JiJ Slayage Issue Submission Deadline is This Saturday!!

There's time for one final reminder that the deadline for submissions for the special Joss In June issue of Slayage is coming up on SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER. 

We've already got some great submissions, but we want more! (We're greedy like that.) So send more of that Whedony goodness our way by the end of the day on Saturday! If you need to look over the CFP again, it's here: http://www.jossinjune.blogspot.com/2013/10/call-for-papers-slayage-joss-in-june.html.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Deadline for the Joss In June Slayage Issue is 30 November 2013!

Hello again! I hope this finds all of you well.

The deadline for submissions for the Joss In June special issue of Slayage: The Official journal of the Whedon Studies Association is fast approaching, so Dale and I thought it might be a good idea to send out a reminder. 

The hard deadline for submissions is 30 November 2013 - just two weeks away! Please understand that this really is the final deadline. Due to our own schedules as well as the time necessary for submissions to go through peer-review, revision, formatting, and publication we will NOT be extending the deadline. November 30, 2013 is the final deadline.

So, get those papers to us! The full call for papers can be found here: http://www.jossinjune.blogspot.com/2013/10/call-for-papers-slayage-joss-in-june.html.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Call For Papers: Slayage Joss In June Issue!!

Following the success (and immense fun!) of “Joss in June,” Dale and I have been asked to co-guest edit a special issue of Slayage: The Journal of the Whedon Studies Association, in order to publish some of the work presented at the conference!

If you are interested in having your work included in this Very Special Issue, here’s what you need to know:

·         This CFP is strictly limited to “Joss in June” presenters.

·         Only papers based on “Joss in June” presentations will be considered.

·         Papers should be article-length (6000 – 8000 words) and should conform to the publication guidelines (regarding formatting, etc.) for Slayage.  Here’s a handy link to those guidelines - http://slayageonline.com/pages/Slayage/submissions.htm.

·         Please – if your presentation paper has been published or is being considered for publication with another journal/book/endeavor – we cannot in good conscience also publish it in Slayage.  We wish you well, but please do not double-submit.

After submission, your article will go through Slayage’s usual double blind review process by at least two members of the Slayage editorial board, and if accepted for publication, will see “print” in the early spring of 2014 (March or April).

To be considered, please send your article to both of us.  That’s Dale Guffey guffeyd@clevelandcc.edu and Ensley Guffey ensleyguffey@gmail.com.

The deadline for submissions is NOVEMBER 30, 2013. Please be aware that this is a very firm deadline. Due to the review and publication process, we simply will not be able to take late submissions – no matter how heart-rending the reason!  (Seriously.)

Thanks once again for your participation in “Joss in June,” and we hope to hear from you soon!

Joss In June Survey

Hello all! 

As you may know, we've put together a brief survey about Joss In June at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y2RXZKK. We're hoping to get some solid feedback on what we did right and what we got wrong in order not only to help us when/if we throw this party again, but also as research in putting together a "how-too" presentation for smaller, regional Whedon conferences to present at Slayage 6 in Sacramento next year. We hope to be able to help spur similar conferences to Joss In June in other areas of the country (or even the world! MuhwahoohahahahahahahahaHA!) in the future. 

Also, without going into details at this time, another Joss In June opportunity has opened up for the near future, and these surveys will be invaluable for that as well. More details will be forthcoming.

All of that is to say that if you haven't already completed the survey, we would really appreciate it if you did, and to let you all know that, in part because of this new opportunity, we will be closing the survey to further responses on Monday 29 July. So please take a few minutes to give us your feedback before then.

Thanks very much, and please be well.

Thanks to You All!

So ever since our linguistic ability recovered from the "fire bad, tree pretty" state it was in late Saturday night, Dale and I have fallen into the habit of occasionally looking at each other and saying "We did it!" like a couple of kids who've managed to put on a successful play in our uncle's barn without setting the place on fire and scaring the livestock. While it's true that we are thoroughly enjoying the complements and rave reviews Joss In June has been getting on teh intrawebs, the fact of the matter is that we, Dale and I, had little to do with how great the conference was.

That was all you guys.

In one of the first panels of the day at Joss In June, Ashford University's Lindsay Bryde presents on "The Domination of Buffy the the Submission of her Men" to a packed crowd.

Every one of you brought your "A-Game," and I cannot count the number of times I was approached by someone on Saturday who gushed about how strong the presentations were. Those of you who didn't present brought your questions and brilliance to the discussions in each panel which were insightful, stimulating, and a hell of a lot of fun. So we'd like to extend our deepest gratitude and thanks to each and every one of you. You are what made Joss In June a success!

Extra-special thanks go out to Dr. Rhonda V. Wilcox, whose keynote, likely the first academic presentation on Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, was truly brilliant, and inspiring. I think we all wanted to see the film again after Rhonda's presentation. Thank you so much for coming and for being the perfect capstone ot a wonderful day.

We'd also like to heap fulsome praise on all of the people who worked so hard behind the scenes to make Joss In June run so smoothly. First and foremost of these are our JIJ "Operatives," those committed souls who made sure the presenter-tech interface in each room was as painless and productive as possible: Chuck Davis, DeLane Hoppes, Athena Smith, and Kevin Wolford. You guys truly rock.

Helping us get everyone checked in and insuring that everyone's arm-length of raffle tickets was properly measured were our JIJ "Agents" Barry Dietz, Wendy Ross, and Michele Rogers. You folks may not know it, but you kept Dale and I sane, because we knew the sales and money part of the conference was in great hands!

Way behind the scenes was another JIJ "Agent": Cindy Hoyle who was the official bookkeeper and administrative assistant for Joss In June. Her spreadsheets, lists, and organization were invaluable. Seriously, we couldn't have kept up with everything without Cindy!

The Whedon Studies Association (WSA), and its current president, Dr. Tanya R. Cochran provided advice, encouragement and financial support for Joss In June, and we couldn't be prouder to belong to such an incredible organization. Thanks to Tanya and the WSA Board for all of your help. Beth Cox and McFarland Publishing also provided financial support, as well as a vast array of Whedon scholarship for sale at the conference, and we were thrilled to be working with them again.

We'd also like to thank Linley Crocker, Planning Manager for the LeGrand Center, for being a true joy to work with, for making sure that we had everything we needed, and for emergency printing services! Jeanette Sun and the staff of Ni Fen Wine and Tapas provided and served the wonderful lunch and snacks, and I was way too excited about getting to take the leftovers home, believe me. Chuck Davis gets another heartfelt thanks for overseeing the printing of the signs, tags, programs, and name-plates, and Drs L. Steve Thornburg and Shannon Kennedy of Cleveland Community College provided constant support, encouragement, and in-kind assistance from CCC.

I know I'm probably forgetting a host of other folks, and I can only hope they will forgive me, for as much as Dale and I are enjoying the warm fuzzies we're getting for convening Joss In June, the conference was truly a concerted, group effort rather than a two-person show. Thanks to each and every one of you, we might even  do this again one day!

Also, keep in touch! You can find Dale and I online on Twitter (@EnsleyFGuffey and @KDaleKoontz) and Facebook (Ensley here and Dale here), and we'd love to keep up with all of you!

So thank you all so very, very much! Now go forth and continue to spread the academic Whedony joy wherever you roam!

Only 3 More Days!

That's right folks, in less than three days, Shelby will be the place to be for all sorts of academic Whedony goodness!

So here's a final bit of information for those of you who're planning to join us:

Program

You can access a .pdf copy of the program here. You'll get a hard-copy program when you check in on Saturday, but this one accurately lists who is presenting when and where. The conference schedule can be found in the program, and also here on on the JIJ blog. 

Registration

Registration will run from 8 am until 12 noon. As Joss In June is a one day conference with a grand total of four sessions, we urge everyone to get there in time to register and be ready to attend the first session at 9:15. For those of you with friends, family, or colleagues who are interested in seeing the conference but have not already registered, we will be offering same-day, attending-only registration on Saturday during the same time period, at a cost of $20.00 per person, payable by cash or check only. Same-day registration includes access to all of the panels, but does NOT include lunch. The final lunch order went in yesterday, and we cannot add any more orders to it.

The LeGrand Center

The LeGrand Center is a multi-function building, with the first floor devoted to classroom space for Cleveland County Schools' Early College program, and Joss in June will take place in the conference center on the second floor. Just head upstairs form the main lobby, and you'll see the reception desk where you'll be checking in at the top of the stairs. Elevators are located under the stairs on the first floor for those with mobility issues. We'll have signs posted, so finding your way shouldn't be a problem.

You can find a map of the LeGrand Center's second floor here.

The conference welcome, lunch, keynote, and raffle will be taking place in the Special Events Ballroom, labeled as Ballrooms 4, 5, and 6 on the map. The panels will be taking place in Conference Rooms 1 - 3.

Technology

All conference rooms are equipped with projectors, screens, and ports for VGA and HDMI cables. VGA cables will be provided, but if you need an HDMI cable BRING YOUR OWN. If you are planning to incorporate visual presentations, clips, etc. with your presentation you will need to bring your own laptop. For those of you who might want or need internet access during the conference, WiFi internet access is free under the LeGrand's guest access, with no password needed. The signal is strong and fast throughout the conference center.

Either Dale or I or a Joss In June technical assistant in a black t-shirt labeled "Operative" will be in each conference room for every session. Any of us will be willing, able, and happy to provide technical assistance, if you need it. Please don't hesitate to call on us!

Shopping and Other Fun Stuff

McFarland and Co. publishing will be at Joss In June, with tables set up in the atrium area outside of the ballroom, and will be selling their books at a special conference rate. McFarland is usually able to take credit cards as well as cash. McFarland will also be taking book proposals on Saturday.

We're also pleased to announce that some incredibly cool (seriously, these shirts just rock!) Joss In June t-shirts will be available for purchase in the atrium, as well as a few shirts from Slayage 5, held last year in Vancouver, and some Whedon Studies Association (WSA) coffee mugs. 

Joss In June t-shirts (pre-shrunk, and available in men and women's cut) will be selling for $20.00 each. We'll let you know about the pricing for the other items as soon as we figure it out ourselves! However, we will only be able to take cash or checks for any of the t-shirts and mugs, so bring some cashy-money with you.

Also bring some cash for our fantastic raffle, to be held after Rhonda's keynote. We've rounded up some really cool items, including a  (relatively) rare Electric Company Spider-Man comic book scripted by Tom Whedon, Joss' father! Other Whedon comics, graphic novels, even a script or two, and more will be raffled off, so bring a few extra bucks for tickets. We'll be selling 1 ticket for $1, 5 tickets for $3, and an arm's length of tickets (measured from middle finger to shoulder) for $5.

Our goal for Joss in June is to break even, and t-shirt and raffle sales go towards covering conference expenses. In the unlikely event that we actually see a profit from Joss In June, that money will be donated to the WSA to further the international academic study of the works of Joss Whedon. 

Joss In June Facebook Page

To facilitate communication between Joss In June attendees, and to help those who might be looking to carpool to and from various airports, we have created a Facebook group page for Joss in June, which you can find at https://www.facebook.com/groups/139387929588791/

Since Facebook has a notification feature, we'll definitely be posting updates, etc on the conference there, as well as at the blog and via e-mail. It's also a good place to meet some of the presenters and attendees before the conference, and we'll be posting pics from the conference there, and encourage you guys to do the same.

Tweeting The Conference

Recently, it has become relatively common for people to live-Tweet during academic conferences. We have asked all of our presenters to provide us with their Twitter handles, if they use the service. These handles will be posted on each presenter's name-plate, and we ask that if you Tweet about a presentation, you do so with proper accreditation, via either the presenter's full name or Twitter handle. The hashtags for Joss In June are #JossInJune and #JIJ. We'll be putting together a record of the conference Tweets via storify, so please use those hashtags so we can include your Tweets! Some best practices for conference tweeting have been developed by the American Historical Association, and they have graciously given us permission to repost those here: http://www.jossinjune.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-aha-on-live-tweeting-conferences.html. Please read this over if you are considering live-Tweeting Joss In June.

And, of course, if a presenter or session should ask not to be Tweeted please respect their wishes.

We can't wait to see everyone on Saturday, and thanks to all of you for making this an incredible conference!

Conference Schedule

Nine days to go folks! The program goes to the printer today, so here's the official schedule for Joss In June

Joss in June Conference Schedule

8:00 – 12:00: Registration

9:00 – 9:10: Welcome

9:15 – 10:45: Session 1 (3 Panels)

10:45 – 11:00: Break, with Coffee & Snacks Served

11:00 – 12:30: Session 2 (2 Panels)

12:30 – 1:30: Lunch

1:45 – 3:15: Session 3 (3 Panels)

3:15 – 3:30: Break, with Refreshments and Snacks served

3:30 – 5:00: Session 4 (3 Panels)

5:00 – 5:15: Break

5:15 – 6:15: Keynote Address by Dr. Rhonda V. Wilcox

6:15 – 6:30: Raffle Drawing and Farewell