This post was actually written on Oct 28, 2012, but I didn't have access to the internet to get it posted.
My husband and I have been exploring some
Florida conventions these last few years, and particularly this year. This
weekend, we have been at Necronomicon, a 31-year-old sf convention held in
Tampa/St Petersburg.
I like
this con! Even though there are apparently no ‘big publishers’ in attendance,
or even any big book sellers, this con is strongly centered on books. There are
a number of small presses and self-published authors here, eager to share
whatever knowledge they have gleaned with others. So there are plenty of panels
that concentrate on writing, contracts and so on. Even though these panels
might be touching on subjects that I may have heard about at many other
conventions over the years, I am hearing them discussed by authors I haven’t already
heard a dozen times. And publishing is in such flux right now, it is good to
get information from as many sources as you can.
Many of the panelists here also have some
sort of science background, so there are panels on science subjects also. I
have always like science, but I seldom seem to see science panels at the
midwest conventions I usually attend. These are not ‘classes’ like one would
take in school, but discussions on a specific topic that sometimes wander off
topic, sometimes get a bit silly, but they are entertaining and also a call to
a person’s curiosity. Certainly they have called to mine.
Now, I don’t mean to imply that this is all
that is happening at Necronomicon. Absolutely not. There are several rooms
devoted to gaming, both tabletop and computer, a video room, dealer’s room and
art show... . A concert on Saturday night preceded the costume call. And the
costumes run the gamut from D&D characters to anime, Dr Who, Joker &
Harlequin, Poison Ivy, steampunk, space armor, Chathulu - a wonderful pantheon
of imagination and craftsmanship!
I’m going to give some serious thought to
coming back next year.
