Random thoughts and images - Dreaming of a sci fi hit? Come to Conflux 5

Wondering what to do on the first weekend in October this year? Wonder no more. Come to Canberra, for the fifth Conflux science fiction convention, Friday October 3 to Monday October 6.

Our guests are international YA editor Sharyn November, Australian writer and editor Jack Dann (yes, we are claiming him, damn it!), winner of this year’s Golden Aurealis for best short story Cat Sparks, Canberra-based novelist, foodist and historian Gillian Polack and long-time Australian fan and science fiction critic Bruce Gillespie.

Our venue is the Marque Hotel, on the main drag in and out of Canberra. It’s a new venue, and is set to offer us a different experience yet enable us to maintain some Conflux traditions, such as the Saturday night banquet and a range of workshops. Keep an eye out for the special room rate if you want to stay (the rooms are really nice), but there are also other hotels around it. And it’s just a couple of blocks to Civic, and great eating and entertainment.

Our theme this year is Dreaming – apt in the light of recent events, since we will be using it to pay homage to the indigenous peoples of Australia. We’ll also be looking at dreaming in terms of the impact of science fiction on us – the sense of wonder and amazement it creates. Also, we’ll be looking at our individual dreams – they way we felt the first time we read an Isaac Asimov, the first time we saw Star Trek or Star Wars, the first time we might like-minded people and realised we weren’t alone in this perception of the world.

The secondary theme – the roaring 20s in New York. We’ll not only celebrate the birth of science fiction (courtesy of Hugo Gernsback), but our Saturday night banquet will feature the food and costumes of the prohibition, while on Sunday the bar will turn into a speakeasy.

Workshops will be held during the day on Friday, and Monday afternoon. We’ll have the times and descriptions of workshops ready for you early enough to ensure you’re available, whether you need to take time off or make sure you get to Canberra early enough.

We’ll have three streams of panels during the day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning, along with kaffeeklatches and readings. We’ll have an art show and dealers room and this year are trying something a bit different – the creative corner, where people can come along, watch artists at work and have a go at doing some stuff themselves.

There will be fun, there will be games, there will be a sense of wonder and dreaming. Come along and join the fun!

Memberships are currently $160 for full, $140 for concessions and $35 for supporting and will go up in price on August 1 to $200 for full membership. Now is a great time to get in and get your membership. And don’t forget, if you purchase a supporting membership now, you can upgrade later for the current price. If you can’t come, but want access to progress reports, the con souvenir book and other things, buy a supporting membership.

For more information, check out www.conflux.org.au (and while you’re there, don’t forget to listen to the podcasts of last year’s panels) or email info@conflux.org.au