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Three Days of Science Fiction Set for November in Philadelphia
The annual Philadelphia Conference (Philcon) presented by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) is set for November 17, 18 and 20. Held at the Adams Mark Hotel on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia, Philcon encompasses writing, art, science, costuming, childrens programs, readings, gaming, film and animé.
This year we say a fond farewell to the 20th century. There has been a feeling of nostalgia as we review the last 1000 years of SF history. To celebrate, we have Vernor Vinge, the visionary of the future, who gives us glimpses of what is to come . Bob Walters, the man who paints the "d" in Dinosaurs. Poul Anderson, a grand master of SF literature, whose stories range from the dawn of Pulp to the age of the Web.
Principal Speaker Vernor Vinge
Vernor is the author of the proto-Cyberpunk classic, True Names, one of the first stories about what we later called virtual reality, hackers, and cyberspace. He is one of those few SF writers who consistently shows himself to be genuinely ahead of the curve of technological change. One of his earliest published stories, "The Accomplice" (published in If April 1967) described a "new industry" of desktop animation. (A character was, incidentally, stealing computer time to animate The Lord of the Rings.) His The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime (both Hugo finalists, along with True Names,) showed an increasingly assured grasp of longer forms, and his Hugo and Nebula award winning novel A Fire Upon the Deep proved him a master of intellectually-complex, wide-screen space opera. A sequel, A Deepness in the Sky was a Nebula nominee this year Hugo winner.
Artist Guest of Honor Robert Walters
Bob is a Paleontological Life Restoration Artist. A Philadelphia local, he has gained a great deal of renown for his Dinoart (www.dinoart.com). His work has appeared in more than a dozen museums, including the American Museum of Natural History and The Smithsonian, and The Franklin Institute.
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- Days of SF, page 2
He has also been seen in more than twenty books and innumerable magazines throughout the world, as well as television productions for PBS and The Discovery Channel, and electronic media such as Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia. You have seen his work on book covers, and frequently in (or on the cover of) Asimov's SF. He illustrated an issue of Weird Tales, one drawing from which won a Chesley Award for best interior illustration that year. He also Illustrated True Names by Vernor Vinge.
Grand Master Poul Anderson
Poul is truly a grand master of science fiction having been publishing SF and fantasy since the late '40's, he is one of the greatest living SF writers. He has won the Hugo Award seven times and the Nebula three times. Among his genuinely classic works are Tau Zero, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The High Crusade, The Broken Sword, the Flandry of Terra series, the Time Patrol series, and such individual shorter works as "To Truce With Kings", "The Queen of Air and Darkness", and "The Longest Voyage" (all Hugo winners). Other recent works include The Boat of a Million Years, Harvest of Stars, The Stars Are Also Fire, and Starfarers.
Among the 100+ program guests are: Robin Atkin Downes, who portrays Byron on Babylon 5 and earned his MFA at Temple University. Michael Swanwick of Philadelphia, a winner of the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards and writer of the recent Moondogs and Puck Aleshires Abecedary. Esther Friesner, who has been publishing SF and fantasy since 1983 and has about 29 books and over 100 short stories published. David G. Hartwell is one of the most distinguished editors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His The Year's Best SF volume, presently in its 4th volume. He currently edits for Tor and is founder and guiding light behind The New York Review of Science Fiction
We are embracing the diversity of our fannish culture with the elegance of a bygone era at our Friday night Regency Ball and the Mystique of the Middle East is captured in the veils of our Saturday Hafla. Our masquerade wil have the theme of "Out with the Old Millennium and In With the New Millennium." It promises to be a festive sendoff of the old and an excited anticipation of the new. Lots of great programming will have activities to stimulate the mind and hands.
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The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society in a non-profit organization that meets monthly to promote science fiction and fantasy in literature, the arts and popular culture. Meetings are held the second Friday of the month at International House, 37th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. The general meeting is followed by a guest speaker in science fiction or fantasy, who may be writers, editors, artists, etc.
PSFS also sponsors an annual science fictions conference, PhilCon, held each November. Separate special interest groups include Book Discussion and Special Events.
Please contact Media Relations for interviews.
Live meetings and broadcasts available from Robert Walters and other local guests of the Philadelphia area.
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