The ANTHONY BOUCHER Memorial Mystery Convention Bylaws
(Last Updated at Bouchercon 30 in Milwaukee in October, 1999)
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I. The Anthony Boucher Memorial Mystery Convention: the
World Mystery Conference shall be held once a year to
honor the memory of William Anthony Parker White. The
purpose of the conference is to provide a place for fans
and practitioners in the field of mystery fiction to
gather. It will be commonly referred to as Bouchercon
with the appropriate sequential number appended.
II. A Standing Committee shall be established with the
following purposes and responsibilities.
A. to register the name "Bouchercon" and provide
continuing trademark protection.
B. to review all financial matters affected by the bylaws
and standing rules.
C. to insure the maintenance of the Bouchercon mailing
list.
D. to enter into a contractual agreement with each
Conference Committee to provide a Bouchercon.
E. to provide continuity and act in an advisory capacity
to assist each of the Conference Committees.
F. to run the business meeting at each Bouchercon.
G. to run the site selection process at each Bouchercon.
H. to act as an executive committee to represent the
membership in emergency situations.
I. to withdraw the accreditation of any site that
threatens the integrity or future of Bouchercons.
III. Each Bouchercon shall be a non-profit enterprise
incorporated locally by each Conference Committee under
these by-laws and standing rules.
A. Current or future Bouchercons shall not be responsible
for the debts of past Bouchercons.
B. Dispensation of profits from each Bouchercon shall be
the responsibility of the Conference Committee with the
suggestion that proceeds be shared with future
Bouchercons.
IV. Site selection.
A. Bouchercons shall be held in cities across the North
American Continent, rotating annually from the Eastern
Region to the Central Region to the Western Region, then
in the fourth year be available to any North American or
non-North American site. In the fifth year, the rotation
shall begin with the Eastern Region.
B. The three Regions shall be defined as follows:
1. Eastern Region--Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC,
West Virginia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, Quebec.
2. Central Region--Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Ontario, Central
America, and Mexico.
3. Western Region--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,
Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory.
C. Bids for future site selections shall be accepted up to four
years in the future.
D. Bouchercon shall be held in the fall, preferably in October.
E. The Standing Committee will preview and approve bids prior to
each Bouchercon in order to prepare a ballot for the vote of
the membership.
F. Bouchercon sites shall be determined by a vote of the
membership at a Bouchercon in response to bids received and
announced in advance.
V. Each Bouchercon shall determine the Anthony Awards.
VI. Each Bouchercon shall have Guests of Honor.
VII. The membership of a Bouchercon shall be defined as the
registration list of paid attendees and the feted Guests.
VIII. The by-laws and standing rules shall be printed in each
Bouchercon program book.
IX. The following process shall be used to amend the Bouchercon
Bylaws:
A. Initial presentation (year one).
1. Changes shall be presented in writing to the membership
through the Bouchercon updates and program packet.
2. Changes shall be discussed at the Bouchercon business
meeting.
B. Adoption (year two).
1. Changes shall be considered for adoption at the
Bouchercon following the initial presentation.
2. Changes shall be presented in writing to the membership
through the updates and program packet.
3. A written ballot shall be presented to the membership of
the Bouchercon in the adoption year.
4. Changes will be adopted if the written ballots show a
two-thirds majority vote in favor of adoption.
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Standing Rules
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I. Standing rules are created to carry out the business of
Bouchercon. The following process shall be used to amend the
Bouchercon Standing Rules:
A. Changes shall be presented in writing to the membership
through the Bouchercon updates prior to the Bouchercon
business meeting including printing the existing by-laws
and standing rules.
B. Changes shall be discussed at the Bouchercon business
meeting.
C. Changes shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote at
the Bouchercon business meeting.
II. The Standing Committee Standing Rules:
A. The Standing Committee shall be comprised of the following
individuals. If a Bouchercon Chair cannot attend, they may
appoint a representative.
1. The past three Bouchercon Conference Chairs.
2. The current Bouchercon Conference Chair.
3. The three upcoming Bouchercon Chairs.
4. Three members-at-large.
B. Members-at-large shall be elected by the following process:
1. The Standing Committee shall solicit nominees in the
updates.
2. The Standing Committee shall select three nominees to be
presented to the membership.
3. In the last update mailing to the membership prior to
Bouchercon, the nominees shall be presented to the
membership.
4. The Standing Committee shall prepare a ballot with the
nominees listed.
a. The attending membership of the Bouchercon shall vote
on the nominees.
b. A simple majority, as validated by The Standing
Committee, shall elect the member-at-large.
c. The winning member at large shall be announced at the
banquet or any other appropriate all conference event.
5. Members-at-large shall serve on The Standing Committee
for three years.
a. To initiate this process, three members-at-large shall
be elected in the first year, with one serving one
year, a second serving two years, and the last serving
a full three year term.
C. The chair of the Standing Committee shall be the most senior
member-at-large.
D. If a Bouchercon chair declines to participate or appoint a
representative, their chair shall remain vacant.
E. If a member-at-large declines to participate or resigns, The
Standing Committee may elect a new member-at-large to fulfill
the term of the replaced member.
III. The Standing Committee shall review all matters affected by the
bylaws and standing rules.
IV. The voting procedures for selection of the sites for Bouchercons
shall be as follows:
A. Bid process for the annual Bouchercons:
1. Each bidding group must provide the following information
to The Standing Committee by July 1st of the bid year:
a. Location.
b. Dates, preferably in October.
c. Conference committee membership directory.
d. Confirmation of the availability of conference hotel
including sleeping room set aside.
e. Confirmation of the availability of conference meeting
room space for a conference of approximately 1,500
attendees.
f. Outline of conference committee plans for Bouchercon
activities and events.
B. The conference committee must schedule a Bouchercon site bid
meeting in the first day of conference programming.
1. Groups who have an approved bid by The Standing Committee
may present to the membership. The presentation must
include the following:
a. Location.
b. Dates, preferably in October.
c. Conference committee membership directory.
d. Confirmation of the availability of conference hotel
including sleeping room set aside.
e. Confirmation of the availability of conference meeting
room space for a conference of approximately 1,500
attendees.
f. Outline of conference committee plans for Bouchercon
activities and events.
2. The Standing Committee shall prepare a ballot with each
valid Bouchercon bid listed.
a. The attending membership of the Bouchercon shall vote
on the valid sites.
b. A simple majority, validated by The Standing Committee,
shall award the Bouchercon to the winning site.
c. The winning site shall be announced at the banquet or
any other appropriate all conference event.
d. The Conference Committee Chair of the winning site must
sign the Bouchercon contract with the Chair of the
Standing Committee prior to the announcement of the
winning bid.
C. The following shall apply to the bid process.
1. Groups may bid up to four years prior to their intended
dates.
V. The Standing Committee will hold a business meeting at each
Bouchercon with the following agenda:
A. Welcome by the Chair.
B. Introduction of the Standing Committee.
C. Public Comment.
D. Report of the Current Bouchercon Chair.
E. Reports of the Future Bouchercon Chairs.
F. Amendments to the Standing Rules.
G. Amendments to the By-Laws.
H. Old Business.
I. New Business.
J. Adjournment.
VI. Guests of Honor procedures:
A. Guests of Honor may have their expenses covered by Bouchercon.
Legitimate expenses to be covered include hotel, travel and
meals. No Guests shall receive any honorarium for appearing or
speaking.
B. Each Bouchercon may have the following Guest(s) of Honor:
1. Author Guest of Honor drawn from the mystery/crime/suspense
fiction field who is a professional whose work is deserving
of public recognition.
2. Fan Guest of Honor drawn from mystery/crime/suspense fandom
who is deserving of public recognition.
3. Toastmaster.
4. Life Time Achievement drawn from mystery/crime/suspense
field who is deserving of public recognition for a lifetime
commitment to the field.
5. Mrs. Phyllis White, widow and lifetime helpmate of Anthony
Boucher, shall be given membership No. 000 at each renewal
and a place of honor at all BoucherCon program events,
including the banquet if one is held, all at no cost to her.
VII. Each Conference Committee shall oversee the determination and
awarding of the Anthony Awards.
A. The Anthony Awards shall be given for outstanding achievement
in each category to honor the memory of Anthony Boucher.
B. Awards shall be given in the following categories:
1. Best Novel.
2. Best First Novel.
3. Best Paperback Original.
4. Best Short Story.
5. Best Critical Nonfiction Work.
6. Special Service Award.
7. Up to three wild card awards.
C. The procedure for the awarding of the Anthony Awards shall be
as follows:
1. The Conference Committee shall solicit nominations from its
membership on the best in each category from the previous
calendar year.
2. The Conference Committee shall include in the last update to
the membership a ballot that includes up to five nominees in
each of the award categories.
3. The Conference Committee shall determine the winners, and
make a presentation of the award, at the banquet or any other
appropriate all conference event.
VIII. Each Conference Committee Chair shall insure that the following
rules are applied to their Bouchercon:
A. At the business meeting, the Conference Committee Chair must
provide The Standing Committee members with an accounting of the
projected finances of their Bouchercon.
B. Within sixty days of the end of each Bouchercon, the Conference
Committee Chair must provide each Standing Committee member with
an accounting of the finances of the Bouchercon.
C. Within sixty days of the end of each Bouchercon, the Conference
Committee Chair must pass on the membership list from the
previous Bouchercon to the Chair of the Standing Committee and
the next three Bouchercon Conference Committee Chairs.
D. The program book will contain the by-laws and the standing rules.