Eastercon 2012 / Worldcon 2014
Hey folks,
It's been a short while since I brought up SF conventions, so I thought I'd
throw some info your way about a couple of relatively distant but upcoming
Cons. In both cases, it'll be worth planning ahead as they'll get more
expensive the longer you wait. If you're interested in either, you should
start planning as soon as possible! Assuming you've not already booked
everything, that is. I'll start with the smaller one first, then talk about
the bigger one.
EASTERCON - Olympus 2012 - Heathrow, London.
As many of you probably know (since a few of you were at Odyssey last year),
there's an annual UK SF Convention called Eastercon. Well, actually, they
pick a new name each year, but they're all called "Eastercon" anyway because
they happen at easter. A few folks went along for some of last years
Eastercon as it was at Heathrow. The next one of these (which,
unsurprisingly, occurs next easter) is once again at Heathrow. Olympus 2012
is shaping up pretty well so far, and I'd recommend booking for it. It's
close enough to be reachable by public transport or with the aid of a couple
of folks with cars if you're not able to stay on-site. I'm already booked to
go, and will be staying on site so I don't have to faff with transport /
drinking issues. If you plan to stay on site, it's probably worth a few of
you ganging up to get a couple of rooms between you, or get transport
organised that can cater for a mob - being able to stay well into the
evenings does make a difference.
Unlike a lot of other cons, it's worth going to an eastercon for the whole
thing rather than just dropping in for a day. They're a lot more forcussed
on socialing, joining in and whatnot than many other conferences. The focus
is heavily on panels or participatory entertainment and stuff than on
queueing and getting things signed. If you can stay on site it's worth
doing.
The Guest of Honour list looks pretty decent already (George R R Martin's on
there, for a start), but it's worth bearing in mind that these will not be
the only authors present or the only people sitting on panels. The place
will be lousy with SF/F authors as well as fans, and you may find yourself
talking to somebody for a short while before realising that you've actually
read their last three books - they may not be on the Guests of Honour list,
but they've come along as a fan instead!
The main focus of eastercon is written SF, but as anybody who's been to one
will tell you, there's quite a lot of talk about TV, film and even gaming as
well (as well as some more unusual topics that lurk around the fringes of
SFdom!). There's also usually a selection of video entertainment, but I've
largely been too busy to get heavily involved in that.
Blurb for next year's eastercon:
Web: http://www.olympus2012.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Olympus2012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=311284941654
WORLDCON 2014 - Excel, London (probably)
Some of you might *not* know, but as well as Eastercon, there's also an
annual _international_ equivalent called "Worldcon". These get properly
huge. There's a (currently unopposed) bid going on to have the 2014 one of
these happen in London at the Excel. It looks increasingly likely that it's
going to win the bid. I'm reliably informed that if anybody who's been to
an eastercon and thought that was pretty big and pretty cool (I count myself
amongst this number), worldcons are on a scale that's just plain *silly*.
I've not been to one, but I've been told by several reliable sources that
I'd be an idiot to miss it. So I plan to be there.
If you've heard of the Hugo Awards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_awards),
well they're awarded at the Worldcon each year.
Apparently Worldcons are like Eastercons, only HUGE. If you want to go to
one (non-merchandising focussed) SF con in your life, you should probably
start thinking about going to this one if it wins the bid. No idea who the
guests will be, or what the events will be other than the Hugo awards, but
frankly it'll be huge anyway. There will be authors you want to froth over
and there will be cool SF stuff happening. It will be huge and awesome, and
IFIS (and ex-IFIS) folks should put in a showing if the London bid wins.
Blurb for 2014 worldcon bid:
Web: http://www.londonin2014.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/londonin2014
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/londonin2014
Adrian Long
http://www.eggbox.org.uk/
It's been a short while since I brought up SF conventions, so I thought I'd
throw some info your way about a couple of relatively distant but upcoming
Cons. In both cases, it'll be worth planning ahead as they'll get more
expensive the longer you wait. If you're interested in either, you should
start planning as soon as possible! Assuming you've not already booked
everything, that is. I'll start with the smaller one first, then talk about
the bigger one.
EASTERCON - Olympus 2012 - Heathrow, London.
As many of you probably know (since a few of you were at Odyssey last year),
there's an annual UK SF Convention called Eastercon. Well, actually, they
pick a new name each year, but they're all called "Eastercon" anyway because
they happen at easter. A few folks went along for some of last years
Eastercon as it was at Heathrow. The next one of these (which,
unsurprisingly, occurs next easter) is once again at Heathrow. Olympus 2012
is shaping up pretty well so far, and I'd recommend booking for it. It's
close enough to be reachable by public transport or with the aid of a couple
of folks with cars if you're not able to stay on-site. I'm already booked to
go, and will be staying on site so I don't have to faff with transport /
drinking issues. If you plan to stay on site, it's probably worth a few of
you ganging up to get a couple of rooms between you, or get transport
organised that can cater for a mob - being able to stay well into the
evenings does make a difference.
Unlike a lot of other cons, it's worth going to an eastercon for the whole
thing rather than just dropping in for a day. They're a lot more forcussed
on socialing, joining in and whatnot than many other conferences. The focus
is heavily on panels or participatory entertainment and stuff than on
queueing and getting things signed. If you can stay on site it's worth
doing.
The Guest of Honour list looks pretty decent already (George R R Martin's on
there, for a start), but it's worth bearing in mind that these will not be
the only authors present or the only people sitting on panels. The place
will be lousy with SF/F authors as well as fans, and you may find yourself
talking to somebody for a short while before realising that you've actually
read their last three books - they may not be on the Guests of Honour list,
but they've come along as a fan instead!
The main focus of eastercon is written SF, but as anybody who's been to one
will tell you, there's quite a lot of talk about TV, film and even gaming as
well (as well as some more unusual topics that lurk around the fringes of
SFdom!). There's also usually a selection of video entertainment, but I've
largely been too busy to get heavily involved in that.
Blurb for next year's eastercon:
Web: http://www.olympus2012.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Olympus2012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=311284941654
WORLDCON 2014 - Excel, London (probably)
Some of you might *not* know, but as well as Eastercon, there's also an
annual _international_ equivalent called "Worldcon". These get properly
huge. There's a (currently unopposed) bid going on to have the 2014 one of
these happen in London at the Excel. It looks increasingly likely that it's
going to win the bid. I'm reliably informed that if anybody who's been to
an eastercon and thought that was pretty big and pretty cool (I count myself
amongst this number), worldcons are on a scale that's just plain *silly*.
I've not been to one, but I've been told by several reliable sources that
I'd be an idiot to miss it. So I plan to be there.
If you've heard of the Hugo Awards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_awards),
well they're awarded at the Worldcon each year.
Apparently Worldcons are like Eastercons, only HUGE. If you want to go to
one (non-merchandising focussed) SF con in your life, you should probably
start thinking about going to this one if it wins the bid. No idea who the
guests will be, or what the events will be other than the Hugo awards, but
frankly it'll be huge anyway. There will be authors you want to froth over
and there will be cool SF stuff happening. It will be huge and awesome, and
IFIS (and ex-IFIS) folks should put in a showing if the London bid wins.
Blurb for 2014 worldcon bid:
Web: http://www.londonin2014.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/londonin2014
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/londonin2014
Adrian Long
http://www.eggbox.org.uk/