5) THANK YOU

We thank for his contributions to this afternoon’s programming our special guest speaker, Rich Larson.

See Rich Larson’s bibliography at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database: isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Rich%20Larson

Read some of Rich Larson’s fiction online at: https://www.freesfonline.net/authors/Rich_Larson.html

We also thank club members Joe Aspler, Danny Sichel, and Keith Braithwaite for their contributions to this afternoon’s programming, as well as all of our contributing participants, and everyone who helped to plan and run this meeting. Finally, of course, we thank all of you who joined us here in person, and on ZOOM; don’t forget to comment on today’s get-together (www.MonSFFA.ca).

6) NEXT MONTH’S CLUB FIELD TRIP

The club will embark upon its 2024 field trip on Saturday afternoon, June 8. We will be visiting the Montreal Biodôme, an exhibition encapsulating five distinct ecosystems of the Americas, including Canada’s Laurentian Maple Forest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Coastal Labrador. Join us as we view the many plants and animals of these natural environments!

As this is an outside-of-meeting outing, online participants please note that our usual ZOOM-chat will not be possible. No ZOOM component will be incorporated into this event. We are looking at putting together a photo album of our visit to post on the club’s Website at a later, for the benefit of our out-of-town members and other ZOOMers.

MonSFFen are asked to meet-up in the Biodôme’s main-entrance lobby between noon and 12:30PM—don’t be late!—with the intention of entering the exhibition together at 1:00PM, or possibly 1:30PM—the number of people allowed in at one time is controlled, so we aim to enter as a group during the same time block.

Tickets are $17.50/adult (price for Montreal-island and -area residents); discounts are available for students, seniors, and children. Each club member is responsible for their own transportation to and from the Biodôme, and for their own admission charge.

The Biodôme (4777 avenue Pierre-De Coubertin) is located at the base of the Olympic Stadium in the city’s East End (Metro Viau). Paid parking is available for anyone driving in; parking lot is located close by at 3000 rue Viau. Street parking in the area is also an option, but of course is subject to availability.

Visit the “Espace pour la vie” Website, Biodôme section, for more information: www.espacepourlavie.ca

7) SIGN-OFF

Until we gather again, keep well, and we hope to see you at the Biodôme on Saturday afternoon, June 8!

1) INTRODUCTION

Welcome to MonSFFA’s May 11, 2024 meeting! This afternoon’s proceedings are soon to get underway. We are meeting live and in person at our new meeting hall in the Nouvel Hotel, downtown! For those joining us online, today, see the instructions, below (at the end of this post), to join in and participate on ZOOM.

Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude by 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up shortly before the meeting’s start time to allow folk to gather online at their leisure.

A closing post will go up at 5:00PM to officially thank today’s presenters/discussion moderators, and to publish the date of our next event.

2) MEETING THEME FOR MAY

The day after our May meeting is Mother’s Day! Sarah Connor, Joyce Byers, Molly Weasley, Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, Padme Amidala, Helen “Elastigirl” Parr, Beverly Crusher, the Alien Queen, the Horta!—name you favourite SF&F moms.

3) THIS AFTERNOON’S AGENDA

Today’s programming agenda is as follows:

1:00PM—THE “LOST WORLDS” OF SF&F

SF is about new worlds, of course. But what about “Lost Worlds”? What about places hidden just around or over the next mountain ridge, into the hidden valley, or on that mysterious island? During the Age of Exploration, satirists like Jonathan Swift and Cyrano de Bergerac wrote of strange and exotic lands as a means of satirizing life in European courts during the 17th and 18th centuries.

This afternoon, we will explore the great lost lands of modern science fiction and fantasy in literature and on the silver screen, beginning with the worlds of H. Rider Haggard, the writer who started the modern trend. We’ll also explore the original weird and mysterious jungle, the Lost World of Arthur Conan Doyle, along with an obligatory stop at a Jules Verne world, and a related link to Canadian history! And while many of these Lost Worlds were written as a vehicle to proclaim the triumph of western civilization over everyone else, there are still a few where the Europeans get their comeuppance.

2:00PM—WE WELCOME GUEST SPEAKER RICH LARSON, SF WRITER

Our special guest will speak of his personal creative process, the mechanics of writing short fiction, the business of selling same, and the transition to novel writing. A Q&A will follow, and Rich will cover, as well, his experience with the Emmy-winning television adaptation of one of his stories for LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS!

Praised by Gardner Dozois as “One of the best new writers to enter science fiction in more than a decade,” Rich Larson’s books include Annex, Ymir, and the short story collection Tomorrow Factory. Currently based in Montreal, Rich was born in Galmi,             Niger, and has lived in Spain and the Czech Republic. His fiction has been translated into over a dozen languages, among them Polish, French, Romanian and Japanese.

3:30PM—Break

Raffle, club business, and announcements. 

3:45PM—THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

Discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different mediums—books, film, television series, graphic novels—when telling the same story.

4:45PM—CLEAN-UP/PACK-UP

Out by 5:00PM.

While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another. Therefore, please also note that all programming is subject to change!

4) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

To take part in this afternoon’s meeting online, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours. Simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA e-Meeting on ZOOM

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. From out of town? No problem; find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 823 4276 3037
Passcode: 901155

The sci-fi fun begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the meeting!