The Aussie Spec Fic Snapshot 2012 runs the first week of June and features interviews across the Australian spec fic scene.

Australian spec fic writer Sean Williams joined the ABC Adelaide’s 891 Book Club for a discussion about the growth and popularity of speculative fiction as part of Writers Week in Adelaide.

Notions Unlimited Bookshop is a new genre-specialist bookshop located in Chelsea, Victoria. It opened earlier this year and offers free meeting facilities for genre groups as well as supporting local genre authors and publishers with in-store events. You can find an ad for Notions Unlimited on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUcRSaqt8U0.

The Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild anthology, next is open until 15 October to Australian writers until 15 October, and you can view the full submission guidelines at their website: http://csfg.wordpress.com/.

MOVIES

View the first episode of new Australian web series Event Zero on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PatL5k6oQ74.

A new Australian film project is to be the world’s first Indigenous sci-fi film. Short film Kindred is based on a Dreamtime story by the Worora tribe of Western Australia who tell the story of the Wandjina, a tribe that “came down from the sky in boats and created the world”. The project is raising funds using crowd funding platform Indiegogo. The campaign has 60 days left. SF Bullsheet is a “witness from afar”. Who wants to be an abductee?

Australian actor Liam Hemsworth has been nominated for an MTV Movie Award in the “buzzworthy” Breakthrough Performance category for his role as Gabe in the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games. Which is impressive since he’s on screen for about five seconds. Apparently he’s “hungry” for the award. These headline writers…if I could think of a good pun right now, maybe I too could enter the glamorous, fast-paced world of internet headlines.

Ethan Hawke will be visiting Australia next year for the filming of time-travel action thriller Predestination, which is about a secret government agency designed to prevent killers and terrorists from ever committing their crimes; and which description makes it sound like a Minority Report clone; but which is based on the Robert A Heinlein short story All You Zombies. It will be directed by Australian brothers Michael and Peter Spierig.

Continuing on the film theme, Australian horror film Muirhouse has been selected to screen at Louisville’s Fright Night Horror Weekend Film Festival, June 29–July 1. It is currently screening at Marche Du Film at this monthʼs Cannes Film Festival and the director has announced it will be included in the Official Selection of the US horror festival.

Australian singer/actress Kylie Minogue is starring in new “surreal” SF film Holy Motors, set in Paris and telling the story of a man travelling between parallel lives.

Zak Hilditch’s short film Transmission, about a deadly pandemic and its impact on a father-daughter relationship, won Best Short Film at the St Kilda Film Festival last month. The short was made to support upcoming feature film These Final Hours, which is set to shoot in and around Perth in the second half of this year.

Ballarat actrress Jacinta John has won the best actress award at the LA Fear and Fantasy Film Festival for her role in iSolate, a psychological thriller coming to Australian screens this month.

BOOKS

Tokyo-based Australian writer Andrez Bergen, author of the well-reviewed Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, will have a new title out in the second half of this year. Entitled One Hundred Years of Vicissitude and published with Perfect Edge Books, Bergen’s second novel is a mix of surrealiam, mystery, steampunk and SF, and focusses on Japan, from 1929 on into the near future (plus a little bit of Melbourne in the ’70s & ’80s).

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Nominations for the 2012 Aurealis Awards are open. The 2012 Aurealis Awards are for works of speculative fiction written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and published for the first time between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012. Entries close 23 December but you’re encouraged to send in your entries as close to publication as possible to give the judges time to consider each entry.

Which must mean that the 2011 Aurealis Awards have been awarded… With a record number of entries across the 13 categories, the judges had a tough time picking their winners. Congratulations to all the finalists and the ultimate winners, and you can view the full list at the Aurealis website: http://aurealisawards.com.

The Australian Science Fiction Foundation has announced the 2012 Norma K Hemming Award shortlist, for (thought-provoking approaches to) race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in Australian speculative fiction. The winner will be announced at the 51st Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne (Continuum Eight) next weekend. There’s some great books on the shortlist.

CONVENTIONS

Supanova Pop Culture Expo will be in Sydney and Perth in June. See their website for their huge array of pop culture stars.

Continuum 8 (Melbourne’s SF and pop culture convention) will take place on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, 8–11 June 2012, and the full program is now available from http://continuum.org.au/program-available/#content.

The Unseen University Convivium 2012 takes place from 6–8 July 2012. Since it’s only a month away, it’s got a lot of deadlines coming up, including for buying exclusive merchandise and booking tickets for events, so get onto it if you’re onto it.

Con 9 will be held in Melbourne on 14–15 July 2012. Con 9 is a not-for-profit science fiction convention devoted to the “golden age” of classic Sci-Fi movies, TV shows and radio programmes up to 1965 (though the primary focus is mainly the 1950s). For the fans, by the fans. For membership and more information check out the website.

Got more Australian SF/F news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue and/or spread about on Twitter (follow @sfbullsheet).

An Introduction to Australian Horror by LISA L HANNETT was published in This is Horror. (thisishorror.co.uk/)

Latest SF2 Concatenation (worldside SF news) out now. (concatenation.org)

OUTLAND, gay SF fan club comedy series, will premiere this Wednesday, 8 February at 9:30pm on ABC1. You can view and share the trailer via Youtube. (Contributed by Daniela Velickovic, Princess Pictures)

The Adelaide Fringe Festival is presenting PRATCHETT PIECES THREE, three short quirky comedies adapted from pTerry’s short stories. They will be performed at Bakehouse Theatre by the Unseen Theatre Company, 255 Angas St from 22–24 February at 8pm (full season opening from 10 February, but only three performances during Fringe). Tickets cost between $15–18, and bookings can be made via Bakehouse (pre-Fringe shows) or Fringe. (adelaidefringe.com.au; courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

The PERTH WRITERS FESTIVAL is on 23–26 February. From workshops for aspiring genre writers to chances to talk about the books that have enthralled us and chat with favourite genre authors, the writers festival is a great weekend out for Perth SF/F/H/etc fans. Highlights include workshops It Just Feels Real by Lauren Beukes and Creating the Extraordinary from the Ordinary by Australian Lara Morgan, and discussion panels It’s All Speculation and Reimagining the Future. (perthfestival.com.au; Contributed by my own geeky excitement)

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) is offering a WORKSHOP on Writing Sci-Fi for TV and Film on 25–26 February, 10am–5pm at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne. It will be an informative and practical weekend with concept and character creation exercises, numerous film viewings, in-depth genre analysis and plenty of discussion. It will be run by Luke Devenish and costs $400. Enrollments are open now. The workshop will also run online starting April for 10 weeks. (aftrs.edu.au; Contributed by Atalanti Dionysus)

Here’s a fun one for the crafty geeks among us: Twelfth Planet Press is calling for submissions (patterns and photos) for a craft ebook project to be released at Craftonomicon. A STITCH IN TIME TRAVEL seeks innovative and fun science fiction, fantasy or horror inspired craft projects on the theme of time travel. Submissions close 30 April 2012, see the website for full submission details. (twelfthplanetpress.com)

NEW RELEASES

ISOBELLE CARMODY will have a new collection of stories out soon, Metro Winds, published by Allen and Unwin, aimed at readers aged 15+.

JOHN A KIRK has released his third novel, The Blue Blue Hills of Xuhl, published by Zeus Publications.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Big congratulations to WILL ELLIOTT, whose 2006 debut novel The Pilo Family Circus has won Best Foreign Novel at the 2011 Nocte Awards from the Spanish Association of Horror Writers (translated as El Circo de la Familia Pilo). This follows on the ABC Fiction Award, an Aurealis Award and a Ditmar upon its initial release. (Courtesy of Concatenation; concatenation.org)

Plenty of Australians on the David Gemmell LEGEND Award for Fantasy list, and voting is open till the end of March. Show your favourite Australian speculative fiction writers some love and vote now. For one of them, obviously. (Thanks to @editormum75)

Nominations for the 2012 CHRONOS AWARDS for excellence in Victorian science fiction in 2011 are now open. The awards will be presented at Continuum 8: Craftonomicon. (continuum.org.au)

CONVENTIONS

The Unseen University Convivium 2012 takes place from 6–8 July 2012. Discounted prices for early-bird membership are due to end at the end of February so get in now if you want them. (ausdwcon.org/)

Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention (WORLDCON) has opened hotel bookings to all members. The entire event will take place at the Hyatt Regency; bookings should be made through the Chicon 7 suites team (suites at chicon dot org). (chicon.org)

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

Powerhouse Museum in Sydney will be the only place in Australia to see HARRY POTTER: The Exhibition, opening on November 19. The exhibition offers fans a look at the artistry and craftsmanship that went into creating the iconic props and costumes that have appeared throughout the Harry Potter film series. (www.powerhousemuseum.com)

Issue 30 of Apex Magazine features an article on “The Australian Dark Weird” by TANSY RAYNER ROBERTS. (apex-magazine.com)

Australian writer ISOBELLE CARMODY talked about fantasy writing on Radio National’s Life Matters. (abc.net.au/rn/lifematters)

The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is organising a COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS MASTERCLASS, run by US illustrator Colleen Doran. It runs on the weekend of 19—20 November from 9am—5pm each day, at the Aerial UTS Function Centre, Broadway, Sydney, and costs $135 for ASA members, $165 for students, and $195 for non-members. (comicsmasterclass.com)

NEW RELEASES

Glide in Slowtime is a new book by Australian author BARRY ROSENBERG. Glide has the pen pusher blues until the day his black cloud of depression turns into a magic man who whisks him off to Auslan, a former paradise in need of a hero. But first Glide has to untangle the secret of Slowtime. A comedic fantasy reminiscent of early Pratchett, with a uniquely Australian flavour and a steampunk twist, Glide in Slowtime will take you on a romp where science is magic and magic is science. Available in print and ebook formats. Find out more at Winterbourne Publishing. (winterbournepublishing.com.au)

Trade and hardback editions of the Year’s Best Australian FANTASY AND HORROR ANTHOLOGY are available through Ticonderoga Publications. It features the best 33 genre stories from Australian authors published in 2010. The collection process for 2011 hus begun.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Congratulations to ALISA KRASNOSTEIN, winner of a Special Award—Non-professional for Twelfth Planet Press at the World Fantasy Awards. (worldfantasy.org/awards/)

Voting for the 2012 GUFF (Get Up and over Fan Fund or Going Under Fan Fund) is open and you can download the voting ballot.

CONVENTIONS

The Fantastic Asian Film Festival (FAFF) is a celebration of the diversity and invention of Asian genre films, kicking off with Yoshihiro Nishimura’s hilarious and mind bogglingly excessive zombie-splatter-comedy, Helldriver, and ending with one of the funniest, cutest, sweetest and yet downright filthiest films ever produced, Shinji Imaoka’s Underwater Love. It’s on in Melbourne next week from November 10—13 at Cinema Nova, Carlton. (faff.com.au)

SUPANOVA Pop Culture Expo is on next weekend in Melbourne (12 November, The Plenary MCEC). (www.supanova.com.au)

Continuum in June 2012 is the Australian National SF Convention for 2012, and is seeking volunteers — info@continuum.org.au. (continuum.org.au)

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

In a few short days, ALAN BALL, creative force behind HBO’s True Blood adaptation, will be appearing at the Sydney Opera House in conversation with Wil Anderson. It is on Thursday 8 September [corrected] from 7pm and tickets are available from $35. (www.sydneyoperahouse.com)

Wil Anderson also recently hosted a night with JOSS WHEDON (Buffy etc), which can be viewed online.

Submissions to FABLECROFT‘s speculative fiction short story anthology on the theme “Apocalypose Hope” close 30 September. The stories must in some way address the idea that after the apocalypse (whatever and wherever in your universe that might be), there is a future for the peoples who survive it. (fablecroft.com.au)

Conflux is almost upon us and the CONFLUX BANQUET will be held Saturday 1 October from 7pm. This year’s banquet is aboard the LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin in its first round-the-world trip in August 1929. Dr Gillian Polack is once again designing a wonderful historically accurate three-course menu and entertainment. Embark from the Hellenic Club, Matilda Street, Woden ACT 2606. Tickets are $50. See the booking form or contact banquet@conflux.org.au for details. (conflux.org.au; submitted by Dr Gillian Polack)

Terry Pratchett’s MONSTROUS REGIMENT will be performed by Brisbane Arts Theatre starting from 8 October and running to the beginning of November. (www.artstheatre.com.au; courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

The SF HISTORY IN AUSTRALIA blog is adding regular posts and photos using the archive materials found in the Murdoch University basement, mentioned in Bullsheet March 2011. (history.sf.org.au)

Now in pre-production, all-Australian production THE 25TH REICH by Revolution Pictures and Tait Brady’s Acme Film Company Productions is based on a novella by Sci Fi pulp writer J.J. Solomon and is slated for release on May 2012.

Aus Spec Fic Blog Carnival for August.

Ticonderoga Publications have put together a recommended reading list for YEAR’S BEST AUSTRALIAN FANTASY AND HORROR STORIES for 2010. (ticonderogapublications.com)

The Queensland Writer Centre is running a ‘Writing Science Fiction Short Story’ SHORT COURSE in October in its Online Learning Centre. The course will be facilitated by Lee Battersby and runs for six weeks. (www.qwc.asn.au; submitted by Imogen Smith).

Powerhouse Museum in Sydney will be the only place in Australia to see HARRY POTTER: The Exhibition, opening on 19 November 2011. The exhibition offers fans a look at the artistry and craftsmanship that went into creating the iconic props and costumes that have appeared throughout the Harry Potter film series. (www.powerhousemuseum.com)

NEW RELEASES

Check out THE TUNNEL, (relativly) new Australian horror movie — see it free, legally. (www.thetunnelmovie.net)

TimeSplash, time travel thriller by Australian author GRAHAM STORRS has been released in audio book format by Canadian publisher, Iambik Audiobooks. (iambik.com; submitted by Graham Storrs)

Australian author GARY J MCCLEARY has a new book out, Journey to a Far Away Place, published by Zeus Publications. It’s a speculative fiction novel about the afterlife, where “the only way to get out of hell is to invite your wife along”. Review copies and interview opportunies are available. (zeus-publications.com; submitted by Donna Munroe)

The second issue of Eye to the Telescope is out now and features Australian and New Zealand SPECULATIVE POETRY edited by Tim Jones. (www.eyetothetelescope.com)

WINDS OF CHANGE, a new anthology by CSFG Publishing, will be launched at Conflux on Friday 30 September. It includes stories by popular speculative fiction authors Nicole Murphy (Dream of Asarlai series) and Alan Baxter (Realmshift, MageSign), as well as showcasing a range of new Australian talent. (submitted by Rob Porteous)

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

The HUGO AWARDS winners have been announced. (www.thehugoawards.org)

The 2011 NED KELLY AWARDS winners, for Australian crime fiction, have been announced, and the award ceremony was held on 31 August. (nedkellyawards.com)

The 2011 AUREALIS AWARDS nomination period has opened. The awards are for speculative fiction works written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident published for the first time between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. Entries close on 31 December 2011 and the finalists will be announced in March 2012, with the winners announced in Sydney in May. For more information contact the Awards co-convenors, Chris Barnes and Susan Wardle, at convenors@aurealisawards.com. (www.aurealisawards.com)

CONVENTIONS

Conflux, obviously, first weekend in October (Canberra). Also coming up in October are SHEKILDA Again and ARMAGEDDON Expo Australia, both in Melbourne.

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

Radio National’s BOOK SHOW had a story on GRR Martin in May. (www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow)

Australian actors Huge Weaving and Cate Blanchett will be reprising their LOTR roles in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit. (the-hobbit-movie.com)

Eye to the Telescope, the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s new online journal, is calling for SUBMISSIONS from New Zealand and Australian speculative poets. The issue, their second, will include a maximum of 20 poems, be edited by Tim Jones, and be publishing in July/August 2011. Submissions close midnight (New Zealand time) on Wednesday 15 June 2011. (eyetothetelescope.com)

Unseen Theatre Company, Adelaide will be PERFORMING WYRD SISTERS from Saturday 11 June, with performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 25 June. There will be a preview and free ticket night for pensioners and unemployed on Friday 10 June. All shows start at 8pm at Bakehouse Theatre, 255 Angas Street, Adelaide. (www.unseen.com.au; courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

WORTHY CAUSE: Pledges to move Troll Bridge to production remain open till July 6 via Kickstarter. The production company, Snowgum, has already received its target and is using the extra pledges for more impressive filming. (Courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

Bella Union (Melbourne) presents DUNGEON CRAWL, the Comedy Festival improvised role-playing hit, July 6. (www.bellaunion.com.au)

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will present the world premiere of STAR VOYAGER: Exploring Space on Screen, a major exhibition charting the history and future of space exploration as experienced through the moving image, including the opportunity to see artefacts used in space plus film production materials. It opens on Thursday 22 September, 2011 and will run through to Sunday 29 January, 2012. Ticketing information and details of special film and public programs will be available online soon. (www.acmi.net.au; submitted by Claire Butler)

NEW RELEASES

Check out Australia’s first INDIGENOUS GRAPHIC NOVEL, Ubby’s Underdogs: The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon by Brenton E McKenna. (ubbysunderdogs.com/)

Andrez Bergen, a Tokyo-based Australian writer/journalist has just had his first novel published. Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is a SF/NOIR/POST-APOCALYPTIC tome that’s set in Melbourne, Australia as the last city in the world… but also heavily influenced by Japan and classic cinema. The novel is now available direct from Another Sky Press or via Amazon, and is currently being distributed to independent (physical) bookstores. Read a review at Forces of Geek magazine. (www.anothersky.org; submitted by Andrez Bergen)

Queensland author Scott Robinson has a FREE SF NOVEL available online through his website. Give it a read and donate if you’re happy. (Submitted by Scott Robinson)

Look out this month for a new ebook release from Winterbourne Publishing; sign up to its quarterly newsletter to receive your discount code. (www.winterbournepublishing.com.au)

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

A reminder: the HUGOS are open for voting to all adult and young adult members of Renovation who join prior to the voting deadline of 11.59 pm PDT on Sunday, July 31, 2011.

LOCUS AWARD finalists have been announced, congratulations to the finalists particularly the Australians.

Australian writers featured strongly in the 27th WRITERS OF THE FUTURE contest in May, with R. Johnson taking the Gold Award and Ben Mann and Patty Jansen also winning prizes.

CONVENTIONS

Melbourne International ANIMATION FESTIVAL(MIAF) runs from June 19-26. The full program is online now and features new animations and a diverse collection of themed, retrospective and special programs. (miaf.net)

CONTINUUM 7, the Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture convention, runs from June 10-13. The program is online. (continuum.org.au)

Upcoming events include ARMAGEDDON Expo Australia (June, Tasmania; October, Melbourne), and CONFLUX 7 (September/October, Canberra).

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

WORTHY CAUSE II: Award-winning Melbourne production company SNOWGUM FILMS is trying to move their adaptation of the Terry Pratchett short story Troll Bridge out of development hell, and is hoping fans will help finance it with a small donation via a Kickstarter project. The cut-off for pledges is July 6. (Courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

NANNY OGG’S COOKBOOK — The Play will be performed for one show only on Sunday 8th May at 2:30pm in Brisbane, Australia. The show was adapted by Ian Rennie. Specially prepared for the Australian Discworld Convention in Sydney, this one-act play will be performed only once in Brisbane. Meet the cast for drinks and the Joye of Snacks after the show. All tickets just $20 (includes the Joye of Snacks after the show). Book online or phone 3369 2344. (Courtesy of Discworld Monthly; www.artstheatre.com.au)

And continuing on the Pratchett theme, Leisha Bradshaw is trying to get together a BRISBANE BROKEN DRUMMERS group (see earlier Bullsheets for details of the Perth and Sydney Broken Drummers). The get together is Sunday, 29 May 2011 at 14:30 Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, Southbank South Bank QLD. Danny is organising a similar event for ADELAIDE; the first meeting will be on Thursday, 5 May at Higher Ground, 9 Light Square at 6pm for dinner, migrating across to the Colonel Light Hotel at 8pm. Sign up for the mailing list. (Courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

ZOMBIE EVENTS: It’s International Zombie Awareness Month from May 10 to 31 at DYMOCKS SOUTHLAND, Westfield Shopping Centre, Cheltenham, VIC. Buy any three zombie-themed books or graphic novels and receive a free copy of David Moody’s Dog Blood (while stocks last); buy a fourth to also be entered into the draw for a prize pack, thanks to NecroScope: the Official HorrorScope Zombie Review Site (Submitted by Chuck McKenzie).

ZOMBIE EVENTS — BOOK SIGNINGS: On Saturday 14 May, there will be a group signing at Dymocks Southland by authors from LegumeMan Books including Brett McBean, R. Frederick Hamilton, Andrew Gallacher, Matthew Revert and Steve Gerlach. On Saturday 28 May there will be signings by Australian Shadows Award-winning authors Kirstyn McDermott (Madigan Mine) and Bob Franklin (Under Stones) from 11am–12noon, and a signing by bestselling novelist James Phelan, author of YA zombie book, Alone #1: Chasers (also a chance to have a character named after you in his next series) from 12–1pm.

ZOMBIE EVENTS — ZOMBIE SHUFFLE: And Saturday 28 May, 1–2pm, turn up to Dymocks Southland in full zombie costume for your chance to win a The Walking Dead prize-pack — comprising a range of merchandise related to the cult graphic novel series and TV show, thanks to Madman Entertainment. Best costume wins, prizewinner announced 2pm.

Bella Union (Melbourne) presents DUNGEON CRAWL, the Comedy Festival improvised role-playing hit. On Wednesday May 4, they’ll be ditching the magical medieval fantasy tropes of magic swords, dragons and spells for lightsabres, rancors and mind tricks in a galaxy far, far away! Featuring guest Jedi rebel scum Scott Edgar (Tripod), Clem Bastow (3RRR, The Vine), Adam McKenzie (Watson) and Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet), plus assorted smugglers, stormtroopers, droids and muppets engaging in all kinds of scum and villainy. Plus, stick around after the main show for a screening of the hilarious Aussie Star Wars fan films, Suburban Knights and Suburban Knights Episode II: Death Crush!. The show also plays on June 1 and July 6. (www.bellaunion.com.au)

The SYDNEY WRITERS’ FESTIVAL will feature ghost stories, Cassandra Clare, and Kristin Cashore. (www.swf.org.au)

The Emerging Writers’ Festival (Wheeler Centre, Melbourne) is presenting GET INTO GENRE: SPEC FIC on Tuesday 31 May 2011. It’s an opportunity to hear from our speculative fiction writers and industry professionals. (www.emergingwritersfestival.org.au)

AWFULLY WONDERFUL: Science Fiction in Contemporary Art, part of Performance Space‘s Uneasy Futures theme, mentioned last month, finishes up on 14 May. (www.performancespace.com.au)

In somewhat circular news, the large summer season newscast of Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation mentions the Bullsheet, and we’re mentioning them here: a sort of British/European equivalent of us, coming out three times a year. (Submitted by Jonathan Cowie; www.concatenation.org)

NEW RELEASES

None. Really? Tell us about yours.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Lots of awards announced last month, including the 2010 Australian Shadows Award winners, the Ditmar winners, and the Tin Duck winners. Congratulations everyone.

The HUGO finalists have been released, congratulations to all the nominees.

Only two weeks left to vote in the 2011 CHRONOS Awards, for excellence in Victorian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.

The final nomination list for the SIR JULIUS VOGEL AWARDS (NZ) for 2011 is now available. (sffanz.sf.org.nz)

The AUREALIS Awards will be announced this month, on 21 May. If fans in Perth are interested in attending a ticketed cocktail-type event, you can find out more here.

CONVENTIONS

Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, has released PROGRESS REPORT #4 (PR4). It contains important information for members including the Hugo Award Final Ballot and the 2013 Worldcon Site Selection Ballot. Voting for the Hugo Awards is open to all adult and young adult members of Renovation who join prior to the voting deadline of 11.59 pm PDT on Sunday, July 31, 2011.

After a big month for conventions in April, upcoming events include CONTINUUM 7 (June, Melbourne), ARMAGEDDON Expo Australia (June, Tasmania; October, Melbourne), and CONFLUX 7 (September/October, Canberra).

The WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION location has been announced for 2013: Brighton, UK. (www.wfc2013.org)

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

Sir TERRY PRATCHETT will be at Storey Hall, RMIT, Mebourne on April 12 for “Imagination, not intelligence, made us human”, presented by the Wheeler Centre. This event is booked out (ah, the limitations of a once-a-month format) but Wheeler Centre events are normally recorded and posted onto their website within a week of the event. (www.wheelercentre.com)

And pTerry will also be at the Sydney Opera House on April 17. Book by April 8 for the chance to have your Discworld book personalised. (www.sydneyoperahouse.com)

For those who didn’t catch the WILLIAM SHATNER update in last month’s Bullsheet, he will also be doing conventions while in Sydney and Melbourne in addition to his speaking engagements. Details can be found here: http://www.thehubproductions.com/events/star-trek-2011/home (submitted by Clare McDonald)

AWFULLY WONDERFUL: Science Fiction in Contemporary Art, part of Performance Space‘s Uneasy Futures theme, runs from 15 April –14 May, launching Thursday 14 April at 6pm (CarriageWorks, Sydney). Exploring a spectrum of seductive, terrifying and fantastic potential futures, the exhibition presents new and existing work by eleven Australian artists including time machines, hand made robots, meteorological instruments, interplanetary communication, mars gravity simulation, wearable technologies and apocalyptic visions. (www.performancespace.com.au)

Shearer’s Bookshop are hosting WHEN GENRES ATTACK! on Friday 13 May at 7.30pm. P.M. Newton, Kirsten Tranter and James Bradley will be discussing genre: Where does genre fiction end and literary fiction begin? What constitutes a genre? Will a work of speculative fiction ever win the Booker Prize? Bookings essential. (www.shearersbookshop.com.au)

AHWA (Australian Horror Writers Association) is seeking members to take on officer roles. Vacancies include Treasurer, Exec Editor for Midnight Echo mag; general committee member; Chat Rooms manager; Market Hive manager. Contact Leigh Blackmore at ahwa@australianhorror.com for more information. (www.australianhorror.com)

GRAHAM STORRS, author of TimeSplash (Lyrical Press, Inc., Feb. 2010), is now represented by literary agent Ineke Prochazka of Sydney-based agency The Book Harvest. (Submitted by Graham Storrs)

Holroyd Theatre Co. in Sydney is looking for more cast members to participate in their PRODUCTION OF MASKERADE, to be staged in June. They meet for rehearsals every Tuesday at 7:30pm at St Stephens Presbyterian Church Merrylands, on the corner of Merrylands and Monitor road. You can contact Matt on 0414 69 59 39 or just turn up next Tuesday. (Courtesy of Discworld Monthly)

NEW RELEASES

None. Really? Tell us about yours.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Voting for the 2011 NAFF closes midnight “Sunday 4 April” (so that’s either tonight or tomorrow night; cast your vote today to be sure). Voting forms are available at http://2011.swancon.com.au/naff-voting-form/ and http://ozfanfunds.com/NAFF_VOTING_2011.pdf.

The finalists for the AUREALIS AWARDS were announced in late March, with the winners to be announced on the 21 May. Congratulations to all the finalists. (www.aurealisawards.com)

Melbourne author and illustrator, and Oscar winner, SHAUN TAN has been awarded Sweden’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a prestigious children’s literature award named after the Swedish creator of Pippi Longstocking. (Submitted by K.A. Moylan)

CONVENTIONS

SWANCON/NATCON, SUPANOVA, and NULLUS ANXIETAS are all on in April.

A calendar of events can be found here: Australian Spec Fic Events Calendar.

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

WORTHY CAUSE: Murdoch University is reaching out to Australia’s science fiction community in a bid to raise enough funds to preserve the state’s most comprehensive collection of speculative fiction material. The MURDOCH UNIVERSITY SCIENCE FICTION FOUNDATION spans more than 30 years and includes rare books, comics, fanzines, t-shirts and personal writings that relate to the science fiction community of Western Australia and Australia. It was established by Murdoch University’s Chris Creagh. Those interested in donating to the Murdoch University Science Fiction / Speculative Fiction Foundation can go to http://library.murdoch.edu.au/forms/donation_scifi_collection.pdf. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. (www.murdoch.edu.au; Picture by Elaine Klemp)

Australian artist SHAUN TAN won the Oscar for ‘Best Animated Short Film’ for the 15-minute digitally animated ‘The Lost Thing’, based on the book by the same name. The film can be viewed here.

WILLIAM SHATNER will be visiting Sydney and Melbourne in April. “This is not a Star Trek Convention, this is a very unique encounter with William Shatner, the Man”. Tickets here. ETA: Shatner will also be doing conventions while in Sydney and Melbourne, along with Scott Bakula, JG Hertzler and others. Details can be found here: http://www.thehubproductions.com/events/star-trek-2011/home. (extra information by Clare McDonald)

Urban fantasy author CASSANDRA CLARE will be appearing at the Westgarth Theatre, Northcote, on Wednesday 25 May. Prizes for the best costume, and book signings.

The SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DOCTOR WHO CLUB, Inc. gathers twice a month. It meets every third Saturday at Adelaide High School between 3 and 10pm, and every first Saturday at a pub from 5pm. The next meeting is on March 19 at Adelaide High School from 3pm.

DRAGONFALL PRESS is an independent SF publisher looking for Australian submissions.

NEW RELEASES

NIGHTSIDERS by Sue Isle, published by Twelfth Planet Press, will be out in March. In a future world of extreme climate change, Perth has been abandoned. A few thousand obstinate and independent souls cling to the city and to the southern towns. Living mostly by night to endure the fierce temperatures, they are creating a new culture in defiance of official expectations.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

The 2011 DITMAR AWARDS, to be presented at Swancon/Natcon, are open for nominations until 14 March. A list of eligible works can be found here.

The CHRONOS AWARDS recognise excellence in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by Victorians and are open for nominations until Sunday 27 March. Voting then opens on Sunday 3 April 2011. The Awards will be presented at Continuum7 (see under Conventions).

DUFF, the Down Under Fan Fund, has opened for nominations for an Australian fan to travel to Renovation, 17 August 2011 to 21 August 2011. Anyone may nominate who is active in fandom. Each candidate must be nominated by three Australasian fans and two North American fans. Nominations close Thursday 31 March 2011. For more information, contact Emma Hawkes (ehawkes@iinet.net.au).

The Australian Horror Writers Association have announced the finalists for the 2010 AUSTRALIAN SHADOWS AWARD. The full list can be found here.

CONVENTIONS

2011 will be the fiftieth Australian National Science Fiction Convention (NATCON). It will run from 21-25 April and is being held at the Hyatt Hotel, Perth (in conjunction with Swancon36). (http://natcon50.wordpress.com/)

CON 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, celebrating sci-fi movies, TV shows, radio programmes and comics from before 1965, will be held in July 2012, in Melbourne. (www.con9fromouterspace.com)

CONTINUUM, the annual Melbourne speculative fiction and pop culture convention celebrating creativity across genre and media, will take place on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, June 10-13. Guests of honour this year are Catherynne M Valente and Dave Freer along with a wide range of other speakers and panellists in a fabulous line up of panels, presentations and special events. (http://continuum.org.au/)

SUPANOVA Pop Culture Expo kicks off in Brisbane in April (and on to Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth). Guests so far include cast members from Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and author Robin Hobb. (http://www.supanova.com.au/)

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.

HORRORSCOPE lists its favourite Australian horror and dark fantasy works for 2010.

NEIL GAIMAN married Amanda Palmer in January…the tenuous Australian link being that they sort-of honeymooned in Tasmania.

After a summer closure, submissions to AUREALIS re-open again on Monday 7 February 2011. Also, with the resignation of editor Stuart Mayne, Aurealis were looking for a new editor or editorial team as of January 2011. If you have editing experience, you can email publisher@aurealis.com.au to find out if they’re still looking…

Author Gerry Huntman would like to bring to your attention IFWG PUBLISHING, which, while based in the US, has an Australian owner and has three Australian writers on its books, including Gerry himself. Gerry’s book Guardian of the Sky Realms is available now online and soon through Australian bookstores.

The AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS ASSOCIATION was started in August 2010 and created to support and promote Australian SF/F writers.

The DRUMMERS DOWNUNDER are groups of Terry Pratchett fans meeting monthly. The next meetings are both Monday 7 February 2011 from 7pm, at Maloneys on the corner of Pitt and Goulburn Streets (across the road from World Square), in Sydney, and at the Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco, for the inaugural Perth branch meeting.

NEW RELEASES

WORTHY CAUSE I: Fablecroft Publishing has released a limited edition ebook AFTER THE RAIN as a fundraiser for the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. It’s available until 15 February 2011, and all donations will go to the appeal. (http://fablecroft.com.au)

ABOVE/BELOW is the latest novella double from Twelfth Planet Press. Set in the same world, from two very different perspectives, Ben Peek and Stephanie Campisi tell the story of what happened when the city of Loft fell from the sky. (www.twelfthplanetpress.com)

HALF MOON by Dale Renton is out now from Winterbourne Publishing. A mage discovers corruption at the heart of his guild…a young hunter finds a man murdered by a sword…darkness rises again and their two peoples must come together or lose everything. It’s available now in ebook or print format from your favourite online retailer, or you can buy it directly from the publisher for a 30% discount over RRP. (http://www.winterbournepublishing.com.au)

DEMON GATES, Book 1 of the Nexus Wars Saga, by Robert Day is now available as an ebook via Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Smashwords. The races of Kil’Tar have lived free from the threat of the Demon hordes, banished behind sealed portals into the void. But now the seals are breaking! Can Valdieron, the last descendant of a long dead race of Dragon Riders, accept his legacy or will he falter and forsake the land of Kil’Tar to demonic destruction?

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

The 2011 HUGO AWARDS nominations are now open. Nominating ballots can be submitted by Renovation members and by all supporting and attending members of Aussiecon 4. Deadline for nominations is Saturday, March 26. (http://www.thehugoawards.org)

Australian author SARA CREASY‘s first book Song of Scarabaeus (Eos) has just been shortlisted for the Philip K Dick Award for distinguished science fiction! More info here: http://keithstevenson.com/CDLblog/2011/01/19/aussie-makes-philip-k-dick-shortlist/. (Submitted by Keith Stevenson)

The NORMA K HEMMING AWARD marks excellence in the representation of positive images of race, sexuality, gender, disability and social diversity in Australian speculative fiction and related arts and media. Entries close 28 February 2011 and the award will be presented at Swancon 36 in April. (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~asff/hemming.htm)

The New Zealand SIR JULIUS VOGEL AWARDS opened for nomination on 1 January and will close on 31 March, 2011. The Awards recognise achievement in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by New Zealanders and initial nominations are open to everyone, so if you’ve liked a book, TV show, or movie by one of our neighbours, make a nomination. (http://sffanz.sf.org.nz/sjv/sjvAwardsRules_2011.shtml)

CONVENTIONS

WORTHY CAUSE II: The 2011 Australian National Convention (Swancon Thirty Six | Natcon Fifty) will be held only a few weeks after the 20th anniversary of LYN McCONCHIE’s first professionally published short story, The Sar Shan Kelpie which appeared in the March 1991 issue of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine. Lyn is an invited guest at Swancon. With Lyn’s permission, Jean Weber is administering a special fund-raising drive to raise money to pay for her airfare and accommodation. More info here: http://www.wrevenge.com/new/?page_id=80. (Submitted by Jean Weber)

WORTHY CAUSE III: The Doctor Who Club of Australia is happy to announce that JANET FIELDING and MARK STRICKSON, who played companions Tegan and Turlough during the 1980s, will be guests at Whovention: Celebration Part One on the first weekend in March. There will be a charity auction with all proceeds going to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. (http://www.dwca.org.au)

Nullus Anxietas 3, the Australian Discworld Convention 2011, will be held in April, with pTerry attending. (http://ausdwcon.org/)

Hotel bookings for RENOVATION, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, have opened. (www.renovationsf.org/hotels.php)

Got more news? Add it in the comments and/or send an email to have it included in next month’s issue.