Linkage

A couple of links to interesting discussions:

There’s an active discussion going on on the FSFWA forum about the activities and future of the association. It’s a long thread but Kati’s message might be a good starting point for the current issues being discussed.

Usva is asking for ideas for the future of the zine. If you read the zine and have an opinion on how it should develop further, go pitch in. (If you’re not reading Usva, there’s no better time to start than now.)

What Makes a Short Story

Interesting discussion on Anne’s blog on what makes an award-winning short story, a good short story, and whether these are related.

Atorox Nomination Starting

It’s time again to compile the list of short stories eligible for the Atorox award. The story needs to be Finnish, and published during last year either in Finnish or Swedish.

The current list can be found on the TSFS Atorox web page, and additions and corrections should be sent to the Atorox administrator Katja Rosvall.

The FSFWA forum has a thread for discussing eligible stories.

Sf Writing Course in Tampere Next Spring

Open writing course on writing fantasy and science fiction, tutored by Markku Soikkeli. Once a week, Jan 13–Apr 7. The course is directed to adult writers interested in writing all kinds of science fiction or fantasy.

more

Esa Kauppila Wins Portti Competition

The results of the 23rd annual Portti short story competition were announced yesterday in Tampere. The winner is Esa Kauppila for Lasin läpi rantaan päin (“Through the glass, towards the shore”).

The second place was a tie between Anne Leinonen and Anni Nupponen, and Kirsti Ellilä came third (although I think that should have been fourth, since the second place was tied). Honorable mentions were awarded to Joonas Kallonen, Petri Laine & Anne Leinonen, Mika-Petri Lauronen, Timo Männikkö, Erkka Mykkänen, Olli Rintamäki, Petri Salin, M.G. Soikkeli, and Susi Vaasjoki.

(Info from the “scifi” list)

Update: Anne has more details and a photo. Anne mentions that the winning stories usually are much longer than the average texts in the competition (which is one of the reasons I’m not especially interested in the Portti competition—I have a hard time classifying for example last year’s winner, almost 13 000 words, as a short story any more), and that the theme this year was reaching to the pagan roots of the Finnish people and that there was little science fiction in the awarded stories (leaning towards fantasy and horror).

Year’s Last

A pretty good turnout at the mafia tonight. In the early evening there was a Serious Literary Discussion of many good books. Later on, as more people appeared, the topics became more varied, such as fandom, stupid Internet videos, cameras, tv shows, and the difficulty of Christmas shopping. A fun evening, as usual—see you all again next year!

Last First Thursday

The last Turku pub meeting for this year is today. That means I’ll be in Bar Bremer at six. Hope to see you there too!