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. :-)

[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!

[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]

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)

[bella-lee.livejournal.com]

I've only been to one con, Keycon in Winnipeg, Canada, and I went specifically so I could meet one of my favourite authors, Kevin J Anderson. It was a great first experience!

[beckyh2112.livejournal.com]

My favorite con is Dragon*Con. Huge, there's almost always something I can find to do, and a lot of my friends attend it. It's always a highlight of the fall for me.

Oddly enough, I attend cons for the dealers rooms and to visit with friends. Of the last two cons I attended (Botcon '08 and Ohayocon '08), I attended exactly one panel. However, I spent a huge amount of time in the dealers' rooms and hanging out with friends, such that those were amazingly fun conventions for me.

I am, however, likely to attend panels if they look interesting in the programming guide.

[jaxom92.livejournal.com]

I think the literary angle is why I attended first. My 10th grade English teacher has a small press and darkfantasy/scifi magazine out of his house and attends Norwescon every year. That got me to go my senior year in high school. I was rather bowled over at how fun it was. All the crazy people, but at that time, it was the panels on books that really interested me. I was a budding writer (not sure if I'm as serious about that now) and I sort of became a sponge those four days.

In later years I went with a girl of interest and later girlfriend and got a bit into the costuming side since she's big on that, but after last year, when we had broken up, I was pretty much by myself at the con and it just didn't feel quite as fun. This year I'm hoping to drag my sister and her boyfriend along to give me some company. I really do enjoy going but I'd much rather go with people.

As to what's my favorite? Well, I've been to all of two different cons in my life. Norwescon since 2003 and Tolcon once, which I think was in 2005 or 6. Can't remember. Anyhow, I much preferred Norwescon for it's more broad interests and even though I'm not a big crowd person, there's just something strangely appealing sharing close quarters with a bunch of nerds. Tolcon was much, much smaller (got to meet the scale double for Frodo!) which had it's own appeal.

I wish I had been able to attend worldcon when it was in Seattle a few years ago but I couldn't get it off work. Labor day weekend was pretty busy for us.

So, hopefully I'll make it to Norwescon and I'll be sure to say hello if I do.

[kelly-swails.livejournal.com]

Gen Con! Do Gen Con! If for no other reason than I'll be there. :)

I'm starting to do the con thinking, too. Gen Con and Windy Con I'm solid about; thinking about World Con, Dragon Con, or Convergence. I understand Dragon Con is pretty fannish but it's got a solid YA writing track. So many cons, so little money.

[sylverwolfe.livejournal.com]

I'm partial to Marcon, in Columbus OH, because it's a larger smallish con, so unlike Dragon or GenCon or some of the other monster cons, it's not so flush with people that it's hard to move or breathe or hear or see. I've never had to wait in line for a panel (even though I'm usually a panelist on some of the metaphysical or media tracks if I'm not a Guest Liason or working on the Buffy Sing-A-Long), the Masquerade is lively and full of interesting costumes and skits of all varieties, the filkers are generally top-notch (not to drop names, but folks like Tom Smith, Bill and Brenda Sutton, Alexander James Adams, Michael Moonwulf Longcor, and a whole bunch of Dorsai Irregulars tend to turn up at Marcon filk), the art show is phenomenal, the dealers' room is a marvel in and of itself, the guests are always very personable and charming, and it's just a nice long weekend of fun and friends and fandom with very little creep factor. The Hyatt Regency convention center is a great space and the staff is wonderfully accomodating, it's easy to get to from I-71 or I-70. It's conceivably within driving distance from Binghamton, but I say that knowing I consider the trip from Louisville up 71 to the NYS Thruway (to visit my old stomping grounds in Syracuse every summer) to be a reasonable day's drive. Take a poke around marcon.org; this year's theme is British Invasion but there's always a nice variety of authors, media guests, science guests, musicians and costumers and editors and all KINDS of fandom.
Oh, did I mention that the room parties are restricted to a few floors, to minimise noise for those who actually want to sleep and to make it easier for revelers to make the rounds to all the parties? And the gaming rooms in the basement are open around the clock, and there's a food court in the convention center as well as lots of food in the immediate vicinity, and the famous North Market only blocks from the Hyatt, and Max&Erma's across the street, and the Arena Grand cinemas a few blocks away, too, if you just can't wait to catch the movies opening Memorial Day weekend.
I guess, short version is, Marcon's my favorite con because it's close and has a little bit of everything without being too overwhelmingly crowded.

[sylverwolfe.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* Marcon and BaltiCon seem to be the same weekend. So I guess it's just a question, annually, of trying OH or staying with the known quantity.

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

Ad Astra in Toronto! Though if you do Boskone and Lunacon, that would be three weekends in a row. I would also say Philcon (since hey, that's where I am), but I'm not likely to go...

I'll be at Lunacon. It's really just an excuse to hang out with friends (as is Ad Astra, really).

[damihjva.livejournal.com]

I'm not certain where you teachers/writers hide your capes or how you manage, but do keep it up! :)

I'm going to World Fantasy this year because it's nearby this time.

I had hopes of getting my book signed. :(

[safewrite.livejournal.com]

World Sciecne Fiction will be in Montreal over the summer. And of course I go for the oppotunity to meet new authors and editors, hang out with authors and editors, enjoy the art and do panels that will lead to meeting new folks.

[christinerains.livejournal.com]

GenCon is my favorite. I've been going for the past six years. Plus, it's only an hour away from where I live. They have a great bunch of writers that attend and their seminars are fantastic. There's plenty of gaming. I get both my writing and gaming fixes!

I went to Archon last year and didn't enjoy it as much. They have some good writers that attend, but I liked the seminars better at GenCon. I've been to other smaller conventions, but GenCon still holds the number one spot with me.

[storn-cook.livejournal.com]

I've been to Gencon many, many times, and have had an art table for about 3 years. Last year I skipped. There are couple of reasons why I'm not going to recommend Gencon for you though...

1. I haven't seen great synergy between fiction and the gaming public. I've seen many writers come for one year and get a table and try to hawk their books. But they are not back the next year. It might not be a bad place to get a little buzz...but to make money, probably not. Tables at Gencon are not cheap.

2. Gencon is in trouble, due to bad charity practices by the last management (like they did not give the money to the charities they promised). This resulted in a law suit, and that resulted in bankruptcy. Gencon is on the auction block at the moment. There are rumblings someone is going to pick it up. But nothing super confirmed that I've seen. Gencon is still going to happen... but it could be a bit smaller this year as retailers and publishers are going to be understandably nervous.

3. The economy sux. I'm not sure how much that is going to affect Gencon. The gaming industry in the slumps of the 80s and 90s actually did better in those years... maybe cheap return on the entertainment buck... buy one game, play it for years... but I predict Gencon is going to be smaller because of the economy as well.

[scbutler.livejournal.com]

I'll miss you at Lunacon.

[mardott.livejournal.com]

We went to Baycon last year. Our first con, and we plan on going this year. I'd love to attend more, especially as an aspiring writer - I'd love to meet other authors. But money... how the heck do you DO it?

If you want extra books at Norwescon, can you find someone in the area who would let you ship a box to them? If they're attending the con, they could bring them for you.