Slashing traditional subjects won't bring the academic goals closer.

THE staff budget at Melbourne University's embattled historical studies school should be slashed by more than a third and academics who teach subjects with low student numbers should be targeted for redundancies, a confidential report recommends.

Science-fiction meeting Seeking attendees of the earliest meetings of science-fiction readers in NSW and material predating the 1952 Sydney convention. Findings will be discussed at the Sydney Freecon in November and shared with the historical group, Meteor Inc. Contact Garry Dalrymple, PO Box 152, Bexley North, 2207.

THERE'S something about Fort Scratchley that gets into your blood, according to Fort Scratchley Historical Society president Bill Hopkins (pictured).

IT IS a salutary lesson for a first-time novelist: Be careful who you get to provide the glowing endorsement to splash across the cover. That is the mistake Sherry Jones made when she suggested who might write a few warm words to promote her book, The Jewel of Medina, a historical..read more