Program News

We are very happy to introduce more participants in this newsletter.

• Brandon Q. Morris: The physicist and author of hard-SF novels has a lot of stories to tell, not least about his experience with self publishing.
• Madeleine Puljic not only writes great fantasy, but has also co-written several Perry Rhodan novels.
• Udo Klotz is the trustee of the Kurd Laßwitz Prize and also a veteran of the German SF scene.
• Bettina Wurche is a biologist, science journalist, and science blogger - and also a big fan of Star Trek and Perry Rhodan. Her primary passion however are the whales … and we will hear fascinating things about those at MetropolCon.
• As a philosopher, Dietmar Dath approaches science fiction in a different way. We are sure he will add food for thought, illuminating angles, and bright sparks of insight.  
• In 2022, Aiki Mira had three short stories on the short lists for the two most important SF awards in Germany: the Kurd Laßwitz Preis and the DSFP. Aiki’s story “Utopie 27” won both of these awards! Just like Aiki’s stories, the novel “Titans Kinder” shows how diverse the future will be.   

Apply now for sales tables and the art exhibition!

We have already received a number of applications and the first German publishers and self-publishers have been confirmed. If you would like to book sales tables (or fan tables for associations and other non-profit organizations) or present your art at MetropolCon, please apply here: https://www.metropolcon.eu/en/join/booth/

Just download and fill in the PDF, and send it to programm@metropolcon.eu 

Team News

This month, meet team members Linda, Julia, and Francesca, who answered the interview questions.  

https://www.metropolcon.eu/en/2022/10/07/team-interview-linda-sack/

https://www.metropolcon.eu/en/2022/10/07/team-interview-francesca-kuehlers/

https://www.metropolcon.eu/en/2022/10/07/team-interview-julia-ehrenberg/

Parts of our team were on the road again in September and October, showing their faces in a variety of places: at Elstercon in Leipzig, at the book fair Buch Berlin, at the Science Fiction Treffen in Speyer, Space Days in Darmstadt, Vienna Comic Con, and last but not least, at Buchmesse Con in Dreieich. Whew.   

The event season is almost over for us, but you can mark your calendars for the weekend of November 26 and 27: Comic Con Stuttgart will make every fan's heart beat faster before winter is coming. https://www.comiccon.de/

Berlin Tips - The great, the strange, and the curious

In this section of the newsletter, we recommend museums, oddities, lovely areas, and generally any part of the metropolis that we think might excite you.
 
Surprise! In Berlin Mitte you can find the small but nicely-done David Hasselhoff Museum. It is tucked away inside a hostel. The actor and singer was more famous in Germany than in the U.S., and his legendary New Year's Eve appearance at the Berlin Wall in 1989 caused a real sensation in East and West. Marvel at unique exhibits such as portraits, murals and one-of-a-kind exhibits from the series "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch."

Fantastic News

Literature

Worldcon and Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards for works published in 2021 were presented on September 4, 2022, at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, Illinois, USA. All the winners and finalists can be found at https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2022-hugo-awards/

We were very happy to learn that the award in the category Best Fan Writer this year went to Cora Buhlert, who has been active on her own blog http://corabuhlert.com/ as well as with contributions to various fanzines for many years. Cora will also be participating in our program at MetropolCon.

Chicon 8 also hosted the site selection vote for the 2024 World Science Fiction Convention. The only bid came from Glasgow, who won the vote with a huge majority. We are happy to see Worldcon coming back to Europe in 2024! More information regarding Glasgow 2024 - A Worldcon For Our Futures on their website: https://glasgow2024.org/ 

The 16th Elstercon in Leipzig: Impressions by Dominik Irtenkauf  

This year's Elstercon had a top-class guest roster: Ben Aaronovitch, Emma Braslavsky, Dietmar Dath, Jasper Fforde, Lucy Guth, Theresa Hannig, Leo Lukas, Uwe Post, Martha Wells and many more. The overarching theme was utopia and humor. The latter can be a very challenging component for authors, so I was very excited about this iteration of the con in Leipzig. There were also interesting insights from scientists like Isabella Hermann and Bettina Wurche: into the complexities of climate change, for example, and also on the otherwise often criminally neglected topic of utopias: Isabella Hermann proposes the term "anti-dystopia." The panel discussions circled the topic from different angles; particularly interesting was the all-female panel on utopia, apart from the moderator Dietmar Dath. Utopias in themselves are difficult to communicate today, but smart authors are finding ways to propose new kinds of utopia. Escaping despair inspires some creative souls to fly to the stars.

The exchange was positively intense and some people from the MetropolCon team met in person for the first time in Leipzig, far away from the usual online meetings. Constanze, Dominik, Ivo, Patric, Ralf Boldt, and Sylvana were all present.
 

The overall impression was an extremely positive one. There was a lot of space for deep conversations about literature and social as well as technological developments of the future. However, the visitors had to fight for this space. In other words, they sometimes had to ignore a program item, because that was the only way to find time for discussions. As a suggestion for future Elstercons: Please make longer breaks between the individual readings. Otherwise, the Elstercon team deserves high praise for the almost two days of programming. Not to mention the con book (!), which on a whopping 506 pages not only introduces all participants, but also offers bonus material in the form of essays and stories.

Multimedia

Art

Science

Games