pbray

Friday afternoon at Wiscon featured the midlist writers' gathering, and about a dozen of us got together to compare notes. After listening to various writers share their stories, I was hit by the realization that many of us had fallen into ( the secret handshake trap. )

Mmm, brats & beer are good.

Oh, and if you're in Madison, Wisconsin, there's also this thing called Wiscon going on, for those who need more to entertain them than the sight of brats being grilled on the world's largest movable grill.

Random observations--

1) The hotel bar was nearly dead at 9PM on Saturday evening at a con. That's just wrong. Presumably everyone was out on State Street or at one of the numerous parties, but it seemed entirely odd to me.

2) After recounting the story about how Jennifer can make taxis appear out of thin air, I then managed to summon a taxi to the country fairgrounds. Possibly a joint summoning, as Susan Jett was the one to declare "We need a taxi" and as she said the word taxi I pointed out that one had just turned into the entrance to the fairgrounds.

3) The dealer's room has a really nice selection of small press imprints--among them Juno where I had a nice conversation about cover treatments with the art director, who was manning their table. I bought several books from various vendors that look great, even though I know the odds that I'll find time to read them are slim to none.

4) The panels I've been to so far have been a cut above standard con fair--intelligent discussions with great interaction between panelists and the audience. I'm hoping that trend continues this afternoon when I have my three panels. (Three panels in a row, I'll be all talked out by the time it's over).

Well my final Wiscon schedule arrived. I'm on three panels, and moderating one of them:

The Role of Women and People of Color in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis
Sunday, 1:00-2:15 p.m. Joanna Lowenstein, M: Patricia Bray, Wendy Bradley, K Tempest Bradford

SF&F on TV This Season
Sunday, 2:30-3:45 p.m. Deborah Stone, Penny Hill, Patricia Bray, M: William Alexander

How To Do Good Work in High Fantasy
Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m. Jennifer W. Spirko, M: Delia Sherman, Sarah Monette, Kelly D. Link, Patricia Bray

So I'm booked all Sunday afternoon and free the rest of the weekend.

Two of the panels that I'd earlier been slated to be on are no longer there--"Dead Harry: Killing your protagonist: genius or folly?" and "Second Acts in Writing and Publishing." Kinda bummed, since those both looked like they'd be fun panels. But still, three panels is enough, and I'm looking forward to a good time.