The TAFF administrators have officially announced the candidates for the 2013 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, Theresa Derwin and Jim Mowatt. Each has sworn a mighty oath (well, confirmed a willingness) to attend LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio if he or she wins, and posted a £15 bond.

The ballot is available here [RTF format]. Votes and donations may also be submitted via PayPal – see the ballot for details.

Voting ends Friday, April 19 at 23:59 British Summer Time aka UTC+1.

Theresa Derwin was nominated by Anders Bellis, Steve Green and John Meaney (from Europe), as well as Christopher J. Garcia and Yvonne Penney (from North America). Here is Derwin’s campaign platform, from the ballot:

Derwin: The Natural Selection. Theresa Derwin is standing for TAFF! A regular convention attendee and panel moderator/member, Theresa has been active in fandom since her teen years. She produces fanzine Andromeda’s Offspring, which promotes the genre work of female authors. She has also previously written for Critical Wave and writes book reviews on her blog www.terror-tree.co.uk whilst writing lots of fiction in a variety of anthologies and in her first book Monsters Anonymous. Theresa wants to attend LoneStarCon3 as a positive ambassador for European/British fandom and female fans and writers in particular. She brings enthusiasm, knowledge and humour to the race!

Jim Mowatt was nominated by Fran Dowd, Rob Hansen and Mark Plummer (in Europe), as well as Randy Byers and Curt Phillips (in North America). Jim’s platform reads:

Jim Mowatt came of age in the fiery fannishness of Leeds and burst upon the scene as Jim Trash at the Sou’wester Eastercon in 1994. Few noticed. He retreated into the shadows like a bewildered ninja. Since then he has made a number of friends, produced fanzines (e.g. Pips and Beam) and decided that fandom is a wonderful place to be(eblebear). He has produced a prodigious number of podcasts, and has a great face for radio. Jim followed a woman to Cambridge in 2002. She didn’t call the police so he moved in. San Antonio needs to know why.

The winner will have approximately four months to arrange his or her TAFF trip, which customarily includes meeting various groups of fans around the country in addition to attending the anchor convention. Recent visits to North America by TAFF delegates have included trips to Las Vegas, Toronto, New York City, Seattle, the Bay Area and Reno. The trip often lasts up to a month, and sometimes longer.

The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund has been facilitating the exchange of fans between Europe and North American since the 1950s. More information about TAFF can be found at the official unofficial website: www.taff.org.uk. TAFF also has presences on LiveJournal (taffnews.livejournal.com), Facebook (facebook.com/TAFFnews) and Twitter (@TAFFnews).