At the recent AGM, a number of our Core committee retired, including long-standing Treasurer Immi Paterson-Harkness and our hardworking Secretary, Jean Gilbert. Paul Mannering stood down from the role of President. The organisation would like to thank these colleagues for all the work they have done on our behalf. The incoming Core for 2017-2018 is as follows:

President: Grace Bridges

Treasurer: Paul Mannering

Secretary: Lee Murray

Webmaster: Dan Rabarts

Core: Piper Mejia, Grant Stone, Darian Smith, Woelf Dietrich, Mark English. | Read More...

In recognition of the support of our fan community in encouraging and promoting New Zealand creatives ‒ writers, screenwriters and artists ‒ SpecFicNZ is pleased to announce that it will provide a grant of NZ$300 to the DUFF fund to support delegate Paul Weimer’s attendance at LexiCon New Zealand’s 38^th science fiction and fantasy conference which will be held in Taupo from 2-4 June, 2017.

A further NZ$300 grant will go to the FFANZ fund to support New Zealand delegate Lynelle Howell’s attendance at Australia’s speculative fiction convention, Continuum 13, to be held in Melbourne in June 9-12, 2017. | Read More...

Black Amber: A New Fate & Red Bullets

By Nathan Simpson

(Reviewed by Emma Hart)

For those of us who live in New Zealand, there’s both comfort and surprised delight in spec-fic set in our own country. Nathan Simpson’s Black Amber books start in a world of Vegemite and duvets that will be familiar to many.

Very quickly, however, we’re taken from that world to another, one of magic and medieval weaponry. The books’ central characters, brothers Ricky and Tylor, have come into possession of a mysterious magical artefact, which it appears will compel them to travel from world to world, seeking their own home, leaving every set of attachments they might make along the way. I was reminded of Diana Wynne Jones’s YA novel, The Homeward Bounders. | Read More...

At SpecFicNZ it is our mission to promote speculative fiction. To this end, we would love to showcase reader reviews on our website. If you are an author who would like to have your work reviewed, or a reader who enjoys speculative fiction, then we would love to hear from you. General guidelines for the programme are as follows:

Authors:

While we are happy to promote all speculative fiction, preference will be given to books/ebooks by our members. If you are not a member and would like to join, you can find information about joining here. | Read More...

The Sir Julius Vogel Awards, New Zealand’s Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror awards, are named after Sir Julius Vogel, an early premier in New Zealand.

Earlier this month, London’s United Synagogue marked the life of Sir Julius Vogel as ‘‘a leading pioneer, advocate of universal suffrage and good community relations.” The service commemorated the 180^th anniversary of Sir Julius’ birth and the 140^th anniversary of his premiership.

The Otago Daily Times, which Vogel co-founded with W.H. Cutten, ran an article by Wellington writer Steven Sedley, examining the event and discussing Vogel’s novel Anno Domini 2000. | Read More...