Hi folks, we’re going to be moving the BSFA website to a new hosting provider today. You may see some interruption to service, but it should be short.
Server Move
Reply
The Twilight Zone at the Almeida Theatre
If going to a pantomime isn’t your thing this time of year, you may be delighted to learn of this production of The Twilight Zone, running from 5th-11th December at the Almeida, London N1 1TA.
Between light and shadow, science and superstition, fear and knowledge is a dimension of imagination. An area we call the Twilight Zone.
Adapted by Anne Washburn (Mr Burns) and directed by Olivier Award-winner Richard Jones, this world premiere production of the acclaimed CBS Television Series The Twilight Zone lands on stage for the first time in its history. Or its present. Or its future.
Based on stories by Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson. Adapted by Anne Washburn and directed by Richard Jones.
Media Links from Anne Charnock interview
Thanks again to Chad Dixon who has provided media links to our last London meeting with guest author Anne Charnock, who was interviewed by Glyn Morgan.
Continue reading
Nominations open for the BSFA Awards 2017
As the nights draw in, it’s time to cast your mind back and help us decide on the best works published in 2017. Nominations for your favourite SF or fantasy novels, short stories, artworks, and non-fiction are open until 31st December 2017. The voting form and the small print are here: http://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards/nominate-for-the-bsfa-awards/ or you can email your nominations (4 per category) to awards@bsfa.co.uk
You must be a member of the BSFA in order to take part in award nominations and voting. You can join or renew here: http://www.bsfa.co.uk/join-the-bsfa/ , or email the Membership Secretary to check your status (membership@bsfa.co.uk).
London Meeting November 22nd: Anne Charnock interviewed by Glyn Morgan
This month’s guest is author Anne Charnock.
Before becoming a science-fiction author, Anne Charnock was a foreign correspondent who got to travel the world. Her debut novel A Calculated Life, was a finalist for the 2013 Philip K. Dick and Kitschies Golden Tentacle Awards. Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind was named one of The Guardian’s best SFF books of 2015. Her current novel, Dreams Before the Start of Time, released in April 2017, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
In 2017, she became “interviewer in residence” for the Arthur C. Clarke Award as part of the award’s collaboration with Ada Lovelace Day.
Anne will be interviewed by former Vector editor, Glyn Morgan.
Glyn recently completed his Ph.D in English Literature at the University of Liverpool, and is a Current Research in Speculative Fiction (CRSF) conference team leader as well as co-founder and events organiser of Twisted Tales Events.
BSFA Monthly London Meetings (all welcome- free : one does NOT have to be a BSFA member to attend)
When: usually the 4th Wed of each month (excl Dec). Fans meet from 1800 in the main downstairs bar-prompt upstairs start at 1900 -though some regulars go upstairs earlier.
Where: Artillery Arms (upstairs –private– bar) 102 Bunhill Row (corner of Dufferin St) EC1Y 8ND
Nearest Tube/NatRail: Old St-exit 3 (->Barbican). Brewery: Fullers. Hot food available. SF Book raffle* (tickets 5 for £1)
Some attendees join the Speaker/Meeting Organisers later for an informal (usually Thai) meal. (though no obligation to partake).
Future meetings:
London Meeting 25th October, Gaie Sebold and Guest
This month, our guest author is Gaie Sebold.
Photo via Rebellion Publishing.
Gaie is the author of two rather splendid book series: Babylon Steel and Dangerous Gifts were published by Solaris, thrilling tales following the adventures of a brothel keeper; the Gears of Empire steampunk series followed, Shanghai Sparrow, which came out in 2014, and Sparrow Falling is the latest book. Gaie is also a prolific short fiction writer, and “A Change of Heart” from the Wicked Women anthology was nominated for a British Fantasy Award.
BSFA Monthly London Meetings (all welcome- free : one does NOT have to be a BSFA member to attend)
When: usually the 4th Wed of each month (excl Dec). Fans meet from 1800 in the main downstairs bar-prompt upstairs start at 1900 -though some regulars go upstairs earlier.
Where: Artillery Arms (upstairs –private– bar) 102 Bunhill Row (corner of Dufferin St) EC1Y 8ND
Nearest Tube/NatRail: Old St-exit 3 (->Barbican). Brewery: Fullers. Hot food available. SF Book raffle* (tickets 5 for £1)
Some attendees join the Speaker/Meeting Organisers later for an informal (usually Thai) meal. (though no obligation to partake).
Future meetings:
22nd November Anne Charnock interviewed by Glyn Morgan
Virtual Futures – submissions required
I’ve been contacted by the curators of Virtual Futures who are seeking submissions for their next live event in London. Submissions are open until 21 December 2017 on the following themes:
The (dis)ease of the i-Mortal: Born of earth or brought back from far away, biological or viral invasions or diseases can affect humans on any scale; from protecting or plaguing an individual to becoming an epidemic that affects us all. Take on a topic that Literature has meditated on from its inception; from Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year, to Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, to Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude, to Camus’s The Plague, to King’s The Stand.
Show us the good, the bad, but not the bland; we are relying on you to predict the future of infection and infestation in any of its various forms. What is the nature of the diseases, contagions or contaminations have in store?
Curated by Allen Ashley and Stephen Oram
E-Me’s: The digital world is a personality playground that offers us an unprecedented ability to curate and create a public persona — but what does this ability mean for the future of personhood?
As the digital world expands around us and the Internet of Things combines the physical and virtual do we have a moral obligation to represent ourselves with truth and integrity in the digital realm, or should we view it as an opportunity to explore new and radical ontologies?
Curated by Britte Schulte and Stephen Oram
Tomorrow’s Battles: War has, so far, been inevitable throughout human history – but what will the future of conflict or cooperation look like? Will the discoveries of the future lead us to a world without violent disagreement, or just result in us killing one another in more creative ways? Paint us your future of what kind of conflict – or lack of – will emerge from the caldron of tomorrow’s technologies: what utopia or dystopia will we be exposed to?
Curated by Jule Owen and Stephen Oram
Post-Brain: As technology gets smarter and smarter, the human brain is forced to reflect on itself in the mirror of the future and question what value it will have in a world in which wet tech, cerebral hacking and commodified consciousness could reign. A world not of enhancement or augmentation, but replacement. We implore you to enquire what the future of our most precious organ will be, while you still have one.
Curated by Vaughan Stanger and Stephen Oram
The deadline for submissions is 21 December 2017 and successful authors and poets will be notified in January 2018.
Submission guidelines: visit the Virtual Futures Facebook page for full details.
Videos of previous events can be viewed here.