Renewals for 2019

The digital version of the Fall 2018 Watsonian was released to Paperless and Paper+PDF Members over the last week. (The digital version of our journal has been bundled with the print edition memberships/subscriptions since January 2016.)

If your membership is scheduled to expire on 31st December, this was the final Watsonian issue in your subscription. We hope that you will renew your membership and join us for 2019 at this link: 2019 Membership. (If you are unsure of your membership dates, please check our Member Roster.) Prospective members are welcome to join at the same link.

We apologize for the confusion resulting from the notes that appeared with some of the digital edition notifications. Formal renewal emails will be sent after the New Year to those whose subscriptions have lapsed.

In the meantime, we hope you are having a lovely end of year, keeping warm (or cool, for our friends down under!) and happy.

Calling All Members

The Spring 2018 Watsonian is about to go to press. Print issues will be mailed directly from the printer, so now is the time to make sure your information is up to date! If you have changed mailing address since November, please let Selena Buttons know ASAP. (If you’ve already contacted us with your new address, thank you!)

If your membership expired at the end of 2017, you will not be on the mailing list for this new issue. We know you don’t want to miss out, so please take a moment to double-check your membership dates on the Members Page. If your membership ended in December 2017, pop over to the Shop to purchase a 2018 Membership. (If your membership is current through 6/18, there is a separate renewal available that lasts through the end of 2019. Please contact Selena Buttons for details.)

Membership Renewals for 2018

Renewal notices have been going out in email for memberships that expired at the end of December. If your membership has expired, though, you don’t have to wait for the email; you can head over to the shop to purchase a Membership for 2018.

Not sure when your membership expires? Take a peek at our Members Page! If it says you are a member through 12/17, it’s time to renew. (If it’s any other date, it’s not time yet. Memberships ending 6/18 will be notified about how to renew through the end of 2019 later in the year.) While you’re there, if you notice our information for you is incorrect or incomplete, please let me know!

“Quite Remarkable Talent In Planning” [COPP]*

“‘Come, Watson, come!’ he cried. ‘The game is afoot.'” [ABBE] (Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine, 1904)
Now that we are closer to the end of 2017 than the beginning, we are looking ahead to 2018 (and beyond). Calendar Year 2018 Memberships are now available in the Shop in Paperless, Domestic PDF+Paper, and International PDF+Paper options. Current members with subscription expiry dates in mid-2018 who would like to continue receiving paper copies of The Watsonian without interruption may opt for the Renewal for Memberships Ending Mid-2018. (That’s some forward planning!)

If you are unsure when your membership ends, please see our Member Page.

Looking forward to more Watsonian adventures with all of you!

*Yes, I know I’ve wrenched that quote way out of context.

Start the Presses (Again)!

watsonian-cover-squareThe Spring 2017 issue of the Watsonian is currently being printed and will soon be winging its way to mailboxes around the world. Digital subscribers will receive an email including a link to download the new issue.

Our publication schedule is now two issues per year: the Spring issue in May and the Fall issue in November.

This is the last issue in many members’ subscriptions. If your membership expires on June 30th, you will not receive the Fall issue unless you renew. Not sure when you’re due for renewal? Membership dates can be found on the Members Page, and mid-year renewals (through December 2018) are available in the Shop.

If you’ve been meaning to join, it’s not too late! Membership is available for the 2017 calendar year, and you will receive both the Spring and Fall 2017 issues of the Watsonian. Don’t miss out on the art, essays, fiction, and puzzles that make up each issue of our excellent journal!

Membership Page Update!

Have you visited our Society Members page lately? It’s had a bit of a remodel. You can now see members by name or by moniker without having to go to a different page!

Members can also now easily see their joining date and current membership end date. Please have a look and let “Selena Buttons” know if you catch a mistake or if you have additional information (like local scion society memberships) to add to your listing.

Speaking of membership end dates, if your membership ended on December 31st of 2016, now is a great time to renew, so you don’t miss out on the upcoming Spring issue of the Watsonian. If your membership ends on June 30th of 2017, you can renew your membership through December 2018 now and not have to worry about missing the fabulous Fall Watsonian.

Membership Changes

When the Society began, back in 2013, biennial dues were set for members receiving print copies of The Watsonian with either US domestic or international postage. As of our last publication cycle, the cost of mailing issues overseas was greater than the amount received in international dues. The dues received from all members has left us with insufficient reserves for the printing and posting of our publications, as well as the smaller expenses of Internet hosting, PayPal fees, etc. All the Society work has been a true labor of love, as the Society has no paid employees. We have had a generous benefactor who has kept us afloat, but the time has come to do the thing we’ve postponed as long as possible: change our membership structure.

Current members who are not due to renew before December 31, 2016 need do nothing at this time.

New and renewing members have two options: Print subscription or Paperless.

Introducing: Paperless Membership

The new Paperless Membership is retroactive to January 1 2016 and ends December 31 2017. This 24-month membership is available world-wide at $50.00 USD and includes downloadable PDF issues of The Watsonian for Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Fall 2017, as well as the Fiction Series title, “The Doctor and the Duellist”. The Fiction title and the Spring 2016 Watsonian will be available upon purchase of membership; the following issues will be available as they are published.

If you wish to receive print copies of the journal, then the Membership with Print + PDF Subscription is for you. This 18-month membership is available within the US at $52.50 or internationally at $67.50, beginning July 1, 2016 and ending December 31, 2017. It includes either US domestic or international postage for print Watsonian issues for Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Fall 2017. In addition, you will receive electronic access to those issues, too.

As of January 1, 2017, membership will be available on an annual basis (January 1 – December 31) and include two issues (Spring and Fall) of The Watsonian. The annual rates will be:

Paperless: $25 (World-Wide)
Print + PDF: $35 (US Domestic) or $45 (International)
(All prices in US Dollars)

These changes allow more flexibility for you and allow us to continue to publish our excellent journal, host our Annual Treasure Hunt, and maintain our home here on the Web.

I know this may be a bit confusing, so please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with any questions or concerns.

Founding (Monikered) Members

The Founding Members are: (Conferred “Bull Pup” monikers in quotes)

Prof. Donald A. Yates, PhD, Author, Editor, BSI “The Greek Interpreter,” The Napa Valley Napoleons of S. H.
Bull Pup “Pal”

Prof. Donald Pollock, PhD, MD, Author, Editor, The Saturday Review of Literature, The Five Orange Pips
Bull Pup “Hound”

Joanne Yates, PhD, Napa Valley Napoleons of S. H.
Bull Pup “Sandy”

Michael H. Kean, PhD, BSI “General Charles Gordon,” The Diogenes Club of the Monterey Peninsula
Bull Pup “Toby”

Peter E. Blau, BSI, “Black Peter,” S.H.S.L., The Red Circle of Washington, D.C.
Bull Pup “Curly”

Robert S. Katz, MD, BSI “Dr Ainstree,” Sons of the Copper Beeches
Bull Pup “Willow”

Howard A. Brody, MD, PhD, BSI  “Anstruther”
Physician and Professor, University of Texas
Bull Pup “Caddy”

Jon Lellenberg, BSI, “Rodger Prescott,” S.H.S.L., Friend of the Sherlock Holmes Collections of the University of Minnesota Sherlock Holmes Collection,  Representative, The Doyle Estate Ltd.
Bull Pup “Towser”

Bruce Taylor, Bookman and Librarist, The Napa Valley Napoleons of S. H.
Bull Pup “Booker”

Andrea Stewart, SHSL, Napa Valley Napoleons of S. H.
Bull Pup “Asta”
Email:  membership@johnhwatsonsociety.com

Don Libey, SHSL, Napa Valley Napoleons of S. H., The Poor Folk Upon the Moors
Bull Pup “Buttons”
Email: buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com

Founding and Charter Members
Founding and Charter Memberships shall be given to all inductees of the Society through December 31, 2013. After that date, all Members shall be Monikered Members and  shall have a bull-pup moniker bestowed upon them by the Society Chair. The process for conferring monikers upon Members is one known only by the Chair and is ancient and arcane with great degrees of cogitation, rumination, partial levitation, and moderate bibulation.  The Chair neither understands nor attempts to explain the mysteries of the resulting Member’s unique name: it is entirely due to the ethers.

Monikered Members
Monikered Memberships shall be given to all inductees beginning April 11, 2013, including those designated as Founding and Charter Members. A bull pup name shall be conferred upon all members equally. Monikered Membership dues are $25 annually for 2 downloadable PDF issues of The Watsonian, $35 annually for 2 issues of The Watsonian by mail to a US domestic address in addition to the digital issues, or $45 annually for 2 issues of The Watsonian by mail to an address elsewhere in addition to the digital issues. Monikered Members (including Founding and Charter Members and Student Members) shall be accorded full and equal privileges of the Society.  There is, in fact, only one category of Membership in the Society: Member

By-Laws of the Society
The Society has few By-Laws. Those it has adopted are as follows:

1. To honour the persona and the literary creations of Doctor John H Watson.
2. To engage in Traditionalist and Revisionist thought and writing about the life and work of John H Watson.
3. To call to order a “consultation” whenever and wherever two or more Watsonians are gathered.
4. To solicit, consult on, prepare, edit and publish scholarly articles, papers and works furthering By-Laws 1 and 2 above.
5. To offer, provide for, or purchase age-appropriate refreshments (The Famous Grouse or other) during any and all consultations.  Failure to do so will require the miscreant to stand a round  for all Society members present.
6. Whenever in doubt as to proper procedure, content, or requirements, see By-Law 5 above.

Membership perquisites for all Monikered Members shall include: a subscription to the Society journal, The Watsonian; and a titular Bull Pup societal name to be assigned to all Members. Dues shall be payable annually in January. Members are responsible for keeping the Society apprised of address changes, email changes, name changes, etc.

Activities of the Society
The Society is a literary and publishing society and hopes to evolve to a periodic “meetings” or “dinners”  society. Local clubs, worldwide, known as “Consulting Rooms” are encouraged and, when two or more members gather, these “consultations” shall be for furthering the work of the Society through adherance to By-Laws 1 and 2 and, more specifically, By-Law 5 above.

The Society shall foster and encourage the introduction of youth to the writings of John H Watson in The Sacred Canon with a goal of keeping the memory of 221B Baker Street and 1895 forever green through the recruitment of successive generations of Watsonians and Sherlockians.

The Society shall, to the extent possible, publish the journal, articles, and monographs, print and electronic formats, at the lowest, non-profit cost possible for the benefit of the Members.

The Society shall reciprocate with and encourage dialogue and shared activities with Sherlockian societies wherever possible, particularly where observance of By-Law 5 is anticipated.

The Society shall operate and maintain a website and blog with news of current activities and other information. The offices of the Society shall be peripatetic and reside with the Boy in Buttons.

The Society shall, in all things and endeavors, seek to have fun and create happiness through enjoyment of The Sacred Canon.

Membership in the Society

Membership in The Society

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Her Majesty and her troops

Honorary Life Membership in The John H Watson Society is granted to all living members of the Berkshires who served at the 1880 Battle of Maiwand. All others may purchase a membership, which includes a subscription to The Watsonian, through the John H Watson Society Shop.

Prospective members do not require an invitation from the Society to become members; all interested Watsonians are encouraged to join our collegial Society where inclusion is always preferable.

Membership is extended to all Watsonians and others who wish to enlarge and enhance the Watsonian literary and historical milieu.