The fun of World Fantasy Con is that it's a professional business con. There are fans there, sure, but most of the attendees skew to authors, agents, editors and publishers. It's got more of a relaxed attitude, therefore, though everyone's wheeling and dealing, catching up with old friends and making new ones, and generally having a good time. It gives off a feeling of a reunion, with all of the positives and almost none of the negatives.
My panel on EC Comics went really well. It helped that
Scott Edelman and
Andy Duncan were on it with me, since they're both fun guys, great speakers, and loaded with information. If you're into comics, Mad Magazine, horror, any combination thereof, or any related subjects, check them out! (Note: Despite the "zombie self portrait" on his splash page, Scott's really a sweet, charming, fount of knowledge. And I had to say that or he said he'd eat my brains.)
I got to hang with awesome authors
Celina Summers,
David Boop, and
Marcus Pelligrimas, as well as party with authors
Adam Niswander and
Jerry Gordon.
And the DAW dinner was loaded with great authors (deep breath, yes there were LOTS of us):
Bob Krammes,
Benjamin Tate,
Saladin Ahmed,
Kari Sperring,
Josh Palmatiere,
Jim C. Hines,
Michelle West aka Michelle Sagara,
Steven Leigh,
S. Andrew Swann,
R.M. Meluch, and
Laura Resnick. Yes, this was a total who's who, but that's WFC in a nutshell. BTW, if you haven't checked these amazing authors out yet, do so immediately.
Of course, there were plenty of publishers in attendance. In addition to my own beloved
DAW Books,
Tor/Forge was in attendance (they also threw an awesome party), and
Baen Books was there, too. There were also some smaller publishers who really had an impressive array of titles and covers.
EDGE/Tesseract -- who were celebrating their 10 year anniversary (and yes, their party was awesome),
Elder Signs Press,
Titan Books, and
ChiZine Publications were there (yes, ChiZine threw a great party, too), all showing off their wares and let me tell you, they have some great books.
By the way, if it sounds like all we did was go to parties and hang out in the bar um...well...yeah. I mean, hey, panels! There were panels and readings! And, um, err, dinners! Yeah, only they were more like parties. Um, the mass book signing was wicked cool! So, see? I did some work. (Actually, considering that my agent is like the Energizer Bunny at these things, I did a LOT of work, but that's a tale for another time.)
Personal highlights:
-- running into
Eric Flint, author of, among many other things, Baen's 1632 series, in the elevator, telling him that I'd seen him at Fiesta Con and really loved what he'd had to say. He left the elevator at my floor and chatted with me for a good 15 minutes. He's not only a great author, he's a really charming man who graciously took the time to "talk shop" with a younger author.
-- getting to see
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s ever-beautiful array of vests. The man can and does totally pull off the look, and he never makes a fashion miscue. He's a dashing, dapper gentleman, and a great writer, too, by the way.
-- being charmed by Englishman
Brian Lumly who's not only an amazing author but one of those charasmatic people you just want to be around.
-- getting to meet two of the Alien Collective in person (waves madly to Darlene and Heidi). The book signing was really great, but getting to meet up with Alien Collective members is always the best part for me.
-- getting to impress the hubs that
Joe Haldeman was in the audience for my panel, that I got to meet
Guy Gavriel Kay, and that I saw Gene Wolfe (albeit from a distance).
-- having a reviewer bring his ARC of Touched by an Alien to have me sign (waves madly to Michael) and then getting to hang out with him in the bar, discussing the pros and cons of the Star Wars movies.
-- lunch with just my wonderful editor and agent and me. It's always nice to get to just hang out with them and yak about anything and everything, without having to share their time.
-- discovering that the people of Columbus, all of them, are really and truly nice. I especially appreciated how nice they were when I, with my usual "flair" for travel, tried to go through the security metal detector with earmuffs and a metal hairclip on, accompanied by a bottle of water and a can of Dr Pepper. What could have been a nightmare ended up pretty much a fun, laugh-filled stop along the way to my gate. I'd honestly like to go back to Columbus and get to see more of the town than I managed (very little of German Town, very little around the hotel, a salt mine from a distance, and absolutely nothing else).
-- the DAW dinner. Not only was it author-filled, but the food was delicious and I had a total blast with Mary Krammes (Bob's wife and my new soul sister).
-- talking comics and pseudonyms with Titan editor Steve Saffel.
-- bonding over earmuffs and other things with Anita Hades (yet another new soul sister) from EDGE publishing.
-- having someone come up to me after the panel to ask me about writing and get tips (waves madly to Craig). It was doubly exciting since Scott and Andy have been doing this a lot longer than I have.
Next year's World Fantasy Con is in San Diego, CA. Yes, I'll be there, with bells on. Honestly, I can't wait. Hope to see some of you there, too, and to have an even longer roundup note for you after, as well. I'm sure that'll mean I have to hang and party with even more cool writerly types, but hey, I'm willing to take one for our team, 'cause that's the kind of girl I am.
Love,
Gini
Labels: Baen Books, Brian Lumly, DAW Books, EC Comics, Eric Flint, Gene Wolfe, gini koch, Guy Gavriel Kay, Joe Haldeman, L.E. Modesitt, Mad Magazine, Scott Edelman, Tor/Forge, World Fantasy Con
