Readercon report
Jul. 14th, 2010 05:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynnegaThis was my first Readercon, and I had a terrific time in spite of terrific jetlag. I flew in on Thursday, and skogkatt kindly picked me up at the airport. After I checked in at the hotel, I had Thai food with Julia and ckd. Later that evening I went to the "I Know These People, Personally" panel (moderated by Elizabeth Hand) about basing characters on real people.
Friday morning the jetlag hit me at full force, so I got a late start. I went to the dramatic reading of the first two acts of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I greatly enjoyed. I easily could've stayed for the rest of the play, but I wanted to go to the "New England: At Home to the Unheimlich?" panel (modded by Liz Hand, and featuring Caitlín R. Kiernan and Cat Valente, among others).
Later that afternoon I went to "The Best of the Small Press" panel, the awesome Mythic Delirium / Goblin Fruit Group Reading, and the "On the Beach on the Beach" panel (with John Crowley, Amanda Downum, John Langan, Peter Straub, and Sonya Taaffe). After that, I fortuitously ran intooracne just as I was thinking of getting something to eat, and she invited me for a quick dinner with her, Steve Berman and Judith Berman. (I had lobster roll.) Later that evening I went to the hilarious "Bookaholics Anonymous Annual Meeting" modded by oracne and including Rob Shearman of "Dalek" fame.
Saturday morning I read poetry at the Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading, which was a lot of fun (despite the fact it was at 10 a.m. and my body-clock still thought that was 5 a.m.). After that I grabbed a quick breakfast and headed tosovay's awesome reading from her story "The Dybbuk in Love." Also awesome was the "Fanfic as Criticism" panel (moderated by oracne, and including Alaya Dawn Johnson and Cecilia Tan), which I found very inspiring about fiction-writing in general. (kate_nepveu's panel report is here.) Later I went a reading by Michael Dirda and The Rhysling Award Poetry Slan.
At some point that afternoon in the dealer room, Chip Delany was sitting at the Wesleyan University Press table. He said hi, and I was a bit starstruck--but then another guy came up and did a hilarious double-take when he saw Delany, and we all laughed. I bought The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, and Delany signed it. I also picked up the Wesleyan edition of Joanna Russ's We Who Are About To... with a Delany introduction, and the totally-up-my-alley Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race, Politics, and Popular Culture.
That evening I had Korean barbecue withoracne, sarah_prineas and a cast of thousands (well, two tables of people!). Then I attended the Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose Competition, after which oracne and I had whiskey sours at the Irish pub in the hotel (enacting a Ryan's Hope tribute!).
Sunday morning I went to the Viable Paradise reading (featuringskogkatt and jenwrites). After that I went to a panel on The Short Fiction of Theodore Sturgeon, mainly because I wanted to go to a panel that Delany was on, and I wasn't disappointed--he kept saying amazing things about fiction-writing. Then I went to the Racial Diversity and Cover Art panel, featuring Inanna Arthen, Liz Gorinsky, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, and Alaya Dawn Johnson.
That evening I had Indian food withskogkatt and Moss. The next morning, Julia went above and beyond the call of duty by picking me up at the hotel and driving me to the airport. This was a little more exciting than we'd expected: we got stuck in heavy traffic, and a three-car collision occurred in the lane next to ours! For awhile it seemed I might miss my flight, but then traffic sped up and we got there an hour before my flight. But at the airport there was a ridiculously long line for checking baggage. Finally I flagged down a JetBlue employee and told her my flight was boarding in 15 minutes, and she put me at the head of the line and hustled me through security. I rushed to my gate--only to find my flight was delayed! About half an hour later we did board, and I happily watched soaps on the plane.
Anyway, I had a lovely Readercon, and I will definitely be going back.
skogkatt kindly picked me up at the airport. After I checked in at the hotel, I had Thai food with Julia and ckd. Later that evening I went to the "I Know These People, Personally" panel (moderated by Elizabeth Hand) about basing characters on real people.Friday morning the jetlag hit me at full force, so I got a late start. I went to the dramatic reading of the first two acts of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I greatly enjoyed. I easily could've stayed for the rest of the play, but I wanted to go to the "New England: At Home to the Unheimlich?" panel (modded by Liz Hand, and featuring Caitlín R. Kiernan and Cat Valente, among others).
Later that afternoon I went to "The Best of the Small Press" panel, the awesome Mythic Delirium / Goblin Fruit Group Reading, and the "On the Beach on the Beach" panel (with John Crowley, Amanda Downum, John Langan, Peter Straub, and Sonya Taaffe). After that, I fortuitously ran into
oracne just as I was thinking of getting something to eat, and she invited me for a quick dinner with her, Steve Berman and Judith Berman. (I had lobster roll.) Later that evening I went to the hilarious "Bookaholics Anonymous Annual Meeting" modded by oracne and including Rob Shearman of "Dalek" fame. Saturday morning I read poetry at the Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading, which was a lot of fun (despite the fact it was at 10 a.m. and my body-clock still thought that was 5 a.m.). After that I grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to
sovay's awesome reading from her story "The Dybbuk in Love." Also awesome was the "Fanfic as Criticism" panel (moderated by oracne, and including Alaya Dawn Johnson and Cecilia Tan), which I found very inspiring about fiction-writing in general. (kate_nepveu's panel report is here.) Later I went a reading by Michael Dirda and The Rhysling Award Poetry Slan.At some point that afternoon in the dealer room, Chip Delany was sitting at the Wesleyan University Press table. He said hi, and I was a bit starstruck--but then another guy came up and did a hilarious double-take when he saw Delany, and we all laughed. I bought The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, and Delany signed it. I also picked up the Wesleyan edition of Joanna Russ's We Who Are About To... with a Delany introduction, and the totally-up-my-alley Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race, Politics, and Popular Culture.
That evening I had Korean barbecue with
oracne, sarah_prineas and a cast of thousands (well, two tables of people!). Then I attended the Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose Competition, after which oracne and I had whiskey sours at the Irish pub in the hotel (enacting a Ryan's Hope tribute!).Sunday morning I went to the Viable Paradise reading (featuring
skogkatt and jenwrites). After that I went to a panel on The Short Fiction of Theodore Sturgeon, mainly because I wanted to go to a panel that Delany was on, and I wasn't disappointed--he kept saying amazing things about fiction-writing. Then I went to the Racial Diversity and Cover Art panel, featuring Inanna Arthen, Liz Gorinsky, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, and Alaya Dawn Johnson.That evening I had Indian food with
skogkatt and Moss. The next morning, Julia went above and beyond the call of duty by picking me up at the hotel and driving me to the airport. This was a little more exciting than we'd expected: we got stuck in heavy traffic, and a three-car collision occurred in the lane next to ours! For awhile it seemed I might miss my flight, but then traffic sped up and we got there an hour before my flight. But at the airport there was a ridiculously long line for checking baggage. Finally I flagged down a JetBlue employee and told her my flight was boarding in 15 minutes, and she put me at the head of the line and hustled me through security. I rushed to my gate--only to find my flight was delayed! About half an hour later we did board, and I happily watched soaps on the plane.Anyway, I had a lovely Readercon, and I will definitely be going back.
