![\"Photo:](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Rebecca_1-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Wei Li<\/p><\/div>\n
Rebecca took a short vacation from Big Worlds On Small Screens this year (although I suspect it was more of\u00a0 a study break) but otherwise she has been posting every fortnight for 2.5 years — no small achievement, I’m sure you’ll all agree. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that she won this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Fan Writing.<\/p>\n
I can think of no better evidence for how well-deserved the award was than when you read her speech from the small celebration put on by SpecFicNZ and held at Fendalton library:<\/p>\n
Rebecca Fisher: Best Fan Writer
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\nAJ Fitzwater, Our\u00a0 “Best New Talent”<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Amanda_1-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>photo Wei Li<\/p><\/div>\n
While on the topic of the (now previous!) year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards, the award for Best New Talent also went to a Christchurch local, AJ (Amanda) Fitzwater, who very kindly contributed her speech from the SpecFicNZ celebration.<\/p>\n
Do check out:<\/p>\n
A. J. (Amanda) Fitzwater: Best New Talent (2014)<\/a><\/h3>\n.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\nAndrew Robins & 58 Eridani<\/a><\/h3>\n![\"058a\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/058a.jpg\")
<\/a>I am always open to featuring something new, so when Andrew (who has done several book reviews<\/a> here) suggested serializing the log (think Stardate: Captain’s Log, yanno) from his free-form roleplaying game, 58 Eridani<\/strong>, I said “why the heck not?”<\/p>\n58 Eridani was introduced on 12 December, with the first instalment on the 13th, and we managed to squeeze a further two episodes into 2015 — and I have to say I think it’s reading really well. So if you haven’t checked it out yet, click on:<\/p>\n
Introducing “58 Eridani” — A Game Log<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nJanis Freegard & A Character Interview<\/h3>\n
![\"Janis](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Janis-Freegard-300x294.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Janis Freegard is a former Tuesday Poet, but also a prose writer, and I very much enjoyed her short story, The Magician<\/em><\/a>, which featured in the Tales For Canterbury<\/strong> (Random Static, 2011) anthology.<\/p>\nSo when her debut novel, The Year Of Falling<\/em><\/strong>, was published in mid-2015, I was delighted to feature her interview with three of its characters: Selina, Smith, and Quilla.<\/p>\nAs I said at the time, I thought it was a really fun way to approach the book, so if you haven’t read it already, read it now:<\/p>\n
Janis Freegard & “The Year Of Falling”
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\nJune Young: A Report On Sasquan, The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention<\/h3>\n
![\"June](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/June_Sasquan2-208x300.jpg\")
<\/a>June Young and her partner, Simon Litten, headed to this year’s Worldcon in Spokane, Washington State. As soon as I knew they were going I put in a special request for a report back on June\u2019s personal experience of the Con(vention).<\/p>\nThe result is a first hand account of writers and editors, kaffeeklatsches and “literary beers”, signings and strolls — and a considerable amount of smoke (from wildfires.)<\/p>\n
I think June’s article provides a great window into a fan’s experience of a Con. Well worth your time to read or re-read:<\/p>\n
June Young and A Summer Convention in Spokane<\/a>
\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nFour “Avid Readers” & Their Top Reads From 2015<\/h3>\n
December—like early January \ud83d\ude09 — is the time of year for lists. But since I hadn\u2019t done so much reading myself in ’15 I thought I\u2019d ask some avid readers of my acquaintance to share their top reads of 2015\u00a0 \u2014 and\u00a0 a little about \u201cwhy\u201d the books featured were their “top” picks.<\/p>\n
In order of publication, the avid readers were:<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lowe<\/span><\/h3>\nJennifer has an MA in History and works in the justice sector. She doesn\u2019t get to read fiction nearly as much as she would like, but primarily reads historical and mystery-thriller fiction. Books that combine elements of both and are well-written and researched, tend to be favourites.<\/span><\/p>\nTo discover her “Top 5” click on:<\/span><\/p>\nJennifer Lowe’s Top 5 Reads<\/span>
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\nPaul Weimer<\/span><\/h3>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Paul-Weimer-300x179.jpg\")
<\/a>Paul is a writer, gamer, blogger, podcaster and ubiquitous genre enthusiast. At venues ranging from Skiffy and Fanty, to SF Signal, SFF Audio and beyond, he can be found exploring the world of science fiction and fantasy. He can be found on his own website http:\/\/www.skyseastone.net\/jvstin<\/a>, on twitter @princejvstin, and many other places on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\nCheck out his 2015 picks on:<\/span><\/p>\nPaul Weimer’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nKaren McMillan<\/span><\/h3>\n![\"KarenMcM\"](\"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/KarenMcM.jpg\")
<\/a>Karen is the author of Unbreakable Spirit<\/em> and The Paris of the East \u2014 <\/em>but despite this typically modest bio there is a great deal more to Karen\u2019s writing and industry career, which you can read about in more detail here<\/a>. She is also on Twitter: @KarenMcMillanNZ<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nKaren is also an avid reader and reviewer so her 2015 highlights are definitely worth a look:<\/span><\/p>\nKaren McMillan’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nJanine Sowerby<\/span><\/h3>\nJanine is a town planner who dabbles in writing and may one day be a writer who dabbles in town planning. She has had poetry and short stories (fiction and non-fiction) published, including in Kokako<\/em>, Takahe, The Press <\/em>and NZ Poetry Society and other anthologies, such as Crest to Crest <\/em>and A Foreign Country<\/em>. She has also co-written short screenplays as part of NZ\u2019s annual 48 hour film-making competition.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/a>photo Wei Li<\/p><\/div>\n
While on the topic of the (now previous!) year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards, the award for Best New Talent also went to a Christchurch local, AJ (Amanda) Fitzwater, who very kindly contributed her speech from the SpecFicNZ celebration.<\/p>\n
Do check out:<\/p>\n
A. J. (Amanda) Fitzwater: Best New Talent (2014)<\/a><\/h3>\n.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/h3>\nAndrew Robins & 58 Eridani<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/a>I am always open to featuring something new, so when Andrew (who has done several book reviews<\/a> here) suggested serializing the log (think Stardate: Captain’s Log, yanno) from his free-form roleplaying game, 58 Eridani<\/strong>, I said “why the heck not?”<\/p>\n58 Eridani was introduced on 12 December, with the first instalment on the 13th, and we managed to squeeze a further two episodes into 2015 — and I have to say I think it’s reading really well. So if you haven’t checked it out yet, click on:<\/p>\n
Introducing “58 Eridani” — A Game Log<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nJanis Freegard & A Character Interview<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0Janis Freegard is a former Tuesday Poet, but also a prose writer, and I very much enjoyed her short story, The Magician<\/em><\/a>, which featured in the Tales For Canterbury<\/strong> (Random Static, 2011) anthology.<\/p>\nSo when her debut novel, The Year Of Falling<\/em><\/strong>, was published in mid-2015, I was delighted to feature her interview with three of its characters: Selina, Smith, and Quilla.<\/p>\nAs I said at the time, I thought it was a really fun way to approach the book, so if you haven’t read it already, read it now:<\/p>\n
Janis Freegard & “The Year Of Falling”
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\nJune Young: A Report On Sasquan, The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention<\/h3>\n
<\/a>June Young and her partner, Simon Litten, headed to this year’s Worldcon in Spokane, Washington State. As soon as I knew they were going I put in a special request for a report back on June\u2019s personal experience of the Con(vention).<\/p>\nThe result is a first hand account of writers and editors, kaffeeklatsches and “literary beers”, signings and strolls — and a considerable amount of smoke (from wildfires.)<\/p>\n
I think June’s article provides a great window into a fan’s experience of a Con. Well worth your time to read or re-read:<\/p>\n
June Young and A Summer Convention in Spokane<\/a>
\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nFour “Avid Readers” & Their Top Reads From 2015<\/h3>\n
December—like early January \ud83d\ude09 — is the time of year for lists. But since I hadn\u2019t done so much reading myself in ’15 I thought I\u2019d ask some avid readers of my acquaintance to share their top reads of 2015\u00a0 \u2014 and\u00a0 a little about \u201cwhy\u201d the books featured were their “top” picks.<\/p>\n
In order of publication, the avid readers were:<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lowe<\/span><\/h3>\nJennifer has an MA in History and works in the justice sector. She doesn\u2019t get to read fiction nearly as much as she would like, but primarily reads historical and mystery-thriller fiction. Books that combine elements of both and are well-written and researched, tend to be favourites.<\/span><\/p>\nTo discover her “Top 5” click on:<\/span><\/p>\nJennifer Lowe’s Top 5 Reads<\/span>
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\nPaul Weimer<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/a>Paul is a writer, gamer, blogger, podcaster and ubiquitous genre enthusiast. At venues ranging from Skiffy and Fanty, to SF Signal, SFF Audio and beyond, he can be found exploring the world of science fiction and fantasy. He can be found on his own website http:\/\/www.skyseastone.net\/jvstin<\/a>, on twitter @princejvstin, and many other places on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\nCheck out his 2015 picks on:<\/span><\/p>\nPaul Weimer’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nKaren McMillan<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/a>Karen is the author of Unbreakable Spirit<\/em> and The Paris of the East \u2014 <\/em>but despite this typically modest bio there is a great deal more to Karen\u2019s writing and industry career, which you can read about in more detail here<\/a>. She is also on Twitter: @KarenMcMillanNZ<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nKaren is also an avid reader and reviewer so her 2015 highlights are definitely worth a look:<\/span><\/p>\nKaren McMillan’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nJanine Sowerby<\/span><\/h3>\nJanine is a town planner who dabbles in writing and may one day be a writer who dabbles in town planning. She has had poetry and short stories (fiction and non-fiction) published, including in Kokako<\/em>, Takahe, The Press <\/em>and NZ Poetry Society and other anthologies, such as Crest to Crest <\/em>and A Foreign Country<\/em>. She has also co-written short screenplays as part of NZ\u2019s annual 48 hour film-making competition.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/h3>\nAndrew Robins & 58 Eridani<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/a>I am always open to featuring something new, so when Andrew (who has done several book reviews<\/a> here) suggested serializing the log (think Stardate: Captain’s Log, yanno) from his free-form roleplaying game, 58 Eridani<\/strong>, I said “why the heck not?”<\/p>\n58 Eridani was introduced on 12 December, with the first instalment on the 13th, and we managed to squeeze a further two episodes into 2015 — and I have to say I think it’s reading really well. So if you haven’t checked it out yet, click on:<\/p>\n
Introducing “58 Eridani” — A Game Log<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nJanis Freegard & A Character Interview<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0Janis Freegard is a former Tuesday Poet, but also a prose writer, and I very much enjoyed her short story, The Magician<\/em><\/a>, which featured in the Tales For Canterbury<\/strong> (Random Static, 2011) anthology.<\/p>\nSo when her debut novel, The Year Of Falling<\/em><\/strong>, was published in mid-2015, I was delighted to feature her interview with three of its characters: Selina, Smith, and Quilla.<\/p>\nAs I said at the time, I thought it was a really fun way to approach the book, so if you haven’t read it already, read it now:<\/p>\n
Janis Freegard & “The Year Of Falling”
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\nJune Young: A Report On Sasquan, The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention<\/h3>\n
<\/a>June Young and her partner, Simon Litten, headed to this year’s Worldcon in Spokane, Washington State. As soon as I knew they were going I put in a special request for a report back on June\u2019s personal experience of the Con(vention).<\/p>\nThe result is a first hand account of writers and editors, kaffeeklatsches and “literary beers”, signings and strolls — and a considerable amount of smoke (from wildfires.)<\/p>\n
I think June’s article provides a great window into a fan’s experience of a Con. Well worth your time to read or re-read:<\/p>\n
June Young and A Summer Convention in Spokane<\/a>
\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nFour “Avid Readers” & Their Top Reads From 2015<\/h3>\n
December—like early January \ud83d\ude09 — is the time of year for lists. But since I hadn\u2019t done so much reading myself in ’15 I thought I\u2019d ask some avid readers of my acquaintance to share their top reads of 2015\u00a0 \u2014 and\u00a0 a little about \u201cwhy\u201d the books featured were their “top” picks.<\/p>\n
In order of publication, the avid readers were:<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lowe<\/span><\/h3>\nJennifer has an MA in History and works in the justice sector. She doesn\u2019t get to read fiction nearly as much as she would like, but primarily reads historical and mystery-thriller fiction. Books that combine elements of both and are well-written and researched, tend to be favourites.<\/span><\/p>\nTo discover her “Top 5” click on:<\/span><\/p>\nJennifer Lowe’s Top 5 Reads<\/span>
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\nPaul Weimer<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/a>Paul is a writer, gamer, blogger, podcaster and ubiquitous genre enthusiast. At venues ranging from Skiffy and Fanty, to SF Signal, SFF Audio and beyond, he can be found exploring the world of science fiction and fantasy. He can be found on his own website http:\/\/www.skyseastone.net\/jvstin<\/a>, on twitter @princejvstin, and many other places on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\nCheck out his 2015 picks on:<\/span><\/p>\nPaul Weimer’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nKaren McMillan<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/a>Karen is the author of Unbreakable Spirit<\/em> and The Paris of the East \u2014 <\/em>but despite this typically modest bio there is a great deal more to Karen\u2019s writing and industry career, which you can read about in more detail here<\/a>. She is also on Twitter: @KarenMcMillanNZ<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nKaren is also an avid reader and reviewer so her 2015 highlights are definitely worth a look:<\/span><\/p>\nKaren McMillan’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nJanine Sowerby<\/span><\/h3>\nJanine is a town planner who dabbles in writing and may one day be a writer who dabbles in town planning. She has had poetry and short stories (fiction and non-fiction) published, including in Kokako<\/em>, Takahe, The Press <\/em>and NZ Poetry Society and other anthologies, such as Crest to Crest <\/em>and A Foreign Country<\/em>. She has also co-written short screenplays as part of NZ\u2019s annual 48 hour film-making competition.<\/span><\/p>\n
58 Eridani was introduced on 12 December, with the first instalment on the 13th, and we managed to squeeze a further two episodes into 2015 — and I have to say I think it’s reading really well. So if you haven’t checked it out yet, click on:<\/p>\n So when her debut novel, The Year Of Falling<\/em><\/strong>, was published in mid-2015, I was delighted to feature her interview with three of its characters: Selina, Smith, and Quilla.<\/p>\n As I said at the time, I thought it was a really fun way to approach the book, so if you haven’t read it already, read it now:<\/p>\n The result is a first hand account of writers and editors, kaffeeklatsches and “literary beers”, signings and strolls — and a considerable amount of smoke (from wildfires.)<\/p>\n I think June’s article provides a great window into a fan’s experience of a Con. Well worth your time to read or re-read:<\/p>\n December—like early January \ud83d\ude09 — is the time of year for lists. But since I hadn\u2019t done so much reading myself in ’15 I thought I\u2019d ask some avid readers of my acquaintance to share their top reads of 2015\u00a0 \u2014 and\u00a0 a little about \u201cwhy\u201d the books featured were their “top” picks.<\/p>\n In order of publication, the avid readers were:<\/p>\n Jennifer has an MA in History and works in the justice sector. She doesn\u2019t get to read fiction nearly as much as she would like, but primarily reads historical and mystery-thriller fiction. Books that combine elements of both and are well-written and researched, tend to be favourites.<\/span><\/p>\n To discover her “Top 5” click on:<\/span><\/p>\n Check out his 2015 picks on:<\/span><\/p>\n Karen is also an avid reader and reviewer so her 2015 highlights are definitely worth a look:<\/span><\/p>\n Janine is a town planner who dabbles in writing and may one day be a writer who dabbles in town planning. She has had poetry and short stories (fiction and non-fiction) published, including in Kokako<\/em>, Takahe, The Press <\/em>and NZ Poetry Society and other anthologies, such as Crest to Crest <\/em>and A Foreign Country<\/em>. She has also co-written short screenplays as part of NZ\u2019s annual 48 hour film-making competition.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>I am always open to featuring something new, so when Andrew (who has done several book reviews<\/a> here) suggested serializing the log (think Stardate: Captain’s Log, yanno) from his free-form roleplaying game, 58 Eridani<\/strong>, I said “why the heck not?”<\/p>\nIntroducing “58 Eridani” — A Game Log<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n
.<\/span><\/h3>\n
Janis Freegard & A Character Interview<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0Janis Freegard is a former Tuesday Poet, but also a prose writer, and I very much enjoyed her short story, The Magician<\/em><\/a>, which featured in the Tales For Canterbury<\/strong> (Random Static, 2011) anthology.<\/p>\nJanis Freegard & “The Year Of Falling”
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\nJune Young: A Report On Sasquan, The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention<\/h3>\n
<\/a>June Young and her partner, Simon Litten, headed to this year’s Worldcon in Spokane, Washington State. As soon as I knew they were going I put in a special request for a report back on June\u2019s personal experience of the Con(vention).<\/p>\nJune Young and A Summer Convention in Spokane<\/a>
\n.<\/span><\/h3>\nFour “Avid Readers” & Their Top Reads From 2015<\/h3>\n
Jennifer Lowe<\/span><\/h3>\n
Jennifer Lowe’s Top 5 Reads<\/span>
\n<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\nPaul Weimer<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Paul is a writer, gamer, blogger, podcaster and ubiquitous genre enthusiast. At venues ranging from Skiffy and Fanty, to SF Signal, SFF Audio and beyond, he can be found exploring the world of science fiction and fantasy. He can be found on his own website http:\/\/www.skyseastone.net\/jvstin<\/a>, on twitter @princejvstin, and many other places on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\nPaul Weimer’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nKaren McMillan<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Karen is the author of Unbreakable Spirit<\/em> and The Paris of the East \u2014 <\/em>but despite this typically modest bio there is a great deal more to Karen\u2019s writing and industry career, which you can read about in more detail here<\/a>. She is also on Twitter: @KarenMcMillanNZ<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nKaren McMillan’s Top 5 Reads<\/a><\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/h4>\nJanine Sowerby<\/span><\/h3>\n