Convention Schedule

[joshuapalmatier]

I got an invitation from Norwescon to be an Attending Pro, which prompted me to post about my con schedule for 2009. Basically, there are some cons I definitely intend to attend, barring any unforeseen tradegies or emergencies. These cons would be:

Boskone, Boston, Massachusetts (Febraury 13-15)
Norwescon, Seattle, Washington (April 9-12)
Balticon, Baltimore, Maryland (May 22-24)
Worldcon, Montreal, Canada (August 6-9)

Those are the 4 definites. I'll drive to all of them except Norwescon, and I've already got my flights and a hotel room for that. It sucks because I can't bring a box of books with me in case the dealer's room runs out of copies, but we'll see. Maybe I'll just pack extra books instead of clothes. No one will notice I'm wearing the same clothes for 4 days in a row with they?

Anyway, these are the cons I'm currently considering:

Gencon (August 13-16)
Albacon (October)
Capclave (October 16-18)
World Fantasy, San Jose (October 29-November 1)

I'd love to go Gencon, but it would be a long drive from here, and I don't think I can afford another flight con this year. It is during my "off" time from teaching though, so it's tempting. Plus I could play games! I should really do it, simply because I do think my Throne series could be marketed to gamers fairly easily. And did you see the dates for Gencon? Compare them to the dates for Worldcon. Um-hmmm. That's right. I'd be doing two heavy-duty cons back to back. Can I handle that? Probably, but what if I die in the attempt?

Now, Albacon has been a staple for the past few years and is my backyard. So that one is definitely possible. The problem is that I was trying to branch out to some other cons this year, rather than doing the same ones over and over, and Albacon may conflict with Capclave. If they're on the same weekend, that's a problem. If they aren't on the same weekend . . . I'm not sure I can handle two cons in the same month, let alone during the middle of teaching. So we'll see about those two.

World Fantasy is another issue. It would be a flight con. And it's during the semester. That's two knocks against it at the moment. A plus would be that the DAW staff is likely to go, so I'd get to see my editor in person, etc. However, that will probably happen at Montreal as well. So at the moment, World Fantasy is probably not going to make the final list.

Now, I may end up adding Lunacon to the list. I've been to Lunacon for the past few years but with mixed results. We'll see.

Any other cons out there that I should consider? Remember, being within driving distance of Binghamton, NY, is a plus.

And what's your favorite con (whether I can attend it or not)? Why is it your favorite?

And do you attend cons for the panels on books or for books, or the costuming/masquerade, or for the gaming?

Comments

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

I will be at Worldcon.
And Albacon.
Can't drive to World Fantasy due to Day Job and it takes too long.

[lalam.livejournal.com]

boston? did you say boston? Where, how, when and how much? ;)

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

See you at Boskone!

I attend different cons for different reasons. Arisia's mostly for the people... Boskone and Readercon are more for the bookishness. (If you like Boskone, do consider Readercon!)

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

My favorite con is World Fantasy. Almost everyone there is a pro, and is a great place to meet new people and hang out with old friends. Plus, this year it will held about five miles from my house. :-)

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Well, it depends on who's driving, whether you sleep at all, or stop for food . . .

[n-decisive.livejournal.com]

I tend to go to LunaCon every other year. My results have been mixed, as well.

It's a pity that I will be chaperoning my kids at SakuraCon in Seattle the same weekend that Norwescon is active. I'd rather be there!

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Link here for the con info.

I'll be there, along with pbray, and a bunch of other authors. It's a very good book con.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

I LOVED Boskone last year. It was a very good book con.

I've been to Readercon once and may go back again this year. I should add it to my "possible" list.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

I love World Fantasy but it's so far away this time! Did you attend when it was in Saratoga Spring, NY? And if you did, did you got the "Zombies Need Brains" party? That was me. Well, 1/6th of it was me.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Norwescon starts on Thursday, so maybe you can hit it for at least one day?

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I missed that one. I tend to go every other year or so, and only hit the ones in the western or middle U.S./Canada. It sounds like a great party, though.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

The party was a blast! I posted pictures a while back. The con was a blast as well. It's nice to talk with other pros about the whole business. Plus you get all the gossip that doesn't make it to the blogs. *grin*

[n-decisive.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize it started Thursday. If my son and I fly out of Newark on Wednesday night and stay down by SeaTac, that would work out well! Thank you!

[livia-llewellyn.livejournal.com]

Please do consider Readercon again. It's my favorite con - the only one I go to on a regular basis (besides BitterCon, of course!).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My home con is Minicon. It is a very good con.

Last year was the return of Fourth Street Fantasy Convention here in Minneapolis. It was a different kind of very good con. Minicon is book-focused, but it also has some programming on gaming, media fandoms, etc. Fourth Street is All Fiction, All The Time. It's single-tracked, so everybody at the con is chewing over more or less the same arguments, and it's small enough that everybody gets to talk to everybody--and cool enough that the everybodys you get to talk to have interesting things to say, whether they're pro or fan, writer or editor or critic or artist or what. Musician. Game designer. Jewelry-maker. Whatever.

I recommend both conventions very highly. People who are not familiar with cons and are feeling shy can track me down on either con; I tend to be on programming, and I know a ton of people and am happy to introduce folks around, as long as they're congenial and polite.

Panels help. But mostly I attend cons for the conversation. If it's a good con, panels fuel the conversation in off-panel times.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

True, true..

Problem is, I can't share driving. You can't drive my car, I can't drive yours.

The fancy parking spaces come with drawbacks, like special controls on your vehicle.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Cons are the greatest.

I was seven, I think, when I went to my first. It was a Star Trek con in Philadelphia. We lived just outside of Philadelphia then. We only had day passes.

[skaldic.livejournal.com]

I'm not 100% sure that I'll be going to Norwescon, but if I do, you can send a box of the extra books to me by mail and I can cart them to the con for you, since it's local for me.

[eldestmuse.livejournal.com]

It looks like I'll be able to go to Balticon again this year, since I'm not working weekends like I was for last year's, and my exams are over May 17.

I'm looking forward to it even more this year, since I'm finally 21 :)

[shanrina.livejournal.com]

I've only been to one con (WorldCon back when it was in Philadelphia) but BaltiCon is close enough that I keep meaning to go. I'm not sure what else is going on then for me, but if I'm free I'll probably try to go. Although I'm also trying to get to a con in Virginia kind of around that time, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do both. OTOH BaltiCon is after the semester ends, and I'm pretty sure the one in VA isn't. So I'll see. But it'll probably just be for a day if I do go because I'm cheap.

When I went to WorldCon and had no idea what to expect, but my friends and I were all 15 and we had my dad as a chaperone so we didn't really get to do any of the "fun" stuff. I remember getting Tamora Pierce's autograph and listening to Simon R Green (who was absolutely hilarious) speak on a panel, and that's about it. I don't know what I'd go for now, though.

[xraytheenforcer.livejournal.com]

See you at Boskone! (and, of course, WorldCon, except that it's hard to actually find people at WorldCon because it's so big)

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Your welcome. I live to serve. *grin*

If you are there Thursday, look me up on the schedule and say hi!

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

I've put in on my short list. I don't have anything in July at the moment (not school then either) so it's definitely a possibility.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Minneapolis is a little distant for me, but I'll check them out. The smaller cons are definitely better in general.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Never been to a Star Trek con. I think my first con was the Worldcon in Philadelphia. I went with Kate Elliott, who was trying to introduce me to the whole scene. It was a little . . . daunting.