Back from Readercon, by the way

[womzilla]

I won't attempt a full con report, but I did want to mention a few things:

1. grahamsleight is a prince among men. He schlepped about thirty thousand pounds of European books and games--and two adorable stuffed toys--in his luggage so that I wouldn't have to pay transAtlantic shipping.


2. I once again spent too much of a convention stalking crowleycrow. Well, not really stalking, but he kept being at the center of events I wanted to see. The hour-long discussion on Ægypt, in particular, was very rewarding. (It feels like I spent more time around him than I actually did because supergee and I spent most of the four-hour drive each way listening to his audiobook of The Solitudes, which is superb.)


3. On the other extreme, we barely got to see fjm, because we arrived late and she departed early. She has made me promise to find at least one meal she can share with us at the Conference next year.


4. I actually did some networking--but not for myself. Eugene Reynolds, intrepid and brilliant NYRSF staffer, has a friend who is a playwright in New Hampshire, whose plays are sometimes spec fic. partimedriver's wife is an award-winning playwright in Vermont, whose plays are sometimes spec fic. They needed to meet, and they did.


5. It was sad to be among constant reminders of the death of tomsdisch but superb to be among people who thought--think, and will continue to think--so highly of him.


6. The "NYRSF at 20" panel was a lot of fun, and would have been more fun if it hadn't been scheduled opposite the first Shirley Jackson Awards panel.


7. Eric Van generally does a superb job with programming (previous complaint notwithstanding), ginning up fine discussions of topics two or three steps beyond the normal range of such things, and then populating the panels with people well-fitted to the topics. Much kudos to him. I might derive a few posts from responding to ideas tossed around in public.


8. And I know it's a cheap thrill, but I had really, really missed the Kirk Poland Memorial Bad Prose Competition.


9. If I listed everyone I was glad to see, I'd be here all night, but if I saw you there, I'm *glad* I saw you there. I hope I engendered the same reaction in you.

Comments

[ckd]

I saw you, but only in passing; I'm still glad to see that you were there even if we didn't get to talk.