TRAVERSING Z

Conferences

after Worldcon

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So I went to my first Worldcon! The programming was far better than I expected considering the pre-con issues. The Mexicanx initiative made for some excellent panels (see E.M. Markoff’s blog post for a deeper look at the initiative), I picked up some tips in the more craft-oriented sessions, and I’ll be scouring the Internet for videos of a few that I missed out on. As I tweeted earlier, I’m also looking forward to revisiting the Mexican Gothic panel, which will be podcast on the Outer Dark later this fall.

I was even on a panel, and read with Broad Universe! You can see the panel here.

So the programming was great, it was great to see folks from the Internet and writers I’ve been getting to know, and I felt a bit more included in this field overall.

There were, however, a couple of downsides. One is that I was apparently wearing an invisible sign around my neck that said “Tell me why you think SFF today sucks.” A few individuals introduced themselves by unloading onto me their misgivings about the Hugos and the field overall, each time at the end of the day when I was completely out of energy. To watch these individuals, who held positions of privilege in both SFF and their day jobs, jump through verbal hoops to justify dismissing the Hugo slate as sub-par was depressing and exhausting.

The other problem is harder to describe, and personal to me. Since I returned to this field, people have been telling me the value of conventions for networking, especially Worldcon, which has been repeatedly described to me as the Oscars of SFF. Yet many people behaved as if the con was an extension of their personal space, like a large shared house they were hanging out in. I had deeply mixed feelings throughout the weekend: on the one hand I appreciated a convention where I could dress as I pleased, act within reason as I pleased, and casually strike up conversations with creatives whose work I deeply admire. On the other hand, Worldcon is expensive, and I went feeling pressured to make the convention, I dunno, pay off in some manner. When you’ve skimped and struggled to be there, when you’re trying to wring everything you can out of it, when you’re performing a level of aspirational professionalism … and then the person next to you in a panel audience starts chatting incessantly, or snoring, or painting their nails, well. It’s hard not to feel frustrated.

But enough of my grousing. It was overall great, and hopefully someday I’ll have the money to do it again. In the meantime, I had made chapbooks for the convention, and I have just a couple left:

$5 plus shipping! If you’re interested, shoot me a message via the Contact link ^^^ with your location and I’ll let you know the total cost.

And with that, back to it. I’ve got a beast of a history textbook I’m proofreading, I’m doing a master outline of the now 4-book saga (but that’s it! 4 books actually gets it all in!!), I’ve got novelettes wrapping up and I’m figuring out the saggy middle of the third Chase & Daniels novella. It’s gonna be a busy fall …

Worldcon 76 (updated)

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(The image has nothing to do with Worldcon. It’s here because I’m having a thing right now about this Gerhard Richter series – this is 14. Marz 2000 [Firenze]. I’ve been thinking a lot about inside and outside, and translating inner landscapes, and, well. Big mood as the kids say.)

So I will be at Worldcon 76, though I keep wanting to say the Worldcon, like how people in LA talk about their freeways. I will be reading with Broad Universe on Saturday at 5 pm somewhere in the Convention Center. I will also have all three books for sale at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room, and possibly even a signed chapbook of “To Us May Grace Be Given” if I can find the time to print and bind them.

UPDATED SCHEDULE:

Thursday, 2-3 pm, What Turns People Onto Horror
Friday, 11-1 pm, Book signing at Broad Universe table
Saturday, 5-6 pm, Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading

UPDATE ABOUT SATURDAY: please see this post about the Saturday protest and counter-protest. Worldcon is recommending that attendees use the back (Viola Ave) entrance on that day, and there will be volunteers in pink shirts to help escort attendees to and from the Convention Center. Stay safe, everyone.

I am freelancing like mad through the end of August, and I have proofs to check for my Nightscript story, so if I’m a little squinty in San Jose it’s because of the hundreds of pages of text I’ve been scrutinizing for weeks.

Hope to see you there!

Catching up

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I’ve been there and back again – to Florida and back, that is, where I celebrated my father’s birthday. While I was gone Leviathan finished its introductory sale and Vacui Magia was featured by Bookbub, all of which made for a week that went by far too fast. The only downside was the last night, when I had my first encounter with the terribly-named noseeum (seriously, can you imagine using such a name in a story) and apparently I’ll have the joy of their lingering nibbles for another week or so. Send aloe vera, please.

Other things that happened this past week or so:

  • Marie Blanchet reviewed Leviathan and I squeed for ages. 😀
  • I was interviewed by the delightful hosts of Dissecting Dragons, for which I was incredibly nervous AND just wanting to listen to Jules and Madeleine chat, their chemistry is so very good. It was also remarkable as it’s the first time I’ve uttered a word about my novel project in public, so yeah, there’s that. Describing WIPs aloud always makes them both smaller and much more real. Eep.
    (The novel project, that is, not the standalone that I’ve been toying with for about a decade or so. Ahem. Because it’s important to clarify which massive unfinished WIP I’m referring to.)
  • “Properties of Obligate Pearls” went live on Podcastle, and wow, I can still feel that one.
  • I will be at Worldcon 76 in San Jose! My books will be for sale at the Broad Universe table, and I’ll be manning it for part of the weekend, so stay tuned for that schedule.
  • Not specifically my writing, but it feels important to tell you all that while I was away I started back down the rabbit hole of Lois McMaster Bujold, so between that re-read, my own projects, and some much-needed freelance work, I’m anticipating a very quiet July ’round these parts.