I went to Conflux for a day, and Cat Sparks took photos.

Three new publications entered the house today: a book on vegetable gardening (I’m thinking of losing weight, getting in touch with the seasons etc. and this was a gift), a galley of Gene Wolfe’s Soldier of Sidon, and the third issue of Steve Pasechnick’s Alchemy.

If you’re not familiar with Alchemy it’s one of the classiest and best quality fantasy magazines published today. It’s also devastatingly low key. I know a copy costs seven dollars. I know you can order it from Clarkesworld Books. And I know it’s edited by Steve and worth reading. This new issue contains “Halfway House” by Frances Hardinge, “The Finders of Lost Things” by Tara Kolden, “Steal a Heart” by Hannah Wolfe Bowen, “Letter from Budapest” by Theodora Goss, “You Returned a Changed Person” by Beth Adele Long, “Like the Stars and the Sand” by Sonya Taaffe, “The Seance at Chisholm End” by Sarah Monette, “A Secret Lexicon for the Not-So-Beautiful” by Beth Adele Long, and “The Hollows” by Timothy Williams. I love this magazine quite a bit. Check it out. It’s worth the chase.

The information’s up on Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine. Scott Cupp and Joe Lansdale are co-editing an anthology of stories inspired by Robert E. Howard and his work. To be published as a joint venture between FACT and Chris Roberson’s very fine Monkeybrain outfit, it will feature stories by Howard Waldrop, Neal Barrett Jr, Bradley Denton, Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock and others. See a list here. I’ll post ordering details when I see ’em.

Note: Any Locus reviewers reading this post should note that I’ll arrange review copies of I can. No need to contact me directly.

While I wasn’t watching, John Joseph Adams mentioned that The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction has just acquired new stories by Ted Chiang and Bruce Sterling. I’m hoping both will make it out in 2006. Regardless of that, though, you have subscribed, yes?

Well, I’m sitting, hungover, in the departure lounge of the Canberra Airport (possibly the only airport I’ve been in that doesn’t sell coffee. On Wednesday morning I got an unexpected opportunity to get on an airplane, fly to Canberra, spend two days seeing friends, attending the Conflux science fiction convention, and party. It’s been terrific. Highlights include unexpectedly sitting next to Sean Williams on the flight from Melbourne to Canberra; a too brief, but still great, conversation with Nick Stathopoulos (who does the best Red and Blue impression EVER) on Thursday; seeing Garth; a great dinner on Thursday night with Justin, Sean, Deb, Garth, Ellen Datlow, Jack Dann and others. Friday was running around bumping into people, seeing Magic Trevor, doing convention stuff, unexpectedly doing a panel on the best fantasy of the year, and lots of drinking. I think the only thing I didn’t get to do was sleep. I had a wonderful room, but I think I averaged three or four hours per night.

And, after too brief a stay, I’m now headed home. Pretty soon I’ll be in Perth getting ready for Jessica’s sixth birthday tomorrow. I’ll try to do a brief report on Conflux for Locus, though I doubt anything will convey the magic of Jack Dann and Jim Frenkel standing on a stage in front of a bunch of people enjoying the fruits of a free bar talking about that good sheep lovin’. Somewhere in there, I dealt briefly with email, saw a great concept sketch for the cover of the Vance Treasury, and saw a Shaun Tan print called The Waterfbuffallo that I have to have. All in all, a memorable sojourn.