Nick Mamatas writes:
I went to Context, an SF con in Columbus, OH, this weekend. ... The con is small and small-press friendly ... I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the discussions.
Still more impressive was the con suite: egg sandwiches, sushi, donated pizza from a local joint buffet food such as meatballs and chicken tenders, etc. Not the Green Room for panelists mind you, but the con suite. ... It's a small con, perhaps 300 people or so, and everyone was accessible at virtually all times. I definitely recommend it. (read more)
Scott M. Sandridge writes:
The panel discussions I was on were fun. There were lots of great conversations with writers, editors, and artists. I also finally got to meet face to face, for the first time, Michael Arnzen, Maurice Broaddus, Thomas Sigel of Sigel Press, Michael Brendan (the new Managing Editor of Flashing Swords), Alethea Kontis, Elizabeth Vaughn, Deena Fisher, Geoffrey Landis, Chun Lee, Scott Emerson, and…heck…way more people than I can possibly remember the names of ... (read more)
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
This is what writer Jason Toomey had to say about his experience at Context:
I've already made some friends despite my nearly nonexistent networking skills. A nice couple from Worcester of all places. How crazy is that? We probably live 20 minutes for each other only to meet out here. Those wacky Writing Gods, I tell you. Anyway, we had a fun little chat in the hallway as we dug through our goodie bags (as my daughter would say). They are horror writers, so I took the opportunity to see what they felt the difference was between horror and dark fantasy. It was a fun discussion. It's so cool to be around other people who take this stuff seriously.
....
I learned a lot at this conference. World building techniques, how to build emotional tension in a scene without manipulating the reader, some real insight into the horror genre, a few really cool scene pacing concepts I've never really heard before, the homosexual tendencies of Mallard ducks...to name just a few.
As I sat in the hotel restaurant at lunch today, with all the tables of writers happily chattering around me, it just showed me how much I want all of this. Not the fame and the fortune--which are pretty much only bestowed on a few in the industry anyway--but just that feel and sense of being a writer and caring so much about the work. That excitement was everywhere this weekend, and I just lost myself in it.
You can read the rest of his convention report on his website.
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Heidi Ruby Miller posted several batches of photos from Context 20 on her Livejournal. These photos feature Mike Brendan, Chun Lee, Diana Botsford, Albert Wendland, Jason Jack Miller, Tim Esaias, Michael Arnzen, Steve Nagy, Rae Dawn Carson, Jim Hines, D. Harlan Wilson, Ferrett Steinmetz, Matt Cook, Mike Resnick, Fran Friel, Lucy A. Snyder, Gary A. Braunbeck, and others:
http://ambasadora.livejournal.com/146100.htmlhttp://ambasadora.livejournal.com/146609.htmlNayad Monroe posted a couple of pictures on her LJ:
http://nayad.livejournal.com/204313.htmlThere are also Context 20 photos of Michael Arnzen up on the Raw Dog Screaming Press site:
http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/context.html
Labels: con reports, context photos
BlogThis!
<< Home
Author Matthew Cook writes:
Context is held every year in Columbus, Ohio (my home town), and is run by a dedicated staff of volunteers, all of whom love genre fiction.
I first learned about the con from my writer's group -- several members also helped with the con planning and suggested that I go. Editors and authors of every stripe were said to prowl the carpeted halls between panels, their eyes filled with an unholy, insatiable glow. My first year there, I met people like Mike Resnick and Tim Waggoner as well as editors from every publication you can imagine, from magazines and fan-zines to actual New York publishing houses. Heady stuff.
Of course, I'll always have a soft spot for Context because it was there, in 2006, that I met Paula Guran and sold BLOOD MAGIC in the hallway in a frantic 5 minute pitch session.
Even better, I met a boatload of extremely nice people, writers and fans, all of whom walked right up to me as if I were someone worth talking to. Many presented me with a copy of my book to sign. Talk about mind-blowing. Other writers gave me their cards (or even copies of their books) and invited me to contact them.
Did I mention how much I love small cons?
Read the rest at:
http://bloodmagicbooks.blogspot.comLabels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Author Raven Bower writes:
This last weekend we attended Context 20, in Columbus Ohio. Let me tell ya, if you get a chance to attend next years (which I fully intend to) do so! It was a blast.
Lain attended the World Building Workshop, which he said was quite enlightening. They had so many good panels planned that it was often a toss up on which to attend. Often we had to split, each attending different panels and taking notes for the other.
Read more at:
http://ravens-hollow.blogspot.com
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Writer Maurice Broaddus had this to say about his experiences at the convention:
The great thing about smaller cons is that you can really have the time to take on the yoke of a good teacher.
For example, I sat around discussing the craft of writing with Catherynne M. Valente (in and of itself and enviable delight) when Special Guest Mike Resnick walks over and decides to talk about the business of writing to us. For almost an hour, we heard about the ins and outs of the business, how to prepare for cons, how to maximize the revenue streams from your work. After a while, I had to drop my cool facade and just grab my notepad and start taking notes.
I had the chance to sit for over an hour with Ellen Datlow and Guest of Honor Maureen McHugh in one sitting and Ellen Datlow and Paula Guran in another. Again, people I have seen at World Horror Conventions or World Fantasy Conventions - and will see again - but never for more than a few minutes. The information gained sitting at the feet of people with so much knowledge about the industry is worth the price of admission any day.
You can read the rest of his report
on his blog.
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Artist Deena Warner and her author husband Matthew Warner participated in Context 19; here's what she has to say:
We saw a diversity of people from our cold corner of the dealers’ room: recent Clarion graduates such as Will Ludwigsen and Aimee Poynter, members of Maurice Broaddus’ church, students from the Seton Hill creative writing program, anime fans, gaming fans, people who despised horror, and people who loved horror.
Horror Guest of Honor Tim Waggoner led a workshop of media tie-ins which I hear was quite informative. Gary Braunbeck gave a workshop on dialogue techniques, moderated the "What is Horror?" panel, gave a live reading, and generally rocked the house. Lucy Snyder did an outstanding job promoting the con and helping everything run smoothly.
You can read the rest of her report on her website:
http://deenawarner.net/wordpress/?p=14Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
"Spin!"OK, I grant you it's an obscure reference. But like Blish's
Cities in Flight, a good con is a self-contained, self-sustaining environment whirling at some non-relativistic rate. And Context XVI had sort of that feel. These updates are late, of course. I discovered that bouncing all over for three days like a burst of coherant light in a hall of mirrors carries a price tag. The adrenaline burnout felt like jet-lag, about nine timezones worth. Caffine and determination have enabled me to get to work on time, and answer the essential emails. But other than that, I've been pretty useless. The photos from Saturday and Sunday are in the system and have been cropped and tweaked - they should go up tonight, Ghoddess willing.
But Saturday was good - lots of fun, lots of energy. Programming in full force. I met Catherine Asaro and shared a script with her at our reading and discussion of Renee Alper's "Roll Model." Good Watched some college football highlights with Jim Minz (Tor Books and Wisconsin Badgers), Don Wasylyk (Strange Horizons and Penn State Nittany Lions), and Ian Randal Strock (Artemis Magazine and unaffiliated since the Mets season ended sometime back in June).
I had dinner with Craig & Karen Jackson and Tim Waggoner - I was helping Craig with Art Show duties, and Tim had done a reading. (Tim is one of the group of writers whose goodwill is Context's most valuable asset.)
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Friday"The time has come," said the Walrus ....
Working half a day today, then off to visit my M.D. (diabetes labwork - no biggie) and then to the Ramada to see what other signs and portents have manifested. I'm hoping there's a mob scene of people demanding we take their money, but would gladly settle for a mini-mob.
No word yet on Maureen McHugh, one of our "regulars" who probably won't make it this year (deadlines can be harsh). I had been hoping she would make it at the last minute. But, as a consolation prize, she has a new story up at Sci Fiction.com and it's a great, thought-provoking, read.
Also no word if Geoff Landis will be part of the Mars Society presence at Context. If he is, be sure to congratulate him on his Hugo Award for "Falling Onto Mars." I just wish I had been able to get a picture of him wearing his helmet at the "Iron Poet" competition at WorldCon!
Well, we survived Friday, with virtually no earth-shaking disasters to speak of!
I received a nice email from Geoff Landis, who found my speculation about him and took the time to let us know he can't make it this year. Lyle Kelly, President of the Ohio Chapter of the Mars Society did their presentation for our Science & the Future symposium, so they were well-represented. Maybe next year - Geoff has been a semi- regular at Context and is always welcome, either on his own or representing the Mars Society.
The popcorn machine didn't materialize, sad to say. But that didn't keep the the anime/video room from drawing healthy audiences.
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
Swag and OmensContext XVI keeps receiving what I interpret as good omens.
Baen Books, Eric Flint's publisher, sent along a box of swag, including enough Advance Reader Copies of Crown of Slaves that we'll be giving one out with each paid adult membership. Also a few caps and t-shirts, some promotional DVDs and other goodies for the Art/Charity auction Saturday night.
Eric made it in to town for the pre-convention dinner, and brought a couple of books and some uncorrected page proofs to be autographed and auctioned. It's great to see both publisher and writer doing the little things to help make a convention successful. Meta-gratitude to both.
Eric strikes me as interesting guy and a good conversationalist, with strong opinions on a lot of subjects, so I look forward to seeing him interacting with the fans. He's also a smoker, so if you can handle the athmosphere and hang out in the Smoker's ConSuite, there's a good chance you'll meet him.
Catherine Asaro wasn't able to get free for tonight, so she won't be in town until tomorrow. I'm looking forward to meeting her.
We all have our fingers crossed for a good turn-out. Attendence numbers have been declining gradually in recent years (a theme common throughout fandom) and there are serious questions about the future beyond next year. Getting up near the break-even point would help stabilize things greatly.
I really think the omens for XVI are good - the Writer's Workshop is almost full (and Charlie has already put them to work reading and critiquing - Rock On, Mr. Finlay!), the dealer' s room is full (actually Full+), our block of rooms at the Ramada is full, Craig reports a large amount of work received for the Art Show, pre-registrations are ahead of last year by a decent percentage. All good signs.
Even the frantic last-minute scurrying (which I had been warned about) is more about taking advantage of opportunities than staving off disaster. Dan Young (of the Midwest Anime Guys) says there's a chance we can get the use of a popcorn-maker for the weekend, free. Since this is the first time we've done video programming in recent memory, it would be a perfect addition.
But we can't put it in the video room without paying the hotel a corkage charge, and if we put it in a private room we'll have to nag everybody about leaving a trail of popcorn on the way to the video room.
We're all very conscious of being considerate of the hotel. They took us in at the last minute, the location and facilities are a good match for what we're doing, and we've already booked them for next year. So nobody wants to sour the relationship.
Popcorn is a definite maybe. Stay tuned.
Labels: con reports
BlogThis!
<< Home
