- Conflux (convention)
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Conflux Science Fiction Convention Genre Multi-genre Location Canberra Country Australia First held 2004 Official website http://www.conflux.org.au The Conflux Science Fiction Convention is an annual science fiction convention held in Canberra, Australia since 2004. Conflux has built on the CSFcons (Canberra Science Fiction Conventions), held in the early noughties.
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Conflux 1, April 2004
Conflux 1 was the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (Natcon) for 2004, the 43rd Natcon.
Chaired by Donna Maree Hanson, the guests were Gregory Benford, Sean McMullen and Karen Herkes. It was held at Rydges Lakeside hotel and went for three and a half days.
The convention was extremely well received, with Greg Benford being quoted as saying "Thanks so much for one of the best cons I've ever seen - & I've been to hundreds!" Sean McMullen's feedback was "We are all now doomed to rate other cons as fractions of Conflux, the perfect con. I had a truly fabulous time. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to make Conflux so good." Award winning artist Nick Stathopoulos said "Conflux was like the old style cons I dreamed about in the past. It's really one of the best cons I've ever attended."
As part of Conflux 1, the 2004 Ditmar Award were presented. Other features of Conflux 1 were the performance of two short plays, a short story competition, the art show and a "real science" programming stream.
Conflux 2, April 2005
Again chaired by Donna Maree Hanson, the guests this time were Jennifer Fallon, Maxine McArthur, Terry Dowling and Jackie French.
It continued to build on the reputation of Conflux as a writer's con, with a number of Australia's top science fiction, fantasy and horror writers in attendance. It was again held at Rydges Lakeside, for two and a half days. Features were the art show, the dealers room and the masquerade.
Conflux 3, June 2006
Conflux 3 was chaired by Trevor Stafford, and became one of the largest science fiction events ever held in Australia. It had fourteen attending guests and three virtual guests who appeared via telephone link - Arthur C Clarke, Ray Bradbury and Lloyd Alexander.
Attending guests included Kate Forsyth, Ellen Datlow, Steve Jackson, Joan D. Vinge, James Frenkel, Queenie Chan and Dan Abnett.
Special events included an art show with $6000 in prizes, an authentic medieval feast organised by Dr Gillian Polack and the film festival was able to be shown on a full size screen, with $1000 in prizes.
The convention was held across two sites - the National Museum of Australia and Rydges Lakeside. More than 180 programming sessions included panel sessions, a selection of workshops, book launches, demonstrations and film festival screenings.
Highlights included a masquerade, theatrical performance, charity auction, a mass book signing, two dealers rooms, demonstrations of sword play and bellydancing, gaming (including the regional finals of Magic the Gathering), and the national 24 Hour Comic Challenge.
The Conflux Art Show and Fantastique Film Festival allowed local, national and international artists and filmmakers to showcase their work. The arts show was open to the public for a week leading up to the convention.
Conflux 3 drew a new audience to the convention and provided a unique experience for Australian con-goers.
Conflux 4, 28 September to 1 October 2007
Conflux 4 was chaired by Nicole R Murphy and featured eight guests: Graham Joyce, Kevin J Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Garth Nix, Simon Brown, Jonathan Strahan, Kaaron Warren and Donna Maree Hanson.
Conflux 4 featured 12 workshops, a short story competition, mass book signing, a Regency Gothic banquet and a masquerade.
The convention began with a series of workshops on Friday, followed by the opening ceremony and the great debate, during which it was decided that the evil overlord is more interesting than the weapon-wielding hero. Throughout the weekend, more than 50 panels took place, all of which have been podcast at the Conflux website http://www.conflux.org.au
Conflux 5, 3 October to 6 October 2008
Conflux 5 was chaired by Karen Herkes and held at a new venue, the Marque Hotel on Northbourne Avenue in Canberra. Guests were Sharyn November, Jack Dann, Catriona Sparks, Gillian Polack and Bruce Gillespie.
Conflux 5 hosted 13 workshops, about 60 panel sessions, and the dinner was set in Prohibition New York. A short story competition and art show was featured.
Conflux 6, 2 October to 5 October 2009
Conflux 6 took place from Friday 2 October to Monday 5 October 2009 at The Marque, Canberra, Australia.[1][2]
It featured editor James Minz (US), Australian children's author Emily Rodda, illustrator Marc McBride. Again there were workshops and many panels. The theme of the banquet was Southern Gothic, based in Louisiana and focused on a mix of the ghost stories of New Orleans and the areas pirate history.
Conflux 7, 2011
(No Conflux was held in 2010 due to the World Science Fiction Convention Aussiecon 4 being held in Melbourne.)
Conflux 7 was held at the Quality Hotel Woden 30 September to 3 October 2011. Guests were Kim Westwood, Natalie Costa-Bir, Lewis Morley and Marilyn Pride.
Conflux 7 saw the presentation of the last original banquet from Dr Gillian Polack. This time, it was set on a zeppelin in the 1920s and featured meals and cocktails from the era.
Conflux 7 saw the awarding of the inaugural EG Harvey Award for Australian Science Fiction Art. Judged remotely by American-based artist Marianne Plumridge, the $500 prize was awarded to Marilyn Pride. Conflux will be the home of the award, sponsored by the Harvey Foundation, for five years.
References
Categories:- Festivals in Australia
- Multigenre conventions
- Recurring events established in 2004
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