page 11 of the SwanCon 17 – Festival of the Imagination Con book is dedicated to brief bios of Special Guest Paul Kidd, and Invited Guests Philippa Maddern, Sean McMullen, Grant Stone, and Lucy Sussex. Twenty plus years has left these only a little dated, honest….
Paul Kidd
Game designer, short story writer, cartoonist.
Paul’s principal writing achievements are in the area of simulation gaming, having published a complete roleplaying system (Lace & Steel) and having credits on several others (including Albedo) under his belt. He is also a writer of short fiction and has an unpublished novel with his agents. His artistic efforts – he has a penchant for anthropomorphics – have appeared in semi-professional magazines both in Australia and overseas.
Philippa Maddern
Educator, short story writer.
Dr. Maddern is an internationally published writer of short fiction (one of her stories was voted “Second Best Australian Short Fiction of All Time” by the readers of Van Ikin’s magazine Science Fiction) and a lecturer in History at the University of Western Australia. She has been involved in several writing workshops based on the US Clarion model, and was Convenor of this year’s Perth SF&F Writers’ Workshop, a component of the Festival.
Sean McMullen
Short story writer, literary history/bibliographer
Sean is the principal keeper-of-records in Australian genre circles, with an excerpt from his comprehensive bibliography to be found later in this book. He is also an important author in his own right with many significant overseas sales to his credit, a Nebula Award nomination and a collection of short fiction (Call to the Edge from Aphelion Publications) due in early 1992. He has worked in Science Fiction on the stage and on radio, is a regular speaker at Melbourne’s SF writing society The Nova Mob and is a contributing editor in Eidolon magazine.
Grant Stone
Archivist, commentator.
Grant’s involvement in the organisation and running of WA’s genre events dates back sixteen years. He instituted and manages Murdoch University’s extensive collection of genre material, and his radio programme “The Faster than Light Radio Show” is a valuable forum for new writers and provides the general public with relevant and current information about Australian Science Fiction. Grant’s writing is principally non-fiction, including reviews and comment.
Lucy Sussex
Novelist, short story writer and reviewer.
Lucy is a Researcher at Melbourne University and is perhaps best known for her solution to the literary mystery of Australia’s first female crime writer (“Waif Wander”). She edited The Fortunes of Mary Fortunes, which collected a number of the Waif Wander stories, has seen the publication of a collection of short fiction, My Lady Tongue and Other Tales from William Heineman, and a novel, The Peace Garden. She is a regular reviewer in genre journals in this country and overseas.