AEON AWARD 2009 ROUND 1 SHORTLIST!

Apr 23 - We're delighted to be able to announce the first additions to the shortlist for the 2009 Aeon Award short fiction contest! This round ended March 31st and we'd like to thank everyone who entered and supported the Award. Very obviously, we couldn't do it without you. Congratulations to the shortlisted authors and sincere commiserations to those who havent made the shortlist this time round. The names of the authors of the shortlisted stories are kept hidden while the contest proceeds, but are revealed once Grand Judge Ian Watson has made a final decision after the contest ends, November 2009.

On the Feast of Stephen
Fenn, Brother of Francis
The Art of the Intractable
Mr. Kriswinkle's Third Maiden Voyage
Gordon Street
Pirate Copies

Remember, the Award is still open, with further additions to the shortlist announced at the end of the second round in June. Get those stories in the post or email and be in with the chance to win the Grand Prize of 1000 euro and publication in Albedo One! Full entry details here.

AEON AWARD 2008 WINNING STORIES

Feb 14 - At long last it comes time to announce the winning stories from the 2008 International Aeon Award short fiction contest. Grand Judge Ian Watson returned with his verdict on the first, second and third place stories from the top seven stories sent for his consideration. Needless to say, his job was not an easy one. Congratulations to the winners!

First place and winner of €1,000:
Twinkle Twinkle - Colin Henchley

Second place and winner of €200:
Aegis – D.T. Neal

Third place and winner of €100:
The Better To See You With - Allison Francisco

We can now reveal the names of all the shortlisted authors, of which there were a record breaking 40 in the 2008 contest. Thank you for supporting the Award and helping it fulfill its goal of promoting new writers and writing in the speculative genres.

Extracts from a Three Volume Novel – Ian Wild
Inventions - Alex Carnevale
Sundays Off - Gerard Farrell
The Hot Chocolate Rocket - Martin Belderson
The Trapped Tailcoat – Ian Wild
Doors - Julian West
Shadow Pains - Kelvin M Knight
Lessons In Love - Kelvin M Knight
Breaking the Mould - Steven J. Hopley
Escher - Helgard de Barros
The Walnut Tree - Malcolm Bray
Stay Special - Susan Lanigan
Hot Chocolate - Susan Lanigan
Regret Me Not - Jennifer Harwood Smith
55286 - Jennifer Harwood Smith
Come The Spring - Ahmed Jamel
Swan Wing - Joanne Mills
YoYo - Romily McNulty
Hood - Alice Godwin
You, Me and Them - Alexis Boddy
A Bump in the Night - Nakia Johnson
The Horror of Life - Clive Maxwell-Yates
Dreamscape - Matt Bone
Windproject NX104 - Anne Lente
Convicts – Robert Boumis
The Firebird - Roshni Beeharry
Lies - Kelly Harmon
The Den Ghost - Eleanor Thom
Went Wrong - Jeff Nottingham
Doorways - Catherine Edmunds
The Fatal Book - Loren Rhoads
The Flower Builder - Bernadette Owens
The Paper Garden - T. E. Peploe
Thirstlands - Nick Wood
Facing Demons - Nigel Plane
iDementia - Helmut Obermeir
The Cursed - Lisa Clarkson

Don't forget, the Aeon Award 2009 is now open to submissions. Grand Prize is €1,000, second prize €200 and third prize €100 and publication in Albedo One. Full details may be found here.

AEON AWARD 2008 TOP SHORTLISTED STORIES

Jan -28 At long last - the judges are ready to announce the chosen top six stories from the Aeon Award 2008 shortlist. However, because of an unresolvable tie in voting, there happen to be seven chosen stories! These have all already gone to Grand Judge Ian Watson, and the winning stories will be announced on this website on February 14th! At this time the names of all 40 shortlisted authors will also be presented for the world to see and admire! Our congratulations to the top seven authors on the shortlist, your stories were deemed to be of the very highest merit by the judges. Commiserations to those authors not chosen in the top seven, the quality of your stories certainly gave the judges a hard time in deciding, and we have no doubts we will see your name in lights in the future. A sincere thank you to all who entered and supported the Award.

Top Seven Stories, in no order:

Extracts from a Three Volume Novel
Sundays Off
Inventions
The Hot Chocolate Rocket
The Better to See You With
Aegis
Twinkle Twinkle

Don't forget, the Aeon Award 2009 is now open to submissions, Grand Prize 1000 euro and publication in Albedo One. Full entry details may be found here.

AEON AWARD 2009 LAUNCHED!

Dec '30 - As of January 1st 2009, the fourth International Aeon Award short fiction contest is open to entries. The Aeon Award is all about promoting new writers and writing in the speculative fiction genres (including SF, fantasy, horror or anything in-between or unclassifiable). The quality and diversity of submissions we've had to the previous three Aeon Awards has reaffirmed our faith in the value and vitality of speculative fiction, despite the pronouncements of its detractors and the proclamation of the death of SF, of the short story, etc.... This year's Award will have a Grand Prize of 1000 euro and publication in Albedo One magazine. Second and third place stories will receive 200 and 100 euro respectively, alongside publication in Albedo One. The winning stories will be chosen by highly respected genre author Ian Watson. Previous winners have been announced at the World Science Fiction Convention and European Science Fiction Convention. Stories shortlisted for the Award have also received Honourable Mentions or been reprinted in the prestigious Year's Best volumes. Entering the Award can certainly get you noticed, never mind the potential prize money or publication in Albedo One. A modest entry fee of 7 euro applies for each entry, which may be paid easily and securely online via PayPal. The contest is open from 1st Jan to 30th Nov, 2009. Full entry details and online payment options may be found here. Good luck with your entries! We look forward to reading your work.

AEON AWARD 08 FINAL ROUND SHORTLIST

Dec '18 After finally concluding the harrowing process of choosing the stories to shortlist from the huge number of high quality entries to the final round of the Aeon Award 2008 contest, the judges are now ready to release the names of their chosen stories. This time they have added a record 13 new stories, and only wish they could have added more, such was the overwhelming response. The total stories on the shortlist now amounts to 40, again a record for the Aeon Award. All we can say at Albedo One is thank you for supporting the Award, we hope that we can give back to you as much as you have given to us. The final additions to the shortlist are highlighted in bold in the list below. The next step of the process is for the judges to vote on their top six favourites of all those stories on the shortlist (also to be announced on this website). The voting is carried out anonymously, so it's only story quality the judges will be voting on, and no doubt they will debate long into the night. The very best of luck to all. A final great thank you to everyone who entered, whether shortlisted or not. Once the top six have been chosen, they will be passed to Grand Judge Ian Watson for the final decision, which we hope to announce early in the New Year. Don't forget that the Aeon Award 2009 begins January 1 2009!

Inventions
Shadow Pains
Doors
Breaking the Mould
Escher
The Walnut Tree
Twinkle Twinkle
Lessons In Love
Extracts from a Three Volume Novel...
Stay Special
Regret Me Not
Come The Spring
Swan Wing
YoYo
Hood
You, Me and Them
The Trapped Tailcoat
A Bump in the Night
The Horror of Life
Dreamscape
Windproject NX104
Convicts
The Firebird
Lies
Sundays Off
The Den Ghost
Aegis
Went Wrong
Doorways
The Fatal Book
55286
The Flower Builder
Hot Chocolate
The Paper Garden
Thirstlands
The Hot Chocolate Rocket
Facing Demons
iDementia
The Cursed
The Better To See You With

Those stories new to the shortlist after the second round of consideration are highlighted in bold. As usual, author names are removed to ensure impartiality.

ISSUE 35 OF ALBEDO ONE IS RELEASED!

Nov '08 - At long last, issue 35 of Albedo One is released! This issue features an in-depth interview with renowned SF author Alastair Reynolds and respected genre editor Ellen Datlow and more informative and entertaining reviews from our columnists Juliet E. McKenna, Andrew McKenna and David Conyers. Our cover this issue is courtesy of the highly talented French artist Rolando Cyril and in our opinion it's one of the best we've had in quite a while. Of course, the issue is packed full of the best fiction we can get our hands on, including a unique piece of work from the excellent Steve Rasnic Tem (winner of such prestigious Awards as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award). Nor should we forget the contributions of respected Irish poet and author Fred Johnston, Albedo One stalwart Dermot Ryan, along with Colin Harvey and Kim McDougall. Also included are stories from Sean Day and Michael Furlong, both shortlisters from the Aeon Award 2006-2007. A feast to be enjoyed, so grab yourself a copy of issue 35 and see what all the fuss is about!

To buy a print copy of issue 35, click here. Or, to buy a low cost pdf version to read on your PC or PDA, click here.

Oct 5 '07- It has come time to announce the winner of the 2006-2007 Aeon Award short fiction contest. As many will be aware, the winner was chosen by grand judge Ian Watson from the top six shortlisted stories and announced at the European Science Fiction Convention, Copenhagen, Denmark. Ian chose as winner "Angelus" by Nina Allan, commenting that the story was “beautifully written and paced and enigmatic yet in an entirely lucid way”. Congratulations then to Nina, who receives the €1000 prize money, alongside publication in Albedo One! The stories falling second and third place will also appear in Albedo One. These were "Isle of Beauty" by Larry Taylor and "The White Knight" by Devon Code-McNeil. Congratulations to both. All three of the top stories will appear in issue 34 of Albedo One.

We would like to congratulate all the shortlisted authors, whose stories stood out and caught the judges attention. We expect to see big things from all the shortlisted authors in the future! The names of all the shortlisted authors are given below. We'd also like to thank everyone who participated in and supported the Award, whether shortlisted or not. The quality of your work was extremely high and gave the judging panel a hard time indeed in choosing the shortlist. Thank you all! We at Albedo One and the Aeon Award have come away with a definite belief in the strength of the speculative genres, be it horror, fantasy, science fiction or anything in between. It was a privilege to read the work of so many fine authors who will be taking speculative fiction into the future.

We'd also like to thank everyone who supported the Award in the form of publicity and otherwise announced the presence of the Aeon Award. Needless to say, without the many fine websites, newsletters and magazines that supported us, the Award would only have been a pale shadow of the success it has been this time around. Our sincere thanks. We're looking forward to continuing to our efforts at promoting new writers of speculative fiction, which has long been the goal of Albedo One and is what the Aeon Award is all about. We're hoping to announce the launch (alongside entry details) of the third Aeon Award here very shortly. You can look forward to some changes, including the introduction of a cash prize for second and third place!

Top Six Shortlisted Stories (in no order):

Isle of Beauty – Larry Taylor
Angelus – Nina Allan
Partial Recall – Sean Day
The Dreamy Sloth – Jennifer Glyn
The White Knight – Devon Code-McNeil
A Giant in the House – Daniel Pearlman

The Shortlist (in no order):

Dress Rehearsal – Michael Furlong
Ezekiel, Prophet to Bones - Eric M.  Witchey
The Waters and the West – Jennifer Harwood-Smith
Forbidden Fruit - Marie-Catherine Mousseau
One In One Out – Jennifer Glyn
High Rise – Joanna Owen
Holes – Eric S. Smith
Saviours – Jennifer Harwood-Smith
The Torturess – Philip Lentz
Rourke – Andrew McKenna
To the End of the Earth – Geoff Nuttall
Faithless – Jaine Fenn
Lux Lucis – Rosie Reynolds
Beware of Falling Rocks – Christine Stanton
The Patron – Michael Simon
Stowaway – David Sakmyster
Shadows of Inspiration – Eric S. Smith
The sleepers – Alastair Duncan
Black Water – David Conyers

TWO NEW AEON PRESS BOOKS

Our book-publishing arm, Aeon Press, has just published two new great reads:

EMERALD EYE - THE BEST IRISH IMAGINATIVE FICTION

Emerald Eye is a celebration of all things fantastic and imaginative in Irish writing.
   Among the eighteen contributors are well-known names from the SF field - Anne McCaffrey, Bob Shaw, James White, etc. Also included are mainstream names such as William Trevor. The anthology is edited by Frank Ludlow and Roelof Goudriaan.
   This 292-page trade paperback is available at a fantastic price of less than ten euros or under seven pounds sterling.
 

SPELL MAFFIA - They thought there was only one “F” in Mafia

Meet Jack Kelly. It is seven thirty in the evening. It is mid-March. He is in the middle of a rapidly darkening forest. He can see about ten yards in any direction. And, by the way, he is totally naked. Ten minutes ago he was holding onto his nuts because he was embarrassed; now he's hanging onto them because he's afraid they're going to fall off from the cold. Somewhere close by lurks a Russian gangster with a gun. What else could he have expected when pitching a bunch of weekend witches against the might of the Russian Mafia (Dublin branch)?

A 102-page graphic novel, written by John Lee and illustrated by Denise O’Moore, including the short story “Father Further Investigates.. The Devil in Dingle”, for € 9.95 or UK£ 6.95
 

WHAT THE HECK IS AN ALBEDO ONE?

Albedo One is Ireland’s longest-running and foremost magazine of the Fantastic. Since 1993, we have published stories of both Irish and international authors which push at the boundaries of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror - Ian McDonald, Anne McCaffrey, Norman Spinrad and Patricia Anthony are but just a few names we’ve published. It’s that magazine to your left on the screen!
 Have a look at more detail and some Albedo One covers here.

Through our book publishing house Aeon Press, we have made available a select number of speculative fiction gems. Have a look at the titles by international and Irish authors we’ve published to date. You will also find some sample stories and novel excerpts from these Aeon Press titles here.

And if there’s anything on this site you’d like to comment on, please do so. You can contact us at goudriaan@albedo1.com for comments regarding the website, and bobn@albedo1.com for any queries regarding purchases and/or submissions.

Albedo One is edited (in no particular order and without any particular order) by John Kenny, Bob Neilson, David Murphy, Frank Ludlow and Roelof Goudriaan.
 

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of  focus. -- Mark Twain
 

Strange Monsters of the Recent Past
 - A blog by the Dodo

May 24 - Issue 36 of Albedo One is now at the printers, so subscribers can expect their copy in the post soon. The issue is of course also available to buy in print or low-cost pdf form on this website through PayPal! The issue features an interview with Paul Di Filippo and new fiction from Mike O'Driscoll as well and the Aeon Award 2008 winning story from Colin Henchley. Not to be missed!

Apr 20 - Yes, it's been a while! What can I say? We've been busy completely redesigning the Albedo One website to include RSS Feeds, podcasts, forums and the works! Expect that to go live in the next few months. In the mean time, the 36th issue of Albedo One is almost ready to go, and features the winning story "Twinkle Twinkle" from the Aeon Award 2008, not to mention a host of other stories and an in-depth interview with Paul Di Fillipo. Not to be missed! On other news, the Albedo One team will be at the 2009 Worldcon in Montreal! Be sure to track us down and say hi! We may well have an extra special Worldcon issue of Albedo One for you to enjoy!

Dec 29th - A brief update on the Aeon Award 2008. The judges are still in the process of choosing the top six stories from what is an unprecedented number of shortlisted stories (40 in total, a record for the Aeon Award). So please be patient! We will announce the top six going to Grand Judge Ian Watson for a final decision as soon as the judges have finished their selection. Take some comfort in the fact that it is the high quality of your stories that is causing the judges such difficulties in deciding the six that will go to Ian. Thank you for making their lives difficult! The Aeon Award couldn't survive without you. In the meantime, the fourth International Aeon Award contest, 2009, opens January 1st, and it needs your support to succeed in its goal of promoting writers and writing in the spec fic genres. So get those word processors busy and send us your best! Entry details here.

Nov 20th - Just a short note to thank everyone who has entered and supported the Aeon Award 2008 short fiction contest in the final round. We've had a great response, which gives us the ammunition to increase the profile of the Award, and thereby increase the profile of the shortlisted authors and writing in the speculative genres in general. If you're interested in entering, the contest is open until the end of November - so still some time left! The judge's tastes are extremely broad, so if in doubt, send in that story. Remember, the grand prize is 1000eu and publication in Albedo One. The potential benefits don't stop there, however. Previous stories shortlisted for the Award have been received Honourable Mentions in the prestigious Year's Best Fantasy & Horror edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant and been reprinted in the Year's Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois, not to mention the forthcoming possibility that some of the shortlisters will be translated from English and reprinted in a highly prominent European genre magazine (more news on this soon).

Full entry details can be found here.

Oct 8th - The Aeon Award judges are almost through with deciding the additions to the shortlist after the end of the 3rd round. These should be up later this evening or early tomorrow. Thanks for your patience, and Good luck to all those who entered in the last round! Also, don't forget that the final (current) round of the Aeon Award is now open, and you can submit at any time up to the last day of November 2008. Keep sending those stories and help to make the Award better (and have a chance to win the 1000 euro grand prize and publication in Albedo One)! Full entry details can be found here.

Oct 7th - Albedo One authors have picked up four Honourable Mentions in the Year's Best anthologies for 2008. In Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant's fine volume, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Michael Matthews' "A Trail of Stars Whirling", Andrew McKenna's "Barrellhouse" (from issue 33 available here) and Nicola Caines' "Times Winged Chariot" (from issue 32 available here) were all given Honourable Mentions. Well done to the authors! In Gardner Dozois' prestigious Year's Best Science Fiction, Geoffrey Maloney's story "Blonde on Blonde" was also given an Honourable Mention. Not bad for a small magazine from Ireland!

Oct 6th - We've spotted that Alexander Kruglov's fine cover art, "It Will Never Fly Again" (issue 32 of Albedo One) was nominated for a 2008 British Fantasy Society Award, as was John Hogan's horror tale, "Unnatural" (also issue 32). Though these didn't make the ultimate shortlist, we're happy to see Alexander and John's work being recognised (Alexander's cover was also nominated for a 2007 British Science Fiction Association Award).

July 17th - Just a personal thanks to everyone who submitted their stories during the second round of the Aeon Award 2008 contest. Thank you for your support. Aside from being in with a chance to win one of the three cash prizes and publication in Albedo One, you really are helping promote new writers of speculative fiction and promote the genres you yourself may be making a name in! As evidence of this we need point no further than the three Honourable Mentions given to stories shortlisted for the Aeon Award 2004-2005 in the prestigious Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and the reprinting of one shortlisted story, David Levine's "I Hold My Father's Paws" in Gardner Dozois seminal Year's Best SF. So please keep submitting and help us show those unconvinced of the merits of speculative fiction what they're missing out on!

July 16th - It has been some time since I last blogged here, as no doubt you'll have noticed. Well, cut an extinct bird some slack, eh?! The team at Albedo One has been very busy indeed, behind the scenes. A complete and total revamp of our website is under construction, with heaps of new content, including RSS feeds, podcast versions of our stories, online-only reviews and stories and even a forum to air your views on all things Albedo. Keep an eye on this space early in 2009. Before then, you can of course expect a new issue of Albedo One to appear, the 35th, featuring the very best of fiction and non-fiction we can get our hands on. Due out late summer! As always, we listen to our readers, so keep sending in those comments! Feedback is the only way we can improve. Emails to fraslaw@yahoo.co.uk as normal!

Feb 26th - Some good news to report! Albedo One author Will McIntosh, whose story Friction appeared in issue 30 and won the "Best In Issue Award" has appeared in a recent podcast on the excellent escapepod.org and can be downloaded or listened to free on the website. Well worth listening to! On other news, Mark Watson has posted a review of issue 33 of Albedo One on Best SF. The review contains some interesting comments, which we'll be taking on board in the coming months, particularly with a long-overdue redesign of our website. You can read the review here and see what you think! Finally, we spotted that our cover from issue 32, by Alexander Kruglov, was nominated in the Best Artwork category of the BSFA Awards (2007). Though the cover wasn't shortlisted, we're happy that Alexander's work was recognised in this way, and we hope to bring you more cover art from him in the future.

Feb 12th - Issue 34 of Albedo One is almost ready to go. We're in the final proofing stages, and expect to see the issue in print by the end of February! As you know this issue features all top three shortlisted stories from the Aeon Award 2006-2007 contest, including Nina Allan's winning story, "Angelus". Juliet E. McKenna and Andrew McKenna return with more erudite book reviews, and we have an interview with Raymond E. Feist to boot! Not an issue to be missed! On other news, the Aeon Award 2008 roles on, and thanks to all who have entered so far, it's been a pleasure reading your work. We look forward to announcing those stories making it to the shortlist after the first round ends on March 31st! Get those stories entered and you could be €1000 richer!

Jan 5th - Just a quick thank you to all the sites and newsletters that have posted news of the Aeon Award 2008 short fiction contest in the past days. We appreciate your support, and thanks to everyone who has entered already, your stories are on the way to the judges. Remember, the contest is open until 30th November 2008, with a grand prize of €1000 and publication in Albedo One, so start sending in those stories! Full entry details here. Also worth your interest is a new once-off contest being run by Ralan of the excellent ralan.com market resource site. The contest is open to submissions of flash fiction of less than 1000 words, with a prize of $50 and publication. Anything that supports ralan.com, which is truly the place to go for up to date market information is well worth your time. Check it out here! Deadline is 29th of February.

Dec 24 - Considering the news below, what better time than now to more officially announce details of the next Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest? The contest opens to writers of all nationalities, for stories of all speculative genres, on January 1st, 2008, and runs until the end of November 2008 in four rounds. The grand prize is once more, 1000 euro, with second and third place prizes of 200 and 100 euro. All of the top three stories will be published in Albedo One to boot. So, entering the contest is certainly something worth considering. With three Honourable Mentions in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and with David Levine's story chosen for the 2007 Year's Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois, getting your name in the Aeon Award shortlist will certainly get you noticed! Full rules and guidelines can be found here. And the entry fee is a paltry 7 euro!

Dec 23 - Happy holidays to one and all from Albedo One, Aeon Press and the Aeon Award. We've some good news - three of the top six shortlisted stories for the Aeon Award 2004-2005 have been given Honourable Mentions in Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link & Gavin Grant's Year's Best Fantasy ^ Horror 20. The stories were Julian West's "My Marriage", David Levine's "I Hold My Father's Paws" and Dev Agarwal's "Queen of Engines". Fine stories all. Congratulations to the authors, and a big thanks to the editors of the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror for supporting Albedo One.

Dec 07 - ***SPECIAL OFFER*** Due to the success of our last special offer, and as a token of our appreciation for your support, we've decided to spice things up and provide a new incentive. For a limited time, all new subscribers and renewals will be treated to a choice of three of our electronic pdf issues completely free. Currently, we have issues 25-33 available for download to your computers or PDAs. Just email us your choices and we'll send out the passwords! To subscribe online or renew with Albedo One and be entitled to your free pdfs of our fine back-catalogue, go here. If you need help making your choice of which issues to download, go here. To download your three free issues, go here. To email us your choices, use this address!


Dec 04 - Thanks to all who have supported Albedo One by buying back issues from the website. Online sales have been a great success, so much so that a number of our back issues are on the verge of going out of print! In particularly short supply are issues 21, 22, 23, 29, and 31. So get over to our online store here now, if you want those issues! On the plus side, we're in the process of making a far more extensive selection of our back issues available for download as low-cost pdf versions. Watch this space!


Dec 1 - Well, it's been a while since we last blogged. WHat have we been up to since then? Well, the next issue of Albedo One is already in hand and is in the layout stages - expect that very early next year, featuring the winning story from the 2006-2007 Aeon Award, alongside the others on the top three. Expect an in-depth interview with New York Times Bestselling author Raymond E. Feist. Also expect more of our popular book review collumns from Juliet E. McKenna and Andrew McKenna. On other news, we've finalised the entry rules and details for the Aeon Award 2008, which is going to launch on January 1st! Keep an eye out here, we'll be posting the rules shortly. This time, as well as the 1000 euro top prize and publication in Albedo One of the top three stories, we'll be providing cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd places, of 200eu and 100eu respectively. We thank Yellow Brick Road for sponsoring the 3rd place prize.


Nov 20 - If you happen to be traveling to attend the fine Beneluxcon 2007 in Leuven, Belgium, November 23 - 25, be sure to say hello to Albedo One editors and authors Bob Neilson and David Murphy. They'll both be sharing their expertise, performing on panels and other convention items for your interest and entertainment. You'll also be able to get your hands on some Albedo One & Aeon Press merchandise directly at the Con. Things look set for a fun time indeed! We'd also like to thank Culture Ireland for supporting David's trip to read and perform at the Con. It's great to see some support being directed to promoting genre writing in Ireland and showing what we can do to our European neighbours.

Oct 12 - Nice to see writers of SF & fantasy get some of the credit they deserve. Doris Lessing, respected author whose works often include fantastical or strong science fictional elements, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 88 (also making her the oldest recipient of the Award). For more details, see the article here available on the very excellent SFScope.com.


Sept 21 - Some good news to report. At long last, Irish Science Fiction has a new national body to represent the many activities of fans, artists, writers and others. This takes the form on the New Irish Science Fiction Association (NISFA), whose website can be found here. Well worth checking out, and we here at Albedo One wish the organisation the best of luck and sucess. On other news, the website for the Phoenix Convetion has been given a permanent and redesigned home, which can be found here. Another site well worth investigating! Finally, keep an eye out here in the coming days for the winner of the Aeon Award 2006-2007 contest, which we'll be first announcing at the European Science Fiction Convention, Copenhagan, Denmark this September.

July 20 - At long last, the new additions to the Aeon Award 2006-2007 shortlist are ready to be announced. Apologies for the delay, but it took the judges some time to read through the final flurry of submissions accompanying the last round's deadline. The high quality of stories received didn't make their work in picking the new shortlisters any easier! Thank you ALL who entered. We truly appreciate your support, whether your story was shortlisted or not. The Award simply couldn't exist without you. And hopefully it will continue to fulfill its role of promoting new writers long into the future. We'd also like to thank everyone who supported the Award in the form of publicity. Again, your help was crucial in informing writers of the Award's existence and making it the success it has been this year. Thank you! In the next couple of weeks, the judges will be debating long into the night and whittling the shortlist down to the top six, which will then be sent on to Grand Judge Ian Watson for the final consideration. The winning story will be announced at the upcoming European SF Convention in Copenhagen, and the winner will receive the 1000 euro prize. The top three stories will also appear in a future issue of Albedo One. Watch this space for more news!