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Issue #12 - Mar 31, 2001
Welcome to the March MiC Newsletter. Great News -- The
MiC Newsletter and the MiC website are both finalists for a 2001 Aurora Award. For
Aurora voting month I've
managed to scrounge up access to all five Aurora
finalists in the Short Form English category. I've also created entry
pages for all five finalists in the Long Form English
category. This month we
feature a guest editorial by Isaac Szpindel. The Media File
has some news and info on Canadian SF
shows, movies, actors and filmmakers. The featured
website is Sean Russell's new site. The Rush
Quote of the Month is one of my personal
favorites.
Index
- Robert J.
Sawyer will be running an intensive four-day science fiction writing
workshop this summer at the University of Toronto. Sawyer's
workshop will be held as one stream of the Taddle
Creek Summer Writers' Workshop, to be held Friday, June 29, to Monday,
July 2, 2000. Registration deadline is Wednesday, June 27, 2001. Full
information, including registration forms, is now available at: http://learn.utoronto.ca/creative/events.asp.
You can also get more info at Rob's
website. (source, Rob Sawyer)
- Official MiC author John Clute
will be in Toronto on April 5th at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction,
Speculation and Fantasy, 239 College Street. He's in town to promote his new
novel, Appleseed. (source, Mici
Gold)
- Be Afraid! an anthology of young adult horror
stories published by Tundra Books and edited by Brampton author Edo
van Belkom has been selected as an "Our Choice" title by the
Canadian Children's Book Centre in Toronto. (More)
(source, Edo van Belkom)
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The 2001
Aurora Ballot is up at the Aurora
Award website. The mailing deadline for ballots is April 28th 2001. The
award ceremony will be held at VCON in Burnaby B.C., May
4- 6 of 2001.
- The MiC Newsletter has made the final
ballot for an Aurora
Award in the Fan Achievement:
Fanzine category. The Made in Canada website made the final
ballot for the
second year in a row for Fan Achievement: Other. Thanks for your support!
- The Aurora finalists for Best Long Form work in English
are
- All five finalists for the Aurora for Best Short-Form Work in
English category are available to read online for the purpose of aiding
Aurora voters.
The 2001
voting ballot is available in HTML
format and .PDF
format at the Aurora
web site. Voting ballots should be mailed by April 28th 2001.
- Two Canadians have made the final ballot for a
2000 Nebula Award. Nalo
Hopkinson's Midnight Robber and Charles
de Lint's Forests of the Heart are both finalists for best
novel.
- The winner of the 2000 Philip K. Dick award will
be announced at Norwescon 24 on
the weekend of April 13, 2000. Nalo
Hopkinson's Midnight Robber is one of the 6 finalists. Good
luck Nalo!
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Media File
Media Happenings
- James Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, has extended
its deal at 20th Century Fox with another five-year, first-look pact,
covering several genre films, Variety
has reported. Lightstorm will provide two to four movies annually for Fox.
Current projects include Brother Termite, an SF drama to be directed
by Stephen Norrington (Blade) from a script by John Sayles, adapted
from a novel by Patricia Anthony; The Coffin, a suspense noir
thriller movie based on the comic series of the same name; and the romantic
fantasy comedy Damned If You Do, to be directed by special-effects
master Stan Winston. Lightstorm also plans to adapt Anne Rice's supernatural
novel Ramses the Damned. "I've always loved having the Fox
fanfare at the head of my films, so I was glad when we were able to make a
deal for another five years," Cameron said.
- Adrian Paul, one of the stars of the Highlander franchise, has a
deal with Lion's Gate for a new syndicated series, Tracker, in which
he plays an alien bounty hunter stuck on Earth. In an interview,
Paul said he wanted the show "to have a different type of feel. It's
about an alien on Earth; more like Starman is the way I want to go
with it. I want it to have a lot of humour. I want it shot differently and I
want it to have some interesting aspects like set design and really good
writers that write non-sequitur dialogue." He added, "Lion's Gate
approached me with it and asked me whether I'd be interested. I have a deal
with Lion's Gate now to produce this show and put me in a film as well as
star in this series. I didn't really want to do TV again, unless it was the
right type of thing, so I'm interested to see what this is because I will
have a lot of control over it."
- Currently filming in Montreal is a Hallmark TV series based on the popular
Neverending Story novel by Michael Ende. The novel previously spawned
three successful movies, released in 1984, 1990 and 1994. Written by Leila
Basen and directed by Giles Walker, the TV series appears to be a retelling
of the original tale rather than an extension of the previous films. Mark
Rendall plays the lonely 12-year-old Bastian Balthazar Bux, whose mother is
dead and whose father ignores him. Bastian escapes into books and his own
world called "Fantasia," where he can create solutions to his
real-world dilemmas. The show also stars Jane Wheeler, John Dunn-Hill and
Lisa Bronwyn Moore.
On the Box
- Robert Leeshock (Liam Kincaid, Earth: Final Conflict) was
interviewed by Cult
Times about the fourth season of the show. In the season finale,
"Point of No Return," Kincaid will be propelled to the centre of
the "ultimate" confrontation between the Taelons and the
Jaridians.
- Space will be airing the excellent six-hour miniseries Frank
Herbert's Dune on April 7, 8 and 9 at 9 p.m.
- Upcoming on The Lone Gunmen: On the April 6 episode, "Planet
of the Frohikes," a genetically altered chimpanzee alerts the Gunmen
to an assassination plot; on the April 13 episode, "Maximum
Byers," Jimmy and Byers go undercover as death row inmates in a Texas
prison while trying to exonerate a convicted murderer.
- Click here
for an interview with Nigel Bennett, who plays Prince on Lexx.
Space is airing the season 2 episode 15, "Woz," on April 1 and 2
and episode 16, "The Web," on April 8 and 9. For what's next in
the season, go here.
- Coming up on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda: In "Fear and
Loathing in the Milky Way," a routine mission on the Eureka Maru goes
wrong for Harper and Trance when an old foe, Nightsider Gerentex, takes
over the ship and forces them to assist him in his quest for wealth and
power. In "The Devil Take the Hindmost," Dylan and Rev Bem
attempt to protect a Wayist Mission from a slaver attack.
The Media file needs YOU! Please send your Canadian
media news clips, tips and rumours to canadian_sf@hotmail.com.
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- The Second Summoning by Tanya
Huff
- The One Kingdom
by
Sean Russell
Fools Errant by Mathew Hughes
(Paperback)
The Rain is Full of Ghosts, by Zoe Landale
Cool by Mary W. Walters
Resisting Adonis, by Timothy Anderson
The Law of War by William Shatner
Slow Engines of Time, by Elisabeth Vonarburg
A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder
(reprint) by James DeMille (Click here
for cover art)
Graven Images edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and
Thomas S. Roche
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Cold Comfort by Nancy Kilpatrick (Apr 2001)
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Green Music by Ursula Pflug (early 2001)
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House Magic: The Good Witch's Guide to Gracing Your
Space by Ariana (May 2001)
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House of Pain by
Sephera Giron (Aug 2001)
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Recently added entries
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Lisa Smedman - Fantasy
novelist and 2001 Aurora Award finalist
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Matt Hughes
- Fantasy novelist and crime fiction writer.
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Recently updated entries
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MiC Hosted Stories
MiC Information Pages
Galleries
Interviews
Attention Authors: Treasures
wanted! Do you have a story, essay or article collecting dust? Don't
leave your treasures buried! Send them to me and I will give them a home
at Made In Canada.
I can't pay ya -- but I'll sure help promote ya!
I would also be happy to add your publication credits with a link
to your entry page?
Send them to canadian_sf@hotmail.com
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SF Site recently
announced that it is hosting the new website for Canadian fantasy author Sean Russell.
The site is a typical authors site with a "What's
New" page, his bio,
a bibliography, a review
page, an interview
page and cover art. Each of Sean's
published novels has its own page with the cover art, a description of the book,
some personal comments from Sean, and a list of links to any online reviews
available for that particular title. If
you are a Sean Russell fan, be sure
to check out this site. Got a favorite website you would like featured? Send
the URL to canadian_sf@hotmail.com
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I
am pleased to introduce this months guest editorial by Isaac Szpindel.
Dr. Isaac "Buckaroo Banzai" Szpindel lives in Toronto,
Ontario. He is an author, screenwriter, producer, electrical
engineer and neurologist. Isaac has been working very hard lately
as head writer/story editor for a new animated SF Action/Adventure TV
series soon to be broadcast internationally. Another script he wrote for
television is completing production with Warner Bros. and Nelvana and
will be airing in Canada and in the US this spring. His short
story "By Its Cover" will be appearing in the Wonder Zone
anthology, also this spring.
We ARE Canadian SF
by
Isaac Szpindel
"I liked it, really, I did. It wasn’t
like Science Fiction at all."
Those exact words were spoken to me with
regard to my short story, "Downcast"; a story that
appeared in the 5th anniversary edition of Parsec
Magazine. And although the words were intended to
compliment me, it was this very intention that insulted me most.
"Well, Science Fiction is exactly
what it’s like," I answered, "whether you liked it or
not. Without the SF elements, the premise of the story is lost…"
There ensued a long and frustrating
discussion.
The fact that SF is misperceived as the
literary analog of pornography is certainly not news. The attitude
in itself is no surprise. That this attitude persists and prevails,
may, however, be somewhat surprising and may, in part, be our very
own faults.
SF has figured prominently in classic
literature from works such as Huxley’s "Brave New World"
and Orwell’s "1984" to Atwood’s more contemporary
"The Handmaid’s Tale". Both former works are taught
frequently in Canadian high-schools. Indeed, they were part of my
curriculum as a student. Surprisingly, though, at no time was the
subject of genre ever discussed nor were the dirty words,
"Science Fiction", ever mentioned. Had I realized the
affront at the time, or recognized it as a symptom of a greater
disease, I might have attempted to correct the situation. More
likely, however, I would have said nothing, far too embarrassed to
identify myself as a SF reader.
Now, however, considering myself with great
pride to be a member of the SF writing community, I do recognize the
subtle and not so subtle effrontery in the contemporary literary
attitude towards our genre. And now that I am much more accustomed
to embarrassment and am armed with a firm belief in the truth of our
cause, I do believe there is something we can and must do.
Unfortunately, I won’t be the first to say this, nor will I be the
last, but it’s time we stood up to the media, the critics,
and the public at large and proclaimed loudly and proudly what
Science Fiction is all about. Some of us have done so already, and
continue to do so, but not all of us. For our genre to be fully
recognized and be given the respect it richly deserves, we cannot
simply rely on those few loud voices with the blind faith that they
will be heard and understood. We must add all our voices to those
few to make sure that the message, our message, is effectively
transmitted and received.
As writers, this is difficult. We work hard
and hope that our stories will speak their own merits to our readers
and critics. As Canadians, we adhere even more strongly to the
belief that quiet righteousness and merit lead to reward. Nonsense!
This philosophy hasn’t worked for the genre in the past, nor is it
likely to work in the future. Expecting media-dazzled readers to
find us, eventually, is an equally erroneous prospect. People do
judge their books by their covers. People do read dust
jackets and rely on recommendations. People do read what
Oprah tells them to. It’s all about appearances and perception.
Saying, to hell with it, my work will find its audience no matter
what, ignores the marketing realities of publishing and prevents a
significant portion of potential readership from accessing our
material. All stories represent a partnership between the author and
the reader. SF is just such a partnership that depends on each side for its care, well-being and very existence.
When a story is lost, or prevented from reaching its intended
audience for whatever reason, the loss to the author, reader, and
the genre is both profound and tragic.
What should we do about this? Well, we can
start by not being embarrassed by who we are, and by loudly
proclaiming the merits of our genre. We choose to read and write SF,
and we should be proud of it. What’s more, we should help and
support each other in this admirable endeavor that is SF instead of
making unnecessary excuses for it.
Now, this is the part where the
inspirational music comes up, so CUE the INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC.
My name is, insert your name here,
and I enjoy SF.
No, I don’t live in my parent’s
basement, and so what if I did.
No, I don’t believe that aliens from
another planet or that the representatives of some other conspiracy
are trying to control my mind.
I read SF in public, and feel no need to
hide it within the covers of a less socially reprehensible
publication like "Hustler".
Not only do I read SF, but I write it too.
(optional, if you don’t write)
No, that doesn’t mean I can get away with
crap, it means I have to work that much harder just to make sure it
isn’t crap. (optional, if you don’t write)
SF is literature.
Many great classics of literature are
SF.
Many future classics of literature will
be SF.
SF is literature.
Did I say that SF is literature?
Because it is, you know.
My name is, insert your name here.
And, I AM CANADIAN SF!
CUT MUSIC. Now, why do I suddenly have the
urge for a beer?
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This months Rush quote is one of my
favorites.
From Red
Sector A on the album Grace
Under Pressure
I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate
Are the liberators here -- do I hope or do I fear?
For my father and my brother, it's too late
But I must help my mother stand up straight...
Are we the last ones left alive?
Are we the only human beings to survive?
Neil Peart
Send your favorite Rush Quote to
canadian_sf@hotmail.com
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