by Toni L.P. Kelner / Leigh Perry
Like many of us, I'll be traveling this summer. In fact, I may log more time on the road than here at home between now and Labor Day. Two trips are for writing business, one is for family business, and one is pure fun.
First up is Readercon, an annual science fiction convention in the Boston area that maintains a laser focus on the literature of the field, as opposed to media and other associated fandoms.
I've been to plenty of science fiction cons, but this one is a different world for me because it is without a doubt the most erudite convention I've ever attended. I often feel daunted by the credentials of my co-panelists. Just look at the description of my panel this year:
Emotion, Archives, Interactive Fiction, and Linked Data.
Leah Bobet (leader), Toni L.P. "Leigh Perry" Kelner, Sarah Smith, Walt Williams.
In a 2013 blog post, archivist Mx A. Matienzo drew a line between the "linked data" of interactive fiction (IF) and the connections within an archive of materials and works. Matienzo suggested creating a hybrid of the two that would bolster the emotional impact of fiction with links to relevant factual information—or, from the other side, that would bolster the intellectual weight of nonfiction with more nebulous but equally important information about feelings, thoughts, and experiences. How else can archivists, authors, and others collaborate on hybrid storytelling that brings these disparate components together?
See what I mean? Those other panelists have awards, advanced degrees, and publication lists I can only goggle at. Now I expressed willingness to participate thinking that I could talk about the factual materail that I often see in mysteries: forensics, recipes, craft tips, information bell ringing, and so on. Will this add to the panel? If not, I can look interested and nod a lot. At least I understand what to do at my other scheduled events, an autographing and a reading. I mean, I do know how to write my name, and I've got a book to read from: my forthcoming The Skeleton Takes a Bow.
Readercon will still be going on when I take off on my next trip, to Charlotte, NC.
This one is for the family, as we do some fixup on my father's house to enable him to live there with my sister and her husband. This will be a trip to the world of the past. I grew up in Charlotte, in that house, and with the help of my two sisters, my father, various nieces, and a crew of professional de-clutterers, we'll be excavating forty years of memories. It's either going to be wonderful or horrible, or most likely a combination of the two.
In mid-August, it'll be time for the world of gaming. I'll be participating in the Writer's Symposium that is held as part of Gen Con, the premier tabletop gaming convention in the world. Last year's Gen Con had 49,000 people, and this year's is shaping up to be larger still.
I did play Dungeons & Dragons for many years, but that was a long time ago. In fact, my first national publications where in Dragon Magazine, the magazine for D&D players. But these days, most of my gaming now is electronic, so this will be another new world to visit and explore. And with that many people, I'll be happy if I don't get completely lost.
Finally, my last visit for the summer will be to a world I know fairly well and always enjoy: DisneyWorld. I'm finding it hard to remember how many times I've gone to Disney, and I hope to go many more. It's crowded, it's expensive, and it's going to be hot, but to me at least, it's alos magic. And technically we will be going to one new world while we're there. We've never made it to the Animal Kingdom park, and this year it's at the top of our list. (Sid is looking forward to it, too.)
By the time I've visited all those other worlds, I imagine I'll be more than ready to settle back down to the real world. Or at least to the fictional worlds I create when I write.
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