Ben Yalow has been involved in SF fandom for about 45 years, been to more than 800 cons, and worked on about a third of them. His first con was Lunacon 14 in 1971. He’s been a member of numerous Worldcon bids and has worked on many since the mid-1970s. He has often served as… Continue reading The Convention Career of Ben Yalow
While the 2023 Worldcon is being chosen this year, there are other bids for future Worldcons. Glasgow (Scotland) 2024; Seattle (U.S.) 2025; Orlando (U.S.), Nice (France), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), and Los Angeles (U.S.) 2026; Tel Aviv (Israel) 2027; Brisbane (Australia) 2028; Dublin, 2029; and Texas, 2031 have all indicated intentions to bid. Come hear what… Continue reading Future Worldcons: 2024 to Infinity and Beyond!
Cons and other fannish activities rely on volunteer efforts but many conventions burn through volunteers at every level. Depending on people who work for free (plus maybe some snacks and a t-shirt) presents special challenges. Panelists will discuss best practices for recruiting and managing volunteers, as well as cases in which you should use paid… Continue reading Taking Care of Volunteers
How do you choose a location? How much startup capital do you need? How do you assemble a staff? This panel will tell you everything you need to know, including what unsuspected resources are at your disposal, when putting together a Worldcon bid.
How can we make conventions safer and more inclusive for those of us with disabilities (visible and otherwise) through mutual support and cultural change?
There are two rival bids who want to run the 2023 Worldcon. Come to this session where Chengdu and Winnipeg will tell you their plans prior to the vote on Friday.
Come hear the Chicon 8 team present its plans for the 80th World Science Fiction Convention in 2022 in Chicago.
Program participation surveys vary in form and interest, but they all have one thing in common: they want to know what makes you interesting and what you can offer. All program teams can tell similar stories: “you know me, just assign me to something,” topics so popular they could run nonstop for 35 hours with… Continue reading The Art of Filling in the Program Survey
Robert’s Rules of Order is a set of strict rules for running meetings used by governmental bodies and many fan groups. They can also present a significant entry barrier for many, including people with disabilities, non-native English speakers, and people with nontraditional educational backgrounds. How can we work within the framework of Robert’s Rules to… Continue reading Robert’s Rules and Accessibility
Wrangling volunteers, publishing fanzines, beta reading, negotiating hotel contracts… Plenty of fannish skills can be converted to real-world professions. How can you translate fannish experiences into a career?
