Readercon 21

Additional Information

Publications

Readercon members receive two original publications: a Program Guide and a Souvenir Book. We were the con that pioneered their separation—the Program Guide is for use at the con, the Souvenir Book is for reading afterwards.

Our Program Guide runs 50 pages. In it you'll find the full conference schedule with full descriptions of every program item (including names and brief descriptions of stories being read) and an index of each participant's appearances. In the back are the patented Readercon bio-bibs: mini-bibliographies of every participant. The last two pages show the whole program in table form; for those who prefer to travel light, we provide this as a separate handout as well.

Our Souvenir Book typically runs 60 pages, nearly all of which are devoted to our Guests of Honor (and to last year's Cordwainer Smith Award winner). This is in fact more pages than the typical Worldcon devotes to their guests! You'll find appreciations by friends and colleagues, literary analyses, works by the guests themselves (either original, or reprints of the obscure and cool) and comprehensive bibliographies.

See below if you want to advertise in the Souvenir Book.

Parties

We encourage open parties, however, parties in a room not in the party block will be shut down. If you are planning to host a party at Readercon, please contact us so that we may book your room in the party block. If you are interested in using a suite for a party Friday or Saturday night, please contact us. Open parties (parties with an open invitation to all attendees and with an open door) may not serve alcohol. Closed parties (parties by invitation only and with a closed door) must make alcohol service arrangements with the hotel.

Con Suite

The Con Suite is Readercon’s own party, where you’ll find munchies both nutritious and non-, and people to talk to (there is a causal relationship here). We try to keep it open during all convention hours (with a little help from volunteers).

Advertising

The Readercon 21 Souvenir Book will contain original and reprint material by and about this year’s guests. If you want to place an ad, please contact us for details.

The Souvenir Book will be perfect-bound, printed on heavy flat stock, and trimmed to 8 1/2 by 11 inches. We are planning a two-color cover, and both inside covers are available for ads. Interior ads will be black & white.

Ad copy should be received by May 15, 2010 at the latest. We would prefer electronic copy: PDF files via email or on a CD-ROM.

Special printing needs (bleeds and color) are extra. Bleeds are only available on full-page advertisements. Readercon retains the right to review all ads for suitability. Ad material will only be printed in the souvenir book for which it is contracted.

Semi-pro rates are reserved for magazines, small presses, dealers at Readercon, and artists (not agents); if you are unsure which rates apply to you, please contact us.

Size Image Area Pro Semi-Pro Fan
Full Page 10" x 7.5" $300 $175 $80
Half Page (wide) 5" x 7.5" $250 $100 $50
Half Page (tall) 10" x 3.75" $250 $100 $50
Quarter Page (box) 5" x 3.75" $175 $75 $35
Quarter Page (strip) 2.5" x 7.5" $175 $75 $35
Center Spread (2 pages) 10" x 7.5" $500 — —
Full Page (inside cover) 10" x 7.5" $350 — —

All prices in US dollars, payable to Readercon, Inc. by check, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover. Purchase orders are accepted by prior arrangement.

Charities

Paul Williams Could Use Your Help

Paul Williams, who has made enormous contributions both to the SF field (as founder of the Philip K. Dick Society and Dick's literary executor, also as the editor of the definitive collections of Theodore Sturgeon's short stories) and pop culture in general (Crawdaddy! magazine, which he founded in 1965, was the birthplace of serious rock criticism), is suffering from the early onset of dementia related to a traumatic brain injury suffered in 1995. He now requires full-time care, a huge financial burden for his loved ones due to lack of health insurance. Many of our lives would be the lesser without his work, and he and his family (his wife Cindy Lee Berryhill and son Alexander) could really use our help at this time. Please consider making a donation at:
http://www.paulwilliams.com/donations.html
or simply learn more about him at:
http://www.paulwilliams.com/

Heinlein Society Blood Drive

So glad to return to Readercon! We had a great time last year, and impressed Massachusetts General Hospital with our turnout at this critical time of year. Donors tend to be scarce during holiday travel times, so all of you who donated really came through for patients in need. Thank you! If you would like to make an appointment in advance to donate blood, please write to jcfh AT alum.mit.edu or call John Hodges, the Heinlein Society volunteer organizing the drive on our behalf, at 617-943-4399. Donors will be scheduled in pairs every ten minutes from 10 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, 7/10/10. Walk-ins will be welcome, too, first come, first served, and will be fitted into this paced appointment schedule. This allows the MGH staff to have a chance to meet their guarantee of a 1/2 hour turnaround time for donors.

The Heinlein Society exists to preserve the legacy renowned writer Robert Anson Heinlein left us in novels, essays, speeches, and short stories. The volunteers of the society "Pay it forward," Heinlein's oft-expressed phrase, since we can never pay back the riches he shared with us. If you've ever considered donating blood, please take this opportunity. If you've ever enjoyed the Grand Master's work, thank him by paying it forward in a way he would have deeply appreciated. Mr. Heinlein traveled extensively to promote this important cause and frequently donated himself. He organized the first blood drive at an SF convention at the 1976 Worldcon and designed a pin for donors in appreciation. Donors at the Readercon drive will receive pins of this same design and our thanks.

Volunteers to help out as recruiters and to help donors have a great experience are also very welcome and encouraged to contact John directly if you'd like to help out. Thanks!

Bone Marrow Registry Drive

This summer at Readercon, representatives of the Caitlin Raymond International Registry will be running an information table and registry drive. Registration itself is simple and painless: all you have to do is swab your cheek and fill out a form. To register you must be between the ages of 16 and 60 and in general good health.

More than 35,000 patients per year, many of them children, are diagnosed with diseases treatable by marrow or stem cell transplant. These diseases include leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers and genetic diseases.

Many people do not consider donating because they may not know they can help, but also because they have misconceptions about the donation process. The drive is a great venue for getting your questions answered.

When someone needs a bone marrow transplant and none of their family members are a match, the registry searches for a donor whose tissue type profile is compatible. 70% of people requiring a transplant need an unrelated donor.

A person looking for a stem cell match may find one potential donor in a pool of 20,000, or 1,000,000, or more. The most likely match for someone is a person of the same or a similar ethnic background. No one is guaranteed a match, regardless of background, but ethnic minorities are especially underrepresented and patients have even less chance of finding a matching donor.

Then they have to hope that person is on the registry. You might be the match necessary to save a life.

Legislators in several states have passed laws that make it mandatory for most insurance companies operating in these states to pay the cost of your registration. Please bring your health insurance card with you.

For more information on the importance of registering and the donation process, please visit crir.org. The inspiration for this drive is the thousands of people who are waiting on any given day for a donor. One of them was Emru Townsend, a fan and critic. Instead of writing about animation, comics, and technology, last year he spent his time writing about how people could save his life, or that of someone just like him at www.healemru.com. This drive is in his memory.

Tiptree Bake Sale

Readercon has been proud to host a James Tiptree, Jr. bake sale for many years, to support this fine award.

This year, the Tiptree Bake Sale will be on Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM (or until we sell all the food). It will be located in the coat room across from the Grand Ballroom, in the corner near the restrooms. If you are interested in donating home-baked goodies at Readercon, or if you would like to volunteer to help with the bake sale, please contact us.

Learn more about the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, or maybe hold a bake sale of your own!

Policies

General Policies

  • No smoking in programming areas or the Bookshop, by state law and hotel policy.
  • No eating or drinking by customers in the Bookshop.
  • Cell phones must be set to silent or vibrate mode in panel discussion rooms
  • Only service animals in convention areas.
  • No weapons in convention areas.
  • Young children who are always with an adult are admitted free; others need a membership, see below.
  • Any disruptive or inappropriate behavior may lead to being asked to leave the convention.
  • Readercon reserves the right to revoke membership at any time for any reason. No refunds will be given.
  • Readercon reserves the right to refuse membership.

Harassment

Readercon has always had a zero-tolerance harassment policy. Until last year, we did not feel it necessary to call attendees' attention to the details of this policy — but this year we are being explicit.

Harassment of any kind — including physical assault, battery, deliberate intimidation, stalking, or unwelcome physical attentions — will not be tolerated at Readercon and will result in permanent suspension of membership.

As always, Readercon reserves the right to strip membership at its discretion.

Children Attending Readercon

There will be no child care provided at Readercon for 2010.

Children under the age of 15 who will be staying with a parent at all times receive a free membership, a ReaderKids In Tow badge, and no conference materials. The badge must have the Readercon attending parent's name on the front of the badge and contact info on the back. This free badge must be worn at all times while on hotel grounds.

Children under the age of 12 may not be left unattended in any convention area or public hotel space.

If we see a child who is being disruptive, or seems to need a parent and has no parent around, we will try to contact the parent. If we cannot contact the parent within 15 minutes, we will contact hotel security and ask them to assume supervision of the child.

Any disruptive or inappropriate behavior may lead to being asked to leave the convention. Readercon reserves the right to revoke membership at any time for any reason. No refunds will be given.

This policy has been established for the folowing reasons:

  • Liability issues raised by the hotel due to unattended children left to play in hotel common areas and the pool area.
  • Liability issues raised by Readercon for the same reasons, as well as for the comfort of all attendees.
  • Liability issue of minor children left at Readercon without a parent or appointed guardian on hotel premises. Note that these children may be held by hotel security, the Department of Social Services contacted, and the child turned over to its care.
  • It’s all about safety. We want our children to be safe, and we want yours to be as well.

Accessibility

We are committed to making Readercon accessible to everyone.

  • All the programming takes place on the ground floor of the convention hotel, and the conference rooms are quite close together, joined by wide hallways. The green room is also on the ground floor, as are the hotel restaurants and the restrooms. The consuite is easily reachable by elevator.
  • Each conference room will have a wide aisle and taped-off space reserved for scooter and wheelchair parking.
  • Unfortunately, we are unable to provide ramps to the stage in the two large rooms; however, the smaller rooms have plenty of space behind the participants' tables. If you are a program participant, please email program@readercon.org with any requests for specific accommodations.
  • Word and Excel versions of our Program Guide and Program Grid will be available for download on the Program page a week before the convention.
  • We've updated our signage design and placement for improved legibility.

We are also committed to making Readercon comfortable and safe for everyone. We strongly encourage all attendees to treat one another with thoughtfulness and respect, and to follow these guidelines:

  • Make way for people with mobility impairments and respect the lines around reserved audience spaces. If you stop to chat in the hallway, make sure you leave plenty of space for other people to pass. Remember that not all mobility impairments are visible.
  • If you see someone whom you believe needs assistance, offer to help and wait for them to accept before taking action. Do not touch or move another person's belongings or equipment, or touch people to guide them, unless they explicitly ask you to do so.
  • Do not pet or otherwise attempt to interact with service animals.
  • Do not harass or bully other convention attendees. Readercon reserves the right to revoke membership from anyone who makes another attendee feel unsafe. If another convention attendee is harassing or bullying you, or if you observe behavior that gives you cause for concern, please alert a Readercon staff member immediately. All reports will be kept confidential. See our harassment policy above.

If you have any feedback on these efforts or suggestions for future improvements, please email info@readercon.org.

Flyers

Flyers may be posted on the Readercon schedule tower which is located in front of the main panels spaces. Please do not cover flyers already placed by others.

Flyers may not be posted on hotel walls unless they bear the Concom stamp of approval. To have your flyers approved, bring all copies to be posted to the information table for review. If approved, we will stamp them and provide you with hotel-approved adhesive materials and a list of places where flyers may be posted. We will aggressively hunt down and remove any unapproved flyers. Please do not staple flyers to hotel property or use adhesive materials other than the ones we provide.