Wheeeeee! World Fantasy Convention, Here I Come

Okay, holy cow, the Nebulas were a blast but also a giddy whirl. Here’s some highlights. (Sundry advice piece #1: It’s good to do these, not just because it makes you remember some of the things you should be following through on, but because it lets you acknowledge some folks and maybe build some ties.)

Starting the Nebula Weekend Off, or Friday Begins on Wednesday

Wednesday I flew in and lucked out: Kate Baker, SFWA’s awesome Operations Director, and I arrived around the same time, so we shared a taxi in. That was an experience in and of itself — the driver driving on the shoulder of the road, more than once, while Tagore songs blasted us and we shouted conversation over the roar of the wind through the window I couldn’t roll up. We arrived at the Palmer House unscathed.

Thursday I spent the day in the SFWA board meeting. We have board meetings face to face twice a year as well as the ongoing session on the discussion boards and assorted video calls. The board meetings are a nice chance to talk out stuff quickly, so we covered a wide range of things. I have a certain impatience with meetings engrained from years in academia and the corporate world, but Kate Baker had arranged to have enough coffee and food there to sustain us, and there are definitely worse people to be stuck in a room all day with. 😉

Alinea and the Meal of a Lifetime

If you are not interested in food, I suggest skipping ahead to the next section.

I’d been told it would be like having dinner in a Jack Vance novel and aside from a general lack of IUON stones, this was pretty close.

That evening I went off to Alinea, along with Scott Edelman (the party organizer), Ellen Datlow, Barry Goldblatt, Sam Miller Jr. and Sheila Williams. I have never had a meal as beautifully composed and choreographed. Here are some pics. The overall meal was fourteen courses and took four hours, which passed with amazing speed.

Here are the pictures:

Here’s Scott’s account of the evening, with more details.

Back to Reality, Whoops There Goes Gravity

Wayne arrived late that evening. The next morning I headed off to programming and he went for his own Edelman adventure, accompanying Scott for doughnuts (it was National Doughnut Day). (Advice: always say yes if Scott asks you to eat with him.)

My first panel was SFWA Through the Years, along with past and current SFWA presidents Greg Bear, Michael Capobianco, Russell Davis, and Steven Gould. Mainly I just shut up and listened; the more of SFWA’s convoluted history I know, the better. 😉

At 2:30 PM I was on the Diversifying Your Income Stream, along with Eric Flint (who I had never met before but am a longtime fan of), Mary Anne Mohanraj, and Steven Gould. I mainly talked about Patreon and teaching; Eric and Steven also talked about e-publishing one’s backlist, selling film and game rights, and writing nonfiction. I was sorry to miss the What SFWA Can Do For You panel that was going on at the same time with Kate Baker, Lee Martindale, Sarah Pinsker, and Bud Sparhawk — any chance someone taped it?

Chris Kluwe, one of our special guests, arrived in time to hang with Wayne at the reception while I wandered around a bit. The reception was up on the mezzanine, which wrapped around a large open space, If you headed down the hallways, there were lots of tables with local F&SF and/or writing organizations, and I tried to stop by all of them. That was handy, since I’ll be back in the area in October, and I talked to Tina Jens of Gumbo Fiction Salon about coming to read next time I’m in the area. Here’s Catherine Lundoff’s recounting of our encounter.

After that we headed off to the mass autographing. I had Matthew Johnson on one side and Bruce Holmes on the other, and also got a chance to chat with some folks here and there. WordFire Press had sent along some copies of Beasts of Tabat (Newer writers, this is one way a press shows they believe not just in your book but your career with them, and it is deeply appreciated) so there were some books to sign, along with a number of copies of the SFWA Cookbook.

Speaking of which, it was a big hit! It made a nice way to collect autographs, particularly with Larry Niven, our new grandmaster, having provided his instructions for running a coffee bar at a convention. We’ve sold a number of copies (Connie Willis bought 5!), and may end up doing another print run past our original 1000 copies. All proceeds go to benefit SFWA’s Legal Fund. You can still order it online. (Contributors, I am mailing you in the next couple of days about your copies, which should go out at the end of the month.) Fran Wilde remains the rockingest co-editor a woman could wish for.

Saturday morning I got early to met with Beth Gwinn to take a photo, which we staged on an odd and leathery green sofa in one of the Palmer House antechambers. Afterwards I went to the SFWA business meeting. I had to laugh – several of us arrived a half hour early just to make sure everything was set up, which we hadn’t coordinated. Despite a slight delay with the food, we got started on time, and it felt like a good meeting, which people were interested in and enthusiastic about the organization’s direction.

Right after that Steven Gould and I headed up to meet with Todd Vandemark, our videographer, to be interviewed. Todd did a number of interviews throughout the course of the weekend; you’ll be able to find them on our Youtube channel, where we’ll be releasing one every few weeks.

Banquet Highlights

Man, this was a giddy blur. I thought it was a great job overall. Next year’s banquet space is a bit larger and even swanker, so that will be fun. That said, here are some moments that stand out.

• The opening video by Kate Baker, showing faces of so many friends, was a great way to start, and got everyone fired up. It was a beautiful job, and though it glitched briefly, the unexpected pause froze on Stanley Schmidt’s face, which surely was one of the most appropriate possible places.
• Seeing how glittery everyone was. Everyone cleans up pretty darn nicely, and Aliette de Bodard, Scott Edelman, Nancy Kress, Jack McDevitt, Valerie Schoen, Alyssa Wong were all rocking the house with their outfits. I’d been setting aside particularly glittery thrift store finds for the past year and all three dresses were a hit, but I saved the best for the banquet, and was pleased with the results, plus it was beautiful with the beaded jewelry that Sarah Hendrix made.
• Seeing student and friend Usman Malik on the ballot for his excellent story, although everyone was a tremendous pleasure. Ursula Vernon’s acceptance made me a little weepy
• Our toastmaster Nick Offerman introducing me as “And now, a small domestic animal who shoots down helicopters with a bow and arrow…. Cat Rambo!” as well as when he told Steven Silver, “You’ve come at the right time. They just took away your salad and brought your steak.”
• Watching actual teens present the Norton Award (the panel where teens talked about their reading was also a big hit, according to an attendee I talked to).
• Being able to present the Solstice Award to Joanna Russ, accepted by Mary Anne Mohanraj. Russ is one of the reasons I write speculative fiction, but she’s also shaped my worldview. This made me happy.
• Watching Joe Monti unveil the lovely new award medallions to go on books from Nebula and Norton nominees.

Nebula Aftermath

Sunday morning I got up early to have breakfast with Rachel Swirsky, but things got derailed, as is the nature of conventions. (Another lesson for new con-goers: it is essential to go with the flow.) After that I headed down to the volunteer breakfast, which for me was one of the most important parts of the weekend. Heather McDougal made some very cool certificates of appreciation (volunteers who weren’t there, we’ll be sending them out next month). Two volunteers we particularly wanted to remember were Eugie Foster and Peggy Rae Sapienza, both of whom passed in the last year and were terrific members of the community. Matthew Foster accepted Eugie’s award as well as one of the commemorative coins as a special thank you.

My first panel was SFWA’s Next Fifty Years “” A forum of SFWA members discuss the next fifty years for sf writing, including new technologies and publishing methods, and how they will affect the future of publishing and SFWA, with Steven Gould and Bud Sparhawk. We talked some about what we hoped to see down the line, about things like preserving institutional memory better and implementing project management software to track our efforts.

My last panel was on mentoring with Daryl Gregory and Steve Gould, who we’d drafted in Jack McDevitt’s place. There was a single audience member, Mary Mascari, so we moved to adjourn to the bar, where Chuck Gannon, Nancy Kress, Jack Skillingstead, and Bud Sparhawk joined us to add their advice. The rest of Sunday evening was decompressing a bit, and drinking enough wine to be ready to go upstairs and take a long-anticipated hot bath with my bookbag treasures. One very cool thing in the bags were the lovely trading cards created by publisher Walter Day.

Over the course of the weekend I got good time to talk with a lot of SFWA staff and volunteers, including Kate Baker, Michael Capobianco, Neil Clarke, Russell Davis, Cynthia Felice, Jim Fiscus, Matthew Foster, Jim Johnson, Derek Kunsken, Terra LeMay, Sarah Pinsker, Steven Silver, Bud Sparhawk, Rachel Swirsky, Jeremy Tolbert

Monday morning Steven H. Silver led Kate Baker, Michael Capobianco, Jaym Gates, and myself out for a tasty breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, complete with beignets and prunes.

I headed out early on Monday morning and my last goodbye of the con was to Larry Niven, who was sitting waiting for someone to bring his luggage down. I conveyed my good wishes and it was a really nice way to end a fabulous weekend.

I don’t think I can possibly come close to mentioning everyone I talked to, but I remember some conversations with particular fondness, including words with John Joseph Adams, Astrid and Greg Bear, Catherine Brennan, Amanda Bridges, James Brown, Karl Dandenell, Sherri Davis, Beth Dawkins, Aliette de Bodard, Phyllis Eisenstein, Eric Flint, Esther Friesner, Megan Gillis, Gay and Joe Haldeman, Randy Kaempen, William Lawhorn, Ann Leckie, Catherine Lundoff, Carmen Machado, Jack McDevitt, Laura Mixon, Francesca Myman, Lettie Prell, Arley Sorg (thank you for the wine!), Caitlin, Lynne, and Michael Thomas, Liza Groen Trombi, Ursula and Kevin Vernon, LaShawn Wanak, Jacob and Rina Weisman, Connie Willis, and Christie Yant. To the people I have (inevitably) missed, my apologies and assurance that it is not due to a lack of regard, but simply my sieve-like memory.

Last piece of advice: Michael Stackpole told me this once, and it is so good to remember. For writers, these are working weekends. Don’t treat it like a vacation, but take a little time to rest the day after.

Here are Ellen Datlow’s photos from the weekend.

Now I’m finishing up a write-up for the SFWA Forum about all our volunteer efforts. With the Nebula Awards Weekend is over, there will be some new projects coming down the pike and VP-elect M.C.A. Hogarth and I have already been talking and getting our plans aligned. First off, though, I’m going to spend a little time with my godkids at the end of the month, then in July/August, I’m housesitting for a friend and finishing up Hearts of Tabat (with a brief break midway for Gencon!),

This morning the question was raised for me as to whether or not SFWA will hold a business meeting at World Fantasy if they do not produce a policy for handling harassment that matches up with the SFWA guidelines. (I myself am not attending WFC this year for reasons that have no connection to any of this; Susan Forest, the current SFWA Secretary, will be running the meeting if it is held.)

There’s been a lot of controversy about the current WFC policy and my understanding is that they are looking at amending it right now. So my answer depends very much on how it’s amended, actually. If the policy doesn’t match up with ours sufficiently to keep SFWA members and their families able to enjoy the convention and participate freely, we may not have the business meeting. That remains to be seen.

The SFWA guidelines, which have been around since 2011, are here. I’m not part of the group that produced them, but I’d like to go through and explain why I find ours adequate in a way the existing WFC policy is not.

Introduction

SFWA sponsors or hosts discussion forums, publications, the SFWA website, the Nebula Awards Weekend, the SFWA suite and other programs and activities (the “Venues”). SFWA is dedicated to assuring that the use of and access to the Venues by SFWA members is free of all forms of harassment, intimidation and discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital/domestic partnership status, or citizenship.

SFWA’s concern here is SFWA space at the convention. We hope to lead by example, not to try to police conventions (a pretty futile task, imo), in order to make sure our spaces are open and free of harassment or intimidation for all parties — not just members, but potential members, member friends and family, etc.

This Policy is applicable to members of the SFWA Community that participate in the Venues. The SFWA Community is comprised of SFWA staff, employees, officers, members, and non-member guests. This Policy helps to promote the realization of SFWA’s mission to inform, support, promote, defend and advocate for our members. This Policy is procedurally separate and distinct from SFWA’s employment-related policies.

Basically if you’re in SFWA space, physical or virtual, these guidelines apply to you.

Definitions

Sexual harassment proscribed by this Policy includes (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical, verbal or written conduct of a sexual nature, and (2) creating an intimidating, hostile, or sexually offensive environment by severe or pervasive conduct. Written conduct includes postings or similar conduct in online or electronic venues. Sexual harassment may occur in hierarchical relationships or between peers, and between persons of the same sex or opposite sex.

The standard counterargument to erect (hee) here is that some cultures/people find sexual advances common, and how do you know advances are welcome OMG you are killing flirtation all hail the jackbooted thugs of sexless oppression. But since if you look a little later in the doc, the first thing to do in response is to tell the advancer that what they’re doing isn’t welcome, you would have to be attaching “even when presented with a firm no” to the “how can I tell that my advances aren’t welcome” question, that all seems moot.

A hostile environment can be created by, among other things, unwanted jokes, gestures, and unwelcome comments and repartee; touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching, rubbing, or patting a person’s back, backside, or chest, grabbing another person around the waist, or deliberately interfering with a person’s ability to move, or written conduct referring to same; repeated requests for dates or sex that are turned down, or other unwanted flirting, and transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other harassment-related nature.

See usual straw crowd, who are huffed and puffed away by the strong wind of “severe or pervasive conduct,” at least in my opinion. But I also believe common sense is a basic human trait, despite being proven wrong on a daily basis.

With regard to access to or use of the Venues, discrimination or harassment that is based on race, age, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital/domestic partnership status, or citizenship, is also prohibited by this Policy.

This Policy is implicated when the harassment, intimidation or discrimination is sufficiently severe or pervasive to deny or limit a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from SFWA’s Venues. It is not necessary that the harassment, intimidation or discrimination have been directed specifically at any complaining party.

Still seems reasonable to me. But it’s also a policy that depends on people letting us know when their ability to participate or benefit is being infringed on, which is one reason I’m grateful to the SFWA member whose letter about this I received this morning.

Free Speech and Artistic Freedom

As participants in creative industry, most members of the SFWA Community are particularly cognizant of the free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section I of the California Constitution. Moreover, SFWA itself is organized around the principles of free inquiry and the collective search for knowledge, and views creative freedom as a special area of protected speech. However, freedom of speech and artistic and creative freedom are not limitless and do not protect speech or expressive conduct that violates federal, state law, or SFWA’s properly adopted policies.

The purpose of this Policy is intended to discourage harassment, intimidation and discrimination in SFWA Venues, in a manner that is consistent with SFWA’s organizational principles. Therefore, this Policy shall be implemented in a manner that recognizes the importance of the freedom of speech and expression: no provision of this Policy shall be interpreted to prohibit conduct that is legitimately related to fiction, teaching methods, or public commentary of an individual member or the educational, political, artistic, or literary expression of members in fiction and public Venues.

Again reasonable. SFWA has no interest in taking care of things that are outside its proper bounds. We are concerned with SFWA venues and hope that other organizations will see fit to follow our example. We’ve tried to make that as easy as possible by making them easily available on our website.

Reporting Procedures

The first step of a person who believes that there has been a violation of this Policy should be to communicate calmly with the individual engaging in the offensive behavior and tell him or her that you find his or her behavior to be inappropriate and request that it cease.

If such behavior does not immediately cease, or if direct communication is insufficient or uncomfortable, the behavior may be reported to the SFWA Ombudsman, the SFWA President or SFWA Event Organizer. Such report should include the substance of the complaint, date(s), a list of witnesses and/or, when appropriate, reference URLs. In addition to notifying the individuals identified above, a complainant may also request assistance from any SFWA officer, employee or volunteer.

I do know that sometimes it’s uncomfortable to tell someone to back off. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s also necessary as part of human to human interaction, and if a fellow human reacts inappropriately to being told to back off, any of us will step in and have your back.

Non-Retaliation

This Policy prohibits retaliation against a member of the SFWA Community for reporting harassment, intimidation or discrimination and for participating in an investigation relating to same. The sanctions for Retaliation are the same sanctions available to address any other violation of this Policy.

It’s important to let people have a mechanism for reporting harassment that they feel they can use.

False Allegations

It is a violation of this Policy for a member of the SFWA Community to knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth make false claim of harassment, intimidation or discrimination. Failure to prove a claim of unlawful harassment is not, by itself, equivalent to a false claim.

Using harassment claims to harass or intimidate someone is serious stuff.

Sanctions for Violation Of Policy

Harassment, intimidation and discrimination in violation of this Policy is materially and seriously prejudicial to the purposes and interests of SFWA. When it has been determined that a violation of this Policy has occurred, the SFWA Board Of Directors will determine, in its sole discretion, the appropriate sanction.

Decisions are up to the overall SFWA board, not a specific person.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the SFWA President may take or direct to be taken any temporary action appropriate to protect the purposes and interests of SFWA, including warning or alerting the offending party as to the nature of the offense, removal of either the complainant and/or the accused harasser from the SFWA Discussion Boards where the harassment or discriminatory conduct occurred, or otherwise diffusing the situation to protect both the participants and others in SFWA space from further harm or unpleasantness. Should such action be taken, a detailed report of the incident should be submitted to the rest of the Board so it can consider taking further action in the matter.

I’ve got some personal responsibility here, which I take pretty seriously.

Should conduct believed to be in violation of this Policy occur at a physical venue (the Nebula Weekend, SFWA suite, meeting, or other event) the SFWA Board member, employee, or volunteer in charge of the event at the time of the conduct may take reasonable action to stop the apparent harassment and ensure the safety of persons at the event. Reasonable action may include, but not be limited to, verbal notification to the individual that the behavior believed to be in violation of this Policy should be discontinued immediately, and/or removal of the individual from the immediate area. If action is taken, the person taking the action shall deliver a written report on the event incident (including a detailed narrative of the incident and the names of all persons involved and of any witnesses) to the Ombudsman and/or the SFWA President, who shall submit the report to the Board so it can consider taking further action in the matter.

No matter what happens, there must be a written report made to the Board.

The SFWA Board of Directors is responsible for the implementation of this Policy and the administration of the associated procedures. Upon receiving a report of a violation of this Policy, the SFWA Ombudsman or the SFWA President, as the case may be, shall provide formal notice (the “Notice”) of such conduct to the Board. As supplements or alternatives to the sanctions of suspension or expulsion, the Board may also take one or more of the following non-exclusive actions:

• Warning one or more parties involved that specified behavior is inappropriate
• Requiring a formal apology on behalf of the complainant(s)
• Removing access to SFWA spaces or Venues on a temporary or permanent basis
• Barring a non-member from future membership
• Removal of a director from the board of directors (As per Article V, Section 5, Subsection c of SFWA Bylaws: Removal of a Director by the Board)

If the Board concludes that the behavior is sufficiently egregious to warrant suspension or expulsion, the procedures relative to the Notice and the Board’s action thereon shall be those procedures set out in SFWA’s Operating Policies and Procedures Manual (“OPPM”), “Procedures For Suspension and Expulsion Of Members”. The Board may pursue an investigation in cases when the complainant is reluctant to proceed.

What the Board can do. I note that challenging the offending party to a duel seems to have been left off the list. The Procedures for Suspension and Expulsion are long and rigorous, and my hope is to never see them invoked on these grounds.

Confidentiality

The SFWA Board of Directors will make every reasonable effort to conduct all investigations into allegations of harassment, intimidation or discrimination in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of all parties. Notwithstanding the above, confidentiality is not absolute, and those with a legitimate business reason to know and to be informed of the allegations will be so informed. Parties to the complaint should treat the matter under investigation with discretion and respect for the reputation of all parties involved.

This seems unobjectionable, except for the lack of an Oxford comma.

Conclusions? Harassment policies are definitely something SFWA should pay attention to, both in making sure our own is workable and useful as well as encouraging other institutions to do the same. We need to make sure that SFWA events fall under our own guidelines and that we communicate those guidelines clearly to participants. It’s my hope that WFC will feel free to draw upon the SFWA guidelines in creating ones that make the convention accessible to all participants.