Readercon, Part 2

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Saturday was my second and final day at Readercon, and it was just as good as the first day. I attended several session today, including a fascinating one on rewrites and revisions. The panel included (among others) Michael Swanwick and James Patrick Kelly. I attended a couple of readings as well. The first reading was by James Morrow, who read from his upcoming novella, Fumbling Toward Hiroshima. The second was a reading that included half a dozen or more authors from

[info]ellen_datlow

  ‘s new anthology, The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Among these were two readers I really wanted to hear, Elizabeth Bear (a.k.a.

[info]matociquala

  ) and Barry N. Malzberg.

And speaking of Barry Malzberg, I got to spend some more time with him late this morning. He was heading out for another walk (he is, as he describes himself, a compulsive walker) and he invited me along with him. Once again, it was terrific. Later in the day,

[info]scottedelman

was kind enough to take this photo of me and Barry just outside the huckster room. Scott also got this photo of me with

[info]mabfan

and Michael Marano.

I went through the huckster room several times today but managed to refrain from buying anything. With the house nearly all packed up, it seemed cruel to buy books which I would immediately have to pack away.

Around 4 PM, I headed for the airport. I thought I might be able to get an earlier flight, but I got there just in time to miss the earlier flight to D.C. So I went to a pub, had a plate of cheese fries and a couple of beers, and read for a few hours while I awaited my flight. The flight itself was uneventful and I was back at Dulles on time. Kelly was waiting for me in the baggage claim area and we were at my house by 10 PM, just as planned. Dad was there and we hung out with him for a while before heading off to bed.

Readercon was terrific, the best convention I’ve been to so far, and one that I will continue to attend in the coming years. Meeting a personal hero, a favorite writer is, as MasterCard says, priceless, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Barry and for the kindness he showed me throughout the convention. I look forward to seeing him there again next year. Once again, I have to thank

[info]mabfan

,

[info]gnomi

, and

[info]scottedelman

for making me feel at home at a convention where everyone there seemed more knowledgeable about science fiction than me, where they all seemed to have gained the trick of throwing major league fastballs, and the ability to hit major league curve balls. These are the people, all of them, who make science fiction what it is today and I felt very lucky to get the chance to hang out from them and (hopefully) learn from them.

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