Con or Bust | Helping fans of color attend SFF cons

free memberships to CON.TXT and other cons!

Posted by: Kate Nepveu
Date: May 31, 2016

Fans of color/non-white fans:

Con or Bust currently has lots of free memberships available to SFF cons, including CON.TXT, July 29-31, 2016, Arlington, VA, USA. CON.TXT is a media convention with a focus on fanworks; the theme for its tenth anniversary is “Ten years. Five cons. All the feels.” CON.TXT has donated two memberships to Con or Bust, which must be claimed before June 15, 2016 (now extended!). In addition, all attendees must be 18 or older on July 29, 2016.

Please see the Upcoming Cons page for the full list of free memberships, and head to the Request Assistance page to request the memberships–or, through June 6, monetary assistance to attend any con, not just those on the list. Thanks, and please spread the word!

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Body Work Graphic Novel (signed by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel)

Posted by: Ben Aaronovitch
Date: May 28, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, graphic novel, signed item

Item Name and Description: 1 Copy of the softcover Body Work Graphic Novel (otherwise known as the trade paperback of the Issues #1 to #5). To be signed by authors Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel and dedicated to the winner’s specification.

Starting Bid: $3

Shipping: Anywhere with a postal system

Bidding is now open and will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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Request assistance now through June 6

Posted by: Kate Nepveu
Date: May 27, 2016

Category: Information

Fans of color/non-white fans: Con or Bust is now taking requests for monetary assistance to attend cons, plus free memberships to cons, through Monday, June 6, 2016. To learn how to request assistance, see the Request Assistance page. For the most up-to-date list of cons to which assistance is available, see the Upcoming Cons page.

This is a one-time change in the dates to request assistance, so please mark your calendars and spread the word!

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Name a character in Aliette de Bodard’s forthcoming novel THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS

Posted by: Aliette de Bodard
Date: May 26, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: advance reading copy or galley, Aliette de Bodard, character naming rights

Item Name and Description: Name a character in Aliette de Bodard’s forthcoming THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS (sequel to THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS, due out April 2017).

Your chance to have someone of your choice feature in fractured post-magical-war Paris! I’ll also send you a signed ARC of the book when they come in.

You will be able to provide the first name of the character, and maybe the last name as well (within reason). I may need to slightly alter it to fit into the setting of the book, though I will do my best to insert it as specified. Your character may not survive for long, though!

Starting Bid: 20$

Other Notes: The book is is being revised now, so you would need to provide the name before the end of June 2016.

Bidding is now open and will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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auction bidding note: subscriptions to new comments

Posted by: Kate Nepveu
Date: May 25, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction, Information

If you subscribed to new comments on an auction post in the last little while (ballpark of 9:30-10:45 p.m. Eastern), there’s a chance your subscription might have gotten eaten by my trying to debug a problem. To be sure that you’re subscribed if you want to be, go to the post and, down below the commenting form, click on the word “subscribe” where it says “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.” Enter your email address, and then you’ll definitely be subscribed (if you were already, it won’t tell you that, but it also won’t send you two copies of every comment).

Apologies for not noticing this problem before bidding went live. Please let me know if you have any questions or problems.

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Name a character in John Scalzi’s forthcoming novel

Posted by: Kate Nepveu
Date: May 25, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: character naming rights, John Scalzi

Item Name and Description: Name a character in John Scalzi’s forthcoming novel The Collapsing Empire!

You will be able to provide the last name of the character, and probably the first name as well (within reason, e.g., not Redshirty McRedshirt). The character will have at least one line of dialogue. John can’t guarantee that the character will not be sucked into the cold bleak darkness of space, but if they are, they probably won’t be alone in the predicament (unless you want them to be, which might be possible depending on how the bidding goes).

Starting Bid: $100.

Other Notes: this book is currently scheduled to be published in 2017, and is being written now, so you would need to provide the name within a week of the auction’s close.

Bidding is now open and will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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Bidding now live on Con or Bust auction!

Posted by: Kate Nepveu
Date: May 25, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction, Information

Support Con or Bust as it helps fans of color/non-white fans attend SFF cons: check out its annual online auction, on which bidding is now live! There are three ways to browse items: scroll through all the posts by viewing the 2016 auction category; browse the 2016 auction tags; or see a Google Docs spreadsheet indexing all offers.

To bid, all you need to do is leave a comment stating the amount of your bid in U.S. dollars, with a working email address (which will not be displayed). If you like, check the box that says “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” to make sure you don’t miss any later bids. You can also enter your email address where it says “Subscribe without commenting.” Bidding will end Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown), unless last-minute bids are received (more details). This auction is Con or Bust’s principal source of funds for the entire year, so please take a look!

You can also donate to Con or Bust outside the auction. If you’re paying through a PayPal account and want 100% of your payment to go directly to Con or Bust, you can donate via the PayPal Giving Fund (note that the Giving Fund doesn’t allow you to send a message with your donation and doesn’t notify us immediately that your donation has been made; of course you may forward your acknowledgment email from the Giving Fund on to katenepveu@con-or-bust.org). If you’re using a credit card or need to send a message directly with the donation, please use the button below:

Finally, if you were hoping to offer something in the auction now that bidding’s started, please email me to discuss at katenepveu@con-or-bust.org.

Thanks, and please spread the word!

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The Silver Eel – one-shot Lankhmar fanzine

Posted by: Dan B.
Date: May 24, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: fanzine, Lankhmar

Item Name and Description: The Silver Eel was a one-shot fanzine devoted to Fritz Leiber and Harry Otto Fischer’s Lankhmar stories. It was published by Robert Barger in 1978. It contains an interview with Leiber, essays by Karl Edward Wagner, Ken St. Andre, Fischer, and others, and artwork by people such as Tim Kirk, Gene Day, and Liz Danforth. (The cover is by Kirk and depicts Leiber as Fafhrd and Fischer as the Grey Mouser.)

For reasons not convenient to explain I have 11 extra copies of this. You may bid on one or more copies as you prefer – please specify how many. You do not need to outbid anyone unless and until all 11 copies have been bid on – I will post here in the unlikely event this occurs.

None of these copies have been read and all are in fine shape, though some have a little yellowing of page edges and such.

Starting Bid: 20.00

Shipping: United States for free, outside the US for an additional donation which could be steep (please ask first)

Bidding opens on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern (time zone conversions). It will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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Thirteen Aubrey-Maturin books by Patrick O’Brian

Posted by: Dan B.
Date: May 24, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: book, includes multiple items, Patrick O'Brian

Item Name and Description: All are US editions. All have been read and the trade paperbacks have a little wear.

Master and Commander. Trade.
Post Captain. Trade.
H.M.S. Surprise. Trade.
The Mauritius Command. Trade.
Desolation Island. Trade.
Treason’s Harbour. Trade.
The Reverse of the Medal. Trade.
The Thirteen Gun Salute. Trade.
The Wine-Dark Sea. Hardcover.
The Commodore. Hardcover.
The Yellow Admiral. Hardcover.
The Hundred Days. Hardcover.
Blue at the Mizzen. Hardcover. This has a mylar jacket cover, and was apparently was a review copy as it has promotional material laid in.

Starting Bid: 80.00

Shipping: United States only (shipping this elsewhere would cost a small fortune)

(Click images to enlarge.)

Bidding opens on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern (time zone conversions). It will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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Books by Butler, Okorafor, McHugh, and Brackett

Posted by: Dan B.
Date: May 24, 2016

Category: 2016 Auction

2016 Auction Tags: book, includes multiple items, Leigh Brackett, Maureen F. McHugh, Nnedi Okorafor, Octavia Butler

Item Name and Description: Four books:

Dawn by Octavia Butler. This is a first edition hardcover. It has a little jacket wear.
The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor(-Mbachu). Also a first edition hardcover. This is in excellent condition but does have a remainder mark on one edge. It has been read.
Mothers and Other Monsters by Maureen F. McHugh. First edition trade. It has been read but is in excellent shape.
The Halfling and Other Stories by Leigh Brackett. Mass-market paperback, has a fair amount of wear but is intact.

Starting Bid: 25.00

Shipping: United States only (shipping this elsewhere would cost a small fortune)

(Click images to enlarge.)

Bidding opens on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern (time zone conversions). It will close on Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (time zone conversions, countdown) unless bids are received in the last ten minutes (learn more).

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