Phoenix Rising

In October 2009, Narrate Conferences will present Sirens, the first in an annual series of conferences focused on women in fantasy literature: women authors, women professionals, even women characters. The conference was inspired by the daring adventures of heroines and the brilliant works of women fantasy authors--and we hope that you’ll join us in Vail, Colorado next fall.

Sirens will be a smaller conference than our Harry Potter offerings have been, so everyone has the opportunity to discuss and debate, and we hope that Sirens will be equal parts scholarly examination, networking weekend, professional workshop and fan convention. Like our Potter conferences, Sirens will be attendee-driven: attendees will propose and present our programming, teach our classes and host our informal programs, and we hope that their viewpoints and discussion will make Sirens truly outstanding.

For more information, please visit the Sirens website, join our LiveJournal community at sirenscon or visit Narrate Conferences’ LiveJournal at narrate_blog to learn more about why we chose a conference focused on discussing and celebrating women in fantasy literature.

Those of you who are subscribed to one of the Phoenix Rising, Terminus, or Narrate Conferences newsletters, as well as those of you who have registered for either Phoenix Rising or Terminus, have already heard the news: The Phoenix Rising compendium is now available! You can find out more information about the included papers and presentations and how to obtain a copy here. Thank you again to all the presenters who contributed!

New footage from Phoenix Rising is available through Borders! Click here for more information and links to see some man (wizard?) on the street interviews, Quidditch, and wizard rock.

(The panel is now online! Click here for more information.)

If you're a Borders Rewards Member, you might have already seen this news in your Borders Weekly Shortlist e-mail! Featured this week was "HPTV" -- a book club recorded at Phoenix Rising with fans talking about the Harry Potter books. You can stream the video or download it to watch offline at http://www.bordersmedia.com/harrypotter/bookclub/default.asp.

Cheers!

In the wizarding world, as well as the Muggle world, all good things must come to an end - and so it is with From Ash and Flame. We've been delighted to serve as your news and information community for the last sixteen months, and we'll think of you often, even as we join new adventures.

Future Communications
If you ever have any questions or concerns about Phoenix Rising, don't hesitate to contact us. info AT thephoenixrises DOT org will stay open, even as we begin closing the message boards and other e-mail addresses later this summer.

Notice: We have already closed the Phoenix Rising message boards to new registrants, and we will be putting them into archive mode starting July 1. We know - it makes us sad, too, but we're already having issues keeping the boards clear of spam and as our team disperses, it will become even more difficult. We invite everyone to use the Terminus message boards, whether or not you plan to attend, which are located here: Terminus forum. The same goes for terminus2008, our Terminus LiveJournal community. Please do join; we'd love to see you over there.

We found a phone!
If you lost a cell phone at the conference, please shoot us an e-mail with identifying information at info AT thephoenixrises DOT org. We'll happily send it to you if it's yours.

Pirate Gold and Other Winners
In a poetic outcome worthy of Jean Lafitte himself, Lumién, the house of all tellers of tales and more than a few pirates, took the Pirate Gold competition in a come-from-behind victory. Professor Bolton, known to his comrades hereinafter as the Pirate King, advanced upon the Information Desk late Sunday night, drawing scads upon scads of House Points from his pockets. His cunning, combined with his students' outstanding efforts in the Firewalking, Horcrux Hunt and Dueling competitions, made for an impressive surprise victory in which the pirates pocketed the Pirate Gold. Congratulations to all knaves, rogues and scurvy dogs!

Final points standings for the Pirate Gold:
Lumién: 2440
Bellereve: 2232
Zodico: 1867
Pontalbòn: 1449

Congratulations also to Amy of Bellereve and Alyson of Lumién, who successfully tracked and defeated the Dark Lord through the twists and turns of the Horcrux Hunt. Finally, a round of applause goes to the following individuals, all of whom won one or more of the Firewalking challenges: Jamie, Jeff, Lauren, Veronica, Beth, IndyWitch, Magick, Ginni, Julie, Traci, Denise, Twinkie the House-Elf, Marginaliana, Mad Maudlin, Matt, Violante, Hummingfox, Fluffy, Cena, Adalia, Millicent, and Woodchuck.

For those of you who less successfully tracked the Dark Lord, we have made the Horcrux Hunt solution available on our lagniappe page.

Downloads

In addition to the Horcrux Hunt, Phoenix Rising has also uploaded our Remembrall Wall and our Final Theory Wall, both of which serve as a tribute to the creativity, the wonder and the sheer magic of the Harry Potter fan community. You may find them on our lagniappe page.

Finally, we have uploaded all New Orleans editions of From Ash and Flame, which you may find at the following links:
http://www.thephoenixrises.org/pdf/FAAF_Friday.pdf
http://www.thephoenixrises.org/pdf/FAAF_Saturday.pdf
http://www.thephoenixrises.org/pdf/FAAF_Sunday.pdf
http://www.thephoenixrises.org/pdf/FAAF_Monday.pdf

You will need Adobe Reader to view these files; a free download for the program can be found here.

Thank you again to our intrepid band of reporters, photographers and editors for their work keeping the wizarding world abreast of Phoenix Rising's goings-on.

As a side note, if anyone has pictures they'd be willing to let us use, we'd be grateful! It is sometimes hard to find time to take pictures when you're running around like a bowtruckle in a forest fire. Please e-mail us at info AT thephoenixrises DOT org if we might use your photographs. Thank you!

Media Coverage
Thank you to all the media who attended Phoenix Rising! Stories have appeared on MTV, NBC and Salon.com, and in the St. Petersburg Times, among others, and we expect more in the upcoming weeks -- so keep your wands lit and your eyes peeled! Links to the stories can be found in our news archive.

New Orleans Library Fundraising
We are thrilled to report that the fundraising effort for the New Orleans Public Library, spearheaded by Professor Conrad and Bellereve House, raised over $2,000 for the libraries! The library also happily claimed all leftover copies of the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Phoenix Rising had available, courtesy of Listening Library. Thank you again for your support of our libraries, and if you're looking for a way to provide further support, please visit the Rebuild New Orleans Public Library website.

Compendium
Thank you to all our presenters who chose to participate in our compendium! We will be lightly editing your submissions over the next month, and we hope to have the book in the hands of the publisher before the light of summer fades. How quickly we can get the book out will depend on the publisher, but we're hoping for later this year.

Sponsor Appreciation
Again, we want to recognize our sponsors for their support of Phoenix Rising! As the first event of Narrate Conferences, Inc., we are flattered and humbled by your support of an untested enterprise. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!

Thank you to Listening Library; Borders, Inc.; FictionAlley and FictionAlley eMentors; Alivan's Master Wandmakers; The Leaky Cauldron; Betas Anonymous; the Knight Family; the Owl Appreciation Society; The Shrieking Shack; Whimsic Alley; The World Confederation of Pirates and Ninjas; Knockturn Alley; Atlanta HP; Perfectus; eOwlery; Sectus; The Daily Snitch; The Harry/Ginny OTP Newsletter; Hogwarts Today; hp-ohio; The Petulant Poetess; The Quidditch Pitch; Simply Undeniable; The Sue March; The Sugar Quill; and all our banner exchange and challenge participants!

Terminus Street Team
For those of you looking to continue your Harry Potter adventure next year, we invite you to join the Terminus Street Team. We'll be supplying our team with postcards, stickers and more to hand out at all the wonderful Harry Potter events this summer, and we'd love for you to join us. Please contact Renee Antoine, our Media Manager, at renee DOT antoine AT terminus2008 DOT org if you are interested - or just leave a comment here.

Thank You
One last time, thank you so, so much to everyone who took part in Phoenix Rising. Whether you exchanged a banner with us or gave a presentation, were part of our vendor room or volunteers, sponsored an event or simply attended the conference, Phoenix Rising would never have been as magnificent, welcoming and wonderful as it was without your contributions. We hope to see you next summer in Chicago, but even if we don't, we hope you know that we are honored that you chose to join us - and you made our weekend in New Orleans simply magical.

Thank you.