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Standing Rules
 – as amended, Bouchercon XLIII, Cleveland, October 2012

  1. Board.
    2.
    1. The Board shall have the following composition: a representative of the current Local Organizing Committee and each of the two preceding Local Organizing Committees; a representative of each Local Organizing Committee awarded a bid for a future event; and nine at-large members elected to three-year terms by the membership at the General Members Meeting.
    2. Each Local Organizing Committee with a seat on the Board is allowed one vote; if it chooses, it may have more than one representative sit on the Board and participate in discussions.
    3. If a Local Organizing Committee declines to name a member to the Board, that seat shall remain vacant.
    4. At-large seats on the Board shall be filled by a vote of Members at the General Members Meeting, except that if a seat is or becomes vacant in the interim the Board may name a replacement to serve until the following General Members Meeting.
    5. Nominees for at-large Board members may be identified in advance, and if possible should be publicized to the Members in updates or packets. Nominations may be made during the General Members Meeting, and all nominees shall be given an opportunity to introduce themselves at the Meeting before the vote.
    6. Each year the Board shall solicit candidates to receive the David Thompson Special Service Award, which recognizes extraordinary efforts to develop and promote the mystery and crime fiction field. The Board shall select the winner and announce the decision during that year's Annual Event.


  2. Anthony Awards.
    3.
    1. The Anthony Awards shall be given in the following categories:
      1. Best Novel;
      2. Best First Novel;
      3. Best Paperback Original;
      4. Best Short Story; and
      5. Best Critical Nonfiction Work.
      6. The Local Organizing Committee may choose to include up to three wild-card Anthony Awards in categories it selects.
    2. Nominations.
      1. Starting by February 28th and continuing until at least April 30th, the current Local Organizing Committee shall solicit candidates for Anthony Award nominations from full-time registrants of its event and those of the immediately preceding event, including Guests of Honor. Those registering for day passes would not automatically receive a candidate ballot, although the current Local Organizing Committee could choose to include them. "Guest of" memberships, memberships in the name of corporations and memberships in the name of fictitious persons are not allowed candidate ballots. A person is allowed only one candidate ballot even if they are registered under their real name and one or more pen names, or are registered for both events.
      2. "Candidate" shall be defined as:
        1. in the case of published work, should be relevant to the Crime Fiction/Mystery genre and published between January 1 and December 31 in the year immediately prior to the Bouchercon at which the Anthony Award will be given;
        2. in all other categories, work occurring or continuing in the year immediately prior to the Bouchercon at which the Anthony Award will be given.
      3. Each person filling out a candidate ballot may cast up to five choices in any Award category, all five of which shall have equal weight; repetitive choices in the same category shall be counted as one vote.
      4. The Local Organizing Committee shall count the votes cast for each category; the five candidates receiving the most votes shall be Anthony Award nominees.
      5. If there is a tie between the fifth place and subsequent places, all the tied nominees shall be listed, except that the Local Organizing Committee may delete the fifth-place nomination and subsequent ties if they have received less than five percent of the candidate ballots cast in that category.
      6. The Local Organizing Committee shall announce the Anthony Award nominees no later than 60 days prior to the convention. They shall be announced at least once to the membership of the current conference prior to the event.
      7. In the event of a conflict in the application of this subsection, the conflict shall be resolved by the decision of the current Local Organizing Committee Chair, or his/her designate, which decision shall be final.
    3. Voting.
      1. All Anthony Award voting shall be done at the Annual Event.
      2. The Local Organizing Committee shall prepare and distribute at check-in one ballot to each Member registering for the entire Annual Event; day pass registrants would not receive an Anthony ballot unless the Local Organizing Committee decides. "Guest of" memberships, memberships in the name of corporations and memberships in the name of fictitious persons are not allowed to vote. A registrant is allowed only one vote even if they are registered under their real name and one or more pen names.
      3. The method of voting, deadline and place for return of ballots shall be clearly stated on the ballot. No ballots shall be accepted after the deadline.
      4. The Local Organizing Committee will appoint a Counting Committee and take steps to minimize the possibility of tampering and ensure that ballots are kept secure and properly counted. No one except the Counting Committee may be present during the counting of ballots. No nominee may be on the Counting Committee.
      5. The Counting Committee shall determine the nominee receiving the highest number of votes, who shall be declared the Award winner. In case of a tie for first place, the Award shall be shared. Vote counts and ranking other than first place shall remain confidential.
      6. The Local Organizing Committee shall announce winners at an appropriate Bouchercon event.
    4. Award Presentation.
      1. All full-time members of Bouchercon shall be allowed access to the Anthony Award presentation. If the presentation is attached to a separate-fee event (such as a dinner or brunch), all such members shall be allowed free entrance before or after the fee event (as appropriate) to see the Awards being presented.


  3. Bids for Future Bouchercons.
    4.
    1. Potential Local Organizing Committees that wish to host an Annual Event must submit to the Board a bid by June 30 to have the bid considered that year. Bids may be submitted electronically.
    2. Bids must include:
      1. Location.
      2. Dates.
      3. Preliminary Local Organizing Committee roster, including chair or co-chairs.
      4. Confirmation of hotel room blocks for approximately 1,500 attendees.
      5. Confirmation of conference facilities for approximately 1,500 attendees.
      6. Outline of Local Organizing Committee plans for the Annual Event.
    3. Bids approved by the Board as meeting Bylaw and Rule standards shall be presented to the Members at the General Members Meeting.
    4. Bids are awarded by the Members by a majority vote.


  4. Rules.
    5.
    1. Current Rules shall be published and distributed to all Members at each Annual Event.
    2. Amendments to the Rules may be proposed by a Member or the Board.
    3. Proposed amendments shall be written, and shall be distributed and discussed at a General Members Meeting; when possible, proposed amendments shall be distributed in advance.
    4. An amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote for adoption.
    5. A Rule may be temporarily waived by a two-thirds vote.
    6. The current Robert's Rules of Order shall be used when Bylaws and Standing Rules do not address a situation.
    7. The Chair shall rule on matters relating to rules, subject to a majority vote of the Members.


By-Laws




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