Con or Bust NOW taking requests for July-September cons!

[pameladean]

Originally posted by kate_nepveu at Con or Bust NOW taking requests for July-September cons!

Con or Bust is pleased to announce that as of this very moment, and through May 31, fans of color/non-white fans may request assistance to attend SFF cons in July, August, and September 2011.

Because there was no advance notice that we'd be taking requests, please repost and link to this post far and wide so that people know that assistance is possible. I will announce the precise amount after WisCon, but a minimum of $700 will be available to help fans of color attend cons for the next three months, plus two memberships to Renovation.

These cons are taking place in July-September and are supporting Con or Bust:

• Renovation, the 2011 WorldCon, Reno, Nevada, USA, August 17-21 (donated memberships);
  
• Readercon, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, July 14-17 (donated money).
  

Read this post for how to request assistance. Donate con memberships by e-mailing knepveu@steelypips.org. Donate money with a PayPal account or credit card with this button:

Or learn more about Con or Bust generally. And thank you for your help in spreading the word!

Updated May 23, 2011.

Comments

[willshetterly.livejournal.com]

Is there a program to assist poor white fans?

[pameladean]

Not that I'm aware of. You could always start one.

P.

[willshetterly.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I was unclear there: I didn't mean poor white fans exclusively. I meant poor folks, including white ones who would not be eligible for Con or Bust.

[pameladean]

I'm not aware of a fund of this kind, with auctions on LJ and so on. Many individual cons have scholarships or other kinds of assistance, though my impression is that they are rather ad-hoc as a rule.

Some cons are much harder to attend if you're poor than others. I used to go to cons when I was practically broke, but it involved driving rather than taking the plane, piling into a room with eight or ten other people, sleeping on the floor, and so on. I'm too old for that now, which is why David and I haven't been to many out-of-town cons for some years now.

WFC is a con that is very difficult to attend if you're poor, which is pretty ironic, given the average yearly income of most writers. The two Minneapolis WFCs tried to address this. I'm pretty sure there were behind-the-scenes scholarships, and I know the stated goal of the hospitality committee was to have enough real food in the con suite that people could be adequately nourished there rather than having to spend money on restaurants. I'm not aware of anything really organized in this area, but I might not be. Lots of cons are outside my orbit.

The founders of Con or Bust saw a need and addressed it. I'd agree that it would be excellent if more poor people could attend conventions, but organizing such matters is not my talent. I'll give such an effort as much help as I've given Con or Bust, though, if it's brought to my attention.

P.

p.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

It isn't just money that causes us to see few folks of color at cons, it's that the cons are strange to them. They're concerned that people will leave them out, that they won't get to do things with groups, and that makes them think spending money is too much. If they get money to go to a con, they may find they like cons, they will probably come to additional cons, as well as convincing their friends.