Dear colleagues,

The clock is ticking…. one year until the 13th International Hibernation Symposium. There are several issues that we would like to bring to your attention at this time.

Book chapters

We have now finalized guidelines for the preparation of book chapters, including a template file and reference style files for Endnote, Reference Manager and ProCite. These are available on the conference website (www.ihs2008.com – click on the “Author Submissions” link on the menu bar). Please visit the site and download these files – the deadline for manuscript submission, 31 October 2007, is rapidly approaching!

Registration

Registration will be opening soon. We are looking at various options for the conference banquet and excursion, and will open registration as soon as this process is completed, most likely within the next few weeks. We would also like to point out, particularly to prospective student delegates, that there will be a number of accommodation options in Swakopmund, ranging from 4-star hotels (e.g., Swakopmund Hotel, the conference venue) to budget accommodation in A-frame chalets in the municipal rest camp. Details of the accommodation options will be posted on the website shortly.

Getting there

The far-flung location of this meeting means that travel costs for many delegates will be higher than for previous symposia. With this in mind, we have negotiated discounted fares on South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) for Hibernation Symposium delegates and accompanying persons, in return for which we have agreed to advertise SAA as the preferred carrier for this meeting. To book flights at the conference rates, please quote AIR.GC.07.000027. when booking SAA flights. Also, please note that Turners Conferences has an in-house travel agency (Linda: telephone +27 31 3321451 or email lindae@turnergroup.co.za), who are well-placed to coordinate your travel plans to and from the meeting.

Travel

We are organizing pre- and post-conference tour options through a number of operators, and this information will be available on the website shortly.

Once again, please visit the website for information on preparing book chapters. We look forward to welcoming you to Swakopmund in a year’s time!

Best regards,

Andrew and Barry