The Highland Arts folk and HI-EX Comics are running a comic weekend event in Inverness on February 2nd and 3rd 2008.

It’s going to be at the newly refurbished Eden Court. It’s a great space and will be an excellent venue. There’s plenty of on and near site parking, a bar and restaurant on site.

Always useful for an event like this is local accomodation (within walking distance), and HI-EX are trying to organise event discount rates at nearby hotels.

So far the guest list is growing, with positive replies from the likes of Alan Grant, Cam Kennedy, John Smith, Andy Diggle, Yishan Li, D’Israeli, Colin MacNeil and a load more. (Subject to their workload).

As well as guest signings and sketching, there will be an art exhibition, kids workshops, talks, panel discussions, traders, small press, publishers, fancy dress, charity fundraisers, generally all the usual comic convention activities but they are working to give the event a wider family appeal with outreach sessions in local schools the week before and a lot of local promotion.

Inverness has boomed in recent years and ‘Highland 2007′ has been a year long cultural celebration across the Highlands with hundreds of diverse arts events. It’s a perfect time to get comics represented up here too.

Upto date details can be found on the HI-EX Comics site.

Cybernetic Humanoid Cyborg Artwork: Luminaries: Et Cetra Gallery, Hackney, London

Jane Webb is an artist that is influenced by science fiction and fantasy. She has a series of cybernectic humanoids (cyborgs) and some alien casted glass work in an art exhibition from 26th July - 2nd August, entitled Luminaries.

Luminaries Venue:
Et Cetra Gallery
1a Darnley Road
Hackney
London E9 6QH

Price:
Free!

Nearest Rail Station:
Hackney Central

Timings:
Monday - Friday 12am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm.

Jane has been shortlisted a couple of times this year, of which, a list is below. She currently has some work entirled Cyborg DJ on display at the V&A Museum.

Even though Jane prefers to sculpture, she has taken time out to write about her work, explaining her love for creation, science fiction and the ‘not watching properly’ of fantasy and scifi movies.

She is influenced by a lot of science fiction and futuristic imagery from movies and other artists. The strangest thing is she doesn’t watch the movie and keep with the story line, she only watches for visual simulation. She gets too easily distracted by the props, costumes and effects, having a strong interest in mechanical and robotic imagery
going back to early days of the Metropolis movie.

More recently Jane has been working on cyborgs, which have been a strong influence on her work with a combination of lighting effects. United Artists collabarated with Massive Attack to produce an art installation called Volume, If you love the green coded lights on the Matrix, you’ll love this she says. Jane is also inspired by the works of the great H. R . Giger, as seen in the Alien films.

She works in many medias but prodemantly using glass, lighting, circuit boards and recycled computer components, most of which is found on the street. She strips down the components inside anything electrical, looking for interesting parts. Little know fact: the inside of a hair dryer makes a good cyborg eye. Then depending what she is working on, these get constructed with other media and extra wiring and some type of what she calls a wow factor, like lighting with a UV or a set of LEDs spinning on a fan in sequences.

Her glass work can range from her mirror light boxes with imagery, to fused glass. She did a series of an Alien embossed tile in glass and ceramics. This was a long process of mould making and experimenting in a kiln until the desired finished result was achieved. The black tile has been acid etched to give it more depth. If you love H. R. Giger’s work you will definitely love this. She often makes them for collectors on a commission basis.

The Luminaries show coming up is a joint show with artist and photographer John Williams.

Jane Webb is a glass and illumination artist using numerous Medias. This year Jane has been short listed for Pride in the House and Inspire by awards and currently has Cyborg DJ on display in the V&A Museum. Her more recent futuristic works of cybernetic humanoids sculptures and installations combine lighting, recycled computer and electronic components which are found littering our London streets.

These items are salvaged and transformed into cyborgs.

John Williams’ Info:
John Williams creates black and white photographic works in “free-form”. He does this by folding weaving, plaiting and even crushing light-sensitive papers into life size free standing and relief sculptures. Working in three dimensions allows him to exploit the normally forbidden spaces above and below the conventional darkroom focal plane.

Re-objectifying the subject into a physical structure that can be walked around and seen through, change expression as well as casting actual shadows.
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Parallel Futures: An Evening Of Scifi Flicks

Elliot Russell at Parallel Futures has organised a Sci-Fi film evening entitled Parallel Futures. Specialising in independant and rare sci-fi films set in the future.

Parallel Futures are also on the look out for sci-fi films to show. So if you want to put your film forward to be showcased, then let him know.

The event has been confirmed to start on Sunday the 7th of October 2007 in the basement of the Juno bar in Shoreditch at 19:00.

Event Lineup:
19:00 The stall opens, you can buy refreshments
20:00 3021 a war in space
20:20 10 min break
20:30 Future Wars
21:00 10 min break
21:10 Cyberpunk Genre
21:13 Ariella
21:23 12 min break
21:35 Karate Ruler
21:50 Twitch
22:00 Stall re-opens, can get refreshments
23:00 Event closes

The Address For The Venuer Is:
134/135 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch, London, E1 6JE.

The Nearest Train Station:
Old Street.

Directions To The Event:
Once you leave the ticket barriers of the station, turn left and then follow the signs that lead you out of Exit 2.
Once you are out of Exit 2 walk straight on, crossing any roads that you come to until you come to a metal bridge.
Walk under the bridge to the other side, turn left and cross the road.
Then you walk straight on and keep looking left for a billboard that says ‘Juno Bar’. The basement to the bar will be on your left as soon as you enter the bar.
At the bottom of the stairs will be a doorman to sell entry tickets.

Pricing:
Entry on the door will be £8, or you make an advanced booking for £7 by ordering a ticket at: http://parallelfutures.moonfruit.com/ and follow the links.

Contact Info And Questions:
You can contact Parallel Futures on their website at: http://parallelfutures.moonfruit.com/.

2007 Short Story Conference

* ‘The Story Shall Be Changed’: Tales and Re-tellings in the Short Story
* Saturday 21st July 2007, Edge Hill University

The short story is a protean form, encompassing myth, fable, anecdote, tall tales, yarns and literary experimentation. Rooted in oral tradition, storytelling has a special affinity with popular genres such as science fiction and tales of the supernatural.

In this second one-day conference on the short story at Edge Hill, we focus on this multiplicity of forms and genres. We also consider the re-imagining of familiar narratives, themes and imagery; and the invention of new ones. How is the short story being transformed in the twenty-first century?

The conference is linked with the inaugural presentation of the Edge Hill Prize, for a published single author collection from the British Isles. The winner will be announced on the eve of the conference, and it is hoped that writers from the shortlist (announced May 2007) will take part in the conference reading.

Confirmed speakers include:

* Professor Alan Wall (Richard Dadd in Bedlam and Other Stories)
* Andy Sawyer (Science Fiction Foundation, University of Liverpool)
* Cecilia Morreau (Leaf Books)

Call for Papers

Proposals for 20 minute papers are invited from all those writing and researching the short story, whether as practitioners or literary scholars (or both). Practice-based presentations are welcome. Suggested topics:

* Genre and sub-genre – crime – horror – the ghost story – fantasy – science fiction – gothic – erotica – autobiography – online writing – multi-media – hybrid genres.
* Intertextuality – myth and symbolism – image-based fiction – the epiphany – adaptation - oral storytelling - modernism and postmodernism.
* Individual authors – re-readings and reworkings – writing in translation - postcolonial fiction – experiment and innovation – novellas – story sequences – flash fiction – anthologies.
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