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While Albedo One has no direct involvement in Beneluxcon 2007, one of our editors is a co-organisor, and we are very happy to give some publicity to one of the Continent’s main international SF events.
The Future is Now
Leuven, Belgium
November 23 – 25, 2007
Guests of Honour: Christopher Priest and Richard Calder
From Friday afternoon November 23 until Sunday November 25, 2007.
Where ?
In the heartland of Belgium, within easy reach of The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Germany and France, lies Leuven, world capital of beer, with one of Europe’s oldest universities, with its many high-tech companies, its busy night-life. Leuven, probably the most beautiful Flemish town, has a cosmopolitan mix of students and pubs, bookshops and restaurants. For the past decade it has been extensively renewed and its centre is now partially pedestrian. All these goodies at a few hundred meters from the hotel.
The Hotel ?
Novotel, close to the railway station, easily within reach from the E40 highway, half an hour from Brussels South Station (end station of Thalys and Eurostar), equally half an hour by train or taxi from Brussels International airport. A new hotel (2002), three stars, excellent accommodations. Parking is possible not far from the hotel. The hotel will set up its own website for registration of rooms and for the banquet.
The Programme ?
Main theme of Beneluxcon 2007 is the exploration of the near future, and both Chris Priest and Richard Calder will be speaking about their experiences with that future.
We have also arranged for an evening walk through the most fantastic corners of Leuven. More than enough time and space will be provided for fannish activities, and Leuven is so full of pubs, restaurants, shops and historical buildings you’ll need more than one weekend to explore it all.
Beneluxcon is an international event. English will be spoken prominently as a language on the programme.
Guests and Speakers
Christopher Priest
The Worldcon 2005 (where he was also GoH) has this to say about him:
Christopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a fulltime freelance since 1968. He has published ten novels, three short story collections and a number of other books, including critical work, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction. He has won the World Fantasy Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (both for his novel The Prestige), has been nominated four times for the Hugo award, and in 2001 was awarded the Prix Utopia for lifetime achievement in fantastic literature. He is married to the writer Leigh Kennedy. They live in Hastings, England, with their two children.
Christopher Priest's work has evolved from traditional genre science fiction such as Inverted World through to a series of works which are more concerned with explorations of human psyches. However, even these books are generally presented within a what Priest himself has described as "a deliberate effort to deal in a new and realistic way with stock SF ideas". Following The Affirmation (Immortality), The Glamour (Invisibility) and The Quiet Woman (a Dystopian England), Christopher's most recent books are The Prestige (Magic), The Extremes (Virtual Reality), and in 2002, The Separation (Alternate History).
Richard Calder
From his own website:
Richard Calder was born in 1956, in Whitechapel, London. In the mid seventies he read English Literature at the University of Sussex. After graduating he travelled extensively throughout South-East Asia and Australia and, upon returning to the UK, subsequently worked in bookselling, independent television and the American Embassy's press office. He became a full-time author in 1990 after moving from London to Nongkhai, Thailand, a border town overlooking Laos. In 1998 he moved to the Philippines, where he lived for some years in Castillejos, Zambales, and Baguio City. (Both Thailand and the Philippines feature heavily in his work.) After returning to London, and enduring a brief sojourn in the suburbs, he currently resides in another 'East' — his native East End.
Richard Calder's stories and reviews have been published in many magazines, including Interzone, Science Fiction Eye and Omni, and his work has been translated into several languages. He is generally regarded as one of the most startlingly original voices in contemporary science fiction.
Memberships and contact
The Beneluxcon e-mail address is: contact@futurevisions.be
Membership rates are:
50 Euro up until December 31, 2006
Afterwards: 60 Euro, up until August 31, 2007, more at the door
Children under 8 (at time of convention): Free
Children between 8 and 15 (at time of convention): Half-price.
All memberships should be paid before the appropriate date to:
IBAN BE56 7350 1429 8188 (KBC Bank, Leuven, BIC KREDBEBB), to Future Visions Unlimited, Berkenhoflaan 13, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
or you can pay by Paypal to Roelof Goudriaan:
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Adult membership Beneluxcon 2007
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€50.00
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Child membership Beneluxcon 2007 (ages 8-15)
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€25.00
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The website of Beneluxcon 2007 is a useful source for information about the convention.
When paying for memberships, please also register your contact details through the Beneluxcon registration site. Thanks!
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