Tag Archives: Curt Phillips

TAFF Voting Deadline Is March 29

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By Curt Phillips: The deadline for voting in the 2016 Trans Atlantic Fan Fund election is fast upon us! Voting ends on March 29 – only two weeks away now and only a relatively small number of votes have been cast as yet.

Please consider voting in this TAFF election which will bring either Wolf Von Witting or Anna Raftery to Kansas City for Mid AmeriCon II, the 2016 World Science Fiction Convention. Both are good fans who deserve our support, and not only can the TAFF treasury use your donations, but the race is a close one. Your votes in these last two weeks could make a big difference.

Please go to the main TAFF page at taff.org for more information on the history of TAFF and information about the current race, and then please go to Jim Mowatt’s very convenient TAFF voting page at http://tafftrip.com/taff-voting-using-paypal/ to quickly and easily cast your vote and make your donation to one of Fandom’s best institutions.

Hurry! Time is growing short. Why not vote now?

Meet our candidates

Anna Raftery

What’s with all these whippersnappers running for TAFF?! Well, going to cons for more than half my life has to count for something, right?I’ve been an active fan, filker and con-goer since 13; at this point the community is quite literally my family. My love for being involved extends to being on con committees (including as filk programme head for Loncon 3) and setting up new cons from the ground up. I am so excited to run this race to represent Europe at MidAmeriCon2, meet fans across North America, and share that experience in my trip report.

Nominated by: Claire Brialey, John Coxon, Gareth Kavanagh, David Weingart, Christina O’Halloran

Wolf von Witting

“Gentlefen who desired to vote for both candidates in the previous race get their wish.

Now, my friends in Swedish and German fandom, I really need your votes too. But regardless of the outcome of this race, I hope to prove myself useful to TAFF for the following three years in relating the fund to continental sf-fandoms. I dislike talking about myself, but I can see the necessity in it. People ask. So I decided once and for all to answer all questions in CLOCKWISE #2016 end of January.

All I wish for is an interesting race. May TAFF win!”

Nominated by: Mihaela Marija Perkovic, Dave Lally, John Henri Holmberg, Teddy Harvia, Mike Glyer

++ Curt Phillips, North American TAFF Administrator

Bud Webster in Hospice Care

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By Curt Phillips: One of our own — Virginia fan and SF writer Bud Webster — is in hospice care at a Richmond, VA hospital. He’s battled a long illness and endured multiple surgeries in recent months, and he has reached the end of his journey. Let me be clear about this; Bud is not expected to rally or recover. Hospice care is end-of-life care.

His wife Mary is with him at the bedside, and some friends have been able to visit and express their concern and affection for Bud. Long-time friend Alan Wold visited yesterday and reported that Bud was responsive and still sassy; an observation that will come as no surprise to those who know Bud best.

There is a Facebook page called “Bud Webster Fan Page” where comments and greetings can be posted, and I have reports that Bud is able to receive these, although I’m not sure if he can read them himself or if someone else is reading them to him. Those who’d like to post a message to Bud are urged to so so soon, as time is not our friend in this situation.

Bud Webster is the author of some very fine fantasy stories published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, as well as science fiction appearances in Analog, Helix, Jim Baen’s Universe, and other publications. He is particularly known for his “Bubba Pritchert” series in Analog, and for his excellent reviews of long neglected genre works in F&SF’s “Curiosities” department. (Publication data for much of Bud’s work can be found at his entry on the Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base.)

Bud has served as the Estates coordinator for SFWA for several years and has taken the lead in tracking down the heirs of many of science fiction’s deceased authors.

In the old book community, Bud has received high praise for an extensive series of essays and articles about genre topics. Many of these are collected in his books Anthopology 101: Reflections, Inspections and Dissections of SF Anthologies (2010) which reviews and discusses many of the most important science fiction anthologies from our early years, The Joy of Booking (2011) which chronicles Bud’s adventures as a seller of science fiction books at regional conventions for many years as well as his own thoughts on being an accomplished science fiction collector, and Past Masters, & Other Bookish Natterings (2013) which examines the careers of many of the best and most unfairly neglected writers in the field. Those who love the history of science fiction would do well to read these books and learn some of the wisdom of a master bookman.

Bud is an old friend of mine from back in the days when we were both involved with a long ago SF convention called RoVaCon and the old Roanoke, VA fan group, The Nelson Bond Society. He and I share a common love for collecting vintage science fiction books, and though we’ve spent years discussing them, it still feels like no time at all since I first engaged Bud Webster in one of our book talks. Bud, SF writer Paul Dellinger and I used to meet at the home of Nelson Bond there in Roanoke, who was something of a mentor to both of us (me with collecting SF and Bud with writing it) and we passed many very enjoyable hours talking about the books and writers we love. I can’t begin to express how much I’ll miss those talks.

Last Call For 2016 TAFF Candidates

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TAFF logo west
By Curt Phillips: The deadline for nominations for the 2016 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund race to bring a delegate from the UK or Europe to the United States to attend the 2016 World Science Fiction Convention at Kansas City, Missouri is approaching quickly. If you’re considering throwing your hat in the ring you must do so by this coming Friday, December 11, at 12:00 p.m. GMT.

Contact any of the three TAFF administrators or go to Dave Langford’s TAFF website at TAFF.org.uk for more information.

To be a candidate for TAFF a fan must be nominated by three known fans in the UK/Europe and two in the US, submit a monetary bond  ($20 US or the equivalent – see website for details) and send the administrators a platform statement not to exceed 101 words for the ballot.  The platform can be submitted a little later but the nominations and bond must be submitted by the time of the deadline.

And even if you aren’t going to be a candidate, please do support Fandom’s premier fan fund by voting in the 2016 TAFF race. It makes a huge difference in the life of the fan who becomes the TAFF delegate,and is surely one of the best things we do for this fandom that we all enjoy. Whomever you vote for, PLEASE VOTE FOR TAFF!

Curt Phillips
North American TAFF administrator
Absarka_prime (at) comcast (dot) net

TAFF Switches 2016 Race, Now East To West

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TAFF logo westTrans-Atlantic Fan Fund administrators Nina Horvath, Curt Phillips and Jim Mowatt, after considering the advantages, have decided to switch direction, running another East/West race for 2016. This means TAFF is currently looking for nominees from Europe to be the TAFF delegate to North America in 2016 and attend MidAmericon II (the Worldcon in Kansas City, August 17-21).

Jim Mowatt explains, “The knock on effect of this decision is that the 2017 race will be West to East so that we can send someone from North America to Helsinki. This would also mean that we are going in the right direction to aim for New Orleans or San Jose in 2018 and Dublin in 2019.

“So onwards we go: to Kansas City and Beyond. It’s TAFF nomination time.”

Final 2015 TAFF Voting Detail

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Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund co-administrators Jim Mowatt and Curt Phillips have published the final voting statistics (one vote different that reported here earlier) plus the traditional geographic breakdown in TAFFworld #3. The newsletter also lists all the voters.

Voting Europe NA Other Total
Nina Horvath 30 14 2 46
Wolf von Witting 12 22 1 35
Hold Over Funds 0 1 0 1
No Preference 11 6 1 18
Totals 53 43 4 100

2015 TAFF Voting Deadline Imminent

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The deadline to vote on the winner of the 2015 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund is Tuesday, April 7 at Midnight EDT. (Click here for complete details.)

This year TAFF will select either Nina Horvath or Wolf Von Witting, two European fans, as a delegate to Sasquan, the World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane. Which one will it be?  You will decide that with your vote and your contribution.

In the UK and Europe send your votes to Jim Mowatt, the European administrator in Cambridge, and in North America and other parts of the planet, please send your votes and contributions to Curt Phillips in Abingdon, Virginia. It only takes a few moments and a few dollars to vote (though more is certainly appreciated…) Please consider joining one of Fandom’s oldest and most noble traditions and SUPPORT TAFF!

Vote by e-mailing your pick of these choices:  Nina Horvath, Wolf Von Witting, Hold Over Funds, or No Preference. And you can send in your TAFF donations either by PayPal or by sending a check or cash in the mail.

For full details on TAFF including downloadable ballot, the candidates platforms, and the addresses of both administrators, please visit David Langford’s wonderful TAFF website.

Curt Phillips says, “Thank you very much for supporting TAFF. My TAFF trip in 2014 was one of the highlights of my life. Let’s keep the tradition going by giving another fan the chance for world travel as the 2015 TAFF delegate!”

  • Curt Phillips – US Administrator: 19310 Pleasant View Drive, Abingdon, VA  24211. Paypal address: Absarka_prime (at) comcast.net
  • Jim Mowatt – UK Administrator: 273 The Rowans, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6ZA. Paypal address: jim (at) umor.co.uk

 

2014 TAFF Vote Count

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Curt Phillips won the 2014 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund race with a first-round majority. Here is a report from the fund administrators with the ballot count.

THE RESULTS

100 votes were cast in North America and 39 votes in Europe. These raised a total of $1,187.68 in North America and £266 in Europe.

The results of the first-place voting can be seen in the table below. The vote of one fan from the Rest of the World has been folded into the results from North America to preserve the anonymity of the vote.

                                    N. America   Europe   Total

Brad & Cindy Foster                     31        14        45

Curt Phillips                             54        21        75

Randy Smith                               15        2         17

No Preference                            0          2         2

Total                                       100        39        139

The 20% rule meant that each qualifying candidate required at least 20 votes in North America and 7 votes in Europe (‘no preference’ was not included when calculating these numbers).

The list of voters follows the jump.

Update 04/29/2014: Added three names to voter list at request of administrators. Update 05/02/2014: Added another name at their request. Continue reading →

TAFF Platforms Released

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Brad and Cindy Foster, Curt Phillips and Randy Smith are your official Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund candidates in the 2014 race to pick a delegate to Loncon 3. Here are their platforms and nominators —

Brad and Cindy Foster

Why Brad and Cindy? Because they are one mind in two bodies. (They wish they had two minds, but that’s asking too much.) Because between them they have covered almost all the fannish bases. And, because this is probably the only way they will ever get to see London. He draws pictures – lots of them, and has lived the life fannish through zines and locs. (A paper-person.) She has been social (a people-person) through conventions and conversations. He’ll have to look you up in his files to remember which zine you pub, but she’ll remember your name, face, and family history.

Nominators: Mike Glyer (US), Andy Hooper (US), Steven Silver (US), David Langford (UK), Yvonne Rowse (UK).

Curt Phillips

I am a fan. I guess I always have been; I think I always will be. I’ve collected more science fiction than I’ll ever have time to read, but I keep on collecting more. I’ve written for and published fanzines; I’m the OE of FAPA. Have done many other fannish things in my time, both usual and unusual. But I’ve never traveled outside America. I’d very much to meet some of the wonderful fans in the UK and from across Europe as your TAFF delegate, and then come home to write about my adventures for you. Please support TAFF! Vote!

Nominators: Randy Byers (US), Ulrika O’Brien (US), John Purcell (US), Claire Brialey (UK), Pat Charnock (UK).

Randy Smith

Fandom is a conversation that began in the letter columns of the 1920s pulps and now extends around the world. As active participants in that conversation, we can look for new ways to expand, strengthen, and create new and divergent paths of exchange. We truly never know where it will take us. The TAFF delegate to LonCon 3 will be able to contribute in some small and unforeseen ways to that creative conversation. I would be honored if that person were me. I also promise a speedy appearance of my trip report.

Nominators: Christopher J. Garcia (US), Mark Olson (US), Kevin Standlee (US), Colin Harris (UK), Patrick McMurray (UK).

[Thanks to Jim Mowatt for the story.]