The Choice of Oddballs

For several days Kharkiv and numerous guests found themselves immersed in a world created by sci-fi authors. It was the sixth such event to be held in Ukraine. Why Kharkiv? The reason is that this city is host to one of the largest and most prolific groups of sci-fi writers in the CIS countries. Owing to its international status, the first Star Bridge, held in 1999, featured authors from the US, Germany, Israel, Georgia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Moldova.

Some 300 applications for participation were formally submitted. More than a hundred reputed sci-fi writers attended, among them Serhiy Lukianenko, Vasily Golovachev, Oleg Divov, Maryna Diachenko, and Henry Lion Oldie, coauthor with Dmytro Hromov and Oleh Ladyzhensky. The atmosphere was informal and at the same time quite businesslike.

The festival lasted four days. The opening ceremony took place at the Law Academy’s newly built Student Palace. After that, Kharkiv’s Karazin National University hosted a sneak preview of a full- length animated cartoon based on Tolkien’s Mr. Bliss, which incorporates the author’s illustrations. The festivities created huge traffic jams downtown, as streets were cordoned off to allow guests and residents to walk around. A funny thing happened during the meeting between German Bundestag MP Volker Ruhe and the mayor of Kharkiv. The German guest thought the festival’s opening ceremony was actually an election rally, so he asked why there were police cordons. Yevhen Kushnariov, head of the regional state administration, explaining that it was not a political rally, said that sci-fi authors had arrived in the city. The German MP commented that no roads would be ever blocked in Germany if any writers came to visit.

Guests at the festival, children and adults, were offered rides in huge air balloons. Although no flights over the city were allowed and every balloon was attached to a cable, allowing a 10-15-meter ascent, the event proved very exciting, especially when knights clad in suits of armor sparkling in the sun were lifted up in the baskets above the cheering crowd. Born of fantasy novels, they were awe-inspiring to boys watching open-mouthed. Kharkiv Mayor Volodymyr Shumylkin could not resist the temptation and tried on a suit of armor, then attempted to lift a genuine broadsword. Many passersby were attracted to an Oriental scene with belly dancers and flame-eating magicians, then to the knights’ tournament. When it got dark, rock musicians replaced the knights. Their concert ended around nine and the famous sci-fi author Serhiy Lukianenko appeared onstage, accompanied by Mayor Shumylkin, who greeted the spectators and then fired a flare pistol, signaling the start of fireworks.

The following days were more peaceful, but interesting nonetheless. Children fond of science fiction had a watermelon picnic at the zoo, next to the elephant’s cage. Children and adults were also treated to free movies and excursions to Kharkiv’s laser laboratory and observatory.

An important event took place during the closing ceremony, with the presentation of a unique collection of Star Bridge books. The first Grand Prix for “Outstanding Merit in the Grand Science Fiction Domain” of the Kharkiv Oddballs’ Institute was conferred on the husband-and-wife sci-fi writing team of Maryna and Serhiy Diachenko (Kyiv). Vasily Golovachev of Moscow won the Grand Prix, the Golden Caduceus, “In Recognition of Global Science Fiction Ideas in Recent Literature.” Incidentally, both prizes were manufactured in Kharkiv. The first trophy features a pure ruby developed by the research-and-technology center Institute of Monocrystals, and the second one, a 200 g gold figurine, was made in Kharkiv’s jewelry works. For the other nominations, festival participants named the laureates-and the versatility of awards was truly amazing, including swords, daggers, suits of armor, precious figurines, and paintings. The best critics, known for their acerbic bons mots, were presented with whips, while the authors of the best epigrams received bows, arrows, and daggers. Serhiy Lukianenko received the special Dappled Horse trophy from the German Sci-Fi Reality, a supplement to the journal Meridian, for the best Russian-language publication in Germany.

The sci-fi people were still going strong even after the festival ended. On Sunday, rubbing their bleary eyes, they headed downtown to attend a Sci-fi vs. Fantasy paintball tournament. All sci-fi fans will be able to explore the Chumatskiy Shliakh (Milky Way) sci-fi art exhibit after the festival ends, until September 29.

COMMENTARIES

Oleh LADYZHENSKY (a.k.a. Henry Lion Oldie), sci-fi author, member of the festival jury:

Everyone laughed when we first mentioned the Kharkiv sci-fi school in a newspaper article ten years ago, what with the St. Petersburg and Moscow schools being in the lead. Five years later, the critics began writing about us. The Kharkiv school has since turned into a major sci-fi venue. Kharkiv is an intellectual city with a unique culture; it’s not surprising, really, that we now have such a large number of sci-fi writers who are acknowledged both in the CIS countries and overseas. Unfortunately, book publishing in Ukraine is on the verge of collapse. Statistically, only a fraction of one percent of books per capita are published here, including textbooks and other kinds of literature. And so all publishing is centered in Moscow, and Ukrainian authors sometimes have to write in Russian, so that they can see their works in print. Ukrainian authors rank with Moscow’s Top Ten. We are prepared and willing to publish our works [in Ukraine], but each time we find ourselves hitting a bureaucratic wall.

Dmytro HROMOV (a.k.a. Henry Lion Oldie), sci-fi author, member of the organizing committee:

If only all those publishers who are printing books in Ukrainian could pay fewer taxes, the situation would be totally different. All the raw materials for book publishing are imported, and all these deliveries are subject to additional customs duties. This makes books published in Ukraine considerably more expensive than in Russia. Ukraine is the only country where taxes are levied on language.