Ion Newcombe

Two Chairs Talking is an interesting new Aussie podcast from David Grigg and Perry Middlemiss with a literary and SF bent. While it’s mostly focused on speculative fiction books and stories, the hosts are not afraid to leap into entertaining discussions about other genres and media formats.

David was the chairman of the 43rd World Science Fiction Convention held in Melbourne Australia in 1985. Perry was the chairman of the 57th World Science Fiction Convention in 1999 and co-Chair of the 68th Worldcon in 2010. Two chairs, get it?

Read moreNew Aussie SF Podcast “Two Chairs Talking”

The Conflux Committee has announced the 2019 CSFG / Conflux Short Story Competition.

Conflux want your stories of 4000 words or under, in any speculative fiction genre, on this year’s theme, What Lies Beneath.

The competition is open to all Australian residents and members of either the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild or Conflux 15. Entry is $5, unless you are a member of the CSFG or Conflux 15 or you are aged 16 or under, in which case it is free!

Read moreConflux 15 Short Story Competition Opens

The 2019 Peter McNamara Achievement Award, judged this year by Kirstyn McDermott, was presented to speculative fiction author Kaaron Warren at Continuum 15.

Congratulations to Kaaron, who has won numerous speculative fiction awards for her writing. Kaaron’s most recent novel is “Tide of Stone”.

The Peter McNamara Achievement Award, formally The Peter (the ‘Mac’) McNamara Award [for] Lifetime Achievement and Contribution towards Australian Speculative Fiction, is an award presented in honour of the late Peter NcNamara at the Australian National SF Convention awards ceremony. The award was inaugurated by Robert N. Stephenson, and is made and named for the year in which it is presented.

Bruce Gillespie (pictured) received the Continuum Foundation’s “Eternity” Award 2019 on Friday June 7 at the opening ceremony of Continuum 15, Natcon 58. This extraordinary award, featuring an hourglass trophy, recognises those who do a huge amount of work for SF fandom over an impossibly long period of time — in this case more than fifty years.

Bruce Gillespie thanked all of the people who helped to get “SF Commentary” off the ground in January 1969, including Lee Harding, John Foyster, John Bangsund, Leigh Edmonds, George Turner, and Tony Thomas in particular.

Read moreBruce Gillespie Receives The “Eternity” Award

The Continuum Foundation announced joint winners, Julian Warner and Lucy Sussex of the special, rarely-given, Ian Gunn Memorial Award at Continuum 15, Natcon 58, at the opening ceremony on Friday June 7.

The Ian Gunn Memorial Award, or “Gunny”, is an irregular Victorian award, only given out on years when someone suitably deserving is put forward to the Continuum Foundation committee.

It recognises the ‘unsung heroes’ of fandom — people who consistently work in the background for no other reason than the work needs doing, and who never expect any recognition of their efforts.

Ian Gunn was good at noticing such people.

The trophy, designed by Lewis Morley, incorporated a plastic spaceman in memory of the many plastic spacemen hidden in other fans’ homes by Ian Gunn and Karen Pender-Gunn.

Congratulations Julian and Lucy!

Winners of the 2019 Ditmar Awards for Australian SF were announced at Continuum 15 (Natcon 58, the Aussie Natcon), on Saturday June 8, during the awards ceremony.

Best Novel

WINNER: City of Lies, Sam Hawke (Tor)
Devouring Dark, Alan Baxter (Grey Matter)
The Subjugate, Amanda Bridgeman (Angry Robot)
Faerie Apocalypse, Jason Franks (IFWG Australia)
The Beast’s Heart, Leife Shallcross (Hodder & Stoughton)
Tide of Stone, Kaaron Warren (Omnium Gatherum)

Read moreDitmar Award Winners 2019

The 2019 Norma K Hemming Award for excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class or disability in speculative fiction published in 2018, was presented on Saturday 8 June, 2019 at a ceremony at the Continuum convention in Melbourne.

In an exciting development, there was a tie in the Long Work category, with Sam Hawke’s City of Lies (Transworld / Tor) and Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts (Twelfth Planet Press) shared the top honour.

Read more2019 Norma K. Hemming Award Winners

Continuum 15 hosted the Australian Horror Writers Association Shadow Awards Ceremony in Melbourne on June Saturday June 8. Congratulations to all of the winners. Here’s another great speculative fiction reading list:

Read more2018 Shadows Award Winners Announced at Continuum

The winner of the A Bertram Chandler Award for 2019 is ALAN STEWART.

Alan received his award at Continuum 15, Natcon 2019, in Melbourne, at the awards ceremony.

Alan Stewart believes he entered fandom in 1979. Since that inauspicious entry 40 years ago, Alan continuously been involved in a variety of fanac both in Australia and overseas.

Alan Stewart’s fannish reputation commands great respect. He is a man of quiet achievement, of modesty and geniality: always generous and good-natured with his time and resources.

Congratulations Alan.

Find the full citation for Alan Stewart right here at the ASFF website.

Join S.T. Joshi in an evening of conversation and discussion on the works of H P Lovecraft and hear a performance by Edward Neeman & Eloise Fisher of Larry Sitsky’s Necronomicon.

Joshi is a leading authority on H. P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, and other writers, mostly in the realms of supernatural and fantasy fiction.

Read moreNecronomicon Australis Tour