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Moved here from the TAFF home page when well out of date.

November 2021 A kind offer from John Hertz as below. It has been confirmed that he will gladly send copies of this report overseas to Europe, Australia etc despite the horrendous postal costs.

Hertz/Moffatt offer

18 October 2021 The TAFF administrators have announced a 2022 westbound race intended to transport a European delegate to the Chicago Worldcon (Chicon 8) in September 2022. Full release here.

October 2021 Anna Raftery's TAFF report: Cuttlefish and Cake is now available for download at a cost of £5.00. All proceeds to TAFF.

September 2021 More thanks for another publication bounty: "Dear FANAC – Many thanks on behalf of TAFF for your generous $500 contribution for the publication of John Coxen's TAFF report, Best. Trip. Ever. Your support of the publication of TAFF trip reports is deeply appreciated. The money itself and how much it helps fund upcoming TAFF trips is immensely useful, and we also value how the bounty helps promote the publication of trip reports, which in turn provide a lasting record and help share the enjoyment and adventures of each trip." (Geri Sullivan, 6 September)

August 2021 "TAFF thanks SCIFI, the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, Inc., for the group's generous $500 donation supporting the publication of Cuttlefish and Cake, Anna Raftery's TAFF report from her 2016 trip. • Anna's multimedia report was initially developed as a series of Zoom interviews with 2011 TAFF Delegate John Coxon, and is now in the final stages of being published as a PDF. A full announcement and links to follow shortly." (Geri Sullivan, 31 August)

June 2021 More free ebooks: Faan Fiction 1930-2020: an exploration compiled and with critical commentary by Rob Hansen, and The Road to Fame by D.R. Smith.

April 2021 The latest addition to the free ebook library is Creative Random Harris, a huge collection of fanwriting by Chuck (alias Chuch) Harris – one of the founders of TAFF.

January 2021 Rob Hansen's researches into fan history revealed that although no candidates' platforms appear in the 1957 TAFF ballot, profiles of all the candidates were published in Yandro #50 (March 1957) edited by Buck and Juanita Coulson, a special TAFF issue that also has an article by Walt Willis on the fund's early years.

November 2020 John Coxon's 2011 TAFF report, Best. Trip. Ever., is now available in paperback and ebook formats.

October 2020 Many, many more conventions have been postponed or cancelled since March, and the TAFF administrators have reluctantly decided that it's not feasible or sensible to run a 2021 race. Here is the official release.

March 2020 Reaction to the increasing COVID-19 pandemic has already shut down one major convention (Fantastika in Sweden) on Michael Lowrey's TAFF trip itinerary; others may well follow. Sadly it looks as though the trip as planned will have to be cancelled and rescheduled for some less difficult time. TAFF can afford more air tickets if no refunds can be had, but it's a cruel blow to Michael's hopes. See File 770 post.

March 2020 Jeanne Gomoll writes: "As winner of the 1987 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) Race, I traveled for 3 weeks in England, Scotland and Ireland, visiting with UK science fiction fans and attending the 45th world science fiction convention, Conspiracy 87, in Brighton. This is my much-belated trip report – written and published 33 years after I returned home, reconstructed from audio tapes and photographs. Highlights include tales of my convention experiences, visits with Chuck Harris, Vincent Clarke, Walt Willis, James White, David Langford and Greg and Linda Pickersgill. Printed version (with B&W photos) $15; PDF version (with color photos) $8.99. Page count: 96 pages. All proceeds of this publication will be donated to TAFF." See https://tinyurl.com/JGTAFF.

21 January 2020 Now available: press release with full voting details.

13 January 2020 From the Administrators: The 2020 TAFF race is over! • These are the preliminary results. A final announcement with full voting results with be made shortly, but given the magnitude of the win, we're able to confidently announce the 2020 TAFF delegate today. • 103 votes were cast: 67 in North America, 34 in Europe, and 2 in the rest of the world. Of the votes cast, 11 were for No Preference. Of the remaining 92, 83 votes were cast for Michael "Orange Mike" Lowrey [below], who won this race with a simple majority in the first round of voting. We, the administrators, wish to congratulate Mike on his win! • We would also like to thank everyone who voted, everyone who donated money to TAFF, everyone who shared our announcements, and most of all, Ann Totusek who ran against Mike. Thank you all!

Orange Mike

17 December 2019 The fund administrators, Johan Anglemark and Geri Sullivan, have published their joint newsletter TAFFish 1 with candidate interviews, an update on TAFF finances and a reminder of the 12 January deadline for voting in the current race.

4 November 2019 The 2020 TAFF ballot including candidates' platforms is now available here, along with a printable PDF ballot; and the online voting form for this race is active.

1 November 2019 The two candidates in the 2020 TAFF race have been announced as Michael Lowrey and Ann Totusek, with the voting ballot to follow on 4 November.

6 October 2019 John Purcell, former North American TAFF administrator from 2017 to 2019, has deleted his TAFF-specific Gmail account with user name 2017taff2019. Although this is listed a few times in past announcements and ballot forms, it's hardly necessary to tell friends of TAFF that the latest contact addresses on the TAFF home page are the ones to use.

24 September 2019 The 2020 race is announced! [PDF document] "We, the current administrators of The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, issue a call for nominations for the 2020 TAFF race, to go from North America to Europe. The winner will attend Concentric: Eastercon 2020, in Birmingham, UK, (www.concentric2020.uk) from April 10 to April 13, 2020. Yes, it is an eastbound race for the second consecutive year. Looking at the next five Worldcons and Worldcon bids, that makes the most sense, we think. The nomination deadline is 31 October, 2019."

24-26 April 2019 Geri Sullivan is this year's TAFF delegate and will attend Dublin 2019: see the initial announcement and the detailed press release with voting breakdown. • Claire Brialey reports that over £1000 was raised by the TAFF/GUFF auction at Ytterbium (the UK Eastercon), with further donations and voting fees bringing the total to well over £2000; John Purcell adds that voting donations on the North American side exceeded $1500.

April 2019 Yet another addition to the free ebooks on this site: Francis T. Laney's infamous 1948 fan memoir and polemic Ah! Sweet Idiocy!. Also (though not exclusive to this site) A TAFF Guide to Beer, first published April 2019.

6 March 2019 The four candidates in the current TAFF race answer mercilessly probing questions in TAFF News Redux #2.

January 2019 Jim Mowatt's 2013 trip report Wherever I Lay My Hat! is now available as a free PDF download from this site.

19 December 2018 TAFF News Redux reminds us of the state of play in the current race and includes a ballot form. John Purcell urges us all to share it far and wide.

1 December 2018 Voting is now open in the 2019 race with candidates Teresa Cochran, Sarah Gulde, Mike Lowrey, and Geri Sullivan. The online voting form is active; this and the 2019 ballot form both include the candidates' hard-sell platforms; there is also a printable PDF ballot.

30 November 2018 With the addition today of David Langford's Don't Try This At Home: Selected Convention Reports, there are now 31 titles on this site's Free Ebooks page.

23 November 2018 John Purcell writes: "While Johan Anglemark prepares the official ballot for the 2019 TAFF race to the Dublin Worldcon next year, we are proud to announce the names of the four candidates: they are Teresa Cochran, Sarah Gulde, Mike Lowrey, and Geri Sullivan. / Voting begins on December 1, 2018 and ends on April 22, 2019. (John Purcell, North American TAFF administrator; Johan Anglemark, European TAFF Administrator)"

1 October 2018 Here is the official PDF newsletter announcing the opening of nominations for the 2019 TAFF race.

10 September 2018 The administrators John Purcell and Johan Anglemark announce that TAFF nominations for the 2019 eastbound race (whose winner is to attend the Dublin Worldcon) will open on 1 October 2018, closing on 22 November 2018, with votes accepted from 1 December 2018 to the closing date of 22 April 2019. Candidates need three North American and two European nominators and must also provide a platform of not more than 101 words and $20 USD bond sent via PayPal to 2017taff2019 [at] gmail dot com. • A more detailed newsletter announcement is in preparation.

August 2018 This year's delegate Johan Anglemark is recording progress at his 2018 TAFF trip blog. John Purcell reports good results from the ArmadilloCon 40 auction.

July 2018 TAFF News Special Report gives details of 2018 delegate Johan Anglemark's trip itinerary. • Jim Mowatt has more good news about his trip report (see 26 April below): "'I have recently sent copies of my 2013 TAFF report to SCIFI and FANAC and both happily paid 500 dollars each into the TAFF coffers, so helping us to keep sending more delegates across the ocean to strengthen the science fictional bonds that enhance our community. Many thanks to both these fine organisations for their encouragement and support for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund." An ebook version is in preparation.

26 April 2018 Jim Mowatt announces publication of his 2013 TAFF Report, Wherever I Lay My Hat!: "After years of desperate procrastination the report of my 2013 TAFF trip to North America is now complete. It tells the tale of my visits to Toronto, Abingdon, Seattle, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Antonio (Worldcon) and New Orleans. It features art from (in order of appearance) Alan White, Al Sirois, Stu Shiffman, Carrie Mowatt, D. West, Taral Wayne, Brad Foster, Allison Hershey, Ulf Skei, Valeri Purcell, Julie McMurray and Anne Stokes. There are many fine full colour photos of frolicking fans and I’ve even shoved a few words in there. I’m recommending a donation to Taff of about 20 pounds (28 or 29 dollars) and you can donate using the Taff donations buttons at taff.org.uk. Email me, jim (at) umor.co.uk or John Purcell at 2017taff2019 (at) gmail.com and we’ll post out a copy."

Jim Mowatt's trip report

15 April 2018 John Purcell's TAFF News #6.

6 April 2018 John Purcell's interim TAFF release includes voting statistics.

4 April 2018 John Purcell has announced the 2018 TAFF race result, and the winner is Johan Anglemark. Full voting details to follow. (With the current race over, the online voting form remains on view but is no longer accepting votes.)

28 January 2018 Yet another newsletter from North American administrator John Purcell: TAFF News #4.

January 2018 Happy New Year! New Year's Day sees two momentous changes to this site's free ebooks page. First, by popular demand of a few persistent fans, all titles are now available in PDF format (a quick-and-dirty conversion rather than proper digital typesetting, I'm afraid; more here). Even more first, True Rat: The Beast of Leroy Kettle, edited as usual by Rob Hansen, collects the greatest hits from Roy Kettle's peak fanwriting years in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Christmas 2017 In John Purcell's TAFF News #3, the three 2018 TAFF candidates are asked probing questions and reveal their inmost secrets. With photographs!

December 2017 Voting is now open (to close on 3 April 2018) for the 2018 westbound TAFF race, bringing a European fan to Worldcon 76 in San José, California. Candidates are Johan Anglemark, Fia Karlsson and Helena McCallum (Adela Terrell): Online voting form. Ballot. Platforms. PDF ballot. See John Purcell's full announcement in TAFF News #2.

More at the free ebooks page: fan historian Rob Hansen has collected the late Frank Arnold's articles, memoirs and reviews (mostly unpublished), as The Frank Arnold Papers with introductions by Rob and Michael Moorcock; and David Langford has edited The Complete Skyrack by Ron Bennett, collecting all issues of Ron's indispensable 1960s UK fan newsletter plus several bonus items.

November 2017 Nominations are now open (to close on 30 November) for the 2018 westbound TAFF race, bringing a European fan to Worldcon 76 in San José, California. See John Purcell's TAFF News #1. • More at the free ebooks page: Graham Charnock's Running Amok in the Fun Factory brings together his favourite UK convention reports by various hands, while fan historian Rob Hansen has collected William F. (Bill) Temple's 1938-1960 humorous fanzine writing as Temple at the Bar. • A new page on this site: TAFF Newsletters, listing all known newsletters and progress reports in chronological order with links where possible.

October 2017 Another title added to the free ebooks page: Greg Pickersgill's Can't Get Off the Island, a collection of his fanwriting edited and published by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer for the 2005 Glasgow Worldcon at which he was fan guest of honour. Still more ebooks are in the pipeline, several edited by indefatigable fan historian Rob Hansen– announcements will follow here and in Ansible. Meanwhile the freebies page has been titivated with linked cover-and-description pages for every title (so each has its own permalink as for Greg's ebook above) and a gallery of all the covers. • Joe Siclari of fanac.org has kindly sent scans of several old TAFF newsletters not previously hosted here. The first to go up in our traditional web-page form is Eric Bentcliffe's TAFF Reporter TAFF Reporter #1, May 1962.

August 2017 TAFF winner John Purcell attended Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, toured and visited fans in other countries before and after, returned to the USA with 5,862 photographs, and now takes over the role of North American administrator from Curt Phillips. See left-hand column for his official contact address and TAFF-specific email. • Anna Raftery reports: "Nearly €2,300 was raised for the fan funds at the Helsinki Worldcon: €1,994 from the auction and the remainder from the fan fund table and donations. Some items were sold for specific funds but the majority of the cash raised was split evenly, with DUFF thus getting €660.80 in total, TAFF €778.30, and GUFF €838.30." (Email, 28 August)

July 2017 Now available at Free Ebooks: the TAFF Trip Report Anthology, bringing together all the instalments of unfinished and abandoned TAFF reports that have been archived on this site over the years, plus single "teaser" chapters from reports still actively in progress (see below). The final length is 130,000 words. Many thanks to all the friends of TAFF who have helped with this mighty compilation!

June 2017 More trip report instalments from past TAFF winners are now hosted here: thanks to Ulrika O'Brien (1998), Anne and Brian Gray (2010) and John Coxon (2011) for single "teaser" chapters from their reports-in-progress, and to Steve Green (2009) for the three chapters which are probably all that will appear of his report. Further thanks to the Locus editorial team for approving the use of Elliot K. Shorter's 1970 Worldcon report as TAFF delegate, published in Locus in its fanzine days. See also the 23 May post below. All this material has been added to TAFF: The Anthology, an ebook-in-progress which at 129,000 words is virtually complete and destined for the Free Ebooks page. More new additions there include Ansible Second Series 1991-2000 and Ansible Second Series 2001-2010, two massive compilations each presenting ten years of the infamous newsletter; but the agog fannish world will have to wait a bit longer for Ansible Second Series 2011-2020.

28 May 2017 John Purcell writes: "Here are the core dates when my wife and I are going to and from Europe for WorldCon 75. The goal here is to see who and what we can meet, see, and do during our travels [...] As things progress, I shall keep all and sundry notified."

23 May 2017 It's ages since any new TAFF report chapters were added to this site; the tendency these days is for them to appear in online fanzines (mainly at eFanzines.com) duly linked from the All the Past TAFF Races page. However, the TAFF site now hosts "teaser" chapters from Jim Mowatt (2013) and Curt Phillips (2014), with more expected before long. • New at Free Ebooks: Walt Willis's The Harp at Chicon, the first long segment of his The Harp Stateside as published in Quandry (1952). Later: Also John Berry's The Goon Omnibus, being his "Goon Bleary/Goon Defective Agency" fanfiction as collected in the 1993 volumes The Bleary Eyes 1 and 2.

May 2017 Congratulations to Jacq Monahan on finishing and publishing her TAFF report, Same Planet Different World: Jacq's TAFF Adventure in the UK. • By special arrangement with James Shields, James Bacon's 2004 TAFF trip report WorldConNomicon is now available as a free PDF download from this site. (18+ megabytes, so take care if you have a slow net connection.) • The Free Ebooks download page now caters for PDF as well as e-reader formats, so WorldConNomicon and Chris Garcia's report – the latter long available from elsewhere on this site – can both be found there. More to follow!

18 April 2017 2017 TAFF voting closed last night, and after much counting and recounting the administrators announced today that John Purcell won by just one vote. The detailed release is here.

February 2017 In addition to their 2017 TAFF ballot platforms, all three candidates have since posted campaign material online. Click on each name for more: Sarah Gulde, Alissa McKersie, John Purcell. • TAFF voting has been extended from the former 4 March deadline to the end of the UK Eastercon on 17 April. See the official press release.

December 2017 The 2017 TAFF ballot has been released and voting is open. HTML and PDF versions are archived on this site. The 2017 candidates are Sarah Gulde, Alissa McKersie and John Purcell. Online voting using PayPal seems slightly buggy as described here; if PayPal doesn't offer the option to add comments or instructions you may need to email your voting preferences to the appropriate administrator as well. • Here's a reminder that SCIFI still offers a $500 donation to TAFF for any trip report of reasonable length completed within five years of the trip: http://www.scifiinc.org/grants/.

October 2016 Nominations are now open for the 2017 race from North America to Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, Finland. Official release here.

31 March 2016 Here's the official newsletter with full details of the results and the list of voters: TAFFWorld #6, April 2016.

30 March 2016 Jim Mowatt announces (voting figures slightly amended 31 March): "And the Taff result is in: Anna Raftery 94 votes, Wolf von Witting 82 votes, No Preference 14 votes. Therefore Anna is the new Taff delegate and will be visiting North America later this year to attend MidAmeriCon II and hopefully visiting some other fannish abodes. Many congratulations and a warm welcome to our new Taff delegate.

"Many commiserations to Wolf who was a brilliant candidate and has done an incredible amount of work amongst fans from many countries to raise the profile of TAFF in continental Europe. As Nina will testify, the fan fund isn't very well known in some parts of Europe so it can be quite difficult to engage your fellow fans if they aren't very familiar with the TransAtlantic Fan Fund. Wolf moved mountains and came within just 10 votes of claiming the prize. A stunning campaign and a monumental achievement. In many other years the number of votes he managed to get would have taken him comfortably to the victory podium. Wolf, we salute you."

March 2016 Jim Mowatt's TAFFWorld #5 urges everyone to vote in the current race before the 29 March deadline.

December 2016 Jim Mowatt opens the new race: "Emerging from the shadows our two candidates enter the ring. Anna Raftery and Wolf von Witting. The prize, a trip across the Atlantic to meet lots of fine fannish folk and strengthen the bonds of friendship between Europe and North America. They limber up and then stroll across to the centre of the ring. The administrators issue their instructions. 'No kicking, no biting, no headbutting and no gouging. Now break and let's have a good clean fight.' Let it commence. Everyone please start voting. The ballot form is available and you can vote online using the TAFF Vote buttons at http://tafftrip.com/taff-ballot-2016/." Also PDF ballot here.

November 2015 Jim Mowatt's TAFFWorld #4 carries a more detailed announcement of the 2016 race. Also, photos of Nina Horvath having fun!

23 October 2015 Jim Mowatt announces the plans for 2016 and after: "TAFF race East to West in 2016 The TAFF admins (Nina Horvath, Curt Phillips and Jim Mowatt) have been discussing the forthcoming races and have taken the decision to switch direction and run another East/West race for 2016. This means we are currently looking for nominees from Europe to visit North America in 2016 and to attend MidAmericon II in Kansas City on the 17th to 21st August. The knock-on effect of this decision is that the 2017 race will be West to East so that we can send someone from North America to Helsinki. This would also mean that we are going in the right direction to aim for New Orleans or San José in 2018 and Dublin in 2019. So onwards we go – To Kansas City and Beyond. It’s TAFF nomination time." Comment, if you will, at File 770.

25 August 2015 Ulrika O'Brien reports on the combined fan funds auction at Worldcon. In brief: $1870.00 was raised, of which $747.00 was allotted to TAFF.

August 2015 Nina Horvath's 2015 TAFF trip itinerary has been released and posted at File 770.

July 2015 David Langford has published another ebook of (mostly) fanzine writings: Don't Try This At Home: Selected Convention Reports. For each copy sold, one pound goes to TAFF.

June 2015 The free ebooks page has had several additions since its launch in May: Chris Evans's post-1987-Worldcon symposium Conspiracy Theories, Rob Hansen's history of UK fandom THEN, and David Langford's personal fanthology Wrath of the Fanglord.

May 2015 A new page at this site: free ebooks! Just a few completed TAFF trip reports and other items of fannish memorabilia. More may be added.

12 April 2015 Jim Mowatt's TAFFWorld #3 has the voting breakdown for the just-concluded race, showing Nina Horvath's clear win by a first-round majority.

10 April 2015 Nina Horvath is the 2015 TAFF winner. File 770 has the announcement and figures.

April 2015 The candidates in the current race are mercilessly questioned in Jim Mowatt's TAFFWorld #2.

1 January 2015 The 2015 westbound race has begun precisely on time, with candidates Nina Horvath and Wolf von Witting. Online voting here, continuing to Tuesday 7 April. Also PDF ballot form.

November 2014 Declared candidates so far for the 2015 westbound race from Europe to the Spokane Worldcon (Sasquan) are Nina Horvath and Wolf von Witting. Ballot forms are expected to appear on 1 January: there is still time for further candidates to step forward.

September 2014 Jim Mowatt announces that 2015 TAFF nominations will open on the first day of Novacon, 14 November 2014, with actual voting to begin in January.

26 August 2014 No longer TAFFtastic: the latest TAFF newsletter from Jim Mowatt, reporting on Loncon 3 activities, is TAFFWorld #1.

10 August 2014 Curt Phillips is in the UK.

August 2014 There's an extra post-Loncon 3 fan gathering on Thursday 21 August in the pub venue of the London First Thursday meetings. TAFF delegate Curt Phillips hopes to be there.

July 2014 Here's a teaser preview of stained-glass panels created by Bob Shaw and now destined for the fan funds auctions at Loncon 3 in August. [LATER: The three separately auctioned pieces of stained glass were sold for a total of £790. Thank you, fandom!]

26 April 2014 All you need to know about the 2014 race in the last joint newsletter from administrators Jacq Monahan (soon to step down in favour of Curt Phillips) and Jim Mowatt: TAFFtastic #1:3.

25 April 2014 Here, sent by Jacq Monahan, is the official release with the voting breakdown and voter list for the 2014 race just completed. (Also in PDF format.)

24 April 2014 Curt Phillips has won the 2014 eastbound TAFF race by a clear first-round majority and will attend Loncon 3 as TAFF delegate. Congratulations to Curt; commiserations to the rival candidates Brad and Cindy Foster (standing jointly) and Randy Smith. Voting details to follow in an official TAFF newsletter from our hero administrators.

March 2014 Early fan fund winner Jerome K. Jerome records that familiar feeling of trip report duties: "It would have been a very enjoyable ride altogether, that evening’s spin along the banks of the Rhine, if I had not been haunted at the time by the idea that I should have to write an account of it next day in my diary. As it was, I enjoyed it as a man enjoys a dinner when he has got to make a speech after it, or as a critic enjoys a play." (Diary of a Pilgrimage, 1891)

March 2014 A further newsletter from administrators Jacq Monahan and Jim Mowatt: TAFFtastic #1:2 dated 1 March. In which the 2014 candidates explain themselves.

1 January 2014 The final line-up for the 2014 eastbound TAFF race consists of Brad and Cindy Foster (standing jointly), Curt Phillips, and Randy Smith. Good fans all. Jim Mowatt has set up a PayPal TAFF Voting page. This site now has an HTML page for the actual ballot with the candidates' platforms; there are also PDF and RTF versions. Voting continues to 22 April 2014.

21 November 2013 A couple of hats in the ring for the 2014 eastbound race: Brad and Cindy Foster (as announced at File 770) and Curt Phillips (likewise). There may yet be more. Nominations remain open until 31 December 2013.

16 November 2013 Jim Mowatt has sent me a button – that yellow thing to the left. Use it wisely, for with great power comes great irresponsibility.

5 November 2013 Just received from Jacq Monahan and uploaded to this site: her and Jim Mowatt's newsletter TAFFtastic #1:1 dated 1 November. Heed what they say.

7 October 2013 2014 TAFF nominations open, with nominations needed by 31 December 2013.

25 April 2013 Jim Mowatt has set up a website for his TAFF trip plans and progress.

22 April 2013 Voting breakdown and other details of the just concluded race in TAFFline #6. [Slightly corrected version 23 April.]

20 April 2013 Jim Mowatt wins TAFF 2013. Announcement here.

February 2013 Both 2013 candidates are publishing campaign fanzines hosted at at eFanzines: see what Theresa Derwin and Jim Mowatt have to say for themselves.

11 January 2013 Here are the official 2013 race announcement and 2013 TAFF Ballot (also in RTF format).

8 January 2013 Before any official announcement from TAFF itself, the two 2013 candidates have declared themselves in public: Theresa Derwin and Jim Mowatt.

11 November 2012 Candidates sought for 2013 TAFF race; nomination deadline is 31 December.

29 August 2012 The latest newsletter: TAFFline #5 with news of the Worldcon Fan Fund Auction and 2013 TAFF race announcement.

11 May 2012 Jacq Monahan's TAFF report segment about Eastercon 2012 (File 770).

3 April 2012 The latest newsletter: TAFFline #4 with news of Jacq Monahan's triumphal progress through the UK, and of fan-fund events at Eastercon.

22 March 2012 Jacq Monahan's TAFF trip schedule, as posted at File 770.

9 January 2012 Dated 6 January, here's TAFFline #3 with a full report of the recently concluded race and, at last, the detailed voting breakdown for statistics buffs.

11 December 2011 Jacqueline Monahan wins TAFF. A close race, reportedly.

28 October 2011 A new page on this site offers higher-resolution versions of the TAFF Logo images.

24 October 2011 Podcast interviews with the 2010 candidates on Jim Mowatt's blog.

4 October 2011 The 2012 TAFF ballot is now available from this site in Word (.doc) , RTF and PDF formats. HTML, to match the archive of past ballots, will follow when Langford finds some of that copious spare time.

2 October 2011 Candidates in the 2012 eastbound TAFF race are Warren Buff, Kim Kofmel and Jacq Monahan. Official announcement and ballot to follow soon, with an expected voting deadline of mid-December.

1 September 2011 The 2012 race is announced, with the 2012 UK Eastercon as destination and a nominations deadline of 30 September.

27 April 2011 The voting deadline was midnight on the 26th, and John Coxon (to whom congratulations) is winner of a TAFF race in which the 20% rule played its most dramatic role yet. Se the voting figures here or in Steve Green's newsletter Taffline 2 [PDF]. Concern that the 20% rule could have a harsh effect on races with several candidates was noted on this site several years ago; this is the first race whose unusual voting patterns have brought the issue to life.

12 April 2011 Steve Green whips up a final 2011 voting frenzy with his newsletter Taffline 1 [PDF].

8 March 2011 TAFF 2011 candidate interviews (Pips 5 PDF) – transcribing the podcast reported below (18 January).

29 January 2011 By popular demand, to allow campaigning and voting at Eastercon, the 2011 TAFF voting deadline has been extended to midnight GMT on 26 April 2011 (7pm EST; 4pm PST). Official press release here. The ballot form (all versions – see "TAFF Now" at left) has been suitably amended. Again.

24 January 2011 Ballot form (all versions – see "TAFF Now" at left) slightly amended to clarify PayPal and cheque payment details.

18 January 2011 Jim Mowatt's Pips 05 is a podcast (dread word) of interviews with all four 2011 TAFF candidates. No comment from your friendly TAFF webmaster, who is too deaf to cope with these things; but I'm sure it's all very wonderful.

3 January 2011 PayPal payments can be made to either administrator's e-address. See note under TAFF Now at the left.

20 December 2010 The 2001 TAFF ballot form has been released in Word and PDF format. Here is this site's traditional HTML version.

19 December 2010 Here, in Word as received and also converted to a web page for this site, is the official announcement of a 2011 race with four candidates: Graham Charnock, John Coxon, Liam Proven and Paul Treadaway. Ballot to follow soon.

15 December 2010 Last call for the needed second 2011 candidate. Later: we have a race.

1 December 2010 There is one declared candidate for TAFF 2011, John Coxon. Another is needed for there to be a race.

30 September 2010 There is now a LiveJournal page for TAFF 2011.

26 September 2010 Steve Green writes: "The 2011 TAFF race (Europe > North America) will open for nominations on 12 November (the first day of Novacon 40). The nomination process will be closed on 18 December and candidates announced no later than 20 December. The race itself will run until 12 March 2011, with the winner attending Renovation, the 69th World SF Convention, in Reno, Nevada, 17-21 August 2011. Anyone interested in standing should contact me via e-mail: stevegreen at livejournal dot com."

September 2010 The Corflu Cobalt group photo of past and present TAFF winners.

August 2010 An important addition to this site's historical record: Rob Hansen has scanned the inside back cover of Hyphen #4 (October 1953) – the very first printed announcement of TAFF.

June 2010 The North American administrators were married on 22 May and are now Anne and Brian Gray. Note their new snailmail address: 2726 Sagebrush Cir #203, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103, USA.

March 2010 Brian Gray & Anne KG Murphy are posting their TAFF trip photos as they tour Britain. At Corflu Cobalt in Winchester, Mike Scott photographed them in this group of 15 TAFF winners from 13 races (1968-2010).

23 December 2009 Brian Gray & Anne KG Murphy are announced as the 2010 TAFF winners, The official race report by Chris Garcia is in the latest issue of his newsletter President TAFF's Bathtub.

6 October 2009 The promised HTML version of the 2010 ballot.

5 October 2009 Here's the 2010 TAFF ballot – temporarily here as a Word document. The HTML version to match the past run of ballots will follow.

3 September 2009 The 2010 TAFF race is announced, with nominations closing on 4 October. See press release.

24 April 2009 Chris Garcia sends the latest issue of his newsletter President TAFF's Bathtub with the official 2009 race announcement.

20 April 2009 Suzanne Tompkins has published Jerry's Suzle's 2005 TAFF Trip Report – Travels in the United Kingdom in 2005. Available from her at PO Box 25075, Seattle, WA 98165, USA.

19 April 2009 Steve Green has won the current westbound TAFF race with a first-round majority, as announced here.

Easter 2009 Last-minute improvised campaign video with Steve Green and Tom Womack interviewed by Peter Sullivan. Voting closes 18 April.

19 December 2008 Chris Garcia writes: "I think it's time to open up my TAFF Report to the masses for free. So if you find the time, just remove the password protection and let 'er go!" Front page now freely accessible here.

1 December 2008 By popular demand, here too is a PDF version of the 2009 Westbound TAFF Ballot.

26 November 2008 On this site at last: the 2009 Westbound TAFF Ballot (HTML).

13 November 2008 Update, update – everything you know is wrong! The TAFF candidates are now Steve Green and Tom Womack. Updated LJ announcement.

6 November 2008 Candidates for the 2009 westbound race are John Coxon and Steve Green. Preliminary LJ announcement.

24 September 2008 The second issue of Chris Garcia's newsletter President Taff's Bathtub.

26 August 2008 The westbound TAFF race from Europe to the 2009 Worldcon (Anticipation in Montréal, Canada) is announced.

19 June 2008 Today's amazing double-bill: Suzanne Tompkins's fifth and final TAFF newsletter, and Chris Garcia's first.

10 April 2008 Chris Garcia, man of dynamism, apologizes for the delay in sending Rockets Across the Waters, the complete report on his March 2008 TAFF trip. There is a copy on this site (7.92Mb PDF), but for the time being Chris has requested that access should be reserved for TAFF supporters whom he'll provide with the login ID and password. Ask him: garcia at computerhistory dot org.

10 February 2008 Here is Suzanne Tompkins' latest TAFF newsletter.

6 February 2008 Latest voting figures now added to the Big List, here. • First word of Chris Garcia's itinerary: "He reports that so far he is: arriving on the 15th [March] and leaving on the 30th; traveling to various parts of the UK including Croydon on the 15th/16th, North London for the 17th/18th, and then to Eastercon. After the con, he is planning to visit folks in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds."

22 January 2008 Our TAFF administrators still haven't managed to release the detailed voting figures. Suzanne Tompkins has stated that Chris Garcia's win was "on the first ballot with 62.7% of the total combined NA/Europe votes. No other candidate received 20% of this combined vote." • Peter Sullivan felt that a link from here to his "Chris for TAFF" site would be inappropriate while the race was still on: but now here it is in all its glory. Just for the record....

November 2007 The winner of the 2008 TAFF race is Chris Garcia – see announcement.

September 2007 Suzanne Tompkins's latest TAFF newsletter: Two-Year Taff-Life #3.

August 2007 The 2008 TAFF race is on, with four NA candidates – Chris Barkley, Linda Deneroff, Chris Garcia and Christian McGuire – and here's the ballot. • Although this site has a policy of HTML documents only, there is a demand for downloadable PDFs of this ballot. Duly added, with much grumbling: European A4 and US Letter formats.

Peter Sullivan has rekeyed the relevant parts of Shelby Vick's fanzine confusion 12 (1952), covering the original Walt Willis trip fund and its final accounts. Later: Peter has also rekeyed the missing issues of Jean Gomoll's newsletter Taffiles, so the set on this site is now complete. What a hero!

July 2007 The 2008 nominations deadline has been extended to 31 July – see announcement.

April 2007 Nominations are now open for the 2008 race – see announcement.

November 2006 The 31 October cancellation of the 2007 Liverpool Eastercon makes the current TAFF race a little problematic. Later: as a result, this TAFF race has been postponed to 2008 -- see announcement.

October 2006 The 2007 eastbound race is on, with candidates Chris Garcia and Mary Kay Kare. Here is the official announcement and here is the ballot form.

September 2006 Another announcement from US administrator Suzanne Tompkins. The current nominations deadline is extended to 30 September 2006, and consideration is being given to the possibility of a TAFF trip later in 2007 should the UK Eastercon be cancelled.

August 2006 Robert Lichtman unearthed Wally Weber's "TAFF report synopsis", briefly describing his 1964 trip.
• US administrator Suzanne Tompkins sends digital text of her second newsletter, Two Year TAFF-Life #2 (published in July).

July 2006 Necronomigone is a TAFF newsletter "Ghostwritten by Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer" for James Bacon, outgoing European administrator. With accounts, statistics, and the names of all the voters in this year's race -- just as it ought to be. Thanks to Claire for providing a digital copy.
• The Japan Expeditionary Travel Scholarship (JETS) is a one-off fund running from Europe to the 2007 Japanese Worldcon.

June 2006 Suzanne Tompkins announces the 2007 eastbound TAFF race.
• Thanks to Rob Jackson for completing the transcription of Dave Langford's 1980 trip report, whose full text can now be read on this site: The TransAtlantic Hearing Aid.

May 2006 The TAFF winner is announced: Bridget "Bug" Bradshaw. Her victory statement appears here, and her trip plans are developing here.
Meet the Candidates: new TAFF pitches written for Chunga by all three 2006 contenders.
• The plokta.con pi TAFF event announcement is now updated with a provisional programme for the day.

April 2006 James Bacon sends an official announcement of the deadline change and TAFF event as below.
• There will be an informal TAFF event (plokta.con pi) in London on 27 May at the Horseshoe Inn, 26 Melior Street, London, SE1 3QP (not far from London Bridge Station). 12 noon - 12 midnight. £3 reg, students £2.50; all proceeds to fan funds. A mini-convention on the TAFF deadline day, at which the 2006 TAFF results will be announced. Please note that the voting deadline has been brought forward by three hours to 9pm rather than midnight (British Summer Time) on the 27th, to allow vote-counting and announcement at this event.
Steve Stiles stunned the fannish world: "This is to announce that I've finished my TAFF Report, which concludes with the 145th chapter. Entitled 'Harrison Country: The Cutty Sark Affair, or TAFF Report At Sea,' it will appear in the next CHUNGA. • Like previous chapters, this is a historically accurate document, although Phyllis Eisenstein mentions that I left out the wooden women -- story of my life, I'm afraid."

January 2006 Link added to Shelby Vick's fanzine confusion 12 (1952) -- now on line at efanzines.com -- with much about the original Walt Willis trip fund and its final accounts.

December 2005 US administrator Suzanne Tompkins has published her first newsletter, Two Year TAFF-Life #1.

October 2005 The 2006 TAFF Ballot is officially released, with candidates as below. Here's a PDF version.

September 2005 Candidates for the 2006 westbound TAFF race to LAcon are, reportedly, Bridget Bradshaw, ½r Cruttenden, and Mike 'Sparks' Rennie. (Fran Dowd had hoped to stand but withdrew for health reasons.)

August 2005 Suzle Tompkins attended Interaction, the Glasgow Worldcon, as TAFF delegate, and Damien Warman and Juliette Woods as GUFF delegates.

July 2005. Randy Byers published his third and final TAFF newsletter: The Weekly TAFF News #3, July 2005 • Bridget Bradshaw and 1/2r Cruttenden intend to stand for the next westbound TAFF race, to LAcon in 2006. • Bridget's Stakhanovite frenzy continues, with the rekeying of chapters 2 and 3 of Dave Langford's report -- now almost complete in digital form!

June 2005. SCIFI announced its donation of $1,000 to TAFF to mark the publication of James Bacon's and Tobes Valois's trip reports: many thanks! • Mark Plummer sent digital text of Maureen Kincaid Speller's newsletter Taffkin's Bum: #2, Autumn 1999 and #3, Easter 2000. • Bridget Bradshaw heroically rekeyed chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Dave Langford's report, whose full digital version is under construction (rekeying help also volunteered by Mary Kay Kare). Further wanted newsletters now supplied by Robert Lichtman.

May 2005. Robert Lichtman sent his 1989 TAFF Report in Progress. • Damien Warman and Juliette Woods are the 2005 winners of GUFF. • Rob Hansen sent his complete 1984 trip report On The TAFF Trail in electronic form for the site, and Robert Lichtman provided a copy of Ken Bulmer's hefty 1958 newsletter TAFF Steam -- plus the last missing ballot forms. As a result, all past TAFF ballots from 1954 to the present can now be read on line. The wording changed a great deal before settling to something like the modern version in 1971.

April 2005. Thanks to Earl Kemp, Rob Hansen, Robert Lichtman and Paul Vincent for their mighty efforts (as detailed here) to expand our collection of on-line TAFF newsletters. • Suzanne (Suzle) Tompkins won the 2005 TAFF race from North America to the 2005 Worldcon in Glasgow. See the official announcement with voting figures. • Speaking of which, the long list of All the Past TAFF Races now includes tables of votes for most past TAFF elections -- more to be added when traced. Similar tables appear in All the Past GUFF Races (with much-appreciated help from Irwin Hirsh and his Australian Fan Funds Page). • TAFF thanks Joe Siclari and FANAC for donating $200 to the fund to reward the publication of James Bacon's and Peter Weston's reports.

March 2005. James Bacon has completed his TAFF report WorldConNomicon (40pp A4, small print with many photographs), with a "prototype" available at Corflu in February and the finished version to be launched at Eastercon 2005. Also at Eastercon, James had a cunning plan for Tobes Valois's TAFF report ... and did indeed successfully torture the report out of Tobes. See under TAFF Reports below.