| KiScon 2012 Progress Report #4 |
[May. 27th, 2012|10:20 pm] |
33 days to go. Don't know about you, but we're SO excited!
First thing to let you know is the closing date for memberships is Wednesday 13 June. If you know anyone who's considering signing up for the con, they must sign up by this date as we have to finalise numbers with the venue that week and once done, can't be changed. This also means that if you want to stay an extra night on Sunday for the 'Dead Dog Party', as a few of you are, you'll need to let us know that by the 13th, too.
We're pleased to announce the con programme is now finalised and posted and you can find it here! It's all colour-co-ordinated, so check the legend at the top to follow it. Moderators who volunteered are in italics. We decided not to have more than two running a panel, so if your name isn't there, it's because the panel was over-subscribed.
As you will see, we decided to keep mainly to one stream, with just a few additional panels in a second stream. If there is a panel you were down to mod that conflicts with one you really wanted to attend, let us know and we'll see if we can find someone else to run it.
Panels begin at 9am Saturday. We still have 3 panels that need at least one mod each. The first is a reboot panel: "Kirk Prime" Many K/S fans feel bad that Spock Prime is stuck in a universe without 'his' Kirk. How have stories convincingly got him to the reboot universe? What other viable methods can people think of?
The other two panels weren't in the original selection - they're 'round robin' panels, one is a reboot RR on Saturday morning, and the other is a TOS RR on Sunday morning. The aim of the panel is to write a short story with participants writing sentences or paragraphs in rotation. If KiScon 2011 is anything to go by, general hilarity ensues and we shall be asking for readings at the closing ceremony! The mod is there to explain the rules, for general time-keeping and chivvying people along. If you're willing to take on any of those, please let us know by replying to this email asap.
We have one other new panel; 'Fan writing to professional author' that Amanda will be moderating. The aim is to discuss how someone might go about getting fic published professionally, whether it's 'filing the numbers off' a fanfic, or writing original fic. It's been added as it's such a hot topic right now, not the least because of articles like this.
As we're not running a full second stream, there's the opportunity for two additional panels of your choosing, both on Saturday; the first at the 10am slot in Room 2, and the second at 14:00 in Room 2. If you'd like to propose a panel that you will mod, please email us the name and a 1-2 sentence summary and we'll put all suggestions to a vote at the opening ceremony.
If you'd like to donate something to the members' goody bags, please let us know asap - we'll need around 40 of them.
If you'd like to donate Trek items to the con raffle - proceeds to a charity you'll be voting on at the opening ceremony - please let us know asap.
We're looking to have a 'bring and buy sale' - though the details aren't yet finalised - for anyone who wants to bring fandom items, ideally Trek-related, to sell. They can be things you've made yourself - like jewellery or crafts - or zines, memorabilia or other licenced items. More about this in the next update.
Regarding the Babel Banquet and Costume Contest - we've requested that those who won't be wearing a costume, come in formal evening wear. If you don't have anything formal, don't worry - we're not going to turn you away! We're aware people are travelling and may not want to pack something they'll only be able to wear once on their trip.
And that's it for this update! From now until the con, updates will be weekly. Please take time to read them to ensure you don't miss any further announcements.
Amanda & Rhaegal
KiScon co-chairs |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 22nd, 2012|11:59 am] |
HI ! where can i read the legendary "A Fragment Out Of Time" by Diane Marchant? please.
i just recently joined the KS fandom, but happy that it is the first ever fandom.
thanks
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| (no subject) |
[May. 23rd, 2012|12:17 am] |
| [ | mood |
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Hi peeps,
anyone going by train from London (Marylebone) to High Wycombe on Friday morning? I'll fly in from Austria on Thursday, spend the day and night in London and travel on on Friday morning. Would love to make this part of the trip together with a fellow slasher.
Looking forward to meeting you all at the con!
Lari
(larissa.bernstein@gmail.com) |
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| getting there |
[May. 14th, 2012|10:24 pm] |
Hi,
I'll be arriving by train (around 11am - if public transport runs according to plan) and am looking for people to share a taxi.
I'll be arriving at Gatwick at 7 am and will be travelling via Victoria, if anyone is also travelliing from London, maybe we could meet up at either Victoria or Marylebone Station. Let me know under tangawarra@gmail.com.
See you in June
Susanne |
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| Planning stages |
[Apr. 30th, 2012|10:38 pm] |
Is anyone coming in on the 29th from somewhere in the midlands? I'm afraid I can't afford to stay Thursday, and it's a five hour train journey from where I live, so I thought I'd try to get at least as far as Birmingham the night before--apparently from Snow Hill, you can go direct to High Wycombe in an hour and a half. But I don't actually have anywhere to stay near there at the moment (might be able to crash with a friend in Wolverhampton, but it's not certain), soooo I thought, if any of the rest of you going where in the area, perhaps I could crash on a sofa for a night and we could go together to the convention? Either on the train, or I can chip in for petrol, or whatever. Or even if someone else is travelling the same way and wants to share a room somewhere....
As a houseguest, there are several people here who can vouch for me not being a serial killer, I'm fully housebroken, and I can cook.
And if anyone else needs to use this post to coordinate, I'm down with that too. :) |
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| Staying in London after KiScon |
[Apr. 15th, 2012|08:46 pm] |
Heya to everyone!
I sincerly hope it's allowed to post this here but I just wanted to say that![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) angel_grace01 (thank you again for all the researching work!) and I booked ourselves into the Imperial Hotel in London to stay there for the week after the Con, Monday to Saturday.
It's not the cheapest but we hardly found anything cheap and halfway central at all anyway.
It's got WIFI in the lobby and in some of the rooms close to it, ensuite rooms and TV.
So, if anyone is still looking for a place to stay afterwards too, that's where we gonna be :)
Kindly and see you all soooooooon,
T'Racionn |
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| KiScon 2012 Progress Report #2 |
[Apr. 4th, 2012|09:04 pm] |
Hello All!
We're now officially in Springtime here in the northern hemisphere; birds are singing, lambs are gamboling in the fields and the weather we were enjoying last week has veered from teeshirt, shorts and suncream to snow in the space of a day. Ah, such is our unpredictable English climate! We hope by the time the con rolls round IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS the weather will have settled into a pattern of warmth and sunshine. :)
We're guessing people are coming out of hibernation because we've had a flurry of joiners in March and we've now sold out of bedrooms in the main convention building. Rooms will be allocated according to membership number so everyone currently signed up is assured of a room in the con building. We contacted the venue about reserving bedrooms in a neighbouring building (less than two minutes' walk away) and were told we could only have a maximum of 14 and they would only be held until the conference centre receives another booking. So if you know anyone who hasn't booked yet, we recommend acting quickly, especially as the Henley Regatta is taking place the same weekend only six miles away, and lodgings in the area will be fully-booked over this popular weekend, so people may turn to the conference centre as a last resort!
Another reason to sign up now is because the "Early Bookers" discounted rate for memberships ends at the end of this month; from May 1st, the price will rise to £260.
We've set up our website to make it as interactive and inclusive as possible. Until April 30th, current members can go to the con site and vote on what panels to have on the programme. There are also links to submit to the art show and convention zine, and a page to send us vids for the vidshow (we're offering direct upload this time, following the problems with MegaUpload and other filesharing websites).
We're also requesting items for donation to the raffle (ideally Trek-related). We're happy to take things on the day that members show up with, but it would be helpful if we have a clear idea beforehand to help us with planning.
Kathleen Resch will make editions of her T'hy'la zine available to members which can be pre-ordered shortly, with the zines being shipped direct to the con.
If you have any questions or queries, please let us know!
Rhaegal & Amanda
KiScon co-chairs |
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| Website error |
[Mar. 13th, 2012|09:44 pm] |
It's just been brought to my attention that a change I made to the KiScon website didn't quite work, and so any new sign-ups were going into a black hole. Whoops.
This has now been fixed, so if you did try to sign up recently and wondered why you got a blank screen and no email confirmation, please accept my sincere apologies. We won't have received any of your details, so please sign up again on our newly-functional website.
I will stop fiddling with the site now. Sorry! |
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| KiScon 2012 Progress Report #1 |
[Mar. 8th, 2012|11:15 pm] |
Hello!
This is our first members update for KiScon 2012. Updates will also be posted to our two online groups: KiSconUK on Livejournal and KiSconUK on Yahoo so that people joining us later will be able to go back over them.
With only four months to go, we’re getting very excited about the con and are thrilled that we’ve got 32 members signed up, with two more about to join. There are only 35 rooms in the building we’re using and that number had been our original cap. But since cons typically get last-minute joiners and we didn’t want to turn people away, we’re going to house the overflow in an adjacent building, although we have to cap at 50 due to the maximum capacity of the con rooms. This really will be an international convention, with people travelling from around the globe to be with us.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been working to put the con together. We’ve also got some wonderful volunteers helping us, not all of whom will be able to attend the con itself. darlapr0duction – whose wonderful vids you may know (search for her on youtube if you don’t!) is joining us all the way from Australia and will be running the vid show – details on how to enter vids below. arminaa is again doing the con zine although sadly she can’t be with us this year. tracionn is running the art show and on the final day, Caren Parnes will run the auction.
Paypal Dispute
You may be aware that we are in a dispute with PayPal which froze our account. We have begun a litigation process with them and whatever the outcome, this will not affect the running of the convention which will go ahead as planned. Meanwhile, we are now accepting payments via Google Checkout and ask those of you who have not paid in full to use this method of payment.
Costumes
A reminder that Saturday is cosplay day. If you're joining in, you may choose to wear your costume all day, or just to wear it to the Babel Banquet in the evening where we’ll be having a prize-winning competition for the best costume. If you are not wearing a costume, we ask you to wear formal evening attire as befits a banquet, so we’ll all be dressed up (don’t worry, we’re not expecting you to wear ball gowns unless you want to, but something a bit ‘dressy’ would be great if you can manage it)! So, if you’re going to wear a costume, you’ve got four months to put it together!
Members' website and programme survey
We now have a members' area available on the con website. Members will receive an email with details on how to access it.
We would like to make this a truly interactive convention by allowing you to vote on what you want included in the programme. In the members' area, you'll find a page listing all the ideas we've had for panels - far more than can actually fit into the programme! You can tick any items you would like to see, and the most popular choices will make it into the convention.
Panel moderators
We're going to need one or two people to moderate each panel. If you haven't been to a KiScon before, the panels are very informal - more like roundtables - so the moderators are just there to lead the discussion and keep it on track. There's no pressure to give a big speech or do hours of preparation; just arrive armed with a few key points and the discussion will take off from there.
If you see any programme items on the list that you would be interested in moderating, just tick the box and we'll allocate panels when we put the programme together. Items will be allocated as evenly as possible, so you can tick as many options as you like. If you have a limit on how many you would actually be willing to run, or if you're especially keen to do one in particular, just email us and we'll keep that in mind. We’ll do our best to schedule panels so that those choosing to moderate several panels won’t have clashes or have to run two in a row. When the schedule is published it won’t be finalized until everyone has given their agreement, in case a panel you’ve volunteered to moderate is scheduled at the same time as one you really want to attend!
Submissions
Also in the members' area, you'll find links to submit to the art show and convention zine, in case you didn't tick the boxes when you signed up but have changed your mind, and a page to send us vids for the vidshow. We're offering direct upload this time, following the problems with MegaUpload and other filesharing websites.
Dealers
We're still deciding where and for how long to have dealers open at the convention, so if you have anything you would like to sell, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can factor this into our plans. Kathleen Resch will make editions of her T'hy'la zine available to members. I'll get her to send us a flyer which we can send round and you can pre-order from it, settling payment directly with her. She'll ship them in one go to save on postage and we'll give them to you at the con - this method means there'll be a cut-off date when you can order which she'll let you know about.
Room share before/after the con
Finally for those travelling from overseas who will be taking accommodation in the UK before or after the event and are looking for someone to share to keep costs down, please post requests on the kiscon LiveJournal group.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Rhaegal & Amanda |
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| Paypal |
[Nov. 23rd, 2011|11:49 am] |
Just to let you know that we're currently unable to accept PayPal payments.
I am involved in a dispute with PayPal, who have refused us access to any of the money we have received to date on the grounds that they claim not to have received proof of my ID and various other documentation. In fact, I have sent them all of the documents they've requested multiple times over the last two months, both over their own website and by email, so they're either lying or incompetent. I have referred the matter to the Financial Ombudsman and Trading Standards, but so far there is no resolution in sight.
In the meantime, I have had to fork out a considerable sum of money (>£1000) from my own meager funds in order to pay the deposit for the convention. If you are still waiting to sign up or pay further installments, I would therefore be extremely grateful if you could use cheque or bank transfer so that I can recoup some of the money I've lost.
If you're overseas or have other reasons for needing to use PayPal, please sign up anyway and we will hold a place for you without a deposit until this is sorted.
I apologise for the inconvenience. If anyone has any useful advice on how to get through to thinking humans at PayPal then please do share! |
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