MABFAN NEWSLETTER # 35 (September 2002)

Michael A. Burstein's "Friends Across the Net" Newsletter

Hello to everyone! This month I have some rather interesting news to report, ranging from a new fanzine to a sudden upcoming appearance. However, before we get to all that, let's get the first formality out of the way...

AWARDS NEWS

For those who haven't heard yet, "Spaceships" lost the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. Nomi and I were unable to make it to the Worldcon in San Jose, California, so I found out over the Internet the morning after the ceremony. I'm sad that I lost, of course, but still delighted with the nomination. And, as they say, there's always next year...

As always, my deepest thanks to all those who nominated and voted for my work.

JUST PUBLISHED: OUR FIRST FANZINE!

This is really the biggest piece of news, which is only tangentially related to my writing, but it's significant enough to mention here. Nomi and I have just become fanzine publishers, with the first issue of Burstzine.

We're really pleased with this issue. We have articles by Mike Resnick, Bob Devney, Dan Kimmel, Rich Lynch, and Solomon Davidoff, and we have artwork by Teddy Harvia. The ostensible theme of the issue is the line between prodom and fandom, although we indulged Mike on his wish to write an article about his favorite musicals.

Normally, a copy of Burstzine will cost about $3 or something in trade, such as some other fanzine in return or a letter of comment. However, in order to give people something to write letters of comment about, we're offering the first issue for free to anyone on the list who wants a copy. Just email me your address, and we'll get a copy out as soon as we can.

Contrariwise, you can always download the PDF at http://www.burstzine.net. That version contains all the fannish artwork but is missing the clip art.

Our plans are to publish the second issue in December, with the theme of fans and our parents. If any of you are interested in writing an article for us, please feel free to get in touch. The deadline is next month.

OUT RIGHT NOW

I've mentioned these in previous issues, so just to summarize:

That second story is now also available in Mike's new collection of collaborative stories, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Nomi and I weren't expecting to attend any conventions before next year, but we heard about Capclave and decided we wanted to be there. Capclave's Guest of Honor is Stanley Schmidt, the editor of ANALOG, and the committee is putting together a program devoted to short fiction. There's going to be a good group of people there, and Nomi and I hope to see some of you there as well.

Capclave will be held the weekend of October 18-20, 2002, in Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, DC. If you're interested in attending, you can find information on their website, http://www.wsfa.org/capc02/.

ADMINISTRATIVA

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For more frequent news, or to read some of the stuff I've written, check out my webpage at www.mabfan.com

-- Michael A. Burstein