arisia | Book Drive for the Science Fiction Outreach Project

Need more room on your bookshelves? Want to help attract science fiction
& fantasy readers to fannish activities such as Worldcon and also other
cons, gatherings, and clubs?

The Science Fiction Outreach Project (SFOP) will put your extra genre
books to good use, giving them away to readers next month at C2E2, the
Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo. Each book will have a bookmark
promoting Worldcon, local conventions, and the groups sponsoring the
outreach project.

MCFI is one of those sponsors, giving SFOP a donation and *running a book
drive*. We're collecting books at the NESFA Clubhouse through Wednesday,
March 21st and also at the NESFA Other Meeting at the Hertels on Sunday,
March 25th. Books donated to the project can be the lure for new fans!

SFOP's primary sponsor this year is Chicon 7. You are actually donating
the books to them, and they are a 501(c)(3) corporation.

*Donating Books in Person*

Please bring books to the NESFA Clubhouse at 504 Medford Street,
Somerville, MA. The clubhouse will be open this coming Sunday afternoon,
March 11th, from 12:30 until at least 6pm, and also on Wednesday
evenings (March 14 and March 21), typically from 6-10pm with some
splash-over earlier and later.

Directions to the Clubhouse are online at: http://www.nesfa.org/clubhouse/

You're also welcome to bring books for the drive to the NESFA Other
Meeting at Mark & Lisa Hertel's home on Sunday afternoon, March 25th.
They live in Andover, MA and the Other Meeting starts at 2pm. Please
contact Lisa Hertel
[email address redacted - reply here and we will forward as necessary]
if you need the address or
directions.

Many thanks to NESFA for the space at the Clubhouse for the Book Drive!

*How the Books Will Get to Chicago*

I'll drive as many books as I can. (It's a book drive in every respect!)
If there are more than I can carry, Lisa Hertel will ship the additional
books via Media Mail to Chicago, using funds from the MCFI donation. The
rest of MCFI's donation will help pay for the booth and other expenses
related to SFOP's presence at C2E2.

*What Happens Then?*

I'm helping James Bacon, Helen Montgomery, and other fans staffing the
SFOP booth at C2E2 the weekend of April 13-15. As people look for a book
our team will be there to chat, enthuse and talk about Worldcons and
SFnal activities. We will have maps, flyers, calendars all to be used to
show people, during 1 to 1 conversation, what is going on and hopefully
ignite a latent interest in our sort of hobbies and activities.

*Donating Books by Mail*

If you're not able to bring books to the NESFA Clubhouse or the Other
Meeting, you can still participate in the SFOP Book Drive. Send books to :

Chicon 7
Attn: Science Fiction Outreach Project
P.O. Box 13
Skokie, IL 60076

SFOP recommends sending them via USPS Media Mail:
http://www.usps.com/send/media-mail.htm

Please send books by Saturday, March 31 to assure they arrive in Chicago
in time for C2E2. Sooner is better; the team in Chicago is already
sorting and organizing books donated at Capricon and others they've
received.

*More About the Science Fiction Outreach Project*

Last year, SFOP was at Wondercon in San Francisco, where the gave away
some 6,000 books they'd collected from fans, clubs, publishers, and
more. The Wondercon SF Outreach was sponsored by RCFI/Renovation, Chicon
7, London in 2014, CanSMOF, SFSFC, LASFS, MCFI, NESFA, and SCIFI as well
as a private donor. Seven conventions hosted book drives. Similar
efforts are underway this year. For more information, visit their new
website or Facebook page:

-- http://science-fiction-outreach.org/about-sfop/
-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Science-Fiction-Outreach-Project-USA/106866149386050

Reports and photos from last year's SFOP at Wondercon:

-- In File 770: http://file770.com/?tag=science-fiction-outreach
-- On SFSFC: http://sfsfc.org/?page_id=443
-- Photos of the booth and other parts of the huckster's room by Karen
Schaffer: http://www.mikeandkaren.org/gallery/main.php/v/2011mike/sfoutreachwondercon/?g2_page=2

If you have additional questions, please contact me. Thanks! I look
forward to seeing just how many books will fit in my car....

[signed] Geri [Sullivan] [email address redacted - reply here and we will forward as necessary]