Writercon 09 is coming! Are you? [Pause for jokes]

Writercon is all about sharing -- our writing trials and triumphs, our fannish squee, the company of people who get our passion for something that to most people is "just a TV show." Scholarships are an important part of Writercon culture, sharing the opportunity to gather. It's not just that -- we do it for ourselves, too. This is our chance to meet the writers we've admired -- or renew a friendship from past years -- and we would hate to miss out on the company of a fellow fan who contributes stories, recs, beta services and/or that all-important audience just because money is tight.

So scholarships are back! We have some funds from donations and last Writercon's T-shirt sales in the amount of $2500, and we're about to kick off our 2009 fundraising campaign (which promises to be a lot of fun) to raise more.

Applications will open March 1 at 12:00 a.m. EST and will close on March 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The procedures are different this time, so even if you've been awarded a scholarship in the past (and you are welcome to apply again), check out our new policies.

Scholarship winners will be determined via a lottery system. Two levels of awards will be offered: Registration fee only (for those who specify that this is all they need) and a larger award designed to offset hotel or airline costs. We are targeting this award to be capped at $400, paid out at the con upon demonstration of receipts. This amount may change depending on fundraising response but our goal is to help as much as we can given our resources.

In return, we only ask that you do four hours of volunteer work at the convention.

If you'd like to apply, go to http://writercon.com between March 1 and 15 and choose "Scholarship Application" from the menu.

Note: We will not be booking rooms or assigning roomies for scholarship recipients this year. Awards will consist of a comped registration and reimbursement for travel or lodgings up to the set limit per award.

If you're not in need of financial assistance, but want to donate to the scholarship fund, go to http://writercon.com/donate.

We'll be announcing some fundraisers shortly, and those donations will be directed exclusively to scholarships.