And the winner is…

On the 18^th September I posted a query regarding the cover artist for the 1970 New English Library edition of The Technicolor Time Machine, and also mentioned it on the Yahoo Group when I announced the creation of the HH News Blog.

Arthur Lortie e-mailed me to say the artist was Bruce Pennington. I wasn’t sure – Pennington is one of my favourite artists, and the TTM cover wasn’t in his usual style, so I wanted to get some formal verification. I e-mailed Nigel Suckling, who wrote the text for the Bruce Pennington book Ultraterraneum, and received the following reply:

Dear Paul, 

Yes indeed, that is a Bruce Pennington cover. I just rang him to check and he remembers it well. You’re right though, it’s not quite his usual style. 

Best wishes,   Nigel   

Thanks to Nigel for checking this out for us, and thanks to Arthur, who I shall never doubt again… J

You can check out Nigel Suckling’s website at:

http://www.unicorngarden.com/index.htm

 As far as I can tell, Bruce Pennington doesn’t have an official website, though there are many places on the web which have his artwork on display.  

Harry Harrison – Mystery Artwork

One of the many things Harry Harison and I uncovered recently was a folder of his original artwork, some dating back to the late 1940s and early 1950s. Among the illustrations were various recognisable bits – from Worlds Beyond and Marvel Stories magazines – and also the illustration shown here. I’ve never seen it before, and Harry couldn’t remember where the picture might have been published.

Does anyone out there have any idea where it might have appeared? Does anyone recognise the figure on the horse? Why is he naked, and why is he sitting on a cactus? It looks like it could be some sort of comment on the joys of being a freelance writer…

I hope everyone can see the detail in this picture, as there are some nice touches. Look at the noose, and the ’six shooter’. Unfortunately the scan doesn’t do the artwork justice – the original is a lovely, clean illustration - so apologies to Harry for that.

Do You Know Who the Artist Is?

 

A while ago we got an e-mail asking who the cover artist is for the New English Library edition of The Technicolor Time Machine published in 1970 (see image above). The artist isn’t credited on the cover.

Anyone know who it might be?   If anyone identifies the artist, I’ll send them a copy of TTM signed by HH (a newer edition than this one).

From Harry … Visit to Kiev

Case magazine, a major periodical in Kiev, published an interview with me. 

Response to this so good they have invited me for a long weekend, 9 to 12 October, for  a banquet and publicity interviews.

Harry Harrison at Copenhagen Eurocon

Harry will be attending the 2007 Eurocon in Copenhagen, Denmark which takes place 21st to 23rd September.

Harry has strong links with Denmark: he and his family lived there from the Spring of 1959 for seven years, and he set the novel The Daleth Effect (vt. In Our Hands the Stars) in that country.

The Artist Guest of Honour at the convention is David A. Hardy, who provided illustrations for the first two volumes of the Stars & Stripes trilogy (US editions), and the cover for the UK edition of the first in the series.

The convention programme lists Harry as being involved in the following (subject to confirmation):

• Friday 14.00-15.00 – PANEL: Why do we go to a Convention? Anne McCaffrey, Zoran Zivkovic, Harry Harrison.
• Friday 15.00-16.00 – Round table. 10 fans gets the opportunity to sit and talk with Harry Harrison. This event requires that you sign in to participate

The convention website (in English) can be found at: http://www.eurocon2007.dk/en/

From Harry…

In today’s New Scientist is a letter I sent them – with an illustration!

Link to online version (without image):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526212.300-science-friction.html

Speculating on the South Conference – 6-8th November 2007

Harry Harrison will be participating in the Speculating on the South Conference, being held at the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence on the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill campus, in North Carolina, USA.  The full title of the event is: Speculating on the South: Reimagining the Historical South through Scholarship and Art, and it is being organised by the Institute of African American Research.

Here’s the blurb from the conference website:

“The Speculating on the South conference will feature works of art that ‘speculate’ on – or present alternate histories about – the American South. In general, speculative art tests various hypotheses within experimental, creative mediums to proffer plausible but different results of past events. Among other activities, conference participants will examine fiction and non-fiction that conjectures on what would have happened if the South had won the Civil War. The conference will also highlight other counter-historical art works (film, visual art, music) that re-imagine American History, the plight of African Americans, the institution of slavery, and human evolution, generally.”

Harry Harrison’s own works related to these themes include the Stars & Stripes trilogy, the novel Rebel in Time, and the short story “Mute Milton.”

The conference website is at: http://www.unc.edu/iaar/spec/   

Welcome

Welcome to a new location for the latest information about the activities and publications of science fiction writer Harry Harrison.

Mike and I maintain Harry’s official website at www.harryharrison.com, and Mike also set-up the Harry Harrison group on Yahoo, but we’ll be using this blog for the latest news items from now on.

Harry will be contributing too – expect to see extracts from his e-mails or posts from him here on a semi-regular basis.

Comments posted here will be moderated, and we’ll pass on comments and queries to Harry. Anything we deem to be offensive or insulting will be deleted – yes, I know this is censorship, but this is an official blog aimed at fans of all ages, so we have to behave accordingly. That doesn’t mean we won’t accept constructive criticism about what we post here or on the website, or critical comments about Harry’s stories, but please note the word ‘constructive.’

If you have any news about Harry or his work – especially if you’re outside the UK and North America – please share it here, and please do comment on the posts so that we know there’s someone out there reading this…