Reports
Fantastic Queensland Presidents Report 2005-11-21 (download Doc)
Over coming months, we must make major strategic decisions about the future for Fantastic Queensland.
Writing this report has made me freshly aware of the breadth of the range of activities of FQ, and the startling success the organisation has demonstrated in a short period of time. Many people seem to take our professionalism and success almost for granted, yet the results they see only happen because of hard work and raw talent .
Traditionally a report starts with outlining the activities of the year, then mentions the people who made those achievements possible. I will reverse the order, because the achievements of Fantastic Queensland are all projects managed by dedicated and talented individuals.
The 2004-5 year has seen a continuation of the amazing energy and achievements celebrated at last year’s Annual General Meeting.
Any modern organisation depends on the internet to share information with members and the wider community. FQ has a number of internet-literate members, which has meant our many sites look amazing and attract attention. Kris Hembury has given FQ a slick and relevant website, and one which operates with impressive speed. It links to five other FQ sites, all maintained by project teams.
A modern organisation also needs money, and Peter Hannigan has navigated us through another year, ensuring our bank balance neatly match our obligations. Peter started his own business in 2005, which entails overseas sojourns that must provide ample material for his writing, although that is small compensation for the separations from his family. Peter has maintained his role as treasurer despite these disruptions, and can report a very successful financial year. We run a number of project accounts, and Peter keeps an eye on these as well as individual project budgets. Overall we finished the financial year with an increased total balance of $42,882 on hand - enough to execute all our current plans: something few writer’s organisations could claim!
2005 introduced some new projects.
Karen Hannigan developed and ran the ‘Writers for Games’ project, made possible by a grant from Arts Queensland. Prospective computer game writers were invited to submit concepts for new games. Ten of these were short-listed, trained, and given an opportunity to pitch their final product to the industry. While the winners took away prizes, the industry was so impressed with the concept and the quality of the participants that there are moves for the computer games industry to repeat the programme again next year. Even better, the project added to our reserves for other projects. Karen also continues her role as team nutritionist, ensuring everyone does not die of starvation on meeting nights because of my absent mindedness!
A new mentoring programme is underway, which programme is mentored in turn by Robert Hoge. This project is made possible by a grant from Arts Queensland, and will allow an emerging young writer to learn from an established author. One of FQ’s objectives is to build a community of Queensland based writers who can make a living from the craft. Because the writing industry is a global market, our writers compete with the best in the world to be heard and to make sales. Skill development is therefore a key part of our strategy, but creating opportunities for established authors to earn a supplementary income by passing on their skills is also an important part of making writing a viable career.
We have also benefited from Robert’s talent as a professional in public relations. In the last year we have again found that his judgement and political savvy is priceless. Robert carries a very wise old head on his young shoulders, and also contributes to Speculative Fiction as a convenor of the Clarion South team, President of Vision (from whence FQ sprang), and as an editor of Aurealis magazine.
Another project absorbing a lot of FQ effort this year is Conjure – the national SF convention to be held in Brisbane in 2006. A team, led by the indefatigable Kate Eltham, is putting together an exciting program to entertain an estimated 300-400 attendees. This is major exercise, and we are fortunate to have Nicky Strickland managing the minutiae of memberships, Heather Gammage assembling the programme, and a number of other members willing to simply turn their hand to anything as needed. Darryl Lindquist again contributed his talent as an animator, and has allowed his popular character ‘Bruce the Alien’ to be mascot of the convention.
We will need all the help we can get at Easter, as the programme is extensive, and we want a smooth running convention with a friendly and laid-back atmosphere – which requires ruthless organisation and lots of feet on the ground!
Our Vice President, Rowena Lindquist (who also goes by the name of Cory Daniells – I have not worked out if this is for national security or tax reasons!), again ran Envision, the week-long workshop to enable speculative fiction writers to polish their manuscripts into market-ready form. As the website says - ‘EnVision 2005 was a great success. As well as the ongoing mentoring by tutors Cory Daniells and Louise Cusack, attendees did a workshop with Kim Wilkins on how to write the Selling Tool Synopsis. This proved really useful over the next two industry sessions when they had the chance to pitch their books to Tara Wynne from Curtis Brown and Jack Dann who reads for TOR.’ Envision will not run in 2006. Rowena needs to spend more time writing, and we will need to review our ability to deliver the programme again in 2007 and subsequent years.
In addition, Rowena attended the 2005 Worldcon in Glasgow, along with Robert and Kate. FQ hosted a party at the Hilton in Glasgow, and they brought back valuable information on running international conventions, the world Spec Fic market, and contacts and offers from internationally recognised industry figures willing to be tutors at Clarion South in future years. Rowena also signed with a new agent!
Clarion South, a six week immersion experience for writers, ran for the second time in 2005, and will run again in 2007. Robert Hoge, Kate Eltham, Heather Gammage, and Robert Dobson again kept the wheels on the road, and managed a project with a $75,000 turnover, international recognition from the writers and publishers who are the pool of potential tutors, and a developing reputation as perhaps the best opportunity in the world for spec fic writers to hone their skills.
In February 2005 we held the Aurealis Awards for the first time in Queensland. A great turnout enjoyed a night of humour, triumph, and partying. Damon Cavalchini and Robert Dobson, with nefarious henchpersons, put together a stunning AV display – boosted by a gala performance by Bruce the Alien (courtesy of Darryl). Jason Nahrung made the managing the Awards appear almost effortless – a terrific act of wizardry, because we are continuing to discover how demanding the task is as we prepare to make the awards for the second time in early 2006. He has not been seen in daylight since.
Fortunately Lea Greenaway has been guiding the 2005-6 Aurealis Awards effort-with charm, tact, and only occasional visits to a padded room to scream. Cynthia Rohner has kept the website going, despite being asked to make faster screen changes than ‘Grand Auto 3’. Hosting the Aurealis Award was made possible by the financial support of the Brisbane City Council.
The magazine, Vision, morphed into an e-zine called The Specusphere, and a team run by Stephen Thompson continues to run it as an independent magazine. While managed by FQ, Vision built up a readership of around 500, from all over the world, and it became a recognised member of the stable of burgeoning Australian on-line SF magazines.
Kate Eltham (who also works as FQ’s secretary!) and supporters again worked with Brisbane City Council Libraries to produce readings and other activities as part of the summer programme – raising the profile of speculative fiction, and raising some valuable funds for FQ as well as the participating writers.
I am sure there are projects and people I have omitted - my apologies and thanks to them, because there are so many who have helped. Elle Croxford gave advice, contacts, and great support during a period of change at BCC. The staff at State Development has maintained a bemused but very supportive role, and we are seeing benefits for writers as a result of our coordination with them. A promotion in New York of Queensland speculative fiction authors is proposed later this year, for example. A new initiative to promote Queensland books into Queensland schools - facilitating supplementary paid visits to classes by the authors - is another way in which writers can increase their income-earning potential.
The key issue for FQ’s committee members to now consider is the future direction of FQ.
Once Conjure is over, after Easter 2006, we will have completed most of our current projects. The remaining commitments will be Clarion South 2007, and the third delivery of the Aurealis Awards in 2007, as agreed with Dirk Strasser of Aurealis magazine.
I have always been conscious of the risk that our small team could suffer ‘burnout’ as a result of the intense effort involved in running FQ, and the pressure caused by changes that occur in everyone’s lives year by year.
FQ has a positive purpose - to make Queensland a recognised centre of speculative fiction, and to assist writers to become full time authors able to live on what they earn. We can be proud that in just a few years we have achieved so much towards these objectives.
We must recognise, however, that our achievements are dependent on our resources - our people. I have already mentioned some of the changes that affect committee members. Rowena, our Vice President, needs to make time to write again, especially now she has such a high profile agent. Kate, our Secretary, has been appointed Director of the Queensland Writer’s Centre, an exciting development, and one on which I extend my wholehearted congratulations. Peter our treasurer, as mentioned, is working as we meet in New Guinea, although he maintains his role as Treasurer by working hard on his return to Australia. Lea has said she cannot run the Aurealis Awards again, as she needs time to travel wither husband next year. Robert H is working hard at the office of the Minister of Transport. Elle’s role with BCC will finish shortly, and we will not be likely to have another internal sponsor of the kind we have enjoyed in the past. Other FQ members also have limited time to help.
We therefore face a severe depletion of our core resource - people.
While I would like to participate in the successful completion of Conjure and the Aurealis Awards 2006, this will be the last time I can stand as President (if the members so choose). My work means that I cannot continue to commit the time the role requires. Ideally we should find a replacement willing to take on the task from 2006 onwards.
FQ members therefore need to decide over the next few months what direction we should take. The options I see are:
- Find new members willing to take up the challenge of guiding FQ in the future, (and doing all the work!) So much has been done to establish the FQ brand, to develop a reputation as achievers and a byword for Queensland’s role in the SF community, it seems a shame to lose the momentum . However, we need a team to keep making things happen.
- As projects are run off over 2006, Clarion South could become the residual business of FQ. FQ would remain legally the incorporated body that runs Clarion South, with the FQ committee effectively replaced by those who run Clarion South. This would save Clarion South the cost of separate Incorporation, a step which the Clarion South committee had been considering.
- Incorporate Clarion South, negotiate with Dirk Strasser regarding delivery of the third Aurealis Award, and wind up the activities of FQ in 2006 some time after Conjure. Any residual assets would go to the QWC, under terms of our Incorporation.
- Any other options members think of.
Whatever choices the committee makes in coming months, I would like to record my thanks to each and every one of you for your immense work to date. I have been proud to wear the mantle of President of FQ, and have gained not only experience and satisfaction from what you have all achieved, but also a very valuable sense of becoming part of the Brisbane community. The concern and sympathy of my friends in FQ following my bereavements this year, their genuine pleasure with my small writing achievements, and their willingness to help whenever asked, has made the task a source of both personal and professional satisfaction.
Richard Pitchforth
President Fantastic Queensland
21 November 2005
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The team thanks you, Richard, for your work, guidance and courage to give birth to FQ.
