This purpose of this site is to collect articles of interest to fannish convention runners. It focuses on 1) Convention running experiences, 2) histories of fandom and convention running, 3) time and priority management experience and advice, 4) activities we enjoy outside of work and fandom that take up our time, 5) reviews of things we like. The focus on those areas is not exclusive, we will post articles on other topics, but those 5 are the main point.

While this site solicits specific articles from specific people….there are far more con-runners we haven’t met yet than those we have. This means there’s a lot of folks out there who have content we’d love to ask for if we only knew about it. As such, we’re always looking for items people would be willing to share, no matter who you are. Anyone with content they feel is appropriate for us is welcome to submit it by e-mailing it to us at submissions@copious-free-time.org. If you wish to submit, please make sure of the following things:

1) Our preference is to post the article under your real name.  If you’d prefer to use a pseudonym we’ll work with you on it….we just think things have more meaning when there’s less anonymity.

2) Unless you know one of the Bob’s personally (or even if you do), please add a slight introduction at the top of your e-mail letting us know a bit about your convention running experience. We don’t need a resume, but a bit about where you’re from and what you may have worked on will help us tremendously…even if it’s only to make us aware of conventions we didn’t previously know about. If you’re willing, we’ll use that information to post to our Contributors Page, so everyone reading will get a chance to know you a bit better.

3) Make sure your article is appropriate for adult-ish readers. Foul language is excellent for releasing frustration, but it doesn’t add much to any lesson that other folks might take from your experience.  If expletives are actually required, please “season lightly”.

4) Please write for a general con-running audience.  When you’re writing for your local fan group or perhaps an e-mail list you happen to be on….these places frequently have common terms and common knowledge that might not be universal outside the group.  Please be sensitive to that and try to give explanations or context when bringing up something that may not be widely known.

5) If you have art or images to include with your article, please attach them to the e-mail with the article. If you do so, please make sure you have appropriate permission to use the images/art you send us.  As part of making sure you have permission, please inform us of correct attributions for the art so we may include it in the article. If you don’t include any, we may choose to add art or images we find appropriate as part of our editorial process.

6) Be aware that the purpose of the site and fanzine is to help spread practical (and often funny) information about running conventions and various related things. Naming names can sometimes be cathartic, but it doesn’t add to the lesson. As part of our editing process, we may feel the need to Bob your article slightly. We’ll talk that through with you if it happens.

7) We cannot promise to use every article submitted, even among articles we’ve solicited. Please don’t be discouraged if our editorial choice is not to use your article. Keep volunteering and keep your conventions vital and engaging. We’ll thank you for that.

We organize our content into several different categories, or columns if you prefer to think of them that way.  To aid you in writing for any specific category, here are the definitions as we currently hold them:

1)  Beyond the Valley of Roger Ebert: reviews of film, television, books, and anything else one of our contributors finds to be of interest.

2) The Big Blue Room: articles about hobbies and passions outside of convention running or science fiction.

3) Fanac: Fannish Activity.  Articles about fandom and science fiction, generally not focused on convention running.

4) She Said / He Said: Musings and Opinions on topics related to convention running.

5) So THAT Happened…: True stories from convention running and fandom.

6) Stupid Sh*t I Agreed To Do For Fandom While Sober: Our column focusing on someone’s spectacular over-commitment.  We all do it.