From: bsfs@access.digex.com (Baltimore Science Fiction Society)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.announce,rec.arts.sf.fandom,alt.fandom.cons
Subject: Balticon 27
Keywords: con
Date: 17 Dec 92 21:37:14 GMT
Organization: Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc.

Balticon 27
April 9-11, 1993
Marriot Hunt Valley Inn
Hunt Valley, MD

Balticon, one of the East Coast's premier SF Conventions, will be held on
Easter Weekend (April 9-11) at the Hunt Valley Marriott in Hunt Valley, MD.
We will have our typical wide variety of programming. Our Guests of Honor
are:

	GOH: Allen Steele
	Artist GOH: Don Maitz
	Filk GOH: Leslie Fish

Registration:
$25 until March 13, 1993/$35 at the door
Room rates $78 per night for single/double/triple/quad

Balticon Literary Track

This year's Balticon should prove to be even livelier than last. Topics
will cover SF, Fantasy, and Horror, in all the literary forms: short
stories, novels and novellas, and poetry. There will be at least one
panel on Anime. Various authors will be reading from their works. In
addition to authors, panels will include editors, publishers, and agents.
Some topics will include relevant social issues. All programming will be
structured to provide academic and historical perspectives wherever
possible.

As usual, our guest list is still growing, and trying to give a list of
accomplishments of our guests would make this section a book in itself,
so we'll just list their names:

S.N. Lewitt
Eric Kotani
A.J. Austin
Martin Morse Wooster
Jack L. Chalker
Alexandra & David Honigsberg
Hal Clement
William Barton
Brenda Clough
Josepha Sherman
Bennet Pomerantz
Annette Curtis Klaus
Ann C. Crispin

This year for the FIRST TIME EVER (and maybe the last) -- the Baltimore
Science Fiction Society, the 501.C(3) non-profit educational organization
that runs Balticon, will have its own track of programming. Items will
include con history "Why Don't We Serve Bheer at Balticon Anymore??",
the club's organization and activities "The New BSFS Building - Pictures
Included" [warning: asking a BSFSer about the new building is like asking
grandparents about their new grandchild], and con running
"Field-Stripping an M-32 to Remove the Firing Mechanism, and other
Aspects of Con Security". Other program items will include "The Sense
of Wonder in SF," "How You Decide to Buy a Book," and "Neglected Writers
We Love to Talk About."

Some of the intended panels of the regular programming include "Psychic
Powers as Explained by Psychics" (since the scientific/ debunking view
dominated Balticon 26's panel on that subject), and "Can Men Really Give
Peace A Chance?" to balance last year's discussion of "Women in Combat." 

In addition to the Masquerade and Art show (described elsewhere) there
will be panels on costuming, art, and probably even some live
demonstrations.

Art Show

Come see the biggest regional SF Art Show on the East Coast. We always
have lots of interesting artwork by up and coming artists, and even a few
well-known ones. Artists must pre-register for the Art Show. (No
registrations before January 1, 1993 please.) 

For more info write to:

Balticon Art Show
Suite 161
7188 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045

Video Program

The Balticon 27 Video program will run a 70 inch projection TV with a
HiFi stereo sound system. We will run nearly 24 hours each day, with
recent, classic, and Really Incredibly Bad (RIB) video favorites. (Some
even worse than "Plan 9". Really.) RIB programming will be designated
~comment friendly~ (Bring your own Tom Servo) so people attending may
voice objections, criticisms, etc. during the showing if they are so
inclined.

Film Program

After last year's hiatus to be Con Chair, Mark Owings returns as this
year's movie chairman and will show a smorgasbord of old, new, and
eclectic movies.

Masquerade

Saturday night at 8:30 will see the "Best Masquerade on the East Coast"
take over the ballroom. Register at the Masquerade table until 3 pm on
Saturday, then wear your costume on stage with pride, for all attendees
to enjoy. The contest will be arranged in the Novice-Journeyman-Craftsman-
Master order so that contestants will be competing against others with
similar levels of experience. For information call Marty Gear at
(301)596-3936.

Dealers' Room

The Balticon Dealers' Room will feature old favorites and interesting
new ones. Table rates are $60 for the first table and $85 for the second
table. Table requests WILL NOT be accepted if they are postmarked prior
to November 1, 1992. Decisions will be made by January 1, 1993. All
requests must be accompanied by a description of the merchandise to be
sold. All merchandise should be of a science fiction or fantasy nature.
Please be specific and descriptive about the merchandise. The cost of the
tables includes one membership per table. For more info, write:

Balticon 27 Dealers' Room
P.O. Box 686
Baltimore, MD 21203-0686

Science Program

The Baltimore 27 Science Program will feature topics from the frontiers
of human exploration. Balticon's internationally famous science program
will comprise over 12 hours of briefings from premier researchers and
experts.

Gaming

GLOBE returns this year running our game room. In addition to a place for
gamers to kick their feet up and start a short, impromptu game of War in
the Pacific, there will be organized gaming. Write for more details, or
if you would like to organize a game. (Same address as memberships.) This
year's live action role playing game will be "Machina ex Deo" run by
HOPSFA, based on Shadowrun(tm) with permission from FASA. This game will
be run with a real matrix on a real mainframe, in addition to the
live-action aspects. Registration is $15 until March 15, 1993, $20 afterword.
Contact HOPSFA at:

	Jon & Beth
	3900 Charles St. Apt. 1104
	Baltimore, Md 21218
	or call (410)889-7334
	or Splash@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu

Filking & Bardic Circle

Obviously, with a Filk Guest of Honor, we plan to have a Filk concert,
proably Friday night around 8:00, but write us to be sure. In addition
to Leslie Fish, we will have Duane Elms, Helva Peters, Lennie Levine,
and many others. We will also have one shots and assorted panels. We
will of course make space available for Bardic Circle and all you
night-owl Filkers.

Berzerkers

Attention Berzerkers!! Balticon again needs volunteers to help with the
convention. Volunteer for ten hours and get a free T-Shirt (this WILL be
different from the one being sold, and will only be available to REAL
BERZERKERs!) Other bennefits may accrue, but you need to volunteer to
find out!

T-Shirts:

T-Shirts are being sold by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. These
T-Shirts will not be the same as the Berzerker T-shirts, and a very
limited supply will be available at the convention. Shirts are $7.50
until March 13, 1993; $8.00 at the con and are available in adult
sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL, and XXXL.

Painting Drawing:

Guy Frechette has agreed to paint the lucky winner's car hood, or other
similar sized sheet of metal, which he can supply (for a fee) if necessary.
Tickets are $5.00 each.

Souvenir Book & BSFAN Submissions:

BSFS will again be printing an "Ace Double" format Souvenir Book and
BSFAN. Submissions for the BSFAN and requests for ad space may be sent
to the ~BSFAN~ at the address listed below. 

The Souvenir Book will be 8 1/2 x 11. Full page ad rate is $170, half
page, $90, and quarter page $50. There is a 50% discount for fan
organizations. Rates for center spread and inside covers available upon
request. Requests for color ads may be negotiated with the Souvenier
Book/BSFAN editor. Send requests to:

Balticon 27 Souvenir Book
P.O. Box 686
Baltimore, MD 21203-0686

BRIEF GUEST BIOGRAPHIES

Allen Steele

Steele's first fiction sale was the novel "Orbital Decay", published by
Berkley/Ace in 1989. His first professional short story was "Live From
the Mars Hotel," published in the 1988 Mid-December issue of "Isaac
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine". Since then he published more than
a dozen short stories and essays in various magazines and anthologies,
as well as three more novels: "Clarke County, Space" (Ace, 1990), "Lunar
Descent" (Ace, 1991) and "Labyrinth of Night" (Ace forthcoming in late
1992).

"Orbital Decay" won the Locus Award for Best First Novel of 1989, and
"Clarke County, Space" was nominated for the Phillip K. Dick Award in
1991. He was also the first runner-up for the John W. Campbell Award.
Steele is the recipient of an honorary degree from the founding
conference of the International Space University, and he was an applicant
to NASA's Journalist in Space Project in 1986. His novels and stories
have been published or have been optioned in England, Germany, Spain,
Italy, Poland, Brazil, and Japan.

Don Maitz

An award-winning illustrator, Don Maitz has achieved national acclaim
for his many book cover illustrations. Specializing in fantasy and
science fiction imagery, he has some 150 commissioned works published
by such noted publishers as Simon & Schuster, Berkley Publishing,
Doubleday & Co., Bantam Books, Dell Publishing, Tor Books, Warner Books,
and DAW Books.

Maitz won both the Hugo Award for Best Artist and the Hugo for Best Book
Cover of 1989. He also received the Chesley Award this year for his body
of work. (The Chesley is a peer Award.) Last year he won the Chesley
Awards for Artistic Achievement with his art book "First Maitz" and Best
Hardcover Jacket for "Cyteen" which won Best Novel Hugo last year. In
1980 he received a coveted Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators
for his cover illustration of Richard Cowper's novel, "The Road to
Corlay". He was awarded the H.P. Lovecraft (Howard) Award for Best Artist
at the 6th World Fantasy Convention. He has been awarded the Bronze Medal
by the National Academy at the Delaware Art Museum.  Maitz has also
created work for national advertising campaigns including the ~Captain
Morgan~ image for Seagram & Sons Distributors. Other advertising clients
include Eastman Kodak, NBC/TV Guide, Bell Telephone, Avon Products, and
various New York Agencies. His color illustrations have appeared in such
magazines as Omni and Starlog. Some of Maitz's work has been reproduced
as prints, greeting cards, and other mass-market items. In addition,
much of his work has been reproduced in Europe and the Far East.

Leslie Fish

Leslie Fish has been Guest Filker at BayFilk #1, singing and playing at
Trek, SF and SCA events for even longer. Her recordings include: Solar
Sailors; Skybound; Chicksaw Mountain; Leslie Fish~Live!; Firestorm:
Songs of the Third World War; Cold Iron; The Undertaker's Horse; It's
Sister Jenny's Turn to Throw the Bomb; Carmen Miranda's Ghost (with Vic
Tyler); Tapeworm I (with Heather Alexander); Tapeworm II (with Frank
Hayes); Tapeworm II (with Cecelia Eng); and Folk Songs For Folks Who
Ain't Even Been Yet. In addition to singing Fish has also written for
C.J. Cherryh's "Merovian Nights" series, was `invited in on' the "Sword
of Knowledge" trilogy, and has stories in "A Separate Star", "Carmen
Miranda's Ghost", and the "War World" books published by Jerry Pournelle.


Balticon Rates and Miscellaneous Fees:

Memberships are $25.00 until March 13, 1993, $35.00 at the door.
Memberships mailed after March 13, will be returned and the at the
door rate will be charged. (We don't have time to properly handle
registrations mailed after the cut-off date.) T-shirts are $7.50 until
March 13, 1993, $8.00 at the Con. Children's (ages 6 -12) memberships
are 1/2 the adult price ($18.00 at the door) and babysitting is full
price. Babysitting WILL NOT be available at the door.

Please make checks payable to Balticon 27.

If you are volunteering time, please fill out a separate sheet for each
person volunteering and enclose them in the same envelope.

Mail to:

Balticon 27
P.O. Box 686
Baltimore, MD 21203-0686

The Balticon 27 welcomes additional comments and suggestions for
programming. 
E-mail may be addressed to:

Baltimore Sciece Fiction Society at: bsfs@access.digex.com
Thomas McMullan at: Compuserve 76130,1401

Membership:

$25.00 Until March 13, 1993
$35.00 At the door


Hotel Rates:
$78 per room for Single, Double, Triple, and Quad. You must mention
Balticon 27 when making reservations at the Hunt Valley Marriott to
get the convention rate. The Hunt Valley Marriott can be reached at
(410) 785-7000.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom