Goodness, I’ve neglected to keep up to date here. Partly because there have been a lot of trips out of London recently, and by the time I was back home I seemed to need ages to recover. Encroaching age!
My first ever Eastercon was a fascinating experience. Follycon took place in the very grand Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, on the kind of grey and rainy weekend that England has specialised in this winter (and spring).
Poor organisation (by me!) meant that the Barnham team missed the launch of the Best of British Science Fiction 2017, which happened on Good Friday. It was a shame to miss it, because it’s a cracking collection, and (selfishly) I was very proud of my contribution, ‘When I Close my Eyes’, from last summer’s Interzone.
Poor organisation also meant that we had to get up at 4am to drive the 200 miles to Harrogate. Undaunted, we got there and dived in, setting up our table in the dealers’ room.
It wasn’t a great occasion for selling books (the art and two-headed teddy bears did a much better trade!).
But it was great for meeting people. My highlight was selling a copy of ‘Fifty-One’ to British SF legend, Ian Watson. (My wife, who isn’t quite as steeped in scifi as me, charmingly asked him, as she handed over the book, ‘And do you write?’)
I also enjoyed meeting folks from NewCon Press, Interzone and Shoreline of Infinity.
One frustration being in the dealers’ room was missing a lot of the talks and panels, which were amazingly varied and interesting.
Having dipped my toe into the Con water, I’m determined to come back next time, maybe without the boxes of books, but with more time to join in the programme.
Did I mention it was 200 miles? I had to drive back too.