Sir Julius Vogel Award Finalists – 2024

The final ballot for the 2024 Sir Julius Vogel Awards is available on the SFFANZ main site. Congratulations to all the finalists and nominees.

Neither the online voting form nor the voter packet are available yet. They are currently being prepared. Keep an eye on the finalist page for announcements regarding those.

2024 SJV Awards – Less Than 2 Weeks Left to Nominate

The nomination period for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards will close at 11:59pm on 31st March 2024. That is less than 2 weeks away, so don’t let it drift – get your nominations in.

The SJV awards recognise excellence in science fiction, fantasy or horror works created by New Zealanders and/or New Zealand residents and first published or released in the 2023 calendar year. Anybody can make a nomination and it is free. To make a nomination, please see the form.

See the website for the categories. You can click through to the Rules and Criteria for the Awards and the Guidelines for nominations. The awards ceremony will be held later in the year at Continuity, full details to be announced closer to the time.

Continuity 2024 Announcement

The following is an announcement from Continuity 2024 Convention – 6-7 July 2024, Wellington…

SFFANZ is pleased to announce that Continuity, the 2024 New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention, will be held on 6-7 July 2024 at the West Plaza Hotel in Wellington, as well as online.

As the name suggests, Continuity aims to restart the New Zealand NatCons, building on last year’s reConnect virtual convention, with a number of the reConnect team working on Continuity too.

To that end, with the support of SFFANZ and SFFCONZ, prices for Continuity will be held down to $40 for in-person membership, $30 for unwaged or student in-person membership and $30 for online-only membership (in-person membership will include online access too)*. However, donations towards to the costs of running Continuity will be gratefully accepted.

Continuity’s first Guest of Honour is noted horror author Allyson Bird. Allyson has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel [2011], The British Fantasy Society Award for Best Collection [2009]. She will be joining us in person, having moved to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 2011. In addition, Bill Geradts, founder of the Armageddon Expos, has agreed to be Fan Guest of Honour. Discussions are in progress for other guests, both in-person and virtual.

Work is underway on the convention programme which will start mid-Saturday and end Sunday afternoon. The programme will include the presentation of the Sir Julius Vogel Awards and SFFANZ Annual General Meeting; should you have ideas for programme items you would like to see or participate in, please do get in touch. Similarly, volunteers to help organise the con and run it on the day would also be greatly appreciated.

Continuity’s policy on masking will follow the guidelines from the New Zealand Ministry of Health at the time of the convention. At present, masking is recommended but not mandatory.

To register for Continuity, please go to:
https://bit.ly/Continuity2024; or
https://continuity2024.zohobackstage.com.au

For any enquiries, offers of assistance or to get in touch in general, email enquiries@continuity2024.sffanz.nz. Please also feel free to share information about Continuity with anyone you feel might be interested.

More information will follow soon, including details of lead-in events. We very much look forward to seeing you at Continuity, whether in person or online.

* Registration prices will rise at 00:00 NZT on 1 st June (King’s Birthday weekend) and again on the day/door (to $50 and $60 for full registrations, respectively). Concession prices will also rise.

The Future of SF Conventions in New Zealand

If you are interested in SF Conventions continuing locally then you really need to read this.

Read down to the bottom, there is info about an online meetup on the 25th to discuss this. If you care about conventions, you probably should attend.

Nominations for the 2024 SJV Awards open

Nominations for the 2024 Sir Julius Vogel awards are now being accepted. The nomination period will close at 11:59pm on 31st March 2024 The SJV awards recognise excellence in science fiction, fantasy, or horror works created by New Zealanders and New Zealand residents, and first published or released in the 2023 calendar year. Anyone can make a nomination and it is free!

All the details & links may be found on the main SFFANZ Site. (at the time of posting this, there are a couple of date typos on that site – no doubt they will be fixed, but you can probably work it out anyway)

Voting for the SJV Awards about to close!

I’ve voted – have you? This is a final reminder that voting for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards closes at 8pm on May 30th 2023. So get your voting forms in now to sjv_awards@sffanz.nz

Remember that you don’t have to vote in every category. If you haven’t managed to work your way through all the categories, it’s still worthwhile getting a partly completed form in. Your voice will count.

Only SFFANZ members can vote or access the voting packet – instructions for joining SFFANZ are here. But even if you aren’t voting, but support the awards, it is worth joining as your membership fee goes towards the cost of making the trophies.

ReConnect (2-4 June) will host the SJV Awards ceremony.

Ballot for SFFANZ SJV Awards Available

You can find the voting paper and instructions on the voting page.

The main SJV page is here – it contains the nominees and useful links.

The voting packet containing sample work provided by the nominees is now available – the instructions are here.

Only SFFANZ members can vote or access the voting packet – instructions for joining SFFANZ are here.

ReConnect (2-4 June) will host the SJV Awards ceremony. ReConnect is not “the natcon”, and therefore membership will not confer SJV Awards voting rights.

ReConnect – a New Zealand SF convention

ReConnect, a New Zealand SF convention, will take place online over the weekend of 2-4 June. The Guests of Honour confirmed so far are Ben Aaronovitch and James Swallow – further GoHs will be announced on the website.

The chief aim of this convention is to encourage NZ SF/F/H fans to reconnect, with a view to getting annual SF cons in NZ back up and running. ReConnect will be held online using the Zoho platform. Signing up to use Zoho is free and does not require any burdensome commitment on the user’s part. To further encourage NZ SF fans to join, membership of ReConnect is free, although any donations will be gratefully received – details of how to donate are given when joining.

ReConnect is not “the natcon”, and membership will not confer SJV Awards voting rights. To vote in the SJVs, you will still need to join SFFANZ – see the previous post. ReConnect will, however, host the SJV Awards ceremony.

Any questions, use the form on the ReConnect homepage.

Join SFFANZ to vote in the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel awards

It is time to join SFFANZ. Well it is if you want to vote in the Sir Julius Vogel awards. Joining SFFANZ also gives you a say in the running of the awards and the national convention. The annual fee is still only $10.

You can join at https://sffanz.nz/join-sffanz/.

If you are an existing member, to renew your membership, simply deposit $10 into the SFFANZ bank account using your name as reference. The bank account number can be found on the joining form.

2023 Sir Julius Vogel Award finalists announced

The finalists of the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for 2023, recognising works from the 2022 year are now available. Congratulations to everybody named. Go have a look!

2023 SJV Awards – Less Than 2 Weeks Left to Nominate

The nomination period for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards will close at 11:59pm on 31st March 2023. That is less than 2 weeks away, so don’t let it drift – get your nominations in.

The SJV awards recognise excellence in science fiction, fantasy or horror works created by New Zealanders and/or New Zealand residents and first published or released in the 2022 calendar year. Anybody can make a nomination and it is free. To make a nomination, please see the form.

See the website for the categories. You can click through to the Rules and Criteria for the Awards and the Guidelines for nominations. The awards ceremony will be held later in the year, full details to be announced closer to the time.

Calling All Fans – Nominations Needed

So to set the mood for this call to action, I have just watched the opening credits for Stingray. If you don’t know it or just want to enjoy it again, here are the opening credits (in colour) for you – enjoy.

I hope that put you in the mood for action in the next half hour. The action we want is for all you fans of sf/f/h to get your SJV nominations in. Remember that the SJVs are a fan run award and so it absolutely relies on all you fans to nominate. If you have read or watched anything by a Kiwi creative in 2022 and you enjoyed it, then you should nominate it. Remember that the number of nominations for a work matters as that determines what gets on the final ballot.

Anybody can nominate, so there is nothing stopping you as all nominations count. Although, Fun fact, if you have paid the tiny membership fee for SFFANZ, not only do you get to vote in the final ballot, but your nominations carry an extra weighting. So why not join while you are contemplating who to nominate.

Here is the blurb about the nomination process from the last posting…

Nominations for the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel awards are now being accepted. The nomination period will close at 11:59pm on 31st March 2023. The SJV awards recognise excellence in science fiction, fantasy or horror works created by New Zealanders and/or New Zealand residents and first published or released in the 2022 calendar year. Anyone can make a nomination and it is free! To make a nomination, please see the form.

See the website for the categories and get busy reading NZ authors and watching NZ movies. You can click through to the Rules and Criteria for the Awards and the Guidelines for nominations. The awards ceremony will be held later in the year, full details to be announced.

2023 Sir Julius Vogel Awards Nominations Open

Happy New Year!!

Nominations for the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel awards are now being accepted. The nomination period will close at 11:59pm on 31st March 2023. The SJV awards recognise excellence in science fiction, fantasy or horror works created by New Zealanders and/or New Zealand residents and first published or released in the 2022 calendar year. Anyone can make a nomination and it is free! To make a nomination, please see the form.

See the website for the categories and get busy reading NZ authors and watching NZ movies. You can click through to the Rules and Criteria for the Awards and the Guidelines for nominations. The awards ceremony will be held later in the year, full details to be announced.

Sir Julius Vogel Award Winners

The following is an unofficial list of winners from last night’s awards. The official list can be found on the SFFANZ main site.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES

Best Novel
Butcherbird, by Cassie Hart, Huia Publishers

Youth Novel
Fire’s Caress, Lani Wendt Young, One Tree House

Novella/Novelette
The Impossible Resurrection of Grief, by Octavia Cade, Stelliform Press

Short Story
“Data Migration,” by Melanie Harding-Shaw, Strange Horizons, July 2021

Collected Work
Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy Vol 3, edited by Marie Hodgkinson Paper Road Press

Best Artwork
Cover of Foxhunt, created by Laya Rose

Best Production/Publication
What You Need Right Now is a Nice Soothing Horror Story, by Tabatha Wood, The Spinoff

Best Dramatic Presentation
Wellington Paranormal (series 3) — Jemaine Clement (director); Tim van Dammen (director); New Zealand Documentary Board (production company)

FAN CATEGORIES

Best Fan Artwork
[Tie]
Deva, created by Michelle Kan
Jinx, by Jules

Best Fan Production/Publication
Phoenixine, edited by John and Jo Toon

Best Fan Writing
Wormholes and Workers, by Andi C. Buchanan, Vector Magazine, issue 294, Autumn 2021

SPECIAL AWARDS

Best New Talent
Graci Kim

Services to Fandom
Michelle Kan

SFFANZ Online Event Details

The key details for the online details of the online event for the SFFANZ AGM and SJV Awards are now available.

This link has the agenda and how to register to get the Zoom meeting link (you have to register, the link will not be published publicly).

This link has all the details about the AGM including the AGM agenda and associated documents.

SJV ceremony and one-day event – ONLINE

An update from the board…
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Due to a lack of registrations for a physical event, the SFFANZ board has made the decision to go virtual for the one-day event on August 13th.

Details of what will be in place will be released as soon as possible.

We’re disappointed that we can’t get together to discuss things in person, but hopefully by going virtual we can get more attendance.

At this stage we’ll be using Zoom. We’ll be hosting the AGM, the SJVs and a session on planning next year’s natcon at a minimum. IF you’d like to be part of a virtual panel, please get in touch with Lynelle asap and we’ll see what we can arrange.

SFFANZ Mini Science Fiction Convention

SFFANZ have announced a new date for the One-day event! Save the date for Saturday August 13th.

You can sign up for the event at this link.

The full statement is reproduced below but the tldr is you need to sign up by July 30th to determine whether the event can go ahead in person or pivot to virtual.

——–
We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting the SFFANZ AGM and presenting the Sir Julius Vogel awards physically on Saturday, August 13th, 2022 at the West Plaza Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand.

This day will be an opportunity for us to get together and build community spirit again after a long time apart. It will also be a chance for you to tell us what you want for fandom in New Zealand.

We understand that COVID-19 is still causing a lot of nervousness and fear in terms of getting together, and we will work to ensure we’re as safe as we can be while still getting together to have fun.

Details about the SFFANZ AGM, which will be held as part of the day, will be out shortly. Please note you’ll need to be an SFFANZ member to vote at the AGM. You can find details about joining SFFANZ at http://sffanz.nz

One of the things we will be discussing after the AGM is planning future conventions -specifically 2023 and 2024. If you have ever thought you’d like to run a con, the SFFANZ board is happy to chat with you about what’s involved. There is seed fund money available to assist you with making bookings, etc. You’re not alone, there is support, and we can help you make it happen.

In order to make the SFFANZ one-day event happen, we need to know who’s coming – and the sooner the better.

So the sooner we know you’re coming, the more likely this event will happen. If we cannot get enough people in person, we may have to run a virtual event.

Please share information about this event as widely as you want to. The more the merrier. This is not just a day for SFFANZ members, but for all members of our community to get together and remember why we like to do that.

We will also be hosting small panel events prior to the beginning of the AGM and the SJV ceremony. The programme for the day will be advised once we have an idea of numbers. There will be one stream, so events will try to be of general interest to fans.

The panel events are open to all registered attendees, the SFFANZ AGM is open to all, but only SFFANZ members may vote. The SJV ceremony is open to all to attend.

There is no cost to attend, although any donations will be gratefully received.

As the country is in ORANGE setting, we encourage the wearing of masks when participating in the one-day event. The hotel’s policy is that masks are encouraged in communal areas of the hotel.

We are aware of the needs of our hearing-impaired members, and will take steps to ensure they’re able to participate as far as we’re able.

Please RSVP no later than Saturday, July 30th, 2022.

Get your 2022 SJV Awards Votes in Now!

Extended voting in the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards closes this upcoming Thursday 30th June.

Here are the links for things you need to know…

The main SFFANZ site (separate to this news service) was down for a bit – that has been fixed.

How to Join SFFANZ. You need to be a member to vote (it only costs $10).

How to Vote.

You will need to download the voting form.

If you need more info about the nominees, there is a voting pack available.

Voting will close at 8pm on June 30 (New Zealand time).

There will be a rescheduled awards ceremony – stay tuned…

Postponement of one-day event and extension of SJV Award voting

The SFFANZ Board has issued the following statement…
——–
The SFFANZ board has decided to extend voting in this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards until June 30 as insufficient votes have been received to date. If there are still insufficient votes received at that time, no awards will be presented this year. The board feels such action is necessary to protect the value and prestige of the awards.

The one-day event will also be moved to allow for the extra voting time. The registrations for this event had also been lackluster, so it’s hoped the new date will attract more people to attend. We expect, at this stage, that this will be in mid-July, pending confirmation with the venue.

The voting paper and voter packet will be available again shortly on the sffanz website http://www.sffanz.nz. The one-day form will also be shortly updated to reflect the new date once we’ve spoken with the hotel.

For those who have already cast their vote, please note we will continue to hold those safe until the extended voting period closes.

We apologise to those who may already have made travel plans for June 25, however, we feel this action is necessary.

——–
If you need the voting links, you can find them all in this earlier post.

One Week to Go – Voting in the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards

A reminder that voting in the 2022 Sir Julius Vogel Awards closes in a week!!.

Voting will close at 8pm on May 31 (New Zealand time).

Here are the links for things you need to know…

How to Join SFFANZ. You need to be a member to vote.

How to Vote.

You will need to download the voting form.

If you need more info about the nominees, there is a voting pack available.

There will be an awards ceremony – stay tuned for updates…