Poll time!

[telophase]

I'm doing a quick poll here on my LJ to see if I can get some good ideas for ConDFW. There's a 150 character max in each of the boxes, and feel free to elaborate in comments (and if you have contact information for any potential guests, let me know and I'll email you XD).

If you've never been to a con, there's a question for you at the end.

Please note: this is about literary SF cons, not media cons or anime cons.

[Poll #579122]

THANK YOU for answering. If you haven't answered, L will stare at you until you do.

Comments

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Not sure how helpful I'll be but the stare compelled me.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

THE POWER OF THE L STARE COMPELS YOU. THE POWER OF THE L STARE COMPELS EVERYONE!

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

As it happens, I've been involved with a convention (http://www.iconsf.org) in NY for the past 15 years. I've held...various positions and done...pretty much everything there is to do for the con over the years. Based on that, and a quick IM conversation with the woman who was Con Chair for the past 3 years we came up with the following:

• Harlan Ellison (Always a good guest, his panels are always well attended, I think he wants a fee, though)


• Connie Willis (Not sure what a draw she'll be, but she's a great speaker)


• Orson Scott Card (I'm not fond of him, but he was well attended)


• George RR Martin (He hates us, but I heard him a bit this weekend and he's a good speaker. Also currently on a book tour to pimp his new one so...available in general)


• Neil Gaiman (A draw, but hard to book and definitely wants a fee)


• Laurell K. Hamilton (Not one I would pick, but apparently a frequently requested author)

The problem is, that compared to things like media and such, the Authors track doesn't really 'draw' for us. People attend it, but it's not their primary reason for coming to the Convention so it's hard to gauge sometimes.

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

George RR doesn't hate the original [Iowa] ICON. Why do you think he hates yours?

I see Gaiman at local conventions occasionally. Are you sure he wants a fee for SF conventions (remember, the poll is about "literary" SF conventions, not media cons, etc.)?

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

re: Martin - Because apparently he's told our Author's Track Leader that he doesn't like us and refuses to deal with us.

re: Gaiman - I don't know. At the time I was actively trying to get him as a guest, it was for the Comics Track and he still lived in England. That's the information I was given by the former Con Chair earlier this morning.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Just quick before I answer. I think I know what you mean by a lit con. But can I get a few examples? (I'm thinking Wiscon/Readercon versus...cons I don't go to?)

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

Well, if you have a Comics Track, Anime Track, etc., George may not be interested because he is primarily a writer and mostly attends conventions for people who read SF, as opposed to media conventions.

Gaiman may or may not charge fees for SF conventions, as opposed to media conventions; I'll ask him, next time I see him.

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

A "lit[erary] con" is the term used by media fans to refer to old-fashioned SF conventions centered on written science fiction and fantasy; not just WisCon, Readercon and Potlatch, but Chattacon and ICON [the Iowa original] and Bubonicon and Windycon and Westercon and Worldcon ktp.: what was until 1966 or later the only kind of SF convention there was.

This is to distinguish them not only from their true opposites, the commercial shows that call themselves "conventions" (think: Creation), but also from the legitimately mediafan-run not-for-profit media cons like (most) anime cons and MediaWest and the like.

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

Already hyped: with luck, you'll get some interesting responses.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks. That's what I thought, but figured I'd check.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

A lied a little bit in my answers. I said that I don't go for guests. What I mean is, I don't go for _name_ guests. I go because it's convenient and/or My People will be there, and My People are increasingly guests if by guests you mean program participants. But not if, as I read the question, you mean big-name authors that I don't already know and like.

(People will sometimes trump convenience, which is why I'm going back for Wiscon. Convenience without people may get me to stick my head in the door, but also may not.)

Good programming is a draw for me, but 'good programming' is a vague concept. I can specify, if you'd like, what I mean by 'good.' It would have to be pretty darn good (and definitely local) to trump a lack of My People.

But good programming can draw My People, so...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I can specify, if you'd like, what I mean by 'good.'

That would help, actually. :) I know what *I* consider good programing, but OTOH, I don't go to much programming, and I'm con staff, so *my* opinion matters less than the opinions of con attendees, and the way to find that out is to, of course, go out and ask people. :D

And thanks for answering. :)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the authors aren't a HUGE draw for us - probably more than you, since we've got a narrower focus - but we're generating lists of possible guests, not just for this con, but for future ones.

Our con staff also came up through AggieCon, and have ... connections with Ellison and Gaiman. XD (Managed to get Ellison and Pratchett at the same con, even.) Hamilton's actually rather hard to get. Don't ask how I know this. ;) I'll have to make sure Willis and Card and Martin are on the List o'Doom.

Thanks for answering!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yup, what orangemike said. I tend to use it a lot because most of my friends are primarily anime, comic, and media fans, and if I don't specifiy, they tend to assume I'm talking about conventions like AggieCon, where the focus of each con depends on which guests they've gotten that year.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks muchly!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

If you approach Gaiman right, he may agree to reduced fees, if not waiving them. Won't explain the whole story on LJ in public since it is all about problems-with-a-capital-P at another con (not the fault of the con staff, however), but if plied by alcohol at a con, I might be persuaded to explain.

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

oops - it wouldn't let me finish - I was saying bascially - pick your security people CAREFULLY. heh.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Heehee. XD Yes, that's definitely something we try to do.

Thanks!

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

Not on topic, but I had to share some icon solidarity.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I don't know that my response was very helpful? I've never been to a SF con before, lit or otherwise. I only really attend Ycon and that is mostly to see friends and sell art.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Pantsless icons unite!

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Okie. I shall try to be brief-ish, but we'll see.

What I've found, and what I hear from a lot of the people that I hang out with, is the more cons you go to, the less interested you are in programming. I don't know if this is just us or if it's a general thing. But--I guess I'm going to contradict myself. I pick what I attend these days mostly by who's on the panel, because interesting people can make a dull topic worthwhile, and vice that versa.

(But I don't go to the con because the interesting people will be on the panels--I go because the interesting people will be there. I'm not sure if I'm making this more or less clear! Sorry.)

Even then, though, you can only go to so many 'advice for new writers' (or whatever) panels before you realize you've already heard all the advice that's going to be handed out and you're only going in hopes that they'll hand it out in a new way. (I did go to a new-writers panel once specifically to hear Gavin Grant be snarky.)

On the other hand, the people who haven't already been to six new-writers panels definitely show up for those. So I guess part of what makes programming good for me is range. Stuff for people at various stages and of various interests (within the scope of the con, of course).

And it's about interesting topics. I'm skimming through my Readercon reports and I'll just go ahead and link the first one: http://www.livejournal.com/users/buymeaclue/2005/07/11/ because Readercon was a con of excellent programming, across the board. It was, I think, a combination of topic choice (some offbeat, some less so) and uniformly engaged-and-intelligent panelists. I'm not sure that's helpful. It's pretty much, "Well, of course!" But there it is.

Some of my panel attendance at Readercon probably had to do with the fact that most of my buddies weren't there and that I was feeling anti-social that week. But it says something that I kept going to panels instead of going home or curling up with a book.

A don't: panel descriptions/names that invite "I question your premise" responses. I love Wiscon, but it usually has a few panels with this problem. I don't know if it's a problem for anyone else, but when I see a descrip like the famed "is organized religion part fo the problem or all of the problem?" I'm going to steer well clear.

Wiscon does do really excellent readings. Group readings--usually four readers to a slot. This is good for those of us who don't do well being read to. It's good for the readers, because more of them get to read. And it's good for the audience, because if they don't care for a particular reader or story, it's over in ten minutes and because they get to hear many more people. I loff it with all the loff.

So much for short-ish!