Tag Archives: James Shields

Ireland Wins Eurocon 2014 Bid

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Eurocon 2014 will be held in Dublin, Ireland from August 22-24 — the weekend after the London Worldcon.

The bid for Ireland outpolled the rival Romanian bid 61-16. The vote took place at Kontakt, the 2012 Eurocon in Zagreb, Croatia.

The 2014 con’s name will be Shamrokon. The first two Guests of Honor to be announced are Seanan McGuire and Jim Fitzpatrick. Other names will follow.

Jim Fitzpatrick is an Irish artist and writer known for his illustration of Celtic mythology. He has written and illustrated two books re-telling Irish myths and legends, The Book of Conquests and The Silver Arm. He has produced many illustrations, including an iconic two-tone portrait of Che Guevara created in 1968, based on a photo by Alberto Korda.

Seanan McGuire is a U.S. writer of urban fantasy detective stories who also has written zombie novels under the pseudonym Mira Grant. She won the Campbell Award in 2010.

The Dublin Eurocon will be held at the Burlington Hotel. A series of travelling events for the time between the London Worldcon and the Eurocon is being planned by Dave Lally. 

James Shields reports he has already taken 30 memberships.  

[Thanks to James Bacon for the story.]

Dublin 2014: Don’t Panic

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Who wants to read a fan news story with no controversy to report? We’re going to find out today, because here it is.

Irish fan and 2010 GUFF winner James Shields’ e-mail of September 8 titled “Dublin 2014” caused a momentary spell of vertigo among fans who know that’s the same year London is bidding for the Worldcon.

The dizziness passed once fans realized Shields really wants a London Worldcon. It will draw well-known authors to the U.K. who might be persuaded to attend the convention he wants Irish fans to run in Dublin the weekend afterwards. That’s what he means by Dublin 2014.

Shields is taking inspiration from Au Contraire, the New Zealand national convention he attended on the way to Aussiecon 4. “It’s interesting to note that the New Zealand NatCon the weekend before got about 150 extra attendees. (normal attendance 100 – was 250)…. Dublin is much closer to London than New Zealand is to Melbourne, so I think we could get even more visitors as a result – 300-400 attendence would seem credible.”

He emphasized, “I don’t wish to run against London, rather complement it.”

James Bacon mentioned the development to the London in 2014 Worldcon bid committee and they concluded, “No issue our end.”

See? No reason for controversy. Try not to be disappointed.

[Thanks to James Bacon for the story.]

2010 GUFF Race Opens

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I’m overdue to post a bit of fan fund news liberated from Ansible: The candidates in the Europe-to-Australasia GUFF race are James Shields and Douglas Spencer.

Anyone is eligible to vote for a GUFF delegate who was active in fandom prior to August 2008, and contributes at least £5 or $10 AUS (or the equivalent in other currencies) to the fund. Eligible voters can use the PDF voting form at guff2009.pdf, or vote online. Voting ends April 5, 2010 at 23:59 GMT.

Other GUFF News: Pat McMurray’s 2004 GUFF Trip report is now available either as a black and white publication for £4 ($8 AUS) or password protected colour pdf (6.38 mb) for £2 ($4 AUS). Contact:  Ang Rosin, 26 Hermitage Grove, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 6DR, United Kingdom – enclosing a cheque made payable to GUFF and your preferred delivery method. 

[Thanks to Ansible for the http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~lister/guff/ link.]