Roadside Picnic

Just got back from this year’s Roadside Picnic & accompanying Smof Brunch in Tampere. The idea was that on Saturday, there was the actual picnic, which is the annual relaxacon of the Finnish fandom, and on Sunday, some of the people continued with an informal meeting.

The picnic was fun as ever, although it had to be cut a bit short this year due to an unexpected concert that took over the Viikinsaari island. But that only meant that the barbecuing + regular programming (basically just a couple of filks, really) was done a bit more hastily than usual and that we moved on to a restaurant to carry on a bit earlier.

The terrace of the restaurant Tillikka was a bit damp but otherwise fine, and the food they served good as always (no beets for beer exchange this year, though). As some people thought it got a bit chilly outside, the gang migrated to Amarillo for more beers (and food) and conversation, which all continued well into the wee hours. With drinks called (among others) Endless Summer or Kinky Queen, and an authentic Birthday Monolith, how can you but have a fun evening!

Sunday morning started in a leisurely manner with breakfast at Café Siilinkari (highly recommended—an inexpensive breakfast buffet, delicious pastries, an they even sell a good decaf cappucino, yay!) which stretched into a brunch and then an afternoon of conversation. Lots of topics got covered, and progress was made on quite a few fronts. These kinds of events are something I value highly—you can get a lot done when people from many associations and events committees sit together. A wealth of information shared and good ideas planned further together. In my opinion, it is essential for fandom to have these info sharing and brainstorming meetings a couple of times a year (in addition to conventions, e-mail lists and discussion forums, of course).

Things discussed and planned included:

• ways of promoting Finncon internationally (and making it consistently foreigner-friendlier)
• the evolution of NoFF (the Nordic fan fund)
• a fandom portal project (and its cooperation with existing resources)
• different ways of getting funds for interesting fandom projects
• ideas for upcoming Finncons, sharing information
• developing the “Finnsmofcon” into a bigger event that would be even more useful to fandom in the future

These are all pretty much in the planning stage, but you will definitely be hearing more about these projects in the near future.

TSFS Looking for Fantasy Feast Organizers

The Turku Science Fiction Society is planning to organize another Fantasy Feast (a pseudo-medieval fantasy gathering) next year and is looking for volunteers to participate in the organizing of the event.

Linkage: Jani Saxell on Sf

Author Jani Saxell talks (in Finnish) about his writing and science fiction on Kirjahylly.

Pub Meeting, Roadside Picnic this week

This Thursday is the first of the month, and that means the Turku pub meeting. For the summer, we decided to move the meetings outside, so the meeting will be at the Brewery Restaurant Koulu at six (outside if the weather permits). The book circle meets 6:30, this month’s book is Pimeyden reunalla (a new pulp anthology). There will also be a new issue of the Turu Mafia Zine—free for everyone who shows up.

On Saturday, Spektre organizes the traditional relaxacon Roadside Picnic in Tampere Viikinsaari. The first ferry from Laukontori leaves at noon; I’ll be taking the 10 AM train to Tampere which probably means making the 1 PM ferry. Bring your own picnic; there’s a fireplace for barbecuing on the island.

The Tampere trip continues on Sunday with a smof brunch at Café Siilinkari, probably starting around 10 AM. Come discuss things like conventions, fan funds, creating a fandom portal, and everything eles!

Linkage: International Mind Meld

The SF Signal’s Mind Meld series’ latest question is, Who are your favorite international sf/f authors. Among those who’ve answered with tips about good sf outside the usual anglo circles is our own Jukka Halme. Who, naturally, gets to mention a few Finnish authors (among many others).

Anne Leinonen Wins Atorox Award

The Atorox Award for best Finnish sf short story published last year was announced at Finncon last weekend. The winner, for the third time, was Anne Leinonen for her short story Nahat (“Skins”), published in the Portti magazine.

This was a great year for Anne: she also took the second prize with Sanojen mahti (“The might of words”). The top three was:

1. Anne Leinonen: Nahat (Portti 3/10)
2. Anne Leinonen: Sanojen mahti (Portti 1/10)
3. Hanne Martelius: Stuttgart ennen talvea (Portti 2/10)

In addition to Anne taking the top places, the Portti magazine ruled supreme this year. Four of the top-5 stories were published by Portti.

Congratulations, Anne and all the other top-placing candidates!

The Atorox Award is voted by members of the Finnish fandom from a longlist of stories selected by a pre-selection jury. The award is given by the Turku Science Fiction Society.

Teos Science Fiction Competition Results

The Teos publishing house announced the winners of their novel-length fantasy and science fiction literary contest at Finncon. Over 350 manuscripts took part in the competition.

The jury selected as the winner a manuscript called Veden muisti (“Memory of Water”) written by Emmi Itäranta. The winner received a cash prize of 5 000 € plus a publishing contract from Teos—the novel will be published next year.

Veden muisti tells a story about choices and responsibility in an original totalitarian future society. “The winning manuscript is, in terms of language as well as the vision of the future it constructs, a polished and impressive work. Like all good science fiction, this piece is in dialogue with our current reality: it makes visible a world which we may already be unwittingly heading towards,” the chair of the jury, Johanna Sinisalo, comments.

Of the other manuscripts submitted to the contest, Sudenveri (“Wolfblood”) by Jenny Kangasvuo received an honorary mention. Sudenveri is a surprising and moving tale about a werewolf community. “The manuscript awarded with an honorary mention unravels and reconstructs the well-known myth thoroughly and skillfully. The writer, who knows her subject extremely well, approaches it with attention to detail and expertise. She uses her material to build a realistic and arresting world, which is at the same time deeply Finnish,” Sinisalo says.

The jury of the competition comprised, in addition to Sinisalo, publisher Silja Hiidenheimo, editors Maarit Halmesarka and Jussi Tiihonen, and author Mikko Rimminen.