Author: Jan@HSFCon

Guest: The Ghostbusters Dutch Division

The Ghostbusters Dutch Division (GBDD) has been the Dutch Ghostbusters cosplay group run by fans for fans since 2012. Apart from having costumes and props that seem to come straight from the film, GBDD are also a group that celebrates Ghostbusters fandom with anyone who wants to join. Whether you’re a fan of the classic films, the cartoons, the reboot or the games, there’s a place for everyone with GBDD. Members of the group have been keeping both big and small events free of ghosts for years and also support various charity initiatives with their cool props and of course Ray Parker Jr.’s iconic theme tune.

Guest: Teun Joshua Brandt

Unfortunately Teun Joshua Brandt cannot be present.

Teun Joshua Brandt is studying for a PhD at the University of Groningen, researching symbiosis in contemporary science fiction. His fascination for the consensus within the scientific community about the profound symbiotic entanglement of humans and microbes drives him to try and find out how this impacts the way we view ‘being human’. He achieved his Master’s degree in 2022, graduating summa cum laude with his dissertation on deep sea narratives in the Anthropocene. In his spare time he plays with one of his bands in small music venues or at parties, unless he’s busy watering his city garden.

Unfortunately Teun Joshua Brandt cannot be present.

Hotel rooms 24 and 25 March 2023

Are you coming to HSFCon and do you want to stay at the con hotel? Use the link below to book your hotel room(s) for Friday 24 and Saturday 25 March 2023.

https://www.hotelsneek.nl/valk-event/horror-science-fiction-fantasy-conventie/
(in Dutch only)

Enter the code: HSF2023

Please note: this link will take you to a special booking environment where you can book a non-refundable room. You will be required to pay at once, but it is possible to cancel without any additional costs up to 8 weeks before arrival.

Guest: Martijn Lindeboom

Martijn Lindeboom made his debut as an author with the historical fantasy De Legende van de Zwarte Wolven. Ten more books by him have appeared since then. Five historical stories (based on archaeology and/or history), a thriller, a collection of fantasy stories, a collection of horror stories (published by Luitingh-Sijthoff), two books around a specific theme (a collection of climate fiction stories and a book on witches) and a non-fiction book on writing fantasy and science fiction (published by Atlas Contact).

His book Lagen in Stad (written in collaboration with archaeologist Gert Kortekaas) won the title Best Book from Groningen in 2014. Besides his books Martijn has had over ninety short stories published in magazines, anthologies and as audiobooks or e-books. His new collection of speculative fiction, entitled De Komeet (edited and partially written in collaboration with Vamba Sherif) is due out in February 2023, published by De Geus.

Since 2010 Martijn has been involved in the organisation of the largest writing competition for science fiction, fantasy and horror stories in the Low Countries: the Harland Awards (formerly known as the Paul Harland Prize), in later years acting as the co-ordinator for writing competitions at online readers’ community Hebban.nl, for which he also acts as an editor.

Together with Heidi van der Vloet and other people he helps organise the Middag van het Fantastische Boek (Afternoon of Fantastic Fiction) at the Utrecht City Library.

He has been giving workshops and classes on writing fantasy and scifi since 2013.This experience, combined with the huge pile of books he has read, prompted him to write a book on how to write fantasy and scifi (Hoe schrijf je fantasy en sciencefiction?) for publishers Atlas Contact. He did this together with his partner Debbie van der Zande, who as an editor and avid reader, brought her own experience to writing the book.

As a teacher of creative writing at the Dutch Writers’ Academy Martijn specialises in ‘Writing fantasy and science fiction’ and he teaches the subject ‘Other Worlds’ at ArteZ Creative Writing University.

Apart from being an author, editor and creative writing teacher, Martijn is also a legal expert and a Teakwon-do master (7th dan) with his own school in Groningen: Sung Zang.

Guest of honor: Kees van Toorn

Kees van Toorn discovered Science Fiction as a phenomenon in the mid-1960s, after his father had given him the book Bram Vingerling: het Geheimzinnige Horloge (written by Dutch author Leonard Roggeveen) as a birthday present. That was the time when Perry Rhodan started his rise to fame, and – unhappy with the rate of new releases in the Netherlands – Kees soon found himself travelling to friends in Cologne, where he scoured the second-hand bookshops, to return home with bags full of Perry Rhodans to read.

After all, publications of Perry Rhodan in Germany were ahead of the Netherlands by a decade. All this led in 1970 to a visit to the first Worldcon on the continent, in Heidelberg. His (inter)national network of scifi friends grew rapidly and that is how SFANcons, Eastercons and the subsequent Worldcons in England became part of his regular visiting schedule.

Very early on, he started his own semi-pro sf magazine, called Orbit. Many years later, with help from many of his good friends, came the organisation of the Worldcon in The Hague.

The ‘old team’ was planning to have a Reunicon to mark 30 years since ConFiction, but covid put a spanner in the works not once, but twice. This goodbye party is now scheduled to take place at the Glasgow Worldcon in 2024.

Kees is married with two children, and will probably keep working tirelessly until the day he dies, on translations, conventions at home and abroad… although his wife and children have already come up with his epitaph: no more translations!