Cons and cons

[Hereford Eye]

Someone tell me it's just me.
But the World Fantasy Convention held this past weekend in Austin, Texas, turned out to be a mixed blessing.
(1) The first panel discussion I attended featured an author who persisted in discussing her work -at length - in another genre evidently not having produced anything in the fantasy genre for more than a decade. On the up side, this panel featured a moderator who had attempted to prepare for the event with questions that made sense and provided the rest of the panel something to respond to. The blurb describing the panel certainly did not.
(2) Another panel discussion had a better set of setup questions and a postively electric panel that kept the overflow audience in stitches throughout while providing thought provoking disuccsion.
(3) All other panel discussions that I attended allowed me to bail out early either because the damned moderators had neglected to think about their topic until five minutes before the panel began - one actually read the blurb from the Pocket Program and then faded into invisibilty leaving the rest of the panel desparately trying not to die on the vine.
Yes, I know, I am omitting names but I have no interest in building a personal attack on anyone. To remedy that - and to give you a feel for the convention - these are the titles of the various panel discussions. http://www.fact.org/wfc2006/programming/grid.html BTW, keep in mind the convention was celebrating Robert E. Howard, a Texan.
Perusing the list, try to ask a question that (1) interests you and (2) sounds semi-intelligent.
From a meeting people and raising hell in the bar perspective, the Con was a rousing success - but then that goes without saying, doesn't it?
OTOH, except for Who Makes the Rules? - a topic near and dear to our hearts here at sffworld with a panel who has been reading every word in the Writing Forum - I believe the readings were a better place to invest time.How can you disrespect an opportunity to hear Peter Beagele, Joe Haldeman, Glen Cook, Stephen Erikson, Dave Duncan, Graham Joyce, Patricia A. McKillip, and L.E. Modesitt, Jr. interpret their own material? I am ashamed to say I missed Hal Duncan but he was reading while we were drin...networking.
From a fan perspective, I saw some folk on panels who convinced me I'll never buy their material. I also saw some folk who did themselves proud.
From a wannabe perspective, I discovered little that was helpful.
My question is who dreams up the topics and then how do they decide who should be on the panel?

 

[BrianC]

Someone tell me it's just me.
But the World Fantasy Convention held this past weekend in Austin, Texas, turned out to be a mixed blessing.
(1) The first panel discussion I attended featured an author who persisted in discussing her work -at length - in another genre evidently not having produced anything in the fantasy genre for more than a decade.

You mean you didn't find the tales of the detective cat (yes, you read that right) utterly fascinating

Otherwise, HE I am sorry to not be able to answer your question, err, because I spent the rest of the con drin . . . networking, or recovering from . . . uhh . . . networking.

But seriously, how many times did a panelist introduce themselves with some variation of "Hi, I'm __(a semi-famous or not-at-all famous writer)__ and I have no idea why I'm here"? It seemed to me that the panelists reflected some vision of what TPTB wanted to hear, rather than a good debate on the topic, or any topic for that matter. Everyone was just too bland or too agreeable for my taste.

But, to me, meeting so many great people more than made the Con worth it all. Oh, and it was too bad that you went to dinner before the banquet on saturday. Some guy came up to Gary and me in the bar and offered us an extra ticket. Ended up going to a nice guy named James Bailey (aspiring writer) but I'd rather you'd been there.

 

[KatG]

My understanding of these things, from what I hear from Kevin, Gary, and the like, is that authors apply to the con organizers and can maybe get a reading for their work and then serve on panels, but are essentially randomly assigned to them. They don't necessarily know what they are going to be talking about until just before the conference or when they arrive, and sometimes have to sub for somebody else. Which means you do end up having to rely on the moderators of the things, but I imagine they are sometimes randomly assigned as well. I don't know who decides what the panels are going to be, but I'm guessing authors can make some suggestions and that these may be acted on. I'm sure a few of the same topics crop up each year.

 

[Susan Boulton]

Hmmm, I think at Eastercon and Fantasycon in the UK they got a bit more notice than arriving and finding out. But I found most panels, even if the authors said, "I have no idea why I'm here." The next thing they said, "right, what's the topic?" and waded in! (Though this could have something to do with the bar being open for 10.00am and "drinks" lined up before the panel. )In fact one of the best panels at Eastercon had among others Hal Duncan and Justina Robson on and they and their fellow members of the panel took the conversation all over the place.

Also noticed most (not all) of the American authors had copies of their books on the table, the Brits didn't for the most part.

 

[Radthorne]

My understanding of these things, from what I hear from Kevin, Gary, and the like, is that authors apply to the con organizers and can maybe get a reading for their work and then serve on panels, but are essentially randomly assigned to them. They don't necessarily know what they are going to be talking about until just before the conference or when they arrive, and sometimes have to sub for somebody else. Which means you do end up having to rely on the moderators of the things, but I imagine they are sometimes randomly assigned as well. I don't know who decides what the panels are going to be, but I'm guessing authors can make some suggestions and that these may be acted on. I'm sure a few of the same topics crop up each year.

This is basically true for most cons, particularly in the author's local area. World Fantasy is an exception, in that it is a relatively small con with a professional bent. The panels are pretty much closed except to people who are either already well known or who have an "in" with someone doing the organizing. At most cons, the organizers love to get as many 'pros' as they can on panels, as it drives up attendance. At WFC, attendance is limited and, as noted, oriented more toward the trade. Thus getting on a panel there allows the 'pro' to more effectively 'present' themselves in front of the trade rather than to your average reader. This causes a lot of competition for those panels, since your typical less-than-Rowling level author would certainly like to get their name and face in front of a room full of editors and agents. I went to two WFC's and never even came close to getting on any panels (Gary has been more successful in this than I). On the other hand, I've been doing panels at three or four local cons every year. I may not be reaching editors and agents, but I do get to talk to a lot of readers, which does help to keep one motivated.