Eastercon 2013
I’m a bit later with this report than intended, mostly because I had so much fun at Eastercon I was too exhausted to process it! This was my third Eastercon, and whilst last year’s was memorable for very personal reasons, this year was pretty good too. I’d been a bit doubtful about the location, as the convention venue was mainly a conference centre and had few bedrooms, meaning most people had to stay in city centre hotels about two miles away, but a constant flow of free minibuses meant that this was only a minor inconvenience. A bigger problem, as with Birmingham, was the lack of good places to eat within easy walking distance; the conference centre provided a relatively inexpensive buffet at lunchtime and in the evening, but the food was...
Read MoreEastercon programme
I now have my programme for EightSquared, the 64th Eastercon, so I hope I’ll see some of you at the following events: Friday, 7pm: Genre Get-Together – Fantasy (seems to be a big informal signing event) Friday, 9pm: Panel – Underground London Sunday, 2pm: Panel – The Changing Portrayal of Gender and Sexuality in SF & Fantasy Monday, 11am: Panel – Selling Space I have no idea what I’m going to say on that last one, as I know little about the space industry – I think I got involved because I do know a bit about “big science and the commercial sector” You can see the whole schedule online at 8squared2013.sched.org (there’s also a web app you can use on an iPhone, Android or...
Read MoreBristolCon 2012
Last Saturday saw the return of BristolCon, the small but perfectly formed SF convention based in the city of the same name. It was my second year of attending, and though it’s a long way to go for a one-day convention, it’s well worth a visit. The programming is always excellent, managing to avoid the usual tired topics that get recycled every year at the larger conventions in favour of such delights as “Toilets in Outer Space – practicalities for a fantastic world” and “Women in Sensible Armour”. I attended the latter, which of course started off with general ridiculing of chain-mail bikinis but soon diverged into related topics such as women in the military and women passing as men. Of course it covered some of the...
Read MoreChicon 7 (Worldcon 2012)
A few days ago I flew out to Chicago for my first US convention, Chicon 7 (aka Worldcon 2012), the 70th World Science Fiction Convention. I was very excited about it, mainly because it was a chance to finally meet a whole bunch of writer friends from the other side of the Pond, as well as being only my second trip to the States. For starters, I got to meet fellow Angry Robot authors Chuck Wendig, Madeline Ashby, Lee Collins, Matt Forbeck and Wesley Chu; Wes is a local, so he took us along to a restaurant for the obligatory Chicago-style deep-dish pizza (though I have to confess I much prefer New York style thin crust). I had a busy schedule at the convention: reading and signing sessions, as well as three panels. The first panel, on Writing Gender Roles in...
Read MoreChicon 7 Schedule
An unexpected post today, as I belatedly* received my Worldcon schedule this morning! Thursday 30th August 4.30-6pm Signing Friday 31st August 9-10.30am Panel: Writing gender roles in science fiction 1.30-3pm Panel: “To Be” or not “To Be”: constructed languages in SF&F Saturday 1st September 10.30am-12pm Panel: Why I love my editor 6.30-7pm Reading So, a busy couple of days at first, then I’ll be chilling out on Sunday so that I can enjoy the rest of the con without collapsing in a heap! * I didn’t receive my confirmation email at the same time as everyone else – must have been lost in the ether, or perhaps caught in a spam trap? – so on impulse I contacted the organisers yesterday, just in case. So glad...
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