This page presents a working chronology of Nova Mob meetings from 1970 onward, in reverse date order, with the most recent meetings first.
Information from late 2017 to the present day is from the Mob convenor’s notes, with some editing to be done. The historical core of the page is based on Bruce Gillespie’s diary entries and later additions by Kim Huett and other contributors, and tells of our substantial history from August 1970 to October 2017.
Nova Mob is Melbourne’s long-running speculative fiction discussion group, established in 1970. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month, face to face at Kensington Town Hall and by Zoom, and friends, guests, and new arrivals are always welcome.
2026
5 Aug 2026 – Maria Takolander — The End of Romance
Carmel Bird gave an excellent review in The Age – “Here, in all its glory, is the intense poetic imagination of Maria Takolander constructing a disturbing novel, a kind of complex violent legend, set in the dystopia of a planet that appears to have no future. Suspense is a key ingredient in romantic fiction, and while the very title The End of Romance plays against type, this novel is compelling and chilling as it sings its way towards its resolution.”
The novel was launched on 30 June by Text Publishing. Copies are likely to be available for cash purchase on the night.
The meeting was a fireside chat Q&A style.
About Maria Takolander
Maria Takolander is an award-winning Finnish-Australian fiction writer and poet. She is the inaugural winner of the Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley short-story prize, and her debut collection of short fiction, The Double (Text 2013), was a finalist for the Melbourne Prize for Literature’s ‘Best New Writing Award’. Maria is also the author of four books of poetry, the most recent of which, Trigger Warning (UQP 2021), won a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and was shortlisted for an Association for the Study of Australian Literature Gold Medal. As a public artist, her words can be found at th
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1 July 2026 – Curation in an Age of Overwhelm
Bookseller Kate Treloar of Orchard Books and Critical Mass recently explored the role of curation — the idea that what is left out can be as important as what is included.
Orchard Books’ philosophy is “all killer, no filler.” With around 2,000 titles in stock rather than the 10,000-plus found in many bookshops, Kate argued that a carefully curated shelf helps readers discover books they might otherwise overlook. Selection is not a limitation; it is the strategy.
Curation can also challenge assumptions. Kate described rearranging the shop so women writers were displayed above waist height and men below, with some customers noticing immediately, others sensing something different, and some missing the change entirely.
The discussion explored why we keep books: for pleasure, identity, aspiration, and the satisfaction of discovering or championing an author. But with thousands of new books published each year, choice can become overwhelming. Kate cited the famous jam experiment showing that fewer options can make decisions easier.
We need “poison tasters” — someone who has already sorted through the possibilities and can say what is worth the time. That role is filled by booksellers, reviewers and trusted reading communities. After all – and we finished on this note: none of us has read every book on our own shelves.
Recommended reading: “Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess” by Michael Bhaskar.
3 June 2026 – Fanzines
Among our largest turnouts for a winter-in-Melbourne meeting since the pandemic. 19 people with 14 in person at the Kensington Town Hall. A fuller account is in Leigh Edmonds The Chatter Box 18.
Mentions of – among others – Warp (NZ); Aotearapa (NZ); Ethel the Aardvark; ANZAPA; Thyme; Lhyfe; ASFR Series II; Aus SF Bullsheet; The Chatter Box; Science Fiction (Van Ikin); SF Commentary; Metaphysical Review, and indeed here is the Ditmar winners list on this topic because the overlap is great.
The night was a reminder of the depth of the relationships and the profound changes in people’s lives as the effort and rewards involved in fanzine production teeter in precarious balance; ranging from friends for life to groups and people collapsing with hard lessons learned. Being a faned, and zine production, is no light thing, and the positives are life-changing joys.
6 May 2026 – Hungry squid games? Best candidates for this year’s SF and Fantasy Awards
Ian Mond and Alex (Alexandra) Pierce – Victoria’s Locus writers – discuss their preferences, and perhaps who ought not to be there – in the forthcoming Awards season. Hugos, Nebulas, Ditmars, World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, Vogels, Clarkes, and more – the lists are large, will your favourite award or author be mentioned? May the cream rise to the top. Here are Ian and Alex on the Coode St podcast.
April 2026 – Celebrating Dan Simmons and John Varley
“Your favourite novel or other work by either or both writers. A story or anecdote about them – and perhaps you.”
In this way we celebrated our connection with two of SF’s finest writers, whose deaths in December 2025 (Varley) and February 2026 (Simmons) were a shock and a loss.
Simmons is best known for his Hyperion Cantos.
Varley is best known for his collection “In the Hall of the Martian Kings” a.k.a. “The Persistence of Vision”, and for his Eight Worlds series, and it must be said that his best-known work includes depictions of sexual activity involving minors or adolescent characters. These passages are controversial, many readers find them disturbing, notwithstanding the distances in space, time, and cultural setting. If that is a concern for you – and from this warning note it should be – it is worth researching individual titles beforehand.
March 2026 – Bernard Caleo via Zoom
Bernard Caleo, artist, author, maker and publisher, and friend of the Mob, on A personal journey – 40 Years of Australian graphic novels and comics
February 2026 – speaker Dr Farah Mendlesohn by Zoom
Dr Farah Mendlesohn, author, critic, Hugo Award winner, Foundation editor, discussed new insights about Joanna Russ’s The Female Man ahead of her 2026 book Considering the Female Man by Joanna Russ, or As the Bear Swore.
2025
December 2025
End of Year meetup pub meal at the Commercial Club Hotel, Carlton, followed by dessert and coffee in Lygon St.
November 2025 – a presentation of Ian Mond’s Mondialle list – the Best Fiction of the Year – science fiction, fantasy, horror not marketed as genre
Oct 2025 – Group discussion. After the pandemic – has reading a hard copy novel become a lost skill?
Sep 2025 – Paul Kincaid on the fiction of Keith Roberts
Aug 2025 – Hugo Awards – the winners dissected
Jul 2025 – Perry Middlemiss and Chong – Art and book covers
Jun 2025 – Dr Andrew Milner on the novels of Kim Stanley Robinson
May 2025 – James Cambias, US author, on the Billion Worlds milieu and the Miranda Conspiracy novel
Apr 2025 – Alexandra Pierce on Adrian Tchaikovsky
Mar 2025 – Gillian Polack and international guest scholar on German academic interest and translation tradition of Australian Gothic
Feb 2025 – Group discussion of favourite Children’s books. Also Program ideas for 2025
2024
Dec – end of year pub event. Meetup and pub meal at the Commercial Club Hotel, Carlton.
November 2024 – Ian Mond: Mondialle – the Best Fiction of the Year – science fiction, fantasy, horror not marketed as genre
Oct 2024 – Iola Matthews on Race Matthews, including her biography
Sep 2024 – WorldCon Wrap – group discussion
Aug 2024 – Film critic Terry Frost on The Marvel Cinematic universe
July 2024 – Roman Orzanski on the novels of Elizabeth Bear
June 2024 – Janeen Webb on counterfactual novels and The Five Star Republic novel
May 2024 – Perry Middlemiss and David Grigg on the Best SF novels of the 1960’s
April 2024 – Discussion of absent friends: the passing of Chris Priest, Brian Stableford, Terry Bisson, Howard Waldrop, Vernor Vinge, Dick Jenssen, and Peter Fagan
March 2024 – Lucy Sussex on My Favourite Neanderthal
February 2024 – Bruce Barnes on Brick Bradford comics
2023
December 2023 – End of Year celebration pub meetupDec – end of year pub event. Meetup and pub meal at the Commercial Club Hotel, Carlton.
November 2023 – Ian Mond: Mondialle – the Best Fiction of the Year – science fiction, fantasy, horror not marketed as genre
October 2023 – Alison Scott, GUFF winner: My Life in Fanzines
September 2023 – A Boy Called Sailboat: Cam Nugent on his whimsical fantasy film
August 2023 – Paul Kincaid on The Contradictions of Brian Aldiss
July 2023 – Chon on book cover design
June 2023 – Vale Lee Harding: Celebrating a Writer’s Life
May 2023 – Max Barry on his novels
April 2023 – Perry Middlemiss on the Best Short SF of 1966
March 2023 – Hoa Pham on her novel
February 2023 – Ideas for Nova Mob events, and Your SF Question of 2022: what was it, and was it answered?
2022
November 2022 – Ian Mond: Mondialle – the Best Fiction of the Year
October 2022 – (Zoom only) Kaaron Warren on the writer’s inspiration
September 2022 – Jane Routley on utopias
August 2022 – Sarah Endacott on The Planet of the Apes franchise
July 2022 – Shelley Parker-Chan on her novel She Who Became the Sun
July 2022 – Special event from Critical Mass: The Frankenstein Burlesque – Australia’s first SF work? – Roman Orzanski and cast, reading re-enactment
June 2022 – Vanessa Len on her novel Only a Monster
May 2022 – Lucy Sussex and Terry Frost on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
April 2022 – Ian McIntyre on Pop Culture: Dangerous Visions
March 2022 – Perry Middlemiss on the Best Short SF of 1965
Feb 2022
2021
November 2021 – Ian Mond: Mondialle: the Year’s Best SF, Fantasy & Horror
October 2021 – Paul Voeramans on his novel The White Library
September 2021 – Perry Middlemiss on Laura Jean McKay’s The Animals in That Country and Robbie Arnott’s The Rain Heron
August 2021 – Fritz Leiber: a talk by Charles Taylor
July 2021 – Three talks: Altered Carbon, Oglaf, third item tba
June 2021 – John Clute: Fantastika: the concept and story
May 2021 – John Birmingham on his writer’s life
April 2021 – Jane Routley on her novel Shadow of the Empire of Light
March 2021 – cancelled due to logistics error (Zoom scheduling). Coffee and cake were consumed.
February 2021 – Dmitri – on The Door, introduced by Lucy Sussex
2020
November 2020 Ian Mond: Mondialle: the Year’s Best SF, Fantasy & Horror
October 2020 – Celebrating John Bangsund: a life, Mob event
September 2020 – [blank]
August 2020 – NZ WorldCon
July 2020 – [blank]
June 2020 – [blank]
May 2020 – Chris Flynn on Mammoth
April 2020 – meeting cancelled due to Victoria’s State of Emergency pandemic lockdown
March 2020 – Meg Mundell on her pandemic novel The Trespassers
February 2020 – Frankenstein: celebration of the bicentennial
2019
2019
Ian Gunn Memorial Award awarded to Lucy Sussex and Julian Warner
Awarded for services to fandom and for their long-running work organising the Nova Mob.
December 2019
Nova Mob End-of-Year Dinner
November 2019
Mondiale: 2019 A World in Books
Ian Mond
October 2019
Perspectives on James Tiptree Jr and Alice B. Sheldon
Lucy Sussex, Bruce Gillespie, and honorary mention Sarah Endacott
September 2019
A Year in the Life: Adam Roberts’ 2018 Output
Tony Thomas
August 2019
The Moon Landings: 50 Years On
Geoff Allshorn
July 2019
The Clarke Awards 2019
Justin Ackroyd and Nova Mob
June 2019
The Novel as Physical Artefact
Ken Liu
May 2019
On Being Bren: The Writer’s Journey, and How to Bee
Bren MacDibble
April 2019
The Good Duck Artist: Carl Barks and Disney‘s Duck Comics
Matthew Guy
March 2019
The Basic SF Library
Group discussion and Bruce Gillespie
February 2019
Imagining Aliens
Elaine Cochrane
2018
December 2018 – End of year event – Doutta Galla Hotel
November 2018 – Best Novels of the Year – Ian Mond
October 2018 – The Nova Mob: A History – Bruce Gillespie
September 2018 – ConZealand, the NZ WorldCon – Norman Cates (Chair) and Rose Mitchell (Fan GoH)
2017
6 September 2017
Brian Aldiss meeting
Cafe Italia, Carlton
Sudden forced change of venue. Tony Thomas, Murray MacLachlan, and Bruce Gillespie spoke about the work of Brian Aldiss following his recent death.
4 July 2017
Amazing and Astounding World: Collecting Science Fiction
Special Nova Mob meeting.
3 May 2017
Donna Hanson interviewed from Canberra
Interview affected by Skype failure.
5 April 2017
Sean Williams interviewed from Antarctica
Skype meeting about his month in Antarctica.
2016
7 December 2016
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
Retreat Hotel, Abbotsford
2 November 2016
Robin Johnson interviewed from Ballarat
Interview by Skype.
5 October 2016
Book Covers
General discussion.
7 September 2016
Gillian Polack interviewed from Canberra
Interview by Skype.
10 August 2016
Arthur C. Clarke Award nomination lists
Justin Ackroyd’s annual discussion, with contributions from Justin, Tony Thomas, Keith, Murray MacLachlan, and others.
6 July 2016
Marlee Jane Ward
1 June 2016
What Books Have You Been Reading?
Justin Ackroyd
Upper room, Kathleen Syme Centre
7 April 2016
Jukka Halme
GUFF winner
3 February 2016
Honey Brown on her novels
2015
4 November 2015
Rich and Rare authors interviewed by Lucy Sussex
Paul Collins and a large group of Ford Street Publishing authors from the anthology Rich and Rare, including Gabrielle Wong, Michael Pryor, Michael Hyde, Meredith Costain, Ali Kayn, and others.
2 September 2015
Janice Gelb on the Sick Puppies controversy
5 August 2015
Luke from the Sticky Institute on the “other fanzines”
New venue: Kathleen Syme Library, Carlton
Dinner at Antz Bistro
1 July 2015
No regular Nova Mob meeting
Many attended the launch of Lucy Sussex’s Blockbuster! at Readers Feast, Melbourne.
1 April 2015
Lucy Sussex and Julian Warner on the nineteenth century, the Gothic, Romanticism, and the beginnings of genre fiction
4 February 2015
Genres Work Both Ways
Bruce Gillespie
Monthly attendance fee increased from $2 to $5. Suggestions were also discussed for the year’s meetings.
2014
5 November 2014
Ian Mond on Awards nomination lists
1 October 2014
Matthew Hughes
Murray MacLachlan
3 September 2014
The Legendary Robin Hood
Stephen Knight
2 July 2014
Crime novelists Peter Corris and Barry Maitland
Julian Warner
Back at Northcote Library
6 June 2014
Special Nova Mob at Continuum X
Featuring DUFF winner Juanita Coulson
7 May 2014
The Making of John Carter, the Movie
Grant Watson
Temporary venue on St George’s Road
2 April 2014
Andrew Macrae on his novel Trucksongs
5 March 2014
Objects of Power in Fantasy
Sarah Endacott
2013
6 November 2013
Xanth and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time novels
Alan Stewart
4 September 2013
Lucy Sussex on her book about Fergus Hume, Blockbuster
7 August 2013
Australian Pulps
Andrew Nette
Included a PowerPoint presentation
3 July 2013
Arthur C. Clarke Award winners
Justin Ackroyd-led discussion, with Murray MacLachlan also providing a full list of winners and nominees
5 June 2013
Graham Joyce
Tony Thomas and Bruce Gillespie
1 May 2013
Tim Hehir interviewed by Chris Johnson about Julius and the Watchmaker
3 April 2013
Lois McMaster Bujold
Caitlin Herrington
Mihaela Perkovic also spoke on GUFF
4 March 2013
Genre Films
Terry Frost
6 February 2013
Favourite Thises and Thats of 2012
General discussion
2012
5 December 2012
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick
7 November 2012
Ian Mond on the year’s short stories
3 October 2012
Awards discussion
Justin Ackroyd, with help from Tony Thomas
Dinner back at Antz Bistro
7 September 2012
Perry Middlemiss on C. J. Dennis
Dinner at Northcote Social Club
Art Widner was in town from the USA
6 June 2012
YA Post-apocalyptic Fiction
General discussion
Mark Plummer and Claire Brialey were in town from London
2 May 2012
Kerry Greenwood
Spoke first to the Darebin Library crowd, then immediately afterwards gave a full presentation to Nova Mob
4 April 2012
Ace Doubles
Video presentation by Murray MacLachlan
7 March 2012
Popular Physics Books
Elaine Cochrane
2011
7 December 2011
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
North Fitzroy Arms Hotel
2 November 2011
Shaun Tan interviewed by Lucy Sussex
5 October 2011
The fiction and art of Mervyn Peake
Bruce Gillespie
Dinner at Northcote Social Club
7 September 2011
Meg Mundell on her new novel
3 August 2011
Trudi Canavan and Paul Ewins
Slide show on Trudi’s author tour to Britain and Europe
6 July 2011
Mike Shuttleworth
International Comics Festival
1 June 2011
How to Sell Your Book over the Internet
Alison Goodman and her husband
4 May 2011
Inappropriate Book Blurbs
Scratch meeting
6 April 2011
Comics
Bernard Caleo
Followed by lively discussion with Ian Mond about Ditmar and Cronos Award nominations
2 February 2011
Books read over the holidays
Program discussion for the coming year
2010
1 December 2010
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
North Fitzroy Arms Hotel, North Fitzroy
3 November 2010
Australian anthologies
General discussion
6 October 2010
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Galileo’s Dream
Lucy Sussex
6 September 2010
Nova Mob meeting at Aussiecon 4
Held in place of the usual early September meeting
4 August 2010
Fanzines
Murray MacLachlan
7 July 2010
Australian Young Adult SF and Fantasy
Michael Pryor
2 June 2010
Jonathan Lethem
Lucy Sussex
Dinner at Antz
5 May 2010
David Foster Wallace
Ian Mond
7 April 2010
Fiction about Vampires
Jason Nahrung
3 March 2010
Brookes: Seven Types of Plot
Julian Warner
3 February 2010
Books Read over the Holidays
Decisions about the year’s program
2009
2 December 2009
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
Pumphouse Hotel
4 November 2009
Thomas M. Disch
Ian Mond
7 October 2009
The Treasure Hunt: Books about SF
Bruce Gillespie
Dinner at Antz Bistro, Melbourne.
2 September 2009
A. Bertram Chandler
Frank Weissenborn
6 May 2009
J. G. Ballard round-table discussion
Lucy Sussex, Rjurik Davidson, Murray MacLachlan, Julian Warner, John Davies, and others
Held shortly after Ballard’s death on 21 April.
4 February 2009
Desert Island Books
Round-table discussion
2008
14 December 2008
Nova Mob Annual End of Year Dinner
Piraeus Blues Restaurant, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Thirty-five people attended.
5 November 2008
Dan Simmons
Elaine Cochrane
Dinner at Northcote Social Club.
6 August 2008
Tribute to Thomas M. Disch
Bruce Gillespie and Tony Thomas
Also included Bruce Gillespie on Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
2 July 2008
Hugo Nominations round-up
Justin Ackroyd
4 June 2008
The Doré illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy
Brad Jackel
7 May 2008
Recent Australian SF and Fantasy Books
Justin Ackroyd-led round-table discussion
2 April 2008
Special meeting during mini-cyclone day
Steve and Sue Francis in from the USA
Dinner at Peacock Inn, High Street, Northcote. Bruce Gillespie received his Peter McNamara Award from Justin Ackroyd.
5 March 2008
James White
Bill Wright
6 February 2008
Program planning for the year
General discussion
2007
3 October 2007
Michael Moorcock’s “Blood” trilogy
Frank Weissenborn
7 September 2007
Edgar Allan Poe
Kirstyn McDermott
Official move from North Carlton Library to Darebin Library, Separation Street, Northcote. Dinner at Oriental Bistro.
4 July 2007
The Book Being Currently Read
General discussion
6 June 2007
Harry Crosby / Christopher Anvil
Bill Wright
Mark Plummer and Clare Brialey were in from London.
2 May 2007
Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees
Dinner at Oriental Bistro
4 April 2007
M. John Harrison
Julian Warner
Dinner at Oriental Bistro, Russell Street, Melbourne.
7 February 2007
SF Short Stories
Bruce Gillespie
Held at Northcote Library.
2006
9 December 2006
Nova Mob End of Year Dinner
Society Restaurant, Melbourne
1 November 2006
World Fantasy Award nominees
Justin Ackroyd-led discussion
Dinner at Thai City.
4 October 2006
Uplift novels, especially those by David Brin
Murray MacLachlan
5 July 2006
Rosaleen Love
7 June 2006
A. E. Van Vogt
Frank Weissenborn
3 May 2006
Chandler Award presentation to Lee Harding
Bruce Gillespie’s talk, with additional contributions from Lucy Sussex and Julian Warner
5 April 2006
Dystopias: Why Nineteen Eighty-Four is Not a Dystopia
Andrew Milner
Back at North Carlton Library. New eating place: Thai City, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.
1 March 2006
Aurealis and Ditmar Award nominees
Discussion at the Darebin Library, Separation Street, Northcote
Dinner at Supper Inn.
1 February 2006
Come As You Are: The Book You Are Reading Now
Round-table discussion
2005
31 December 2005
Nova Mob Yum Cha
West Lake Restaurant, Melbourne
Held on a 42°C day.
2 November 2005
Jack Dann on his early days
First time at the Duke of Kent for dinner.
18 August 2005
Special Meeting: Karen Joy Fowler on her own fiction
3 August 2005
New Zealand Science Fiction
Murray MacLachlan
6 July 2005
Hugo Award nominees
1 June 2005
Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Mars” trilogy
Frank Weissenborn
4 May 2005
Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees
Round-table discussion
Included Bruce Gillespie on David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas.
6 April 2005
A Scanner Darkly
Bruce Gillespie
2 February 2005
The Apocalypse in YA Fiction
No speaker listed
2004
19 December 2004
Nova Mob Yum Cha
Shark Fin Inn
6 October 2004
Caitlin Kiernan
Kirstyn McDermott
1 September 2004
L. Sprague de Camp / Jasper Fforde
Charles Taylor / Sarah Marland
4 August 2004
Award winners
Justin Ackroyd-led discussion
2 June 2004
Self-published books
Frank Weissenborn
5 May 2004
The Footnote in Science Fiction
Murray MacLachlan
7 April 2004
John Foyster as SF Critic
Bruce Gillespie
Dinner at Saigon Inn. Robin Johnson was in town from Hobart.
4 February 2004
Program planning meeting
First meeting at North Carlton Library
Thirty-three people attended.
2003
14 December 2003
Nova Mob Yum Cha
Somewhere in Victoria Street, Richmond
3 November 2003
Doctor Who
Ian Mond
3 September 2003
Haruki Murakami
Sarah Marland
6 August 2003
Frederic Brown
Charles Taylor
2 April 2003
Dorothy Porter
Meetings at Sarah and Andrew’s for the rest of the year
Note: John Foyster died in Adelaide on 5 April 2003.
5 February 2003
Large summer meeting
Jim and Janet Caughran visiting from Canada
Dinner at Saigon Inn. About thirty people attended, including visitors from Clarion South and the new Melbourne University club.
2002
22 December 2002
Nova Mob Dinner
Eastern Inn
6 November 2002
The Academy and SF
Andrew Milner
4 October 2002
Novellas, SF and Not SF
Bruce Gillespie
4 September 2002
Jack Womack
Andrew MacCrae
7 August 2002
Hugo nominations
Justin Ackroyd round-table discussion
At Andrew and Sarah’s.
3 July 2002
Aurealis magazine
Keith Stevenson
5 June 2002
Reviewing
Lucy Sussex
1 May 2002
Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar series
Julian Warner
3 April 2002
Iain Banks and the Culture
Murray MacLachlan
6 March 2002
Approaching Alice
Marc Ortlieb
Largest Nova Mob so far, with thirty-two people.
6 February 2002
Stephen King
Ian Mond
2001
16 December 2001
Nova Mob dinner
About twenty people attended
7 November 2001
Diana Wynne Jones
Roslyn Gross
3 October 2001
Cecilia Dart-Thornton
At Andrew and Sarah’s place
5 September 2001
The Harry Potter books
Pam McIntyre
1 August 2001
Andrew Butler from Britain
At Andrew and Sarah’s
7 June 2001
Meeting at Andrew Macrae and Sarah Marland’s, East Brunswick
Photos later noted in fan publications
2 May 2001
Arthur C. Clarke Award nominees
Ian Mond, Elaine Cochrane, Sarah Marland, Alan Stewart, Lucy Sussex, and Charles Taylor
4 April 2001
Bram Stoker and Dracula
Charles Taylor and Sarah Marland
7 March 2001
The Novels and Short Stories of Avram Davidson
Bruce Gillespie
New regular dinner group at Saigon Inn, Liverpool Street, Melbourne.
2000
17 December 2000
Nova Mob End of Year Yum Cha
Shark Fin Inn
1 November 2000
Paul McAuley
Elaine Cochrane
4 October 2000
Joe Lansdale
Ian Mond
3 August 2000
SF Biographies and autobiographies
Bruce Gillespie
7 June 2000
Michael Marshall Smith
Kirstyn McDermott
1 March 2000
Cyberpunk SF
Andrew Macrae
1999
19 December 1999
Nova Mob End of Year
Mandalay, Bridge Road, Richmond
3 November 1999
Dennis Etchison
Ian Mond and Kirstyn McDermott
6 October 1999
Philip K. Dick
Christopher Palmer
1 September 1999
Pre-Aussiecon 3 Nova Mob / Critical Mass meeting and drinks
Attendees included Bruce Gillespie, Perry Middlemiss, Julian Warner, Mark Plummer, Claire Brialey, Irwin Hirsh, Paul Kincaid, Dave Langford, and Eve Harvey.
7 July 1999
Babylon 5
James “Jocko” Allen
3 April 1999
Hugo nominations
3 March 1999
Award nominees and winners
First dinner at Satay Inn, Melbourne.
3 February 1999
Discussion of the year’s program
1998
20 December 1998
Nova Mob End of Year
Vietnamese restaurant, Victoria Street, Richmond
3 November 1998
The novels and short stories of Joanna Russ
Bruce Gillespie
2 September 1998
The MUP Encyclopedia of Australian SF and Fantasy
Steve Paulsen
5 August 1998
Greg Egan
Elaine Cochrane
1 July 1998
Aussiecon III programming
With David McDonnell
3 June 1998
Wynne Whiteford
Charles Taylor
1997
1 October 1997
Isobelle Carmody
Audience overflowed the Sussex/Warner kitchen and living-room space.
3 September 1997
SF Radio
Robert Jan
6 August 1997
Horror fiction
Steve Proposch and Daniel [surname not recorded]
2 July 1997
SF and Games
Shinjuku dinner
4 June 1997
Judy Buckrich
7 May 1997
Kerry Greenwood
2 April 1997
The Novels of Olaf Stapledon
Bruce Gillespie
5 March 1997
Move to Lucy Sussex and Julian Warner’s home, Brunswick
Dinner at Shinjuku, Sydney Road
Note: George Turner died in Ballarat on 8 June 1997.
1996
8 December 1996
End of Year Yum Cha
6 November 1996
Iain M. Banks / Iain Banks
Race Mathews / Bruce Gillespie
2 October 1996
R. A. Lafferty
Elaine Cochrane
7 August 1996
Hugo Award nominations
Discussion
3 April 1996
Aurealis Awards
6 March 1996
Books Read Recently
Round-table discussion
1995
3 December 1995
Nova Mob lunch
1 November 1995
My 100 Favourite SF Writers
Peter Nicholls
4 October 1995
Wild Palms
Terry Frost
6 September 1995
Ali Kayn
Also attended by some new people including Sarah Endacott.
2 August 1995
Bev Hope
5 July 1995
Sean McMullen and Steven Paulsen
7 June 1995
Space Communications
Hung
3 May 1995
Colin Kapp
Marc Ortlieb
5 April 1995
Red Mars
Wynne Whiteford
First meeting at Swami Indian Restaurant, Richmond.
1 March 1995
Last dinner at Erawan
1994
3 December 1994
Nova Mob Yum Cha
Lotus Inn
5 October 1994
Keith Roberts
Bruce Gillespie
7 September 1994
Race Mathews
6 July 1994
Horror Writing in Australia
Steve Paulsen
4 May 1994
Eric Frank Russell
Charles Taylor
6 April 1994
Dirk Strasser
2 March 1994
Paul Kidd
2 February 1994
Program planning for the coming year
Race Mathews’ first meeting
1993
4 December 1993
Nova Mob Yum Cha
Lotus Inn
3 November 1993
Making Things Difficult for Yourself
Lucy Sussex
1 September 1993
Kate Wilhelm
Bruce Gillespie
George Turner’s first Nova Mob since recovering from his stroke.
4 August 1993
Lewis Carroll’s Sylvia and Bruno centenary
Marc Ortlieb
7 July 1993
SF and Music
Julian Warner
2 June 1993
Not Normal Behaviour (Mainstream Publishers & SF)
Sean McMullen
5 May 1993
Writing In a Gaming World
Mark Morrison and Penny Love
7 April 1993
Bloopers in SF
Wynne Whiteford
1992
5 December 1992
End of Year Yum Cha
4 November 1992
On the Receiving End of SF Criticism
George Turner
7 October 1992
James Morrow and the ERNI
Bruce Gillespie
2 September 1992
Wynne Whiteford
5 August 1992
An Attack of the Willies
Marc Ortlieb
1 July 1992
Before Galileo: SF By Australian Women From the War to Galileo
Sean McMullen
3 June 1992
How Science Fiction Has Not Kept Up with Society
John Foyster
6 May 1992
Ian Gunn
15 April 1992
Rex Thompson from New Zealand
1991
7 December 1991
Annual Yum Cha
Dragon Boat, Melbourne
2 October 1991
The Novels of Jonathan Carroll
Bruce Gillespie
4 September 1991
The Science in SF
Wynne Whiteford
7 August 1991
New Zealand Fans
Alan Stewart
1 May 1991
SF Writing for the Media
Sean McMullen
Also received the real Ditmars from Mark Loney.
1990
5 October 1990
Philip K. Dick: The Non-Science Fiction Novels
Bruce Gillespie
First dinner at Erawan Thai Restaurant, Richmond.
5 September 1990
Shared World Anthologies
Alan Stewart
4 July 1990
Something Escatalogical
Marc Ortlieb
6 June 1990
Intelligent Aliens
Wynne Whiteford
Meeting at Laokon Restaurant in Richmond.
2 May 1990
The Current State of Cloning
Donna Hennan
4 April 1990
Secret Societies in SF
Bruce Barnes
20 January 1990
Inaugural Annual Yum Cha
Held for the 1989 Nova Mob year
1989
8 November 1989
Shared World Anthologies
Alan Stewart
4 October 1989
Was There a New Wave?
Wynne Whiteford and Sean McMullen
6 September 1989
Awards
George Turner
2 August 1989
Cordwainer Smith
Bruce Gillespie
5 July 1989
Bruce Barnes
Subject not listed
9 June 1989
Beauty and the Beast
Round-table discussion
5 May 1989
Anne McCaffrey
Cathy Kerrigan
5 April 1989
First meeting at Alan Stewart’s place, Richmond
Round-table discussion on differences between Australian and British/US SF
1 February 1989
Illustrating Australian Science Fiction
Sean McMullen and Nick Stathopoulos
1988
10 December 1988
Christmas party
Sean McMullen’s, Elwood
2 November 1988
Clifford Simak
Mark Linneman
5 October 1988
New Directions in SF: Are There Any?
George Turner
1 June 1988
The origins of SF ideas
Wynne Whiteford
4 May 1988
Favourite SF Books of All Time
Round-table discussion
1987
December 1987
The Nova Mob Christmas Party
Home of Teresa Morris, Coburg
4 November 1987
Wynne Whiteford
7 October 1987
Worst Hugo-winning novel
Mark Linneman round-robin
5 September 1987
Clayton’s Conspiracy party
Held at Merv Binns’s place, Ripponlea, while many regulars attended the worldcon
3 August 1987
Jenny Blackford
1 July 1987
The Novels of John Calvin Batchelor
Russell Blackford
3 June 1987
SF Published by the Women’s Press
Janeen Webb
6 May 1987
Bruce Barnes
1 April 1987
Ursula Le Guin’s Always Coming Home
Yvonne Rousseau
4 March 1987
First Flights
Sean McMullen
4 February 1987
Magazine SF in 1953
John Foyster
1986
6 December 1986
Nova Mob Party
Sean and Trish McMullen’s home, Elwood
5 November 1986
Planning the Christmas do and 1987 topics
1 October 1986
On Evolution
Malcolm Gordon
2 July 1986
Style in Writing
Gerald Murnane
4 June 1986
The Role of Chocolate Mousse in Science Fiction
Marc Ortlieb
7 May 1986
Tape from Richard Lupoff introduced by John Foyster
9 April 1986
Australian SF Between Conventions
Sean McMullen
5 March 1986
Islands, Doctors, Death and Gene Wolfe
Cathy Kerrigan
Also the first meeting to feature an ASFR (Second Series) collation session.
5 February 1986
The Fiction of Lee Harding
Russell Blackford
1985
7 December 1985
Nova Mob party
Sean and Trish McMullen’s, Abbotsford
4 November 1985
Preoccupations in the Dangerous Visions Anthology
Cathy Kerrigan
2 October 1985
Judging the Aussiecon Short Story Competitions
Jenny Blackford
4 September 1985
Aussiecon 2 mop-up
7 August 1985
George Turner’s Children of Time Trilogy
Yvonne Rousseau
3 July 1985
Australian SF From the Mainstream
Lucy Sussex
6 February 1985
Discussion of George Turner’s In the Heart or in the Head
First meeting of the two-year residence at Jenny and Russell Blackford’s home, Port Melbourne
1984
8 December 1984
Nova Mob party
Russell and Jenny Blackford’s place, Port Melbourne
5 September 1984
Reviewing
George Turner
1 August 1984
SF as a Language
Damien Broderick
4 July 1984
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Cathy Kerrigan
6 June 1984
Critics of Heinlein
Mark Linneman
News also arrived of Bert Chandler’s death.
2 May 1984
Natural and Unnatural Language
Marie Maclean
30 March 1984
Subject unrecorded
Possibly led by Bruce Barnes
Held at the home of Sally Yeoland and John Bangsund, West Brunswick.
1983
10 December 1983
Nova Mob party
5 October 1983
Arthurian fantasy
Cathy Kerrigan
7 September 1983
Vladimir Nabokov’s Ada, or Ardour
Lucy Sussex and Russell Blackford
3 August 1983
Round-table discussion of George Turner’s Yesterday’s Men
6 July 1983
Science Fiction Should Get Back in the Gutter Where It Belongs
Damien Broderick
1 June 1983
The Law and SF
Mark Linneman
4 May 1983
How Other People Get those Crazy Ideas…
Wynne Whiteford
6 April 1983
Conflicts Between Print and Non-Print SF
Bruce Barnes
1982
4 December 1982
Christmas party
Lee Harding’s place, Ferntree Gully
3 November 1982
On not writing SF any more / on not reading it any more
Lee Harding / Bruce Gillespie
6 October 1982
The Plains
Gerald Murnane
30 August 1982
SF and the Critics
George Turner
First dinner at Alasya 2, Brunswick.
7 July 1982
Kurt Vonnegut and Thomas Pynchon
Russell Blackford
2 June 1982
J. G. Ballard
John Foyster
5 May 1982
The Dreaming Dragons
Discussion at Damien Broderick’s place
7 April 1982
The Role of Women in SF
Marjorie Dedman
3 March 1982
First tryout of La Bussola, Brunswick
Then to Damien Broderick’s for Nova Mob, with Chris Priest attending
3 February 1982
John Foyster’s overseas trip
Mainly discussion at the Danube
1981
4 November 1981
European SF
From the Strugatskys outward into French, German, Italian and other traditions
7 October 1981
Science fiction short stories
Each attendee brought five minutes of talk
Also celebrated George Turner’s 65th birthday.
2 September 1981
Brian Aldiss
John Foyster on Aldiss as a reflection of changes in Britain over twenty-five years
5 August 1981
The novels of Barrington Bayley
John Foyster
1 July 1981
Samuel R. Delany
Also first meeting for Russell Blackford
3 June 1981
Gene Wolfe
Bruce Gillespie
4 May 1981
Beginning of the Shakespeare Grove era
At the home of John Foyster and Jennifer Bryce, St Kilda
Dinner at the Danube Restaurant, Acland Street.
1979–1980
1979–1980
No Nova Mob meetings
1978
5 December 1978
Brian Aldiss
Bruce Gillespie and Rob Gerrand
Very badly attended; future of Nova Mob seemed in doubt.
7 November 1978
The work of E. J. “Ted” Carnell
Lee Harding
5 October 1978
George Turner’s Beloved Son
John Foyster
Held at John and Sally Bangsund’s place in Kew.
5 September 1978
Physics and Science Fiction
Steve Solomon
4 July 1978
James Blish
Robin Johnson and George Turner
6 June 1978
Meeting at John Foyster’s flat
2 May 1978
Why Science Is More Interesting than Science Fiction
David Grigg
4 April 1978
Influences on My SF Writing
David Grigg, Lee Harding, and George Turner
7 March 1978
Russell Hoban
Bruce Gillespie
7 February 1978
Carey Handfield speaks
Subject not recorded
1977
8 December 1977
Pleasant Nova Mob nosh-up
Clowes Street
1 November 1977
Meeting at Robin Johnson’s
No subject listed
4 October 1977
Kurt Vonnegut
David Grigg
6 September 1977
Science Fiction Can Be Fun!
John Foyster
2 August 1977
Pretention in SF
David Grigg
5 July 1977
Alan Garner
Bruce Gillespie
7 June 1977
The Common Coin of Science Fiction
Elizabeth Foyster
3 May 1977
The Heinlein Juvenile Novels
Robin Johnson
5 April 1977
Why It Is So Difficult to Write a Good SF Novel
John Foyster
8 February 1977
Christopher Priest
Discussion of the work of Chris Priest, with Vonda McIntyre also present
1976
2 November 1976
Humour in Science Fiction
John Foyster
5 October 1976
My Favourite SF Short Stories
General discussion
3 August 1976
Prediction
John Foyster
6 July 1976
Samuel Delany / George Turner’s England trip
Don Ashby / George Turner
4 May 1976
Jack Vance
Rob Gerrand
6 April 1976
James Blish
George Turner and others
1975
1 December 1975
End of year party
4 November 1975
The Role of the Horse in Science Fiction
John Foyster
7 October 1975
Derrick Ashby on J. R. R. Tolkien
Epic reading from his university thesis
2 September 1975
J. G. Ballard
John Foyster
1 July 1975
A. E. Van Vogt
Rob Gerrand
5 June 1975
Wilson (Bob) Tucker
Bruce Gillespie
1 May 1975
The work of Alfred Bester
John Foyster-led discussion
10 April 1975
Definitions of Science Fiction
George Turner
6 March 1975
Awards
Round-table discussion
Venue not recorded.
6 February 1975
Philip K. Dick
Bruce Gillespie
2 January 1975
The Basic Science Fiction Library
Lee Harding
1974
5 December 1974
Reconvened Nova Mob
George Turner on Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed
First meeting of the reconvened Nova Mob, at Bruce Gillespie’s flat in Carlton.
1971
10 June 1971
Meeting at Golden Age Hotel, Melbourne
Attendees included John Foyster, George Turner, Merv Binns, and Bruce Gillespie
This seems to have been the last meeting of the first series of the Nova Mob.
6 May 1971
Australia in ’75 campaign
Discussion meeting
1 April 1971
Nova Mob party
At John Bangsund’s Bundalohn Court flat
5 March 1971
Robert Heinlein
Round-table discussion led by John Foyster and others
5 February 1971
Gastronomia / The Flying Restaurant
Not much talk about science fiction; much drinking
1970
Probably December 1970
Nova Mob party
Remembered but not formally recorded
At the flat of Leigh Edmonds and Robin Johnson, Moonee Ponds
2 October 1970
General meeting
Degraves Tavern, Melbourne
Included a Robert Silverberg speech recording and John Foyster speaking about politics and SF.
6 September 1970
Philip K. Dick
Bruce Gillespie
At John Bangsund’s flat, Bundalohn Court, St Kilda.
7 August 1970
Inaugural meeting
Flat of Tony and Myfanwy Thomas, Millswyn Street, South Yarra
First APA-Nova collation.
Nova Mob 