Return from Dairyland
Just got back from Wisconsin, where we spent our Memorial Day weekend. Three days, children free (thanks, parental units!) in lovely Madison. Just me, the Genius Wife, and a hotel chock full of fannish goodness.
WisCon is, as their website proudly proclaims, the worlds leading feminist science fiction convention. I started going last year, with the GW, on the advice of Lyda Morehouse. She was teaching a course on writing speculative fiction that I was taking at the Loft, and she told us that it was a great convention for writers. Since it was close (relatively) we went, and had a great time. A writers workshop, lots of good panels, and we got to meet some cool people.
This year was even better. We both volunteered to be on a few panels this time, and while it was a bit nervous-making, it ended up being a lot of fun and an excellent way to meet more people. So there was less of the standing around awkwardly at parties, trying to figure out who to talk to, and a lot more socialization.
So bunches of fun, and we both recommend the con.
And for any writer types who might be reading, especially the guys who might see ‘leading feminist science fiction convention’ and wonder if they should go- yes. For many excellent reasons, but here’s one that’s short and extremely practical. Women make up the majority of the readership in spec-fic. If you want to write in the genre, your going to be interacting with them a lot. So cons where the majority of the attendees are female- that’s a feature, not a bug. Take advantage of it.