Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Two donations to Science Fction Foundation Collection

Bookdealer, literary agent and fan Les Flood (left) has generously donated his awards (British Fantasy Award "Special award", 1985) , and the 1986 World SF "Dedicated Service Award" 1986) to the Science Fiction Foundation Collection.

Les Flood, now retired, was one of the "movers and shakers" of British sf in the 1950, and was instrumental in setting up the International Fantasy Awards in the early 1950s, before the establishment of the Hugo Awards. Gregory Pickersgill's webpage on http://http://www.gostak.org.uk/ifa/ifaindex.htm gives information about the IFA, images (of which the image above left is one) and reproduces an early article by Les on the IFA.

We are very grateful to Les for his generosity and support.

In addition, British fan Andy Croft has donated part of a collection of books left him by his late brother to fill gaps in our stock. It is always irritating to have three-quarters of a series, and this generous donation allows us to tackle this. We are extremely grateful.



Thursday, January 11, 2007

Science Fiction Foundation Masterclass

Science Fiction Foundation announces SF Criticism Masterclass for 2007Class Leaders:Andrew M. ButlerJoan HaranBrian Stableford
The Science Fiction Foundation (SFF) will be holding the first of an annual Masterclass in sf criticism in 2007.
The SFF is launching this new venture in conjunction with the University of Liverpool, which hosts its book collection within the university library. The aim of the Masterclass is to provide those who have a serious interest in sf criticism with the opportunity to exchange ideas with leading figures in the field, and also to use the SFF Collection.
The first Masterclass will take place from June 19-22, 2007 at the University of Liverpool. Each full day of the Masterclass will consist of morning and evening classes, with afternoons free to use the SFF Collection. Class leaders for 2007 will be Andrew M. Butler, Joan Haran, and Brian Stableford. Delegate costs will be £180 per person, excluding accommodation; accommodation (at a local hotel) will be booked through the Masterclass with current rates being £59.50 (single)/ £79.50 (twin).
Applicants should write to Farah Mendlesohn at farah.sf@gmail.com. Applicants will be asked to provide a CV and writing sample; these will be assessed by an Applications Committee consisting of Farah Mendlesohn, Paul Kincaid, Andy Sawyer, and Roger Luckhurst.
Completed applications must be received by 28th February 2007.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Donations to the Science Fiction Foundation Collection

Before Christmas we received a number of important donations to the Science Fiction Foundation Collection: a collection of books, cds, and other material by NEIL GAIMAN, kindly donated by Neil himself. Thanks, Neil! In some cases, these are items which it would have been very difficult to get hold of, and we are extremely pleased to have these direct donations. Without such support, the Collection would be a lot poorer. They will be catalogued in due course.

In addition, the author DAVID DRAKE donated the 1st and 2nd State holograph mss of Ramsey Campbell's first novel THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER. These were given to Mr Drake by the author in 1975, and we are delighted that Mr Drake has decided to donate these to the Foudation for the Campbell Archive. details are as below:

Campbell, Ramsey. THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER. Holographic manuscripts written in ink. A) Black notebook; lined; 5 1/4 X 3 1/4 inches; 80 leaves. Each leaf is completely occupied with preliminary notes for the novel; as each section was expanded in the second state of the text it was canceled with a diagonal strike; there was some rearrangement of material from one state to the other. B) Three orange notebooks; lined; 9 X 6 3/4 inches; each 60 leaves. Text written on the rectos of each leaf; changes/additions occasionally appear on facing versos of preceding leaves. The final manuscript state of the novel, filling two notebooks and the first fifteen leaves of a third. The four notebooks are contained in the brown padded mailing envelope in which Campbell sent them to Drake.

What can I say but . . .

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!