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| L to R: Alex Shvartsman; Berakha Lana Guggenheim; Robert C. Roman; Steve Miller; Brian Thomas; Lee Gilliland |
First held in 1936, The Philadelphia Science
Fiction Convention is the oldest in the nation, and arguably, the world.
According to Wikipedia, our Friends Across the Pond claim that distinction,
because the first UK SF convention in 1937 was less ad hoc and more organized.
As an upstart colonial, I will point out that the first PhilCon had a chairman,
a secretary, discussions of SF, parties, filk, and gaming--although the gaming
was craps. Seventy-eight years later, many of those same elements filled this
year's schedule.
It's been a while since I've been to an SF
convention--not since Lois McMaster Bujold was guest of honor at Boskone
sometime in the early 2000s. I'd
forgotten how much fun they were. Part of the fun is going with the right
people. In this case, two of my sisters, one of whom was celebrating her 29th
birthday (that's her story and I'm sticking to it). All three of us managed to
clear our schedules so we could arrive on Thursday night. The weather was cold
(especially for this Texas transplant), so we decided that, having checked into
the conference hotel, we would just eat dinner there. The waiter led us back to
our table. And at the next table sat...
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. (Pause here for total fangirl moment.) I've been a fan of Lee &
Miller since maybe 15 minutes after they published their first book, Agent
of Change, back in 1988. I quashed my first inclination to jump up and
down, screaming and pointing. And really, there was no need. My sisters knew
exactly who they were.
Not wanting to scare PhilCon's principal
speakers running into the frigid night, we played it cool. Yeah. Cool. Until
finally I leaned forward and said something on the order of, "I don't mean
to intrude...but, we're fans."
Sharon and Steve were all that is gracious, and
thus ensued an hour's lively conversation. We chatted about everything from
deleting scenes to improve the story's flow; our favorite childhood books; the
emotional challenge of weeding one's library; to "Swifties." (For the
uninitiated, "Swifties" are based on the writing style of the Tom
Swift books. As in: "Look, there's a bridge!" said Tom archly.
"There's a pop quiz today," said Tom testily.) I think I mostly
managed not to stutter in awe. Truth said, I could've gotten up from the table
and gone home, and the trip to Philly would've still been worth it.
Because of commitments on Sunday, I only had two
days to spend at PhilCon. After stuffing some fliers for my books in Filthy
Pierre's SF Info rack--which travels with the owner from con to con--I made the
most of my time, attending several interesting panels. Some of the standouts
included:
How to Set Up a Crowdsourcing Project gave attendees the benefit of the real-lfe experience of the
panelists. Critical elements of success include: Backers need to be confident
in your professionalism and transparency. If you just can't do a video, then do
a slide-show with voice-over. Calculate your costs carefully, and show how
their support matters. Use social media to promote your campaign; Twitter casts
a wider net than Facebook. Think creatively about donor rewards and stretch
goals--and keep it simple. (No apparel! You don't need the headache of managing
sizes, shipping, and storage.) People want to feel appreciated, and involved.
(Sometimes, it's as simple as listing their names on a thank you page in your
next book.) Panelists: Danielle Ackley-McPhail (mod); Rob Balder; Neil
Clarke; Gil Cnaan; Alex Shvartsman; Alyce Wilson.
In the session Does Science Fiction Need to
Lighten Up? it took a little while for the panelists to decide what their
topic really meant. Some thought it meant we needed more humor in SF. Others
thought both authors and readers needed to stop bringing today's social agendas
into every story; the story matters more than agenda checkboxes. Everyone
seemed to agree that casting evil nastiness in a positive light is a good thing
to avoid. Some elements of SF seem to be going toward a darker literary
approach, while others are reviving the best traditions of SF as genre fiction.
The panel discussion also touched on the role of YA in building the fandom.
Steve Miller, bringing 40 years' of commercial writing to the table, asked what
SF had to offer the 10-15 year-olds to bring them into the genre, building our
future fandom. (Or, as my sister the librarian put it..."Where's the SF
gateway drugs?") Panelists: Alex Shvartsman (mod); Brian Thomas;
Berakha Lana Guggenheim; Steve Miller; Robert C. Roman; Lee Gilliland.
Side note: One of my writing buddies, Robert C.
Roman, was on this panel--a nice surprise. Bob and I met online about seven
years ago, critting each other's stories on Baen's Bar, and have kept in touch
at least sporadically ever since. This was the first time we ever met in
person. Which is exactly why people attend cons.
The panelists on Building Believable
Relationships in SF offered some stellar advice. Portray emotional truth,
so that your reader can find something that resonates with them. Be sure to
show them emotional consequences to give them a reason to care. And an
interesting insight: Your culture is actually the main character in your book,
because your characters exist in a cultural context, and whether they swim with
current or against it, they are an expression of their culture. Panelists:
Gregory Frost (mod); Rob Balder; Meredith Schwartz; Anastasia Klimchynskaya;
Gail Z. Martin; Sharon Lee.
In their principal speech, Lee and Miller
outlined the choices that had led them to become first writers, then writing
partners, generally eschewing opportunities to rise in the ranks of more
traditional employment--no matter how many times the opportunity presented
itself-- in order to do what they truly enjoyed doing: building worlds and
creating the characters who populate them. Characters and worlds they love, and
so their readers...in a total fangirl/fanboy fashion.
In the time since the first PhilCon, the
publishing industry has endured dramatic changes. Books went from hardback to
pulp to ebook. As Sharon and Steve reviewed a lifetime of decisions that had
led to them to the role of principal speakers at the 78th PhilCon, I was struck
by the realization that no matter how the industry changes, or the genre
changes, the bond between author and reader remains essentially the same: the
story that touches our minds and hearts in a shared experience.
Bio:
Warped in childhood by too much reading, T.K. Anthony made her living in the world of words, spending two years on Capitol Hill as a press secretary before moving on to Corporate America in business communications and human resources.
She grew up in Pennsylvania, has lived in Illinois, Virginia, Upstate and Central New York, and Massachusetts, and has seen much of the United States by road trip, visiting a whole raft of cousins. Travel outside the US includes Canada, Scotland, England, Italy, France, Belgium, and Spain. With her travel bag packed, she now resides in Texas with her husband, two cats (Pip and Taz are close collaborators in her writing, and keep her keyboard furry), and all the people in her head who talk to her.
She loves to talk to other people, too–so leave a comment, or send her an email at tesskanthony AT gmail DOT com.
Warned by a Seeing…
The high king of the Scotian Realm expects the arrival of an enemy, a race of psychic predators bent on galactic conquest. The Realm’s one hope is alliance with the neighboring star domains in defense of a shared colony, Forge.
Caught in Fate’s grim weaving…
Mindblind, amnesic, Tazhret lives out his drug-induced visions of servitude on Forge. He wants to believe the beautiful woman with the nut-brown hair who whispers reassurances to his harrowed heart: “You have a name.” But is she even real? Or just one bright thread in his dark dreams?
An unexpected hope…
Tazhret’s destiny leads him to freedom and the woman he yearns for—and to a desperate struggle against the enemy.
Tazhret can save Forge, and his beloved. But only at the cost of all he has gained: his name, his freedom, and his love.
Buy links for Forge:
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