AussieCon Wrapped

Panels attended, art viewed, old friends caught up with. A satisfying resolution to the convention.

I was impressed at how readily some of the panellists - who appear to do this every year at multiple cons - would cheerfully talk about subjects which they have surely discussed over and to eternity. They were rarely boring on any subject.

My favourite session was surely the Girl Genius Live Reading, which was a great deal of fun. Oddly, my second-favourite was the last scheduled session I wanted to attend ("The Bechdel Test and Fantasy Literature"). 'Oddly' because the panelists didn't show up and a cancellation notice had been hung up outside the door. But scribbled boldly on the notice was "We're running it ourselves!" and inside the rows of chairs lined obediently up before the panellists' table had been transformed into a rough circle where the would-be audience held its own discussion on the Bechdel Test in fantasy literature - and very successfully I would say. I suspect a swag of us had spent the convention itching to put our own two cents in, so it was an excellent way to end the sessions.

Conventions are not something I do every year, which keeps them fresh and interesting to me when I do get to one (or one comes to Australia, since I don't often travel off-shore). The attendance at WorldCons is very small compared to more media-based conventions, but the focus on books is what draws me.

Next year's is in Reno, Nevada, which sounds like a nice place to check out, but I'm unlikely to get to it, unfortunately. I wonder if the London bid for 2014 will pan out?