Tähtifantasia & Tähtivaeltaja Awards 2014

The Tähtifantasia Award is given annually to the best translated fantasy book published in Finnish during the previous year. This year’s award was announced at Finncon.

The winner of the award was the short story collection Kanelipuodit ja muita kertomuksia by Bruno Schulz, published by Basam Books. The collection includes all the short stories written by Schulz.

The jury commended the poetic, metaphorical language of Schulz that creates a wondrous reality where the living merges with the inanimate, dreams with consciousness, the mind with the outside reality. Humans are a part of the whole that is constantly changing. Schulz was mentioned to be a predecessor of the weird fiction born in the early 20th century, a style of fantasy that also comes close to horror and science fiction. His influence can be seen in the works of many new weird writers.

The award jury comprised critic Jukka Halme, critic Aleksi Kuutio, author and editor Anne Leinonen and the Risingshadow.net representative Osmo Määttä.

Another Helsinki Science Fiction Society award, the Tähtivaeltaja Award for best science fiction book published in Finnish last year, was announced earlier this year. The winner was Sokeanäkö (Blindsight) by Peter Watts, published in Finland by Gummerus.

The jury described the book as having fascinatingly strange and diverse characters, and wondrous scientific inventions. Sokeanäkö is masterfully constructed and offers startling visions about the significance of consciousness, the forming of identity, the structures of awareness, and the evolution of the human race.

The award jury was: critic Hannu Blommila, editor Toni Jerrman, critic Elli Leppä, and critic Antti Oikarinen.

Nova Competition 2014

The results of the Nova short story competition for new writers were announced at Finncon. The first prize went to Tuukka Tenhunen for his short story “Ugrilainen tapaus” (“The Ugric Incident”). The competition was organized for the 15th time this yeard, with a record amount of 198 short stories participating. The competition jury comprised author Magdalena Hai, last year’s winner Anna Malinen, book blogger Hanna Matilainen, sf writer Tarja Sipiläinen, and the editor of the Kosmoskynä zine Juri Timonen.

The top three this year was as follows:

1. Tuukka Tenhunen: Ugrilainen tapaus (200 €)
2. Anu Korpinen: Tähden hauta (100 €)
3. Taru Hautala: Jo joutui armas eilinen (50 €)

photo: Magdalena Hai

Kosmoskynä Award to Pasi Karppanen

The Finnish Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association occasionally gives a Kosmoskynä (“Cosmos Pen”) award to a person who has benefited Finnish science fiction literature in a commendable way. This year at Finncon the award was given to Pasi Karppanen for his work in reinvigorating the association in the early 2000s. He had a hand in breathing new life to the association zine Kosmoskynä, and starting new competitions and other activities. He was also the editor of the Kosmoskynä zine for several years.

Congratulations!

Atorox Award 2014

The Atorox Award for best Finnish sf short story published last year was traditionally announced at Finncon this weekend. This year’s winner is Jussi Katajala for his short story Mare Nostrum, published in the Osuuskumma eco-sf anthology Huomenna tuulet voimistuvat.

The top three this year was:

1. Jussi Katajala: Mare Nostrum (Huomenna tuulet voimistuvat, Osuuskumma)
2. Shimo Suntila: Milla ja Meri (Portti 2/2013)
3. Miikka Pörsti: Raportti. Mikä johti operaatio Tähtivaeltajan epäonnistumiseen? (Tähtivaeltaja 4/2013)

Two observations: this was the first year since 2000 with an all-male top three for Atorox. Also, this was the second year in a row that the winner was published in an Osuuskumma anthology. As Osuuskumma is only two years old, it remains to be seen whether the trend continues, but I think it’s obvious (not just from these results but when looking at published short fiction in Finland in general) that there’s been a major shift from publishing mostly in fanzines to getting a lot of new stories published in anthologies.

Congratulations to the winner and runner-ups!

Finncon Program Announced

This year’s Finncon has published their program schedule. The programming starts on Friday, July 11 with the traditional Hugo discussion at Kirjailijatalo, and continues until late Sunday afternoon. As usual, there’s quite a bit of programming in English as well as in Finnish.

Finncon 2014 Online

This year’s Finncon has launched a proper website and will be updating information there regularly starting now (the English version will also launch soon). They are also on Twitter as @finncon2014, so you can follow that for updates as well.

Finncon 2014 Announces Hotels

The website of next year’s Finncon now has some info, most importantly about hotels (only in Finnish at the moment, though).

If you’re going to Finncon next summer, you should book your room quickly—Jyväskylä is hosting a big housing fare next summer at the same time as Finncon, so there will probably be a shortage of hotel rooms in the city (and the prices are already above average for Jyväskylä).

The main con hotel is Alba, located on a beautiful spot by the water, a bit away from the city centre, but only a short walking distance (about 600 meters) from the con site. The convention price is 94 €/room/night for a standard double room, 78 €/room/night for a standard single room, and 74 €/room/night for an economy single room. Superior rooms and suites with a sauna are also available. The prices include breakfast and parking.

There are more rooms in the Rantasipi Laajavuori. It is more remote—located a few kilometres away from the con site (about 5 minutes by car)—but on the other hand, it is a spa hotel so if you want to combine some extra relaxing with the convention, it might be a good choice. Prices are 92 €/room/night for a single and 102 €/room/night for a double room, including breakfast and use of the spa and gym.

A more affordable option is Gasthaus Laajis, four kilometres from the con site. Prices are 35 €/person/night in a double room, and 30 €/person/night in a 4-person room. You can add extra beds in the rooms fro 15 €/person/night, up to 8 persons. Breakfast is included in the standard prices; for extra beds breakfast is an additional 6 €. The hostel has shared bathrooms and also facilities for preparing food.

The reservation code for the con prices is FINNCON2014. The offer is valid until May 11 for Alba and Rantasipi (but it’s doubtful there will be available rooms that long). To get the special price for Laajis you must book the room by February 1.

Besides the official convention accommodation, it’s of course possible to book your room independently. There are still some vacancies in the Jyväskylä hotels, but the prices might be higher than what you’re used to. Milton is of course the traditional hotel used by Finncon attendees. I’ve got a room booked at the Alexandra (right by the railway station). The most inexpensive option (excluding hostels) is the Omena hotel, with current prices of 70 €/room/night for a double or 90 €/room/night for a four-person room (not including breakfast).

I’ve put together a Google Map where you can see the con site and the accommodation options mentioned here.