PARSEC
Pittsburgh's Premiere Science Fiction Organization
For the promotion of literary Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and other Speculative Fictions

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PARSEC Picnic
8 August 2010

This year's picnic will be on Saturday August 14th from noon to dark at the Stone Manse pavilion.

To reach it from Pittsburgh, you go out Saw Mill Run Blvd. (Rte. 51) to Library Rd. (Rte. 88). After entering the Park on Corrigan Dr. (it's the main road through the park), you will pass a skating rink on the right and then, you will come to a roundabout. Go three quarters of the way around it and exit on the north side through the two stone pillars. This is Stone Manse Rd. The pavilion is only about 100 yards up this road on the right, just past the Oliver Miller homestead.


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In a change from previous years, If you want to bring beer, Sarah-Wade sprang for an alcohol permit for the sight. Also, there is a portajohn on the sight, but there is no electrictiy on any pavillion in the park, so you will need batteries for any electrical devices. Also, there are no grills. If you are bringing a grill, contact Sarah-Wade at MandoGrrl(at)hotmail(dot)com


Schedule of Events

Calendar View


Writing Contest Delay
16 July 2010

The winners of the writing contest would normaly have been anounced at this time. Unfortunately, due to uncontrolable citcumstances, that announcement has been delayed.

Please be patient and stay tuned.




Alpha Book Signing
3 January 2010

Authors attending the Alpha Young Writer's Workshop will be having a book signing at the Greensburg Barnes & Noble:

Timothy Zahn and David Barr Kirtley: Sunday July 18, 2:00-4:30 PM

Tamora Pierce, Holly Black, and Michael A. Arnzen: Tuesday July 20, 7:00-9:00 PM




Phil Klass (1920-2010)
11 July 2010



Get Writing
3 January 2010

As we start a new year, it's time resolve to write more.

Triangualtions editor Bill Moran is calling for submission for this year's theme; "End of the Rainbow". Follow this link to read the submission guidelines. The deadline is March 31st, 2010.

PARSEC's annual writing contest is also underway with the theme; "The Color of Silence". Follow this link for submission guidelines. The deadline is April 15th, 2010.




Science Fiction Awards Watch
12 December 2009

If you've ever wondered who's winning what awards, you can check out the Science Fiction Awards Watch blog at http://www.sfawardswatch.com/.



Secrets in the Fog
21 September 2009

The Monroeville Public Library has invited local author, Ellen Spain, to discuss her new novel Secrets in the Fog: the Invisibility Project on October 6th at 7:00 PM in the Gallery Room.

"Secrets in the Fog: the Invisibility Project" , now at Amazon.com, is a paranormal mystery in which teenage prodigy Morgan Walker discovers her destiny. Born with clairvoyant ability but instructed by her parents never to use it, she realizes her fate while attending an island ecology summer program at a prestigious college near Bar Harbor, Maine. She develops a close friendship with sixteen year-old Peter Dugua, a Passamaquoddy Native American intent on preserving his heritage. As they secretly investigate why nearby Acadia Laboratory is producing a black toxic fog, they discover that the Defense Intelligence Agency is secretly testing a highly classified invisibility cloaking device on nearby Gull Island, a wildlife sanctuary. The students get caught up in a life and death situation when they discover corrupt federal security contractors for the project helping terrorists steal the invisibility cloaking system.

To read excerpts from the book or to learn more about the author, go to www.EllenSpain.com and click on the book's cover. The October 6th book discussion is sponsored by the Monroeville Public Library's Adult Programs and is free and open to the public.


2009 Hugo Award Winners
9 August 2009
  • Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)
  • Best Novella: "The Erdmann Nexus", Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)
  • Best Novelette: "Shoggoths in Bloom", Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)
  • Best Short Story: "Exhalation", Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
  • Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
  • Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)
  • Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
  • Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
  • Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
  • Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
  • Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
  • Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
  • Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
  • Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu
  • John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham

Other details available at http://www.thehugoawards.org/




2009 Hugo Award Nominations
20 March 2009

From http://www.thehugoawards.org/




Suvudu Free Book Library
7 March 2009

Del Ray presents the Suvudu Free Book Library where you can download a selection of first books of SF series as PDF files for free. They are kicking off the library with five full-length novels, adding new titles on a regular basis.

The first batch of free books are "Blood Engines" by T. A. Pratt, "His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novik, "Settling Accounts: Return Engagements" by Harry Turtledove, "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson" and "Assassin's Apprentice" by Robin Hobb.

http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/




Nebula Award Nominations
28 February 2009

Here are this year's nominees for the Nebula Awards

Novels

Little Brother - Doctorow, Cory (Tor, Apr08)
Powers- Le Guin, Ursula K. (Harcourt, Sep07)
Cauldron - McDevitt, Jack (Ace, Nov07)
Brasyl - McDonald, Ian (Pyr, May07)
Making Money - Pratchett, Terry (Harper, Sep07)
Superpowers - Schwartz, David J. (Three Rivers Press, Jun08)

Novellas

"The Spacetime Pool" - Asaro, Catherine (Analog, Mar08)
"Dark Heaven" - Benford, Gregory (Alien Crimes, ed. Mike Resnick, SFBC, Jan07)
"Dangerous Space" - Eskridge, Kelley (Dangerous Space, Aqueduct Press, Jun07)
"The Political Prisoner" - Finlay, Charles Coleman (F&SF, Aug08)
"The Duke in His Castle" - Nazarian, Vera (Norilana Books, Jun08)

Novelettes

"If Angels Fight" - Bowes, Richard (F&SF, Feb08)
"Dark Rooms" - Goldstein, Lisa (Asimov's, Oct/Nov 07)
"Pride and Prometheus" - Kessel, John (F&SF, Jan08)
"Night Wind" - Rosenblum, Mary (Lace and Blade, ed. Deborah J. Ross, Norilana Books, Feb08)
"Baby Doll" - Sinisalo, Johanna (The SFWA European Hall of Fame, ed. James Morrow & Kathryn Morrow, Tor, Jun07 )
"Kaleidoscope" - Wentworth, K.D. (F&SF, May07)

Short Stories

"The Button Bin" - Allen, Mike (Helix: A Speculative Fiction Quarterly, Oct07)
"The Dreaming Wind" - Ford, Jeffrey (The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, ed. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Viking, Jul07)
"Trophy Wives" - Hoffman, Nina Kiriki (Fellowship Fantastic, ed. Greenberg and Hughes, DAW Books, Jan08)
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss"- Johnson, Kij (Asimov's, Jul08)
"The Tomb Wife"- Jones, Gwyneth (F&SF, Aug07)
"Don’t Stop" - Kelly, James Patrick (Asimov's, Jun07)

Scripts

The Dark Knight - Nolan, Jonathan; Nolan, Christopher, Goyer, David S. (Warner Bros., Jul08)
WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter (Walt Disney June 2008)
The Shrine - Wright, Brad (Stargate Atlantis, Aug08)

Norton

Graceling - Cashore, Kristin (Harcourt, Oct08)
Lamplighter - Cornish, D.M. (Monster Blood Tattoo, Book 2, Putnam Juvenile, May08))
Savvy - Law, Ingrid (Dial, May08)
The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Pearson, Mary E. (Henry Holt and Company, Apr08)
Flora's Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa from a Shaky Doom (Despite Being Confined to Her Room) - Wilce, Ysabeau S. (Harcourt, Sep08)

Winners to be anounced at Nebula Weekend, April 24-26,2009 in Los Angeles, California.




Triangulation Call for Submissions
21 December, 2008

The Triangulation speculative fiction anthology for 2009 has opened its doors to submissions. If you haven't heard yet, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine said we were "equal to any issue of your favorite prozine" and we're hoping to get similar praise with this year's anthology as well, which is our third year with open call.

We're a hard-copy short fiction anthology of around 125-150 pages that comes out yearly, and we pay semi-pro rates for short fiction--2 cents a word. We're looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction, ranging in size from flash fiction up to 5000 words and set to the theme "Dark Glass".

We'll leave it to you to tell us exactly what that theme translates to.

The full guidelines can be found at:

http://parsecink.org/staticpages/index.php/triangulation_09_guidelines

Submitted by Joseph Benedetto, Assistant Fiction Editor, Triangulation 2009




2009 Officers
17 December, 2008

The election winners are as follows:

President: Eric Davin
Vice-President: Kira Heston
Treasurer: Alexandra (Sasha) Riley
Secretary: Bill Hall

Congratulations to the winners!





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