Finncon 2008 Online

Next year’s Finncon (in Tampere, July 26–28) opened its website today at <2008.finncon.org>. Mostly general announcements and basic info about the GoHs so far, but more to come, of course.

Note to Swedish fen: you have an official agent for Finncon 2008. Contact Michael Pargman if you have any questions about the upcoming Finncon.

Finncon 2009 GoHs

Finncon 2009 in Helsinki is living up to their promise of being the biggest Finncon yet. They’ve announced their Guests of Honor will be George R.R. Martin and Alastair Reynolds. Both are already known in Finland and have fans here which should bring in some extra folk (what’s a couple of thousands more at a Finncon).

In the meantime, don’t forget next year’s Finncon in Tampere either.

Pub Meeting Reminder

It’s the first Thursday of the month again, so let’s meet at Bar Bremer at six. See you there!

Andy Sawyer in Jyväskylä

Andy Sawyer, course director of the science fiction studies MA program at the University of Liverpool and reviews editor of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, is speaking at the University of Jyväskylä this Thursday as part of the “Cult and Identity: Conference on the study of cults and audiences” event. His subject is “The Enchanted Duplicator and Other Fables: British Science Fiction Fandom in the 1950s”. Among other programming at the event is also a presentation by Irma Hirsjärvi on sex and gender in sf literature. Don’t miss this if you just have a chance to be there!

Åcon 2 Has Website

Åcon 2 (May 2008 in Mariehamn, Åland) has a web site at <acon2.wordpress.com>. Info is a bit scarce at the moment, but more will be added as the con approaches.

New Feedback Forum for Finnish Sf

A new forum has been opened on Netticolosseum (the Finnish Science Fiction Writers’ forum) for feedback and discussion on Finnish short sf. At the moment all open topics are about stories published in Usva, but as this forum was a result of discussion on the Usva blog, this is only natural. All readers (and publishers) of Finnish short sf are welcome to join the forum and open discussion topics of any stories they feel like discussing.

Tähtifantasia Award to Jeff VanderMeer

The Tähtifantasia (“Star fantasy”) award for the best fantasy translation published in Finnish in 2006 has been given to Pyhimysten ja mielipuolten kaupunki (City of Saints and Madmen) by Jeff VanderMeer. The jury describes the book as “a wild plunge into the dark side of the fantastic city of Ambergris, its forgotten secrets and strange destinies of its inhabitants,” and says, “Jeff VanderMeer has managed to create a rich alternate reality, an enchanting world rising to epic proportions thanks to the full history, interesting details, and well-rounded characters, adorned with playful humor. The book has literary merit and redefines fantasy as a genre.”

The Tähtifantasia award winner is chosen by the Helsinki Science Fiction Society, and this was the first time the award was presented. The jury consists of critics Toni Jerrman and Elli Leppä, author Anne Leinonen, and journalist Vesa Sisättö. The book is a selection of stories from the English-language editions; it was published by Loki-kirjat and translated by Johanna Vainikainen-Uusitalo.

Congratulations, Jeff, for a worthy win!