August 2012

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 »