San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc.

Press Release 2009-1

SFSFC CONTINUES SMOFCON SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2009

SAN FRANCISCO SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS, INC.
A California Non-Profit Corporation
PO Box 61363, Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363 USA

info@sfsfc.org; http://www.sfsfc.org/

For release: September 7, 2009

SFSFC Offers SMOFCon Scholarship for 2009

San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC) has voted to offer a scholarship of $500 to help convention runners in training attend the SMOFCon convention-runners convention in Austin TX this year over the weekend of December 4-6, 2009.

SMOFCon is an annual convention about organizing science fiction conventions. Subject matter ranges from managing small conventions up to the unique challenges of World Science Fiction Conventions. The convention is held in a different city each year. The 2009 SMOFCon will be in Austin TX at the Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown. More information about this year’s SMOFCon is available on their web site.

The scholarship is open to anyone involved in running science fiction conventions, regardless of their place of residence. However, applicants must be able to demonstrate that their attendance at SMOFCon will benefit San Francisco Bay Area conventions. Applications will be judged by the scholarship administrators, who for 2009 are once again the three directors of SFSFC who have chaired Worldcons: David W. Clark, Kevin Standlee, and Tom Whitmore.

An application form is available on the SFSFC web site or by writing to SFSFC at PO Box 61363, Sunnyvale CA 94088-1363. SFSFC must receive (postmark date does not count) applications by October 15, 2009. Application forms will also be available at the Westercon 64 information table at SiliCon 2009 in San Jose, October 2-4.

This is the sixth year that SFSFC has issued a scholarship to allow a promising convention runner to attend SMOFCon.

The name “SMOF” stands for “Secret Masters Of Fandom,” and is a humorous reference to the people who organize and manage science fiction conventions. Another term sometimes used for such people is “conrunner.”

SFSFC is the parent non-profit corporation of the 2009 World Fantasy Convention, Westercon 64, and was the parent non-profit corporation of ConJosè, the 2002 World Science Fiction Convention, ConFrancisco, the 1993 Worldcon, and several other conventions.

Contact:

SFSFC Inc.: Kevin Standlee info@sfsfc.org

SMOFCon 27: http://www.alamo-sf.org/smofcon27/index.html

San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. is a California non-profit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under US Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3).

“Westercon” is a service mark of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc. “Worldcon” and “World Science Fiction Convention” are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.