Unseen University Convivium

+++ INFORMATION UPDATE FROM UNSEEN UNIVERSITY CONVIVIUM +++

+++ HEX OS V2012 BOOTING… +++
+++ READY. +++
+++ HAPPY NEW YEAR! +++

Good afternoon, staff and students. We just wanted to give you a quick update about the preparations for the Unseen University Convivium to be held in Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld, on July 6-8, 2012.

+++ PRICE RISE IMMINENT +++

The current cheap prices for membership (Full $80, Concession $70, Child $60) are set to end in a mere few weeks, on 1st March. If you would like to be a worm-catching early bird, be sure to purchase your tickets now!

If you can not yet commit to a complete purchase, another way to guarantee a cheaper price is by purchasing a supporting membership ($30) which may be upgraded later by simply paying the difference between it and the full ticket price as it currently stands.

For more details, see the membership details page.
and you can purchase tickets on this page.

+++ ENROBE YOURSELF WITH WIZARDLY STYLE +++

Ever wanted to declare yourself a Rocket Wizard? Or play for Unseen Academicals? Or perhaps carry your books in a bag marked with the UU Library Rules?

The Faculty have designed some magical merchandise to help promote and support the Unseen University Convivium, and you can purchase it right now! T-shirts, bags, coffee mugs, stickers, and various other knick-knacks can be bought at our CafePress store.

These items are not limited, and can be purchased by anybody, anywhere in the world. So go to it!

We are also planning to have a few convention attendees-only items which will be able to be pre-ordered via our website and picked up at the Convivium. More information on those at a later date!

+++ ANY QUESTIONS? +++

For further information, please read our website
or contact us via
Facebook
Twitter or
Email UnseenUni2012@gmail.com

Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic
Unseen University Convivium 2012
Adelaide, South Australia, 6-8 July 2012
http://ausdwcon.org

+++ END OF LINE +++

Hogswatch News Update

Dear Students and Staff,

Happy Hogswatch to one and all! Exciting things are afoot at Unseen University in preparation for the Convivium next July in Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld.

GUESTS OF HONOUR – VISITING LECTURERS
We are pleased to announce the Guests of Honour for the Convivium are the following visiting lecturers:
- Daniel Knight, Emeritus Professor of Silicate Biology and Condensed Metaphysics (Untied Alchemists), of Snowgum Films.
- Pamela Munt, Superbus Professor of Vindictive Astronomy and Thespian Studies (Thespia), of Unseen Theatre Company.
and
- Martin Pearson, Lecturer in Applied Zoology and Fretwork Teacher (Lancre), of… well, anywhere you hear folk music.
You can find out more information about our guests here.

PROGRAMME AND ACTIVITIES
There are many lectures and other activities to keep you busy during the Convivium. They include the Entrance Examination, Commencement, Gaudy Night¹, the Maskerade, the Wizard’s Excuse Me, Try Wizarding, the Winery and Gourmet Tours², and many many more. Our visiting lecturers shall also be contributing to the programme with a presentation by Snowgum Films, and performances by Martin Pearson and Unseen Theatre Company.

You can see a full list of confirmed and potential activities here.

However, many activities will require volunteers to be run – so if you have an idea of your own, or would like to just take one from our suggested list, please do so!

MERCHANDISING AND SURVEY
Those of you using social media may have seen a sneak peek at some special Convivium merchandise when we passed 100 Facebook and 50 Twitter disciples. This merchandise will be available for online sale to anyone early in 2012³.

However, we are also planning to offer Convivium Attendees Only exclusive merchandise that will only be available to attendees. In order to get an idea of what sort of merchandise to offer, we would like you to complete a short survey for us available here.

DISCUSSIONS
Just a gentle reminder that if you have any questions about the Convivium, or would like to chat to other fans, we have forums which need love and attention!

Of course, we are also on Facebook and Twitter.

INFORMATION AND TICKETS
For further information on Unseen University Convivium 2012, and to purchase tickets, please visit and browse through our website.

Yours academically,

Chair of Indefinite Studies (Programme and Activities)
Unseen University 2012
University of Adelaide, 6-8 July 2012
http://ausdwcon.org

¹ Gaudy Night is a gala dinner held on Saturday 7th July. There is an additional cost for this activity.

² The Winery and Gourmet Tours are held on Monday, 9th July. There is an additional cost for these activities.

³ We wish to make sure the merchandise is of good quality before we sell it to you, so we have to wait until our own order arrives!

Discworld on the Telly!

Happy Hogswatch!

Just a brief note to let you all know there’s some Discworld on the Telly this week!

Channel Seven is airing “The Colour of Magic” on Thursday 15 Dec and Friday 16 Dec at 12 noon – 2pm.

ABC1 is airing “Going Postal” on Saturday 17 Dec and Saturday 24 Dec at 7.30pm – 9.00pm

If you haven’t seen either of these yet – set your recording devices!
Personally, we think Going Postal is of higher quality, even though it doesn’t have as many wizards in it.

More updates about the Convivium coming soon!

Yours academically,

The Faculty.

Merchandise Sneak Peek

We have just passed 50 followers on Twitter and 100 likers on Facebook and so have revealed a sneak peek of two items of Unseen University Convivium merchandise:

Yes, that’s right! Rincewind’s Football Shirt and a Born To Rune hoodie (and t-shirts) will soon be available for you to purchase for your very own. Women’s styles also available.

We may reveal more items if our social media numbers hit significant milestones in the coming weeks, prior to the official merchandise store launch. So get liking/following!

UPDATE 7/12/2011
We’ve now passed 120 Facebook likers, so here’s another sneak peek!

The UU Library Rules – available in Men’s and Women’s styles, a range of colours, and also as cotton tote/grocery bags – with the Unseen University Convivium Logo on the back.

MEMORANDUM: Unseen University Convivium 2012

MEMORANDUM
From the office of Mustrum Ridcully, Archancellor, Unseen University

Dear People of the Discworld; and Students,

We would like to invite you, one and all, to attend the Unseen University Convivium 2012, to be held at University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Roundworld, on July 6-8 2012.

This will be a celebration of all things Wizardly and Discworldly, for afficionados of the oeuvre of Professor Sir Terry Pratchett. The weekend shall include lectures, seminars, games, performances of an artistic nature, and much more.

Of course, there will be a chance to experience one of UU’s famous big dinners at Gaudy Night, and for those able to stay an extra day, on July 9th there will be a Winery and Gourmet Tour. After all, there’s nothing wizards like more than dining and whining.

Young Stibbons told me to include the following nonsense:

You can find out more information and purchase tickets by

• Looking on the website: http://ausdwcon.org
• Liking us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/UnseenUni
• Following us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UnseenUni
• Sending enquiries via email to: UnseenUni2012@gmail.com

Yours academically,

Mustrum Ridcully,
Archancellor, Unseen University

Fan Clubs & Klatches

Want to meet up with other Pratchett/Discworld fans in your area?

Some Australian cities now have fan clubs who get together on a regular basis for fun and games, and you can come along too!

Read all about it here.

Ebay Sale of left over items from NA3

(Updated 26th June 2011): we have posted some more items on eBay, including three Watch Helmets from the Convention and the Golden Dunny.

We have a had a grand sorting out of all the bits and pieces that got packed away in boxes after the convention finished. We have put a few items on eBay, on the off chance that someone might like the Golden Dunny from the Opening Ceremony (as held by Terry).
If you are an EBay fan, look for items with “Aus Discworld Convention” in the item description.
Click here for eBay

Kalaweit Australia - vote for a name for their next Gibbon

Calling all Nullus Anxietas 3 Discworld conventioneers (and anyone else passionate about wildlife) to pass this on: at Kalaweit Australia’s presentation, conventioneers provided suggestions for the next gibbon to become part of the Kalaweit family. A shortlist of these names is now up on the blog http://chaneekalaweit.blogspot.com/ – please vote for your favourite!

The names were put forward by Nic Mennega, Viveann Mennaga, Rosalie Louey, Jannette Edge and Amy Hoskin – well done for your ideas!

Nullus Anxietas 2011 - Photographs On-line

We now have a Flickr account called Nullus Anxietas 2011, to which you are welcome to add your favourite photos from the convention. Marah, our very enthusiastic photographer, has started uploading some of the many shots that she took.

And huge thanks to Marah for her dedication in trying to photograph everything at the convention.

Also, someone has kindly posted a video of the Dark Morris performance on You Tube

Steve (Chairman)

What a Fantastic Convention!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who came. You were such a great bunch of conventioneers, and that gave it such a great atmosphere.
And a big thank you to Terry and Rob, obviously. Terry really enjoyed himself.
And a huge thank you to the committee who did so much to make the convention a success.

Steve (Chairman)

P.S. If you didn’t get round to buying/ordering a convention T-shirt, you will still be able to do so for the next few weeks from the Merchandise Page

Registration - Now closed

Update: 25th March 2011

When we first drew up our plans for the convention, we planned for a maximum of 400 people attending, and our events programme and use of the convention centre are based on this. The last 20 places have now gone.

We will set up a waiting list in case anyone cancels. Please email daniel@ausdwcon.org if you would like to go on the list.

Because we are now full, we will not be offering day passes to the event.

Thank you for bearing with us – the convention is run by a small team of unpaid volunteers, and the recent surge in registrations has caught us by surprise.

And thank you for all your support. Terry will be arriving in less than two weeks!

Presenting the Ankh Morpork Passport

The Ankh Morpork Passport will also be your pass to the convention. They will have your badge name and membership number printed on the front, and have 4 blank pages inside for autographs, telephone numbers or even just a reminder of where you left the dried frog pills!

If you have kindly volunteered to help, then your passport will be stamped for each hour of volunteering. You can find details of our Volunteers Merchandise Offer here

Terry Pratchett at the Opera House

Imagination, Not Intelligence, Made us Human

While he is in Australia, Terry will be appearing at the Opera House on Sunday April 17th at 5pm. He will take part in a lively interview with fellow fantasy author Garth Nix, and fans will have the opportunity to question him about his life and work. He’ll also speak openly about his life with Alzheimer’s and his views on assisted suicide.

Book by 8 April for the chance to have your book personalised by the man himself. Sydney Opera House, Sunday 17 April. Tickets $30

For more details click here

Not got a costume for the Discworld Convention and would like to blend in?

Costumes n Things in Penrith are offering reduced rates on costume hire for those of you who are less gifted with a needle and thread but still want to blend in. And for those of you who have been busy threading their needles, they have a range of accessories to add those finishing touches to your costume. We have posted more details here

(See – I managed to cover all that without mentioning seamstresses once!)

Run Rincewind Run – the Official Convention T-shirt

Place Your Order Now

We are very pleased to announce the official convention attendee’s T-shirt. It’s black with a stylish “Run Rincewind Run” design on the front, and the convention logo on the back. The shirts are a modest $25.00. Unlike the Watch (where one size doesn’t fit anybody), we have a range of sizes from Small to 5XL.

We are running a pre-convention order service, with a view to getting the first batch made prior to the convention. So if you get your order in by Monday, 14th March, then we will have it ready for you to collect (and indeed wear) at the convention. We will need your membership number on the order (you can find it on the Attendees page) to help organise this. If you order later we will have to post them on to you at an additional charge.

Click here to go to the T-shirt order page

Galah Dinner Now Fully Booked

Update 2 March 2011

The Galah Dinner is now fully booked. We will maintain a waiting list and if a place becomes available we will let you know.
If you would like to go on the waiting list please send an email to galadinner@ausdwcon.org and we will let you know if a spot become available.
Please email her at galadinner@ausdwcon.org to go on the list.

We are organising a Bush Dance with live band after the dinner, and all convention members are welcome to join us for a reel or two at the dance. There are several excellent restaurants on the site if you want to arrange your own alternative Gala Dinner.

Updated Programme of Events

After a busy few weeks of discussions and planning with the many volunteers who have offered to help run the events, we have drawn up a draft schedule for the three days. The number of events has grown since we originally planned this, thanks to so many of you stepping forward to help. There will be more details about some of these events in forthcoming newsletters, so make sure you are signed up to our Mailing list.
We have also updated the event details on this site, and you can find out more by following the Programme link to the left, then Convention Events or click here. Please note that the schedule is DRAFT, as we juggle the requirements for lights, sound, digital projectors and people being in two places at once.
If you haven’t yet signed up for this feast of Discworld fun and entertainment¹, now would be a good time!

¹ May contain nuts!

Inter Guilds Challenge - The Discworld Scavenger Hunt

With the convention just 3 months away, we are launching an Inter-Guild Competition – it’s a Scavenger Hunt! You and your fellow guild members can earn guild points by completing the Scavenger Hunt in the run up to the Convention. There are 20 Discworld related items on the list which you can find on our website by clicking here

We want one entry from each Guild. Elect a Scavenger King or Queen and co-ordinate your efforts via the forums (click here), or you can take the discussions to private emails if you prefer- it’s up to you. No-one is expected to start buying loads of stuff to get all the items in the Scavenger Hunt – photographs of most items will be acceptable. Several are items that a Discworld fan might have collected over the years.

You may beg, borrow, create, take photos, download pictures…. but you may not steal! Be as creative as you like, it might earn you extra points (or not…that’s going to be up to the Monks of Cool or the Dark Clerks). Additional guild points will be awarded for ingenuity, creativity and even total stupidity.

The Challenge is on!

Happy Hogswatch

Firstly the Australian Discworld Convention committee would like to wish you a very Merry Hogswatch and a Happy New Year.

A chance to meet Sir Terry Pratchett

Secondly, as you will already know, Sir Terry Pratchett will be at our convention in person. We will be running a couple of Klatches with Terry during the convention. These will be a chance for a dozen or so fans to spend an hour talking with Terry in a private audience. Convention attendees can apply for a place on these, and we will draw the names at random. A hat or possibly a watchman’s helmet will be involved in this process.
However, the first Klatch will only be open to those attendees who have registered and paid for their memberships by 31st December 2010. Anyone on our list by then will be entered automatically.

Going Postal on UKTV this Christmas

UKTV is showing Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal in two parts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at 8:30pm. Starring Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Andrew Sachs and Charles Dance as Lord Vetinari, this is another delightful Discworld production from the team that produced Hogfather and The Colour of Magic.

You can find more details, pictures and a special competition on UKTV’s Going Postal website

New Merchandise Designs Now Available

Our multi-talented design team have just released some fantastic new designs on our Zazzle Merchandise store. The new designs include such favourite characters as Rincewind and Twoflower, Moist Von Lipwig, Commander Vimes, the Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and Lancre’s most famous coven!
So if you are short of a ideas for Hogswatch presents for the Discworld fans in your family, why not visit our online store by clicking here
You must order before 8th December to ensure delivery before Hogswatch (25th December).

If you are ordering from outside Australia, please go to our Merchandise Page to find links for other countries.

And remember, these special designs will only be available until the end of the convention.

Fan Art Display

Our Design Team are organising a Fan Art Gallery at Nullus Anxietas III, for anyone who would like to display a piece of Discworld-inspired artwork!

We will do our very best to accept every type of artwork (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, as long as it’s Discworld-inspired and family-friendly), and even if you’re not attending the Con itself, we would be delighted to display your work if you are able to get it to us. There will be a space in the gallery for your name, what your artwork is about and anything else you want to add. You can submit multiple artworks if you like (and we will do our best to make a space for them all) and there is no cost to be involved!

You can find out more in the Programme section or go direct to the Fan Art Page by clicking here

Gala Dinner Tickets Now Available

Registration for the Gala is now open – just use the Gala Tickets link in the left column. You can find more details on the Gala Dinner in the Programme pages (the link under Gala Tickets).
Sign up for an evening of heavenly entertainment and revelry!

(Please bear with us if it takes us a few days to get the system running smoothly!)

Yes - Terry will be there!

We are very pleased to announce that Sir Terry Pratchett, the world-renowned author of the Discworld series, has confirmed that he will be coming in person as our most honoured guest, together with his assistant Rob Wilkins. His only stipulation being that his fans make haste to join him for a long weekend of Discworld merriment, deliberation and fun.

I Shall Wear Midnight is out 2nd September

Tiffany Aching, the young witch from “The Wee Free Men”, “A Hat Full of Sky” and “Wintersmith” is back in a brand new adventure featuring Discworld characters both familiar and new. There’s the Wee Free Men, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Wee Mad Arthur¹

“I Shall Wear Midnight” comes out in hardback on 2nd September.² If you pre-order it from Fishpond (the Australian based online book store) using the picture link below, then the Australian Discworld Convention receives a small contribution on each sale. The price is now advertised as $32.95 (was $34.95) (AUD).

Another treat for both adult fans and teenage readers of Terry Pratchett’s exuberant fiction.

¹ Remember the Nac Mac Feegle from “Feet of Clay”

² The image shows the cover for the UK edition, with artwork by Paul Kidby. The USA edition comes out in October.

Paul Kidby Limited Edition Merchandise

Paul Kidby has very kindly given us a licence to use an exclusive piece of Discworld artwork for Nullus Anxietas convention merchandise. As you will know, Paul has designed the covers for all the Discworld series since Nightwatch (UK/Oz/NZ editions), as well as the artwork for many Discworld diaries and calendars over the years. So we are very lucky to have this.

What is more, he has very kindly donated the original to our charity auction. Granny Weatherwax (aka our Publicity Officer) assures me he has done this quite voluntarily and was a “complete sweety” about it.

This is the ridgy-didge and shows six of our favourite Discworld characters¹. As well as offering this design on special T-shirts, we also have mugs, ties, tote bags and mouse mats for those of you who spend a lot of time on the computer! You can order these now from our the Nullus Anxietas store on Zazzle

So a huge thank you to Paul for his generosity.

¹ Including Greebo, who is just a little cutie according to Nanny Ogg.

Gala Dinner Registration starts 2nd October

Registration for the Gala Dinner will open on Saturday 2nd October on this website. Tickets will be $55 per person and include both the meal and a host of other unearthly delights. ¹
You can find more details on the Gala dinner page.

Remember you must be registered for the convention before you can sign up for the Gala Dinner.

¹ may contain nuts

Nullus Anxietas III Poster

Our design team has been working flat out like a lizard drinking on our official poster for the third Australian Discworld Convention. We hope you like it as much as we do!

If any of you would like to help publicise the convention in your area (perhaps your local library or favourite bookshop), you can either download copies (as a PDF File) from the Volunteer News page and print them yourself, or contact us on publicity@ausdwcon.org and we will post you copies.

Inter-Guild Competitions & Gala Dinner

Firstly we have launched details of the planned Inter-Guild competitions. You can find more details on our site here

Secondly, we have now posted details for the Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening here
The theme is Cori Celesti and tickets just $55. Registration for the Gala Dinner will open shortly. Remember you must be registered for the convention before you can sign up for the Gala Dinner.

Membership Recruitment Campaign – Prizes to be won!

We know that many of you have been busy telling your friends and family about the Discworld Convention, so we are starting a competition to see who can recruit the most new members.

Here is how the competition will run:

• Every time a new member registers for the convention, they can register who recruited them. (There is a box for this on the registration page on the web site)
• The recruiter’s name then goes into a prize draw, and they get an entry for each person they recruit. So if they recruit two new members, they get two entries.
• Some members have already entered a name for their recruiter, and we will honour these as entries to the competition. But please note that we cannot retrospectively add names.
• The prize draw will be held on March 1st 2011. The draw will be made by the Membership Secretary and overseen by the Chairman and Financial Officer.
• A recruiter can only win one prize.
• It is not open to members of the committee.

The prizes will be as follows:

• 1 ^st Prize will be a free place at the Gala Dinner on the Table of Honour. If you have already booked a ticket for the Gala Dinner, you will be reimbursed. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must also attend the Gala Dinner at their own cost.
• 2 ^nd Prize is a limited edition design gift. (More about this in the near future)
• 3 ^rd Prize will be a Nullus Anxietas III convention mug