The IAFA is looking for a candidate for the position of Head of the Fantasy Division, effective June of 2014. The current Division Head, Stefan Ekman, will finish his term following the 2014 conference. We are advertising this position now to give the incoming Division Head the opportunity to observe the cycle during the 2014 conference, and thus be ready to take over in the summer of 2014 for the 2015 conference cycle.
The Division Head is the person who sends out paper calls for his/her Division, collects and accepts paper proposals, creates paper sessions, helps to create panels, selects and moderates roundtable readings, and passes the work s/he’s done on to the 1st Vice President for scheduling. This Division is responsible for scholarship on all aspects of fantasy literature (broadly defined to mean anything from genre fantasy to magic realism and folk tales) including, but not restricted to, criticism on works by fantasy authors writing in English, inter-disciplinary approaches to the genre, and scholarship on fantasy theory.
Qualifications include current membership with IAFA (at least a couple of years’ experience with the organization so you have some understanding of how things work at the conference), easy and dependable internet access and comfort level with computers, organizational skills, the ability to work as part of a group working together on the ‘big picture,’ a willingness to work through the transition with the previous Division Head beginning this fall, the ability to attend March conferences while you hold the position and to attend the Division Heads’ meeting run by the 1st VP at the conference, plus, of course, the time to do the work involved. Knowledge of the field of fantasy, including theory and criticism, is required. Division Heads hold office for a term of 3 years (with a probationary first year) with the possibility of renewal for a second 3-year term.
If you’re interested in taking on the work of Fantasy Division Head, please contact both Dale Knickerbocker, 1st Vice President (KNICKERBOCKERD@ecu.edu), and Stefan Ekman outgoing Fantasy Division Head (stefan.ekman@englund.lu.se), with a cover letter about your interest in and qualifications for the job. Applications for the position should include a CV. The IAFA Board of Directors will consider all applications for the position.
The deadline for applications is May 1, 2013; a decision will be made by June 2013.