Sunday, March 5, 2006

A contest for new writers

I think this is a very worthwhile short-story contest for emerging writers. It's held annually in conjunction with Con-Version, Calgary's SF convention, but submissions are open to anyone. The contest is named in honour of my great friend and writing student Robyn Herrington, who died two years ago.


1 Comments:

At March 09, 2006 10:32 AM , Blogger RobertJSawyer said...

By the way, in case you're wondering how the Herrington contest manages to run without entrance fees (and, if you know me, you know I strongly disapprove of entrance fees), it's because the contest has good benefactors, including, most recently, the wonderful Westercon held in Calgary last year, as this press release from that con explains:

Canada West Science Fiction Association
A non-profit society organized under the Alberta Societies Act
info@calgaryin2005.org
http://www.calgaryin2005.org


Press Release 2006-1
CWSFA ISSUES GRANTS

At their Annual General Meeting on November 19, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Canada West Science Fiction Association approved a series of grants totaling CA$12,050. These grants were funded out of surplus operating funds of “Due North,” Westercon 58, and are aimed at furthering science fiction and fantasy fandom activities in Canada in general, to assist future Westercons, and to assist in the general operations of groups that provided assistance to Westercon 58.

The detailed list of grants, grouped by major category, is as follows. (All amounts are in Canadian dollars.)

Westercon-related Grants

Chaz Boston-Baden, for operation of Westercon.org web site, $200
San Diego Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (Conzilla/Westercon 2006), $900
Society of the Promotion of Fannish Interests, Inc. (Gnomeward Bound/Westercon 2007), $900

Clubs and Organizations

ConAdian, $1,000
Imaginative Fiction Writers Association (IFWA), $2,100
San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC), $350
Star Trek Winnipeg, $500

Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Conventions

V-Con, $500
Con-Version, $500
KeyCon, $500
Ad Astra, $500
Con*Cept, $500

Canadian Fandom Activities and Promotions

Canadian Unity Fan Fund (CUFF), $500
Western Canadian Convention Cross-Advertisement, $400

Canadian Convention Bid Committees

Montreal Worldcon Bid, $1,500
Winnipeg World Horror Convention Bid, $500

Literary Activities
Robyn Herrington Short Story Contest (Administered by IFWA), $700

CWSFA also established a “scholarship” to send promising Calgary-area convention runners to attend a conference about organizing science fiction conventions. Details of this scholarship, including the criteria and method for applying, will be announced later.

CWSFA also voted to pay small honoraria to thirteen people who, before Westercon 58, traveled extensively in support of the convention’s planning and promotion, incurring substantial unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses.

San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc., (SFSFC) will act as CWSFA’s agent to pay grants to US-based groups to whom CWSFA made grants. SFSFC previously acted as Westercon 58’s agent to pay membership reimbursements to qualified members resident in the USA. CWSFA thanks SFSFC for their help and support.

Westercon 58, also known as “Due North,” was the 2005 West Coast Science Fantasy Convention, and was held July 1-4 at the Westin Hotel in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 706 people attended, and total membership (including supporting members and no-shows) was 897.

Westercon is an annual science fiction convention held in different cities throughout western North American (including Hawaii). Each year’s convention is organized independently by a different host committee. “Westercon” is a service mark of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc. For more information about Westercon, see the Westercon web site at http://www.westercon.org/.

CWSFA is an Alberta non-profit society established principally to organize Westercon 58. CWSFA currently plans no future activities and is actively working toward winding up its activities by the end of 2006, after all bills have been paid and any remaining surplus disbursed as grants. For more information about CWSFA or Westercon 58, contact: info@calgaryin2005.org.

 

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