Difference between revisions of "Ansible"

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(details re logo, half-issues, Link; remove disambiguation link newsletter)
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==1) A Communications Device==
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==1) Communications Device==
An '''ansible''' is a [[faster-than-light]] communicator used in a number of stories, most prominently those of [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], who coined the term in ''Rocannon’s World'' (1966).
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An '''ansible''' is a [[faster-than-light]] communicator used in [[science fiction]], most prominently by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], who coined the term in ''Rocannon’s World'' (1966).
  
 
See {{SFE|name=ansible}} and [https://sfdictionary.com/view/16/ansible ''The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction''] for more detailed listings and analyses.
 
See {{SFE|name=ansible}} and [https://sfdictionary.com/view/16/ansible ''The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction''] for more detailed listings and analyses.
  
==2) A Newszine==
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==2) Newszine==
[[Fannishly]], '''''Ansible''''' is more important as the name of [[David Langford]]'s monthly [[newszine]]. ''Ansible'' was first published from 1979, taking over from ''[[Checkpoint]]'' as the [[UK]] [[newsletter]] of record, to summer 1987 (50 issues in [[UK]] quarto [[format]] on an increasingly irregular schedule) and then revived in October 1991 as a monthly, initially distributed at [[London Circle]] pub meetings.  
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[[Fannishly]], '''''Ansible''''' is more important as the name of [[David Langford]]'s monthly [[newszine]]. ''Ansible'' was first published from August 1979, taking over from ''[[Checkpoint]]'' as the [[UK]] paper of record, to summer 1987 (50 issues in [[UK]] quarto [[format]] on an increasingly irregular schedule) and then revived in October 1991 as a monthly, initially distributed at [[London Circle]] pub meetings. The distinctive logo is by [[Dan Steffan]].
  
It continues monthly through today, with issue 426 appearing in January 2023 (each year begins with number 12''n''+6, the proof left as an easy exercise for the reader); this count omits a dozen or so specials for [[Christmas Card|Christmas]], [[con]]s or obituaries issued since 1991 with half numbers such as ''Ansible'' 57½.  The revived edition started out on paper (as a single A4 sheet, two sides), but was also posted [[Email list|by e-mail]] and on [[Usenet]] since the early 1990s.  It is now available on paper only in the UK or by special arrangement.  The entire run of ''Ansible'' is archived on Langford's website, whose domain name comes from it.
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It continues monthly through today, with issue 426 appearing in January 2023 (each year begins with number 12''n''+6, the proof left as an easy exercise for the reader); this count omits thirteen specials for [[Christmas Card|Christmas]], [[con]]s or obituaries issued in 1991–2002 and 2017 with half numbers such as ''Ansible'' 57½ to 362½.  The revived edition started out on paper (as a single A4 sheet, two sides), but was also posted [[Email list|by e-mail]] and on [[Usenet]] since the early 1990s.  It is now available on paper only in the UK or by special arrangement.  The entire run of ''Ansible'' is archived on Langford's website, whose domain name comes from it.
  
Langford has used the title “Ansible” for news [[columns]] elsewhere. [https://ansible.uk/bibmisc.html On his website, he writes]:<blockquote>[[The Runcible Ansible]] was a regular preview column in [[Eileen Gunn]]'s [[webzine]] ''[[The Infinite Matrix]]'', from November 2001 until the site became static at the end of 2005. This consisted of "preview" items scheduled for the coming issue of Ansible, some of which didn't make it into print – squeezed out for space reasons or nervously omitted for libel reasons.</blockquote>(This was updated weekly until [https://www.infinitematrix.net/columns/langford/langford201.html Week 201 on December 30, 2005]; the very last Week 202 is from April 1, 2006.)
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Langford has varied the title “Ansible” for news [[columns]] elsewhere. A digest of ''Ansible'' has appeared as "'''Ansible Link'''" in the SF magazine ''[[Interzone]]'' since #62 (August 1992). [https://ansible.uk/bibmisc.html On his website, Langford writes]:
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<blockquote>'''[[The Runcible Ansible]]''' was a regular preview column in [[Eileen Gunn]]'s [[webzine]] ''[[The Infinite Matrix]]'', from November 2001 until the site became static at the end of 2005. This consisted of "preview" items scheduled for the coming issue of Ansible, some of which didn't make it into print – squeezed out for space reasons or nervously omitted for [[libel]] reasons.</blockquote>
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(This was updated weekly until [https://www.infinitematrix.net/columns/langford/langford201.html Week 201 on December 30, 2005]; the very last Week 202 is from April 1, 2006.)
  
A printed digest of ''Ansible'' appears as "Ansible Link" in the now bimonthly ''[[Interzone]]''. Four substantial ebook compilations – ''Ansible First Series 1979-1987'' (issues 1–50), ''Ansible Second Series 1991-2000'' (issues 51–161), ''Ansible Second Series 2001-2010'' (issues 162–281) and ''Ansible Second Series 2011-2020'' (issues 282–401) – are downloadable from the [[TAFF]] site's free ebooks library. Langford makes evasive noises when asked about the fifth volume covering 2021–2030.
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Four substantial ebook compilations – ''Ansible First Series 1979-1987'' (issues 1–50), ''Ansible Second Series 1991-2000'' (issues 51–161), ''Ansible Second Series 2001-2010'' (issues 162–281) and ''Ansible Second Series 2011-2020'' (issues 282–401) – are downloadable from the [[TAFF]] site's free ebooks library. Langford makes evasive noises when asked about the fifth volume covering 2021–2030.
  
 
* “[https://fanac.org/fanzines/SF_Five_Yearly/sffy11.pdf#page=15 The Secret History of ''Ansible''] [more or less as delivered at [[Tropicon XIX|Tropicon/FanHistoricon]], November 2000, [[chaired]] by [[Joe Siclari]]]” by Dave Langford, ''[[Science Fiction Five-Yearly]]'' 11 (November 2001, p. 13).  
 
* “[https://fanac.org/fanzines/SF_Five_Yearly/sffy11.pdf#page=15 The Secret History of ''Ansible''] [more or less as delivered at [[Tropicon XIX|Tropicon/FanHistoricon]], November 2000, [[chaired]] by [[Joe Siclari]]]” by Dave Langford, ''[[Science Fiction Five-Yearly]]'' 11 (November 2001, p. 13).  
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* A UK- and [[Ireland]]-oriented [[fannish]] calendar, also covering [[Eurocon]]s and [[Worldcon]]s.
 
* A UK- and [[Ireland]]-oriented [[fannish]] calendar, also covering [[Eurocon]]s and [[Worldcon]]s.
 
* "As Others See Us": a (frequently hilarious) chronicling of the awful things the [[mundane]] world says about [[sf]] and [[fans]].
 
* "As Others See Us": a (frequently hilarious) chronicling of the awful things the [[mundane]] world says about [[sf]] and [[fans]].
* "R.I.P.": short obituaries of people connected with [[sf]] and [[fandom]].
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* "R.I.P.": one-sentence obituaries of people connected with [[sf]] and [[fandom]].
 
* "Outraged Letters": [[Lettercol]], mostly new material for wider dissemination with some [[LoC]]s on previously reported matters
 
* "Outraged Letters": [[Lettercol]], mostly new material for wider dissemination with some [[LoC]]s on previously reported matters
 
* "The Dead Past": Tasty news snippets from the same month 20 to 70 or more years ago.
 
* "The Dead Past": Tasty news snippets from the same month 20 to 70 or more years ago.
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=== ''Ansible'' Online===
 
=== ''Ansible'' Online===
 
* {{link | website=https://news.ansible.uk | text= ''Ansible'' website.}}
 
* {{link | website=https://news.ansible.uk | text= ''Ansible'' website.}}
* {{fanzineindex|name={{PAGENAME}}|dir=}}.
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* {{fanzineindex|name={{PAGENAME}}|dir=}} (page scans up to 2004, missing #1 and some others but with "#0", the original introductory page explaining the new publication)
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* [https://taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?id=ansible ''Ansible'' ebook collections]
  
{{Prizes}}<br>
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{{Prizes}}
 
''Ansible'' has won an improbable number of awards.
 
''Ansible'' has won an improbable number of awards.
*6 [[Hugo]]s and 11 more nominations:  
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* 6 [[Hugo]]s and 11 more nominations:  
# [[1987 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
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*# [[1987 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
# [[1995 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
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*# [[1995 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
# [[1996 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
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*# [[1996 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
# [[1999 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
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*# [[1999 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
# [[2002 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
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*# [[2002 Best Fanzine Hugo]]
# [[2005 Best Semiprozine Hugo]]  
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*# [[2005 Best Semiprozine Hugo]]  
#*[[Best Fanzine Hugo]] nominations in [[1984 Best Fanzine Hugo|1984]], [[1985 Best Fanzine Hugo|1985]], [[1994 Best Fanzine Hugo|1994]], [[1997 Best Fanzine Hugo|1997]], and [[1998 Best Fanzine Hugo|1998]], and for the [[Best Semiprozine Hugo]] in [[2003 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2003]], [[2004 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2004]], [[2006 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2006]], [[2007 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2007]], [[2008 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2008]], and [[2010 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2010]]. (Without changing its single-page [[fannish]] format, Langford declared it to be a [[semiprozine]] in 2003 in order to take it out of competition with [[fanzines]].)
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** [[Best Fanzine Hugo]] nominations in [[1984 Best Fanzine Hugo|1984]], [[1985 Best Fanzine Hugo|1985]], [[1994 Best Fanzine Hugo|1994]], [[1997 Best Fanzine Hugo|1997]], and [[1998 Best Fanzine Hugo|1998]], and for the [[Best Semiprozine Hugo]] in [[2003 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2003]], [[2004 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2004]], [[2006 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2006]], [[2007 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2007]], [[2008 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2008]], and [[2010 Best Semiprozine Hugo|2010]]. (Without changing its single-page [[fannish]] nature, Langford declared it a [[semiprozine]] in 2003 to take it out of competition with fanzines.)
*[[FAAn Awards]] for Best Newszine and Best Online News/Information Resource in 2019, and tied for the catchall FAAn category Best Watchamacallit Zine in 2020
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* [[FAAn Awards]] for Best Newszine and Best Online News/Information Resource in 2019, and tied for the catchall FAAn category Best Watchamacallit Zine in 2020
 
 
  
 
{{publication | start=1979 | end=}}
 
{{publication | start=1979 | end=}}

Revision as of 05:41, 19 April 2023

1) Communications Device[edit]

An ansible is a faster-than-light communicator used in science fiction, most prominently by Ursula K. Le Guin, who coined the term in Rocannon’s World (1966).

See Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction for more detailed listings and analyses.

2) Newszine[edit]

Fannishly, Ansible is more important as the name of David Langford's monthly newszine. Ansible was first published from August 1979, taking over from Checkpoint as the UK paper of record, to summer 1987 (50 issues in UK quarto format on an increasingly irregular schedule) and then revived in October 1991 as a monthly, initially distributed at London Circle pub meetings. The distinctive logo is by Dan Steffan.

It continues monthly through today, with issue 426 appearing in January 2023 (each year begins with number 12n+6, the proof left as an easy exercise for the reader); this count omits thirteen specials for Christmas, cons or obituaries issued in 1991–2002 and 2017 with half numbers such as Ansible 57½ to 362½. The revived edition started out on paper (as a single A4 sheet, two sides), but was also posted by e-mail and on Usenet since the early 1990s. It is now available on paper only in the UK or by special arrangement. The entire run of Ansible is archived on Langford's website, whose domain name comes from it.

Langford has varied the title “Ansible” for news columns elsewhere. A digest of Ansible has appeared as "Ansible Link" in the SF magazine Interzone since #62 (August 1992). On his website, Langford writes:

The Runcible Ansible was a regular preview column in Eileen Gunn's webzine The Infinite Matrix, from November 2001 until the site became static at the end of 2005. This consisted of "preview" items scheduled for the coming issue of Ansible, some of which didn't make it into print – squeezed out for space reasons or nervously omitted for libel reasons.

(This was updated weekly until Week 201 on December 30, 2005; the very last Week 202 is from April 1, 2006.)

Four substantial ebook compilations – Ansible First Series 1979-1987 (issues 1–50), Ansible Second Series 1991-2000 (issues 51–161), Ansible Second Series 2001-2010 (issues 162–281) and Ansible Second Series 2011-2020 (issues 282–401) – are downloadable from the TAFF site's free ebooks library. Langford makes evasive noises when asked about the fifth volume covering 2021–2030.

Regular features of Ansible[edit]

  • A UK- and Ireland-oriented fannish calendar, also covering Eurocons and Worldcons.
  • "As Others See Us": a (frequently hilarious) chronicling of the awful things the mundane world says about sf and fans.
  • "R.I.P.": one-sentence obituaries of people connected with sf and fandom.
  • "Outraged Letters": Lettercol, mostly new material for wider dissemination with some LoCs on previously reported matters
  • "The Dead Past": Tasty news snippets from the same month 20 to 70 or more years ago.
  • "Thog's Masterclass": Literary howlers from both genre and mundane works.

... as well as a variety of news, gossip, notes and silliness, under the catch-all header "Infinitely Improbable."

Ansible Online[edit]

Awards and Honors Ansible has won an improbable number of awards.


Publication 1979
This is a publication page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was published, how many issues it has had, (including adding a partial or complete checklist), its contents (including perhaps a ToC listing), its size and repro method, regular columnists, its impact on fandom, or by adding scans or links to scans. See Standards for Publications.


Fanspeak 1966
This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.

Multiple unrelated entries on one page are deprecated.