Wiscon 33 - Friday

The main event today at Wiscon was The Gathering, an indoor fair with a clothing swap, face-painting, tarot, palm-reading, some impressive-despite-the-noise shape-note singing, and a bookstore offering ARCs of books for a $1 donation (with a ten-book limit). I was trying to stay at the other end of the room from that one, but was pulled into its gravitational perimeter and ended up with three books. I had rather idiotically brought books from home to read... and I haven't even been to the dealer's room yet. My suitcase is going to look like the Library Thief's Last Moments.

I met more people I knew - some in person, some online. Among them were people from my Second Draft writing group, people from my online Codex writing group, and Clarion 08 people (with some overlap in these categories). My other Clarionmate redcrowkater  also came in, so she,  julieandrews , and I hung out. Kater knew a really great tapas restaurant. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I'd like to post  a Wiscon photograph, but will first want to clear it with everyone in it. It's a Wiscon policy, and I'm impressed.

ETA: Okay, I have clearance from everyone except Geoff Ryman. (Geoff, if you object, I'll delete this).

Towering over everyone: Geoff Ryman       .

Above: Kathleen, Keffy and Eugene (all Clarion 2008);
Kater, Keyan & Julie (Clarion 2007)

As I feared, there were too many choices to do everything I would have liked. I attended a panel on Cultural Appropriation 101, and then another called Tyrannosaurs in F16s!  Also part of a fascinating music/ reading session, but something in the airconditioning made me sneeze and I had to leave. I ended up at the LiveJournal party, where someone from Clarion West 08 was amused by my Clarion 2007 Roman-must-die vest.

Wiscon 2009 - Saturday

Here it is Saturday already.

I started the day late, ambling down to the Con past a lively street fair crowded with families and vendors. I thought of stopping, but was more drawn to Wiscon. Met my Clarion-mates for lunch at a very nice pizza place on State Street, then went back to the hotel... just in time for an ice-cream outing with the group from Codex. vylar_kaftan introduced me to Rachel Swirsky, editor of Podcastle, and to Ann Leckie, who  reads slush for Podcastle. They actually remembered I'd submitted stories. (Though they haven't bought any. Yet.)  It was neat to be able to put some faces and names together. ( Read more... )

For me, Clarion was a portal into the spec-fic writer's world. I'd hardly met any writers or even wondered what a Con was about. And here I was, suddenly surrounded by writers. It really, when I thought about it, felt like magic.

Afterward, we walked around for a while; it was a really beautiful evening. And then, abruptly, something went wrong. I went back to my hotel for a rest.  But I wasn't feeling good, and wasn't up to going back to the Con. I haven't seen the art show or the dealer's room. And I'm missing tonight's parties. Tomorrow will be better.