2008 Award for Achievement in Wold Newton Studies The Wold Newton Awards are fast becoming a tradition at the annual Farmercons. The first was presented in 2007 to first-time recipient Win Scott Eckert, in recognition for various efforts including the first Wold Newton website (An Expansion of Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe), a decade's worth of promoting Wold-Newtonry, and editing the Locus-nominated anthology of Wold Newtonian essays Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe. Win's good friends and fellow members of the New Wold Newton Meteoritics Society (NWNMS), Chuck Loridans and John Small, presented the award at the Farmercon banquet in Peoria, IL, on August 4, 2007. The award was made based on a quick polling of NWNMS members, who enthusiastically agreed. This year, more time was provided for NWNMS members to cast their votes (about six weeks), and this will hold true going forward. Dennis Power kindly agreed to administer the voting this year, and thus removed himself from the running. He will return to eligibility next year. So without further adieu, the 2008 Award for Achievement in Wold Newton Studies is awarded to Jean-Marc Lofficier. Jean-Marc is a French science-fiction author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier. For many years, "J-M" has maintained the wonderful French Wold Newton Universe website, dedicated to promoting the captivating and enigmatic, if sometimes overlooked, French characters inhabiting the Wold Newton Universe, such as Arsène Lupin, Fantômas, The Black Coats, and Judex, to name but a few. In 2003 the Lofficiers launched Black Coat Press, primarily devoted to publishing English-language translations of classics of French popular literature, science-fiction, mysteries, and adventure, as well as comics and stage plays. In 2005, Black Coat Press commenced publishing the annual Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies of Wold- Newtonian stories, in which many characters and events from adventure literature, and in particular French adventure literature, actually exist in the same universe. For these achievements, and others too numerous to mention, the NWNMS is proud to award the 2008 Award for Achievement in Wold Newton Studies to Jean-Marc Lofficier. ...and JM's acceptance: Wow! That IS a surprise... I'm thrilled. I would like to thank Philip José Farmer and the members of the New Wold Newton Meteoritics Society for this Award, and Win Eckert for being my spokesman today. Win, you can now use your best fake French accent. [Win: "Oui..."] Strictly speaking, this Award is not for myself, but for the entire team of Black Coat Press. It also honors the talent and dedication of Brian Stableford, without whom our company would be but a ghost of its current self, Frank Morlock, David White, Mark Steele and, of course, my wife, Randy. Black Coat Press owes its existence to Mr. Farmer. As I wrote in my introduction to TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN 1, when I first read his prodigious biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage, I was thrilled to enrich my knowledge of English-language pulp fiction, but also saddened that so few of my favorite French heroes were included. Of course, I realized that the language barrier and the lack of good translations were to blame. This is why I resolved that, someday, I would share my enthusiasm and knowledge of French pulp literature and science fiction with my fellow devotees from across the Atlantic, and this is why Black Coat Press exists today. Thank you all again for this Award and your continued support.