The annual meeting of the members of Columbia Fiction Foundry was held on October 14, 2023. The President, Tania Moore, called the meeting to order at approximately 10:15 a.m. Attending in person at the Alumni Center, 622 W 113th St, New York, NY 10025 were the following members: Tania Moore, Ken Schept, Steven Rosenfeld, Margaret Winslow, Mike de Rosa, Ralph White, Jack Burger, Amy Heebner, Micaela Perry Conners, Courtney Ren, and Jinna Wang. Members attending via Zoom were Anne Taranto, Linda Raymond Ellison, Michael Brown, Michael Hirsh, Ed Evans, Jack Rosenbluth and Elaine George. Non-member guests attending the meeting were Tom Anderson, Havilah Giannetta, Robbin Johnson, Brandie Lustbader, Mohith Manohar, Deb Johnson, and Mauricio Matiz.
Tania Moore welcomed everyone to the meeting, and delivered the President’s Annual Report, a copy of which is annexed to these minutes.
The next order of business was the election of officers for the 20232-24 year. Ms. Moore called upon Ken Schept, Chair of the Nominating Committee. In response to Mr. Schept’s questions, Ms. Moore confirmed that she had not received any nominations by email, nor had she received any emailed ballots. Mr. Schept then presented the Committee’s Report and placed the following names in nomination:
President – Tania Moore
Vice President – Margaret Winslow
Secretary – Steven Rosenfeld
Communications Director – Michael Hirsh
Members At Large of the Executive Committee – Lisa E Melilli, Ken Schept, Linda Raymond Ellison and Margrét Thors.
Mr. Schept reviewed the bios and qualifications of the new nominees, Ms. Ellison and Ms. Thors.
There being no questions regarding the nominees and no other nominations, Ms. Moore called for a vote. All members voting voted in favor of the Committee’s slate, whereupon the above-mentioned nominees were elected.
Ms. Moore asked if there was any further business, at which point Mr. Rosenfeld and Ms. Winslow paid tribute to the extraordinary job done by the President during the past year. Ms. Moore then welcomed new members attending for the first time and invited all present to remain for an Open House, featuring conversation and refreshments.
There being no further business, the Annual Meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:35 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steven B. Rosenfeld, Secretary
COLUMBIA FICTION FOUNDRY – ANNUAL REPORT 2022-2023
Tania Moore, President
It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as President of the Columbia Fiction Foundry this year. I’ve loved hearing from many of you, so please feel free to reach out.
Columbia Fiction Foundry has had a fantastic year. Our membership has increased steadily, and both the Wednesday and Saturday workshops have enjoyed unprecedented attendance. The quality of writing and feedback have been excellent, and many members have volunteered to help in a variety of ways. We’ve also hosted several successful events.
One of our goals has been to make CFF an inclusive environment where writers of all ages and backgrounds will feel welcome. We’re delighted by the variety of writing and the diversity of voices in our workshops, and we look forward to continuing to grow in this area. We also look forward to welcoming many of our new members to our workshops and events.
We continue to run our workshops via Zoom. Post-COVID, the Alumni Center is no longer open on the weekends, which is when we run our monthly Saturday workshop. While this scheduling change has in some ways been disappointing, one of the benefits of meeting virtually is that members from across the US and as far afield as Kentucky, DC, Chicago and Iceland have been able to attend.
As we look for new ways for our members to meet in person, we’ll be offering several live events in the coming year, starting with our Open House/Annual Meeting today. The next in-person event will be our December Saturday workshop, which will take place at the Alumni Center, and will be a hybrid in-person/Zoom event, with some holiday treats, so look out for that.
Last February, we hosted a highly attended panel discussion with agents from DeFiore & Company. Participants gained insights into the publishing business and learned how to navigate the crucial step of getting an agent. Events with publishing professionals are always popular, and our next event is scheduled for October 26th. If you’re on our mailing list, you’ve received an invitation, and if not, you can sign up for both our mailing list and the event on the Columbia Fiction Foundry website.
We are proud of our many members who have published work this year with large and small presses, as well as literary magazines. Under the leadership of our Communications Director, Michael Hirsch, we post publication news from our members in our newsletter, so check out our News page on our website. If you have publication news to share, be sure to reach out to Michael.
Columbia Fiction Foundry is a team effort. In addition to Micheal Hirsch, who I’ve already mentioned, I’d like to thank Lisa Melilli, under whose care and leadership the Wednesday workshop continues to flourish. Thank you to Steve Rosenfeld, CFF Secretary, for his critical role in all matters of CFF governance, and Margie Winslow, who helps with everything from moderating meetings to keeping us all on track. As she’s been known to say, “it’s like herding cats”. Lastly, but not least, thank you to Ken Schept, who, among other initiatives, forged a valuable connection with the School of the Arts and is running our next event. We have a great leadership team, and today we will vote on our slate that includes two fantastic new members for the Executive Committee.
As always, I would like to thank Genna Farley Fleming, Senior Associate Director of Diversity Engagement at Columbia’s Office of Alumni. Genna has been our go-to for pretty much everything. I’m delighted that she now has a fantastic new Assistant, Stanley Clark, who’s already been wonderful to work with. We couldn’t do it without you guys.
CFF could not exist without our members, those of you who share your writing, who offer feedback and support your fellow writers, who participate in events and volunteer your time and enthusiasm to help keep CFF running. So thank you to all of you. For anyone who would like to get more involved, whether moderating a meeting or anything else, please reach out to any of us.
Lastly, thank you for the privilege of serving as your President this year. I look forward to working with our Executive Committee and all of you to continue to make CFF a thriving community of writers who come together to support one another in our shared goal of creating exciting, quality fiction with the goal of publication.
We’re going to have an amazing year.
Tania Moore
President