|
Aggiecon
AggieCon is the oldest and largest student-run multigenre convention in the United States. Held annually since 1969 by Cepheid Variable at Texas A&M University's Memorial Student Center, it has grown to become one of the larger conventions in Texas. AggieCon was the first science fiction convention ever sponsored by a college or a college affiliate student organization. The convention is known for its relaxed atmosphere, where guests and attendees can sit and chat on the couches outside the dealers' room and art show. The scope of AggieCon ranges from science fiction to fantasy to horror, and encompasses literature, graphic arts, and general media. Activities and events include panel discussions, costume contest, the ''Rocky Horror Picture Show'', dealer's room, art show, and much gaming, including LARPing. Some former Cepheid Variable members have gone on to become science fiction/fantasy writers, including Martha Wells, Jayme Blaschke, and Steven Gould. Cepheid Variable was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'', described Ellison as "the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water." His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Some of his best-known works include the 1967 '' Star Trek'' episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" (he subsequently wrote a book about the experience that includes his original screenplay), his ''A Boy and His Dog'' cycle, and his short stories " I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" and " 'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman". He was also editor and anthologist for '' Dangerous Visions'' (1967) and '' Again, Dangerous Visions'' (1972). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Gould
Steven Charles Gould (born February 7, 1955) is an American science fiction writer and teacher. He has written ten novels. He is best known for his 1992 novel ''Jumper'', which was adapted into a film released in 2008. Biography Steven Charles Gould was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona on February 7, 1955, to James Alan and Carita Louise Gould. His father was an Army officer; when Gould was in junior high his father was stationed at Fort Shafter in Hawaii for three years. The whole family learned to scuba dive there and Gould went diving frequently. Gould attended Texas A&M University and has set much of his writing in Texas. Aggiecon, which is held in College Station on the Texas A&M campus, was the first science fiction convention Gould attended, and he was chair of Aggiecon V in 1975. Gould submitted the first short story he wrote to ''Analog''; it was rejected with a personal note from then-editor Ben Bova, who encouraged Gould to let him see his future work. The second story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multigenre Convention
Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also incorporate commercial activity. Overview Fan conventions are traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis, though some events catering ''to'' fans are run by commercial interests for profit. Many conventions have award presentations relating to their genre (such as the Hugo Awards which have been presented at The World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) since 1953). At commercial events, performers often give out autographs to the fans, sometimes in exchange for a flat appearance fee, and sometimes may perform songs that have no relevance to the shows or otherwise entertain the fans. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. There is often tight security for the celebrities to pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Pohl
Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellite: Luna", to the 2011 novel ''All the Lives He Led''. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited '' Galaxy'' and its sister magazine '' If''; the latter won three successive annual Hugo Awards as the year's best professional magazine. His 1977 novel '' Gateway'' won four "year's best novel" awards: the Hugo voted by convention participants, the Locus voted by magazine subscribers, the Nebula voted by American science-fiction writers, and the juried academic John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He won the Campbell Memorial Award again for the 1984 collection of novellas ''The Years of the City'', one of two repeat winners during the first 40 years. For his 1979 novel ''Jem'', Pohl won a U.S. National Book Award in the one-year category Science ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Di Fate
Vincent Di Fate (born November 21, 1945) is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and realistic space art (hardware art) illustration. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011. Di Fate was born in Yonkers, New York. He studied at the Phoenix School of Design in New York City and received his MA in Illustration at Syracuse University. He broke into speculative fiction pulp magazines with illustrations for three different stories in the August 1969 issue of '' Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'', edited by John W. Campbell, and did his first cover illustration for the November issue. Di Fate calls his 1997 book ''Infinite Worlds'' "the first comprehensive history of science fiction art in America". Awards Di Fate won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist at the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention (for 1978 work) and was nominated ten times from 1972 to 1985. For his lifetime contributions he won the Edward E. Smith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo Award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ''...And Call Me Conrad'' (1965), subsequently published under the title ''This Immortal'' (1966) and then the novel ''Lord of Light'' (1967). Biography Zelazny was born in Euclid, Ohio, the only child of Polish immigrant Joseph Frank Żelazny and Irish-American Josephine Flora Sweet. In high school, he became the editor of the school newspaper and joined the Creative Writing Club. In the fall of 1955, he began attending Case Western Reserve University, Western Reserve University and graduated with a B.A. in English in 1959. He was accepted to Columbia University in New York and specialized in Elizabethan and Jacobean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alicia Austin
Alicia Austin (born 1942) is an American fantasy and science fiction artist and illustrator. She works in print-making, Prismacolor, pastels and watercolors. Early life and education Austin was born in Providence, Kentucky. As her father was career military, she grew up in Germany and Japan, as well as the United States. She studied art and biology on an art scholarship at the Sacred Heart Dominican College in Houston, Texas, which closed in 1975. Her early influences include Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, and N.C. Wyeth. Career In the beginning of her career, she illustrated for fanzines, such as ''Energumen, Granfalloon, Aspidistra,'' and ''Science Fiction Review.'' She sold every piece of work entered in the 1969 Sci-Fi Worldcon in St. Louis, and then began accepting professional assignments. Her first two assignments were the first two ''Universe'' anthologies, which were edited by Terry Carr. She then became a regular artist for Zertex Magazine. Austin has illustrated boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have won science fiction awards, including the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. He was awarded the SFWA Grand Master for career achievements. In 2012 he was inducted as a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Many of Haldeman's works, including his debut novel ''War Year'' and his second novel ''The Forever War'', were inspired by his experiences in the Vietnam War. Wounded in combat, he struggled to adjust to civilian life after returning home. From 1983 to 2014, he was a professor teaching writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Life Gay Haldeman at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki in 2017, alt= Haldeman was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Early life, education, and personal life Born in Hornell, New York, Freas (pronounced like "freeze") was the son of two photographers, and was raised in Canada. He was educated at Lafayette High School in Buffalo, where he received training from long-time art teacher Elizabeth Weiffenbach. He entered the United States Army Air Forces right out of high school (Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada). He flew as camera man for reconnaissance in the South Pacific and painted bomber noses during World War II. He then worked for Curtiss-Wright for a brief period, then went to study at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and began to work in advertising. His first marriage was in 1948 to Nina Vaccaro, though they later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Kurtz
Katherine Irene Kurtz (born October 18. 1944) is an American fantasy writer, author of sixteen historical fantasy novels in the ''Deryni'' series, as well as occult and urban fantasy. Resident in Ireland for over twenty years, she moved to Virginia in 2007. Early life and education Kurtz was born on October 18, 1944 in Coral Gables, Florida, where she also grew up. She secured a scholarship to study chemistry and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Miami, later attending medical school for a year and taking an M.A. in Medieval History at UCLA. While pursuing her Masters, she worked for the Los Angeles Police Academy and began writing her first novels. She also worked in oceanography and television. Career Kurtz is best known for the Deryni novels and short stories. Her 1970 debut novel, ''Deryni Rising'', was one of the first fantasy novels written in a mode closer to historical fiction than to mythology or legend, as was common in the then-popular high fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards. Biography Poul Anderson was born on November 25, 1926, in Bristol, Pennsylvania to Scandinavian parents. Soon after his birth, his father, Anton Anderson relocated the family to Texas, where they lived for more than ten years. After Anton Anderson's death, his widow took the children to Denmark. The family returned to the United States after the beginning of World War II, settling eventually on a Minnesota farm. While he was an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, Anderson's first stories were published by editor John W. Campbell in the magazine ''Astounding Science Fiction'': "Tomorrow's Children" by Anderson and F. N. Waldrop in March 1947 and a sequel, "Chain of Logic" by Anderson alone, in July ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boris Vallejo
Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction and fantasy fiction novels. They are also sold through a series of annual calendars. Artwork Born in Lima, Peru, Vallejo began painting at the age of 13, in 1954, and obtained his first illustration job three years later in 1957 at the age of 16. He attended the Escuela Nacional Superior Autónoma de Bellas Artes on a five-year scholarship, and was awarded a prize medal. After emigrating to the United States in 1964, at the age of 23, he quickly garnered a fan following from his illustrations of Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, Doc Savage and various other fantasy characters (often done for paperback-fiction works featuring the characters). This led to commissions for movie-poster illustration, advertisement illustration, and artwork for various collectibles - in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
