Mainstream Editing – Allen Ashley, Peter Crowther, David Howe, Andrew Hook, Jo Fletcher & Piers Blofeld
16:00 – 17:00 Interview: Guest of Honour Clive Barker interviewed by Paul Kane
17:00 – 18:00 Panel: Crime in Fantasyland – James Barclay, Chaz Brenchley, Neil Gaiman, Raymond E Feist & Juliet E McKenna
18:00 – 19:00 Monster Book Launch: come and see what’s new! (suite foyer/dealer’s room)
19:00 – 20:30 Official Dinner Break
20:30 – 21:30 Interview: Guest of Honour Juliet E McKenna interviewed by Chaz Brenchley
21:30 – 23:00 The Fabulous FantasyCon Charity Raffle: great genre prizes to be won!
23:00 – 23:30 Reading: Late Night Fantasies – with Alison Davies
23:30 – 00:00 Reading: Stay Up if You Dare – Tina Rath takes over the helm with her own special brand of storytelling …
SUNDAY
10:00 – 11:00 Panel: The Changing Face of Horror – Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clark, Mark Morris, & John Connolly
11:00 – 12:00 British Fantasy Society AGM: come along and make your voice heard
12:00 – 13:00 Telos Book Launch – celebrate new books from Telos and meet some of the authors - includes launch of their charity anthology
13:00 – 15:00 Banquet
15:00 – 16:00 British Fantasy Awards – all welcome
16:00… Clear Up & Dead Dog Party – for those who aren’t ready to go home yet!
Other Events:
Saturday, 10am - 5pm: one to one literary appointments (room TBA)
Saturday, 5pm - 6pm: Play - Frankenstein in Love (Gallery Suite)
Saturday, Midnight: Indie Film Show (Gallery Suite)
There will also be a couple of extra events on Saturday, but details for those are still being worked out.
Also, have just noticed that we've got the scriptwriting improv thingy down as only an hour... and I know we planned on it being hour and half as it tends to go on a bit... so cue frantic discussion with the Headless Chickens Brigade and will let you know what's happening with that...
Also also... the AGM - if you've points to raise, motions for changes to things, or just general BFS questions could you PLEASE let one of us know (either Marie or me, for preference) before the event so we can make sure we have the right information on stuff with us on the day, thus ensuring a proper discussion instead of ...oh, er, um, we'll get back to you.... :->
14 August 2006
Technical Whinge
...because, really, computers hate me and this is cheaper than throwing the bastard thing out of the window...
So, apparently I can't send email from the bradan email account, can't pick up email from the fcon@jennyb address and I've recently had reports from people that emails I've sent from the demon account have arrived 2 months after they've been sent (so it's not always me being a bit slow, then...) I mean, where do they go for 2 months? I have these weird visions of a bunch of recalcitrant emails sitting around in a cyber-bar somewhere getting totally mullered and going 'ey up, think I'll just stay for the next round...')
Mind, the first two problems will be related as they're both on the same server, so a bit of grouting around the techie support area should help there.
God knows what's up with the demon account though...
And... (yes, there's more... it's like buses, isn't it...) the machine's been acting gronkier than usual ever since I downloaded a service pack from them who we don't mention. Should have known better as I've been religiously avoiding downloading things since the mass virus damage last year but one of them computer doctor types got all in a tizzy when he found out mum hadn't ever upgraded her machine's software (and then promptly charged her way too much for doing it) so I figured, why not, and spend hours (still in the stone age with dial up) downloading things.
And lordy, it's just so slow to open files and the like at the mo... I can get a couple of pages of reading done while I wait for a doc to open, and that can't be right...
...because, really, computers hate me and this is cheaper than throwing the bastard thing out of the window...
So, apparently I can't send email from the bradan email account, can't pick up email from the fcon@jennyb address and I've recently had reports from people that emails I've sent from the demon account have arrived 2 months after they've been sent (so it's not always me being a bit slow, then...) I mean, where do they go for 2 months? I have these weird visions of a bunch of recalcitrant emails sitting around in a cyber-bar somewhere getting totally mullered and going 'ey up, think I'll just stay for the next round...')
Mind, the first two problems will be related as they're both on the same server, so a bit of grouting around the techie support area should help there.
God knows what's up with the demon account though...
And... (yes, there's more... it's like buses, isn't it...) the machine's been acting gronkier than usual ever since I downloaded a service pack from them who we don't mention. Should have known better as I've been religiously avoiding downloading things since the mass virus damage last year but one of them computer doctor types got all in a tizzy when he found out mum hadn't ever upgraded her machine's software (and then promptly charged her way too much for doing it) so I figured, why not, and spend hours (still in the stone age with dial up) downloading things.
And lordy, it's just so slow to open files and the like at the mo... I can get a couple of pages of reading done while I wait for a doc to open, and that can't be right...
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