Following the recent public allegations made regarding this year’s British Fantasy Awards, The British Fantasy Society Committee would like to state for the record that it is our firm belief that no corruption or wrongdoing took place during the administration of the British Fantasy Awards, and that in this respect all awards should still stand as presented. We confirm that the summation of the votes cast was performed electronically and once the results were checked they were confirmed and verified by another member of the committee.
As Chairman of the Society, David’s responsibilities made him duty bound to fill in for committee members if they were unable to perform their nominated tasks, and in this case he was forced to step in when the actual awards administrator was unable to continue due to personal issues. Having to organise the awards at short notice, and with no-one else on the Committee able to assist due to time constraints, David was obliged to organise everything connected with the presentation of the Awards.
David did not have any involvement with the nominations, short listing or the voting process, other than the with the awards administration (procuring the statuettes, plaques, etc) and we are happy that the voting/counting process was 100% accurate within the scope of the current rules. We therefore completely exonerate David from any wrongdoing in the administration of the 2011 Awards.
David has worked extremely hard for the society this past year and has, we believe, raised the profile of the BFS significantly with the changes he has instigated and the work he has put in. We are very sorry, therefore that this situation, and the words of members of the society aimed personally at David, have forced him into a position to tender his resignation. The Committee regretfully respects his decision to stand down.
There are several issues, notably the awards procedure, that need to be addressed going forward in order to maintain the integrity of the society. These measures are already being discussed and will be announced and implemented as soon as practicable.
Ramsey Campbell
President, British Fantasy Society
7 commentsback to post
#1Joe YoungOctober 9, 2011, 9:48 am
Ramsey.
Accepting David’s resignation is a mistake that the BFS may end up regretting. Up until the awards ceremony he was doing a sterling job.
The BFS has been going through transitions, it has been merging publications into a beautifully presented volume, which even though that too has had teething troubles, is still excellent.
There’s been a reshuffle of the Chairman and Committee, which also needs time to settle into its groove.
There’s a new logo, the website has been overhauled into a much smarter and far more functional design, and the general overall feel of a more professional body has been hiked up.
David’s new broom appeared to be sweeping very clean, and things were getting to the point where the BFS could take its place on the global stage without seeming like the ‘poor relation’.
The awards had unfortunate consequences, but to my way of thinking there are far too many over-reactions involved from all sides. I believe that given more time to work out the best ways of doing things, David could have continued championing the BFS cause and exonerated himself admirably.
As is obvious from your statement, he was thrust into a situation he couldn’t readily avoid. It leaves me wondering what would have been said had the actual awards administrator been able to fulfill the duty, as the results would have been the same.
I believe that if the decision over David stepping down could be reversed, it should be.
Regards.
Joe Young.
#2British Fantasy Awards controversy – Page 2 – Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forumsOctober 9, 2011, 10:49 am
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#6Splinister | Oddments and Oddities by Maura McHughOctober 11, 2011, 3:23 pm
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