FOGhorn 7.1, November 2016
FOGcon 7 * March 10-12, 2017 * WALNUT CREEK, CA *
Theme: Interstitial Spaces
Honored Guests: See the Message from the Chair!
MEMBERSHIP RATES
Adults:
$60 if you buy this week!
$70 from November 13, 2016 to December 31, 2016
$80 from January 2, 2017 to February 28, 2017
$90 at the door
Youth (11-17):
Full weekend membership - $20
Children (10 and under): Free! (Must be attended by an adult)
FOGCON ON THE WEB
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=266502209488
LiveJournal: http://community.livejournal.com/fogcon/
Dreamwidth: http://fogcon.dreamwidth.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Fogconvention
FOGblog the FOGcon Blog: http://fogcon.org/fogblog/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message from the Chair
Hotel and Saturday Lunch Banquet
Programming - Program Idea Suggestions Close Dec. 15
Writers' Workshop
Volunteers: Fogcon 7 Needs You!
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Our Theme
The theme we're organizing around this year is "Interstitial Spaces" -- and you might be forgiven for asking "what, pray tell, is an interstitial space?"
The dictionary will give us "interstitial" as "situated in or relating to the interstices; situated within but not restricted to or characteristic of a particular organ or tissue; a compound in which small atoms or ions of a nonmetal occupy holes between larger metal atoms or ions in a crystal lattice."(1) This suggests that an interstice would have something to do with a space between, and that turns out to be true: "Interstice" is defined as "a space between things, especially between closely spaced things; a gap or break in something that is generally thought of as continuous; a short space of time between events."(2)
Speculative fiction is naturally interstitial, falling between any number of disciplines. The Interstitial Arts Foundation describes Interstitial Art as "...art made in the interstices between genres and categories. It is art that flourishes in the borderlands between different disciplines, mediums, and cultures. It is art that crosses borders, made by artists who refuse to be constrained by category labels."(3)
Our Honored Guests
Our genre guests this year are Delia Sherman and Ayize Jama-Everett, who in many ways embody the theme of Interstitial Spaces: both of them have worked 'in the gaps' throughout their lives.
Delia Sherman
Delia Sherman was born in Tokyo, Japan, and brought up in New York City, and has a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies; she has written stories categorized as fantasy, science fiction, young adult, and historical fiction. She has edited a number of anthologies, including Interfictions 1 and 2, and has been nominated for the Campbell Award (for Through a Brazen Mirror, in 1990) and has won the Norton Award, the Prometheus Award, and the Mythopoeic Award. Her full bibliography is available here. She is an active part of the Interstitial Art movement, and was the first president of the Interstitial Arts Foundation. (For more on Interstitial Arts, please see the Interstitial Arts Foundation page or Wikipedia.)
Ayize Jama-Everett
Ayize Jama-Everett is the author of the trilogy The Liminal People, The Liminal War, and The Entropy of Bones. His writing resists categorization, carrying a vitality that marks it out as his own; he sees his writing as a way to bring forward un- or under-represented people and cultures, and he does that with clarity and power. "There’s a big wound in not being seen, in having your reality not being represented in any way.”(4)
Jama-Everett has lived in France and Morocco, and traveled across North Africa, Asia, and Mexico. He has earned a Master of Divinity and a masters' degree in clinical psychology from the Graduate Theological Union and the New College of California, and in addition to writing has worked as a therapist and a teacher. In 2016 he was working with artist John Jennings to develop Box of Bones, a comics project unrelated to the Liminal People universe.
Honored Ghosts
This year, we have two of them: First, the noted and famous Scottish SF author Iain M. Banks, and then the noted and famous Scottish literary-fiction author Iain Banks.
Banks' career spanned many genres (and some works, like _The Bridge_, are sui generis) -- he was nominated for Hugos, won the Arthur C. Clarke award, and established a reputation within both the SFnal genre and without. Read his Culture novels, and you read marvelous space opera; read "The Business" or "Whit", and you get biting social satire -- he even published a book of poetry with Ken McLeod.
Hotel and Saturday Lunch Banquet
FOGcon is extremely pleased to return to the Walnut Creek Marriott, which has been our home since 2012. The Marriott has a very welcoming staff, is easily accessible by both car and public transit, and is easy to get around.
Room rates are $109.00 per night, which remains a major bargain for the high-priced Bay Area, and includes free access to the hotel wireless. Book your group rate for FOG CON 7 at this link.
We are delighted that parking will once again be free for convention members, whether hotel guests or not. We are also thrilled that the hotel has agreed to cancel the bar band for both Friday and Saturday nights of the convention, which should make the hotel restaurant and bar much more pleasant for all of us.
We will almost certainly be hosting a new version of last year's successful Saturday lunchtime banquet. You should be able to purchase banquet tickets soon. Full menus (with vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free options) will be available long before the convention begins.
If you have any questions about the hotel, or any special hotel needs, please email fogcon@fogcon.org so we can help you out.
Debbie Notkin
kith@spicejar.org
Hotel Liaison
WRITER'S WORKSHOP
We'll open sign-ups for our popular writing workshop in November. This is a Clarion-style critique group, with a limited number of spots. It's open to any writer - experienced or not - with a full membership of FOGcon. You submit a manuscript up to 7,500 words (short story or novel excerpt) before Jan 31, 2017, and are placed in a group with 2-3 other writers led by an experienced published author. You critique their stories, they critique yours in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. There's a $20 additional workshop charge. Email us at workshop@fogcon.org any time after November 15, 2016.
Each year since the first FOGcon, we've expanded our workshop - but now we've reached our size limit. We'll close when we fill all the spaces, or on January 15, 2017, whichever is first. So if you're interested, plan to sign up early!
Keyan Bowes
Writer's Workshop
PROGRAMMING - PROGRAM IDEA SUGGESTIONS CLOSE DEC. 15
FOGcon is a little different from a lot of cons, and one of the ways we're different is in Programming: we solicit ideas for program items from you, and then find out which ones generate the most interest before we begin designing the schedule. We've consistently had truly stellar programming (which I can say, since they're not *my* ideas! 😀 ) and we really love the community involvement this gives us. (You are all really creative people!)
If you have ideas that fit the theme, that's great! If you have ideas that have nothing to do with the theme at all, that's fine too! If there's something you've always wanted to see at a con and it's just never happened, tell us about it! If there's something you've seen somewhere else and loved, let us know! This is the seventh FOGcon, and your programming team is aware that we have a lot to live up to – we can't do it without you 🙂
How to Sign Up and Submit Ideas On the Programming Database
- Go to db.fogcon.org
- If you don't have an account yet, create one!
- Log in
- Go to db.fogcon.org/idea/
- Describe your idea and click on "Submit your idea"
(If you don't have all the information the form asks for that's fine – if you have it, great, if not, submit it anyway) - Submit more ideas!
- Keep submitting ideas!
VOLUNTEERS: FOGCON 7 NEEDS YOU!
FOGcon relies on volunteers for every aspect of the con, from hotel negotiations to programming to hospitality to logistics. We're looking for help of all sorts, and at all levels. We're particularly looking for:
Registration
We need folks to staff the Registration table and help people get checked in, get their badges and programs, and get started at the con. This is a great way to meet people, especially if starting a conversation isn't your best thing. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. Registration generally opens on Thursday evening, and is open Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday, so there are lots of shifts available. E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Hospitality
Whether you've dashed through the consuite to grab vital caffeine or stopped for a meal or hung out for a rambling conversation, you've probably appreciated the job of our Hospitality folks, who make sure the consuite stays open, staffed, and stocked. (And reasonably clean.) You may not have realized, though, that the consuite can only be open as long as we have volunteers to staff it! Whether you're an extravert or an introvert, a consuite shift can work out well – depending on the time of day, it can be quiet or packed with folks deep in conversation. People stop by for a place to sit down, grab a bite of food or something to drink, see who else is around, or continue a conversation that began in a panel and Just. Won't. Stop. We need folks who can keep track of the food supply, make newcomers welcome and help them get their feet, refill the bathtub with sodas, and so on – and we need night owls and early birds so we can have the consuite open whenever anybody wants to be there. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Programming
We have a couple of specific jobs that need filling in Programming, in addition to general gophering and room counting and so on:
Honored Guest Liaisons
We need someone to be the main contact for each of our Honored Guests, help make their experience at the convention a good one, and make sure they don't run into problems or delays getting to programming or whatever else they're interested in doing. (And that they still have time to get food and sleep and take care of other basic bodily functions.) You'll arrange for pickup from the airport if needed, etc., work with our Hotel Liaison to make sure they get checked in successfully, and coordinate any special needs they may have -- hypoallergenic bedding? Slide projector? Extension cord? Gluten-free pizza? 😉 E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Special (Experimental) Programming
We're looking for someone who can focus on the special programming, from opening ceremonies to special events. The first year we had kids' programming, it fell into this category because we'd never tried it before. Especially this year, with the theme of Interstitial Spaces, we'd love to have a poster session, mixed-media display, music- or art-related event – come with ideas, and we'll work to make them happen! E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Programming Minion
If programming sounds interesting but you'd like to get your feet wet before diving in to one of the jobs above, come and be a programming minion! There's no telling what you'll end up doing – running down to Logistics for a cable or up to the consuite for tea for someone who's tied up in a panel, doing room counts (so we can keep improving our estimates of the room size we need for the various panels), or helping keep track of materials used for a program and making sure everything gets where it needs to be. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Game Room Minion
If you love games and want to help keep FOGcon's game room active, come be a game room minion! Help open and close the game room, help people get started with games they haven't tried before – or find an old familiar friend – and set up for (and help run!) game-room programming. Last year was a great beginning for game-specific programming, and we're hoping to do even better for FOG 7. E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Logistics
Have you ever wondered how the con actually works? Where blue tape comes from? How we got the errata printed? Who posts all those informative and/or entertaining signs? The answer is Logistics, and if you'd like to volunteer to help out we'd love to have you! We particularly need help around set-up and close-out, but there's almost always something that needs doing! E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
CONTACT US
Mailing Address
FOGcon
PO Box 3764
Hayward, CA 94540
For more information, email us at fogcon@fogcon.org
To discuss access issues, email us at access@fogcon.org
To volunteer, email us at volunteers@fogcon.org or click the link in your account that says, "Would you like to volunteer?"
To inquire about being a dealer, email us at dealers@fogcon.org
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