The draft Swancon Thirty Six | Natcon Fifty program is now online. While we are making every effort to make sure all details are correct, we cannot guarantee that items won’t change. We also have plenty of space for last minute program ideas, so if the mood strikes and you want to organise something, we’ll help provide you with space to do it.

Contact us any time in the lead-up to the convention, or speak to a committee member once you arrive.

View the full program, or see each day individually: Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday

Image from here

The 50th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Academic Program
21-25 April 2011, Hyatt Hotel, Adelaide Tce, Perth

What, if anything, can sf teach us about the future? It has become commonplace to argue that we are living in science-fictional times. If sf is our present, what comes next?

For many, sf has ceased to be a genre; it is a mode of awareness. It helps us to understand our rapidly changing world. It anticipates the fluidity of the future and the nature of evolution. Sometimes it inspires us to take action and challenge our reality. As the world of tomorrow becomes the world of today, does sf occupy a role of prediction, or does its strength lie in its extrapolative ability? Or the critical, often dystopian lens it offers to our present?

Future Imperfect explores the complex relation of sf futures to our contemporary critical, political and scientific understandings. Are there lessons for our scientists, politicians, policy makers, and activists in these science-fictional visions? What do we, as readers, take away from our readings of these potential futures, perfect or imperfect?

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Sustainability
• Climate change science
• Gender, Race, and Class politic
• Evolution
• Science literacy
• Forecasting / futures scenarios

Sessions will be 30 minutes in length, with 20 minute papers and 10 minutes for questions.

The Academic Program is part of the 50th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, and the 36th annual Western Australian science fiction and fantasy convention. For more information, visit the conference website at: http://2011.swancon.com.au/

Abstracts of no more than 200 words should be submitted to the conveners by Friday, 31st December 2010 to : academic_2011@swancon.com.au

Please include the following in the body of your email (no attachments please) :

• title of paper
• name / affiliation
• email address
• 200 word abstract
• short biographical statement (50 words)
• A/V requirements

Andrew Cameron & Helen Merrick
Natcon Fifty | Swancon Thirty Six Academic Program Conveners
Email | Web

The Norma K. Hemming Award marks excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class and disability:

• in the form of science fiction and fantasy or related artwork or media.
• produced either in Australia or by Australian citizens.
• first published, released or presented in the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is given.

The Australian Science Fiction Foundation (ASFF) launched this major new award at Aussiecon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention held in Melbourne on 2–6 September 2010.

The Award will not necessarily be given annually, and a selection will only be made if there is a work that meets an appropriate standard of excellence.

Dr Toby Burrows (Scholars Centre, University of Western Australia) has published an edition of Norma Hemming’s collected writings called Dwellers in Silence – Stories and Plays by Norma Hemming. It is available for purchase online from Lulu.

Download the rules and entry form here.

Participating artists

Sandy Gaskett

Gas Bomb Girl | Facebook page

Jenna

Evil Genius in Residence

Kathleen Jennings

Tanaudel

Christopher Phillips

Catalogue

Future Imperfect Art Show

Natcon Fifty will host ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ, a semi-professional art show to be held over the Easter weekend in 2011 in Perth, Western Australia.

ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ will explore the way people have historically imagined our present, bringing the past and the future together in new and interesting ways.

Please direct any enquiries about the show to Kate, or keep an eye on this site for updates throughout the year.

Donald A. Ford from the Cincinnati Fantasy Group wrote a piece in which he describes, amongst other things, the beginnings of the Indian Lake Convention:

This regional con is for the more hardened fen though. It isn’t nice to have to quell a gibbering neo-fan when he sees his favorite pro denuded of glamor and living it up just like at home.

The shock of finding their idols with feet of clay is too much for them, and their little beanie-capped brains collapse as rapidly as fan and pro mags. A special squad has been organized to lead the poor dazed creatures back to their rooms where they can be alone with their grief. Seeing their favorite pro author stretched out on the floor, dead drunk, does something to them than all King Ron’s auditors can’t put together again. Only the first five fandoms can stand this sight without a tremor. Sixth fandom still has to be watched over, for signs of occasional relapses. However Seventh Fandom has been making an effort to help out their own. A number bring fire crackers and use them for shock therapy. Sometimes it works. Other times it merely brings the pros to, and they rise up calling loudly for another drink and a new deck of cards. Will Eighth Fandom be able to withstand this, along with the “A” and “H” bombs?

Australia will celebrate its 50th Natcon – more officially known as the Australian National Science Fiction Convention – at Easter 2011. First held in Sydney in 1952 as an event run by fans for fans, today it attracts hundreds of fans, writers, editors, booksellers, publishers, movie-makers and other science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts from around the country and even overseas.

The Natcon50 committee is pleased to announce the publication of a commemorative book to celebrate this milestone. But we need your help to compile Natcon’s history. We want photos, stories, programs – whatever you’ve got.

You can share your Natcon mementos with us in whatever way is most convenient. If you have a Flickr account, upload photos and scanned images (or find stuff you’ve already uploaded) then tag them with “Natcon50″ to add them to the pool. You can also email us at natcon50@gmail.com, contact us through our Facebook page, or mail to:

Natcon 50
PO Box 3027
Yokine, WA, 6060

Keep up to date with how the project is going by following our RSS feed or follow @Natcon50 on Twitter.

Let’s ready to party like it’s Easter 2011!