Changes and Good News for 2020.
To those who attended HKWC's AGM on 8th January, 2020, many thanks. We had a detailed and lively discussion. The highlights are: Mission Statement. It's been a while since the blurb about the HKWC has been given any attention. Our thanks to Cameron Deuck and Paul Corrigan for agreeing to look at this. We hope this will go some way to helping with the next item, which is... Fund-Raising. Your membership dues have largely gone to subsidising the annual anthology. We think it's better if they go to subsidising events, so we're looking for external funding from charities, NGOs and sympathetic individuals. That will help with... New Members. Since about 2016, our membership has fallen from over eighty to under forty. This is not because we've done anything wrong; it's mostly down to people leaving Hong Kong. We will approach high schools and universities, and arrange more joint events, to attract new writers. It's about quality, not quantity, but we need a certain critical mass. To which end... Event Payment Policy. In the past, members and non-members paid the same (or little different) for events, which meant there was little incentive to join. Starting now, paid-up members attend all HKWC events free. However, to encourage members to attend as well as to book, we will ask members to pay up front, and they will recieve a 100% cash rebate at the event. We have, however, fixed one set of free events, which is... Last Tuesday Reading and Social (LTRS). On the last Tuesday of every month starting from February, HKWC will hold a reading and social at Varga Lounge, 7 p.m. The format is simple: turn up with a piece that will take no more than four or five minutes to read (about a thousand words), read it out loud, and other people attending will offer their criticism in a friendly and constructive manner. Those who read extracts from longer pieces can bring along a few print-outs of those longer pieces, on which others can read and comment by email (or whatever). Members are encouraged to stick around for a drink or two afterwards, make friends, brainstorm, and form critique groups with like-minded members. For your diary, the LTRS meetings in the first half of this year will be held on Tuesday February 25th, Tuesday March 31st, Tuesday April 28th, Tuesday May 26th, and Tuesday June 30th. The reading is intended to help you develop ideas for... The 2020 Anthology. Long-standing member, Nathan Bridgeman has been kind enough to volunteer to be the lead editor for this year's collection, assisted by Wilson Li and Ruth Thomason. The theme will be with you before Chinese New Year, so you can think about your contribution as we enter the Year of the Rat. This, however, won't be printed unless... 2020 Subscriptions. I have not been able to persuade Paypal to reactivate the account, so I'm afraid I must ask all members to pay their dues the old way, by cheque or ATM transfer - email the hello account for details - which brings me on to... Treasurer. The role of treasurer was voted out of existence at the AGM. Like any good despot, your chairman is gathering power into his hands. Many Thanks, and Watch This Space!
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February 2021
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