However, since many fans enjoy both literary and media fiction, it seems ridiculous not to pool our resources in protecting one another.
There is a very interesting article about some of the recent national SF convention failures.
As we come across our final pre-registration cut off for CONvergence, something like the above article is very sobering. Not every convention *is* run well. CONvergence, which tries to run things as professionally as possible, is still a fan-run affair that is being run for fun.
One thing that is nice today is that technology makes conventions more open -- you can find out about CONvergence by searching for Minnesota Sci Fi Convention on Google; you don't need to find out about it only by going to the right book store, or knowing the right person.
The thirteen year old kid who had his or her mind blown away by Star Trek last weekend deserves the same rich community and opportunity that the Science Fiction Community has given me.
And another piece of setting up that legacy is the very interesting copy of Argentus dealing with convention runnnig. There are some things that are Worldcon specific (which doesn't really interest me) but different sorts of advice are always good to read and take on.
And don't forget -- preregistration for CONvergence ends tomorrow!
While I'm tempted to arch an eyebrow and sneer "Ha! Media cons! They've always been hives of scum, villainy and appearance fees!" I've worked at too many SF cons to think they're that much better. Thanks for the link; some of that made very interesting reading.
ReplyDeleteReminded me of a post, "Are Conventions Doomed"? on Darth Mojo's blog last year.
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