Thoughts on Worldcon 2015

Worldcon 2015, known as Sasquan, may have been the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, but for me it was my first. While Sasquan is still fresh in my mind, I wanted to do a post on my observations and experiences. First off, I want to tip my hat to the organizers and foot soldiers who kept the convention running smoothly. If it was chaos behind the scenes, the staff hid this fact well and to us convention goers everything seemed to run like a well-oiled machine. Kudos! That’s me with Joe and Gay Haldeman pictured above at the Literary Beer get together.

The most memorable events I experienced were the Literary Beer and Kaffeeklatsch meetings with authors. These small group meetings were hard to get into, but if you managed to land a slot the hassle involved was well worth the epic struggle. The events are limited to the author and ten participants who sit around in a small group setting and chat. Much different experience than sitting in the audience watching an author on a panel. During Worldcon, I managed to get into the Elizabeth Bear, Wesley Chu, Joe Haldeman, and John Scalzi small group meetings.

The Elizabeth Bear event was a blast. She is a whole lot of fun and made you feel totally at ease. Wesley Chu was fantastic and super funny. The Joe Haldeman Literary Beer gathering was utterly fascinating. Joe writes his books in longhand with one of those fancy ink pens with the nib on the end. We all drooled over his work-in-progress novel “Phobos Means Fear.” These handwritten first drafts are a work of art. The John Scalzi meeting was high energy and very entertaining.

Some of the memorable panels/events I attended were as follows:

The Best Writing Advice I Was Ever Given. Panel Members: Bobbie Benton Hull, David Gerrold, P. C. Hodgell, and David D. Levine.

Stories from Around the Water Cooler: Tales Editors and Writers Tell. Panel Members: Jennifer L. Carson, Cynthia Felice, Lezli Robyn, Zaza Koshkadze, and Patricia Briggs

Reading – Brandon Sanderson.

31 Flavors of Fantasy Devoured by Kids and Teens. Panel Members: James Van Pelt, Alma Alexander, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Brandon Sanderson, and Esther Jones.

Silverberg – Martin Dialog. Panel Members: George R. R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.

Reading – Wesley Chu.

Writing About Controversies. Panel Members: M. J. Locke, John Scalzi, Mike Glyer, William Frank, and Eric Flint.

Trends in Hardware, Software & Wetware. Panel Members: Daniel Dern, Greg Bear, Ramez Naam, Mark Van Name, and Allen Baum.

Leonard Nimoy Memorial. Panel Members: Ginjer Buchanan, Leigh Ann Hildebrand, and David Gerrold.

And of course, the Hugo Awards Ceremony with hosts David Gerrold and Tananarive Due

If I had to pick a defining moment that made the convention something I will remember for the rest of my days, it was without a doubt the Literary Beer meeting with Joe and Gay Haldeman. Joe Haldeman has always been one of my literary heroes, and to get to sit around a table with him and chat was a dream come true. I would have been satisfied with that alone. What made that meeting so spectacular was what happened when the meeting ended. Gay Haldeman, Joe’s wife, invited us all up to their suite to join their 50^th wedding anniversary party scheduled to start in a few minutes. One does not turn down an invitation to Joe Haldeman’s 50th wedding anniversary. I was a tad intimidated, to say the least, but I had a great time sitting in a packed room chatting with some of the greats in the science fiction community.

The experience at the Haldeman party showed me just how inclusive the sci-fi community really is. It’s a close knit group, and I felt honored even as an attendee. A great experience indeed.