The ESFS Awards
The European Scientific Fiction Society (ESFS) is committed to promoting Science Fiction in Europe and European Science Fiction worldwide. Every year the ESFS grants awards for the outstanding contribution to the genre of science fiction at the European level. The awards’s design is different each time, chosen by the host country.
The ESFS award ceremony 2012 was held in Zagreb on April, Saturday, 28. The Croatian design of the ESFS award was a green glass plaque with the etched Glagolitic letters: ”ESFS Contact Award 2012″.
Hall of Fame
Best Author: Ian McDonald (UK)
Best Artist: Nela Dunato (Croatia)
Best Translator: Pavel Weigel (Czech Republic)
Best Promoter: SF Encyclopedia Online Team (UK)
Best Publisher: Ailleurs et demain, Robert Laffout (France)
Best Magazine: Galaxies SF (France)
Spirit of Dedication Award
Best Dramatic Presentation: Divadelni spolek Kaspar (Czech Republic), for its adaptation of Daniel Keyes’ novella Floers for Algernon
Best Website: Science Fact and Science Fiction Concatenation (UK)
Best artist: Zdenko Bašić (Croatia)
Best fanzine: Eridan (Croatia)
Honorary Award: Jean Giraud aka Moebius (France)
Honorary Award European Grand Master: Brian Aldiss (UK)
Encouragement Awards: Aleksandra Ruda (Russia), Katarina Brbora (Croatia), Istvan Marki (Hungary), Illy Tyo (Russia), Aleš Oblak (Slovenia), Oliviu Craznic (Romania), Rod Rees (UK), Lucia Droppova (Slovakia), Jan “Johnak” Kotouc (Czech Republic)
Congratulations to all the winners!
Read MoreRegional SF
Apart from a brief presentation of fandom and science fiction literature within Kontakt Special Track, SF & F associations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia will present the works of their authors.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA:
- screening and presentation of short 3D animated movie Kyamet, from the multi-awarded film artist, Ivan Ramadan
SLOVENIA:
- presentation of SF Club Stardust Space, Slovenian authors and their works (Andrei Ivanuša, M. Amedeja Painted, Mara R. Chirac, Bojan Ekselenski)
SERBIA:
- presentation of the Festival of Serbian Fantastic Film with screenings, by J. Ristić and D. Jovićević
- Panel Graphic Novels in the SE Europe, by moderator P. Zelić (guests: Macan, Sunjić, M. Vladanović)
CROATIA:
- presentation of the novel Irbis from the multi-awarded and internationally known SF writer, Aleksandar Žiljak
- lecture Cartoon History of Croatian SF, by our Guest of Honour, Darko Macan
- presentation of magazines Sirius B, new SF almanac Titan, series of books Dvostruka zvijezda, Nebula and Vrhovi SF-a, presentation of SF portal inverzija.net, by Davorin Horak, the editor of fanzines and magazines
- promotion of the novel Formula za kaos from a young talented writer, Franjo Janeš
- promotion of the illustrated tales Sjeverozapadni vjetar from the internationally recognized and award-winning Croatian illustrator and artist, Zdenko Bašić
- Panel Regional Science Fiction – Where Are We Going?, by moderator, Boris Švel. Discussion about the regional science fiction and presentation of short SF collections Smak, Eridan.
Free Zagreb Walking Tour – DELUXE membership
We offer a Free Zagreb Walking tour for Deluxe membership participants in English and Russian!
Explore the most important historical parts of the city accompanied by one of our licensed local guides, hear stories of the past times and present days…
Meeting point: Meeting point for the walking tour is on the main square, Ban Josip Jelačić sqare, in front of the Tourist Information center.
Уважаемые гости!
приглашаем вас на бесплатную экскурсию по городу. Встреча на площади бана Йосипа Елачичаперед туристическим бюро.
…and now something completely different – SCHEDULE
The most wanted news on the Kontakt website (and FB), the official schedule, is finally here! As you can see we can expect a wide range of lectures, presentations, exhibitions, reading corner activities, panels and all sorts of entertainment. You can find the Gameroom Schedule here.
Hereby we we would like to emphasize the special topic of SFeraKon/Eurocon 2012: Kontakt Special Track -short presentations of fandoms and SF & F literature from Non-English speaking countries to facilitate a closer contact between European national fandoms . All presentations, along with anything interesting that happens at the con itself will be published in an electronic format by Kontakt and made available free online for all fans of SF&F.
Besides Q & A’s, where our GoH-s Tim Powers, Darko Macan, Charles Stross and Dmitry Glukhovsky will present themselves, you can hear what they have to say at all sorts of different panels. However, we point out the literary workshop of Tim Powers: MAKING THE READER BELIVE IT! (Saturday, 17:00 – 18:15) and Macan’s Comics Workshop for Kids (Sunday, 13:15 to 14:30). One of the most interesenting panels will definitely be Free On Line Fiction with Stross, Glukhovsky and Powers together as panelists. Glukhovsky will also tell us something more on panels: European Hard SF and E- Publishing, while Stross and Powers will probably take the opposite sides on the panel Steampunk in Literature. This year’s FAN GoH, Cheryl Morgan, 4 times Hugo award winner and a very active member of the international science fiction community will also participate in many panels.
Have fun and make new international SF friends!
Kontakt Kids
SFeraKon is traditionally a favorite destination for children on Saturday. On Saturday evening, before the SFERA Award Ceremony for adults, we award the winners of SFERA’s art and literary competitions for children and young people. Every year more than 1,000 children apply for the competition. In addition to the SFERICE Award Ceremony for Kids and gifts from sponsors, the winners of the art competition have their first exhibition on SFeraKon, while the works of the literary categories winners are published in the SFERA’s fanzine Parsek. You can check out the list of this year’s winners here.
The Croatian Guest of Honor, Darko Macan, comic writer and artist, as well as an illustrator of books for children is also known as the author of the comic book Borovnica (Blueberry), published in Croatian children’s magazine Modra Lasta. Macan has prepared a special Comic Book Workshop for Kids on Sunday, April 29th, from 13:15 to 14:30.
SFeraKon 2012 as Eurocon brings also additional children’s programs, creative workshops – KontaktKids.
On Saturday and Sunday Valery Strutinskaja, kids animator and SFera’s volunteer, will hold educational SF art-workshops, intended for children from 0-12 years.
- Eco-Eco Workshop consists of making a costume from garbage bag and adhesiv collage (up to 7 years).
- My favorite fairytale Workshop is an interactive art workshop (up to 12 years).
- My favorite Superhero Workshop is a drawing and painting workshop (up to 7 years).
- Balloon Modelling Workshop, creative work/game with balloons (up to 7 years).
In addition to the art workshops the music workshops for children 0-5 years Music Together ® will be also held on Saturday (18:15 to 19:30). Music Together is an internationally recognized music program for children 0-8 years. The workshop will be held by Croatian center for this type of early music education Suzin Music Together.
Playing games is an important part of any Science Fiction Convention, and for the first time it will be possible for children to learn and play board games for kids on SFeraKon/Kontakt. The Association “Igranje” will have a table with games suitable for beginner and younger age during the weekend. (All descriptions and rules of these games can be found on the website igranje.org).
Bella Proxima & Romanian intercultural project
The Romanian SF&F society SRSFF had started a very ambitious and praiseworthy intercultural project on the European level – the exchange of texts, interviews, information and ideas between various European SF communities. The first result of this project is the promotion of the Croatian Science Fiction through the trilingual anthology Bella Proxima (in Romanian, Croatian and English), which will be presented on Kontakt. The presenters will be Romanian translators, editors and Croatian authors, presented in the book.
However the SRSFF society has even more to offer; we invite you to attend two more Romanian panels:
- European Intercultural Exchanges about their next intercultural project with the Hungarian SF community and their future plans.
- European Hard SF as a sub-genre within the European science fiction since Jules Verne.





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