[Board] Fwd: Re: Would you like to be a Guest of Honor at Penguicon 5?

[Rob Landley]

On Saturday 29 July 2006 8:45 am, Anne KG Murphy wrote:
> cons she goes to) to be a Guest.  Also, though I'm sure Terry was a
> great guest, I am not sure how a strictly fantasy author who doesn't
> have any programming experience or even a blog (though Pierce does
> have an EFF banner on her website) provides us with opportunities to
> play with the crossover idea (sf/open source programming), but I'm
> sure our programming gurus could think of something.

I thought the fact Tamora Pierce co-founded http://www.sheroescentral.com/ 
with Meg Cabot, and personally managed the message boards there until May, 
might be a potential panel about creating and sustaining online communities.  
It was just a thought.

> (I know, last year's author GoHs were also strictly fantasy authors.
> That didn't make sense to me either, and though they were very nice
> people, I didn't feel they were much of a draw - especially since most
> people on the concom didn't know their work and had nothing to say
> about them if asked at room parties or during the convention).

I'm quite happy to leave GoH selection up to you guys from now on.  I've found 
it a bit frustrating the past few years...

> I don't know if that should go hand-in-hand with setting a conchair
> earlier, or what.  The Penguicon GoH selection process has always been
> a bit murky to me.  Do you, the board, take a vote amongst you on
> prospective guests?

The first two years I invited anybody I wanted to until we'd filled up the 
slots, but the con outgrew that.  Since then, it's had to be debated in 
concom meetings.

> do you consult with the prospective conchair? Do 
> you instead authorise the conchair to make decisions in consultation
> with you? do you ask the concom for suggestions so you can find out
> who that group is really excited about?

I've seen all of the above, often at cross-purposes.

> I was not at the meeting but I understand that at a recent concom
> meeting there was some deliberation of whom to invite after Tamora.
> Was that to actually give the concom a vote/choice, or just to get
> their input?
> 
> Recently I've been told there was a decision to invite Elizabeth Bear
> to be a GoH.  I don't know who made that decision, and it is unclear
> to me whether she's being invited in the slot we'd hoped Tamora would
> fill, or if she's being invited instead of Robert Charles Wilson.
> Should we still invite Robert?  (Matt was going to ask John, but I
> haven't heard back yet).

I'm totally out of the loop on all that.

Rob
-- 
Never bet against the cheap plastic solution.