[texhax] Feb 2016 TUG news: members campaign, calendar, tugboat, conference

[Hefferon, James S.]

Fellow TeX-ers,

As I write this, in deep winter in Vermont USA, it is just starting
to seem as though things could be turning a corner.  It was warm yesterday,
with some snow melting, and a person could almost believe that better
is coming.  A good time to look forward!

1) As we mentioned last month, our 2015 the members-bring-members
drive has ended with Jean-luc Doumont winning the grand prize, an
original illustration by Duane Bibby.  Again, congratulations!

Because of the success of this initiative, we are happy to announce a
renewed drive.  As before, the TUG membership form at
https://tug.org/join.html contains the additional question for new
members: "Who invited you to join TUG?" If a new member lists you as
an inviter then you will receive as a thank-you gift a postcard made
by long-time TUG member Peter Wilson on his letterpress (or any
physical item from TUG store).

At the end of 2016, we will hold a drawing and the person selected
will receive a special prize: a limited edition of Manuale Zapficum,
2009, a tribute to the great typeface designer (donated by Boris
Veytsman).

For more on the campaign see https://tug.org/membership/.  Of course,
feel free to contact the TUG membership committee at
tug-membership at tug.org with any questions or suggestions.

2) Preparations continue for TUG 2016, which will be held in Toronto,
Canada, on July 25-27, 2016.  See the full information at
https://tug.org/tug2016/.  We expect the page accepting registrations 
to go live very soon.

Please note: organizers need any and all expressions of interest about
the optional excursions from potential participants as soon as possible.
There is a cutoff date for making arrangements with the trip suppliers
and if participants do not sign up promptly enough then the trips may not
happen. 

Don't forget that the deadline for abstracts is May 1. Talks of all
kinds are welcome, aimed at any level of expertise, including tutorials. 

Also don't forget that the TUG Bursary Fund provides assistance for
members of the TeX community who would, for financial reasons,
otherwise be unable to attend.  If this applies to you, don't hesitate
to fill out an application at https://tug.org/bursary/2016app.html.
 
3) The TeX Live developers are working towards the 2016 release. You
can see more details at the home page https://tug.org/texlive;
the ultimate goal is to have the public release around the beginning
of June.  Thanks to all the many and varied contributors!

4) You can check out the new book review on the TUG web site of the
book Giambattista Bodoni: His Life and His World, by Valerie Lester.
It is at https://tug.org/books/reviews/tb115reviews-lester.html.  This
extensive review by Boris Veytsman makes interesting reading all by
itself.

This is of course part of a series of reviews; see the full list at
https://tug.org/books/#reviews.  I know that a number of these have
made it onto my wish list.

5) The submission deadline for TUGboat 37:1 is March 11.  We are
interested in articles over a wide range of subjects and directed at a
wide range of readers.  In particular, we especially welcome tutorials
and introductions.  See https://tug.org/TUGboat/location.html for more,
including submission tips.

Happy TeXing,
Jim Hefferon, for the TUG Board
2016-Feb-07