Dear AVISTA members,
It’s time to renew your AVISTA membership for the 2014-2015 year. As AVISTA is changing to a calendar year membership from our previous May 31–May 31 system, your payment will cover membership from June 1, 2014–December 31, 2015. To renew, please visit the membership section of our website.
We appreciate your membership, and look forward to your renewal. Beyond supporting and participating in a scholarly community, benefits of your membership include a 20% discount on books from the AVISTA series for Ashgate. Members are also encouraged to submit proposals for conference sessions and papers, and may be eligible to apply for travel grants for AVISTA-sponsored conference sessions. Funding from dues and gifts allows us to continue to sponsor conference sessions, book projects, travel grants, publication subventions, and special events.
AVISTA has just wrapped up a productive year: the four AVISTA-sponsored sessions at the International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo were well received. We awarded travel grants to two speakers, Amanda Dotseth and Banu Pekol, to support their participation. The two most recent additions to the AVISTA series for Ashgate, New Studies in Medieval Architecture and Working with Limestone, have continued to garner excellent reviews. Plans are in the works for next year’s Kalamazoo sessions, which will take an interdisciplinary look at monasteries and castles. Be on the lookout for the call for papers!
Changes are in store. Please note that production of the AVISTA Forum Journal will cease with volume 23; all members for the 2012-3 and 2013-4 years will receive the final two volumes. We have finalized a new agreement for the Ashgate line and have multiple projects in the pipeline, including a collection of scholarship dedicated to Anne Prache. In the year to come, we will be considering opportunities for increased sponsorship of conferences beyond Kalamazoo. We are also expanding our web presence. Members who would like to contribute to the website with news, resources, or articles relevant to the AVISTA audience are encouraged to do so, and may contact Jennifer Feltman at jennifer.feltman@gmail.com. We would like to establish an email discussion group for AVISTA members who wish to participate. You will receive a separate email asking those who are interested to opt in.
Best wishes,
Sarah Thompson
AVISTA Treasurer