For quite a long time, I had reserved this weekend for a trip to Madison to attend this year’s World Fantasy Convention. I’ve always enjoyed WFC when I’ve attended it before, and I was looking forward to meeting a bunch of authors I like, as well as having a chance to see old friends again, and have old friends introduce me to new friends.
However, I’m not there.
When I found out that I had to be in Boston last week (and consequently spend a week away from my wife and child) I decided that I wasn’t going to follow it up with another 5 days away to do WFC. I admit that hearing that old friends Gwenda & Christopher weren’t going after all made this decision easier, and hearing that Scott & Justine couldn’t go also helped–I was quite looking forward to meeting them and hanging out with them “in the tribe”. (That’s another one of those cases of “authors whose work I dug before Gwenda met them and pronounced them to be ‘our kind of people’ as well”.)
Still, I would have loved to see Adam, and Gavin, and Kelly, etc.
So, since I can’t be there, let’s just go through the program and see what I would be doing if I were there. This is the “based on the program” plan, which likely would have gone astray as I veered into bar-con, or got pulled into a poker game, etc. This list is more like “what I would have done at WFC if I didn’t know anyone there”, which is patently not the same thing as “what actually would have happened”.
The first couple of time slots here don’t really hold my interest. I would have gone to Gender-Bending Fantasy for the chance to meet Justine in the flesh, but since she’s not there…
The 7PM panel Working On Your Craft: Writing as an Evolving Process is intrinsically interesting to me because I’m big on the notion of process philosophy–direction being more important than destination–and also because I’d want to get some insight into Holly Black (many of who’s YA books are in the collection) and Sarah Zettel (who’s early SF books I liked, and who’s Isvalta fantasy series I’ve heard good things about but haven’t read yet.).
At 8PM things get interesting. I’d probably have checked out the first half of the The Bathroom: Necessities of World-Building panel, since it seems to be the only program item for Kristine Smith, and I’ve enjoyed her Jani Kilian books, so I’m interested in seeing her talk, and perhaps meeting her.
At the 8:30, though, I’d probably sneak out and make my way to Jane Lindskold‘s reading. I’ve liked a few of her books over the years, most recently including Child of a Rainless Year, and she also has that rubbed off Zelazny glamour.
At 9:00, it would be all about the Paul Witcover reading, since I’m a huge fan of both Waking Beauty and Tumbling After.
There’s no other ‘must do’ item for me on Thursday.
The odds are good that I would have slept in until at least noon. (If I was up earlier, I’d have checked out The Bedroom, or What’s This Sex Scene Doing in My Fantasy? because I bet TNH talking about sex scenes would be really funny, and the interview with Peter Straub).
At noon it would have been Images of Women in Fantasy Literature, for Graham Joyce, Justine, and Jane Lindskold. If the panel wasn’t holding my attention, I might have snuck out at the halfway point to see if Jay Caselberg‘s reading was from his third Jack Stein book.
1PM-2:30 is a tough call. The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror would be an interesting subject, I like to see Gavin moderate, and I’d like to meet Strahan after reading his blog. On the other hand Fantastic Houses is a pretty great topic, and it has Gene Wolfe, who is awesome on panels. (He and Rosemary are also awesome at parties.)
2:30-4PM is even worse. There’s no way I’m going to miss Graham Joyce reading for the first hour–I’ve seen him read before and he’s great–but I would really hate to miss the Beyond Folk Music panel. The chance to see Adam shine, to listen to PNH‘s acerbic insight, and to watch them interact would be great. Also, I’ve quite enjoyed most of Louise Marley‘s books, and with her background and common incorporation of music into her work, it just makes sense for her to be on a music panel. The same is true to a lesser extent for Sharon Shinn. I guess I’d catch the last half-hour of the panel, and regret the the scheduling of the first hour against Joyce.
4-5:30 is pretty clearly the Fantasy in Unexpected Places panel, since I’m a fan of everyone on there, and I like the topic.
That would have got me through Friday’s program, although there likely would have been lots of dealer’s room trips, and quite a bit of circulating during the autographing session. (And lots of kicking myself for not bringing everything that I should have brought to get signed.)
Despite my inherent preferences, I would have had to get up early on Saturday for Adam‘s reading–both to support my pal, and because I’m curious about what kind of reader he would be. Since I was up anyway I’d slip into the end of the Working On Your Craft: Writing as an Evolving Process (2) panel to see what Joyce and Wolfe had to say.
In the next slot the decision is made easier by the fact Scott couldn’t actually attend–that means I could go to the Early Fantasy Illustration panel and listen to Charles Vess without feeling too badly.
There’s no “must do” activity for a while after that, until the back-to-back Gene Wolfe and Kelly Link readings.
Then I’d check out the first half of the Graham Joyce interview, and sneak out to go to Jeffrey Ford‘s reading. (Curse the schedulers again. How do you put Joyce and Ford up against each other?). Then I’d probably sneak back in to the interview.
At 8 I’d probably check out A Maze Demands a Minotaur just because I’m a pretty big fan of Walter Jon Williams. Without any other input, that same reason might take me to the Other Forms of Storytelling panel.
Sunday I would have happily slept in until 11, when I would want to catch the Wee Folk, Good Folk panel, since it seems to be the only program item for Martha Wells. I’ve been a really big fan of hers since The Death of the Necromancer–any time you can write a hero who is both Professor Moriarty and The Count Of Monte Cristo, and have that just be the background for a great fantasy story, you’ve got me. (I’ve read her entire oeuvre since.) Susanna Clark might also be interesting to hear, but I wouldn’t get up early for her if Wells weren’t on the panel.
I’m not much of a banquet guy, but I certainly wouldn’t mind hearing the Judge’s Panel, if for no other reason than to listen to PNH and Ford talk about good books.
And that would finish up the program.
