September is here and we’re already hard at work planning next year’s convention, which is happening a week later than normal. So, mark your calendars for February 19-21, 2016 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. Over the next few months, we’ll be:

Posting fun interviews with this year’s guests.

Posting more mini interviews with our program participants.

Sharing special Boskone Book updates.

Giving you the inside scoop on events & program highlights.

AND…

Planning more Free Friday Afternoon events for Boskone 53.

So, be sure to pick up your Boskone 53 membership and get ready for fun. Here are some quick links to get you started:

• Buy Your Membership
• See if you have Purchased a Membership 
• Volunteer for Boskone
• Contact the Program Committee
• View the List of Program Participants

 

The Chesley Award nominations are out for this year’s award, which are awarded at WorldCon (aka Sasquan) in August 2015. It’s a tremendous list of people and spec fic art work and all of the nominations are well deserved. Congratulations to our Boskone participants and community members who have received a nomination this year.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Chesley Awards, “each year ASFA gives out the Chesley Awards, which are named for the great astronomical artist, Chesley Bonestell. The Chesleys were started in 1985 as a means for the SF and Fantasy art community to recognize individual works and achievements not otherwise recognized by the Hugo Awards, during the previous year.” (from the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists’ website)

Good luck to everyone!

Best Cover Illustration / Hardcover
Julie Dillon, Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology edited by Brandon Sanderson; Dragonsteel Entertainment, June 2014
Jon Foster, Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi; Subterranean Press, 2014
Todd Lockwood, The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan; Tor, March 2014
John Picacio, Endymion by Dan Simmons; Limited Edition, Subterranean Press, December 2014
Michael Whelan, Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson; Tor, March 2014

Best Cover Illustration – Paperback
John Harris, Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie; Orbit October 2014
Jon Sullivan, The Return of the Discounted Man by Mark Hodder; Pyr, July 2014
Raymond Swanland, The Lady by K.V. Johansen; Pyr, December 2014
Danielle Tunstall, Unseaming by Mike Allen; Antimatter Press, October 2014
Raoul Vitale, Nebula Awards Showcase 2014 edited by Kij Johnson; Prometheus/Pyr

Best Cover Illustration – Magazine
Julie Dillon Analog April 2014
Matt Dixon, Clarkesworld #90 March 2014
Wayne Haag, Interzone #253 July/August 2014
Patrick Jones, Analog March 2014
Jae Lee, Batman/Superman #14 DC Comics October 2014
Peter Mohrbacher, Lightspeed #48 May 2014
Dan Dos Santos, Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #3 Dark Horse, March 2014

Best Interior Illustration
Anna Balbusso and Elena Balbusso, “Ekaterina and the Firebird” by Abra Staffin-Wiebe; Tor.com, January 2014
Galen Dara, “A City of Its Tentacles” by Rose Lemberg; Lackinton’s #1 February 2014
Julie Dillon, Imagined Realms: Book 1 July/August; Kickstarter December 2014
Scott Gustafson, Classic Bedtime Stories; Artisan, September 2014
Karla Ortiz, “The Walking Stick Forest” by Anna Tambour; Tor.com May 2014
John Picacio, Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza; Tor.com October 2014

Best Gaming Related Illustration
Noah Bradley, Drown in Sorrow Magic card, Born of the Gods; WotC, Feb. 2014
Eric Deschamps, Ephara, God of Polis Magic card, Born of the Gods; WotC, Feb. 2014
Michael Komarck, D&D The Rise of Tiamat; WotC, Oct. 2014
Peter Mohrbacher, Pharika, God of Affliction Magic card, Journey into Nyx; WotC, May 2014
Karla Ortiz, Ghoulcaller Gisa Magic card, Commander 2014; WotC, Nov. 2014
Chris Rahn, Ajani the Steadfast Magic card, 2015 Core Set; WotC, July 2014

Best Product Illustration
Frank Cho & Brandon Peterson, Fast Food New York ComicCon 2014 art print
Donato Giancola, George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire 2015 calendar Bantam, 2014
Patrick Jones, Conan The Conquered Illuxcon promotional art
John Picacio, La Calavera Loteria card Lone Boy
Raymond Swanland, One with the Light Limited Edition Giclee on canvas Acme Archives 2014

Best Color Work – Unpublished
Linda Adair, Dragonsbride oil
Michael C. Hayes, Alegretto oils
Reiko Murakami, Giving Name Photoshop
Mark Poole, Omens oils
Dorian Vallejo, Crossing oil on canvas
Annie Stegg Gerard, The Lady of Lorien oil on linen

Best Monochrome Work – Unpublished
Kristina Carroll, “Dragonslayer” charcoal
Sean Murray, “Gateway: The Storkfriars” graphite
John Picacio, El Venado, graphite
Olivier Villoingt, “The Soul of War” graphite & acrylic
Allen Williams, “Sphynx” graphite
Rebecca Yanovskaya, “Wisdom” ink & mixed media

Best Three-Dimensional Art
Dan Chudzinski, The Mudpuppy, resin & mixed media
David Meng, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King
Michael Parkes, Meditation, bronze
Forest Rogers, A Fish from Versailles, Kato polyclay
Virginie Ropars, Morrigan, polymer clay & mixed media
Vincent Villafranca, Modernity’s Squeaky Child, bronze & steel

Best Art Director
Lou Anders, Pyr
Shelly Bond, DC/Vertigo Comics
Irene Gallo, Tor & Tor.com
Jeremy Jarvis, Wizards of the Coast
Lauren Panepinto, Orbit Books

Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award
Kinuko Craft
John Harris
Gregory Manchess
Iain McCaig

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Note: This post has been updated to correct the title and mention when the Chesley Awards will be announced.

Boskone is interested in knowing what you think. Whether you attended Boskone 52 or not, we would love to hear about what you want in a convention and what we can include that would make your experience better.

So, we have put together a short survey for our community members. This is your chance to help us to improve upon what we are doing well and to change what isn’t currently working.

We’d be grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to complete our survey and share your thoughts with us. After all, Boskone is your convention and we want to make it the best convention possible. Thank you for your help.

Congratulations to all of the 2014 Nebula Awards Nominees!

From the SFWA website (February 20, 2015):

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America are pleased to announce the nominees for the 2014 Nebula Awards (presented 2015), nominees for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and nominees for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Novel

• The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison (Tor)
• Trial by Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
• Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu ( ), translated by Ken Liu (Tor)
• Coming Home, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
• Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals; Fourth Estate; HarperCollins Canada)

Novella

• We Are All Completely Fine, Daryl Gregory (Tachyon)
• Yesterday’s Kin, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
• “The Regular,” Ken Liu (Upgraded)
• “The Mothers of Voorhisville,” Mary Rickert (Tor.com 4/30/14)
• Calendrical Regression, Lawrence M. Schoen (NobleFusion)
• “Grand Jeté (The Great Leap),” Rachel Swirsky (Subterranean Summer ’14)

Novelette

• “Sleep Walking Now and Then,” Richard Bowes (Tor.com 7/9/14)
• “The Magician and Laplace’s Demon,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 12/14)
• “A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i,” Alaya Dawn Johnson (F&SF 7-8/14)
• “The Husband Stitch,” Carmen Maria Machado (Granta #129)
• “We Are the Cloud,” Sam J. Miller (Lightspeed 9/14)
• “The Devil in America,” Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com 4/2/14)

Short Story

• “The Breath of War,” Aliette de Bodard (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 3/6/14)
• “When It Ends, He Catches Her,” Eugie Foster (Daily Science Fiction 9/26/14)
• “The Meeker and the All-Seeing Eye,” Matthew Kressel (Clarkesworld 5/14)
• “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family,” Usman T. Malik (Qualia Nous)
• “A Stretch of Highway Two Lanes Wide,” Sarah Pinsker (F&SF 3-4/14)
• “Jackalope Wives,” Ursula Vernon (Apex 1/7/14)
• “The Fisher Queen,” Alyssa Wong (F&SF 5/14)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Edge of Tomorrow, Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Guardians of the Galaxy, Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Interstellar, Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan (Paramount Pictures)
• The Lego Movie, Screenplay by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller  (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Unmade, Sarah Rees Brennan (Random House)
• Salvage, Alexandra Duncan (Greenwillow)
• Love Is the Drug, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
• Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, A.S. King (Little, Brown)
• Dirty Wings, Sarah McCarry (St. Martin’s Griffin)
• Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Clarion)
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton (Candlewick)

About the Nebula Awards

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of SFWA. Voting will open to SFWA Active members on March 1 and close on March 30.  More information is available from http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/how-to-vote/.

About the Nebula Awards Weekend

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s 50^th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend will be held at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois, June 4 through 7, 2015. The weekend will include tours and workshops, including workshops on self-publishing and IP law and other legal issues of interest to writers.

For a very limited time you can buy your Boskone 53 membership at the special Boskone 52 rate. The special rate won’t last long so visit the Boskone Membership page today.

Special Boskone 53 Membership Pricing:

• Adult Full Convention: $40
• College Student Full Convention: $30 (school ID required)
• K-12 Full Convention: $20 (school ID may be required)

We are also pleased to announce the guests for Boskone 53, which will be held the weekend of February 19-21, 2016 at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Mark your calendars now.

Boskone 53 Guests:

• Guest of Honor: Garth Nix
• Official Artist: Richard Anderson
• Special Guests: Arnie and Cathy Fenner
• Featured Filkers: Vixy & Tony
• NESFA Press Guest: Bob Eggleton

The Boskone Flash Fiction Slam returned for its second year and this time judges and participants battled the early morning hours and a blizzard.

Six writers took up the challenge of writing and reading a short story in under three-minutes. A panel of esteemed judges offered critique for each author. Each story was rated on a scale of 0-4 with scores tallied to determined the winners.

The Boskone Flash Fiction Slam is also a regional qualifier to the New Hampshire Writers’ Project annual Three Minute Fiction Slam. The winner of the Boskone Flash Fiction Slam is invited to participate in the finals held NH Institute of Art on March 23, 2015.

This year’s winner is Kristabelle Munson with second place to RWW Greene and third place to M.Adrian Sellers.

Thanks to judges James Patrick Kelly, F.Brett Cox, Fran Wilde and Beth Meacham.

 

Special thanks to the six writers who participated: Robin Hansen, Elise Friedman, Deb McGutchen, Kristabelle Munson, RWW Greene and M. Adrian Sellers.

One of the best parts of Boskone is the people. We’re thrilled that so many of you took to Twitter to share you experience during Boskone 52. Here’s a round up of some memorable tweets.

headed to the most romantic of all valentine’s day destinations: a scifi convention. #boskone — jess barber (@jesstherobot) February 14, 2015

First panel was good, I love short easy to remember advice. Bad reviews? Don’t respond. #Boskone — Morgan Crooks (@raponikoff) February 13, 2015

Thoroughly enjoyed the music of @VideriSQ at #Boskone tonight! Will be definitely visiting http://t.co/TyfkH00CbB pic.twitter.com/Q5vl9pTqhO

— Dr. Mary Crowell (@DrMaryCCrowell) February 14, 2015

Having a blast at #Boskone. Now I go do a panel with All The Cool People.
— Steven Brust (@StevenBrust) February 15, 2015

First panel of Boskone featuring @sexoskeleton, @ChristophGolden, Jack Huringa and @paulGtremblay! pic.twitter.com/q4hA5bMpKr
— Myke Cole (@MykeCole) February 14, 2015

 I got to moderate a panel with Jane Yolen and Jo Walton. I win. 🙂 #boskone

— Theodora Goss (@theodoragoss) February 14, 2015

[Insert brilliant convo abt appropriation, authenticity, & authorship] @CarrieCuinn @maxgladstone @kyliu99 #boskone #needmorethan140char — Victoria Sandbrook (@vsandbrook) February 14, 2015

So Bruce Coville just posed as Elly from the cover of NIGHT OWLS in the #Boskone silly poses contest. My career is complete. — Lauren Roy (@falconesse) February 15, 2015

.@fran_wilde on “bestiary” panel suggests that the monsters “at the edge of stories” may all represent “the same shadows” #boskone

— John McDaid (@jmcdaid) February 14, 2015

Some pictures from tonight’s #Boskone party for #TeamHelsinki! Kiitos to all attendees & supporters! (Cc @mightymur) pic.twitter.com/gPDy7QjsUb — Helsinki in 2017 (@helsinkiin2017) February 14, 2015

One highlight of #Boskone was sitting on the Great SpecFic for Young Readers panel w/ @brucecoville. He is a rock star to me. — Jordan Hamessley (@thejordache) February 15, 2015

Talia Duci author of Kitsunegari at #BOSKONE52 #Boskone cosplaying @gamewright Forbidden Desert pic.twitter.com/dZe9KRAIAw — Jeff Johnston (@PairOfJacksGame) February 14, 2015

So that kaffee (beer) klatch was pretty kickass. @boskonenews @MykeCole Sadly now I have to head out into snow pic.twitter.com/UXPPlmxhdl — LitL (@filmgeek1939) February 14, 2015

Great concert at Boskone by Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff last night. They did Midichlorian Rhapsody — just as astonishing the 2nd time. — Filk News (@FilkNews) February 15, 2015

#Boskone improv has been pretty solid. pic.twitter.com/uvH9b1JJ8c — Dan Brian (@DanielBrian) February 15, 2015

“The best disasters I remember involved putting things into a centrifuge.” #TallTechnicalTales #Boskone — Caraway (@gate_is_down) February 14, 2015

 @StevenBrust being interviewed by @BluejoWalton @ #boskone pic.twitter.com/G5Hwwasjsc — Rich Borroff (@borroff) February 14, 2015

The view at #Snokone/#Boskone. pic.twitter.com/Zj8SdM5DKG — Shecky (@SheckyX) February 16, 2015

Picked up this amazing original painting at Boskone 52. “Stoic” by Jon Kutzer #art #painting #amazing pic.twitter.com/acRdemOL5s — Vaughn Reynolds (@vaughn_reynolds) February 16, 2015

Loved #boskone! Thanks so much to @con_or_bust for helping to get me there. Now all I want to do is write! — Erin Roberts (@nirele) February 16, 2015

If you missed Saturday night programming due to the impending blizzard, no worries. We have your recap of all the fun you missed right here. Boston may be cold in February but our laughter kept us warm.

Skylark Winner

Congratulations to Moshe Feder, the winner of the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction, also known as the Skylark Award.

Science Fiction Improv

The fine folks of the Science Fiction Theatre Company of Boston entertained the crowd using prompts collected or shouted out from the audience.

Silly Poses

It was so popular at Boskone 51, we decided to do it again! Participants attempted to recreate some entertaining science fiction book covers. Hilarity ensued when authors recreated their covers from their own work, too.

Guest of Honor Reading

Saturday night capped off with a reading from Boskone 52 Guest of Honor, Steven Brust. He was joined by Skyler White for a special dual reading of their work together.

Two long-time favorites at Boskone are the Kaffeeklatches and the Fan Tables. Be sure to check out both and enjoy your time at Boskone. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Kaffeeklatches

Kaffeeklatsches provide a wonderful opportunity to join your favorite new or returning program participants over coffee, tea, or soda for an informal roundtable discussion. Drinks are available in the Con Suite.

Each kaffeeklatch is 50 minutes in length and takes place in the Galleria on the raised platform at the back of the room.

Attendance is limited. Sign-up is required at Program Ops in the Galleria to secure your seat at the table. Sign-up sheets are available the day before the Saturday and Sunday kaffeeklatsches. However, the Friday kaffeeklatch sign-up sheets are available at the opening of the convention.

Schedule

Friday         
4:00 PM     Jordan Hamessley, Lawrence Schoen
5:00 PM     Jeff Bohnhoff, Vincent O’Neil
6:00 PM     Max Gladstone, Neil Clarke & Kate Baker

Saturday     
10:00 AM   Dana Cameron, Charles Lang & Wendy Snow-Lang
11:00 AM   Steven Brust, Steven Kelner & Leigh Perry (Tony Kelner)
12:00 PM   Joan Slonczewski, Andrea Hairston
1:00 PM     Charles Stross, Bob Eggleton
2:00 PM     Guy Consolmagno, Michael Swanwick
3:00 PM     Elizabeth Bear & Scott Lynch, Jo Walton
4:00 PM     Walter Jon Williams, Beth Meacham
5:00 PM     Walter Hunt, Myke Cole

Sunday        
10:00 AM   David Clements, Bruce Coville
11:00 AM   Ginjer Buchanan, Mur Lafferty
12:00 PM   John Langan, Jack Haringa
1:00 PM     Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden
2:00 PM     Karl Schroeder

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Fan Tables

Fan Tables are a great way to learn about upcoming Worldcons and Worldcon bids as well as other local conventions and groups. The people at the Boskone Fan Tables are waiting to talk to you, on the lower level, just outside the Galleria. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

Here is a list of the Fan Tables that are currently confirmed. You can find out more about the Fan Tables on Boskone’s website.

ConCertino The Northeast Filk Music Convention

DC17 Worldcon Bid

Dublin in 2019 Worldcon Bid

Helsinki in 2017 Worldcon Bid 

MidAmeriCon II 2016 Worldcon

Montreal in 2017 Worldcon Bid

 Sasquan 2015 Worldcon

Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II Fan Club

Register for Boskone today. Join us February 13-15, 2015

Full Weekend Rates:

• Adult rate: $60
• College student rate: $40
• K-12 student rate: $25

Day Rates:

• Friday: $20
• Saturday: $40
• Sunday: $20

Get with the Boskone 52 program! The program was published online in mid January, but now we have a variety of other program tools for you to use when choosing what to attend and when to attend it. Here’s a list of the options so that you can choose what is right for you.

Bur sure to check out the fantastic evening programming on both Friday and Saturday nights. We’ll see you there!

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Boskone Program Website

Reference the complete program for Boskone 52 on the website!

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Pocket Program PDF

The PDF of the Pocket program is now available!

Of course, we’ll have printed copies of the Boskone 52 Pocket Program for you to pickup, mark up, and carry around with you at the convention.

However, to get you started, you’re welcome to download a copy of the new Pocket Program PDF.

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Program Grid

For those of you who prefer not to carry around the printed Pocket Program, the Program Grid for Boskone 52 is now available as a PDF.

It’s a nice visual way to see what to attend and when.

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Program Ap

Be sure to bookmark the Boskone 52 Program Application (designed by KonOpas for your smartphone, tablet or computer. This schedule will be continually updated as things change.

Many thanks to Eemeli Aro, Henry Balen, Peter Olszowka, Sharon Sbarsky, Alice Lewis & Tim Szczesuil for making this happen!

[Boskone 52 Program Ap by KonOpas.]

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Register for Boskone today.