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Continuum SF Convention #13

Posted in A writer's life, sf conventions, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 14, 2017| 2 Comments »

Over the weekend I attended Continuum SF convention (#13) in Melbourne. It was also the National Science Fiction Convention this year. I don’t have a lot of photos but I do have a few anecdotes.

I drove down from Canberra and it was a lovely drive and I stayed at Lucy and Julian’s place Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then Keri’s on Monday. As a poor student with no stipend I had to do this trip on the cheap! My main reason for going was to support the fan funds and add to the general lustre of the fan fund delegates. I’m not officially the GUFF delegate until I head to Helsinki in August.

I was able to get onto a number of panels and I must say the program was exceptionally good with some really fun topics. I participated in four panels, which is a record for me. And I wanted to go to the fan fund auction as I had brought some items down to help raise money. The big item was a Regency bonnet made by yours truly.

the bonnet

 

I headed in to the Jasper Hotel on Friday night with Lucy. I was a bit not with it after a 8-10 hour drive, most of that time deep in Stephen King’s Dark Tower Book Three-the Wastelands. (I did finish it on the way home! Awesome series) but I managed to catch up with a few people and go out for some lovely, reasonably priced noodles and caught up with a lot of friends.

The fan auction was on Saturday and I bought things but I didn’t mean to. But the good news was that the bonnet was sold for a nice sum and Alison Goodman won the bid by phone! Here is a snap of Alison in her new bonnet.

alisona and bonnet

On Saturday I had three panels, one was at 9am. I thought no one would turn up that early but it had a nice full room. That was the Art of Publishing panel and was mostly audience driven as far as topics covered.

Then I was on the Fan Funds Panel. Not a great turn out there. Pity because they serve an important purpose and the panelists provide information about the funds and what they do and where they go. Guest of Honour Seanan McGuire popped in and helped us brainstorm ideas for fan fund auctions. The fan funds rely on fund raising and as I’m a delegate I have a task of raising the money to reimburse the fund for my trip.

The next panel was Panels and Prejudice. It was a packed panel and so much fun. I learned stuff. Thanks Jodi. It was a bit of get a word in edgeways type thing but I heard good things from the audience later. I was dressed in my Regency gear and Alison wore her new bonnet. I believe Paul has a photo of me but alas I don’t have one.

I also made it to Bren McDibble’s Book launch for her YA Climate Fiction story How to Bee. Great launch speech by Cat Sparks, great bee themed cup cakes. I bought a copy from the grandkids but I believe I will enjoy reading it.

bren and cat

Bren and Cat and a close up of those cupcakes.

beecakes

I notice that the cakes are in focus! Eep!

One of the things I snaffled from the Fan Auction was Leslie from Ghostbusters. Here is a shot of Justin trying to sell her. Holtzmann is in the background.Julian and Leslie

Getting her home was a bit of an ordeal. Lucky Keri had her big car and she took Leslie (Patty) to her place and then I collected her and now she’s in the hallway, freaking (I mean greeting) people as they come in. K J Taylor snaffled Holtzmann!

Both the guest of honour speeches were amazing. Likhain delivered a very moving speech about her relationship with the Philippines and the effect of colonisation on her culture and her concept of her forebears. She received a standing ovation.

Seanan McGuire blew me away. I know of her, but didn’t know much about her but she was amazing. What a life! What energy! What delivery! I’m now primed to read/buy her books. She also writes as Mira Grant. I also managed to chat with her just in passing and talk about school of hard knocks. An inspiration, truly. I hope she gets back to her fur babies soon.

Sunday panel adventure was a topic on Women in Star Wars and that was also a fun topic. I think I revealed way too much about my age and also the degree of my fan fantasies!

Sunday night was the Ditmar awards ceremony. My lovely friend Kaaron Warren took out best novel for The Grief Hole, making it three major awards in Australia for that book. Go read it. She’s amazing and so is her work.

Here is a pic of the MCs, Alison Goodman and Michael Pryor! Don’t they look good.

Alison and Michael

Monday I took a sickie. Naughty me but I think it all caught up with me so instead I hung with Lucy and Julian, met up with Rose and did a bit of a walk around Brunswick. Then it was off to meet up with Keri and do a girls veg night thing with lasagne, bubbly and Jason Statham (Parker) and Helen Mirren with a big gun! (Red).

So if you have never been to an SF con you should try it. I’m an extrovert but sometimes I find all the people a bit overwhelming. But for me, conventions are catching up with friends and meeting new people. I do a lot of this in the bar either drinking bubbly or tea.

Continuum Convention #13 organisers! You rock. Great job and I had a fab time.

 

 

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About the Australian Romance Readers Association

Posted in ARRA, Interviews, Romance, Romance reader convention, tagged , , , , , , , on September 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

It is my great pleasure to interview, Debbie Phillips, the president of the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA) one of the most organised and efficient organisations I have ever dealt with. They run a biennial conference for readers (with writers) of romance, as well as the annual romance reader awards, surveys of romance readers, signing events, author high teas, local area romance reader lunches and the list goes on. They are awesome. So if you like reading romance you should consider signing up to be a member. It’s a modest fee. And if your fancy goes to meeting other romance readers then you should head to Melbourne in February 2017!!

I was curious about the origins of the organisation so I asked Debbie to answer a few questions.

So, Debbie, how did the Australian Romance Readers Association start and when?

ARRA was established in 2007 to organise the first Australian Romance Readers Convention. That was our sole purpose at the time. Since then we have incorporated the association and have added other events to our activities.

It all started with a discussion on an online loop, where Maggie Nash suggested Australia should have its own romance readers convention. Other members of the loop thought that was a great idea and we set up an expression of interest form and set it out through our various networks. Then came the amazing moment when we received an email from Sherrilyn Kenyon saying she’d heard about the idea and could she come. (Umm, yes!) After that there was no turning back.

How long did it take for your membership levels to reach a critical mass?

Not long at all. We started out with just 16 members—the committee organising ARRC09—and by the end of 2009 we had over 120 members. Our membership today sits at 341. (Donna: OMG! that’s so many. So Fab)

Why is the Australian Romance Readers Association important to readers of romance? What does being a member do?

Other than the obvious benefit of the events we host each year, ARRA also provides a place where readers can find other readers (and authors) who share their interests. We have an online members loop where we chat throughout the month about what we are reading; we have a monthly newsletter that is jam-packed with articles and news about romance fiction; we have an active blog with regular articles from authors and publishers, with giveaways as well. We also have active groups on social media.

Being a member of ARRA means you are supporting that community. We have taken the $20 membership fees from our members and turned them into an enormous enterprise that is getting attention from around the world.

In addition to the biennial conventions we host a signing each August in conjunction with the Romance Writers of Australia conference. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by so many authors in one place has meant we can keep costs low and offer a unique opportunity for local readers to come along and meet authors and get books signed.

We have also hosted special events with authors like Julia Quinn, Karen Rose and Maya Banks when they visited Australia. Being able to do that is something really special for both readers and authors.

What made ARRA decide to run biennial conferences? What is special about these conferences?

With the growth of online communities and social media Australian romance readers were able to see all the fun readers have at the RT conventions in the United States. For most readers a trip to RT was something they would probably never be able to afford. So we decided to establish our own convention here in Australia. We move it around the country to make it more accessible to readers.

They’re special because they’re total immersion in romance fiction for an entire weekend. You get to meet and chat with authors and readers for two whole days (longer if you come to some of the optional social events). And even better, it is a judgment-free zone! Everyone there gets your obsession with reading romance and you will not see a single eye roll.

Where have these conferences been? Can you give me some highlights of the guests you have had?

We have had the most amazing guests!

The first convention in 2009 was held in Melbourne. Keynote speakers were Stephanie Laurens, Sherrilyn Kenyon, MaryJanice Davidson, Dianna Love, Susan Grant and Liz Maverick. (All these speakers very generously paid their own expenses, so we could afford to have six keynotes!) There were also another 40 authors at the convention.

sherrilyn-lami-and-dianna_arrc09

Sherrilyn Kenyon (L) and Dianna Love (R) with reader Lami, ARRC09

mjd_sg_lm-and-friends_arrc09

Back row: MaryJanice Davidson, Liz Maverick and Susan Grant; Front row: readers Pamela, Carrie and Sarah, ARRC09

The next convention was ARRC2011, held in Bondi. Our keynotes were Anna Campbell, Nalini Singh and Cindy Gerard. There were another 40 authors in attendance as well.

In 2013 we hosted the convention in Brisbane, and keynotes were Anne Gracie, Kristan Higgins and Rachel Vincent. Our author numbers had jumped to 60 by then.

nalini-anne-willy-keri_arrc2011

Nalini Singh, Anne Gracie, reader Willy and Keri Arthur, ARRC2011

arrc2013-keynotes

Kristan Higgins, Rachel Vincent and Anne Gracie, ARRC2013

Last year we hosted ARRC2015 in Canberra. Our keynotes were Helene Young, Sylvia Day, Victoria Dahl and Kelley Armstrong. There were an additional 90 authors at the event, our biggest yet.

How do you decide who to invite as keynotes?

We ask our members who they would love to meet and then we compile a list and make our way down it. For every convention we are in contact with probably a dozen authors before we lock in our keynotes. All the authors we speak to are excited at the thought of coming to Australia to meet their readers, but unfortunately for some it just isn’t possible at that particular time. Authors are busy people! The list of authors who have regretfully declined our invitation is just as start-studded as the authors who have been at our conventions!

ARRA also gives out readers awards. When did these start? Are they well received?

The first awards were held at ARRC09. We hadn’t planned them at first, but when we saw the enthusiastic reaction to the convention we decided to establish the awards. Authors and readers alike love them. We hold them each year. In convention years the awards dinner is part of the convention. In the off-convention years we hold the awards dinner as a standalone event in Sydney.

2009-award-winners

Inaugural award winners: Anna Campbell, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Melanie Milburne and Stephanie Laurens, ARRC09

Can you tell me a bit about the conference coming up in Melbourne? I understand you have a guest coming via Skype!

Next year ARRC2017 will be back in Melbourne, and our keynotes will be Kylie Scott, Courtney Milan and Kristen Callihan. And of course there will be some 80 romance authors from around Australia.

Yes, we are thrilled to say Thea Harrison will be joining us for a Q&A. She had accepted our invitation to be a keynote speaker, but then realised that her health would preclude the very long trip to Australia. That’s when we decided to try a Skype session for the first time. If it goes well that will really open up the possibilities for the next convention.

If anyone is interested in more information on the convention, they can find it here. There’s a link to buy tickets as well.

What is included in the conference fee?

The conference fee includes entry to all the sessions over the weekend. Delegates can choose from a number of panel sessions throughout the weekend (see the program here). It includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on both Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a special screening of the documentary Love Between the Covers, speed dating sessions, the chance for a special morning tea with an author host, an epic signing event, and of course our keynote speakers. Another highlight will be out gold tickets, which 21 lucky readers will find in their goodies bag when they register; these tickets entitle them to a private lunch with one of the keynotes.

In addition to that, there are a number of optional social events over the weekend that are ticketed separately. Readers can meet authors ahead of the convention at a High Tea on the Friday, or join us for the wind-down lunch cruise on the Monday. On Friday night there are welcome cocktails, followed by a trivia night, complete with popcorn and ice cream. On Saturday night they can join us at the fabulous awards dinner.

Are readers able to meet authors at the convention as well as hang with other romance readers?

Yes! Throughout the weekend readers have the chance to meet and chat with all the authors. Whether mingling at the cocktail reception or enjoying the awards dinner, you could well be sharing the evening with your favourite authors. During the day you can sit in on the panel sessions, chat with authors and readers during tea breaks, chat one-on-one with authors at the speed dating sessions, and then catch up with them at the signing as well. The whole weekend is about authors and readers hanging out and chatting!

Do you have any tips for romance readers and writers on how to meet?

Don’t be shy! Everyone there loves romance fiction just as much as you do, and they can’t wait to talk to someone about their favourite authors and books. (In fact, some of the authors are just as shy as some readers, and they are all absolutely lovely! So don’t be intimidated.) All it takes is “What are you reading at the moment?” to get a conversation started.arrc2017-banner_700

 

You can find ARRA here: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Thank you Debbie! Your answers were great. I had no idea all that was going on in the background. I’ll be there in February, but now I’m thinking after conference cruise? Why not?

 

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Ai Weiwei and Warhol Exhibtion

Posted in Ai Weiwei, Andy Warhol, Australian Surrealists, National Gallery of Victoria, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

While I was in Melbourne for Trudi and Paul’s new year’s party, I thought it would be good to see the Weiwei and Warhol exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. I’d never been to the NGV and they always seem to have these fabulous exhibitions that I miss out on. So Matthew (Dweeb) and I stayed in a hotel in Doncaster for four nights so we could go to the party, visit a few friends and go to the exhibition. Trudi and Paul went along with us, or is that us with them. Okay, Paul drove so we went with them!

I do like to walk around exhibitions with friends and chat and look but we all parted ways at the opening, not on purpose it just happened. Trudi was called back because she had a small back pack and then I got distracted by artworks (fancy that) and Paul did too and the Dweeb was looking over stuff minutely. I’m used to the Dweeb reading every line of every picture, sulpture display so I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go that slowly and that I’d probably be stuffing cakes in my mouth and swilling tea for a hour or more before he left the exhibition. I don’t like crowds so sometimes I skip bits if it’s too fussy with people!

I didn’t take a lot of shots, just some hints as to the brilliance of this exhibition. I know Ai Weiwei’s name as an activist and that he’s an artist but not his art or why he’d be co-shown with Warhol. I think the curators have done wonders with this presentation. There is amazing cohesion between the artists. They both use multiple media, sometimes using the everyday to express their ideas and comment on society, they both use film and photography as well as the written word.

The exhibition also catered for children in fun and interesting ways and I thought it was innovative in that way rather like the artists. Well done. NGV. You made my first visit an event to remember.

Note: The images here are provided for the purpose of critique and review.

billboard

I can’t describe in detail the first section of the exhibition but that would spoil it. I did take a shot of an activity section between rooms

balloons

This next shot is the detail of the wall paper in the corridor.

wall detail

This shovel is one of Weiwei’s-an example of using the everyday.

shovel

The bicycle installation was an example of art being a political protest.bicycle

In another break between rooms there were more balloons.

more balloons

Weiwei works across mediums. This photo is a small section of porcelain flowers, a truly remarkable piece.

porcelin flowers

 

The stool sculpture is made from traditionally made stools with no nails or glue.

 

stools

Warhol and Weiwei had Mau in common and the curators here had juxtaposed them quite nicely. The first is a section of Mau wall paper but there were a number of portraits of him.

wall detail Mau

 

Then a Warhol portrait on the wall paper.

mau on mau

It’s interesting. I studied Warhol and Pop art in school but I really didn’t know what an amazing person he was and how much he did. Weiwei uses plastic bricks, sort of Lego, to make pictures too.

section of wall

There was a great range of Warhol art in this exhibition. It was more comprehensive than I expected. They have really put together an in-depth exhibition so you should go along. it’s open until April.

Now an obligatory Warhol picture -Jackie

jackie

 

There was a lot of photos from both artists, but my favourite had to be Weiwei’s famous geographic icons. I won’t spoil it for you.

Lastly, a comprehensive set of sculptures from Weiwei.

statues

So as I mentioned I got separated from Trudi, Paul and the Dweeb. I had high hopes of having tea with Trudi and Paul while we waited for the Dweeb and I was in luck, but just. Phone reception within the gallery itself sucks big time! Like none. I couldn’t get in touch with Matthew to tell him my pants were on fire if I wanted to.

Trudi and Paul took me to the upstairs tea room where we had excellent tea and coffee and cakes. I tried something I knew nothing about and it was scrumptious! We waited and debated what to do while we waited for the Dweeb as Matthew could not be seen and was unable to be contacted due to crap NGV internet coverage. This was the only downside to the whole venture. Trudi suggested looking up other things in the general exhibition. We didn’t want to take too long in case we missed Matthew and Trudi wanted to show me the textiles, which were fab and her favourite installation, which has become mine. I liked this guy.

alien

I can’t upload the film I took of the bowls in water installation on the third floor but I think I can do this. Click here.

Still no sign of Matthew, we headed to the surrealist exhibition which was in another building of the NGV. I managed to get a message to Matthew hoping he would see it instead of looking for us. Not long after we arrived at the other exhibition, Matthew had emerged from the Weiwei/Warhol and had to amuse himself until we got back.

I took a shot of this because I wanted to show Matthew after and it reminded me of a Warhammer 40 K painting.

second surrealis

he Australian Surrealist exhibition was not a comprehensive or amazing as the Weiwei/Warhol one, but it was eye opening. I didn’t know these artist existed before, except maybe one or two. I didn’t know Barry Humphries was an artist (Dame Edna).

This I took because it was glass and Matthew has an interest in that medium.

third surrealist

Then there was this sort of feminine contortionist sculpture, well that is what it looks like to me.

surrealist

So that’s it, my delving into culture. Highly recommend the NGV. The Dweeb wants to have a method to keeping tabs on each other for future exhibitions. I think he didn’t like being left behind. No phone contact made that hard too.

And here is the view of the Dweeb waiting for us to return. I knew he’d go to the shop and he did. He bought the amazing catalog!

 

Matthew

 

 

 

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