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Last post of this
two-part con report, I talked about the panels I attended on Saturday
at WorldCon 76 in San Jose. I particularly talked about ones that I
felt were most important to writers and readers of science fiction
and fantasy. I also discussed how they reflected the growing racial
and cultural diversity in the genres. If you missed last week’s
post you can catch it here. This week I’m going to
discuss the other events at the 76th World
Science Fiction Convention such as the masquerade (cosplay),
the Hugo Awards and a special person I came across.
The Masquerade
The masquerade
started at 8 PM and was held Saturday in the Grand Ballroom. As I
said last post, many of the panels I attended earlier that day were
so packed they sometimes didn’t allow for even standing room. The
Harlan Ellison Memorial was in that boat and so I was not able to
attend it as planned. After running around the entire McEnery
Convention Center, where WorldCon was held, all day I wasn’t about to work my way
through the huge crowded building to the the Grand Ballroom only to
find out there was no standing room (let alone sitting). I was
already in the exhibit hall planning to shop in the dealers’
section only to find out that section was closed for the evening. The
masquerade is the heart of any full fledged science fiction and
fantasy convention. And I knew it was already packed wall to wall
because it was close to 8. So if all the panels you attend are filled
to the capacity, you damn well know the masquerade will be. So I
watched it on streaming video on the giant screen that loomed above
Callahan’s Place.
What is Callahan’s
Place? It’s a pub in down town San Jose. Or was. Like the old
curiosity shops of science fiction and fantasy pulp mags, it
disappeared almost overnight. It was actually a portion of the
exhibit hall sectioned off to serve as a bar for all five days of the
convention where people could sit to unwind with drinks and chat
about their favourite sci fi and fantasy. It was named after author
Guest of Honour Spider Robinson’s series of novels of the same
name.
So, after flipping
through some fanzines in the nearby fanzine lounge, I took a seat in
the Place and watched the masquerade from there. Unfortunately, there
were several technical errors that took place at the masquerade
itself such as stage lighting shutting off, but the host, Chris
Garcia, took it very well and with good humour. One of the most
notable costume skits was one titled “A Wretched Hive of Scummy
Villainy”, a parody of the cantina scene in Star Wars: A
New Hope, where several cosplayers dressed as aliens such as the
scaly bounty hunter, Greedo. If I remember correctly, it was this
participant who held a picket sign and, at the end of the skit,
turned it to face the audience to show that it read “Not My
Emperor”. Everybody roared with laughter as well as applauded. And
boy, did I applaud! It shows you how bad Emperor Palpatine/Trump is:
not even the “scum and villainy” can stand people like them!
Anyway, it was that team of cosplayers who won in a couple of
categories: Judges’ Choice for Silicon Mask Work; and Best Mask.
You can find out who the other winners of the masquerade were at the
convention’s newsletter.
The Hugo Awards
Also held in the
Grand Ballroom, the next evening at 8 PM, was the Hugo Awards
Ceremony. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend (I had already
headed for home that day). But the ceremony presented a new award
this year (although it wasn’t a Hugo). It was the World Science
Fiction Society (WSFS) Best Young Adult Book Award. This was a great
achievement for the ceremony and the WSFS itself since YA fiction,
especially in the speculative genres, has become very popular and
well received in the last few years. The winner of this award was
Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor (published by Viking). Some
notable Hugo winners were for:
Best Fazine: File
770, edited by Mike Glyer
Best Semiprozine:
Uncanny Magazine, edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian
Thomas and others
Best Professional
Artist: Sana Takeda
Best Dramatic
Presentation – Long Form: Wonder Woman, directed by Patty
Jenkins and screenplay written by Allan Heinberg
Best Related Work:
No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters, by Ursula K. Le
Guin (published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Best Series: World
of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (published by Harper
Voyager)
Best Short Story:
“Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience”, by Rebecca
Roanhorse (from Apex magazine, August 2017 issue)
Best Novel: The
Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (published by Orbit)
For for a list of
winners in other categories of the Hugos and of other awards
presented at the ceremony check out the post at WorldCon 76’s blog
or, better yet, watch a video recording of the ceremony
at the con’s YouTube channel!
Running Into Chief Editor of ‘Amazing Stories’ Magazine
Looking back to
Saturday of the con, I was walking from a panel that just got done
when a man with long, white hair and a beard handed me a copy of
Amazing Stories. He was handing out a bunch for free. That was
Steve Davidson, the one who revived the magazine that started in 1926
and sadly stopped publication in 2005. But, thanks to him, it’s now
back in publication! I did not realise it was Steve until I had
already walked away. I was in a hurry trying to turn in some lost
keys I found in the men’s restroom. Finding the lost-and-found was
a hell of a lot more complicated than I thought. I went to about
three different places in the convention center, each telling me that
it was not the place where they take lost items and one or two
referring me back to a previous point that I tried. Finally, I was
directed to the right place. That must have been a 15 minute or
longer trip to turn those keys in.
I did an article on
Steve Davidson’s relaunch of Amazing Stories for
Examiner.com when I was freelancing for them and before they went
obsolete. I was pondering whether to go back and talk to Steve but
then thought he was probably gone by now. But I went back anyway and,
surprisingly, he was still there handing out copies of the magazine.
I thanked him again for the magazine and then told him who I was. I
told him about the article I did on his relaunch of Amazing
Stories and he thanked me. He was very pleasant. I asked if the
magazine is sold in stores and he said it’s only sold through
subscription, as individual issues at Amazon, and distributed at
conventions like he was doing that day. I
haven’t had a chance to read the
copy he gave me,
but I did flip
through it later. There’s
a lot of good stuff in there, including
an article by Robert Silverberg about
his relationship with the
magazine. As soon as
I catch up on my present
reading, I’ll be sure to read the
issue all the way through!
In the Dealers’ Room
I spent most of
Sunday in the dealers’ room and made sure I went early enough since
that was the day I had planned to come home. Although most of the
tables were book dealers’ there were a lot of arts and crafts and a
few game dealers. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
(SFWA) had a table there. I talked to a couple of the staff members
at the table about membership. They actually accept
indie/self-published writers in their organization. I’ll consider
applying for membership! See their website for details on how to
apply.
Like I arrived to
the 76th World Science Fiction Convention later than I had
wanted to, I also left it later than I had originally planned.
Besides an overwhelming number of panels and other events there, the
exhibit hall itself had an overwhelming number of things to see and I
wanted to make sure I saw at least the best of exhibits and dealers’
tables. So I caught a train home by three hours or so later than I
had intended. But big cons like WorldCon only come every so often
near a person’s home area. If I had more money I would’ve stayed
another day but economic reality called me home. However, after all
the panels I attended and talks that I had with great authors and
artists, literary reality also called me home. I had a lot of writing
to catch up on and improve upon.
What’s the largest
sci fi/fantasy convention you’ve attended? Did you have a hard time
selecting events to attend there?
Until next time . .
.
At Amazing Amazon!
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