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| Event Horizon by Donato Giancola |
And now it's the day after. I have a mild Worldcon hangover - like the children in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, it all seems like a dream now. I somehow doubt that I'll attend another one, so this really was a once in a lifetime event for me.
In retrospect? It was an enormously satisfying experience in every way. If anyone reading this is a fan of the written word in science fiction and/or fantasy, I strongly suggest that you attend a Worldcon if you can: it's a rare opportunity to participate in sessions and dialogues about the things that you know and love, to pick up new information, to hear stories and anecdotes, to see some of your favourite authors read and discuss their work in person, to be introduced to new authors, to get autographs, pick up some books, old or new, buy some merch, and generally celebrate your love of the field for five days.
I'm not a very gregarious person, so I didn't attend any of the after dark events, it's not in my nature, but I applaud the people who took advantage of that opportunity to celebrate the community on the dance floor as well.
However, there were some - well, disappointments is a strong word - let's say surprises.
I thought that Tor Books would have a massive presence in the dealers room. In fact, I thought all the major publishers would be there. There was excellent representation by smaller publishing houses, but none of the major players were in attendance.
I was a bit surprised that Guest of Honour Martha Wells didn't present an award at the Hugos. There were some guest presenters - and, full disclosure, no one I knew by name - but there were some well known names in attendance, such as David Brin, Paolo Bacigalupi, Nancy Kress, and Robin Hobb, and it struck me as odd that I didn't see anyone whose name I recognized from my bookshelves handing out a rocket ship statue.
On which note, I had no idea that so many authors other than the Guest of Honour would be in attendance. Logic says that I should have expected other writers to be there, but I feel that a list of the better known names would have been helpful.
There were a few gaps in the management of the event. The first day was very obviously a learning experience for the panelists in terms of figuring out how the microphones worked, activating the voice-to-text accommodation systems, trying to connect to projectors, and otherwise dealing with tech support issues that should have been supported by the venue.
There were also some situations that required an event representative who just wasn't there, such as checking signups for the in-person author Table Talk event on the last day. I was on the standby list for Larry Niven, and the start time came and went without anyone from the convention taking charge. If there had been room at the table, I would probably have just sat down with Mr. Niven - and for all I know, some of the people filling the seats had just shown up and taken a chair.
Finally, there were several sessions where I honestly felt I could have done a better job as a panelist than the actual participants. Obviously not the more specialized sessions, such as the excellent NASA/JPL talks, but for topical programs such as War—From Star Trek to The Expanse or Man Versus Extraterrestrial Nature, I would have been able to bring as much to the table (literally) as some of the chosen panelists, if not more.
That being said, I have a general dislike of non-participant criticism, so maybe I should try to attend another Worldcon after all, and put my name in the hat as a panelist. Apparently Edmonton is in the early stages of bidding for the 2030 Worldcon, that might be my opportunity to put my money where my mouth is.
Criticism aside, the short answer is that it was an excellent event and I had a wonderful time, and I would like to thank all of the people who were involved in any way with making this Worldcon happen. My only real regret is that there was not enough time in the day to do all of the things I wanted to do.
- Sid
