Yhteistyökokous

• print out needed materials: check
• arrange car pools: check
• make list of Important Things Need To Talk To People About: check
• find a prize to donate to the raffle: check
• buy snacks + things to roast on the barbeque: check
• buy cigars: check
• buy beer: check (if only a couple, since I’m drivin this year)
• pack things: check

Findom’s annual co-operation meeting, “Finsmofcon,” is tomorrow. See you there!

Finncon Gets Cultural Grant

This year’s Finncon has received a grant of 5 000 euros from the government cultural funds. Yay!

Danish Fan in Helsinki Tomorrow

Olav, a friend and fellow fan from Copenhagen (and chair of Eurocon 2007), will be staying in Helsinki for a couple of days. I've got his phone number in case someone there would like to meet him on Wednesday evening for some beers or such.

NoFF Delegate Announced

The Finnish NoFF delegate for 2008 has been announced: Tampere fan Marianna Leikomaa was chosen to attend a Nordic convention of her choice during the year.

Marianna is a member of Smial Morel and has been actively involved with the TamFan fantasy con and Kuvastaja book award, and is also the Supreme Queen of Everything of this year’s Finncon in Tampere. You may also have read her critiques in Portti and Kosmoskynä, or seen her filking in many fannish events.

Congratulations to Marianna! Contributions for NoFF can be made to account 800027-36932210 (recipient is NoFF administrator Ben Roimola; put “NoFF” in the info field). More about NoFF.

Tähtivaeltaja Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2007 Tähtivaeltaja award have been announced. They are:

• Haiteksti (The Raw Shark Texts) by Steven Hall (WSOY)
• Olen legenda (I Am Legend) by Richard Matheson (Vaskikirjat)
• Nedut (original novel) by J. Pekka Mäkelä (Like)
• Marsin ikävä ja muita kertomuksia (short story collection) by M. G. Soikkeli (Turbator)
• Musiikkia miesäänille ja lentäville lautasille (short story collection) by Howard Waldrop (Kirjava)

The award is given annually to the best science fiction book published in Finnish (either translation or original work) by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society since 1986. The jury consists of journalist Hannu Blommila, critic Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and journalist Vesa Sisättö. The winner will be announced later in the spring.

Henki ja Elämä in Tampere

The Henki ja Elämä (“Life and spirit”) book festival takes place in Tampere this weekend. There will be a couple of sfnally interesting program items during the event:

• Risto Isomäki talks about his new book Litium 6 (Sat 10:30, Viinibaari)
• Esko Valtaoja tells how he became a writer (10:30, Tähtien Sali)
  
• Johanna Sinisalo discusses the new Moomin graphic novel Muumimamman vaarallinen nuoruus (“The dangerous youth of Moominmamma”) she has written (Sat 13:30, Viinibaari)
• Esko Valtaoja talks about his new book Ihmeitä – kävelyretkiä kaikkeuteen (“Miracles: a walking tour of everything”) (Sat 13:30, Tähtien Sali)
  
• Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen talks about his new short story collection Taivaalta pudonnut eläintarha (“The zoo that fell from the sky”) with his editor Kanerva Eskola (Sat 14:00, Viinibaari)
• Sari Peltoniemi discusses her latest YA book Suomu (“Scale”) (Sun 12:30, Lasten maailma)
  

Finnish Sf in Year’s Best

The forthcoming Year’s Best SF 13 anthology (edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer) will have a Finnish short story in it, Johanna Sinisalo’s Baby Doll (first published in Finnish in 2002). Baby Doll was also published in French in the 2005 Utopiae anthology. Go Johanna!

(via Babek nabel)