WorldCon 2017 – days 2 & 3

WorldCon 2017 – days 2 & 3

Day 2
A quiet(ish) morning, but I did get a chance to check out the room in which we would be playing I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue in the evening, in order to confirm the tech facilities. It was apparent from a quick glance that the facilities weren’t suitable (despite several emails to the organisers before the convention), so I went to the tech desk. The person I needed to speak with wasn’t there, so they asked me to leave my number and someone would contact me.  It became an afternoon of meetings, during which no contact from Tech, and then I went to the Wildcards Dinner in the evening. Alas, Emma Newman and I had to leave the dinner early as we had to head back to the convention centre for the panel game. I got there early enough to ask Tech to come along and plug my MacBook into the sound system. I needed to be on the desk with the other panelists, but this wasn’t possible, and I had to stand apart from them at a podium. Also, they couldn’t connect my Mac to the sound system, so I had to transfer the files from my machine to theirs. The way to do this, apparently, was for the tech guy to shout for the (very large) audience to be quiet, before shouting “Does anyone have a USB key we can borrow?”

The game itself went really well, and the panelists (Mur Lafferty, Kameron Hurley, Daryl Gregory and Emma Newman) seemed to have as much fun as the audience. Watching the bemused expression on the American panelists’ faces when the line “We’ve had a letter from a Mrs Trellis from North Wales” got an enormous cheer from the audience, was priceless.

So, despite the tech issues (this was obviously a running theme, at least for my panels), it was a resounding success.

 

Day 3
Friday morning say the first in another succession

of meetings, followed by my third and final panel (which went well, despite the panel being offsite. When I asked how to get there, it was “Leave the convention centre through the front doors, cross the road, climb the steps and walk 2 or three blocks until you find a small, yellow building.” – it was my first quest!)

A lunch with one of my favourite authors and favourite people in genre (where I tried reindeer for the fist time – spoiler: it’s delicious), and then it was time to head back to the apartment to get ready for the Hugos. This year I was accompanied by my oldest daughter, Verity, who looked amazing in her dress and high heels.

A fantastic set of results across every category, but I was particularly delighted by the result for Best Fancast (Tea and Jeopardy) and especially Best Novella (Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire). This means that last year a book I edited won both the Nebula and the Hugo, and this year a book I edited won both the Nebula and the Hugo. So, no pressure for next year, then!

I also briefly met Daveed Diggs (the original Lafayette and Jefferson from Hamilton) and Sibel Kekilli (who played Shaein Game of Thrones). And what’s more important, they met me! So happy for them!

Then onto the Hugo Losers’ Party which was held at Helsinki’s Steam bar, which was fab but loud and crowded.

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