The case against Joel Rosenberg for felony dangerous weapon at a courthouse and misdemeanor contempt of court stemming from a November 2010 incident has been dropped following Rosenberg’s May 2011 death. A Memorial for Rosenberg and benefit for his family is scheduled to take place in Minneapolis on June 26.
Author Leslie Esdaile, who writes as L. A. Banks, went into the hospital in May for treatment and is gravely ill. A fund has been established to help cover her mounting medical costs. Donations may be made to:
Leslie Esdaile Fund
Account #81538801
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
Operations Center
901 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-2404
215-931-0300
The Larry Ashmead Award, named for the late editor, has been created to honor Ashmead by helping to nurture the career of a promising young editor in the field of book publishing. Nominees should be working in publishing for a few years and show great promise. The winner of the award will receive tuition to the Yale Publishing Course, to be held July 24-29 in New Haven. Ashmead worked for several publishers and his authors included Isaac Asimov, Susan Isaacs, Tony Hillerman, and Simon Winchester.
Following the sale of the Griffith University facilities Clarion South used up until 2009, the writers workshop has had difficulty finding a suitable venue at a reasonable cost to hold the intensive writers program. The organizers had hoped to hold it again in 2012, but have determined that they won’t be able to and have placed the program on hold indefinitely, with the hope that it will continue at some point.
The Con or Bust Auction to provide assistance for Fans of Color to attend Wiscon has opened. Bids are being taken on donated items through March 6, 2011. Items include original works of art, autographed books, and more. Originally founded in 2009, the auction was taken over by the Carl Brandon Society in 2010 when it raised more than $6,000. This year, Con or Bust hope to raise at least $7,000.
The South Western Fan Fund has been introduced to help send a representative from the Southern US to Westercon and a Western representative to DeepSouthCon on alternating years. The SWFF is based on existing fan funds and will exist through the donations of fans. This year’s fund will allow a Southern fan to travel to the 2011 Westercon. Candidates should declare by March 1. The current fan fund administrators are Christopher J. Garcia and Warren Buff.
Con or Bust has begun to collect items for its auction to raise funds to assist fans of color to attend Wiscon. Last year, the initiative helped thirteen people attend the convention using the $6,183.89 they raised. This year, with the auction running from February 21 through March 6. Anyone who wishes to donate items for the auction can post to Con or Bust’s Livejournal page. Con or Bust is also considered starting a similar drive to help fans of color attend Arisia.
The Speculative Literature Foundation’s Grant for Older Authors in open for application through March 31. This grant provides $750 to authors who are fifty years or older. Applicants should send in a short biography, writing sample, and bibliography, if applicable. The grant is intended to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. The winner will be announced on June 1.
Charles Coleman Finlay will speak on “How The Marysville Public Library Saved My Life.” at the Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, 233 W. 6th Street, Marysville, OH on Tuesday, February 15 as part of the Friends of the Library Authors’ Series. The event will last from 6:45—9:00 P.M. and will help raise money to support the Marysville Public Library.
A dinner to raise money for the Joel Rosenberg Legal Defense Fund will be held on Sunday, January 2 at 6:30 at the AmericInn Chanhassen in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The dinner is limited to 40 attendees, but donations can be made by those not attending as well. Rosenberg was arrested earlier this month and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a courthouse and contempt of court.