Not-So-Insurmountable Barriers

thingswithwings
for WisCon Member Assistance Fund

I first started hearing about WisCon in 2010, when I became good friends with people living in Madison who volunteered for the con every year.  Hearing about all the cool people, interesting discussions, and sheer fun to be found there, I gradually built up longing to go — but, unfortunately, couldn’t build up the money to match my longing.  So I sighed from afar, thinking wistfully of the awesome feminists who were talking about robots without me, and resigned myself to never doing more than reading con reports after the fact.

Then, in 2013, one of my Madison friends said, hey, can I nominate you for this assistance fund? And it was like this huge insurmountable barrier had just been poofed out of existence.

Of course, I didn’t say yes right away, because I struggled with the feeling that con assistance funds weren’t for people like me — they were for people more engaged than me, more productive, more active in various communities, with more valuable perspectives.  I didn’t see myself as valuable enough to be worth anyone else spending money for me to go.  It took a lot of psyching myself up to get past those feelings — especially that horrible capitalist shame that makes me constantly compare myself to others in terms of value, like a commodity — and realize that people genuinely wanted me there and that con assistance funds exist for anybody who needs them to go to the con.

As it turned out, I was the biggest barrier to me using the fund.  I was worried that there would be a lot of paperwork and record-keeping and receipt-tallying, but in the end it was simple.  I told the folks managing the fund how much money I needed, and for what, and they sent me a cheque.  They believed me about what I needed and didn’t place bizarre limitations on the kinds of things that could be covered — so the WisCon assistance fund ended up paying for the rental car, gas, food, and even the bill for boarding my dog for a week.  And, because it was all the same to them whether I drove or flew or took a bus, I was able to pack two of my good friends into the car with me, and WisCon gained itself three attendees for the price of one.

I had an amazing time that year.  I learned a lot, I made new friends, I talked with people who were excited about the same things I was excited about. The WisCon assistance fund taught me that I love going to WisCon, that it’s a great con for me; without the money to make my first WisCon possible, I might never have learned that.  I’m going again this year, with the same people I went with before, because we’re a little better situated financially and now know that the experience will be worth the expense for us.

I hope that, if you’re considering nominating someone or accepting a nomination, you will.  It doesn’t matter how valuable you think you are or aren’t: the assistance fund is for you.  People want you there.  I want you there.

And I hope that, if you’re considering donating to the assistance fund, you’ll give as generously as you’re able to.  This program brings new life, new blood, and new perspectives to the con, and makes it possible for people like me to join the discussion.  Your donation makes an enormous difference to both the con and to the people who receive it.  I couldn’t be more grateful to previous donors for the chance they gave me to be part of the WisCon community.

Donate to the Member Assistance Fund:




Or send a checque payable to SF3 to:

SF3
Attn: WisCon Member Assistance Fund
P.O. Box 1624
Madison, WI 53701

SF3 is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donations are tax deductible.

WisCon 40’s Reading track is now open for proposals!

Readings

Hey, author.

Do you have a new book out this year? A poem recently accepted for publication? A work in progress you’d like to share? WisCon’s Reading track is now open to proposals!

Whether this would be your very first reading or your fiftieth, you should give our Reading track a try. A reading can be an exhilarating way to introduce your work to a new fans, and WisCon has an engaged community that turns out as a welcoming audience that’s passionate about good stories.

To start, form a group — readings are organized into 75-minute sessions of four to six authors, usually with a common theme. Open poetry reading and rapid-fire sessions may have as many readers as you can fit into the time period without using time travel. The WisCon Reading track is typically very popular, and so we must limit everyone (except Guests of Honor) to just one reading. Yes, this does mean you can’t read as part of a group and as part of a rapid-fire reading. There is one loophole! You may read again during an open mic event.

Forming a group can be a snap for writing groups, authors featured together in a collection, or just a group of friends. It can feel terrifyingly lonesome, however, if you’re just you! We do encourage you to try to form a group in advance, but if nothing’s coming together please sign up for a reading anyway! We’ll do our best to group individual readers.

Are you interested in giving a visual reading, such as for your graphic novel? A/V equipment is available!

Much more information on our Readings track is available on our website.

The proposal period for Readings closes on Thursday, March 17. Please note that you must also register for WisCon 40 before signing up for a reading!

We look forward to hearing your work at WisCon this year!

WisCon 40 advertising rates available

At-Con Promotions

So you’ve kickstarted your new publishing company devoted to feminist pickle analysis. You’re ready to start selling books, but you need to advertise! Where to go? Who to pay?

WisCon, obviously.

WisCon loves feminist pickle analysis! But did you know that WisCon takes advertising? You didn’t??

WisCon happily sells advertising space in our Souvenir Book, and we accept sponsors for our Programming Book. Rates for the Souvenir Book vary, from a mere $45 to $1200, and sponsorship of the Program Book is $3000. Check out our rates sheet (downloadable PDF) for more information.

Advertising deadline is April 12.

Some of our past advertisers include: the James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award, Small Beer Press, the University of Toronto Press, RainbowCon, Tor, Aqueduct Press, and the Helsinki Worldcon Bid.

Contact advertising@wiscon.net with any questions you might have. We look forward to working with you!

Souvenir Book — Call for submissions!!

W. L. Bolm
Souvenir Book

The Souvenir Book is WisCon’s gift to the community, featuring profiles of our Guests of Honor, pieces highlighting the work of WisCon’s child-organizations, and essays from community contributors. We now call on our community members to submit their essays of 500 – 1000 words for the WisCon40 Souvenir Book! Previous essay topics have included: an exploration of Working Class Studies; an ethnographic intro to WisCon; and a look at making connections between trans feminism, sisterhood, and Orphan Black through vidding. The only topic requirement for the Souvenir Book’s essays is that they be relevant to the WisCon community. We encourage everyone to submit their work, whether this is your first WisCon or your 40th!

Guidelines

  • Essays should be 500-1000 words
  • Topics both current and historic that are relevant to the WisCon community
  • Authors will be paid $20.00 USD at time of publication
  • All essays or questions should be sent to souvenirbook@wiscon.net (Please use the subject line “WC40 Souvenir Book Submission: [Your Name]”)
  • Please submit essays as .doc or .rtf attachments.

Submit by March 15th, 2016 March 27!

Don’t forget to nominate people to receive WisCon Member Assistance Fund grants!

Lisa Cohen
WisCon Member Assistance Fund

Every year, the WMAF tries to help as many people as we can come to WisCon. We are currently accepting nominations for potential recipients of assistance. Nominate someone else or nominate yourself. Tell us why the potential recipient would benefit from attending WisCon and give us an idea of what funds would make the difference between being able to attend and missing the convention. Typically, we give amounts between $200 and $500.

We are often asked whether a previous recipient of assistance can receive help again. The answer to that is that yes, that is a possibility, but if we do not have enough money to help everyone who applies, we will give priority to people who have not previously received assistance. Depending on the number of nominations and the amount of donations, the WMAF committee will try to help out as many people as possible who would like to come to WisCon but need some support to do so.

All nominations need to be made by midnight, CST, February 15, 2016. Assistance recipients will be notified by March 15, 2016. These deadlines are timed to allow people who receive assistance time to sign up to be on programming. Nominations for the WisCon Member Assistance Fund should be sent to fund@wiscon.net. Nominate away!

And by the way, if you have a little money to help other people come to WisCon, donate! This year the WMAF is running its first-ever dedicated fund-raiser with the goal of raising $5,000 to help send people to WisCon. All contributions should be made to SF3 and sent to:

SF3
Attn: WisCon Member Assistance Fund
P.O. Box 1624
Madison, WI 53701

SF3 is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donations are tax deductible. Every penny will be used to help potential WisCon members attend in May. You can also use Paypal and send the money to treasurer@sf3.org. Or click the handy “Donate” button, below.

Donate to the Member Assistance Fund:




See you in May!

Submit programming and panel ideas for WisCon 40 – Deadline is January 29th

K. Tempest Bradford, Joanna Lowenstein, Tanya DePass
Programming

2016 is upon us — and WisCon 40 is just four months away! That means it’s time to submit panel and other programming ideas. (Technically, you could have done so right after WisCon 39, but this is the time of year we start talking deadlines and such.) To send us your idea, go to wiscon.net/idea and fill out the form. Simple!

Who can submit ideas?

Anyone! Obviously, we encourage people who plan to attend WisCon to submit, but you don’t have to be registered to do so. If you think you might come to WisCon but don’t know for sure and really want there to be a panel about That Thing You Love if you do come, send us the idea. If you think there should be a conversation about a Very Important Thing even if you’re not there to have that conversation, send us the idea. If you’re coming to WisCon for sure and want a panel to happen but don’t want to be on that panel, send us the idea. And, of course, if you’re coming and you have a panel you want to happen and you want to be on it, send us the idea.

Does the panel have to be fully formed and perfect with the Best Title Ever and a description that would make the Restoration Hardware copy writers weep with envy?

Nope. You can submit sketches of ideas, half-formed thoughts, vague outlines. The programming team will do their best to interpret what you give us and turn it into a proposed panel with a title and full description.

If you would like to submit ideas with semi-polished titles and descriptions but feel like you need some input or help, you can always create a WisCon Brainstorming Thread on your blog or on social media. In fact, the comment section of this post is a free space for panel brainstorming and members of the programming team will pop in to assist up until the deadline.

Are we only accepting panel ideas, or are we up for suggestions outside of the 3 – 5 people sit behind a table and talk for an hour format?

We are very interested in any kind of programming ideas. Anything from roundtable discussions to group participation activities to performances to puppet shows and anything else. The only exceptions: Readings and Academic Talks/Presentations. Those are handled by other departments.

Please feel free to think outside the box and propose things we haven’t ever done before. We can’t promise to be able to make it possible this year. We can say that we’re open to new stuff. Just do us one favor: if you’re not registered yet, provide some way for us to contact you if we have questions in the description.

Is there a limit to how many ideas I can submit?

Nope. Well…okay, your limit is 100.

When is the deadline for submitting programming ideas?

January 29th.

What happens after I submit a programming idea?

Once the deadline hits and we gather all the submissions together, the programming team combs through them all and decides which panels will move onto the next step: the Programming Survey. The Survey is a list of all the viable panel ideas submitted, which is sent to WisCon attendees. The WisCon community votes on the panels, marking the ones they’d like to attend and which they want to be on as panelist or moderator. The panels with the most interest then move on to the final schedule.

How do you decide which panels go on the survey?

We try to err on the side of inclusiveness on that first pass. We weed out panels that are inappropriate for WisCon or that are just inappropriate period. We may also combine panels or other types of programming items that are very similar to each other. We also do some light massaging of panel titles and descriptions for clarity or, if they are simple sketches of an idea, we make them more robust. At this stage none of the descriptions and titles are final, and we welcome feedback from the community about language and appropriateness.

I’m ready to start submitting program ideas!

Awesome. Get to it!

Donate to the WisCon Member Assistance Fund!

WisCon Member Assistance Fund
& SF3 Fundraising Committee

As an inclusive feminist convention, WisCon is always striving for ways to welcome more voices to our conversations — and we are proud that we’ve had the support of our community in our efforts over the past few years, building a code of conduct in our Anti-Harassment Policy, instituting our Statement of Principles, adding Safer Spaces, expanding our work toward accessibility, and maintaining low registration fees, rebates for volunteers, and $1 childcare for attendees.

There’s another vital part of enriching the conversations we have at the con — our Member Assistance Fund (WMAF). Every year, SF3 (WisCon’s parent organization) moves what we can afford out of our savings and into this dedicated pool of money to help people travel to and enjoy WisCon. The WMAF awards attendees amounts ranging from $50 to $500, amounts that might cover everything from a tank of gas to a plane ticket to a stay in the WisCon hotel.

We don’t ask our attendees who receive WMAF money to tell us how they use their money, because we know that they know their situations best — the important thing is that they join us, bringing their opinions, their ideas, and their knowledge. They are just as vital to WisCon if they decide to share their thoughts on a panel, in a reading, or in a hallway… or if they keep their reactions to the con private. WisCon builds and tests ideas, exploring gender, class, race, and ability in science fiction and fantasy, and through that process, we build our culture and our world in a way that isn’t limited to the con. We can’t do that without making a concrete effort toward the inclusion of diverse voices.

We need your help to grow this effort. Any amount you can donate to WMAF will make a huge difference — we’d like to raise $5,000 this year, which would mean a full award for ten people, or many more small awards for those who just need a little help to attend.

We’ll be sharing more about the WMAF and how important it is to WisCon over the next few months. Donate now to make WisCon 40 truly an anniversary to be proud of!




Please consider a recurring donation of $5 or more every month — it’s a relatively painless way for many people to make a HUGE difference!

PS — Did you know that SF3, WisCon’s parent organization, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization? That makes your gift tax deductible in the U.S.!

WisCon 40 concom recruitment

Chris Wallish
SF3 Communications Committee

If it’s December, it must be… recruitment time for the WisCon Convention-Planning Committee.

The planning committee — most of the time shortened to “concom” — is the stage crew who push buttons, flip levers, and pull the ropes to make WisCon happen every Memorial Day weekend.

“What’s it take to join?”

Willingness to commit to doing a task. You can sign up for something that takes just a couple hours a month, something that largely happens only at the convention, or something that completely wraps up before the convention even starts. You don’t need to be local to Madison for most tasks. And even if you can’t make it to WisCon this year, you can still help out!

“Do I need experience?”

Not necessarily! It can be helpful to have been on a concom before, or to have skills that are relevant to what you’re interested in doing. But WisCon also has decades of experience in training new concom members to pick up a task and carry on.

“Are there meetings? I hate meetings.”

Our monthly meetings are definitely useful (especially closer to the convention), but they’re completely optional. If you’re local to Madison you can join the in-person contingent; if you’re elsewhere in the world you can join the meeting via phone. In between meetings we discuss things via a private Google Group, so regular access to a computer is helpful, as is the ability to respond to emails in a timely fashion.

“Why in the world would I want to join WisCon‘s concom??”

Ahhh. And that is a perfectly fair question. It’s one that I’ve been asked a few times, especially because I stepped into my communications role in the middle of the summer of 2014. So I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve been telling people these past 18 months — I joined because WisCon has been transformative for me, because I knew I had skills that would be useful to the concom and the convention, and because I found I was passionate to help. Which passion comes from one very simple idea: That by helping to build WisCon, I am, in a small but noticeable way, helping to build the sort of world that I want to live in.

This is why the concom needs you. Because we need your skills, your passion, and, yes, sometimes we need your anger to help us build WisCon — to help us build a better WisCon.

As Alexandra Erin wrote last year: “Who runs WisCon? You do. WisCon is your con. It’s run by you, for you.”

WisCon is your con — backstage and out front. Consider joining us on the stage crew.

If you have questions or if you’re interested in any positions, contact us at recruitment@wiscon.net.

 

(PS: Oh, and the deep dark secret of the concom is… It’s fun to be part of the planning. You meet a group of tremendous, dedicated people who, the next thing you know it, are some of your closest friends.)

Changes regarding alcohol at WisCon parties

Aileen
WisCon 40 Chair

After examining our insurance policy and our contract with the hotel, WisCon is making some changes to the way alcohol is served at parties in convention spaces.  Here are the main points:

Party hosts can no longer directly serve alcoholic beverages to their guests.  Instead, they will be able to provide (sealed, legally purchased) bottles to a hotel bartender on the sixth floor who will serve them.  The bartender will be on duty during some of the party hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights during the convention.  The Parties Coordinator will be working with party hosts to determine exactly which hours those will be.

As always, alcohol will be available for purchase from the hotel at the bar on the first floor, in the Governor’s Club, and at the bar on the second floor during special events (such as the Dessert Salon and the Karaoke Party).

Why are these changes happening?

This is the best way to satisfy the constraints of our insurance policy, our contract with the hotel, and the hotel’s liquor license.  This ensures that alcohol is served at the convention in a way that is aboveboard and, most importantly, safe.

What about homebrew?

Unfortunately, the hotel’s liquor license does not allow it to serve homebrew.  The same goes for premixed cocktails (although the bartender will be able to mix drinks).

How does this affect room parties?

Parties held in private hotel rooms are unaffected.  Parties held in rooms that receive the sixth floor discount may have some additional, minor restrictions.

eCube evolutions

Chris Wallish
SF3 Communications Committee

An early 1990s mimeograph machine, and a sheet of white paper reading "eCube".
This is a legit mimeograph, kids (although used here solely as a prop).

Our monthly (mostly) email newsletter, eCube, is undergoing some transformation.  Much as we’ve loved our typewriters and mimeograph, our photocopiers, our plain text over the years, it’s time to move to something that makes our newsletters a little easier for you to navigate and a bit easier for us to prepare — and that also connects with our website and social media.

As of today, eCube will now be delivered via MailChimp.  If you were already a subscriber, you should have received an email welcoming you to the new service.  If you didn’t receive that email, you can verify your subscription (or subscribe for the first time!) below.

If you’re worried that your eCube may go into your spam folder, add the email sf3communications@sf3.org to your safe sender list.

If you’re a Gmail user, we do want to warn you in advance that Google often routes MailChimp emails to your Promotions tab.  Don’t forget to check for it there if you don’t see it in your inbox!

eCube is still going to come out monthly — and we expect we’ll do twice-a-month newsletters in April and May as we get closer to the convention.  Our email newsletter is a great way to get a handy monthly reminder of all our upcoming deadlines, articles about what’s going on in WisCon planning, and tips on how to make the most of your Memorial Day weekend.

If you have any questions about our transition to MailChimp, you can email me to chat about it: comms_chair@sf3.org

Up the zines!  o/


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External Communications

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Call for submissions — WisCon invites scholars to submit proposals for WisCon 40 academic track

Alexis Lothian & Lauren J. Lacey
Academic Programming

One of the things that sets WisCon apart is that we place many types of fannish interactions side-by-side in our programming. We have panels dedicated to exploring a single book or film as well as panels that look at, say, race across all of science fiction. We have author readings, discussions of fanfic or fanvids, and conversations about games and gaming.

A pile of books stacked next to a notebook and a nib pen.We also have an entire track dedicated to scholarly investigations of feminism and science fiction — open to scholars of all descriptions.

The proposal period for WisCon’s academic track programming is now open! We invite proposals from anyone with a scholarly interest in the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability with science fiction — broadly defined — in literature, media, and culture. We especially welcome scholarship on the work of 2016’s Guests of Honor Sofia Samatar, Justine Larbalestier, and Nalo Hopkinson and on the histories and cultures of feminist and social-justice-oriented fan communities.

We encourage submissions from scholars in all fields, including interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary areas, and from amateur and independent scholars as well as graduate students, postdocs, and faculty.

An incomplete list of possible subjects:

  • Gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability in individual works of science fiction and fantasy, especially the work of this year’s Guests of Honor Sofia Samatar, Justine Larbalestier, and Nalo Hopkinson
  • Feminist, queer, critical race, and critical disability analysis of science fiction and fantasy in media (film, television, music, video games, online culture)
  • Speculative aspects of feminist and social justice movements
  • Science fiction and feminist science and technology studies
  • Race, colonialism, and speculative fiction; Afrofuturism and related cultural movements
  • Fan cultures and communities
  • Feminist pedagogy and speculative fiction in the classroom

An incomplete list of possible formats:

  • 15-20 minute paper presentations, with or without visual accompaniment
  • Groups of presentations submitted together as panels
  • Presentation of scholarly creative works, including digital scholarship
  • Readings from recently published or forthcoming scholarly books
  • Discussion-based panels and roundtables on scholarly research, teaching, or service
  • Mentoring sessions on academic professional life: graduate study, the job market, tenure and promotion, publishing and presentation
  • Screenings and discussions of short films or videos

The deadline for submitting an abstract for WisCon 40 is midnight Central Time on February 1, 2016.

Please submit your proposal using this form (wiscon.net site profile is required). You will be asked for a 100-word abstract, which will be printed in the convention’s program, and for a more detailed proposal of up to 500 words. If you are proposing something other than a traditional paper, please make sure you describe the format of your proposed program item. A projector and screen will be available; if you have further technological needs, please let us know in your proposal.

If you have questions, please email: academic@wiscon.net

Help us by nominating Guests of Honor for WisCon 41!

Jackie Lee
SF3 President

Past GOHes posing at WisCon 30. (Photo courtesy of Jeanne Gomoll, GOH at WisCon 24.)
Past GOHes posing at WisCon 30. (Photo courtesy of Jeanne Gomoll, GOH at WisCon 24.)

Do you have a favorite author whose books you love chatting up to family, friends, and people on the bus? Would you enjoy a weekend of discussions about their work? The chance to have them sign your copies of their books? Consider nominating that author to be a Guest of Honor at WisCon!

Oh yes, we’re still deep in planning for WisCon 40. But planning for WisCon 41 starts now — and even though 2017 seems very far off, we would love for you to submit suggestions for Guests of Honor for WisCon 41.

Nominating is as easy as sending an email to gohnoms@wiscon.net with the person’s name and a few sentences about why you think they’re a good fit for WisCon. What makes someone a good fit? Review our Statement of Principles to get a sense of what WisCon is about. Also check out our list of previous Guests of Honor to see who we’ve invited in the past.

Don’t be shy! Maybe you’ve been a Guest of Honor yourself and now would like to see someone else so honored. Or perhaps you’ve never attended a WisCon, but you know just the person who would be the perfect fit as a Guest of Honor. Everyone is welcome to submit a nomination!

Submissions are open through December 31st.