(1) GRRM AND THE GHOSTS OF GLASGOW. George R.R. Martin told Not a Blog readers that he will be at Glasgow 2024 and has tried to get on program, however several of his proposals did not even get a reply from the committee. “On the Road Again”.
Glasgow has hosted worldcons twice before, and we were at both of those and had a great time. We are hoping this will be as good.
Anyway… I will be in Glasgow, attending the con, but whether you’ll see me, I don’t know. I am not on any programming. It is not for lack of trying, though. I wrote the con’s programming chair back in January, and again in February, asking for his phone number so we could discuss the details. No phone number was forthcoming, alas, just a form letter with a link to an application and a warning that while I was welcome to apply, I could not be guaranteed a place on the programme.
I did not give up there, however. Several months later, when I learned how many of my Wild Cards writers would be at the con (about a dozen, all told), I wrote again and offered to organize a Wild Cards event for them. (We have done Wild Cards events at a dozen past worldcons, everything from traditional panels to trivia contests to cage matches and the like), and they have always drawn a big crowd. I got no reply to that one. A month or so after that, I tried again. Howard Waldrop died in January, and I thought it would be nice to do a memorial panel honoring the man and his work. Several other friends of Howard will also be at Glasgow, and said they would be delighted to be part of such a panel. Alas, no reply to that one either.
As regular readers of my Not A Blog know, I have also been producing a series of short films based on some of Howard’s classic short stories. NIGHT OF THE COOTERS was the first done, and won prizes in half a dozen film fests. MARY-MARGARET ROAD GRADER is hitting the festival circuit this year, and has already won its first prize. THE UGLY CHICKENS, adapted by Michael Cassutt from Howard’s Nebula-winning short, and starring fan favorite Felicia Day, will follow this year. Just saw the final cut, directed by Mark Raso, and it’s just lovely. The films are not in theatres yet, but I offered to screen them in Glasgow, as part of the film programme (if there is one) or that proposed Waldrop Memorial Panel. No response to that offer either.
So… yes, I will be at Glasgow. I will check out the art show, as I always do, maybe attend some bid parties, and I will be wandering the dealer’s room (the huckster’s room, as us old timers call it). The rest of the time I guess I may hang out in the bar, drinking with friends both old and new, toasting Howard and Gardner and all the other friends we lost.
At the Winter Is Coming fan site Dan Selcke tried to explain why this might be happening in “George R.R. Martin ghosted by Worldcon after controversial 2020 hosting gig”.
…One of the main events at Worldcon are the Hugo Awards, given out to sci-fi and fantasy authors, filmmakers and creators. That year, the award ceremony was virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Martin was the host. As he puts it in his blog post, “things did not work out well.”
That’s putting it mildly. To make a long story short, Martin was accused on social media and elsewhere of erasing the accomplishments of authors of color, glorifying authors and editors with regressive beliefs, mispronouncing lots of the names on the ballot, making off-color jokes, taking way too long to give his remarks, and generally doing a bad job as host.
The backlash was so bad that the con chairs issued an apology. Martin defended himself by saying he was trying delve into the history of the Hugos and make people laugh, although obviously the approach didn’t work. My read on that situation was that it was a bad match of host and audience. A lot of the acceptance speeches from authors were about the importance of social justice in sci-fi and fantasy, and these people did not want to hear George R.R. Martin talk for hours about long-dead authors with problematic records, let alone endure it for the full length of the three-and-a-half-hour ceremony….
I’m sure that’s part of it. But my personal opinion is a bigger reason was that GRRM devoted a chunk of time during his pre-recorded 2020 Hugo Awards presentation, assisted by Robert Silverberg, glorifying John W. Campbell Jr. This was in the aftermath of Jeanette Ng’s 2019 acceptance speech for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer which heavily criticized Campbell and called him a fascist (see “Storm Over Campbell Award”), a speech that in fact won the 2020 Best Related Work Hugo Award.
(2) PERSEVERANCE. Sarah A. Hoyt has encouraging words for new writers at Mad Genius Club: “You Might Be A Beginning Writer IF”.
I’ve noticed that a lot of beginning writers either view these problems as “a sign I shouldn’t be doing this” or a big personality failing. Well, since I have been doing this since some of you were born, I’m here to tell you that’s not true at all. Everyone has these issues starting out. They are absolutely bog standard, and they smooth out as you practice and learn, and sometimes when you try this “one easy trick.” So in no particular order, here are issues that plague newbies…
One of them is:
I can start stories, but I lose interest and it all dies within a few paragraphs. Or at best halfway through.
Completely normal. That’s because the idea in your head is beautiful and multi-colored and amazing.
But each decision you make limits the choices you can make, so it makes the story less exciting in your brain.
This is a “in your brain” problem. It’s not real. If you push past it, eventually it will stop telling you the story is dead. Better. Once the story is done, you won’t be able to find the place it “died.”
(3) AUTHORS OPEN LETTER SUPPORTS FIRED WATERSTONES EMPLOYEE. “Authors ask Waterstones to rehire worker fired after tweet about gender-critical writer” reports the Guardian.
More than 500 authors and book industry professionals have signed an open letter calling on Waterstones to reverse a decision to dismiss an employee who said she would tear up and throw away books written by a gender-critical author.
Figures including Chocolat author Joanne Harris, writer and podcaster Dorian Lynskey, and author and culture journalist Jason Okundaye have backed Tilly Fitzgerald, who posts book-related content and reviews under the username TillyLovesBooks on social media. Fitzgerald was sacked after responding to a post on X by author Christina Dalcher, which appeared to endorse a publishing network for those “concerned about the impact of gender ideology” on the sector. Fitzgerald wrote: “Ooh, I’ll enjoy tearing up your books and popping them in the bin today. Thanks for the heads up.”
Fitzgerald, who had worked for Waterstones as a bookseller since August 2023, explained in a video posted on 8 July that Waterstones had sacked her over her social media activity. “I’ve just been sacked from the only job I’ve ever loved,” she said.
“I told [Dalcher] on Twitter that I was going to throw away her books after I found out that she was a bigot”, Fitzgerald added. “She tagged Waterstones and they have decided to fire me for my social media usage. It’s the first mistake I’ve ever made, I’ve been nothing but an exemplary employee there”.
A spokesperson from Waterstones said Fitzgerald was dismissed “on the grounds of contravening Waterstones policies” and that the decision “has nothing to do with transgender rights”.
“We are an inclusive employer and follow due process in HR matters,” the spokesperson told the Guardian. “For obvious reasons we are unable to comment on the specifics of individual cases.”
Fitzgerald told the Guardian: “My intention responding to Dalcher was only to let her know that I would no longer be supporting her books in my personal capacity as a reviewer.”…
(4) STARSHIP FONZIE REPORTS UPDATE REGARDING KARL KLINGER’S STOLEN BICYCLE. [Item by Eric Hildeman.] Follow-up to the news item regarding steampunk enthusiast Karl Klinger’s stolen bicycle: He’s about to get TWO penny farthings!
A man named Rolly, who is a great guy by all accounts, saw the story about Karl’s bike theft on the news and contacted him to offer Karl his own penny farthing bicycle, which was built in 1979. Last Sunday, Karl procured the bike from Rolly, “for a steal.” (The exact dollar figure wasn’t revealed.) Apparently, Rolly can no longer ride his bike, for whatever reason, and he wanted it to go to a good home. I think we can all agree it certainly has! So, while Karl’s new bike is currently being constructed, he now already has another one!
Rolly apparently modified this bike to go much faster than a normal penny farthing would, which Karl seems to appreciate.
Transcript on Blogger.com can be found here.
(5) TEDDY HARVIA CARTOON.
(6) SHELLEY DUVALL (1949-2024). Actress Shelley Duvall died July 11 in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Texas. Just looking at her top genre work, she played Jack Nicholson’s wife Wendy Torrance in The Shining (1980), Olive Oyl in Popeye (1980), Pansy in funny scenes with Michael Palin in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981); and Steve Martin’s supportive pal Dixie in Roxanne (1987).
Her TV work included appearances on episodes of The Twilight Zone reboot, and Ray Bradbury Theater.
…Roger Ebert wrote in 1980 that Duvall “looks and sounds like almost nobody else … and has possibly played more really different kinds of characters than almost any other young actress of the 1970s.
“In all of her roles, there is an openness about her, as if somehow nothing has come between her open face and our eyes — no camera, dialogue, makeup, method of acting — and she is just spontaneously being the character.”…
And at Deadline: “Remembering Shelley Duvall: A Career In Photos”.
(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.
[Written by Paul Weimer.]
July 11, 1899 – E. B. White. (Died 1985.)
By Paul Weimer: I missed reading a swath of children’s literature because I was always aiming and hoping to read “adult books”. I got annoyed once, while in the hospital, that the playroom only had “baby books” (e.g. Golden readers). As soon as I could contrive to get a library card to get me into the adult section instead of the children’s section, I did. And I mainly read the non fiction books in the children’s section until I could get into the Golden Country of the Adult section. So some of the basics of children’s literature, I frankly only know from cultural osmosis.
E.B. White is an exception to that, in two particular novels: Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.
The first, Charlotte’s Web. Well, you know the story of Wilbur, the pig, saved from death by the clever titular character’s webbing and messages. I came across this story first in the animated movie from the 70’s, and went on to find it in the library and read the original. I enjoyed it even more than the animated movie, which is pretty faithful to the book I found, although it IS a musical, which I will just say was a *choice*. (They aren’t even really good songs, to be honest). Still, the movie and the book were for me what the Lion King was for a generation later, introducing the “cycle of life” (but Charlotte’s Web is a little more gentle about it)
After I read Charlotte’s Web, I then read Stuart Little, since it was sitting right there in the library next to Charlotte’s Web and I was curious. (I also briefly had the wrong idea it was set in the same universe). Still, I was charmed by the idea of the diminutive small Stuart Little being fearless and adventurous, wanting to see the world no matter what. Did Stuart Little help kindle in me my curiosity and desire to see places (and decades later, want to photograph them). Maybe, it’s certainly a working theory. Unlike Charlotte’s Web, I don’t particularly care for the late 90’s movie. I vastly prefer the book (maybe because I read the book first).
Oh, there is one adult book of White’s I’ve read, long ago for AP English: Strunk and White’s The Manual of Style.
(8) COMICS SECTION.
- Bliss introduces a new power couple.
- FurBabies shows some pet sitters go all out.
- Lio channels the Dark Side.
- The Argyle Sweater lets evil win again.
- Rhymes with Orange reveals a surprising moment in a royal courtship.
(9) UP ABOVE THE WORLD SO HIGH. “The International Astronomical Youth Camp Is a Summer Camp for Serious Stargazers”. Atlas Obscura says, “For more than half a century, the International Astronomical Youth Camp has attracted aspiring astronomers from around the world.”
THE CLOUDS SEEMED TO BE conspiring against Jimo Pereira last summer. The university student from Buenos Aires spent much of her time curled up in a sleeping bag on the grounds of Eichsfelder Hütte, a hostel deep in Germany’s rugged Harz Mountains. Night after chilly night she’d be out in the open field with her project partner, trying to stay warm. Every so often one of them would get up to check their telescope, but the clouds stubbornly barred their view. Then one night, finally, they saw stars.
For hours, the pair took turns checking the alignment of their telescope and camera every 20 minutes that one clear night. They came away not with an Instagram-worthy time-lapse photo, but with data on two distant stars orbiting each other in what’s known as an eclipsing binary system. The two were not scientists, however. At least, not professionally—not yet. They were participants in one of the world’s most unusual summer camps: One devoted to studying the cosmos in constant motion overhead as the camp itself travels around the globe.
This traveling camp is the International Astronomical Youth Camp, an annual three-week program for 16- to 24-year-old lovers of astronomy that’s held at a different location each year. It’s been running every summer (and the occasional winter) since 1969, and has taken place in 15 different countries so far. In August, Pereira will join more than 60 other campers and 10 volunteers from more than 20 countries for her third camp, this time among the crags of Vogtland in eastern Germany, near the Czech border.’
(10) ROLE CALL. The Hollywood Reporter says Patrick Stewart will be the voice of a demonic axe in Barbaric: “Michael Bay, Sam Claflin, Patrick Stewart Vault Comics ‘Barbaric’”.
Michael Bay is heading to television.
The director, known for his muscular and high-revving big-screen action franchises such as Bad Boys and Transformers, is in talks to direct Barbaric, an acerbic fantasy series based on the best-selling Vault Comics title.
Netflix has picked up the bold-faced series package, which it will develop with A+E Studios.
Sam Claflin and Patrick Stewart are attached to star in the series, which will be written and exec produced by Sheldon Turner, known for his feature credits such as Up in the Air and X-Men: First Class….
Launched in 2021 and created by writer Michael Moreci and artist Nathan Gooden, Vault’s Barbaric featured a talking demonic axe and Owen, a barbarian looking for redemption.
Claflin is attached to star as Owen while Stewart will provide the voice of the demonic axe….
(11) JUST HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE THERE? “The Ending of Every Jaws Movie, Ranked” — SYFY Wire thinks you deserve to know their opinion. See the results at the link.
When you think about death in the Jaws movies, you’re probably thinking about the hapless beachgoers who are devoured by a giant, bloodthirsty great white shark — while John Williams’ iconic theme plays, of course. But, all four Jaws movies end with another death: that of the shark.
In Jaws (1975), Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Jaws: The Revenge (1987), some member of the Brody family is, after much struggle, able to kill the Carcharodon carcharias in spectacular fashion, making it safe to get back in the water (for now, at least). Some of these kills are exciting, iconic climaxes that rank up there with the best endings in blockbuster film history. Other endings have, let’s say, jumped the shark.
With it being July, and with all four movies currently streaming on Peacock, we thought it was a good time to rank the shark deaths to determine which Jaws was the best at saying “fin.”…
(12) WITH SHARP, POINTY TEETH. And if you don’t haven’t bagged your limit, there’s Space Sharks which FirstShowing.net says you can rent right now: “Bad Trailer for Trashy Sci-Fi Movie ‘Space Sharks’ feat. Eric Roberts”.
“They don’t need water to kill!” Wild Eye Releasing has debuted a trailer for a B-movie sci-fi comedy called Space Sharks, the latest from filmmaker Dustin Ferguson. This has already been dumped on VOD and can be watched now, if anyone wants to give it a go? …
[Thanks to Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Eric Hildeman, Steven French, Teddy Harvia, Kathy Sullivan, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Maytree.]
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(3) A member of staff at a leading bookshop announces on social media she intends to destroy items from her employer’s stock. She is promptly fired. Seems fairly straightforward to me. (If she was only referring to her own copies of those books, wouldn’t she have made that clear to her employers?)
If you’ve not read Paul’s E. B. White Birthday, stop and do so now. It’s a most excellent look at his works. There’s cake and champagne down in the Library now in honor of him.
6) Don’t forget Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre, an outstanding series on Showtime in the 1980’s.
(3) Actually, re-reading that news report, it’s irritatingly unclear just whose property she intended to destroy, but tagging her employer was obviously an unwise move.
(1) Hmmm.. I wrote them in mid-April, not wanting to write too soon, about being on the program, and they said “didn’t you read that we closed applications the beginning of this month?!” So I guess I’ll be walking around like a billboard ad, with flyers for Becoming Terran…
(3) That’s absurd. Unless that Xtwit account was through Waterstones, that’s unreasonable. She says she doesn’t want to review them, which I find reasonable. I have yet to understand why editors send someone to, for example, review a movie when they know the reviewer dislikes that kind of movie.
Birthday: and in the standard rejection postcards, my friend the late George Scithers, then editor of Asimov’s, would recommend Strunk and White.
(8) Looking at Argyle Sweater, suddenly, I hear in my mind “Beta Llyra has, seven moons for love…”
(11) Thanks, I think I need to rewatch Tremors.
(3) I went and read the article at the link and I still feel I lack context. Did she say she was going to rip up the books she owned? Extreme, but I can understand feeling passionate about it. Rip up the author’s books in a library? A store? Someone else’s house? That would be not good at all. I realize that Twitter forces one to condense, but I really think she should have been clear about this point. Especially since she worked in a bookstore.
Steve Green says Actually, re-reading that news report, it’s irritatingly unclear just whose property she intended to destroy, but tagging her employer was obviously an unwise move.
I think the fact that it couldn’t be determined where the books she intended to destroyed were is quite possibly why she terminated as even the impression that the books at Waterstones were what she was going to tear up was not one her employers could avoid dealing with.
(9) I so want to go back to being a 15 year old and be attending that camp.
mark caused electrons to glow with this comment:
“Birthday: and in the standard rejection postcards, my friend the late George Scithers, then editor of Asimov’s, would recommend Strunk and White.”
Which brought to mind this from Dorothy Parker:
“If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”
9) That is a lovely write-up. I attended two of the camps, in Germany in 1984 and Slovenia in 1985, and had a great time. (And I remember Christoph and Jasmina well.)
(7) I bought my own copy of “Charlotte’s Web”, which I’ve always liked, and of “Elements of Style” (which I met in 8th grade).
MikeW: nothing wrong with S&W. Now, it may not fit “character-driven” fiction, but it fits the rest. Oh, and it also may not fit “we want a 2M word series that we can sell for the next 10 years…”
(3) If she didn’t make it absolutely clear that it was her own personal copies she would destroy, and not the store’s or anyone else’s, that’s not something Waterstone’s could ignore.
In a development that only seems science-fictional, I have finally received my handicapped parking permit, eleven months after the fall that worsened my mobility issues. To be clear, the bureaucracy responsible for the long delay was an 80yo doctor reluctantly edging toward retirement, a major medical group in this area that is in the process of going bankrupt after their now ex-CEO stole millions from the company, and my usually quite efficient and effective insurance company that inexplicably took months to even tell me that I needed to find a new PCP. Once I has the new PCP, she, her office, and the MA Registry of Motor Vehicles did their bits professionally and promptly.
(1) There’s a big gap, I would think, between not wanting George R.R. Martin to host the Hugo Awards again, and not wanting him to participate in any Worldcon programming at all.
(1) Did Martin (or an assistant of his) ever submit the application using the form letter he received?
Also, appearing on the Worldcon (or any other fen-run con) program is a privilege, not a right.
(1) Perhaps, on behalf of Fandom, Glasgow is just encouraging GRRM to spend his time finishing TWoW.
@ mark green: the author tagged the employer.
(7) Ah, the writer’s Bible: Strunk and White’s The Manual of Style.
“Eschew surplusage”! Avoid obfuscation!
3) Obviously it’s entirely reasonable to be angry at bigots. I guess the real question is: did her tweet suggest any kind of plan or credible intent? My feeling is not, and that Waterstones’ response was driven by fear of lawsuits and organised harassment – of which organised transphobes and the far right are fond.
(1) I agree that there’s a big gap between not wanting Martin front and centre and not wanting him on any programming at all, but if I had to guess I’d say that’s not what’s happening here. It looks much more as though the committee have, in the grand tradition of British lit fandom, treated him exactly as they would any other fan who isn’t GoH – here’s the application, there’s the deadline – and he’s ignored that in favour of waiting for special treatment that isn’t coming.
(1) I’m already unimpressed with the Glasgow bunch because of their dubious claim that “sexualized” displays by dealers violate UK censorship laws (see my blog for discussion). This doesn’t improve my opinion.
(9) That sounds wonderful!
1- Running the programme at a con is a huge undertaking, and using the method to communicate that the con requests (Planorama, Zambia, a Google spreadsheet) is both good manners and sensible, as the suggestion less likely to go astray in a myriad of emails. Members often forget that the con com are volunteers, and even if they don’t have a 9-5 job they likely have other responsibilities. I’m fairly sure that GRRM has a PA or some kind of minion to fill out the Planorama form if he felt it was beneath him. (Having worked on programming for 2 EasterCons, yes one does get incredibly fed up that some folk feel that usual channels of communication are not applicable to them.)
1) If I had to guess …
… actually I don’t, I suppose. We’ll see how this develops
So far , the only public response I’ve seen from Glasgow 24 was to an article in the Glasgow Times. To paraphrase, the program takes a lot of work and we’ll release it in July.
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/24446705.game-thrones-author-receives-no-reply-scottish-sci-fi-con-bosses/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1OfKu7NAKHI01naXHehdFd4nrX-bbH3yyIrhgy4cnkK0IfbiQXMS6ff68_aem_1rQzPgVqHCpMDzqVQlpszA.
I can say with a high level of certainty – having worked at a high level on program(me) at a few recent Worldcons – that George behaves as if he believes himself to be above standard processes (for whatever reason) and that getting him to fill in the usual forms – which are even more important these days because of GDPR – is at best like pulling teeth. Many other “big names” – be they authors or editors – get their assistant(s) to do it for them if they don’t want to do it themselves.
Speaking personally, I don’t like putting people on program who don’t take accountability for their mistakes and/or bad behavior, as it invariably detracts from the type of open discussions we try to have as a community.
@John Lorentz: I’ve heard of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre but never found an opportunity to watch it. There seem to have been numerous DVD collections, but they’re all out of print now, and I see a used copy listed on Amazon for $295 😯
Mmmm.. re the GRRM/Glasgow issue, that reminds me of the late and still sadly missed Mr Discworld himself (Terry P). Many aeons ago I attended and gave a talk at an East Anglia (UK) Con (and as usual it was re UK SF TV etc-my own area of expertise/interest). Just pre my own event, I went outside to registration- to see the long queue (some were pre-booked:good and they were processed quickly). But as usual some (I call) “Last Minute Larries” turned up and they had to await processing-their own fault. In that queue (and he wasnt a Guest or anything at that Con) was Terry!! I quickly noted that (we knew each other) and promptly I told a Committee member. Immediately said Terry was whisked forward and brought in (and asked there and then to be on a no of panels-which he agreed to). The point here was his humility-he queued up like everyone else. He’d probably at the very last minute realised he could go and just joined the unprocessed line like everyone else. Best wishes and BCNU at both Worldcon/Glasgow and (1 week later) Eurocon/Rotterdam..
1.) Completely agree with all those folx who point out that program applications were sent out and readily available with membership. Outside of Guests of Honor, we all have to follow the same rules about getting onto panels–i.e., fill out the request form, and if we don’t get picked, we don’t get picked. Lots of reasons exist for not getting panels, including one’s skill set not matching the mix organizers want on their panels, being part of a big pool of potential panelists who have similar credentials, etc, etc, but the first rule always, ALWAYS holds–fill. out. the. form.
Jim Janney
“I’ve heard of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre but never found an opportunity to watch it.”
They are pretty easy to find on youtube. They’ve been posted there for a decade or more, so I’m guessing the rights-holders are okay with it.
If one of the most famous sff writers in the world, and one who has been part of many Worldcons, one whose replica Iron Throne many conrunners have sat on to be photographed, tries to work with a concom to get on the program and is rebuffed, it’s because they don’t want him on their program. It’s not because he didn’t fill out a form.
Our local library here in Portland has the complete series available on DVD, and I suspect that’s the case with other libraries. (In fact, two of the adjoining count systems also has the collection.) So you might check your library system.
Just don’t ever have George RR Martin as the Toastmaster for the Hugos ever again. Panels should be OK
(7) The first (but not the last!) book I remember crying over was Charlotte’s web.
The end of that book was just a whiplash of emotions. Wilbur’s saved! But Charlotte’s dying! But Wilbur brings her egg sac back to the farm! The babies hatch! But they all fly away! Except some of them stay behind and Wilbur gets to name them!
I was seven, I think, and I cried so hard.
MSB: as the video that I had to watch (company requirement) in 1991 was titled, Eschew Obfuscation.
@Dave Lally
Glad to hear that you’ll also be at Eurocon in Rotterdam (and Glasgow, of course).
Also glad to hear you’ll be (both?) there, though I won’t, at either. Wishing you much fun.
Also, am surprised how much I agree with Mike Glyer this time. Re Ali Bee: a con that could not process incoming e-mails does not raise much trust it would manage the actual conrunning.
(I’ve had good experience emailing Glasgow, in run-of-the-mill matters that did not seem to have other preferred channels.)
@bill, John Lorentz: thank you, both excellent suggestions, and my library does in fact have them.
(1) GRRM AND THE GHOSTS OF GLASGOW
I have a feeling that the ghosting explanations might possibly be not the reasons given in the post. (I should say this is only an idle thought – I’m not privy to Glasgow’s thought processes, and I may be in error.)
Glasgow very much has a one-size-fits-all mentality (don’t ask me to go into other detail as just recently I have found a substantive flaw in their ID to register policy from PR5 which I have raised with them… It is perfectly solvable if they’ve the will – they seem to be engaging): however, as it was stated in PR5 if former British Prime Minister and Scot, Gordon Brown, has registered for Glasgow then – as their policy now stands – he won’t get in!
With regards to programme, way back I did put forward suggestions for the programme (I have been on the programme of six Worldcons over the decades and all my talks were very well attended) and was (politely but firmly) told that Glasgow 2024 would be using a software package called Planorama or some such, and that I’d have to register for that… Those that know me know that while I do have some presence on line, it is very limited as I have no home internet (in common with 35% of over 65 year-old UK households), no smartphone etc. I tend not to register for things online and avoid putting my details on yet another server, having to remember yet another password (with one character having to be a Klingon glyph) and so forth)… It’s just not little old me: Glasgow are free to run the Worldcon the way they want, and I’m free to put myself forward or not in the programme the way I want.
… So I decided to give contributing the programme a miss this time round. This is not a problem: preparing a talk, audiovisuals and practice takes at least two days. So, silver lining etc.
Another reason for GRRM recent ghosting is that I suspect Glasgow may have already finalised its programme.
Yet another is that its committee are probably realising all those last-minute issues that inevitably crop up when organising large events and so are probably very busy at this time.
In short, it all might be rather innocent rather than a deliberate attempt to blank.
Regarding film programme, I am not going to hold my breath. Loncon 3 had a reasonable but small film programme albeit tucked away, and the one art-house SF feature film I tried to get into was jam-packed solid: the film programme room was way too small.
You have to go way back to 1987 for the last British Worldcon with a decent film programme.
The last decent (actually incredibly good) Worldcon film programme stream (actually three!) was at the 2010 Australia Worldcon. It was stonkingly brilliant.
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