TAFF Nominations Open
The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund has opened nominations for its 2023 race. The winner will travel from Europe to visit Pemmi-con, the 2023 North American Science Fiction Convention (Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 20-23). Those familiar with TAFF can find the additional information they need in the official announcement (PDF).
And for those who aren’t familiar with it…
All About Fan Funds
The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund is one of a triangle of funds dedicated to encouraging connections between fans on different continents. TAFF itself, which has been running since 1953, sends its winners back and forth between North America and Europe. The Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF), started in 1972, does the same between North America and Australia/New Zealand. The Get Up-and-over Fan Fund (GUFF) is the third leg, started in 1978, between Oceania and Europe.
All three funds use the same process:
Candidates submit platform statements of no more than 101 words and a token bond to the current fund administrators.
Candidates must also collect five nominations from active science fiction fans, three on their home continent and two on the destination continent, who contact the fund administrators directly.
After nominations close and the ballot is published, voting is open to anyone making a minimum donation to the fund. Voting is ranked-choice with a “No Preference” option.
The winner is the fund’s delegate for the given year. They take the trip to the other continent, with the assistance of the money collected for that year, and experience as many fan activities as possible.
But that isn’t the end of their duties. The delegate then serves as an administrator of the fund for the next two years.
Delegates are also expected to produce a trip report. This often takes a few years. In one extreme case, the 1982 TAFF delegate’s trip report just appeared in August of this year.
All three funds went on hiatus during the pandemic, with the 2020 TAFF delegate making his trip this year, and the DUFF and GUFF ones likely to be able to make theirs in 2023.
In Brief
DeepSouthCon 60 presented its traditional awards this past weekend: the Phoenix Award to David B. Coe and Eric Flint; the Rebel Award to Brandy Bolgeo Hendren; and the Rubble Award (for disservice to fandom) to SARS-CoV-2. More at File 770.
Badges for first-time attendees of next year’s Comic-Con International (San Diego, July 20-23) will go on sale November 5. Would-be purchasers are encouraged to set up a member ID in CCI’s system ahead of time.
CrowdUltra invites the public to submit nominations for its convention awards including Best Anime Convention of the Year and Best Comic Convention of the Year. Nominations close on November 1.
The Great Con-Junction (Los Angeles, November 12-13) has added Kevin Clash as a guest.
The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 16-17, 2023) has added Lenore Zann as a guest.
Event Calendar
Weekend of October 28-30
Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
SpoCon: Revamped, Spokane, Washington, USA
BristolCon, Bristol, UK
Hallowcon 2022 (fantasy/horror), Dalton, Georgia, USA
Cabbagecon 6 (Discworld), De Rijp, Netherlands
MorgulCón 2022 (J. R. R. Tolkien), Salamanca, Spain
Ohio Valley Filk Festival 38: Year of the Cat (music), Worthington, Ohio, USA
Golden Leaves Con 12: Cead Mile Faílte (anthropomorphic), Hasliberg, Switzerland
Furry Blacklight 10: Steam Ages, Tremblay-en-France, France
Furpocalypse 2022: Horror in Paradise (anthropomorphic), Stamford, Connecticut, USA
GaelCon (gaming), Dublin, Ireland
Big Bad Con 2022 (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
LAN All Night VI: BatLAN (video games), Grapevine, Texas, USA
Anime Weekend Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
UwUCon (anime), Mesa, Arizona, USA
Anime Halloween, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Anime Texas, The Woodlands, Texas, USA
YumeCon USA (anime), Palo Alto, California, USA
DerpyCon 2022 (anime), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Yunicon 2022 (anime), Schwechat, Austria
31st Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, UK
Lucca Comics & Games, Lucca, Italy
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Winnipeg Comiccon, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
15th Starbase 24 Starfleet/Klingon Banquet (Star Trek) Peterborough, UK
Weekend of November 4-6
Astronomicon 13, Rochester, New York, USA
Or-E-Con 2, online
GeekGirlCon, Seattle, Washington, USA
ArmadaCon 2022, Plymouth, UK
World Fantasy Convention 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
ZodiaCon 2022 (anthropomorphic), Horní Bradlo, Czechia
PAWCon 2022: Visit Pawston Paradise (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
Carnage XXV: Silver Anniversary (gaming), Dover, Vermont, USA
Spellen Spektakel (gaming), Utrecht, Netherlands
Rock-Con (gaming), Rockford, Illinois, USA
AcadeCon (gaming), Dayton, Ohio, USA
BottosCon 2022 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Phantasm 32nd (RPGs), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), Troutdale, Oregon, USA
Good Game Fest (video games), Westminster, Maryland, USA
Warfaire Weekend (wargaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Fall In! (miniatures gaming), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
NekoCon 24 (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA
Destination Tokyo (anime), Monthey, Switzerland
HotaruCon (anime), Milton Keynes, UK
Nishi Fest (anime), Arlington, Texas, USA
Youmacon 2022 (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA
Tiger Con 2022 (anime), Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Unicon (media), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Coosacon! (media), Rome, Georgia, USA
Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
CONjuration (Harry Potter), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Pony Friends Forever (My Little Pony), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Weekend of November 11-13
Novacon 51, Nottingham, UK
TusCon 49, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 48, Lombard, Illinois, USA
SFW XIII, Great Yarmouth, UK
OmegaFall 2022, Siren, Wisconsin, USA
New England Crime Bake 2022: History is Mystery (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
Dragonsteel 2022 (Brandon Sanderson works), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Flüüfff: Tropical Trouble (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium
TeslaCon (steampunk), Middleton, Wisconsin, USA
Steampunk November, Mansfield, Texas, USA
Kee Con V (gaming), Cherokee, Iowa, USA
JeffCon: The Final MACE (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
MEPACon (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Hexcon (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA
Tampa Nerd Con (gaming), Clearwater, Florida, USA
Compass Games Expo 2022, Meridien, Connecticut, USA
Gridcon 3 (boardgames), Taunton, UK
Spielewelt in Bielefeld (boardgames), Bielefeld, Germany
EuroQuest 2022 (Eurogames), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
The Long Con (RPGs), Longview, Texas, USA
MillenniumCon (miniatures gaming), Round Rock, Texas, USA
Arcade Expo, Houston, Texas, USA
KeyForge Celebration (KeyForge CCG), Roseville, Minnesota, USA
Oni-Con XIX (anime), Galveston, Texas, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
anime expo chibi, Ontario, California, USA
Anime Destiny 2022, Berkeley, California, USA
Animaine 2022 (anime), South Portland, Maine, USA
Thought Bubble (comics), Harrogate, UK
Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Fanboy Expo Indianapolis (media), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Twin Cities Con (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Fanboy Expo Indianapolis (media), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
FanQuest 2022 (media), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Monster-Mania 52 (horror media), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA
Philip K. Dick Film Festival, New York City, New York, USA
The Great Con-Junction (The Dark Crystal), Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of November 18-20
Philcon 2022, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
Consequences O: Otherworldly Consequences (gaming), Christchurch, UK
Free Play Florida (video games), Orlando, Florida, USA
DreamHack Atlanta 2022 (video games), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Colossalcon North (anime), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
Kaiga Anime Convention, Perth, Australia
Anime NYC, New York City, New York, USA
Anime Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Anime Pasadena, Pasadena, California, USA
Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Con Nichiwa 2022 (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention #12, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands
Comic Con Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
CharlestonCon (media), North Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Meglos 2022 (Doctor Who), Holtsville, New York, USA
Nakamacon (One Piece), Panama City Beach, Florida, USA
Pokécon Memphis (Pokémon), Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of November 25-27
Loscon 48, Los Angeles, California, USA
Chessiecon 2022, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Chambanacon 51 (relaxacon), Normal, Illinois, USA
GobbleCon (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
LFG Canberra: Essen Unplugged (boardgames), Griffith, Australia
De Bello Ludico (wargaming), Bracciano, Italy
Anime Festival Asia, Singapore
Anime Dallas, DFW Airport, Texas, USA
Akimatsuri (anime), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Comic Con Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Stars of Time Comic Con, Weston-super-Mare, UK
Fan Expo San Francisco (media), San Francisco, California, USA
Chicago TARDIS 2022 (Doctor Who), Lombard, Illinois, USA
Starbase Indy 2022: Imagine Anew (Star Trek), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Coda
Conan the Bacterium and the deserts of Mars (The Register)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.