I've never been much for conventions. There are some local SF/F cons that I've attended, to some degree of enjoyment, but I've never been able to care whether the orbit of a spaceship in C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station was mathematically possible or not, and that is often the sort of concern that fans seem to have at these things.

So I walked into WFC in Chicago on Halloween night wondering if I should even be there. What would this would be like? A World Con had to be better than a local fan con. But World Fantasy. . . . I write mostly horror with some dabblings in SF and fantasy. Would I find a niche here?

Ha!

Within 15 minutes of entering the building, I was talking to Dark Regions editor Joe Morey, his wife and Genre Writers Association Newsletter editor Bobbi Sinha-Morey and anthologist and erotic horror writer P.D. Cacek. This was definitely starting out on the right foot. An hour later, we trudged across the street from the hotel to dinner with some other writers, including fantasy novelist Dave Smeds and F&SF and Pulphouse contributor Ken Wisman.

I soon learned that:

#1 the World Fantasy Convention involves a strong horror element (horror being a subset of fantasy), and

#2, while the panels at a convention can be enlightening, it's the interaction behind the scenes with other authors and editors that makes or breaks a con--at least for a new writer.

Over the course of the weekend, I met editors who had accepted and published my work (including Paula Guran of Bones and Lisa Jean Bothell of Heliocentric Net) and editors who hadn't -- but somehow remembered my name from the slush pile anyway (Dean Wesley Smith of Pulphouse). And I had a surreal stroll with the Jeff Goldblum of dark fantasy, Darrell Schweitzer, who led me through the HWA party and down a back stairwell. I also met and spoke with writers whose work I have personally treasured (Nina Kiriki Hoffman and Neil Gaiman). The value of the encouragement I received from these writers and editors far outstripped the informational value of the panels I watched them participate on. (Although if you ever have a chance to see Esther Friesner or Neil Gaiman on a panel, don't pass it up. They were hysterical on a panel about writing humorous fantasy).

The weekend culminated in the World Fantasy Awards dinner, where a newcomer author does feel a bit out-of-his-element (there were publishers tables peopled by agents and big-name authors all around). This particular dinner was memorable in that Gene Wolfe received a lifetime achievement award and to accept it -- he had to leave his 40th anniversary party!

While the convention was marred by a ridiculously silly weekend-long "interactive play" of "The King In Yellow," enacted by various con participants, overall, World Fantasy Con provided an exceptional opportunity for new and seasoned writers to get together, share hardships and victories, and basically, refresh the writing battery.

Copyright © 1997 by John Everson. All Rights Reserved.