WorldCon Overview
I got back to Helsinki late Sunday night from Dublin Worldcon. Sadly I missed the Hugo ceremony, but was able to look up who won late that night when I got back. If you're interested here's a great article that I read with a list of all the Hugo winners: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/19/20812571/hugo-award-2019-winners-worldcon-mary-robinette-kowal-best-novel-into-the-spider-verse
The reason I went to Worldcon, though, was more for the information that I could learn from panels. And oh man did I learn! This was my first Worldcon and I had such a wonderful experience that I now need to save up for New Zealand next year!
I took notes on every signal panel and once I organize them I'll share my notes here on the blog. I hope that they're helpful to aspiring writers as much as they were for me. I was fun writing notes again. I felt like I was back in college trying to cramp as much knowledge as I could onto notebook paper.
I got pictures with Eoin Colfer author of Artemis Fowl Series, Veronica Roth author of the Divergent Series, and Patrick Rothfuss author of The Kingkiller Chronicles! He also sighed both The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man's Fear (so excited that I almost cried with happiness in front of him) for my Husband and I.
I went to Naomi Novik's reading and really wanted to get a picture with her too, but the staff of the convention center were pushing us out of the rooms so fast at this point that I lost her in the crowd because I'm short and she's shorter, which doesn't help when your tying to wade through a mass amount of people; but maybe next time? She was so lovely. She read to us from a new novel that she's working on which sounds just fantastic. I forgot the name of it (it was a hard pronounceable word) and will have to look it up later because I can't find it on google right now. She said that her publisher is going to market the book to the aging Harry Potter Fandom (like me), because it's about a magic school, but with more adult themes. Yay, I'm all about magic schools!
Also on several horror panels was Joe Hill, which I was also very excited about. NOS4A2 is a really fun book to read. Didn't get a picture with him either sadly. He was fun to listen too and seems like an incredible positive guy.
I didn't even attempt to try and get to George R.R. Martin's signing. People where starting to line up for that two hours in advance and I would have missed several of my panels. It was a tough decision, he's someone I would have really liked to see in person, but I got Rothfuss so my heart was satisfied.
The queues were long, but I feel lucky because I only missed two panels that I wanted to see. One panel, I learned later from a very funny charismatic Irish writer who sounded just like Roy from IT Crowd, had the exact same information that I'd already gotten the day before. So I'm glad I missed it now. The other panel I missed was about contracts, which would've been helpful. I skipped a few as well so that I could queue for the more important ones (to me at least) like Rothfuss.
The biggest takeaway I had from attending Worldcon was: I need to read more! There were so many authors I had heard about but hadn't read, and so many more that I hadn't heard about but I would now like to read. And then authors also gave book recommendations of even more authors! So much reading! So many books! I already have a never ending reading list which is now even more never ending...sigh.
Over all I feel like it was a great Con and I look forward to attending more in the future.
The reason I went to Worldcon, though, was more for the information that I could learn from panels. And oh man did I learn! This was my first Worldcon and I had such a wonderful experience that I now need to save up for New Zealand next year!
I took notes on every signal panel and once I organize them I'll share my notes here on the blog. I hope that they're helpful to aspiring writers as much as they were for me. I was fun writing notes again. I felt like I was back in college trying to cramp as much knowledge as I could onto notebook paper.
I got pictures with Eoin Colfer author of Artemis Fowl Series, Veronica Roth author of the Divergent Series, and Patrick Rothfuss author of The Kingkiller Chronicles! He also sighed both The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man's Fear (so excited that I almost cried with happiness in front of him) for my Husband and I.
I went to Naomi Novik's reading and really wanted to get a picture with her too, but the staff of the convention center were pushing us out of the rooms so fast at this point that I lost her in the crowd because I'm short and she's shorter, which doesn't help when your tying to wade through a mass amount of people; but maybe next time? She was so lovely. She read to us from a new novel that she's working on which sounds just fantastic. I forgot the name of it (it was a hard pronounceable word) and will have to look it up later because I can't find it on google right now. She said that her publisher is going to market the book to the aging Harry Potter Fandom (like me), because it's about a magic school, but with more adult themes. Yay, I'm all about magic schools!
Also on several horror panels was Joe Hill, which I was also very excited about. NOS4A2 is a really fun book to read. Didn't get a picture with him either sadly. He was fun to listen too and seems like an incredible positive guy.
I didn't even attempt to try and get to George R.R. Martin's signing. People where starting to line up for that two hours in advance and I would have missed several of my panels. It was a tough decision, he's someone I would have really liked to see in person, but I got Rothfuss so my heart was satisfied.
The queues were long, but I feel lucky because I only missed two panels that I wanted to see. One panel, I learned later from a very funny charismatic Irish writer who sounded just like Roy from IT Crowd, had the exact same information that I'd already gotten the day before. So I'm glad I missed it now. The other panel I missed was about contracts, which would've been helpful. I skipped a few as well so that I could queue for the more important ones (to me at least) like Rothfuss.
The biggest takeaway I had from attending Worldcon was: I need to read more! There were so many authors I had heard about but hadn't read, and so many more that I hadn't heard about but I would now like to read. And then authors also gave book recommendations of even more authors! So much reading! So many books! I already have a never ending reading list which is now even more never ending...sigh.
Over all I feel like it was a great Con and I look forward to attending more in the future.
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