In this issue:

• Belatedly
• Thank You
• Sirens in 2017
• Quiet Time
• 2017 Reading
• Success Stories
• In Case You Missed It…

BELATEDLY

Sirens is a wonderful, amazing, demanding endeavour! While we adore it, it takes the vast majority of our staff’s time in September and October—which leads to a rebound effect in November and December as we catch up on the rest of our commitments to work, families, and friends. We’ll be back in earnest in January, but in the meantime, if you encounter sometimes significant delays in our returning communications, we hope you’ll forgive us.

THANK YOU

To all of you who attended and supported Sirens in 2016—thank you! Thank you for bringing your backgrounds, experiences, reading lists, opinions, and wisdom to our community. Thank you for speaking and listening, for discussing and disagreeing, and for doing so with respect and with inclusiveness. Thank you for presenting, for donating, for buying books and t-shirts and auction items. Thank you for leading Books and Breakfast discussions and helping presenters. Sirens is richer and more vibrant because of each of you.

A special thank you to our splendid 2016 guests of honor, Laurie J. Marks, Renée Ahdieh, and Kiini Ibura Salaam, who inspired us with their words—and their willingness to speak true, no matter how hard.

SIRENS IN 2017

Our 2017 Sirens website is live! Please visit www.sirensconference.org to learn about this year’s theme of women who work magic: witches, sorceresses, spellcasters, mages, illusionists, and more. Too often, women in fantasy literature are everyday humans navigating a world of wonder; for 2017, we’ll examine women who both have power and wield it. Zoraida Córdova, N. K. Jemisin, and Victoria Schwab will join us as our guests of honor.

Also this year, we’re returning to the recently-renovated luxury hotel, the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa in Vail, Colorado. The conference will run October 26–29, 2017, with the Sirens Studio on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 24–25, and the Sirens Supper on Wednesday, October 25. The Sirens Shuttle will run from the Denver International Airport on Monday night prior to the Studio and on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons; the return trip for all shuttle-riders will depart Vail at noon on Sunday, October 29. (We’re hoping to have Studio faculty announcements out early in 2017—so don’t purchase those plane tickets quite yet! Also, please note that due to renovations, hotel reservations are on hold until the end of the year; we’ll let you know the moment you can reserve a room.)

Registration is currently $190, and will remain that price until the end of the year. The Sirens Studio, the Sirens Supper, and the Sirens Shuttle tickets can be purchased separately. We hope you join us next October!

QUIET TIME

As we mentioned above, until the end of the year, the Sirens staff will be quieter than normal as we rebuild and ready ourselves for 2017. Our programming and volunteering systems are closed for maintenance, though we encourage you to keep up-to-date on all the news through our website, Twitter, and newsletter. We’re planning features on our guests, travel, programming, and theme, plus more informal Sirens meet-ups throughout the year. Feel free to grab a graphic to show your support! Of course, if you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please email us at (help at sirensconference.org).

We’d also like to remind you that, for a variety of reasons, if you have questions about Sirens, the best place to ask us is by emailing us at (help at sirensconference.org). As an all-volunteer organization, we are not always diligent about checking our social media—and the people who do check it often don’t have the answers that you’re seeking. Thanks for your help and understanding!

2017 READING

To keep you busy while we’re out, our 2017 Suggested Reading and Reading Challenge are also live! Check them out, get busy buying or borrowing books, and check back in January for the return of Amy’s Book Club and Read Along with Faye (who did finish the 2016 Challenge!).

SUCCESS STORIES

We’ve had many story ideas, personal projects, and career moves sparked by conversations at Sirens. Have you started or changed jobs? Published a book or paper? Gone back to school? Tell us! Shout your good news at the rooftops over at (help at sirensconference.org).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

• Faye’s Recap Post: Books I Read for the 2016 Reading Challenge
• Sirens in 2016 Recaps:
  • Sirens: Lovers by Edith Hope Bishop
  • Sirens Is Now My Home by Blair MacGregor
  • “New friends and stranger companies”: My #Sirens16 Adventure by Cass R. Morris
  • The One About Belonging by Rook Riley

Questions? Concerns? Please email general queries to (help at sirensconference.org) and questions about programming to (programming at sirensconference.org).