Potlatch 23 Progress Report #3

BOOK OF HONOR:

The Potlatch 23 committee is pleased to announce the Book of Honor the members have chosen is The City and the City by China MiƩville. This book was nominated by Blackfeather Tanfur.

The results are at http://www.potlatch-sf.org/book-of-honor-vote/

PROGRAM:

The Potlatch program committee has always depended on members suggesting program ideas and volunteering to be on the program. And we’ve always known that we can count on having a great audience that will add new dimensions to the program. This time, we’re doing direct to the source. The Potlatch 23 Program will be created by the members of the convention. The idea is to combine the best attributes of a conference where everyone has a say in creating the program and a traditional convention with carefully selected topics and well-prepared participants.

Potlatch has a single track of programming. It will run from Friday evening on February 21st through Sunday, February 23rd. There are standard program items: Opening Ceremonies, the Book of Honor panel, the Clarion West Benefit Auction and the Banquet. That leaves only seven or eight program slots that need to be filled.

Right now we are actively soliciting ideas for the program. Please stop by the Program Ideas page and suggest topics. The program needs to be finalized by February 7th, two weeks before the convention, so it can go into the printed Program Book. Please join in!

See http://www.potlatch-sf.org/program-ideas/

CON OR BUST:

Con or Bust helps people of color/non-white people attend SFF conventions. A Potlatch member generously donated two Potlatch memberships to Con or Bust and another member donated two banquet tickets to go with them. If you are a person of color and could use some help in order to attend Potlatch, please contact Con or Bust (http://con-or-bust.org/request-assistance/) for assistance. We would really like to see the donated memberships and banquet tickets be used.

If you are a fan of any color who would like to promote diversity, science fiction, and diversity in science fiction, please consider supporting Con or Bust. Hint: They have some really cool t-shirts.

See http://con-or-bust.org/

WRITERS WORKSHOP
The workshop is open to all speculative fiction writers, regardless of experience. It’s a place to get feedback on your writing and decide what you need to work on next. You’ll have the chance to hear a professional writer critique your work, along with several of your peers. Critiques will be done in a round-robin Clarion West style. This workshop style allows all the participants to read and critique everyone’s work.

Hugo-winner David D. Levine has volunteered to be the guest professional for our workshop.

Please submit a 2,000 to 8,000 word story in .rtf or .doc format to workshop@potlatch-sf.org by midnight PST on February 1, 2014. You may send your story ahead of time. Formatting for your story should follow the guidelines at http://www.sfwa.org/writing/vonda/vonda.htm

The stories will be rounded up and emailed to the participants. Please let me know if you would prefer hard copy mailings. Please bring hard copy notes or marked-up manuscripts to the workshop.

The workshop will be held Saturday during the lunch break. Lunch will be provided. Please let me know of any dietary restrictions.

Check the website (http://www.potlatch-sf.org/workshop/) for updates as the convention approaches. To attend the workshop, you must purchase a membership to Potlatch.

While it’s not mandatory, consider getting a ticket to the banquet. You’ll rub elbows with Potlatch’s attending guests, famous (and not-so-famous) writers, and other folk interested in the genre community.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Any questions? Send them to Jude-Marie Green at workshop@potlatch-sf.org

CLARION WEST AUCTION:

The Clarion West Auction will be held on Saturday evening from 8-10 pm. Auction proceeds benefit the Clarion West Scholarship Fund and directly assist in developing the talent of aspiring writers. Your donations help create an amusing and profitable event. Your bids at the silent and voice auction gain you possession of odd, unusual, or entertaining artifacts. If you are attending Potlatch, you may send a photograph and description of your donations via email to auction@potlatch-sf.org. Donations may be delivered at the convention. If you are not attending Potlatch but would like to send a donation, you may ship it to:

Dawn Plaskon
1474 Avila Court
Hayward, CA 94544

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