The Committee

The Discworld Convention is not a commercial event, and couldn't exist without a lot of people volunteering their free time to organise and run it—both for the duration of the Convention Weekend itself, and for much of the two years leading up to it. At the heart of this group are the Convention Committee (ConCom), but they are aided by a number of volunteers from within the membership. Some of these people will be (or become!) familiar faces, but others work hard behind the scenes to make the Convention happen, and might be less recogniseable.

So, for your convenience, we've assembled below a brief introduction to the 2018 Discworld Convention Committee, and the key volunteers who are lending their support to help make the Convention possible. Feel free to click on each Committee member's name for a quick introduction:

The Chairs

The Chair Collective head up the Committee, and are responsible for organising the other departments. Apt comparisons to these duties include plate-spinning, herding cats, etc. They can be reached at chair@dwcon.org.

Hotel

The Hotel Liaison team are responsible for negotiations with the venue, and handle all official interaction with the hotel. They are also the point of contact for all members with hotel queries such as room or dietary requirements. For questions, get in touch at hotel@dwcon.org.

  • Hotel Liaison: Kian Ryan
  • Hotel Liaison: Karen Furness

Membership

The Membership Team are there to ensure that buying a membership for the Convention is a smooth process, and to handle all related queries. The team will also run Registration at the beginning of the Convention, making sure that everyone can collect their Membership badge and goodie bag on arrival. Contact them at membership@dwcon.org.

Guest Liaison

Our programme depends on the generosity of our Guests to donate their time to enthrall and entertain us. The Guest Liaisons help make sure they have as much fun as other Members at the Convention. Email them at guests@dwcon.org

  • Guest Liaison: Karen Hunter-Jones
  • Guest Liaison: Pete Haddock

Accessibility

The Accessibility Team are here to facilitate a Convention that is as open and accessible to as many people as possible, within the confines of finance, time and what the Hotel will let us do to a Grade 2 listed building. The Team and the Committee represent a wide variety of accessibility requirements and we hope that our experiences will enable us to provide good accessibility for our Members. They can be reached at accessibility@dwcon.org

Programme

The Programme team are responsible for taking the many planned events at a Discworld Convention, and arranging them much like a giant jigsaw puzzle. They try to ensure that everyone has something interesting to see or do at any point during the Convention, and are also in charge of making sure that the events happen and run to schedule during the weekend itself. If you have ideas for the Programme, these are the people to get in touch with, at programme@dwcon.org.

Bringing the Party into the Street and helping coordinate things outside the Gala dinner: 

  • Gala Alternative: Kirstine Heald

The Abbot and Monks of Cool

During the Convention, there will be some form of ‘Guilds’ that Members can join. Although the main purpose of these Guilds is to help provide a way for Members to meet (new!) people, they generally come up with fun programme items, and activities that the programme team didn’t (and in some cases couldn’t) dream of. The Abbot (assisted by the Monks of Cool) make sure that all of this remains, well, cool.

Ably assisting the Abbot are the following Monks, who are very Cool volunteers:

Ops & First Aid

One of the most important teams during The Convention itself, The Operations (Ops) Team's base of operations always forms the heart of the Convention. They are there to handle all problems and queries which might crop up over the course of the Convention Weekend—from simple lost and found concerns, to any emergency which might occur. This is also the team to call upon for any First Aid matters. All Members will likely become well aquainted with the following phrase: if you have a question or a problem, GO TO OPS!

Gophers & Watch

The Convention couldn't be run without the help of volunteers at the event itself, who are in turn co-ordinated by our watch commanders and gopher masters. They spend the duration of the Convention on the move; making sure events are watched, items get from here to there, and everything is running smoothly with the aid of member volunteers. If you want to volunteer, you can do so during registration or email us ahead of the Convention at volunteers@dwcon.org.

Productions

The Productions Team is in charge of pretty much anything that happens on Stage during the weekend. This includes organising the opening and closing ceremonies, the Maskerade, and the Play. To get in touch, please email them at either productions@dwcon.org or maskerade@dwcon.org.

And, helping Laura bring the DWCon productions to life are the following thespian volunteers:

  • Maskerade: Nadia Hamilton-Jones
  • Stage Manager: Dave Marsh

Tech

The Tech team are responsible for all the wizardry involved in assembling the stage, and providing light, sound, and visuals, all at the appropriate times. They work ridiculously hard behind the scenes, in order to ensure that everything which happens on stage can be seen and heard by the entire audience—aside from when it shouldn't be! They can be reached at tech@dwcon.org.

Richard will be assisted by the following technologically gifted volunteers:

  • Head of Lighting: Bodo Bellut
  • Vision and Video: Keith Smith
  • Sound Design: Mark Randall

Finance

The Finance team are responsible for all monetary aspects of the Convention. They manage the budget for each of the teams and have an evil stare waiting for any team who over step said budget. The Finance team also ensure that all outside companies which help run the Convention are paid for services rendered; from the Hotel, to printing, all the way down to smaller expenses such as pens or paperclips!

Dealers & Merchandise

Prior to the Convention, the Dealers' Liaison organises the space and stalls for the dealers and handles their registrations. At the Convention itself we will have a dedicated manager for the dealers room, who will be the point of contact for all dealer queries. For more information about becoming a dealer at the Convention, please contact dealers@dwcon.org.

The Merchandise team make plenty of wonderful Discworld Convention themed items, in order to exchange them for your hard-earned cash. These are mostly (but not entirely!) t-shirts. If you have suggestions for other items you'd like to purchase, please let us know by emailing merchandise@dwcon.org!

The Dealers & Merchandise team will be supported by the following very capable volunteers:

  • Dealers' Room Manager: Mike Flynn
  • Convention Merchandise Table: Ann Flynn

Comms

The Communications (Comms) team are in charge of making sure that you have all the important information you need about the Convention. They are responsible for writing newsletters and social media updates, and a fair dose of information wrangling. Email them at comms@dwcon.org.

The Web Team

The Web team work their magic behind the scenes to ensure that the website is both attractive and functional. It's thanks to their tireless efforts that memberships can be purchased online, hotel rooms can be booked, the programme team can create a programme and most importantly, that you can learn all about the upcoming Convention in the first place! For any difficulties, please contact them at webmaster@dwcon.org.