MINUTES OF MARCH 12 MEETING OF HWA SFV
The inaugural meeting of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Horror Writers Association was held on Sunday evening, March 12, 2006 at 6 p.m. at the Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood. Present at the meeting were: Maria Alexander, Brad Hodson, Del Howison, Courtney Joyner, Mike McCarty, Lisa Morton, Eden Salisbury and Scott Alan Woodward. Co-organizer John Palisano was unable to attend due to illness.
After introductions, the proposed guidelines (appended below) for the Chapter were discussed point by point. The guidelines received unanimous approval, with no changes suggested.
The next topic was how HWA SFV members would like to see this chapter interact with HWA. Members felt strongly that they would like to see the chapter work as their direct conduit to HWA, meaning that we could discuss policy and ideas for the larger organization, then submit our suggestions to HWA as a chapter. Members also indicated that they don’t read the HWA’s message board and are often unaware of discussions currently happening within the greater organization, and that it would be helpful to them to begin each future HWA SFV meeting with a brief recap of current news from the HWA.
We then discussed the proposed HWA SFV website. Several members suggested that, since we have several filmmakers in the chapter, it would be ideal if the website could include members’ short films or trailers, as well as written material (and of course bios, news, etc.). It was also suggested that the website might incorporate one blog for the use of all chapter members. Another suggestion was that, given our location and the large number of local events, our website could incorporate a calendar listing of local events that might be of interest to local HWA members.
Next we talked about events and activites for HWA SFV. Members were very interested in seeing HWA SFV have a presence at local book fairs, trade shows, and horror conventions. Among the events suggested were: UCLA Festival of Books; West Hollywood Book Fair; Fangoria Convention; Monsters Among Us; Monsters and Robots, and the Screenwriting Expo. Although we agreed that we’re too late this year to attend most of these functions (which are held in the spring), we would like to start working on presentations for 2007, including a brochure. Members were made aware of HWA’s status as a non-profit organization and advised that any tables or booths cannot be used to sell books or otherwise promote themselves, and members agreed that this didn’t present a problem. We even briefly discussed a possible logo exclusively for HWA SFV (for use in brochures, etc.), and Mike McCarty volunteered to work on this. We also discussed the idea of creating a flyer which we could at least leave at events we don’t have a booth/table at, and the idea of purchasing program booklet ads was also mentioned. We also talked about our relationship to HWA LA, and how we would very much like to join with them in as many of these events as possible, to strengthen HWA’s overall presence.
There was also a suggestion made of seeing if we could become involved in some way with the Southern California Booksellers Association.
Courtney Joyner suggested that, given the success of the screenwriting panel at last year’s Stoker Event, perhaps we could organize seminars on screenwriting and hold them at libraries or other venues. We briefly discussed the idea of charging for tickets or asking for a donation from those attending, and Lisa agreed to check this with HWA’s legal counsel. It was also suggested that we could hold seminars in other areas as well, including graphic arts (since we have a number of horror-themed graphic artists in the area).
Members were very interested in the idea of having guest speakers attend our chapter meetings. We have a number of major local horror authors, both HWA members and non-members, who would probably agree to attend at least one meeting; it was also felt that the chapter might function as a way to recruit some of the non-members into the greater organization. We also discussed setting aside part of each chapter meeting to discuss a particular aspect of writing; the topic will be selected in advance of each meeting, so members can have a chance to prepare or even research.
We also discussed certain things the chapter can do that can’t necessarily be linked to the larger organization. For example, we could publish our own member anthology, although it would need to be made clear that the book is not strictly a publication of HWA. Members were intrigued by the idea, although we agreed it required more thought and research.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Minutes prepared and submitted by Lisa Morton.
HWA SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (HWA SFV) CHAPTER PROPOSED GUIDELINES 2/19/06
3. The chapter’s goals will be: To promote the writing and reading of horror fiction; to work with the HWA to promote the image and greater goals of the HWA; to provide networking, support and camaraderie for HWA members in the defined geographical area.