posted 5 March 2002

The Care and Feeding of a Toddler
by Diane Silver, Editor

Broad Universe is quickly maturing into toddlerhood. We're only 14 months old, but we've already accomplished an amazing amount. For one thing, we exist. Don't grump at me for calling that an accomplishment. Getting born is never easy, although I have to admit that BU's conception happened instantly after the first proposal at WisCon two years ago, and gestation and birth were rapid and healthy.

We've also racked up a host of other accomplishments in our first year. Among them are the creation of:

• this web site, which continues to help market BU and provide the services our members need,
• the Broadsheet, which provides an arena to explore the pursuit of art, sales, the creative life, and good books;
• a listserv, and the feeling of community — squabbles and all — the list has created;
• the ever-expanding online book catalog, which along with Broadsheet reviews and reading lists helps connect readers with writers;
• the BU Bean-Counting and Research Division, which has already begun discovering the reality below the image of the genre;
• con events that have begun building a presence for BU out there in the wider world of sf/f/h;
• a publicity database with literally thousands of listings for sf bookstores, reviewers and other folks we need to publicize our work. A tester version of bookstores in the geographical region of your choice along with national reviewer data is now available in exchange for your help with missing and duplicate data. Email us at info(at)broaduniverse.org if you're interested in helping out.

We've also accomplished the boring but necessary tasks that help launch any organization. We've created an Advisory Board — a group of women who have been involved in forming nonprofits before and others whose experience we value. We've set up a Motherboard to make decisions on legal, financial and policy issues, and secured some financial support, which this month paid for another year of this web site server. We fall down on our collective knees in gratitude before the grand and wonderful James Tiptree, Jr., Literary Award Council.

What Comes Next?

Honestly, I'd love to say that the next step is a party, but first we need to deal with more organizational stuff. For example, we're hard at work on incorporating and applying to the IRS for non-profit status. Also coming is an examination of member benefits and dues.

Fun things on the horizon include finding a logo for buttons, T-shirts and ads. Raising money, so that we can list our member authors in advertisements in trade publications such as LOCUS or Publishers Weekly. We're also thinking about hosting a table at Worldcon, and making our presence known at other public events.

How Do We Care for This Toddler?

As the many mothers in BU can attest, parenting a toddler is exhausting. Caring for one as large as BU could be a one-way ticket to burnout, especially if the chore was left to one person or a handful of folks. Although we do cheerfully dream of world conquest and someday having enough money to hire an executive director, BU is volunteer run at the moment. Every second of time that's put into the organization is taken from someone's family, day job, sleep, and oh yes, writing. That's why this baby won't survive without your help.

Get involved! Sign up for the BU listserv so you can meet people, suggest activities and participate in discussions about membership and other organizational issues (Listserv directions are on our home page). Do you have a burning issue that's suitable for an article or a letter to the editor for the Broadsheet? If so, contact me at broadsheet(at)broaduniverse.org. Help us expand the book catalog. We need entries for James Tiptree Jr. and Marion Zimmer Bradley and books by other women sf/f/h authors who have passed on. For the handy fill-in-the-blank form, contact Amy at info(at)broaduniverse.org. You don't have to do all an author's works. Even one book is a huge help. Organize an event at a con — some are great for an afternoon BU tea, others for BU group readings. Join the listserv and introduce yourself — chances are good that someone else is planning to attend that con, too. Get-togethers can be as informal as a mealtime rendezvous. Or offer your car to ferry a group of out-of-area authors over to your favorite local sf/f/h-friendly bookstore to sign copies of their books and leave bookmarks. And yes, when we set dues, please join us formally by sending in your check. BU is as strong as the ideas and energy of its members — and so far, we're not lacking for either of these.

We all have a vested interest in seeing this child grow up to be strong and healthy. As writers, of course, we want a level playing field, not to mention every bit of help we can get to market our books. But, we also need BU as readers. I know I do.

I'm one of the legion of folks who grew up reading Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov and friends, but reached a point in my thirties where I walked away the sf/f I had loved for so many years. It got to be too frustrating to pick up a book, hoping for some depth, and read yet another account of how a clever fellow saved the world/conquered the planet/got the girl/but never, ever dealt with anything other than how to beat the bad guys. I know this is a simplistic portrayal of sf/f, but these seemed to be the only books I could find then. I was disconnected from the field and relied on reviews and bookstore promotions to learn about new books. For a while it seemed as if someone had banished the things that were important to me in a book, like character, and heaven forbid, psychological development. Of course, when I trotted eagerly over the mainstream, I discovered that I was often bored to tears with books and characters that went nowhere and did nothing. I also missed the genres' cool gadgets, mind-stretching ideas and sense of wonder.

Everything changed when a friend finally convinced me to go to WisCon four years ago. Not only did I have a terrific time, but I was also introduced to incredible writers whose work was ignored by the various sf/f publicity machines. At WisCon, I learned about Mary Doria Russell, Karen Joy Fowler, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Kelly Link and more. I learned, much to my delight, that sf/f could provide depth of character and theme as well as the jolt of fun I experienced as a child enthralled by Heinlein's Space Cadet.

My dream is for BU to provide that same kind of experience for a wider audience than WisCon can ever reach. I think we can do it. If we succeed, we will surely reach our goal of promoting the work of women. In the process, we might even help the entire field win something it craves — respect.

Hail and Welcome Lyda Morehouse and Larraine Stacey!

Lyda Morehouse, and Larraine Stacey are the Broadsheets new gossip mavens. All hail Lyda and Larraine for taking over our news section! Lyda is overseeing author appearances, awards and contest listings, and calls for submission/market reports. Larraine is doing kudos, new books, and our convention, conference and workshop listings. Check out their bios on our staff page.

Broadsheet Updates and a Call for Submissions

We've settled into a four-times-a-year update schedule for the Broadsheet. The next update is planned for late May, just before WisCon. Inspired by the timing, we plan to focus the May update on the famous (infamous?) events that transpire every May in Madison, Wisconsin, and we need your help.

Park yourself in front of your computer, or get out your notebook and pen, and tell us about your experiences and opinions of the annual gathering of the feminist sf/f community. I'm particularly interested in articles that tackle the following.

• The history of WisCon. (Where and how was this baby born? Who was at the first WisCon and what do they remember?)
• Perspectives on the convention. (Is the brand-spanking new 21st Century version of WisCon better or worse then the earlier editions? What's changed? What's stayed the same? What needs to improve? What are our dreams for the future? Do we even still need a gathering of the feminist sf/f community? How is WisCon different than other cons, or is it? What impact, if any, has WisCon had on the sf/f world?)
• Blasts from the WisCon Past to give us the best of past programming. We're going to publish Elisabeth Vonarburg's GOH speech from 2001. We're also searching for other great programming hits like book lists from the annual Karen Axness Memorial Panel on Women Writers You May Not Have Heard Of. This is your chance, past WisCon presenters, to give your material a second (or third or fourth) life.

Thanks for stopping by. See you in the next update.