My writing week 3 (35) – Aussiecon

Well I survived Aussiecon. I spent most of my time attending panels as well as the opening ceremony and the guest of honour speeches. I also spent a bit of time in the dealers room searching for books. There was so much to see and listen to.

The panel sessions I saw were mainly on science fiction, writing for young adults, editing and climate change. A lot of those panels included the guest of honour, Kim Stanley Robinson. I had read his novel Red Mars and, after finding he had a great concern for climate change, I will now finish reading the series. He said the series was not so much about terraforming Mars but an allegory about man’s treatment of Earth.

I also saw Canadian author Cory Doctorow with his uncomfortable arguments about where the publishing is heading. He is a fan, if not major contributor, to the digital revolution, running the well patronised website Boing Boing. He has also been nominated for three Hugos for mainly young adult science fiction. Although I did not share his enthusiasm for the digital redesign of the publishing industry, I was so impressed with the way he articulated his arguments and for the information he imparted that I felt obliged to buy one on his novels, which I did.

The overseas panelists, like Cory Doctorow, Kim Stanley Robinson, Gregory Bedford, James Scalzi, David D. Levine, and editors Patrick Nielsen Hayden (Tor), and Ginger Buchanan (Ace) where generally very articulate, entertaining and full of information. Only one American female novelist seemed too overbearing to generate convention sales. Sean McMullen was perhaps the best of the Australian writers I saw.

I choose the panel sessions more on topic then presenters, so I missed seeing China Mieville (if he turned up). It was disappointing that Australian authors like Greg Egan and Damien Broderick did not make an appearance. Sean Williams was ill and could not make it. I still have not read the daily update sheets to find out why some panelists didn’t appear.

The convention centre is a huge cavernous venue. Aussiecon had access to two large auditoriums, and 20 other rooms, most of which seated 200 or so fans. No attempt had be made to decorate the place and very few fans turned up in costumes. The convention was more for the novel reading science fiction fan than the film or television science fiction fan. So for me, there seemed to be a lack of atmosphere.

The books in the dealers room were about 25% cheaper than what I pay in Wangaratta. I was disappointed not the find any of Adrian Bedford’s books other then the one I had already had read. I also had no luck finding one Kim Stanley Robinson mentioned. I did find a collection of short stories by Aussie great George Turner, which was free with the purchase of another book, that took a while to choose.

Overall, I enjoyed the convention, I felt at home there, even though I wasn’t wearing black. I was entertained and informed by a lot of open and articulate authors, editors and scientists, and left each day eager to return the next. I wish the convention had gone longer so I could have attended some of the panels I missed.

Over the coming weeks I will be blogging about the individual sessions and the winners of the Hugo’s which were announced at the convention (I voted for two of the winners).

Graham.