Things I may or may not have done at Readercon 28

  • Went to some panels! With topics like “The Politics of Villains”, “Mainstreaming Fandom,” and “Improving Intersectionality and Representation in Speculative Fiction”
  • Went to GOH readings! Naomi Novik read from her upcoming novel Spinning Silver, which is her retelling of Rumpelstiltzkin stories, and which takes off from her short story in The Starlit Wood anthology. Nnedi Okorafor read the first chapters of Who Fears Death, Akata Witch, and Lagoon. I asked questions about localization! (Or: why her Nigerian publishers strenuously object to the title and prologue of Akata Witch).
  • Spent a lot of time in the bar (mostly not drinking)!
  • Met many new and shiny VPers!
  • Ate pizza and talked WoW and MST3K with (now Hugo finalist) Natalie Luhrs!
  • Went to the VP dinner!
  • Had many long chats with my roomie and fellow VP17er, Beth T!
  • Went to a fascinating talk by Rose Fox, on “Habit Reversal Training for Writers.”
  • Spent too much money on rare Tim Powers-related books (Secret Histories, a bibliography and collection of ephemera, as well as a copy of the 1988 NESFA Press edition of Epitaph in Rust. The latter I was helpless against — it was made out to somebody named Elisabeth!)
  • Evangelized Tim Powers to folks who didn’t know why the aforementioned things were awesome, and made Chris Gerwel jealous.
  • Wore my Vincent Price shirt, and my cat print dress. (Pro-tip: the latter is geek catnip).
  • Crashed fellow VP17ers Paul and John’s bromance, and ended up watching the first episode of a pretty wacky anime called Silver Spoon. (The folks who made Fullmetal Alchemist apparently made a high school drama set at an agricultural school in Hokkaido! The first episode is about the main character getting over the fact that eggs come out of a chicken’s cloaca! There is an adorable calf that tries to suck on his shirt, and an adorable horse that tries to eat his face!)
  • Relatedly, discovered that Paul does not in fact hate me!

  • Very briefly visited the super-mellow Arisia 2018 party, and colored some Lee Moyer art!
  • Did not entirely stick to my diet!
  • Did not eat any medicinal brownies!
  • Still did not go to the Miscellany or Meet the Pros(e)!
  • Heard interesting stories about Lord Dunsany from a wild-haired guy at the Fantastic Stories table!
  • Told Neil Clarke that I really loved Emily Devenport’s work and would love to see more of her stuff in Clarkesworld!
  • Received a text from my husband telling me the septic was backing up and asking if I liked unicorns? That was the end of my weekend right there.

All in all, it was a pretty excellent weekend, though exhausting in its social-ness (I came home and promptly took a long nap). Best of all, I mostly didn’t suffer from any of the professional angst I sometimes get in the presence of more successful writers! For the most part I was able to enjoy myself and other’s success, and revel in the warmth of community.

Author: Lise

Hi, I'm Lise Fracalossi, a web developer, writer, and time-lost noblethem. I live in Central Massachusetts with my husband, too many cats, and a collection of ridiculous hats that I rarely wear.