Finncon Anthology Published

At last year’s Finncon there was a short story competition with the theme “opposing forces”. The top ten stories are now available as an ebook anthology.

Guests Speak About Finncon

It’s always a pleasure to read what the guests of your convention have to say about the event, and the GoHs of this year’s Finncon have been very good in this regard; they have all written something about the convention (and have good things to say, which is of course also very nice of them). So go on and check out what Aliette de Bodard, Peter Watts, and J. Pekka Mäkelä had to say.

Other foreign guests have also chimed in: here are reports by Stefan Ekman, Caitlin Sweet, and Cheryl Morgan. And there are plenty of links on the Finncon site to other reports as well.

Speaking of GoH reports, Tricia Sullivan has also written a two-part report about Åcon 6 where she was a GoH this year: part 1, part 2. I’m very glad to see she also enjoyed her stay in Finland.

Tähtifantasia Award 2013

The Helsinki Science Fiction Society announced the seventh Tähtifantasia Award at this year’s Finncon last weekend. The award for best fantasy book translated into Finnish last year went to Uusi maailma (The Modern World)  by Steph Swainston. The novel was translated by J. Pekka Mäkelä and published by Like.

The jury commends the complex main character of the novel, and also the world building that is detailed but also questions the prevailing society. Swainston’s writing evokes powerful feelings and does not the reader off easily. The themes of the novel are responsibility, letting go of things, and the difficulty of love; Swainston ponders on the motivation and effects of the things we do and asks questions about the world, and the meaning of religions and power structures.

The jury of the award consisted of critic Jukka Halme, critic Aleksi Kuutio, writer and editor Anne Leinonen, and Risingshadow representative Osmo Määttä.

Awards at Finncon

Several awards were presented yesterday and today at Finncon.

The first prize in the short story competition organised by Finncon and Elisa Kirja went to Jenni Kauppinen for her story Jalokivihovi (“Jewel Court”). On second place was Neko Koski with Nuru-nu-kang and the third place was a tie between Mikko Arjanmaa’s Tapaus Jii (“Case Jay”) and Stina Maria Saari’s Pedot (“Beasts”).

The first prize in the Nova short story competition went to Anna Malinen for Siihen kaarna kasvakohon (“Let There Grow Bark”). On second place was Katri-Maija Karvonen with Salaperäinen kauppa (“A Mysterious Deal”) and on third Irina Seppänen with Odotussali (“Waiting Room”).

The Atorox Award for best Finnish sf short story published last year was given by the Turku Science Fiction Society. The winner is Anni Nupponen for her short story Joka ratasta pyörittää (“She Who Turns the Cog”), published in the anthology Steampunk! Koneita ja korsetteja. On second place was Wilhelmus Lyypekkiläisen kuolema (“The Death of Wilhelm of Lübeck”) by Jussi Katajala, and Kirjallinen liite kannevakuuskorvausanomukseen (“A written Addendum to the Request for Liability Insurance Compensation”) by Tero Niemi & Anne Salminen came third. Atorox is a popular award, voted by members of the Finnish fandom.

Tähtivaeltaja Short Story Competition 2013

The results of the Tähtivaeltaja short story competition were announced at Finncon today. The theme of the competition was “Tähtivaeltaja” (“Star Rover”), and the first price (400 €) went to Miikka Pörsti for his short story Raportti. Mikä johti operaatio Tähtivaeltajan epäonnistumiseen (“Report. What lead to the failure of Project Tähtivaeltaja”).

The jury commended the story, written in form of a report about an encounter with little green aliens that have arrived on Earth, on the format that is refreshingly different from a conventional short story. The tale of the destiny of an alien race on Earth contains humour but also works as an allegory without being too obvious about it.

In addition to the winner, the jury awarded two honorary mentions to Samuli Antila for his story Pelastaja (“Saviour”), and Jenni Kauppinen for Kemina Standing.

There were 83 submissions in total. The competition was organised by the Tähtivaeltaja zine and the Helsinki Science Fiction Society. In the preliminary jury were researcher Irma Hirsjärvi and writer Anne Leinonen, and in the jury editor Toni Jerrman, editor Jukka Halme, and writer Tiina Raevaara.

Peter Watts to Finland in 2013

Next year’s Finncon in Helsinki has added the acclaimed Canadian author Peter Watts to its Guests of Honor.

Peter Watts has won, among others, the Hugo and Shirley Jackson awards. His novel Blindsight will be published in Finnish in 2013.

Finncon 2013 Announced

The preliminary website for Finncon 2013 was unveiled this weekend at Finnsmofcon. Next year’s convention will take place in Helsinki, at Kaapelitehdas (same location as in 2009), July 5 to 7, 2013.

Two Guests of Honor have been announced (more to be announced later): the freshly Nebula-nominated author Aliette de Bodard from France, and the Finnish science fiction and realfantastik author and translator J. Pekka Mäkelä.

There will once again be a Finfar research seminar at Finncon, and their guest scholar will be Stefan Ekman from the University of Lund in Sweden. Stefan will also be present at Finncon.