I’ve recently realized it’s been more than half a year since I attended a science fiction convention. I was at Lunacon in March (as usual), but then had to miss Readercon in order to attend the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop (which was wonderful, but kept me out of the sf con circuit). So this weekend, when I hit Albacon (in Albany, New York) this weekend, it’ll be my first in nearly seven months. I’m planning to get quickly back into the swing of things, with the World Fantasy Convention at the end of the month and then Philcon in November. It won’t be a total re-immersion, as Albacon is usually a smaller con. But it’s a nice way to ease back into the circuit. And if you’re in the neighborhood and want to try a con, Albacon is a great way to start: the organizers give good con, and because it’s smaller, you have much more chance to interact with the professional guests in a comfortable, one-on-one setting.
In addition to my panels, I’ll be running the Fantastic Books table in the dealers’ room. So if you’re in the area, look me up. (I detailed my programming schedule in this blog post.)
It’s a great con, and one that’s close enough to Canada that it could easily draw attendees from Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto (all much more populous cities than the one the con is held in). Which is why, year after year, I’ve expressed concern to the convention committee that choosing to hold the con over Canadian Thanksgiving weekend deprives them of a lot of potential attendees. Still, have a blast!