Hope

Hope is a new multi-part fanzine raising money for bushfire relief in the Australian state of Victoria.

It is edited by the awesome Grant Watson, with contributions donated by writers, artists and fans in Australia and from overseas. It is supported by the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), and has received assistance from the Film & Television Institute of WA, Supanova and Big Finish Productions.

Issue #1 is now available in a PDF edition in return for donations. How much you donate is up to you - Grant recommends a minimum of AUS$5.00. If you wish to subscribe to the entire five issue series, make it AUS$20.00 or more.

Hope #1 contains contributions from Mo Ali, Sophie Ambrose, R.J. Astruc, Lyn Battersby, K.K. Bishop, Matthew Chrulew, Stephen Dedman, Mark S. Deniz, d.n.l, Paul Haines, Simon Haynes, Kathleen Jennings, Ju Landeesse, Damian Magee, David A. McIntee, Simon Petrie, Andrew Phillips, Gillian Polack, Robert Shearman and Daniel Smith. The cover is by Rebecca Handcock.

I can personally testify that almost everyone on that list is like a loaded shotgun ready to fire entertainment in your direction; I say "almost" only for lack of exposure to some of the authors rather than any dissatisfaction with their shotgun-like qualities. Personally I'd buy the thing just to get Rob Shearman's contribution; he's the guy who did the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who story "Dalek" as well as most of the best Who audio plays and the amazing short fiction collection "Little Deaths".

Also, I'm led to understand that an upcoming issue may feature content by me. You should therefore buy the whole series in order to find out.

For information on how to donate and obtain your copies of this excellent project, head on over to Grant's LJ and get out your credit cards or PayPal accounts. I mentioned it's all for charity, right?