I Am Running For SFWA President (Again) (Again)

It’s come round that time when the Election Committee of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America makes its call for candidates to serve on our board. I have decided to step forward once more (last, last very last time I swear) as a candidate for President, a position to which I was first elected in 2010. I had originally intended to step down at the end of this term, but on reflection decided there were still some things I wanted to accomplish in the role, and it made sense to try them over the course of an additional year. Whether I get that year will be up to SFWA members, of course; they may be tired of me and my management style. In which case I hope they elect someone else, rather than, say, stabbing me Caesar-style at the Nebula Awards. Please, SFWA members: No stabbing. That’s pointy and hurts.

If you are a SFWA member, you may read my candidacy letter and platform in the SFWA Elections Forum. For everyone else, to summarize, my platform this year focuses on threading the needle of creator rights in the electronic age, taking advantage of SFWA’s imminent incorporation in California to fundraise, particularly for our medical and legal funds, and to use new ideas to promote the literature of science fiction and fantasy. And since last year’s VOLCANO-POWERED LASER was completed and deployed (bwa ha ha ha ha HAH ha), I will this year work on bulking up on SFWA’s corps of HYPER-INTELLIGENT WERE-BADGERS, who will come in the night against all those who would try to mess with our members’ livelihoods. That’s right, were-badgers. You think you’re ready to fight a were-badger. But really, you are not. You’re just not.

Let me also take a moment to note to the SFWA members among you that you may wish to consider to run for office as well, even for the position of President. There are five positions up for election: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Western Regional Director. SFWA does good work for its members and for writers, but that work is dependent on the service of volunteers, including board members. It’s entirely possible to serve on SFWA’s board and maintain an active career — I’ve written two books while serving on the board (and am working on one now) and will have released three by June 30. Serving on the board is work, but it’s not all-consuming. Think about what SFWA does for you, and then ask if it’s time for you to do for SFWA. Here’s the call for candidates, in SFWA’s forums. Give it some thought, please.

44 Comments on “I Am Running For SFWA President (Again) (Again)”

  1. On this blog I will probably only be the tenth commenter to point it out by the time I hit “post”, but the candidacy letter link points to the poster image.

  2. “I have decided to step forward once more (last, last very last time I swear) as a candidate for President, a position to which I was first elected in 2010. I had originally intended to step down at the end of this term, but on reflection decided there were still some things I wanted to accomplish in the role…”

    John Scalzi: The 21st Century FDR.

  3. I just want to endorse Candidate Scalzi.

    And remind SFWA members that I’m not running again because I’ve been on the board for four years already. Who’s stepping up to be VP?

  4. I think the only way you could get stabbed at the Nebulas would be if someone brought along an Aurora award, so avoid the Canadian authors and you should be okay.

  5. As a point of curiosity and self-defense, are the were-badgers hyper-intelligent humans who become badgers under the full moon? Or hyper-intelligent badgers what become … something else … under the full moon. Because it really could go either way.

  6. I have to say that I think the Hugo rocket is a much better award to use as an assassination weapon. So pointy, So good for stabbing. Of course the Crime Writers Association in the UK have the various Dagger awards, but that just seems too easy. Everyone would guess the crime writer with a dagger did it. But the SciFi guy with the bloody rocket- no way. Col. Mustard killed in the Library with a Hugo.

  7. Which Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame or perhaps Les Misérables‎?

    Unless otherwise specified a were should transform from a human into a foo.

    Have we already forgotten the Flying Monkey Lawyers?

  8. Oops, I used brackets which were interpreted as a tag.

    a were-foo should transform from a human into a foo.

  9. volcano-powered lasers and hyper-intelligent were-badgers are all very well for fighting off internet piracy and over-zelaous, short-sighted politicians, but where are our secret decoder rings?

  10. John, who told you the plans for the Friday night entertainment at this year’s Nebula Weekend. Now we have to come up with something different. And Joe Haldeman had been practicing his best Cassius, too.

    What do you think of Benito Mussolini…

  11. Regarding the Volcano-powered laser I would like to draw your attention the as yet unpaid invoice, and to your failure to release Dr. Technical’s beautiful daughter as per paragraph 13.

  12. What would be even better is if the were-badgers were were-honey badgers. You got a were-honey badger chasing you, you might as well just put a gun to your head right now. Try to run, you’ll just die tired.

  13. You didn’t start campaigning two years ago? I’m not convinced it’s a real election…

    And like Bearpaw said, where’s the attack ads and empty promises. Blood! Show us bloodsport!

    Years of U.S. elections have left me hallow and thirty for character assassination :(

  14. Are the were-badgers reflective, so as to survive friendly fire from the volcano lasers? Or just very, very fast?

    Also, Caesar. Amazed nobody’s caught that yet.

  15. I am pleased to hear this. As I told you the other day, I think you’ve done a rather good job.

  16. I think it was a mistake to announce about the were-badgers in public. It gives the enemy time to breed some were-dachshunds.

  17. So, what can you promise to top Newt’s Moonbase then? (N.B. By the end of his second term, just imagine what he’s got up his sleeve for his third!) Hint – everyone’s still waitin’ for those flying cars…

  18. Ah-hah! So, you will have plenty of time to raise the profile of the Andre Norton award. I’m so glad you’re going to go for another round.

  19. I feel pity for your were-badgers when they stumble into my truculent-slime-mold minefield. Mayhem WILL ensue.

  20. Not having any exposure to the organization or the inner workings of it, what have you accomplished during your previous assignments and what are the remaining things to accomplish? I am not trying to cause trouble rather really understand what they do and how you have impacted it.

  21. WonderOfItAll:

    As noted, my candidacy statement and platform are visible to SFWA members at the link in the entry. I did briefly elsewise summarize what I want to do in the entry.

    To learn more about SFWA itself, feel free to visit the public Web site, at SWFA.org.

  22. See, now I have an idea for a skit at WorldCon where other SFWA members surround you with toy lightsabers and (pretend to?) stab you. The classics never die!

    But were-badgers sound really cool. I hope you win.

  23. @Pj Ross: it is a little known fact that were-badgers are terrified of truculent slime-molds. The problem comes in transporting self-same slime molds in that they don’t wish to be moved and are well… rather “truculent” about relocation. However, after moving, they do settle in and become very good anti were-badger guards.

  24. As Mary already did above, I give my endorsement to Candidate Scalzi. No one else could possibly see the Were-Badger program through to completion.

    Likewise, I reiterate the call for candidates to step into those other positions; the field is embarrassingly bereft at the moment. (And before anyone gets any bright ideas, you need to be either an Active or Lifetime Active member in order to run for office. So to answer anyone who was gonna ask why I don’t take one for the team, it’s because I ain’t eligible yet.)

  25. It sounds like its hard to even get people to run for office. I can understand that. Writers are all self employed and most do not make a lot of money. When they spend time on this, they are not spending time earning a living for their family. I get the impression that writers work an awful lot of hours already.

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