Tähtivaeltaja Award Nominees

The Tähtivaeltaja award is given annually to the best science fiction book published in Finland during the previous year—it can be a novel or a short story collection; a translation or an original Finnish work. Tähtivaeltaja-award is given by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society which is also behind the Tähtivaeltaja semiprozine. Of the sf books published the previous year five best books are selected for the short list. The winner is chosen by a jury of experts.

The nominees for the best science fiction book published in  Finland in 2006 are:

• Steve Aylett: Atomi (Atom)
• Stepan Chapman: Troikka (The Troika)
• Benoît Duteurtre: Tyttö ja tupakka (La petite fille et la cigarette/The Little Girl and the Cigarette)
• Michel Houellebecq: Mahdollinen saari (La possibilité d'une ile/The Possibility of an Island)
• J. Pekka Mäkelä: Alshain (an original Finnish novel)

The winner will be announced in May at the Tähtivaeltaja day minicon.

(Thanks to Toni Jerrman for the info.)

Tähtivaeltaja Day

Some info on the Tähtivaeltaja day was posted on Babeknabel:

• Saturday, May 5, from noon till 2 AM
• The place is the Dubrovnik Lounge & Lobby (Eerikinkatu 11)
• GoH: Christopher Priest
• Program excerpts: Christopher Priest talks, Tähtivaeltaja award, Finnish fantastic fiction, Teräslilja vs. Väinämöinen, Protocols of science fiction, sf in tv, where are the sf movies going, definitive Tähtivaeltaja discussion
  

Sf Discussion in Jyväskylä on Friday

This Friday writers Anne Leinonen and Pasi Jääskeläinen discuss fantasy and science fiction in Jyväskylä. The event takes place in Kirjailijatalo at six. The authors’ books will be on sale, so if you are in the neighborhood, go listen to what will most certainly be an interesting discussion, and also buy some books (and get them signed). 

Update: Jussi Vainikainen has pictures.

28 Days Later

Four weeks since the previous Turku pub meeting, and a dozen-or-something people present in Bar Bremer tonight. Listed are some of the dates discussed during the evening. The pizzas were excellent tonight, by the way.

• March 3: the annual Finnish smoffing event in Tampere. Four (maybe five) persons attending from Turku
• March 10: the deadline for nominating short stories for the Atorox award (the new rules were considered, mainly favorably)
• 2000: we were supposed to have flying cars and personal jet packs by now
• 1995: Finland won the ice hockey world championship (4–1, the bartender enlightened us). Den glider in…
• June 4, 1867: Mannerheim was born. In Louhisaari. Visit there this summer, and Suvi will tell you all about it
• February 16, 2007: a PhD dissertation in Turku by Sofia Sjö about gender roles and science fiction (at Åbo Akademi). The hero of the hour wasn’t present so we had to settle for talking about her behind her back
• Summer, 2007: a party, or at least we were promised one
• October, 2007: The book fair. Lots of programming. Sfnal activities planned
• 2008: Eurocon in Moscow (a group invasion planned)

Pub Meeting Tomorrow

February was short and the pub meeting is upon us. So come to Bar Bremer tomorrow (Thursday, March 1) at six to meet fen and discuss all things sf!

Margaret Atwood Comes to Turku

Margaret Atwood—the author best known in sf circles for her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale and the more recent Oryx and Crake—will be coming to Turku for the Turku International Book Fair (October 5–7, 2007). I doubt she’ll be discussing talking squids in space, though.

Finnish Sf Resources Site Back Online

Jussi Vainikainen’s great “Finnish Science Fiction Resources” site has been unavailable for a while, but has now moved to a new address and is available again.

Jussi’s site is an essential reference for anybody who wants to find links to Finnish sf societies, fanzines, and other resources, or search the extensive bibliography of sf published in Finnish.