The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) was created in 1953 to provide funds to bring well-known and active fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic. Since that time, TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions. It exists solely through the support and continued generosity of fandom, which has sustained TAFF, our longest-running travel fund, for some 70 years. Thank you for your support.
We strongly encourage electronic voting via the form at taff.org.uk and payment via PayPal. Voting is by secret ballot, with one vote per person. Please read all pages before voting. You may change your vote at any time prior to the deadline.
All votes must reach the administrators by Tuesday 7 April 2026 at 11:59 pm British/Irish time (UTC+1) or 3:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7).
Questions? Contact your nearest TAFF administrator:
Mikołaj Kowalewski (European TAFF Administrator), EUTAFF@gmail.com
Sarah Gulde (North American TAFF Administrator), nataffemail@gmail.com
TAFF uses a preferential voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. If necessary, the lowest-ranked candidates will be eliminated from the race and those votes redistributed in subsequent rounds according to the next ranking until one candidate has a clear majority.
A candidate must also receive at least 20% of the first-place votes on both sides of the Atlantic to win. Any candidate failing to receive this minimum percentage on either side will be dropped, and the second-place votes on their ballots counted as first-place votes in the next ballot count.
In years with more than three candidates, this rule is not applied until after the candidates with the fewest votes have been eliminated and just three candidates are left.
Votes will be counted according to a voter’s contact address, rather than by where they send their ballot. Votes from fans not resident in either Europe or North America will not count toward either side of the Atlantic for the purpose of this rule but are nonetheless encouraged, of course.
"Hold Over Funds" is exempt from the 20% requirement; if it receives a majority of the votes on the final ballot, no trip will be held on this occasion.
TAFF may contact you regarding your ballot or to send out newsletters, but we do not publish your data (save for the traditional list of voters and contributors) or pass it to any other organisation.
This form is the official voting vehicle. Reproduction of this form is encouraged and must be verbatim. Anyone reproducing this form should substitute their name here: David Langford
THE 2026 TAFF CANDIDATES
Each candidate has:
- Posted a bond of $20 USD or equivalent promising to travel (if elected) to Eurocon in Berlin, Germany, 2 to 5 July 2026.
- Been nominated by three nominators on their side of the Atlantic and two on the other, each of whom has personally contacted the administrators with their nomination.
- Provided a platform of up to 101 words:
LISA HERTEL
"For me, all fandom is one big family, and it's all good! I am the sort of person who believes in synergistic interactions, and I love bringing people together. I am fascinated by other cultures and new methods of accomplishing goals, and I’m looking forward to exploring the interface between Eastern European, Western and British fandom. As an artist, TAFF supporter, and former fanzine editor, I will strive to make my report thorough, informative and inclusive. As someone who's worked almost every job at conventions, I hope to bring my insights, tempered by open-mindedness, to fans everywhere."
Nominators: Carolina Gómez Lagerlöf, Liz Zitzow (EUR); Diana Thayer & Teddy Harvia, Pierre & Sandy Pettinger, Jill & Don III Eastlake (NA)
KATRINA "KAT" TEMPLETON
"There's a first time for everything, and that includes runs for TAFF, I suppose. I'm Kat, and I've been interested in science fiction for as long as I can remember. I went to my first convention in 2007. Since then, I've participated in a few APAs, pubbed my own zine (Rhyme & Paradox) and attended and volunteered at conventions. Fandom has become a home for me; I've met so many people who are wonderful. I'd like to continue that tradition by becoming the TAFF delegate, because what is fandom if it's not the friends we've made along the way?"
Nominators: Sandra Bond, Graham Charnock (EUR); Nic Farey, John Purcell, Lloyd Penney (NA)
STEP 1: YOUR VOTE
Please rank candidates with 1, 2, etc. where 1 is your first preference.
___ Lisa Hertel
___ Katrina "Kat" Templeton
___ Hold Over Funds (if you feel none of the candidates deserves your support)
___ No Preference (if you don’t have a preferred candidate, but you don’t want the trip held over)
STEP 2: PAYMENT
VOTES CAST WITH NO PAYMENT WILL BE RULED INVALID!
The minimum donation to vote is £3 (GBP), €4 (EUR) or $4 (USD). Larger donations gratefully accepted.
PayPal payments can be made to: EUTAFF@gmail.com, or NaTaffEmail@gmail.com.
Checks/cheques should be enclosed with your ballot and made payable to:
• "TAFF" (for cheques in GBP), or
• "Sarah Gulde" (for checks in USD).
STEP 3: ELIGIBILITY
Voting in TAFF 2026 is open to anyone active in fandom before April 2024. If you think you may not be known to the administrators as an active fan, please provide the contact info for an active fan who:
• Is not a fan group, a candidate, or one of their nominators, and
• Is known to the administrators and can vouch for you being an active fan.
Active Fan Name:
Email Address:
STEP 4: SUBMIT YOUR VOTE
Mail this signed page to your nearest TAFF representative:
Claire Brialey, 59 Shirley Road, Croydon, CR0 7ES, UK (if GBP cheque included)
Mikołaj Kowalewski, Norre Farimagsgade 68, st. tv. 1364, Copenhagen Denmark (if no cheque)
Sarah Gulde, 3244 SE 153rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97236, USA (with or without USD check)
Signature:
Printed Name:
Address:
Email/phone: