International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

After five years of much-appreciated service as FM Division Head, Susan George is stepping aside to allow someone else the opportunity. The IAFA board, on behalf of the entire IAFA community, thanks Susan for the hard work that she has done in this position. Beginning after the conference in March 2009, we will need a new division head for Film & Television.

This is an open call for volunteers interested in being considered for the position. The Division Head is the person who sends out paper calls for his/her Division, collects and accepts paper proposals, creates paper sessions, helps to create panels, and passes the work s/he’s done on to the 1st Vice President for scheduling. This Division is responsible for all aspects of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in film and television. In past conferences, the FM Division has sponsored papers on television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica, and films from every decade, from Hammer horror and Ed Wood science fiction to Gattaca, Grindhouse, and The Day After Tomorrow.

General qualifications include current membership with IAFA (at least a couple of years of experience with the organization and conference attendance so you have some understanding of how things work at the conference), comfort with computers, easy and dependable internet access, organizational skills, the ability to work as part of a group working together on the ‘big picture,’ a willingness to work through the transition with Susan beginning immediately, the ability to attend March conferences while you hold the position and to attend the Division Heads’ meeting run by the 1st VP at the conference, plus, of course, the time required to do the work involved. The most successful division heads also make a point throughout the year of watching for new ways to advertise their divisions and for emerging scholars to approach with calls for papers.

Specific qualifications for the FM Division Head include a comprehensive knowledge of the field, both of primary texts (films and television series focused on science fiction, fantasy, and horror) and of secondary texts (scholarship on these films and series as well as film and television more generally).

Division Heads hold office for a term of 3 years (with a probationary first year) with the possibility of renewal for a second 3-year term.

If you have questions about the position, you can either email Susan or speak with her at the conference in March. To apply for the position, please email both Chrissie Mains, 1st Vice President (cemains AT shaw.ca) and Susan George, outgoing FM Division Head (sageorge13 AT sbcglobal.net) with a brief statement about your interest in and qualifications for the job. The IAFA board of directors will consider all applications for the position.

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2009.

The ballot is now available for the upcoming IAFA election (Second Vice President, Treasurer). It is available from our IAFA website at www.iafa.org.

Nominations for election to the positions 2nd Vice-President and Treasurer of the IAFA are now closed. Below you will find the candidates’ statements. Ballots for these two elections will be made available shortly.

Sydney Duncan’s Candidate Statement for 2nd Vice President

I am interested in the position of Second Vice President of IAFA. I’ve been a member of our organization for about 10 years now, reading fiction and poetry at the conference, serving as panel chair, and presenting papers.

I have stepped in at the last moment at the conference on more than one occasion to moderate panels or host readings when the need arose. I read widely in the field and consider myself a knowledgeable participant in academic and creative conversations on the fantastic. I am dedicated to seeing that the level of creative participation at the conference remains high. I am well-suited to be graduate student liaison, having served for 3 years as the advisor to the English Graduate Organization (over 140 students) when I was at the University of Alabama.

I have excellent computer skills, organizational skills, and a deep commitment to IAFA. I get along well with everyone in the IAFA organizational structure, both past and present. I have excellent relationships with many of the writers who regularly attend the conference and know many more from the convention circuit who are not regular attendees – but might be someday. I am eager to become more involved in IAFA, which I think is growing in new and interesting ways, and I am excited about opportunities to help the organization improve. I am in a secure tenure-track position at Frostburg State University, where service to professional organizations off-campus is considered of great value, so I have solid institutional support to take on the duties of Second Vice President.

I hope the IAFA membership will give me strong consideration as a candidate for Second Vice President.

Sydney Duncan; Assistant Professor of English; Frostburg State University

William Clemente’s Candidate Statement for Treasurer

Serving as Treasurer for the past three years taught me a great deal not only about keeping the records but also about the IAFA. I enjoyed the experience and am happy to run again for the position. I will continue to work hard to ensure accurate and open records of the organization’s accounts.

William Clemente; Professor of English; Peru State College