Nearly two months ago, I went public about harassment I experienced at Readercon. Things happened. The outcome was positive. For this and other reasons, I still think it is crucial to report, if you feel safe doing so, because most harassers are serial, and reporting them is vital to making sure the behavior is named and stopped. However, for those thinking of going public with their own experiences with con harassment, I want to talk about how it looks nearly two months on. Because it’s still going, two months on. 1. Even if it’s easy to decide to report (it isn’t) and even if the people around you are supportive (they were), and even if the organization takes it seriously (they didn’t, and then they did), and even if the community is supportive (the initial outpouring was amazingly supportive; the encroaching of naysaying is…unsurprising), you will spend an untold amount of time dealing with fallout. 2. The fallout may not be, but will certainly seem like, a Kafka novel. There will be creeps in comments.… Read more »

A little while ago, Readercon posted a public statement. It follows closely the petition circulated by Veronica Schanoes, signed by 430+ people concerned that the con they’d attended or hoped to attend had demonstrated willful dismissal of published policy and, in doing so, implied that making the con a safe space was a secondary – or null – concern. In the public statement, the concom bans Walling for life, apologizes to those they have wronged (a list that, quite rightly, includes far more people than Kate Kligman and myself), and outlines plans for improvement, with harassment training, a safety committee, and safeguards against conflicts of interest. The Board has resigned; a temporary Board will be put in place until elections can be held. Notably, while this does not erase the initial, unacceptable decision, it doesn’t try. It presents straightforward apologies, reasonable goals, an emphasis on transparency, and overall, implies that qualified people will be guiding the con going forward. I look forward to further developments here. * I have experienced a lot of things these… Read more »

The Readercon response has continued to build, which is gratifying and speaks, I hope, to a general shift in con culture, but that’s a post for later. In the meantime, there are some more links happening that I want to address, and a couple of brief updates. Firstly, the inimitable BC Holmes has been keeping track of an impressive collection of relevant links and screencaps. Jim Hines has a post on reporting harassment in SF/F., if you choose to do so. Please know that if you have been harassed, your first priority is to secure your own physical safety and peace of mind; there are many reasons why women don’t report harassment, and all of them are legitimate. The formal Petition to the Board is here, though it’s been maxed out (over 300 signatures on Day One). If you wish to sign, you can do so on this follow-up post. Signatures are open until 6pm Eastern time (USA) today, at which point she’ll send the petition to the Board. She’ll also keep the petition open… Read more »

[This is an update to the events of this post.] Harassment Readercon has always had a zero-tolerance harassment policy. Harassment of any kind – including physical assault, battery, deliberate intimidation, stalking, or unwelcome physical attentions – will not be tolerated at Readercon and will result in permanent suspension of membership. As always, Readercon reserves the right to strip membership at its discretion. In 2008, a friend of mine was harassed at Readercon by a man who stared at her fixedly, repeatedly, crowded her in narrow hallways, and followed her throughout the con space. I made a formal complaint to the con committee. An hour later, he was ejected from the con and banned for life. This year, I was harassed repeatedly by a man. Despite several unmistakable shutdowns that I thought each time had ended the problem, the harassment continued through Sunday, at which point I wrote up a report and sent it to the convention as a formal complaint. Earlier today I was contacted by a Readercon representative, who let me know that by… Read more »

[A more fun roundup of things is here.] So, a couple of pretty frustrating things happened this year at Readercon. Programming guidelines decreed I had to be on a panel in order to do a reading; despite not being comfortable on panels as a rule, I signed up for the Frankenstein panel. I was the only woman (which didn’t seem to be a rare thing, this year), and despite making some comments which would indicate I am an adult with a functioning critical-thinking module, the moderator, Theodore Krulik, made me the object of several patronizing comments and the sort of leading questions you pose to a three-year-old. This happened repeatedly. I was the only woman on the panel; I was the only person made the target of these questions. (Apparently at one point, he called me “Missy.” I don’t remember this, though I admit that several times I was trying my hardest to ignore him and actually engage the topic being discussed. If I had heard it, I would have addressed it.) Several people later… Read more »

I got back last night from Readercon. As always, I love seeing my friends and meeting new awesome people. In fact, the best parts of the SF community were on display this week. (Also, so were the worst, but we’ll get there!) On Thursday evening, Neil Clarke had a heart attack. Upon hearing he would be in the hospital throughout the weekend, people stepped in to set up his booth, staff the table, and break down on Sunday, and shoppers and well-wishers stopped to sign get-well posters. It was really nice to see the community supporting its own, and I’m among many others in wishing Neil the best for a speedy recovery. Another highlight of the weekend for me was getting my Shirley Jackson nominee rock; Jackson was an amazing writer, and to be at all associated with her is not too shabby at all. (Her daughter, Sarah Hyman DeWitt, delivered a wry, hilarious, and touching address at the awards ceremony — another highlight of the con.) In book news, those who bought Mechanique are… Read more »