April 1998

We started by welcoming each new "recruit" to the Info Alert. However,
the response to our targeted spam (consisting mainly of the last Info
Alert!) was so overwhelming that welcoming all the new people is not
practical. We want you to know that we really appreciate you signing
up, even if we are not mentioning you individually. Probably we will
return to welcoming the new blood by name next time.

We have an archive of past Alerts (the last two and this one, at this
point) on the Web at the URL
http://www.listbot.com/cgi-bin/view_archive?Act=view_archive&list_id=Friends_of_Fandom
This is a good page to bookmark, particularly if you find you want to
remind yourself of past information long after you have erased the
original messages.

Forthcoming SF, Fantasy, & Gaming Cons

P.N. Elrod fans won't want to miss RocKon 22 (Little Rock, AR) coming
up May 1-3 while Japanese anime fans will want to circle May 29-31 on
their calendar for Project A-Kon (Dallas/Metroplex area). Author
C.S.Friedman and Gamer Gary Gygax will headline I Think Therefore I
Con (Houston, TX) June 26-28. Author Connie Willis, Artist David
Cherry, Toastmaster Mark Simmons, and Fan Guests Susan & Jim
Satterfield will be at Conestoga '98 in Tulsa, OK. that same weekend
(June 26-28). Gamers will also want to mark July 10-12 on their
calendars for San Con 5 (Pasadena, TX) [Note: corrected date!]. Check
out the details on our What's Happening list at
http://clever.net/cam/concalendar.html .

Forthcoming SF&Fantasy Books

According to Amazon.com, Robert Jordan's next Wheel of Time book,
_Path of Daggers_, will now be due in Nov. 1998. Jody Lynn Nye (_Ship
Errant_) has a fantasy paperback coming out in May 1998 called _Waking
in Dreamland_ (not part of any existing series). Jeri Taylor's new
Voyager hardback _Pathways_ has been pushed back from Jul. to Aug.
1998. For more listings (updated monthly), see
http://clever.net/cam/forthcomingsf.html .

Houston-area and Texas Science Fiction Organizations

On May 3rd, Starbase Houston will host its annual Chili
Cookoff/Dessert Bakeoff Competition at the Clear Lake Park Community
Building on NASA Road One. There will be prizes and an auction.
Starbase usually invites other SF related organizations. This is a
fun event, which is also a fund raiser for their convention TREKFEST
98 which will feature Tony Todd, the actor who fills the Klingon role
of K'urn (Cmdr. Warf's brother). For information, contact Robert
Greenbaum at robg@wt.net and/or see the TREKFEST 98 listing on our
What's Happening Calendar at http://clever.net/cam/concalendar.html
(hint: look for a September 12, 1998 entry).

The Friends of Fandom Officers and Board will meet on April 17. We
are looking for people who are willing to volunteer their time on some
aspect of our various projects.

For more information on Houston area fandom, see our listing at
http://clever.net/cam/clubslist.html .

Science Fiction on TV

Star Trek: Voyager and Babylon 5 have both moved to new times on
Wednesday nights, beginning Apr. 8. Star Trek: Voyager moved from
7PM-8PM to its new time at 8PM-9PM. Babylon 5 moved from 9PM-10PM to
7PM-8PM. Now fans can see three uninterrupted hours of science
fiction without having to try to watch two shows at once!! (Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine remains at its old time 9PM-10PM.) (Also, if you
haven't looked at the TNT's Babylon 5 schedule special announcement,
do so immediately!)

More good news! The Houston Astros' games will no longer be broadcast
on KTXH (Channel 20) and so will no longer pre-empt either Star Trek
series! (The Houston Astros have moved to KHTV Channel 39 starting
this season.) For more information on both the Houston Astros' new TV
station and TNT's B5 schedule (through July), see our listing at
http://clever.net/cam/sftv.html .

For now, send any email comments or suggestions regarding fannish
activities/events in the greater Houston area (or within Texas) or
regarding this Info Alert to cam@clever.net . If you received this
Info Alert as a sample and would be interested in receiving future
editions directly, email clifton@cs.uh.edu or join the list by
entering your email address on any of the Web pages as listed above
(where it says LISTBOT).

Be seeing you!

Margaret A. Fincannon, Friends of Fandom &
Clifton B. Davis, Friends of Fandom Vice Pres. of Publications

http://clever.net/cam/fof.html