Kelley and I will be guests at Atlanta's new "geekvent" for quiltbag fans, OutlantaCon. So if you're going to be in or near Atlanta April 30 - May 2 2010, come on down and play.
So, all you fannish folk, you quiltbag (the 'a' stands for 'allies', so I'm talking to all you straight people, too) fen, what makes a perfect convention? What would you like from a guest? Reading? Staged interview with Q&A? Panel? Hanging out in the bar? What would give you the most bang for the buck?
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"Outlanta" is a pretty great name. I doubt I'll be there; the trundle from NYC is a bit much.
ReplyDeleteOh but I didn't answer the question, like a jerk. As nerdy as I am, conventions can kind of...fail me. There is a disconnect in my brain where I don't really care about celebrity status. If _I_ were going I'd hope you put like a "blog readers notice" out, for a sort of unofficial gathering where you & the commenting community could grab a few drinks off the radar. I guess the "official" thing that gets my attention more is "sneak peak" sort of stuff; maybe a reading & discussion of forthcoming works.
ReplyDeleteAt Worldcon last year (and I'm assuming every year) they have round table discussions with authors. People sit round and drink tea and have breakfast or a snack or something and talk with the author. You sign up ahead. Very popular.
ReplyDeleteOf course, to my view, alcohol could only enhance these things.
I used to feel like such a geek...
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll bite: What is a quiltbag fan?
DianneorDi, don't feel out of the loop-- "quiltbag" is a Nicola (& Kelly) term for the various gay/lesbian/allies/trans/queer/bi/etc acronyms.
ReplyDeletemordicai -- Oh, good. I guess as a lesbian transsexual I fit in there somewhere...
ReplyDeleteIf you do a reading it would be a gift if it could be videotaped. Also, hanging out in the bar is always good.
ReplyDeleteFrom my Bronzer friends:
ReplyDeleteWillow's Promise at 12:54pm May 5
*grins* Hanging out in a bar *sounds* cool...but how much face time would an individual get with said celebrity guest? Anyway...not sure what would be best bang for your buck...but I'm not much for hanging out in a loud bar...the Q&A would probably be more informative, if not as much fun.
Maya Stosskopf at 1:02pm May 5
We always used to say it was about the illusion of access. You want to feel like you've witnessed something special, but in such a way that you had an equal experience. Also, people have the one thing they want signed, and they have the one thing they want to say. With my authors I always did: lots of booksignings, a special reading and q and a... Read More, and we'd do small lunches where the authors moved from table to table every 20 min. Also-- something unexpected that creates a special moment, like a game of 2 truths and a lie, or singing a song, or a send-up of the book.
Christopher Marlowe at Tue May 5 16:57:43 2009
Ideal convention: Not huge like the comic-con, but not tiny either. Maybe between 100-500? A combination of QA, photos and autographs. Pricing would be all inclusive so you don't have to pay for each thing individually. No special packages like gold, silver etc, it's all a first come first serve arrangement for seating and queues.
*marks calendar*
ReplyDeletemordicai, well, we'll meet at some point, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think the 'for Friends of AN' event would be cool. Though it's such a small con that might end up being only 2 people :)
ssas, ah, the kaffeeklatsch. I think they started that in Boston, 1989. (Though perhaps that's where I first became aware of it--it was my first Worldcon.) Never been to one, though.
dianneordi, it started as LGBT, morphed to LGBTQI, got an A added, for 'allies' and so, in our household, turned into QuILTBAG for ease of reference. Also I like the resonance: AIDS quilt, crazy quilting, a brightly coloured mishmash of fabrics that shouldn't work together but somehow do...
And many thanks for the extra input. (Wow, do people really *charge* for this shit? I don't know what the con people have planned, but I promise I'll be spending some time hanging out where people can have real access--an actual conversation (unless, y'know, they're really, really boring or rude) over a drink.)
barbara, for the video thing, I'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers. But I'll certainly mention it to a few people closer to the time and see what we can do.
steadycat, awesome!
nicola --
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, people charge for it -- and make a good living at it. (So yes, you should too.)
I'm really boring. If I make it, I'll listen or take photos.
Nicola- worried there won't be enough people to stand you rounds the whole evening? Ha!
ReplyDeleteMore from The Bronze:
ReplyDeleteTerri Covington Harry at 3:03pm May 5
I'd love them to stop charing a gazillion dollars for fans to get photos with them. $20 for a signed photo, $80 for a professional photo with them, no personal photos unless you pay, it's get to be too much! I realize that they need to make a living, but at the cost of the fans that have already put out tons of money to be at the convention is just getting old.
Oopps you opened a can of worms with that question. lol
ShadowQuest at Tue May 5 18:46:
Motor City Buffy was my only con experience. It seemed really low-key - I got to hang out w/Andy for quite a while, Tom Lenk was meandering around checking out the hotel gift shop, I bumped into Tony several times (Figuratively, not literally) and, aside from Tony's agressive PA, there was no "security" presence. The guests were able to just relax and do what they wanted (Tony "slipped out" for a walk, Andy hung w/the fans in the smoking lounge, etc). That was cool.
My intention w/Carpe Noctem was to have a casual, fun weekend - the typical signings & Q&A, but also a mingle so the fans got a chance to chat with the guests.
Leather Jacket at Tue May 5 18:22:
I don't go to a lot of conventions, and I think the best times I've had have had very little contact with real celebrities. I went to a DragonCon in Atlanta where I went to a panel discussion on fan-fic writing that was led by fan-fic writers for one example. It also had a lot of nifty merchandise for sale, which is always good --- when you have money.
If I want to meet a celebrity, I probably want to [fondle] hang out with him and get to [fondle] know him, but conventions [security] don't generally allow that.
Autographs were nice for a while until I realized I didn't really have any place to display them.
OTOH, if there's a project coming up, a combination Panel/Q&A might be nice. I'm not sure about the Meet-The-Author type stuff, since I've never gone. I don't really want to hear someone else read a book (I've been doing that all by myself for months now! *g*), and I don't think they usually give you practical advice for how to get your own work published.
Ogre at May 05 2009,13:26:
Depends on how big the expected turnout is. I'm not much of a convention-goer so I can't tell you. A lot of people seem to warm up to being in the presence of a "celebrity" -- I don't care. If a celebrity signed a $10 check, I'd still cash it unless I could sell it for more on ebay. My thoughts would be to mix it up with a little reading from something either brand new or in the works with a little Q&A time or maybe to read something edited out from an older work of theirs that they still maybe regretted taking out but did so for whatever reasons.
StGermain at May 05 2009,11:11
Bronzers. ["Bronzers" are Buffy fans.] For me it's not the celebrities, because I'm don't put a lot of value in autographs, and I'm unlikely to get enough time to have an actually conversation. But the friends that I hang out with [online] - that's the real draw. Also, I'm not into the costume-wearing fan-geekers. I know that probably sounds bad, but they make me embarrassed to be seen with them.
[StGermain is a bit straight laced. She's embarrassed to be seen with me in my bikini top and shorts...]
mordicai, yes! Buying my own drinks...shudder.
ReplyDeletedianneordi, wow, my level of notoriety is way, way below the stars these people are talking about. Everyone in the room, including me, would snort at the notion of me charging for an autograph. (Though if anyone interrupted me at dinner to ask me to sign something I'd beat them to death with the book, then charge them for the privilege.)
Oh, and if I haven't said already, this is a small con--it's brand new (first one last weekend). Maybe a couple of hundred people?
Everyone knows drinks someone else buys you taste better!
ReplyDeleteI'm still thinking about this one.
ReplyDeleteAt the book fair, I tend to favour: discussion panels; those interviews where both the interviewer and the interviewee are writers, usually the former is local, has done the proper research, or befriends the latter, who is a celebrity visiting from some other place; debates where two authors hold opposite views on a theme, issue, approach, event, etc. and yet respect each other enough to have a real conversation and explore.
I'm not so hooked on Q&As because the audience usually asks the same stuff, or it's clear they have a personal agenda that has nothing to do with the author---but I guess it's rude not to have Q&As. *shakes head, resigned*
The panel I remember most fondly is one where six European authors talked about how their lives became entangled with Latin America and the Spanish language. Each of them spoke of their journey, which could have been triggered by something as crushing as political exile or by the uplifting desire to impress a girlfriend who worshipped Gabriel García Márquez. The authors' first encounters with a Latin American country ranged from love at first sight to utter shock and retreat. I think it was the way they each spoke of place and language, how they paid attention to many details but these details varied greatly from the person sitting next to them. There was something very intimate about the talk, without going into exhibitionist territory. Standing ovation, speechless audience, left me feeling happy and sated and like I'd been around the world in 80 minutes.
I'll keep thinking about this, and come back if I can sort some more of my impressions/ preferences/wishlists for this sort of events.
I think Q&As can be set up to elicit interesting questions. (The ones I do at readings often go on for an hour or more; I love it.) And panels tend to stand or fall on their weakest link.
ReplyDeleteBut there has to be a way to structure a small panel or two-person discussion to provoke extremely interesting responses. Hmmn. I'll think about this. Thank you.