Walkabout in Derby.

I love going to conventions. I try to go to at least one a year. Since I moved to the UK, and can't get back for Continuum in Melbourne, I usually manage to get to Edge-Lit up in Derby. Last year I managed to also get to FantasyCon, which was a bonus. It's a bigger con, slightly larger than Continuum with some great writers and presenters attending.

I've booked this year's Edge-Lit, and I'm excited about catching up with some friends. Usually the crowd from Leicester are there, and I honestly enjoy their company - even if they do try to drag me into Walkabout every chance they get. I really don't see why visiting a chain "Australian" bar is either enticing or humourous. Especially when said chain isn't Australian, other than hanging flags out the front and selling Fosters. Sigh. Don't even get me started on the "Blokes"and "Sheilas" toilets.

I usually meet a few new people at these events too, and that's always a bonus. Socialising is a huge part of conventions, and as writing can be such a solitary activity, it's an important part. I've made good friends at cons, people who are important to me, people I regularly contact away from cons, people whose interests overlap my own.

I hope to see you in Derby next month. For those in Australia, I think Continuum is this weekend. If you're going, enjoy!

My First FantasyCon

I've been to conventions before. I used to attend Continuum every year in Melbourne, visited Conflux once and even managed to get to WorldCon a couple of times. Since moving to the UK, I've been to a couple of Edge-Lits and a few Sledge-Lits, the winter counterpart. But I haven't really immersed myself in the British SF scene.

Scene. I choose that in place of a better word instead of 'Community'. Ah yes, the 'Myth of Community'. I am planning to write about that soon, but I'll leave it as it is and just move on for now.

Last weekend I visited Chester for FantasyCon. I was hoping to catch up with old friends, make some new ones and even meet a hero or two. And I succeeded on all counts. It was wonderful to see Philip and James again, to spend time with Penny, Simon, Adele and Tom (as well as a bunch of others I haven't mentioned), and to chat, albeit briefly, with Ian Watson. Ian is a fabulous writer, someone I started reading back in the late 70s and never dreamed of meeting. I managed to get a book or two signed, and even copped some written abuse from him in one of them - which was pretty special.

I spent time chatting with Dr Abbey from Japan, even though my Japanese was rusty and he was polite about my abilities, and met Ian Whates and Adrain Tchaikovsky, who were both delightful and fascinating.

Restaurants, bars, sitting outside with friends, walks, and even listening to the karaoke (bleah) made for a memorable weekend.

Seriously though, how do we manage to spend an entire weekend based in a hotel and still not catch up with people we know? I missed a few people I had planned to see. And they were there! I've seen the photographic proof.

If you haven't been to FantasyCon and you live in the UK, it's highly recommended. I plan to be there next year again.

The Good Ship, Fandom.

Continuum 13, an annual sci-fi convention, was held in Melbourne over the weekend. Obviously, having moved to the UK last year, I wasn't able to attend. It felt a little weird missing it as I have attended every year since Continuum 5.

From all accounts it was a great convention. Well organised and attended, with interesting panels and workshops. I'm really pleased by this, as I must confess that over the past few years I haven't gotten as much out of the convention as I would have liked. There has been a gradual shift in the focus from the science fiction I like towards pop culture, most of which I have little time for.

Now this is where I am in danger of being misread. I really need to emphasise I'm writing here about my tastes, my preferences, the things I enjoy. Give me old school sci-fi and fantasy any day. I'm not big into superheroes, anime or most other pop culture. I found fewer panels and sessions I was interested in attending each year. Fewer spaceships and robots, and more people with capes. Fewer discussions on classic books and more on TV shows and superhero films. And I'm just not interested in them. Honestly, I couldn't tell you your Magneto from your Brian Mannix.

Over the past few years there have been panels where I struggled to see any connection to SF, fantasy or horror at all. But that's fine. It doesn't matter. The convention isn't solely about me. It's about fandom, and what they want.

You see, if I had my way rock bands with guitars would rule the Top 40, science fiction films would be more like Arrival than X-Men, and reading would be compulsory for everyone. Conventions would have more panels on classic books alongside the newer ones.

But, as I said, it's not about me. There are lots of things that generally don't excite me at the moment. I've already mentioned superhero films. Let's add to that the current trend in retelling fairy tales, urban fantasy, and more vampires. Maybe I am getting older, but like the music I like, I know what types of fiction I like.

If we stick with the music comparison, you'll soon realise I don't have to like it. There are plenty of alternatives for me. And if I dig around I can find plenty of new bands I do like. I don't want to buy a Beyonce album. She doesn't speak to me, and the music leaves me cold. But there are plenty out there who love her music. Me, I'd rather buy the new Roger Waters album.

Yes, I do read new SF books. I have to be a little more discerning in my hunt for them as they're usually not the same books that appeal to my friends. I've tried many of those, and I often find them underwhelming. Taste, again, I suppose.

We all don't have to like everything. Or even the same things. There's room for us all in the good ship 'fandom.' But remember, I don't deserve name-calling or abuse because my interests and tastes lie elsewhere.

Having said that, I've been quite excited about the impending release of Wonder Woman. And I wasn't disappointed. I thought it was fantastic.

You never know. Maybe someday someone will play me a Beyonce track that I actually like.

Crossroads Of Canopy.

Thoraiya Dyer is a writer I truly admire.

I've only ever met her twice in real life, and our digital correspondence is far from frequent, yet she's a wonderful writer and a great person to boot. I was fortunate enough to spend a little time with her last June at Continuum in Melbourne, but even then we didn't end up with enough time to chat. And I'm not really sure why. It just didn't seem to work out timewise.

I always enjoy her writing, and she has given me some solid advice and encouragement.

So I was especially pleased last year when she signed a deal with TOR to publish her trilogy. The first book is out now, and although I've yet to buy a copy, I'm hearing good things about it. Online reviews have been highly favourable as well.

Set in a giant mythical rainforest controlled by living gods, Crossroads of Canopy is the first installment of the Titan’s Forest trilogy. Be sure to look out for launch dates and events near you.

Oh, and buy a copy of this book.

Continuum 11.

It's that time of year. Continuum 11 is on next weekend, and the program is looking great.

For those who have never heard of Continuum, here's the description from their website.

"Continuum is an annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture fan convention celebrating creativity across genre and media. From hard-edge science fiction to high-flown fantasy, comic books to film noir, high culture to sub-culture … we sink our teeth into it all!

2015 marks our 11th convention, and we’re taking the time to celebrate Australia.  Not in a yellow-and-green-how-many-gold-medals-did-that-koala-get-in-the-sports way, but looking at Australia’s history and future, and also Australian genre and media, our fandom, and our people."

This will be my seventh Continuum. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I won't be able to attend the entire weekend as I usually do. I'm even unsure of when I can manage to drop in, But I will definitely be there Saturday afternoon.

I'm only on one panel this time, Religions in Spec Fic, alongside David McDonald, RJ Anderson, Alexandra Pierce and Stephanie Lai. 

Religions are portrayed as good and bad forces in specfic, but in Western SF there are certain long-standing traditions. What are "neglected" religions? Has the way religion been portrayed changed along with its changing role in society? What are some of the mistakes writers make when incorporating religion?

Come along to Continuum. Check out the Religions panel. And if you're not even sure you want to go, Friday night of the program is a gold coin donation entry.

You can't get anything better for that price these days.

Recent Activities.

Continuum X has been and gone. I can barely believe two weeks has since passed. I didn't write about it last week for two reasons. Firstly, I'd just written about Gitte Christensen, and I wanted to leave that on top for a few more days. Secondly, because I wasn't sure what to make of Continuum.

Jim C. Hines and Ambelin Kwaymullina were wonderful guests, and their speeches were challenging and inspiring. Certainly brilliant follow-ups to last year's guest, N.K. Jemisen. I returned home with new ideas and understandings of issues within SF. And a whole lot more questions about gender, race, culture and diversity. And that will, of course, bleed through to my writing.

I also had the opportunity to converse with Jim C. Hines. It was an important conversation for me, and he helped me out a whole lot more than he realises. Thank you Jim for your time and words.

It was an odd convention for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. I didn't feel spoiled for panel choice as I usually am, and that may have been part of it. The venue was different and the rooms were more spread out. That too may have been part of it. The bar prices were insanely high, which meant a lot of people didn't gather or linger, which I certainly felt played its part. My con-going buddy was missing this time, which may have played its part. Or maybe it was just me. Or, of course, all of the above in varying degrees of culpability.

And then there were a couple of situations/conversations at the convention which got me down. I'm not going to go into details, but I just can't believe these things are happening.

Overall? I enjoyed myself, and I look forward to next year's Continuum.

Since then I've been busy at work finishing up assessment and writing reports - every teacher's favourite task. I had a personal rejection for a story for which I'd had high hopes. (It's not you, it's us) Sigh. But I have a couple of other stories out which I think will probably sell. (Of course with my recent history in predicting these sales...... ) At least I've managed to get some words down this week, so I feel productive there. Which is (hopefully) good, as I have two deadlines at the end of the month.

But enough about me. It's back to work.

On Receiving Expert Advice.

Today's the day I interview three YA authors in front of an audience of teens.

I saw this done last year at the Melbourne Writer's Festival, first with Morris Gleitzman and then with Andy Griffiths. Gleitzman was really interesting. He held the audience well, but Griffiths turned them upside down. He was like a writing rock star. A few bum jokes, a few gross stories and he had an autograph queue that was so long it had to be culled by his minders. No copy of his book, no signature.

At Continuum, I'll be interviewing Jim C. Hines, Tracy Joyce and Mary Borsellino. That can't be too difficult, can it?

Well I made this task a whole lot easier, last week, when I sought expert help. I asked a class of teenagers what they would ask their favourite writers.

I was pleasantly surprised by how thoughtful their questions were. Generally, they were about the creative process, about how ideas are developed and how stories are constructed. Of course, I then used that data to reflect on how I teach writing. And to write my questions for this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to this session. And should the audience get unruly, I have a book of detention slips with me.

Continuum X.

Next weekend, Melbourne's Continuum will celebrate its 10th birthday. For those not familiar with it, "Continuum is an annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture fan convention celebrating creativity across genre and media. From hard-edge science fiction to high-flown fantasy, comic books to film noir, high culture to sub-culture… we sink our teeth into it all!" This year the convention is also host to Natcon, the 53rd Australian National Science Fiction Convention.

I love Continuum - not only for the panels and spending time with interstate friends, but the whole atmosphere of being with like-minded people.

I'm really excited to be involved in the following panels:

Seminal British SF Friday 22:30-23:30 with: Cat Sparks, Rob Hood, Narrelle Harris, Steve Cameron

The Aliens Are Too Human! Sunday 10:00-11:00 with: Alan Baxter, Steve Cameron, Darren Sanderson, Bismuth Hoban, Stacey Larner

YA - Meet the Authors Sunday 14:00-15:00 Steve Cameron interviewing:
Jim C. Hines, Tracy Joyce, Mary Borsellino

Not doing anything next weekend? There's still time to join.

2014 Chronos Awards Shortlist.

Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted for a Chronos award. These works are all worthy and these names deserve to be on this list.

Having said that, this shortlist is a very shortlist. And I'm surprised by that. In fact, it's embarrassingly short. OK, the first category is full, but apart from that?

I've resisted posting about this for some time, simply because I wasn't sure what to say or how to phrase it.  But here goes.

Why is the list so short? Surely it's not from a shortage of eligible works. That list was long enough. Is it apathy from the nominating public? Not enough awareness of the nominated works? Not enough promotion? Is our state and this convention simply too small to operate these awards? Is the continuum membership more interested in the 'pop culture' side of the convention, and not so much in the 'speculative' side? All, some, one or none of the above?

I certainly don't know the answer.

One thing I noticed this year, in the lead up to both the Chronos and Ditmar awards, was how little self-promoting and touting there seemed to be from those who were eligible. At least that's how I saw it on Facebook. I'm not so sure how it was on other social media. Is this lack of promotion a symptom of how these awards are perceived in writing and fandom?

Now, I'm not one of those rushing to suggest the Hugos need to be cancelled because I don't like certain nominations. Simply vote on which nominee you believe to be the most worthy. And I'm not suggesting the Chronos awards needs to be discontinued. But I do think the Chronos awards need reviewing.

My thoughts? Either the SF community needs to value and support these awards, and make them relevant, or we have to accept the state is too small to continue with them.

Here's the shortlist.

Best Long Fiction (including collected works)

• Gamers' Rebellion by George Ivanoff (Ford Street Publishing)
• This Mutant Life: A Neo-Pulp Anthology edited by Ben Langdon (Kalamity Press)
• The Beckoning by Paul Collins (Damnation Books)
• Tales of Australia: Great Southern Land edited by Stephen C. Ormsby and Carol Bond (Satalyte Publishing)
• Caution: Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Short Fiction

• "Fairy Pie" by George Ivanoff in Stories for Girls (Random House Australia)

Best Artwork

• Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)

Best Fan Writer

• No award

Best Fan Publication in any Medium

• The Angriest by Grant Watson
• SF Commentary edited by Bruce Gillespie

Best Achievement

• Gamers' Rebellion book trailer by Henry Gibbens

I'm Late.

I post every Sunday and Wednesday, and mostly I've managed to keep to this schedule. Occasionally, for some reason or another, I miss a post. This time it was simply because I was at Continuum and I didn't really have internet access (or time).

But I'm home now from yet another fabulous weekend.  Great panels, great people and a lot of fun.

I don't really have time at the moment to delve further into the convention - perhaps I'll lash something together by Wednesday. Or maybe not.

But if I were to sum up the weekend for me in a single sentence?  I'm re-invigorated and re-inspired.

Thanks, Continuum.

See You There.

Are you going to Continuum 9? 

Continuum 9: Contraindicators.

Have you signed up yet?

Continuum is an annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture fan convention celebrating creativity across genre and media. From hard-edge science fiction to high-flown fantasy, comic books to film noir, high culture to sub-culture… we sink our teeth into it all!

Continuum is run on a not-for-profit basis and all revenue goes towards venue and equipment hire, transport and accommodation for our guests, and other convention specific expenses. The Continuum conventions are supported by the Continuum Foundation and we are grateful for their support.

Continuum 9 will take place on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, June 7 — 10, 2013.

Our guests of honour this year are Waris Hussein and N.K. Jemisin. Supporting them will be a wide range of other speakers and panellists in a fabulous line up of panels, presentations and special events.

To contact the convention committee, please email info@continuum.org.au. They’ll make sure your query gets to the right person!

(And yes, I stole this from their website. It's ok, though - I'm on the committee.)

A Professional Geek From Melbourne.

In 2011 I contacted the Continuum people and offered to run a panel on my favourite SF writer, Philip K. Dick. I automatically invited Bruce Gillespie (editor of the fabulous The Electric Shepherd) to join me, then sat back to see what happened.

Someone with a strange name was then allocated the panel, then had to withdraw, and then another (with a more 'normal' name) was assigned. I think we may have emailed a little beforehand, but I do recall the night before the panel when David McDonald introduced himself to me. He asked me how the panel was to run, and I briefly explained very little (as it was all PowerPoint based and quite logical in order).

The next day Bruce, David and I ran a very successful and interesting PKD session. Bruce, of course, was wonderful as always. But I owe much of that success to the insights and thoughts of David.  Afterwards we chatted, and it turned out we not only had some same acquaintances in the 'real world, but had similar backgrounds with matching reference points. So I sat in on a Dr. Who panel he'd organised, a wonderfully emotive Sarah Jane tribute, and found that he had a similar approach and attention to quality and detail that I had.

Afterwards, David bought me a coffee, and I impressed him with my...  well, everything.

Over the past year or so, David and I have become firm friends. We've become crit buddies, shared good news and bad, and built a mutual respect for each other's work and approach to writing. We have similar philosophies, morals and ethics.

Oh, and he'll always remind me of the crit session I conducted on Cold Comfort (from Epilogue) at Conflux mere hours before the submission deadline. You see, he was plying me with drinks and one thing led to another... But that's a story for future panels when we are both deservedly recognised for our abilities and writing credentials.

David is an up-and-coming writer whose work deserves attention. He's a great guy, a good friend and a fabulous writer. He was deservedly nominated for the "William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review" (along with Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series. And I'm proud to share the Epilogue TOC with him. Check him out here.

And don't believe a word he says about Canberra. What happened at Conflux, stayed at Conflux.

It's A Vibe.

Sunday morning, and it's latte and breakfast on Lygon Street. It's been a very, very long time since I've been down here this early, perhaps 25 years or more. A very different vibe to the evenings. Most of the customers are seated inside, but I'm out under the umbrellas. Me and one other customer - a guy who wouldn't be out of place on the set of The Sopranos.

Lygon Street is, after all, Little Italy.

Continuum is rocking along nicely. The panels have been great, but as any regular attendee knows, most of the best stuff happens elsewhere. Usually in the bar.

Had a great time last night, getting to know some new people and catching up with familiar faces. It's an absolute thrill when someone approaches you and introduces themself because they read your story, or your blog, or saw you on a panel or heard your name. I know I've introduced myself to a few people over the past few days for those very reasons.

And there's a vibe. A really cool, exciting vibe. The one thing I keep getting, from panels and conversations is this.

These are exciting times for Australian speculative fiction. The golden age of the small press. And we have some exciting writers emerging, some great projects happening and fun times ahead.

And remember, whatever happens on Con, usually ends up on the internet within minutes.

Happy To Be Rejected.

Can you get excited about a rejection? I did. It was a personal rejection from one of the 'big-three' pro markets, direct from the editor-in-chief.

I've had rejections from this market before - the standard form rejections, but this time it had a few comments about the writing and the request to see more of my writing.  Of course this doesn't mean my work will sell there anytime soon, but it does mean that for the first time my story made it past the readers. And there was enough there for the Grand Poobah to comment on before rejecting it. I see that as a victory.

On top of that I sold another story. It's a story I love, a story that had a few 'almost but not quites' from markets I want to break into. A quick rejig and it was off again to another market. And I still have two stories on hold elsewhere - and yes, (fingers crossed) I have hopes for at least one of those to be picked up.

My contributor copy of Epilogue arrived this week, and it's beautiful. It's shiny and new and I love it. My preciousssss. I've just turned the final page, and I must say it's a fantastic read. Congrats to my co-contributors. You can't really go too far wrong with a TOC that has the following names alongside my own: Thoraiya Dyer, Lyn Battersby, Joanne Anderton, Dirk Flinthart, Stephanie Gunn, Kaia Landelius, Dave Luckett, David McDonald, Jason Nahrung, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Elizabeth Tan. As Molly used to say, do yourself a favour and all that.

I'm also thrilled to have received a 5 star review for my Epilogue story, Fireflies.

Fireflies - Steve Cameron - Five stars.

Beautiful and emotive. A lovely journey that was set up well, and followed through wonderfully. I would love to see more in this world.

Yay!

Snapshot 2012 is well underway, and I was interviewed for that a week or so ago. I'll post a link here when my interview appears. In the meantime checkout the previous post and get reading. Fascinating viewpoints from Australia's SpecFic community.

And I bought my own domain name. Did you notice stevecameron.com.au? And then there's Continuum 8 next weekend. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Does it get a whole lot better than this?

Craftonomicon.

Have you bought a membership and made your reservations yet?

June 8th is almost upon us and the community from around Australia will then gather for Continuum 8.  It was only a few years ago I discovered this whole writing/fandom event even existed. I signed up for my first convention without knowing anything about it. I was nervous about attending, I didn't know what to expect, didn't really know anyone there and felt as though I was intruding.

Of course that all quickly changed and I'm now a regular attendee and participant. I'm on three panels this time around and I must say I'm really looking forward to them. It'll be great to catch up with friends, meet new people and spend hours and hours talking complete crap with them.

The schedules have just been posted, and the panels look fantastic. I've also discovered I'll be doing a reading with David McDonald, Jo Anderton and Dirk Flinthart as 'FableCroft authors'. Exciting, and terrifying at the same time. I'm also very excited about the awards ceremony, as I'm on the ballots for my first Ditmar and Chronos awards. Simply being shortlisted is thrilling.

But whatever happens, the convention will be as valuable as ever.

I Gotta Wear Shades.

Like any other skilled activity, the writing experience is a series of improvements punctuated with plateaus where not much seems to happen - either in sales or personal writing growth. Or at least that's how it has been with me.

Recently I've felt that I've been stuck, wheels spinning and not advancing, not getting anywhere at all - although no doubt I was improving and honing my skill. I was just too close to see it myself. But I've recently started to feel that I was getting closer to another burst of improvement.

I've got two stories on hold, two stories just sold and another re-subbed after a rewrite request. And I have high hopes for a couple of others.

Yesterday, I came away from Jack Dann's workshop with some excellent criticism on my subbed story from my fellow participants and Jack, along with positive and encouraging words. And while I don't agree with everything that was said about my story, I will look at everything, consider carefully, and rewrite parts as appropriate.

Continuum is creeping up on us, and I'm looking forward to catching up with a bunch of people. I've signed up to be on a panel with my friend, David McDonald - and that should be a lot of fun. It's a shame Gitte Christensen won't be able to make it, but it was lovely catching up with her yesterday and I look forward to reading her current work-in-progress. Once it's completed, of course.

I must admit I'm also very excited about hearing my name listed among the nominations for both the Chronos and Ditmar awards. And, of course, attending the launch of Epilogue.

Timbuk 3, anyone?

Epilogue.

Epilogue, including my story 'Fireflies', is now available for pre-order. Congratulations to Tehani Wessely of FableCroft for herding the strays and bringing this beast home, and to Amanda Rainey for the wonderful cover. The launch will be at Continuum 8 in June. Pre-order for $19.95. (including postage within Australia) Bargain!

Just look at the names on the TOC. Personally, I can't wait to read it.

Table of Contents – Epilogue

“A memory trapped in light” by Joanne Anderton
“Time and tide” by Lyn Battersby

“Fireflies” by Steve Cameron

“Sleeping Beauty” by Thoraiya Dyer
“The Fletcher Test” by Dirk Flinthart
“Ghosts” by Stephanie Gunn
“Sleepers” by Kaia Landelius
“Solitary” by Dave Luckett
“Cold comfort” by David McDonald
“The Mornington Ride” by Jason Nahrung
“What books survive” by Tansy Rayner Roberts
“The last good town” by Elizabeth Tan

Reports.

Tuesday afternoon around 3pm I suddenly encountered Con-lag. It was like a sudden wave of weary hit me - a lot like jetlag, but I hadn't been near an airport. I made sure I had a good night's sleep, and by Wednesday morning I was ready to go.

But then I had a whole lot of marking to do as we reach the end of the term, and all those reports to write. Ask just about any teacher, and you'll find reports are the bane of their existence. These days, in a world of information overload, reports have too much information, too many numbers and letters, too much superfluous comment. Most parents want to know:

1. Is my kid working?
2. Have they submitted all assignments?
3. Is my kid behaving?
4. What is their grade?

Instead we have pages of commentaries and recommendations and little charts and numbers. The parents I've spoken to would like it clearer, and the ones who choose to come along to parent/teacher interviews get a nice simple breakdown of where their child is placed in terms of the course, and where they are heading.

But we play by the rules mandated by the Department, and it's all over for another term.

Now, back to my writing - when I find some free time.

Full Steam Ahead.

An excellent weekend down at Rye, and then the excellent news that my application for a study grant had been approved. This means the Department of Education will pay for me to undertake some study over then next twelve months. Yay.

Of course it also means I'll have to get back into studying and writing essays, but I think I can cope with that.

On top of that I had an idea for another short story as I was walking along the beach. This is one I'm quite excited about, and over the past three days it's been thrashing itself out in my head.  Can't wait to start getting it down on paper.

I've also been doing some prep for the panels at Continuum this coming weekend. Should be a lot of fun. And if that's not enough, I've also been marking essays for my students. Some of them were quite good.

All in all, a pretty good time.