SWANCON XXX

A Festival of the Imagination, A Carnival of the Senses

Easter  March 24-28 2005
www.swancon.com

Emerald Hotel, 24 Mount Street, Perth

Guest of Honour:  Charles de Lint
	
Fan Guest: 	Anna Hepworth

Fictional Guest: Simono, the  Most Beautiful Fan in the World

Special Guests

MaryAnn Harris		Grant Watson

Invited Guests

Shaun Tan		Terry Dowling

PROGRESS REPORT THREE:  February 2005

Have You Got Your Membership Yet?

Memberships are currently $110 until further notice.  A membership form is enclosed with this PR, with the T-Shirt registration form.  Memberships are also available from Tactics, JAFWA and from the committee. 
	At this point there are approximately 30 memberships available before the books are withdrawn, so please buy your membership now and avoid the rush! 

Swancon XXX Logo © Brian Choo.  Thanks, Brian			
Programme (Preliminary)

Thursday

Time	George Room	Conference	
1600-1700	The Sights and Sounds of Space	Erotica Writing Workshop 	
1700-1800	Do Sf Writers Have Crystal Balls? 		
1800-1900	Dinner	Dinner	
1900-2000	Opening Ceremony		
2000-2100	Concert (Charles de Lint, Mary Ann Harris)		
2100-2200			
2200-2300	Hen’s Night Party 		

Friday

Time	George 1	George 3	Conference	
1000-1100	Tai Chi 	TV Vampires 	Historical Costuming 	
1100-1200	Martial arts 	Three Faces of Astroboy 		
1200-1300	Lunch	Open Mike 	Lunch	
1300-1400	Balancing Writing with your Day Job (and knowing when to quit) 		Robotics 	
1400-1500	Fan GoH Interview 	The Prisoner: Who is Number 1? 	The Banality of Evil 	
1500-1600	Short Fiction: Why Do We Still Write It? 		Fannish Parenting 	
1600-1700	Fashions fantastic, fannish, and future	Books (etc.) That Should Never Be Filmed 	It Came From the Slushpile 	
1700-1800	Cult Movie, Bad Movie 
	Norma Hemmings Play 	Economies of (Dragon)Scale 	
1800-1900	Dinner (Pizza)	Dinner	Dinner	
1900-2000	Trailer Park: The Good, the Bad, and the Sequels.  		
2000-2100	Alternate History Game Show		
2100-2200	The Simono Show 		
2200-2300	The XXX Files 		

Saturday

Time	George 1	George 3	Conference	Bar	
1000-1100	‘Tis But a Scratch! 		What’s New (and Good) in Comics? 	Breakfast of Champions 	
1100-1200	Computer Games 	Unified Theory of Slash 	The Future of War 		
1200-1300	Book launch 	Lunch	Open Mike		
1300-1400	Fannish Courtship Rituals 		Science Fiction and the Sublime 
		
1400-1500	Psi-Fi 		Conversation with Occasional Music (Charles de Lint, MaryAnn Harris)		
1500-1600	Angriest Video Store Clerk Launch 				
1600-1700	Wedding Set-Up

	Fannish Taste Test 	
1700-1800	Wedding 		
1800-1900	Dinner		
1900-2000	Masquerade
			
2000-2100				
2100-2200		ConSensual III launch		
2200-2300				

Sunday

Time	George 1	George 3	Conference	Bar	Artshow	
1000-1100	Practicing what they preach: religious sf/fantasy 		Lafcadio Hearn 	WASFF AGM	Children’s Program	
1100-1200	Shaun Tan: Works in Progress	Godzilla as Urban Renewal Project 	Wonder Women: Great Female Role Models in SF/F 			
1200-1300	Magazine Launch 	Open Mike 	Lunch	Lunch		
1300-1400	The care, feeding, and proper use of monsters 	Harry Harrison 	Terry Nation Retrospective 		Lunch	
1400-1500	The Next Generation:  Writing for YA 		Extrasolar Planets 	The Secret History of Swancons 	Children’s Program and clean-up	
1500-1600	Iron Writer 		Inventing Alien & Fantasy Languages 			
1600-1700	Auction 	SF & the Internet 	Underused mythologies 		RPS Reading
	
1700-1800		Best Buys…in Swords, Steeds, and Princes 	The Meaning of Smell in the Buffyverse 
		Slashcon 
	
1800-1900	Dinner		Erotica Writing for Fun and Profit 			
1900-2000	Dinner	Dinner			
2000-2100	Charles de Lint reading			Dinner	
2100-2200	Swancon 31 launch 				
2200-2300	Award ceremony 			Erotic Dance Workshop 	

Monday

Time	George Room	Conference	
1000-1100	Fan Olympics 
	Surrealism and Fantasy 	
1100-1200		Man and Super-Monster 	
1200-1300	Open Mike	Lunch	
1300-1400	The Carnival is Over, or What to do between Swancons?	Writers Workshops: Do They Work? 	
1400-1500	Keeping the Artistic Imagination Fresh 	The Inevitable Annual Doctor Who Panel 	
1500-1600	Closing Ceremony		

	Rather than leave the program rooms completely empty during meal breaks, we’re planning ‘open mike’ sessions of author readings. Register in advance on the day, maximum fifteen minutes (approx 3000 words) per writer, with some other minor content restrictions decided by the MC. We need MCs as well as readers.
	For details of the Academic and Expert Streams, Art Show, Auction, Children’s Program, Gaming, Hucksters, and Short Story Competition, please see Progress Report Two, available at www.swancon.com

Video Stream

Our objective in this year’s video program has been to present the rare, the alternative and the under appreciated from the last 100 years of film and television, throwing in some radio plays and other spoken media.  
	The most significant feature of sf/fantasy TV and film has been the icons that have caught our imagination:  Flash and Dale, the Doctor and his friends, the vampires and their hunters, the abducted top-secret government agent, or the many models and scenes from shows and films, the Enterprise, the Seaview, and many more. The visual experience has earned itself a special place in science fiction; its images provoke a sense of wonder, broadening the horizons of your imagination with their intention to portray what does not, and often can not, exist.
 	Our hope is that our program will enhance your recollection of the shows that you grew up with, open up your imagination, and help you to but to pass on to those less fortunate, a sense of wonder in what has gone before.
 
Gaming Stream

We have a suite booked for the full convention, and a few of the planned events include a beginners D&D adventure, and a RISUS campaign. There are still several program vacancies, so if you are (or know someone who is) a GM willing to spend two to three hours running a game for beginners, please drop us an email with details. Alternatively, if you have a new gaming system you're wanting to trial on victims, er volunteers, we'd be happy to arrange you with a supply of bodies, probably still at room temperature.
	Other events we're hoping to run include a con-long game of Killer (or possibly a few shorter games), a LARP, and various non role-playing games – e,g. a scrabble tournament, or trivial pursuit challenge. (We also need a victim to be pursued, so feel free to volunteer, otherwise we'll have to use Ju).
	If you'd like to be involved in the running of any of these, or have suggestions of gaming events you'd like to see or run, please contact us with details (email amarillion@gmail.com )

Tin Ducks

Nominations are now open for the 2004 Western Australian Science Fiction Achievement Awards, better known as the Tin Ducks.  To be eligible, work must have first appeared in 2004, and have been created by a WA resident.
	Please nominate works in the eight categories listed below.  

Professional:
Best Writing, Fiction (novels, short stories, etc.)
Best Writing, Non-fiction (includes reviews and criticism)
Best Artwork
Best Production

Fan (Unpaid):
Best Writing, Fiction 
Best Writing, Non-fiction
Best Artwork
Best Production

Please e-mail nominations to Swancon30@westnet.com.au with the subject heading 'Tin Duck Nomination'. You may nominate as many works as you wish. Please do not invent new categories. (e.g. No Best Fannish Cat. We've heard it before, and it wasn't funny the first time.) Nominations will be counted if received by March 8th 2005.  
	Six Tin Ducks will be presented at the award ceremony. The Tin Duck sub-committee may present these six in the categories that receive the greatest number of valid nominations, or modify categories as they feel appropriate. Voting forms will be sent out later in March, and voting will end on Saturday March 26th.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
  
A dinner with Charles de Lint is planned for the night of Wednesday, March 23rd.  Tickets will be $50 per person, and can be pre-booked via Sarah Parker at callisto@gmail.com or on 0414 762 904. Space will be limited, with preference going to committee, volunteers, and fans with commitments that prevent them from attending the convention.

On the Friday night of the con we will be holding a pizza night at the park near the hotel (corner St George’s Tce and Mount St, opposite QV1).  Orders will be taken at the front desk on Friday; expected cost is $5/mouth.

Our Guests:  Latest News

A new interview with Terry Dowling is now up at http://www.justadventure.com/Interviews/TerryDowling/TD1.shtm
	
Shaun Tan has teamed up with Spare Parts and the Festival to create Aqua Sapiens: Mission Inconspicuous,  a 3D science-fiction puppetry spectacular. Catch this amazing free show at Forrest Place on February 24th, March 3rd, and March 4th at 11.30 am, and on March 6th at 6.30 pm; at the Perth Cultural Centre on February 22nd and March 2nd, at 11.30 am; on St George’s Terrace on February 23rd at noon, and in Subiaco on March 5th at 11.30 am.
	
T-Shirt T-Shirt T-Shirt T-Shirt  T-Shirt

There will be another run of Swancon XXX shirts with the wonderful Brian Choo design on March 1st, for $20 each ($25 for long sleeves).  Anyone wanting non-fannish colours or sizes (e.g. anything smaller than large, larger than XL, or any colour other than Model T Ford black), or long sleeves, should place an order by e-mailing Swancon30@westnet.com.au or using the form enclosed by 28/2. Black L and XL T-shirts will be on sale at the con. Please be prepared to pay for your T-Shirt on delivery, or feel free to send us a cheque!
  
Volunteers needed (you, you and you!)

We need volunteers to:
	Act as tour guides/chauffeurs for guests Charles de Lint and MaryAnn Harris before and during the convention, plus other drivers:
	Act as day managers and gophers:
	Supervise art show, children’s program, open mike sessions, and video room.
	To volunteer for these or other tasks, please e-mail our volunteer wrangler, AlistairMcKie@gmail.com .  To volunteer for panels, please e-mail Swancon30@westnet.com.au

The Committee

Elaine Kemp – Con Chair and Venue Liaison
Stephen [Steveg] Gunnell – Treasurer
Stephen Dedman – Programmer and Guest Liaison
Alistair McKie – Department of Youth and Volunteer Wrangler
Cathy Cupitt – Academic Stream Co-ordinator and Swancon 29 Liaison
Craig Greenbank – Video Stream
prk and Tori – Gaming Stream
Sarah Parker – Fundraising
Jay Watson – Movie Screenings
Ghoti Dalziel – Chief Minion

Contacting the Committee:  Swancon30@westnet.com.au

SWANCON XXX
Easter  March 24-28 2005
www.swancon.com
Registration Form

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Name (For Badge, if different)							
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Suburb/City										
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E-mail											
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Would like to volunteer for (gopher, day manager, panels, etc.):			

T-shirt orders: (colour, size, sleeve length)						
											
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Please mail form to:
Swancon 2005
C/- PO Box 212
Osborne Park 6917
Western Australia.
Or e-mail: Swancon30@westnet.com.au