International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

ICFA 41 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” is fast approaching! Do
consider volunteering.

A volunteer team puts the conference on, and you can be part of it.
Volunteering is a great way to meet fellow IAFA members, gaze
awestruck at your favorite author guests, and see what goes on behind
the scenes.

Volunteers help at the registration desk, checking people in and
selling merch; and in the AV area, setting up and troubleshooting
equipment. We also need people to help set out complimentary books at
each table setting before meals. Registration always needs volunteers
on the Tuesday before the conference, to prepare attendee badges.

The draft program is available linked from the org’s home page:
https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/

The volunteer signup form is here: https://forms.gle/w5STMcZonRB8RLB88

Signed-up volunteers receive 10 IAFA Bucks for each hour spent
volunteering. These may be spent on the current year’s meal tickets,
which are sold to volunteers at the cheaper prepaid rate, and/or on
any merch. Or you can save your IAFA Bucks and put them toward next
year’s registration. IAFA Bucks are good for 2 years after earning
them.

REMINDER: We are in late registration right now. Reg blackout is
February 22, so you have to sign up BEFORE that date.

I hope to see you in March!

–Karen Hellekson, IAFA Registrar

Theory Roundtable*, Georges Bataille’s
“Theoretical Introduction” to La part maudite
/ The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy

The IAFA International Fantastic Division is sponsoring a theory roundtable at ICFA #41 on the “Theoretical Introduction” to French philosopher Georges Bataille’s La part maudite / The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy (1967, English trans. 1988), a political-economic book that presents a speculative theory of energy. Sean Singh Matharoo of UC Riverside will serve as facilitator; he plans for the session to proceed as follows:

First, following a short introduction during which Sean will position Bataille in the distinct histories of philosophy and literary studies, he will point out some key passages and terminology—including Bataille’s concepts of waste, “base materialism,” sacrifice, and generosity—which attendees will unpack together.

Second, attendees will explore, and together discuss answers to, these questions:

• To what extent does Bataille’s political economy allow us to confront the unsettling reality that anthropogenic climate change is a universal problem that disproportionately impacts the nonhuman—the opposite of Anthropos, the white European rational human Man?
• Does Bataille’s political economy gift us any tools with which we might transgress the capitalist economy of use and exchange that exploits nonhumans for energy?
• And, finally: How might we return to the study of the fantastic in the arts after reading Bataille in the contexts of anthropogenic climate change and the Anthropocenic energy crisis?

All ICFA #41 registrants are welcome, regardless of theoretical background. Though this article is available without cost online, those who want access to a publisher-approved version for the duration of the conference can visit the secure site https://www.fantastic-arts.org/theory-roundtable-readings/. [IF Division presenters and chairs of IF sessions for ICFA #41, as well as anyone who has presented in IF sessions for the past few ICFAs, are receiving the password to this URL over email, with apologies for cross-posting.]

To get that password (if you are not a current or recent-past IF Division presenter) or ask any other questions about this Roundtable or reading, contact: Sean Singh Matharoo (smath006@ucr.edu).

*As of the 1/25/20 ICFA #41 program draft, this Roundtable is scheduled for session #84 on Fri. 3/20/20, from 8:30-10:00 am, in Vista D (downstairs). However, this date, time, & place might change, so check the latest program draft closer to the conference start time.

THE DAVID G. HARTWELL EMERGING SCHOLAR AWARD
(Originally named the Graduate Student Award, the award was renamed in 2016 to honor the late David. G. Hartwell.)

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts presents an annual award and stipend to the graduate student submitting the most outstanding paper at the Association’s conference. The award, and a check for $250, will be presented to the winner at the Awards Banquet on Saturday evening. Students must submit their completed paper (3500 words, excluding bibliography) and verification of student status by February 1, 2020.

CRITERIA & INSTRUCTIONS

1. The student will have had a paper accepted for presentation at the Conference. The paper submitted for the competition should be essentially the same as that presented at the conference. The maximum length for entries is 3500 words (about 2 pages over the recommended reading length of 8-9 pages). Students should be aware that funds are limited and that only one award will be given. The paper selected will be published in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and therefore must not have been previously published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please note that acceptance of a paper for the Conference does not guarantee an award.

2. It is the responsibility of the student to send a copy of the paper by 1 February 2020 to the 1st
VP Valorie Ebert (iafa.1vp@fantastic-arts.org), as well as a copy of the letter of acceptance and verification of student status. Submissions may be in Word, RTF, or PDF format.

3. The committee is looking for clear, coherent, and interesting writing. Essays should be solidly grounded in scholarly tradition, showing awareness of previous studies and of historical and theoretical contexts. Essays may use any suitable method of analysis, including historical and sociological approaches as well as those that originate in literary theory. Essays will be evaluated for their originality and quality of insight into the text.

The judges for the 2020 award will be:
Dr Mark Bould, UWE, Frenchay Campus
Chrissie Mains, Managing Editor, JFA
Kathryn Hume, Emerita Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English, Penn State University

ICFA 41

When: March 18–21, 2020

Where: Marriott Orlando Airport Hotel, Orlando, Florida, USA

Guest Scholar: Stacy Alaimo, University of Oregon

Guest Author: Jeff VanderMeer

HOTEL UPDATE

Important: Please help the conference by staying when you can at the
conference hotel. The conference receives important perks and
concessions that rely on attendees’ staying in the conference hotel.
Please note that the room rate at the conference hotel is the same
regardless of the number of people who share it.

Info for conference hotel (Saturday and Sunday nights available only;
all else is SOLD OUT): https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Location

Info for overflow conference hotel (Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport, a
short walk from the Marriott, $169 plus tax—higher than the Marriott
but less than the rack rate): Please see the email address associated with your membership for a direct link.

Hotel questions: Contact Jeri Zulli (jerzulli AT live.com), conference director.

THE PROGRAM

Presenters, did your plans change? If you had a paper accepted but you
know you cannot attend, please let your division head know so we can
remove you from the program.

Presenters, did you review the draft program? Division heads have sent
around the draft program to presenters. Please check it for
correctness of name, institution (if relevant), and paper title;
confirm you can make the date and time of your sessions; and check to
ensure you are not double booked. We have a high proportion of
two-person panels this year that we’re keen to consolidate, so if
you’re on a two-person panel, it’s likely your date and time will
change. Corrections are due to the 1VP, Valorie Ebert (iafa.1vp AT
fantastic-arts.org), by January 30, 2020. Read Val’s full note online:
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/icfa-41-presenter-update/

Sched: Our first-time use of the Sched scheduling app last year was so
successful that we are going to use it again—and we will not be
preparing the paper Pocket Program. Full-size souvenir program
booklets featuring fabulous artwork will be available as usual.

VOLUNTEERING

I will email around an invitation to volunteer after the final
schedule is posted online, so people can feel confident in committing
to times. Volunteering is available for registration and AV. I will
need people on Tuesday to help me prep packets and badges, so if your
schedule permits, do please come early and help out.

We pay 10 IAFA Bucks per hour spent volunteering. These may be used
for merch and meal tickets at this year’s convention, or they may be
held and put toward next year’s registration. IAFA Bucks may not be
used for this year’s registration, and they may not be used in the
book room, which is financially independent. Volunteering is a great
way for new attendees and grad students to make connections!

STUDENT CAUCUS AND MENTORING

The purpose of the Student Caucus (SCIAFA) is to foster and promote
growth, scholarship, and fellowship among the student members of the
IAFA and to address the needs of students working in the field of the
fantastic by establishing mentoring and other programs by coordinating
efforts with the main body of the IAFA. If you are a student member of
the IAFA, you are automatically a member of SCIAFA.

The student caucus offers a mentoring program for those who are new to
IAFA. They match up students with a long-standing member of IAFA, who
will orient them and introduce them to people at the conference. To
make the mentoring program successful, we need more mentors.
Interested mentors should email Kylie Korsnack (iafa.studentcaucus2 AT
fantastic-arts.org). Please title your email SCIAFA Mentorship
Program, and in your email, please answer the following questions:

What is your name, email address, and affiliation?
What are your main interests in the field of the fantastic?
What are your arrival and departure dates for the conference?
Are you currently planning to attend the conference reception on
Wednesday evening?*
Which role are you signing up for, mentor or mentee?

*Please inform us if your plans change!

NETWORKING

Conference hashtag: #ICFA41
IAFA Listserv: http://lists.iafa.org/listinfo.cgi/iafa-l-iafa.org
IAFA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasticArts/?fref=ts
IAFA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/iafa_tw?lang=en
Student Caucus (SCIAFA) on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/833849033305627/

WE’VE NOTICED SOME PROBLEMS

We updated our database when we switched from a yearly membership
structure to a calendar year structure. This caused two problems.
First, some first name–last name combos got switched. This has mostly
been corrected, but if you receive a wrongly addressed email, please
let me know the correct name, and I can fix it. Second, the term of
membership is sometimes incorrect. If you notice your term is off by a
year, let me know. I’ve been changing these manually when I notice
them.

Some folks seem to have two accounts registered under different email addresses. I can merge your two
accounts; just tell me the email address you prefer.

If you have any questions or need any help with membership renewal or
registration, please let me know. I’m here to help.

Looking forward to seeing you in March!

Karen Hellekson

IAFA Membership Registrar

https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/

iafareg AT gmail.com

Dear All,

Just a quick note. You should have received a copy of the draft program from your Division Head.

If you could please check the program for the following:

1. Your name, institution, and paper title.

We have tried to make sure that everything is correct, but some formatting errors may have crept in.

2. The time and day of your sessions.

We believe that we have accommodated all the stated scheduling requests that your Division Heads forwarded (and they have already checked for these, but with a program this full, errors may have crept in); however, if there is a conflict or significant issue, please let us know and we will try to accommodate you.

3. Please also check in case you have been “double booked.”

We don’t believe anyone has been double booked, but another pair of eyes doesn’t hurt.

This year we have a number of two-person panels due to certain presenters already emailing to withdraw. We will try to consolidate some of these panels, so if you are in one of these two person sessions please be aware that the times and dates may change as we try to put your paper into a full session. If you are in a two-person session, could you please email your Division Head and the 1st VP (iafa.1vp@fantastic-arts.org), and we will try to organize a full session for you.

If you could please get any responses to us by Thursday, 30th January, we would greatly appreciate it. We should then be able to get the program finalized by Monday, 3rd February. As you can see, the program this year is full of wonderful and interesting sessions. Thank you all for making the conference what it is.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Valorie Ebert
First Vice President, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA.org)

If you’ve signed up for ICFA 41 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” already, and your hotel reservations are solid, thank you! You are all set.

For those of you who have not yet signed up, naturally get on that before late reg begins on January 31 (link: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/registration).

The conference hotel, the Marriott Orlando Airport Lakeside, is almost sold out. If you need to cancel any of your room nights, please pull together the dates and confirmation numbers, and contact Jeri Zulli (jerzulli[at]live.com), the conference director, so she can provide rooms for those hoping to get in.

Likewise, for those of you hoping to get in, please reach out to Jeri directly.

See you in March!

–Karen Hellekson, IAFA Registrar (iafareg[at]gmail.com)