Linköping, Sweden, once again welcomes everyone to a new ConFuse!
ConFuse 98 is the 5th ConFuse and also the 10th anniversary of the Linköping Science Fiction Association. This will of course be celebrated during the convention.
ConFuse 98 takes place the weekend before InterContact in Oslo, Norway (3-5 July with Pat Cadigan and Gwyneth Jones as guests, see http://www.ii.uib.no/~bjornts/ICW/ for more information). So this is a golden opportunity to visit two Scandinavian conventions in one trip. The distance between Linköping and Oslo is approximately 500 km (seven hours travel with car).
This year's guest of honour is the interesting and relatively new British author Paul J. McAuley who has got very good reviews for his recent books Pasquale's Angel and Fairyland. Since 1988 he has published seven novels in total (the latest being Child of the River, published in 1997) and two short story collections.
Today McAuley is a full-time writer but previously he has been a researcher in biology at several universities. This interest shows in the novel Fairyland that won him an Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1995 and a John W. Campbell Award in 1996. He has also won other awards like for instance the Philip K. Dick Award for his first novel, Four Hundred Billion Stars.
ConFuse also has two other guests: Jane Routley and Niklas Krog.
The Australian fantasy writer Jane Routley visited ConFuse 96. After a short stay in her home country she has returned to Denmark and will once again visit ConFuse. Her second novel, a sequel to Mage Heart (1996) will hopefully see print before the convention.
Niklas Krog is a Swedish author who published his second novel during 1997, the fantasy novel En krigares hjärta.
Ryds Herrgård is a student union facility with plenty of space for program items and with a cozy pub in the cellar. The pub has the normal selection of drinks and also lighter foods like sandwiches.
The location is in Ryd in western Linköping with post office, pizza restaurant and good bus connection to Linköping city centre and the train station.
ConFuse is, as usual, meant to be a convention with the emphasis on a serious program but with some lighter items.
In the big program room we will have an interesting and varied program where you can meet the guest of honour and other guests in conversations, panels and lectures.
In the small program room we will have more specialised and lighter program items. We will continue with a type of program that was much appreciated during ConFuse 96 -- informal discussions with a prepared moderator. On ConFuse 96, this turned out to be a nice mixture of relaxed conversation and serious debate.
We also plan to have an auction so bring books, magazines, fanzines or anything else that you wish to sell.
All program items with Paul J. McAuley and Jane Routley will of course be held in English and this will be around 30 percent of the program items. Swedish fans understand English well and will happily converse with English-speaking fans.
During the Saturday evening we will hold a banquet (with a relaxed dress code). Since Ryds Herrgård has a real restaurant kitchen we can be sure that the food will be nice and tasty.
The menu will consist of a main course, dessert and coffee. The price will be 130 Swedish crowns (about £10). Drinks for your meal are not included in that price; instead you buy what you like in the pub and bring to the table. If you have any special food needs contact us in advance and we will make sure that the chef arranges something suitable.
Reservations for the banquet must have reached us by the end of May.
There is a Scandic Hotel at walking distance (5 minutes) from the convention (phone +46 13 17 10 60). If you mention that you are going to ConFuse you will get the special convention price of 320 Swedish crowns per person and night in a double room. Non-smoking rooms are available.
In the centre of Linköping there are more hotels and a youth hostel with a high standard. The youth hostel tends to fill up pretty quickly.
Walking from the city centre to the convention takes about half an hour. There are plenty of buses during the day but only a few during the night.
More information about hotels, camping facilities and so on can be gotten from the Tourist Information Board (+46 13 20 68 35).
It is not possible to sleep in the convention hall -- it will close around two o'clock. On the other hand, if you bring a sleeping bag it shouldn't be a problem to find a local fan that will give you floor space. If you want to be sure of such accommodation, contact Stina Edelfeldt in advance (+46 13 26 00 88 or vargen@lysator.liu.se) and she will make sure there is a floor waiting for you.
Apart from the auction, you are welcome to bring stuff to the convention and sell it there. ConFuse will not charge you anything for things you sell privately.
As usual, we are planning to arrange a small art show where anyone can show their things. There is no need to be a professional to take part. If you want to participate in the art show contact us.
Attending membership for the convention is 200 Swedish crowns (about £15). One day membership for Saturday is 125 crowns, and for Sunday 100 crowns. Membership for Friday is free. Supporting membership costs 50 crowns (about £4).
As an attending member you may attend the entire convention and you will receive the program book. Supporting members will get all information about the convention and the program book. They may convert to attending status at any time by paying the difference between the supporting and attending fees.
If you want more information about ConFuse, contact Hans Persson, Domaregatan 8, SE-586 63 Linköping, Sweden. Phone +46 13 29 77 05 (home) or +46 13 20 16 08 (work). You can also reach us with E-mail to confuse@lysator.liu.se. We also have a web page at http://www.lysator.liu.se/confuse/
We also have a Norwegian agent: Christina Walstad Pulido, Nedre
Prinsdalsv. 90B, N-1263 Oslo, Norge; c.w.pulido@sosiologi.uio.no.