before melbourne...
Sep. 19th, 2010 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adelaidesean...there was Au Contraire. Despite my usual utter laziness when it comes to con reports, I’m here to tell you just how awesome it was because, you know, Aussiecon wasn’t everything. :-)
In short, a great time all round. The only downside I can think of was missing the annual Writers of the Future bash, at which the most awesome Jason Fischer received his 1st Prize gong. But that couldn’t be helped, and there were plenty of other people there to help him celebrate.
And the less said about getting sick the better. I have a nasty feeling I actually caught the bug here in Adelaide before leaving for NZ, so it’s no one’s fault at all, really, that I missed Worldcon and have had to read through so many excellent con reports. *weeps* In fact, I probably gave it to everyone else who came down with it in Melbourne. If so, I apologise most sincerely. Call me Typhoid Sean and hand me the antibiotics. :-)
- Au Contraire was small, but that was no impediment. Lots of wonderful people attended, including (but not limited to) Ryan Scott Kennedy (co-author of f2m), Jay Lake, Cheryl Morgan, Kate Kligman, Nicole Murphy, Jeremy Byrne, Paul Mannering, Elizabeth Knox, Russell Kirkpatrick, and many others. Some I knew, some I had never met before. It was like Worldcon in miniature, with an international flavour and a genuine sense of bonhomie. Once I got over my shyness, it felt exactly like coming home.
- My first scheduled item was a fun and highly collaborative workshop on collaboration, in which we came up with a dozen different ways to treat the story of Darth Vader’s long-forgotten twin sister. (I think there’s something in this idea. Hmmmm.)
- Shortly thereafter, I attended the launch of the A Foreign Country, a collection of new NZ spec fic containing a bunch of stories I had judged for the con’s short story contest. The winning story, “The Future of the Sky” by Ripley Patton, is one of several truly remarkable tales; picking the winner was very difficult.
- After the opening ceremony, I got to dust off my DJ chops to a small but very loyal crowd. And closing to the same, happily reprising “Vienna” for the benefit of those who missed it the first time around. This is often my favourite moment of the con, fuelled by nostalgia, exhaustion, and way too much champagne.
- My reading was scheduled for quite late on the Saturday night, so I promised a steampunk ghost story, and delivered “The Jade Woman of the Luminous Star”, a long-ish tale that, despite being neither ghost story nor particularly steampunk, seemed to keep most people awake. (It’ll appear next year in Ghosts by Gaslight, edited by Nick Gevers and Jack Dann.)
- Around this time, I started to feel unwell. I sat in the audience of a Doctor Who panel, was officially part of a YA panel, and gave a GOH speech, but the details are a bit blurry now. I hope I didn’t say or ask anything too obnoxious.
- Similarly, the last night of the con is a weird mix of blur and brilliance. The cocktail party was a hoot, followed by the closing ceremony, which involved lots of leaping on and off the stage to hand out awards. I didn’t get to say thanks to everyone for having me as GOH, everyone who attended--the concom, the other guests, my fellow panellists--so I’ll take the chance now. I had a brilliant time, absolutely brilliant, and hope to attend another NZ con soon.
- After the closing ceremony, BASFA held an impromptu meeting (or maybe it was planned all along; who knows?) at which I received the honour of being declared official Ambassador to Adelaide. And that’s where everything began to get REALLY strange. Norm Cates was put up for auction, and somehow I won. Specifically, I won the privilege of asking him to do one thing for me--and as, just an hour earlier, he and I had been talking about the viability of NZ holding a Worldcon, I asked him to do precisely that. More money changed hands, and suddenly the 2020 worldcon bid launch was in full swing (I say, launch, but it was more like some kind of horrible man trap springing closed over poor Norm). I feel a bit bad about it now, but he was declared BASFA’s official ambassador to the Colossal Squid, so I suppose it all ended well. And a Worldcon in NZ in 2020 would be absolutely terrific. Let’s make it happen!
- Then it was just a matter of celebrating the end of a wonderful con, followed by a slightly tipsy rush out into Cuba Street for something to eat. Sadly, the score of vego-friendly restaurants I had enjoyed the rest of the weekend were now closed, so a McDonald’s salad had to suffice. There followed restless sleep, a sluggish pack the next morning, checking out of the hotel with Cheryl, and the flight home.
In short, a great time all round. The only downside I can think of was missing the annual Writers of the Future bash, at which the most awesome Jason Fischer received his 1st Prize gong. But that couldn’t be helped, and there were plenty of other people there to help him celebrate.
And the less said about getting sick the better. I have a nasty feeling I actually caught the bug here in Adelaide before leaving for NZ, so it’s no one’s fault at all, really, that I missed Worldcon and have had to read through so many excellent con reports. *weeps* In fact, I probably gave it to everyone else who came down with it in Melbourne. If so, I apologise most sincerely. Call me Typhoid Sean and hand me the antibiotics. :-)
