Åcon 5 Ready to Go

The Guest of Honour Catherynne M. Valente has arrived in Turku safe and sound. All is ready for Åcon to start tomorrow!

If you’re not able to attend and want to follow what’s going on at the convention, the best way is probably on Twitter. There should be some updates on the convention web site during the weekend as well.

The convention program book has been published in an electronic version; you can download it from the web site in epub format.

PS If you arrive in Turku already today and want to meet people, the word on the street is that some Åconites will gather at Cosmic Comic Café today (probably around 7 PM).

Summer Meetings; Reverse Time Trek

At the pub meeting yesterday it was decided to once again go to the restaurant Koulu for the summer meetings. So from June 7 onwards you can find the Turku sf pub meetings at the Koulu terrace (or somewhere inside if the weather is too cold or wet to be outside). Welcome!

We also decided to go on a Time Trek some time after Finncon (late July/early August). More specifically, we’ll take the Time Trek walking tour (an outdoor route that symbolizes the history of the Universe, with 1 km representing each billion ears in the age of the Universe). To make things more interesting (or more convenient if you want a more practical explanation) we’ll do the trip backwards, starting at the University of Turku and ending in Piikkiö, where there will be a barbecue at the journey’s end. More details will follow later; everyone is welcome to walk with us for either the whole 13.7 km route or just a part of it!

Finncon 2012 Wants You

Finncon 2012 (in Tampere in July) has begun their gopher recruitment. If you feel you could contribute to the convention, go sign up and let them know you’d like to help!

BaCon on Saturday

FUI and Tutka will organize the BaCon 5 minicon this Saturday at Terrakoti. The theme this year is race. The program starts around 2 PM and looks as follows:

• 2 PM Unofficial program starts with the movie Shaft
• 4 PM Official program: meaty music video, followed by ST: TNG episode “Darmok”
• 5 PM Dinner break (bring your own food)
• 6 PM Ritual eating of cabbage and bacon, socializing
• 7 PM video program

URS on Tour

The wildly active Uusrahvaanomainen spekulatiivinen fiktio (“new pulp”) movement goes on tour around Finland to celebrate the publication of their latest anthology, Huomenna ne tulevat (“Tomorrow They Come”). Members of the movement will be appearing in Helsinki, Tampere, Espoo, Turku, and Jyväskylä to advertise (and sell) the new book and talk about new pulp sf.

The tour dates are available at the link. The tour will visit Turku on two occasions: at the next pub meeting on May 3, and also at the Kirja irti event on May 26.

IronSky Awarded at BIFFF

Iron Sky received a couple of awards at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival: The Silver Méliès Award and The Pegase Award (an audience prize). Congratulations!

Sergey Lukianenko in Finland

Update: Due to an illness in the family, Lukianenko has unfortunately had to cancel his visit to Finland.

The Russian sf writer Sergey Lukianenko visits Helsinki next week for the publication of his latest translation, Yöpartio (Ночной дозор, in English Night Watch). He will be interviewed at the Pressi-klubi, visit the Helsinki mafia, and also visit the Tampere Book Fair.

• Thu Apr 12, 3 PM – Pressi-klubi, Pullman Bar, Helsinki Railway Station
• Thu Apr 12, 6 PM – Pub meeting, St. Urho’s Pub, Helsinki
• Fri Apr 13, 5 PM – Tampere Book Fair
• Sat Apr 14, 10:30 AM – Tampere Book Fair