Interview with an Autocatalytic Homeostatic Device

NEWS

GRAIL QUEST is a four-day conference/festival taking place at Sydney University from 10-14 June 1999. Themed around the continuing relevance of the legend of King Arthur in popular culture, it will also take in a broad range of Celtic, medieval and fantasy elements. It has four streams: Literary; Arts (music, film, visual arts, etc); Academic; and Gaming (RPG). Writers attending include Sophie Masson, Sean McMullen, Peter Nicholls, Andrew Enstice, Kate Forsyth, and Isobelle Carmody (tbc), and there'll be a full programme of talks, workshops, signings, panel discussions, art exhibitions, a Literary Lunch and a Literary Dinner, full bookshop support and a New Writer's Competition. For further information, please contact the Conference Convenor, Cathy Simpson, 1/30 Ozone St, Cronulla 2230, Australia (e-mail: grailq@healey.com.au).

FAT CHANCE, a virtual publishing company specialising in SF/F/H fiction and artwork, is currently seeking to publish unknown talent on their WEIRD VISIONS website at http://www.blackpool.net/users/weirdvisions. The site exists as "a showcase to publicise the work of promising newcomers and get them noticed". For further information, contact weird.visions@cybermail.uk.com.

ELLEN DATLOW writes: "This is just a reminder that any books or anything else sent to me at OMNI since early September have NOT been forwarded on to me and WILL NOT be forwarded on to me. They are given to the public library. So please note that my mailing address is: Ellen Datlow, 48 Eighth Avenue suite 405, New York, NY 10014, USA."

Noel Hannan and Rik Rawling have wound up their BAD TO THE BONE imprint, which they had been operating in various forms since 1992. Rik is now concentrating on his magazine Hog, while Noel has been devoting himself to short story and novel writing. However, Noel still intends to self-publish, and has begun a new imprint, ANKH, which will concentrate on publishing new illustrated story booklets – the first of these, Divide by Zero, should be available later this month – as well as a content-heavy website including information about Ankh's new publications, details of how to order Bad to the Bone back issues, and the on-line version of the anthology Satellite Feedback, originally planned as a print publication, featuring Ian Watson, Eric Brown, Mike Cobley, Paul Schuytema, Alan Grant and Noel Hannan. For further information contact Noel Hannan at 18 Lansdowne Road, Sydney, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 5JY (e-mail: bad2bone@compuserve.com; http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/BAD2BONE).

LISA DUMOND writes: "In my capacity of Contributing Editor and Senior Reviewer for SF Site and owner of MEviews, I prefer to concentrate on small press publications and new or unknown authors. I wonder if any of your members have books which fall into these categories and would be interested in having them reviewed? I would be pleased to consider any such works for review. Any reviews may also appear on Source SF, Spicy Green Iguana, and BREAK magazine." Interested publishers can contact Lisa at P.O. Box 12425, Tallahassee, FL 32317-2425, USA (e-mail: darkers@yahoo.com).

SUBLIME WORDS is a new website from TTA Press. Based at http://purl.oclc.org/sublime/index.html, it's offering a free assessment of your short story or novel chapter, a "How to Write Winning Fiction" course, a scheme called the "Fiction Writer's Colleague", plus lots of free stuff.

HAIKUTALK, the general discussion list for writers and others interested in haiku and related genres, was relaunched on 2 November 1998 having been offline since its host was infiltrated by hackers on 29 September. Haikutalk is not primarily just a place to post new writing but a place to discuss the nature of haiku, find out about haikuists, learn about publishers and competitions. To subscribe to haikutalk send a blank e-mail to join-haikutalk@lists.spunge.org, or to subscribe to the digest edition send a blank e-mail to join-haikutalk-digest@lists.spunge.org. For further information, please contact the list-owner, Gerald England, at england@spunge.org.

'Awakening' is the theme for the 1999 DRAMA ASSOCIATION OF WALES PLAYWRITING COMPETITION, which promotes One Act plays in English and Welsh, of between 20 and 45 minutes playing time. Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Play for an All Female Cast; Best Play in the Welsh Language; Best Play for a Children/Youth Cast; Best Author Under 25; Best Adult Play; and Best Overall Script. Prizewinning plays will also be considered for publication. The competition is open to everyone, so don't be discouraged from entering if you live outside Wales! For further information and an application form, please contact Teresa Hennessy, Drama Association of Wales, The Library, Singleton Road, Splott, Cardiff CF2 2ET (tel: 01222 452200; fax: 01222 452277).

BLANKSPACE November 1998, A4, 16pp, enquire to David Stewart, 43 Eglinton Road, Dublin 4, Ireland (e-mail: dstewart@iol.ie). The newsletter of Science Fiction Ireland, with reviews, news and developments with a particular emphasis on film- and TV-related SF, plus a special report on the recent Octocon Lite convention.

DRAGON'S BREATH #54, A4, 4pp, available for one SAE per issue (12/£2:50; Europe 12/£4; r.o.w. 12/£5:50) from Tony Lee, Pigasus Press, 13 Hazely Combe, Arreton, Isle of Wight PO30 3AJ. Capsule reviews of SF/F/H small press and media-related publications from all over the world, plus an interview with Mark McLaughlin.

EYE #18, A4, 64pp, $3:95 (6/$14; Canada 6/$20; r.o.w. 6/$36) from EYE, 301 S. Elm Street, Suite 405, Greensboro, NC 27401-2636, USA (e-mail: lisa@eyemag.com; http://www.eyemag.com). Articles and underground research on pop culture, music, technology, TV and film, fringe culture, and bizarre science, this time looking at macabre collectables, coincidences, train-hyping, biker gangs, experimental jazz, hot wax, and space music, plus an interview with Sex Pistols photographer Dennis Morris.

THE GILA QUEEN'S GUIDE TO MARKETS #97, A4, 36pp, $8 (12/$34; Canada 12/$38; r.o.w. 12/$50) from Kathryn Ptacek, P.O. Box 97, Newton, NJ 07860, USA (e-mail: gilaqueen@worldnet.att.net; http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7844/gila/index.html). Six-weekly writer's and artist's market magazine covering fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics, magazines, trade journals, book publishers, small press, greetings cards and many other markets, with an emphasis on those that pay. Different issues target particular market sectors, and this issue brings part two of 'Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror'.

NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION #121-#123, A4, 24pp, $3:50 each (12/$31; Canada 12/$36; r.o.w. 12/$44) from Dragon Press, P.O. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA (http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/olp/nyrsf/nyrsf.html). Essays, reviews and topical comment for the SF field from a ten-time Hugo award nominee. Issue #121 features Brian Stableford on un-American fantasy, David Pringle's new scientific romance, Gregory Benford on Thomas Disch and the future of SF, Earl Wells on Slan, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes on Kage Baker's past, Leland Neville on Severna Park's episodes, and Lawrence Person on Free Space; in #122 Sylvia Kelso explores Miles Vorkosigan and the coded feminine, and Rob Latham and Brian Stableford peruse the latest Year's Bests; while #123 features Brian Aldiss on H.G. Wells, Sylvia Kelso on Lois McMaster Bujold, David Langford on Harry Turtledove, Gwyneth Jones on the personality anthology, and Ray Davis on Jonathan Lethem.

NOTES FROM OBLIVION #37, A4, 8pp, free for SAE or audiotape correspondence from Jay Harber, 626 Paddock Lane, Libertyville, IL 60048, USA. With his health situation off-topic for this issue, Jay compares how Deep Space 9 and the original Star Trek reflect the aspirations of their contemporary societies. Not surprisingly, he finds the shallow, emotionally-sterile characters of the spin-off series an apt metaphor for middle-class America in the late 1990s.

SCAVENGER'S NEWSLETTER #177, A5, 24pp, $2:50 (12/$17; Canada 12/$20; r.o.w. air 12/$26; r.o.w. surface 12/$17) from Janet Fox, 519 Ellinwood, Osage City, KS 66523-1329, USA (e-mail: foxscav1@jc.net; http://www.cza.com/scav/index.htm). Monthly newsletter for SF/F/H/mystery writers and artists with an interest in the small press. Market news, letters and reviews from USA, UK and elsewhere, plus an interview with SF writer Nancy Bennett.

SMALL PRESS LISTINGS (Winter 1998), A4, 4pp, enquire to the National Small Press Centre, BM Bozo, London WC1N 3XX. Shop window listing of small press publications, with prices, addresses and brief descriptions.

TALEBONES #13, A5, 76pp, $4:50 (4/$16; Canada 4/$20; r.o.w. 4/$24) from Talebones Magazine, 10531 SE 250th Place #104, Kent, WA 98031, USA (e-mail: talebones@nventure.com; http://www.nventure.com/talebones). SF and dark fantasy in a smart digest format with full colour cover, and winner of the Genre Writers Association Award. This issue's fiction comes from Ray Vukcevich, James Van Pelt, Kurt R.A. Giambastiani, Don D'Ammassa, Paul Melko, Robyn Herrington, Jan Wildt, and Vera Searles, plus an interview with K.W. Jeter.

TANGENT #20/21, A4, 124pp, $10 (4/$20; non-USA 4/$28) from David A. Truesdale, 5779 Norfleet, Raytown, MO 64133, USA (e-mail: Dave_Truesdale@compuserve.com; http://www.sff.net/tangent/). A special double issue of the only SF/F short fiction review magazine, in which Ellen Datlow reflects on life at OMNI and Robert J. Sawyer remembers Judith Merril, plus profiles of Tom Purdom, Liz Holliday and Bruce Taylor, and reviews of over 100 SF/F magazines and collections.

THE DREAMING POOL by Gary Greenwood, ISBN 0-9531468-7-1, A5, 138pp p/b, £4:99 from Darren Floyd, RazorBlade Press, 186 Railway Street, Splott, Cardiff CF2 2NH (e-mail: darren.floyd@virgin.net; http://freespace.virgin.net/ana.k/rawsite.htm). Debut novel from a new Welsh talent, introduced by Simon Clark. Jack Bradley is called back to him home town of Caerphilly when his father is brutally murdered, and when he learns that the body was found at a childhood haunt, the dreaming pool, he has to confront not only a long-buried secret, but also a conspiracy which leaves him not knowing who to trust.

FAITH IN THE FLESH by Tim Lebbon, ISBN 0-9531468-4-7, A5, 144pp p/b, £4:99 from Darren Floyd, RazorBlade Press, 186 Railway Street, Splott, Cardiff CF2 2NH (e-mail: darren.floyd@virgin.net; http://freespace.virgin.net/ana.k/rawsite.htm). Two new horror novellas from the BFS-shortlisted Lebbon, with an introduction by Pete Crowther. Set during an unspecified war, "The First Law" describes how a group of shipwreck survivors who land on a deserted tropical island think their prayers have been answered, but nothing could be further from the truth, while "From Bad Flesh" charts a dying man's desperate race against time as he searches for a cure for the plague that's brought civilisation to its knees.

ALIENATIONS by David Murphy, ISBN 1-902628-26-8, A5, 68pp, £2:95 from Pipers' Ash Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 4BW (http://www.supamasu.demon.co.uk). Six slices of the near future based in alternative worlds not very far from our own, all featuring characters – as the title suggests – who are suffering in spirit or at odds with society. A co-editor of the Irish magazine Albedo 1, Murphy's a thought-provoking writer; his previous chapbook Broken Heroes has long since sold out.

JUST BECAUSE (September 1998) edited by James B. Baker, A4, 176pp spiral-bound, $12 from Promart Publishing, P.O. Box 1094, Carmichael, CA 95609, USA (e-mail: promartian@earthlink.net; http://www.arrowweb.com/promimart). Another packed SF anthology but, as with the previous outing from this publisher The Fifth Di..., it's somewhat let down by its cheap and cheerful production quality.

SMALL PRESS GUIDE 1999, ISBN 0-9529119-8-1, 403pp p/b, £9:99 from Writers' Bookshop, 1-2 Wainman Road, Woodston, Peterborough PE2 7BU. Revised fourth edition featuring the guidelines and requirements of over 400 UK small press magazines, with an authoritative introduction by Peter Finch. The deadline for inclusion is September of the previous year, so the book advises that a certain amount of caveat lector applies.

COLD TONNAGE BOOKS Christmas Sale, A5, 12pp, enquire to Cold Tonnage Books, Andy Richards, 22 Kings Lane, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6JQ (fax: 0870 0548510; e-mail: andy@coldtonnage.demon.co.uk). One-off catalogue of heavily discounted SF/F/H, crime and mystery signed, hardback and limited editions, and many collectable paperbacks.