MonSFFA Website

Next Club e-Meeting Set For This Saturday, February 21!

Leave a comment

Attention People of Earth! Attention People of Earth!

MonSFFA’s next e-meeting is scheduled to take place on ZOOM this Saturday, February 21, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM! We begin gathering online at 12:30PM, just to give people an opportunity to settle in before the meeting officially begins at 1:00PM. (See details on how to ZOOM with us, end of this post.)

This will be the last of our winter e-meetings in 2026; next month, we return to our usual downtown meeting hall at the Nouvel Hotel on René-Lévesque Ouest.

February’s Meeting Theme:

We ask folks to come prepared with two or three examples of SF/F books or films that you discovered quite by happenstance, and thoroughly enjoyed, contrary to your expectations! We’ll talk about these during today’s “Hidden Gems” discussion.

On the Agenda:

Don’t Judge a Book by its Movie!

Books often translate poorly to the movie screen. We proffer examples of good SF/F books made into bad SF/F movies, and vice versa!

Hidden Gems

We ask MonSFFen to offer examples of SF/F books or films serendipitously happened upon and thoroughly enjoyed; happy, accidental discoveries, real gems previously hidden and now revealed, unexpected surprises, much to the pleasure of the reader or viewer!

Sci-Fi Balderdash! (Game)

Fakes, fooling folk, and fun! Given only the title of an actual SF/F story, can you come up with a brief, two-sentence fake story synopsis for that title, one convincing enough to fool your fellow players? And, can you pick out the real synopsis from among the fakes? 

We’re looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on ZOOM for this February 2026 e-meeting! Tell a friend; invite them to join in! We’ll see you all this Saturday, February 21, 1:00PM-5:00PM! 

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!

How to ZOOM With Us This Saturday:

To take part in this Saturday’s e-meeting, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the course of the meeting. Here is the URL you will need; enter it into your browser, and follow the prompts:

Topic: MonSFFA’s ZOOM e-Meeting
Time: February 21, 2026, 13:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82393092765?pwd=iMj81jvgrODV2C1tMBmf51EivFbjdk.1

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799.

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to provide it:

Meeting ID: 823 9309 2765
Passcode: 025837

Provided as additional, supplementary information, here are ZOOM’s complete instructions on how to join the meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/82393092765/invitations?signature=7Bkj99fZmzLbfvoT6eaQb_fWBZ7lrbS8HGz359T-AJQ

 

MonSFFA Website

FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE OF IMPULSE NOW AVAILABLE!

Leave a comment

The February issue of MonSFFA’s news bulletin, Impulse, is now available, right here on this Website! Visit our “Impulse” page for this latest, as well as back issues of the news bulletin. Or, just click below:

ImpulseFebruary2026(OnlineVersion)PDF

We have a club e-Meeting scheduled for this Saturday, February 21; watch this space for further posts all about that within the next 48 hours! Meanwhile, enjoy reading this latest issue of Impulse!

Fandom

Across the Fandomension with Garth Spencer”

Leave a comment

We have received an update regarding Garth Spencer’s website, “Across the Fandomension with Garth Spencer” . This is shaping up to be a valuable resource for fans of SFF.  –Cathypl

Dear Guys,

My SF information website, “Across the Fandomension with Garth Spencer” (https://www.vcn.bc.ca/~garth2), is now extended and updated. I intend to make additions and updates monthly.

This is still a bare-bones information website, so to begin with I have focused on simply finding the links to resources. If you spot errors and omissions in the information about clubs, conventions, fanzines, fandoms, writers’ resources, markets, or websites, please comment and criticize and suggest amendments. If you have suggestions for improved layout and format, I am open to them, too.

 

Yours cordially,

 

Garth Spencer

Books

Upcoming books, Jan & Feb

Leave a comment

Locus list of upcoming books, Jan & Feb

JANUARY 2026

  • EUGEN BACON & CHERYL NTUMY, ET AL, EDS. • Sauúti Terrors Short Stories • Flame Tree Collections UK, Jan 2026 (oa, hc, eb)
  • BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU • A God of Countless Guis­es • Bloomsbury UK/Head of Zeus/Ad Astra, Jan 2026 (hc, eb)
  • MONIQUILL BLACKGOOSE • To Ride a Rising Storm • Pen­guin Random House/Del Rey, Jan 2026 (tp, eb)
  • STEPHANIE BURGIS • Enchanting the Fae Queen • Tor/Bramble, Jan 2026 (v, tp, eb)
  • JIM BUTCHER • Twelve Months • Ace, Jan 2026 (hc, eb)
  • JIM BUTCHER • Twelve Months • Orbit UK, Jan 2026 (hc, eb)
  • ROSHANI CHOKSHI • The Swan’s Daughter • St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books, Jan 2026 (v, hc, eb)
  • NICOLE GLOVER • The Starseekers • Harper Voyager US, Jan 2026 (tp, eb)
  • NICOLA GRIFFITH • She Is Here • PM Press, Jan 2026 (c, tp, eb)
  • ISABEL IBAÑEZ • Graceless Heart • St. Mar­tin’s/Saturday Books, Jan 2026 (hc, eb)
  • SEANAN MCGUIRE • Through Gates of Garnet and Gold • Tordotcom, Jan 2026 (na, hc, eb)
  • K.J. PARKER • Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead • Orbit UK, Jan 2026 (tp, eb)
  • K.J. PARKER • Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead • Orbit US, Jan 2026 (tp, eb)
  • ALASTAIR REYNOLDS • Halcyon Years • Orbit US, Jan 2026 (1US, hc, eb)
  • BRANDON SANDERSON • Magic the Gathering: Children of the Nameless • Subterranean Press, Jan 2026 (x, hc)
  • CHARLES STROSS • The Regicide Report • Tor, Jan 2026 (na, hc, eb)

FEBRUARY 2026

  • EDWARD ASHTON • After the Fall • St. Martin’s, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • STEPHANIE BURGIS • Enchanting the Fae Queen • Macmillan/Tor Bramble UK, Feb 2026 (1UK, hc, eb)
  • V. CASTRO • Maria the Wanted • Titan Books UK, Feb 2026 (h, tp, eb)
  • P.A. CORNELL • Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl • Stars and Sabers, Feb 2026 (na, v, tp, eb)
  • MATT DINNIMAN • Operation Bounce House • Ace, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • HEATHER FAWCETT • Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • HEATHER FAWCETT • Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter • Orbit UK, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • KIM HARRISON • Secondhand Luck • Ace, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • MATTHEW KRESSEL • The Rainseekers • Tordotcom, Feb 2026 (na, tp, eb)
  • PAUL MCAULEY • Loss Protocol • Orion UK/Gollancz, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • IAN MCDONALD • Boy • with Occasional Dinosaur, Tordotcom, Feb 2026 (na, tp, eb)
  • BETHANY C. MORROW • The Body • Tor/Nightfire, Feb 2026 (h, hc, eb)
  • NNEDI OKORAFOR • The Daughter Who Remains • Astra House/DAW, Feb 2026 (na, hc, eb)
  • REBECCA ORE • Writing Is Writing • Aqueduct Press, Feb 2026 (nf, tp, eb)
  • BRANDON SANDERSON • Isles of the Emberdark • Tor, Feb 2026 (hc)
  • BRANDON SANDERSON • Isles of the Emberdark • Orion UK/Gollancz, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • ALI SMITH • Glyff • Penguin Random House UK/Hamish Hamilton, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • A.D. SUI • The Iron Garden Sutra • Kensing­ton/Erewhon, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • MICHAEL SWANWICK • The Universe Box • Tachyon Pub­lications, Feb 2026 (c, tp, eb)
  • ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY • The Best of Adrian Tchaikovsky • Subterranean Press, Feb 2026 (hc)
  • ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY • Pretenders to the Throne of God • Bloomsbury UK/Head of Zeus/Ad Astra, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • ALIYA WHITELEY • The Misheard World • Rebellion/Solaris UK, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
  • MAKANA YAMAMOTO • The Obake Code • Harper Voy­ager US, Feb 2026 (tp, eb)
  • MAKANA YAMAMOTO • The Obake Code • Orion UK/Gollancz, Feb 2026 (hc, eb)
Astronomy News

Volcanoes on Io

Leave a comment

 A late-2024 volcanic event was the most powerful ever observed on Io, releasing 140–260 TW of energy from a vast 65,000 km

For the details, click https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JE009047

The simultaneous eruption of distant hotspots reveals a single, extensive subsurface magma reservoir connecting them
Findings support a “sponge-like” regional magma network, reshaping the understanding of Io’s interior

On 27 December 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft observed an enormous volcanic eruption on Io, Jupiter’s most volcanically active moon. The eruption covered a vast area of about 65,000 km2 in the southern hemisphere and released an estimated 140–260 TW of energy-possibly the most intense volcanic event ever recorded on Io, far surpassing previous eruptions. The eruption affected multiple volcanic hot spots, with some increasing in brightness by over 1,000 times their usual levels. Scientists believe this was a single massive event spreading underground across hundreds of kilometres, linking multiple magma reservoirs. However, other nearby volcanoes remained unaffected, adding complexity to how Io’s interior works. This unprecedented event suggests that Io’s volcanoes may be more interconnected than previously thought. Future observations by Juno could reveal whether the eruption left behind new lava flows or ash deposits, helping scientists better understand the moon’s geology and volcanic activity.

Fanzines

Fanzine roundup!

Leave a comment

Here are the zines that arrived in the virtual mailbox. Enjoy! and share!

Greetings, programs!
Attached you will find the January 2026 edition of Tightbeam, number 376, with reviews, recipes, and reminiscence.
You are invited to peruse and send a letter of comment.

Jason P Hunt
Publisher/CEO
www.SciFi4Me.com

Jason also sent us N3FReview202601

From Leybl in Israel: CCJanuary2026-v01

From Matt Mitchell at LASFS: Please feel free to distribute to your members.  Thank you very much. De Profundis #617 – February 2026
From Nic Farey: “The Enlightenment view of mankind is a complete myth. It leads us into thinking we’re sane and rational creatures most of the time, and we’re not.”
From Jason Hunt, N3F, two zines.  Greetings, programs! Please find attached the latest instalment of NAPA280_jan2026 
As we work out the kinks in the schedule, the goal is to get everything on track for a regular schedule of dates on which each of our ‘zines will hit your in-box. I appreciate everyone’s patience!
As we draw near the end of the month, as I contemplate the ridiculously cold temperatures and snow on the ground and wonder if the deer in the back are OK, I am sending to you this last ‘zine of the month (I think?) — the National Fantasy Fan for January 2026, beginning Volume 85.
Letters of comment are welcome. And please continue to send me any updates on e-mail addresses. I’m trying to keep everything as current as possible. TNFF202601

From Ahrvid Engholm: Intermission163

Intermission in the Epstein files?

It wouldn't surprise us, considering how morally corrupt it is! But in
the Engholm files (latest example #163 enclosed) we find Jules Verne!
(With his unknown, only English story!) And a whole bunch of writers
in deplorable filthy-pro magazines such as Beyond Fantasy,
Imagination, Startling Stories and others presenting your wettest,
wildest dreams! Blue films - at least one - also covered, and AI
translation.
  But we start with the latest goofs by Trump and Putin. Agent
Orange's Greenland plans get cold shoulders from the Arctic and
Putins's under-supplied alcoholic bumbs of an "army" is destroyed by
drones. And why don't media report on Putin' collapsing economy?
 Finally, don't miss ■■■■  and ■■■■, especially ■■■■!!!

Don't Put Hands In Running Mower,

--Ahrvid Engholm, edit■■■■or
  (Comments welcome, but whatever you write, make CC: to
ahvid@atomicmail.io, due to failing Microsoft...)

From the N3F: Tightbeam 377 is attached. There is an Alarming Event…we are back on schedule. On the topic of schedules, Mindy Hunt reports that the next issue of FanActivity Gazette will be delayed.

Updates from Bill Burns at d-fanzines
  • Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #56
  • Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation, Spring 2026 is now on line
  • Octothorpe #151, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line
  • Two Chairs in Print #12 by Perry Middlemiss and David Grigg [2025 issue]
  • Henry Grynnsten’s Wild Ideas #67 [2025 issue]
  • John D. Berry’s dot-fanzine: guillemets
  • Nic Farey’s This Here…#95
  • Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #86
  • Opuntia #618, edited by Dale Speirs
  • Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – January 2026
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #94
  • John D. Berry’s dot-fanzine: interrobang and dot-fanzine: colon [archive issues]
  • Two Chairs in Print #13 by Perry Middlemiss and David Grigg
  • Octothorpe #152, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line
  • Opuntia #619, edited by Dale Speirs
  • Garth Spencer’s The Obdurate Eye #59
Movies, Television

Mix from Sci-Fi TV show and Movie themes

January 23, 2026
    I have been a DJ for 40+ years and a closet Sci-Fi nut. So, I put my talent with music and sci-fi TV, Movie themes. Made them into a Sci-Fi dance mix just sharing it with you, Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHS7azKODhk
Please have fun if you like it pass it around.
Cheers
Rod DJ Daddy Mack(c)
https://djdaddymack.com
Fandom

Announcing the Launch of an information website

Dear Guys and Gals,

Canadian fan, Garth Spencer

I am now launching a fannish information website, listing Canadian and Pacific Northwest clubs and conventions, as well as less regional information for fanzine fans and aspiring writers. Please check out https://www.vcn.bc.ca/~garth2/ and let me know if you find it useful. The plan is to edit the web page monthly.

Any critical comments or helpful suggestions are welcome, so I have put an email link on every web page to make it easy to contact me. I have no aesthetic sense, so this month’s edition is almost entirely text-only. (My smiling face is on the welcome page, but it’s a bit large – I think I must cut it down.)

Many thanks are due to the Vancouver Community for hosting this website, and to their Help Desk and to Kalin Stacey of the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association for getting me over some glitches.

Yours cordially,

Garth Spencer

Reading

100 years of Amazing Stories!

On March 10, 2026, Amazing Stories will mark a singular milestone: one hundred years since the moment science fiction became a genre with a name, a home, and a future.

On a cold Wednesday in Manhattan—March 10, 1926—The Experimenter Publishing Company released the first issue of Amazing Stories. Its cover was impossible to miss: bright yellow, boldly optimistic, and illustrated by Frank R. Paul, who would soon be recognized as the founding visual architect of science fiction. Behind that cover stood editor and publisher Hugo Gernsback, holding a radical idea: that stories grounded in real science, boldly extrapolated into tomorrow, deserved a magazine of their own.

With his opening editorial, “A New Kind of Magazine,” Gernsback didn’t just launch a publication—he defined a genre. He called it scientifiction: stories that were entertaining, intellectually serious, rooted in known science, and unafraid to speculate. Sometimes they advocated. Sometimes they warned. Always, they invited readers to imagine what might be.

That first issue of Amazing Stories did more than publish fiction. It established science fiction’s rules of engagement, made the future visible, and—perhaps most importantly—created a conversation. The magazine’s letters column became the birthplace of science fiction fandom, a community that would grow into clubs, fanzines, conventions, cosplay, superheroes, and an enduring global culture. The modern world’s relationship with the future can be traced, in no small part, back to those pages.

It is no exaggeration to say that the last century would look very different without Amazing Stories.

Why This Matters Now

At a time when scientific progress is accelerating faster than ever—reshaping how we live, work, communicate, and even define what it means to be human—science fiction’s original mission feels newly urgent. For a century, Amazing Stories has explored both the promise and the peril of innovation, reminding us that the future is not something that simply happens to us, but something we actively imagine, question, and choose. As we confront challenges that once seemed purely speculative, science fiction remains what it has always been at its best: a rehearsal space for tomorrow, powered by curiosity, skepticism, and hope.

We invite readers, writers, historians, fans, and future-builders to join us in celebrating this extraordinary anniversary. Celebrate with us in person at Ravencon in Richmond, Virginia, April 26–28, 2026. Or celebrate in your own way: read a story, discover a new author, write a review, or visit our website to explore a sampling of what began on a newsstand in 1926 and helped shape the imagination of a century.

It has been our privilege, honour, and joy to help keep Amazing Stories alive. We look forward—with appropriate scientific optimism—to carrying its legacy into the next hundred years.

(A formal centennial celebration will be held at Ravencon, Richmond, Virginia, April 26–28, 2026.)

CSFFA / Aurora Award / Hall of Fame

CSFFA Newsletter

CSFFA Newsletter: Happy New Year!

In this newsletter:

  1. 2026 CSFFA Registration is Open
  2. 2026 CSFFA Calendar (Important Dates)
  3. Aurora Book Club Meeting Jan. 22, 2026
  4. Eligibility Lists Are Open for 2025 Works
  5. Reminder: You’re Invited to our Discord community

2026 CSFFA Registration is Open

Registration is open to purchase your 2026 CSFFA membership.  This will allow you to add items to the eligibility lists, nominate (February/March) and later vote for this year’s awards.  Memberships are open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Registration is available both for returning members from 2023-25 and for new members directly on our home page at www.csffa.ca. Just click the box (Not a Member yet? / You are a Member?) that applies to you.

2026 CSFFA Calendar

We have updated this year’s CSFFA Calendar.  It has start and end dates for all of the 2026 activities such the Aurora Awards, our development grants, the CSFFA Hall of Fame, our AGM, and when the Awards Ceremony will take place.  Some of the dates, such as the voters’ package start date are flexible.  If we get works from our finalists quickly then we will open it up earlier.

For a the full calendar go to our website: https://www.csffa.ca/about/calendar-of-activities/

Aurora Book Club Meeting Reminder: January 22, 2026

BOOK CLUB MEETING: January 22 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST

Join us on Discord in our voice/video channel Book Club Meetings channel on the 22nd to learn more about Phyllis Gotlieb’s winning novel, her life and career. Featuring special guest, Aurora-winning author Candas Jane Dorsey!

More info on the book club:
Starting in January 2026, we’re inviting everyone to join us for the Aurora Awards Retrospective Book Club. The aim of the Book Club is to read every “Best Novel” Aurora Award winner in the association’s history, in time for CSFFA’s 50th anniversary. We envision the book club wrapping up by the proposed Edmonton Worldcon in 2030, where we hope to host some form of anniversary celebration.

January 2026 is our inaugural book club month. We’ll be reading Phyllis Gotlieb’s A Judgment of Dragons, the first novel to win the Aurora Award – in 1982.

Join us on Discord at any time in January to discuss the book with us.
Learn more about the book club, how it works, and see the full schedule at the book club page of the CSFFA website.

2025 Eligibility Lists

As of November 2025, our annual eligibility list submission period is underway. You can see our current list of confirmed eligible works on our public list page here. This page can be shared widely, everyone has access to it. This public page contains links to external URLs for each work, which you will find to the right of the entry marked as [info]. For works that are available to read in full online (eg. short stories in online magazines), the [info] link should direct you to that work so you can read it. For other works, the info link provides publication details, synopses, and purchase options.

CSFFA members are encouraged to add works they are familiar with or published in 2025. In order to add works before the end of December, you must have a 2025 membership (ie. paid the membership fee in the first half of this year). Starting in January, you will need to purchase your 2026 membership in order to access the member-only eligible work submission forms.

If you are a publisher or a creator without a membership and would like assistance adding works to the lists, please contact us. If you only published a few works, we are more than happy to put them in for you. You must send us full details of the work and a URL where members can get more information about the work or access it in full (if such is available online).

For questions or comments about eligibility lists, please contact us at volunteer.csffa@gmail.com

We’re happy to announce that CSFFA is joining the great Discord bandwagon, and has created a community server where fans, readers, creators, and all Canadian SFF enthusiasts can gather online to discuss Canadian speculative fiction and the Aurora Awards. The Discord server is open to the public, and you can join us using this link.

(Sometimes Discord invite links don’t work as intended, so if you find that to be the case, please reach out and we’ll try to get you sorted.)

Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy Association