Sir Julius Vogel Award Winners – 2023

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Tehnuka is a Tamil tauiwi volcanologist living in Kirikiriroa. She delights in experiencing and learning about the natural world, and was fortunate to study and work overseas for a decade doing just that, including four fieldwork seasons in Antarctica. Currently pupating due to the pandemic, she was, in her larval stage, a keen tramper, climber, and trail runner, and a long-time volunteer at the local Trade Aid. Her social and environmental justice interests and love of nature are evident in several of her short stories and narrative poems, which span SFF subgenres including fabulism, climate fiction, and weird horror. 

Tehnuka’s stories have been highly commended in the NZ Sunday Star Times short story contest, and shortlisted internationally in the Dream Foundry contest for emerging writers, Best New Weird, and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. She was a finalist in the Image 2200 climate fiction contest with her story, ‘El, the Plastotrophs, and Me,’ set in a future Aotearoa, now published in the Afterglow anthology (The New Press). For more of her local climate fiction, you can read ‘Why We Bury Our Dead At Sea’ (Reckoning). 

For a taste of familial bonds and fabulism, try ‘Clutch. Stick. Shift.’ (Mermaids Monthly; Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy, Volume IV; 2021 SJV finalist), or ‘Stains of Home’ (If There’s Anyone Left). ‘Loving Bone Girl’ (Apex) is a dark love story strong on atmosphere and mood, while ‘Elephant Doctor’ (Worlds of Possibility) is a whimsical, hopeful piece about the difficulties of access to medical care. And if you like hopeful stories—or unusual relationships—keep an eye out for ‘Potential’ (Immigrant Sci Fi short stories—Flame Tree Press) and ‘Please Mind the Poltergeist’ (Worlds of Possibility) due out this year.

Readers who prefer weird horror may enjoy ‘My Mother Was Born From an Apple’ (Going Down Swinging) or ‘I Welcome the Ant Colonies in Our House’ (Hennepin Review). For other dark pieces, try her narrative poems: ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’ (Apparition Lit), ‘Transformative Love’ (Mother: Tales of Love and Terror—Weird Little Worlds), ‘The New Children’ (Bloodless—Sliced Up Press), or the multilingual poem ‘For My Shipmates, a Short Glossary to Aid Mutual Understanding’ forthcoming in Uncanny. 

Projects she is working on include an audio drama for Feminist Fairytales, a fabulist climate fiction story for the Ruru projects initiative for new South Asian writers in Aotearoa, and various short and long stories she just needs to fit in around the day job. She is also enjoying a different role in the short fiction ecosystem as a volunteer reader for the speculative magazine Apparition Lit. 

To see more of Tehnuka’s work, visit https://tehnuka.dreamhosters.com/selected-works/ or, to learn what she pupates into, find her on Twitter as @tehnuka. 

I am nominating Matthew Pavletich again for the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel Awards in the category of Services to Fandom.

Matthew has been an active science fiction and fantasy fan for a very long time. He has been attending local New Zealand conventions for something like 30 years. Plus, he has also attended a few overseas conventions during his fandom.

During this time, he has actively supported many fan-related activities, mainly in a behind-the-scenes operational capacity, but he has been in the spot-light too, as a panellist at conventions.

His most recent main activity was to support the New Zealand 2020 bid for Worldcon. This was listed and recognised in the ConZealand convention book – page 114 under the section “New Zealand in 2020 Bid Stalwarts”. To quote “People who turn up and do the hard yards (some of them year after year_ at the tables and serving the pavs and Kiwi beak Mocktails at The Kiwis Beak Tavern, before we had the vote, when it was all to play for (2014 – 2018)”.

During ConZealand, Matthew did one panel that I remember, possible two. The one I remember is the one where the panellists spoke about up-and-coming new science fiction TV shows. As always Matthew spoke knowledgably and well, presenting what he knew in a clear and concise manner, without getting fancy.

Going back further, Mathew was a member of Stella Nova, the local Auckland science fiction club. He hosted many club activities with his wife Maree, also a member of the same club. Supporting fandom locally is important to the growth of fandom at a national level. With a core group in a city, this enable larger events to be put together when there is a pool of fans that could be called upon to help. Matthew was part of this core group up in Auckland, and always did what he could to support the endeavours of other fans as they organised a range of fan events. I’ve personally witnessed Matthew transport items essential to the convention, to ensure it got to the convention in a timely manner.

On a national level, Matthew was part of three Convention Committees or ConComs that I attended, making him one of the convention organisers. These being :

Conquest 1995 : Role - Videos and Technical Support

Conquest – the Second 1999 : Role - Videos and Technical Support

OdysseyCon 2001 : Role - Technical Support

OdysseyCon 2001 was the very successful and very enjoyable NZ national convention that had Mercedes Lackey as the Author Guest of Honour.

Like many science fiction fans, Matthew has an interest in real science and technology. He is a member of the New Zealand Spaceflight Association. He gets asked to comment about space events and is introduced as a “Space Commentator.” I have seen him on TV3’s Breakfast show talking about various space events more than once.

Examples of him commenting on space news are here: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/matthew-pavletich-space-commentator-on-nasa-purposefully-smashing-n

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2020/05/spacex-launch-what-happens-if-something-goes-wrong.html https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/02/mars-2020-nasa-s-perseverance-rover-prepares-for-nail-biting-landing.html

Lastly, Matthew has had a few pieces of short fiction professionally published. I have read one and it was a good science fiction story. Another example of his published work here - 

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Luna-Brandon-H-Bell/dp/0981924328

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Matthew has been active in New Zealand and international fandom for over 30 years.

He has lost count of the number of committees he has been on for running conventions. As a member of the Stella Nova Science Fiction Club he has been involved in all their activities over three decades, including serving as President.

Matthew was a keen actor, published writer, con-organiser and has lectured on Science Fiction both here in schools and seminars, online and overseas; plus his lifelong interest in spaceflight, has seen him appearing as a recurring guest expert on breakfast TV shows and radio.

Matthew was a co-organiser, as a ground trooper, of the CoNZealand bid, being heavily involved in organising the parties at the World Convention and manning the Bid Table around the world every year from 2014 to 2019, and despite being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2021, found the energy to help at the Thank You party in 2022. For many WorldCon attendees the parties and the Bid Table, at which he enthusiastically promoted NZ and CoNZealand, was the only physical experience of a New Zealand WorldCon that was possible, due to COVID making the 2020 WorldCon virtual.

Matthew epitomises what this award is about. He meets every criteria of service to fandom you can think of. No one could deserve this award more.