December 2018 Bulletin
Entry posted by abhorsen. in bulletin
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Welcome to HPFT's December bulletin, where you can find all of our major monthly announcements, information our December event, and an announcement about a brand new section! 
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 excited to welcome @PaulaTheProkaryote to the admin team! Paula is a consistently hard worker, and she's got her hands in so many different aspects of the site; we're sure she'll excel in this new role, too. 
We are, however, sad to announce that @victoria_anne will be stepping down as Muggle Liaison. Thank you so much for all your hard work, Bianca - we really appreciate it, and hope you won't be a stranger!
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 December 10th.
If you applied in October or November, 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.
We're taking a break for House Cup events this month... but never fear, we have plenty of other fun site announcements!
HPFT Holiday Wishlists:
Throughout the month of December, we'll be running a gift-giving event for the holidays - you can check it out +here. The Nifflers have wrecked havoc, and we're so happy that people have already jumped into getting those pesky magical creatures under control!
Audio Talk:
HPFT is excited to be launching our very own Podcasts & Podfics this month! You may now visit our new +Audio Talk Forum to submit a request to have your story read, or you can set up a request topic yourselves, offering to read the stories of your fellow HPFT authors. 
All Podcasts and Podfics will be available to stream through our new "HPFT Wireless Wizarding Network" Tumblr page. Click +HERE now to follow us, be one of first to listen to our brand new HPFT Podcast episodes, and hear our very first Podfic recordings! ? The latest Podcast that will be posted, starting this week, is called: "Fantastic Myths and Where to Find Them," by @PaulaTheProkaryote. Fantastic Myths is a weekly podcast series that explores mythological creatures from the Harry Potter series and the lore surrounding them. Be sure to follow our new WWW Tumblr account so you don't miss an episode!!
Gryffindor:
This month The Den gained another staff member as @ShadowRose stepped into her new roll as ML. Our Featured Fic was the compelling and socially relevant A Woman's Place [M] by @Chemical_Pixie, and our wonderful Leading Lion was @Alwynse!! Congratulations to our winners and everyone on their amazing NaNo efforts!
Hufflepuff:
With NaNo going on, it was a quiet November in the Basement! The Badgers were hard at work on their various NaNoWriMo and NaNo-Rebel projects. We had Eleven 'Puff participants! See this+ post for a full list to congratulate all of those who spent this month writing like crazy! We also recognized some of our outstanding members: our 'Puff of the Month for December, @WriteYourHeartOut; our Review of the Month writer, @Stella Blue; and our incredible Story of the Month, Francis by @Felpata_Lupin! Congratulations to all the winners, 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:
November saw many Claws take on the challenge of NaNoWriMo, producing many wonderful new works and chapters. We also gained a new Prefect in @Chelts-rhj. Last month also saw fierce competition in the Blue vs. Bronze Review Battle. Our Story of the Month for December goes out to Slytherin Secrets [M] by @ReillyJade, and our Claw of the Month is @MadiMalfoy!! Congrats to everyone on their hard work this month!
Slytherin:
Slytherin is happy to welcome a new Prefect to the fold: @Alexis Black!! She has already been such a huge help around the Common Room this month! We have also been busy in the dungeon preparing to start our new Slytherin Team Emerald vs. Team Silver Review-Tag Battle! All Snakes should come check out the details on that in the common room ASAP, if they have not done so already!! @Finefrenzy__ was chosen as December's Snake of the Month, for being super helpful and always there for her fellow Slytherins, and @Diogenissa's Hollow Fences [M] won our Story of the Month award. Congratulations to everyone!!
Our first Head Student of the month has been a very active force ever since she joined us on HPFT, but ever since she became a Prefect, it seemed to have been tenfolded. She’s seemingly always around, is super friendly and always willing to lend a hand, so please give it up for...
Our second Head Student of the month is also incredibly active on basically every platform. Be it the archives, be it the forums, or even social media, this member can be found responding to and posting things everywhere, and is generally a joy to be around. So without further ado, please give it up for...
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!
Our prefects' December Order of Merlin award goes to...
Our entire Muggle Liaison team!!
While our Muggle Liaison Team are consistently hard workers - running the social media and creating all of the picspams for each month's featured stories - throughout November, they have outdone themselves. @PaulaTheProkaryote, @RoxiMalfoy, @ShadowRose, and @victoria_anne have been behind the NaNoWriMo inspiration posted on Twitter and have been running the Crazie's Cafe; a home for all NaNo authors. Each of them are kind, creative, and are always the first to recognize the achievements of our members. Together, they have filled HPFT with their bright personalities and provided our stories with all of the love and aesthetics they could possibly need. We’re incredibly lucky to have them!
December's story of the month is...
Orange Cardamom (M) by @ShadowRose
James may not believe in love at first sight, but he’s beginning to think there may be some merit in love at first sip.
(banner by @ShadowRose)
***
And, 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 I Hate Multicolored Days: A Day in the Mind of a Child With Autism by @potionspartner under 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 staffers who chose our two staff picks: @abhorsen. (The Faces Behind the Frogs) and @RoxiMalfoy (Heaven Can Wait). Click through for links; please keep in mind that some may be rated M.
Congratulations, @1917farmgirl, @dirigibleplums, @Diogenissa, @dreamgazer220, @Dojh167, @esmeraude, @Pen2Paper, @Pixileanin, @pookha, @potionspartner, @ShazaLupin, @ShadowRose, @StarFeather, and @sunshinedaisieswindmills!
December 14 - The Anti-Protagonist Challenge by @Unwritten Curse
December 20 - The Inspired By Art Challenge by @Chelts-rhj
December 24 - The Women Supporting Women Challenge by @esmeraude
December 31 - The Fanfic Favorite Challenge by @TreacleTart
January 31 - The Happier Holidays Challenge by @Ineke
May 31 – The Dragon Tale Story Challenge by @StarFeather
1 - @AbraxanUnicorn; @AlanaSibertelli
5 - @Lostmyheart
11 - @Crimson Quill
12 - @merlins beard
13 - @Alopex
14 - @Pixileanin
22 - @nott theodore
23 - @Trekkie1980
24 - @azimuth
25 - @SalazarsCaroling_Sorceress
27 - @MegGonagall
30 - @SiriusAura92
31 - @ClassicalStars
Head Students, Fic Night, Challenges, and Birthdays written/compiled by @Ineke. House news compiled by @RoxiMalfoy and written by @Sleepingbagonthesofa (Gryffindor), @Renacerá (Hufflepuff), @MadiMalfoy (Ravenclaw), @Nix (Slytherin). Niffler graphic by @PaulaTheProkaryote. Audio Talk write up by @PaulaTheProkaryote and @RoxiMalfoy. All other graphics/write-ups by @abhorsen..