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Octocon
Octocon, is the name of events organised by and for fans of science fiction (and fantasy). Octocon, Santa Rosa, California, was first held in October 1977. Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention, first held in 1989, is held (almost) annually in October. It has mostly been staged in Dublin, but for four years was in the university town of Maynooth. It was not held in 2003, and in 2014, when Ireland hosted that year's Eurocon, Shamrokon, in Dublin. Octocon, Northern California First held, on 1977-10-27, at ''El Rancho Tropicana'' Hotel, Santa Rosa, California Octocon, Dublin, Ireland *1989/1990: The convention was initiated by members of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and named by artist Peter McCanney, who created the convention's first logo. *1990: Terry Pratchett was the first Guest of Honour of the convention. *1995: Advertised Guest of Honour Mary Gentle had to cancel her appearance at the last minute, leading to the appointment of Kim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James White (author)
James White (7 April 1928 – 23 August 1999) was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. After a few years working in the clothing industry, he worked at Short Brothers Ltd., an aircraft company based in Belfast, from 1965 until taking early retirement in 1984 as a result of diabetes. White married Margaret Sarah Martin, another science fiction fan, in 1955 and the couple had three children. He died of a stroke. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurocon
Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first Eurocon was held in Trieste, Italy, in 1972. Unlike Worldcons, Eurocon is usually a title attached to an existing convention. The European SF Awards are given in most of the conventions giving recognition to the best works and achievements in science fiction. List of Eurocons European SF Awards The ''European SF Awards'' are annual awards governed by the European Science Fiction Society. since 1972 mostly during Eurocons. The awards are given to works of fiction (science fiction or fantasy) or related to that field. Rules 1. Must be a work of Science Fiction or Fantasy, or related to Science Fiction or Fantasy; 2. The majority of the work is by a person or a group of people who were born in, or are a citizen of, a European Country; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census it had a population of 1,173,179, while the preliminary results of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census recorded that County Dublin as a whole had a population of 1,450,701, and that the population of the Greater Dublin Area was over 2 million, or roughly 40% of the Republic of Ireland's total population. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings. As the Kings of Dublin, Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storm Constantine
Storm Constantine (12 October 1956 – 14 January 2021) was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series,Encyclopedia of Science Fictio"Constantine, Storm" Retrieved 2010-01-21. which began as one trilogy but has spawned many subsequent works. Beginning in the 1980s, Constantine's short stories appeared in dozens of genre fiction magazines and anthologies. She was the author of over 30 published novels and non-fiction books (often examining issues of sex and gender"Fighting Erasure: Women SF Writers of the 1980s, Part III" by James Davis Nicoll, 10 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-01-20.), plus numerous other publications, including magical grimoires.Interview with Nerine Dorman [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Carey (British Writer)
Mike Carey (born 1959), also known by his pen name M. R. Carey, is a British writer of comic books, novels and films, whose credits include the long-running ''The Sandman'' spin-off series ''Lucifer'', a three-year stint on ''Hellblazer'', as well as his creator-owned titles '' Crossing Midnight'' and '' The Unwritten'' for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, a lengthy run on Marvel's ''X-Men'', the 2014 novel ''The Girl with All the Gifts'' and its 2016 film adaptation. Early life and career Carey was born in Liverpool, England, in 1959. He describes his young self as "one of those ominously quiet kids... holived so much inside my own head I only had vestigial limbs". As a child, he maintained an interest in comics, writing and drawing primitive stories to entertain his younger brother. He studied English at St Peter's College, Oxford and, upon graduation, became a teacher. He taught for 15 years before moving on to writing comics. Writing career After a series of one-off jobs for ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken MacLeod
Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Campbell Memorial awards for best novel on multiple occasions. A techno-utopianist, MacLeod's work makes frequent use of libertarian socialist themes; he is a three-time winner of the libertarian Prometheus Award. Prior to becoming a novelist, MacLeod studied biology and worked as a computer programmer. He sits on the advisory board of the Edinburgh Science Festival. Biography MacLeod was born in Stornoway, Scotland on 2 August 1954. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics. He was a Trotskyist activist in the 1970s and early 1980s and is married and has two children. He lived in South Queensferry near Edinburgh before moving to G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Preston Reynolds (born 13 March 1966) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle University, where he studied physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD in astrophysics from the University of St Andrews. In 1991, he moved to Noordwijk in the Netherlands where he met his wife Josette (who is from France). There, he worked for the European Space Research and Technology Centre (part of the European Space Agency) until 2004 when he left to pursue writing full-time. He returned to Wales in 2008 and lives near Cardiff. Works Reynolds wrote his first four published science fiction short stories while still a graduate student, in 1989–1991; they appeared in 1990–1992, his first sale being to '' Interzone''. In 1991 Reynolds graduated and moved from Scotland to the Netherlands to work at ESA. He then started spending much of his writing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' Computer Shopper'' and was responsible for its monthly Linux column. He stopped writing for the magazine to devote more time to novels. However, he continues to publish freelance articles on the Internet. Early life and education Stross was born in Leeds, England. He showed an early interest in writing and wrote his first science fiction story at age 12. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy in 1986 and qualified as a pharmacist in 1987. In 1989, he enrolled at Bradford University for a post-graduate degree in computer science. In 1990, he went to work as a technical author and programmer. In 2000, he began working as a writer full-time, as a technical writer at first, but then became successful as a fiction writer. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror. She also wrote a children's picture book (''Animal Castle''), and many poems. She wrote two episodes of the BBC science fiction series ''Blake's 7''. She was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award best novel award (also known as the August Derleth Award), for her book ''Death's Master'' (1980). Biography Early life Tanith Lee was born on 19 September 1947 in London, to professional dancers Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of Bernard Lee (the actor who played "M" in the James Bond series films between 1962 and 1979). According to Lee, although her childhood was happy, she was the "traditional kid that got ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China Miéville
China Tom Miéville ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and literary critic. He often describes his work as ''weird fiction'' and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called '' New Weird''. Miéville has won numerous awards for his fiction, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, British Fantasy Award, BSFA Award, Hugo Award, Locus Award and World Fantasy Awards. He holds the record for the most Arthur C Clarke Award wins (three). His novel ''Perdido Street Station'' was ranked by ''Locus'' as the 6th all-time best fantasy novel published in the 20th century. During 2012–13, he was writer-in-residence at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2015. Miéville is active in anti-capitalist politics in the United Kingdom and has previously been a member of the International Socialist Organization (US) and the short-lived International Socialist Network (UK). He was formerly a mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 1968) and the first to win a Nebula Award (Best Novella, ''Dragonrider'', 1969). Her 1978 novel ''The White Dragon (novel), The White Dragon'' became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 2005 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named McCaffrey its 22nd SFWA Grand Master, Grand Master, an annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. She was inducted by the EMP Museum#Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Science Fiction Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006. She also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for her work in 2007. Life and career Anne McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the second of three children ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Marshall Smith
Michael Paul Marshall Smith (born 3 May 1965) is an English novelist, screenwriter and short story writer who also writes as Michael Marshall, M. M. Smith and Michael Rutger. Biography Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, Smith moved with his family at an early age to first Illinois and then Florida. When he was seven, the family moved again, this time to South Africa, and then to Australia before eventually returning home to England in 1973. He was educated at Chigwell School, where he was in Swallows House and dated fellow pupil and future senior Sky News editor Sally Arthy, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied Philosophy, Social and Political Science, and became involved with the Cambridge Footlights. Under the pseudonym of Michael Rutger, he moved on to become a comedy writer and performer on the BBC Radio 4 series '' And Now in Colour'', which has been described as a 'cult hit' and ran for two series. Between 2002 and 2004, he also co-wrote material for two series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
