January 2019 Bulletin
Entry posted by abhorsen. in bulletin
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Welcome to HPFT's January bulletin, where you can find all of our major monthly announcements, information this year's pre-FROGS reviewing event, and more!
If you're new, welcome to HPFT! It's awesome to have you with us. 
HPFanficTalk is a forum/archive - the forum is Harry Potter-themed (including a year-long house cup), but we talk about other fandoms, too, and the archive is multi-fandom/OF. 
We have a strong culture of support for other writers and feedback here, including a story help section, challenges, and reviewing events, so if you're a writer, you've come to the right place. 
A quick rundown to help you get started here on the forums: please post in the 'Welcome to HPFT' topic +here to say that you've read over the rules and understand them. You can specify your house in that post or in our sorting ceremony +here - once you do, we'll sort you into the right group so you can see a common room that only people in your house are allowed to see. You're welcome to post in your common room and/or in our introductions forum +here to introduce yourself if you'd like, and you may also find our +FAQs helpful.
Enjoy your stay!
We're very sorry to have to say goodbye to one of our wonderful aurors, @Renacerá. We hope she won't be a stranger, and we'll miss having her on the team!
We are excited, however, to welcome @scooterbug8515 to the Slytherin newsletter editor's team!
Thank you again, Emily! Congratulations, Carrie!
(We've expanded joining-the-team awards over the past year and a half. If you joined the staff, prefect, or newsletter teams before we were including them, please PM me and I'll give you the one(s) applicable to you. No judgment at all. 
)
Would you like to pitch in behind-the-scenes?
If so, you're in luck! Applications for all staff, prefect, and house newsletter editor positions are open for the next week. There's no post count/join date limit, and you can apply for as many positions as you like - it's all on one application. A detailed rundown on how HPFT staffing works can be found +here, and you can find the application +here. If you're interesting, please apply by Midnight EST on January 10th.
If you applied in November or December, you don't need to apply again unless you'd like to apply for additional positions or change your answers - we will still consider you this month.
Our The Nifflers Who Stole Christmas event is winding down; its official end date is January 1, but we're leaving threads open for any last minute gifts until January 7. Over the course of December, HPFTers left each other over 700 gifts - not even nifflers could stifle our holiday spirit!
You're not quite finished with magical creatures, though: this year, our pre-FROGS reviewing event is called The Magical Menagerie.
Over the course of January, you'll have to team up with other houses to identify and catch magical creatures, building your own magical menageries. Some of the creatures you'll be hunting are tricky, though, and you'll need to be on your toes to complete your menagerie! 
And, finally, we have a couple quick rule changes/forum reorganization:
- You no longer need to rate any links that go to stories on HPFT's archive, even those that are rated M.
- House Cup/event business will now have its own subforum rather than being located under site news.
Gryffindor:
The Den has been buzzing as we’ve absolutely smashed the RvG record once again and had a blast trying to track down those pesky Nifflers! Our Featured Fic for January is Swipe Right, Swing Left [M] by @ShadowRose and our Leading Lion is @adorably cute. Congrats to our winners!
Hufflepuff:
It was a lovely last month of 2018 in the 'Puff Basement, especially with the addition of our seasonal Happy 'Puffledays subforum! (Check it out for really lovely holiday-themed threads!) We also recognized our 'Puff of the Month, @Renacerá! Remember to nominate for HotM, SotM, and RotM! The new 'Puffs Month by Month thread should keep you on track with reminders! And don't forget to read the next issue of Hear Ye, Hufflepuff later this week for full details on all CR goings-on!
Ravenclaw:
In Ravenclaw Tower we've had a competitive BvB month along with having fun participating in the Nifflers Who Stole Christmas event. January's SOTM goes to The Eccentric Education of the Knight Bus by @potionspartner and the COTM is our lovely newest Prefect @Chelts-rhj!
Slytherin:
The wonderfully vivacious @RoxiMalfoy was chosen for January's Snake of the Month for all of the incredible work she does in the Dungeons and across the site. The fun and quirky story, The Ghost in the Attic [M] by @juls, took the title for January's Slytherin Story of the Month.
Our first Head Student this month has shown incredible thoughtfulness and kindness throughout these last months, both by reaching out or thanking members, as well as by leaving lots and lots of gifts for the entire community to enjoy. Her festive spirit brought joy to us all and so it probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that our first Head Student is...
Our second Head Student hails from Gryffindor as well and has been fundamental in getting the Gryffindor common room fired up again. She can be found literally anywhere - leaving gifts, supporting new ideas such as leaving podcast requests, on the archives and the rest of the forum. And that’s without mentioning how well she’s been doing her Prefect duties! So lets give it up for our second Head Student...
Congratulations to you both, and thank you for all you do for the community! Please PM @abhorsen. with your choice of story you'd like to have featured next month!
This month's Order of Merlin goes to...
Emily is an absolute rockstar on both the forums and the archives! She's consistently validating chapters in the queue and has been updating stories of her own! Emily's also been incredibly active on the forums and in the Hufflepuff Common Room, where she's been rocking it, with all kinds of new threads for the Puffs to enjoy. She continues to be a bright and positive presence in everything that she does and is a huge asset to this entire community!
January's story of the month is...
You Are a Light (M) by @RoxiMalfoy!
People may seem fine on the outside, but you never know what someone is truly dealing with underneath it all. So always remember to let your light shine in the darkness for those around you, even when you yourself may not feel as though you have the energy to carry the flame. You never know when a simple smile, compliment, or kind gesture in general can make someone else's day...
This piece is to all of my friends, family, and acquaintances.
(banner by @PaulaTheProkaryote)
***
Every month, HPFT runs Fic Night, where a staff member reads a nominated fic from one of our members. You can check out @TidalDragon reading six segments of a satsuma. by @Aphoride and Yes Ginevra, There is a Santa Claus by @1917farmgirlunder the spoiler tag below if you haven't seen it yet!
This month, we're featuring: some winners of our monthly site-wide competitions, several stories from past FROGS and house yearly awards, and two staff picks. Thank you so much to our prefects/staffers who chose our staff picks: @abhorsen. (The Binchester Affair and The Final Calm) and @Rumpelstiltskin (Love in Three Acts). And don't forget to stop by HPFT's Social Media pages throughout the month [Twitter | Tumblr | Facebook] to claim your free gift from the ML team in their Featured Fics Blog as well!
Congratulations to @1917farmgirl, @Aphoride, @greisful, @nott theodore, @poppunkpadfoot, @RoxiMalfoy, @sapphicsunrise, @sihaya, @Slide, @Stella Blue, @toomanycurls, and @Veritaserum27!
January 24 - The Women Supporting Women Challenge by @esmeraude
January 31 - The Happier Holidays Challenge by @Ineke
February 16 - The Great British Bake Off AU Challenge by @UnluckyStar57
March 31 - The Broadway Musical Song Challenge by @MadiMalfoy
April 1 - The What If Challenge by @potionspartner and @wildest dreams
May 31 – The Dragon Tale Story Challenge by @StarFeather
3 - @danicasyer
6 - @motherconfessor
10 - @Jayde
11 - @Phoenix Potioneer
15 - @aurevoir; @Diogenissa; @MrsDarcy
17 - @Wolfgirl
18 - @Slytherin_Ravenclaw_Chick; @wandlessmagic
21 - @FoxPatronus
25 - @tgfoy
26 - @StarFeather
29 - @slythercookie
30 - @FlamingQuilltips
31 - @Ignatia; @Stille Nacht; @velajune
Head Students, Fic Night, Challenges, and Birthdays written/compiled by @Ineke. House news compiled written by @adorably cute (Gryffindor), @Renacerá (Hufflepuff), @MadiMalfoy (Ravenclaw), and @Rumpelstiltskin (Slytherin). Menagerie graphic by @ShadowRose. Order of Merlin written by @adorably cute. SM shout out in the featured story section by @RoxiMalfoy. All other graphics/write-ups by @abhorsen..