PROGRAMMING
OK, I’ve mentioned 18-track programming and the like, but until you run into it, I don’t think any of you can truly realize the magnitude of Worldcon programming.
A typical hour will have 3 or 4 panels on science fiction, all featuring well-known writers; a pair of panels on fantasy; a panel on horror; a panel or two on science; a couple of panels on the business end of science fiction, from writing to editing to selling to reading contracts; an item or two of children’s programming; a pair of panels on various aspect of fandom, from fan history to publishing a fanzine; a publisher’s editorial staff telling you what they’re looking for this year; a panel of critics evaluating the year’s fiction; and a couple of more panels or speeches on various subjects.
That’s every hour, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. It’ll slow down then, but you’ll still have perhaps four panels an hour from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and maybe two panels an hour from 10:00 PM to maybe 2:00 AM.
While all this is going on, three or four rooms will be set aside for writers to read their most recent works, and at the same time half a dozen authors will be autographing in or near the dealers’ room. And of course there will be from two to four kaffeeklatsches occurring at the same time.
And let’s not forget the free, round-the-clock science fiction movies that will be showing in an auditorium.
That’s it. Every hour. And while all this is happening, the dealers room, the art show, and most of the other exhibits will be open as well.
Yeah, I know, it’s overwhelming. Probably the best thing to do is log onto the Worldcon’s web page after the final schedule is posted—usually two or three weeks before the con—and make your decision as to what items you definitely don’t want to miss. It can take a few hours, and why spend that time at the convention when there are so many interesting things to do?
WHAT TO BRING
OK, so it’s you first Worldcon. What do you pack? What do you bring? What do you leave behind?
Clothing: There is no panel or party where you won’t be accepted wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals…so what else you bring depends to a great extent on what makes you comfortable and where you plan to go when you leave the hotel.
If you’re dining out, and especially if you plan to visit some upscale restaurants, bring along the appropriate clothes. If you plan to use the hotel’s pool, bring along a swimsuit. (The skinny-dipping days of the 1970s and 1980s Worldcons are long gone.) If you’re entering the masquerade, make sure you pack your costume in a way that won’t break or otherwise harm it. If you plan to participate in the Regency dance (yes, every Worldcon has a Regency dance, don’t ask me why), you might bring the appropriate Regency costume.
If you’re on any medication, bring enough to see you through the convention; it’s murder trying to fill a prescription in a strange city on a weekend.
I wouldn’t bother bringing a laptop. First, there’s too much to do (and you’re paying quite a bit to do it) to waste time with your computer—and second, most of the people you want to chat with and send e-mail to are already at the con. (And most downtown hotels in major cities will charge incredibly high connect rates, measured by the minute if not the second.)
Bring any books you want autographed. This is your one chance all year to find 80% of the major authors in the field in one place, and they’re all there for your convenience. Ditto any magazines.
Bring any guide books you may have purchased. Why try committing them to memory?
If you’re into photo memories, bring your camera, or camcorder, with enough film, tape, disks, and batteries that you won’t have to go out to purchase any.
Bring cash and/or credit cards. No one in a strange city wants to cash your checks.
Above all, bring the one item I never do without, the most important single item you can bring (besides money, that is): a small blank notebook—paper or electronic, makes no difference—that fits easily into a pocket.
Why?
Well, to begin with, before leaving home you’ll write down the titles of all the books you’re looking for in the huckster’s room, as well as the dates of all the magazines, to make searching through the dealers’ room a little easier.
You’ll want to write down the room numbers of all your friends—and that could come to a cool 100 numbers right there. Impossible to remember them all.
As you find out when and where the parties are, you’ll want to write down the times and room numbers of each. That’s dozens more numbers and times.
You’ll want to write down those events that you absolutely don’t want to miss. Still more times and places.
You might also write down the addresses and phone numbers of all the restaurants you want to visit (and on a busy summer weekend in a major city, almost all the better ones, inside and outside the hotel, will require reservations.)
If you’re a hopeful writer, you’ll want to write down whatever it is you have sold, or promised to send, to which editor. Even if you’re not, it helps to write down anything you promise to send/sell/trade with other fans.
If you’re trading addresses, either street or e-mail, with new friends, you’ll want to write them down.
So be sure you bring that blank book. You’ll fill it up soon enough.
SAVING AND SPENDING MONEY
Worldcon isn’t cheap. There are a few ways—not many, but a few—of saving money. To wit:
Car pool to get there. With gas prices going through the roof, and airfares ditto, the cheapest way to get to any Worldcon (at least, any Worldcon on this continent) is to car pool.
You’ll hear stories of fans sleeping ten and twelve to a room. They are not an exaggeration, but it seems a bit excessive to me. Still, if you’re traveling on a budget, it makes sense to share a room with perhaps 2 or 3 others.
The price of an attending membership goes up every few months. The initial price is about a third of the at-the-door price. If you’re late buying your membership—and the lead time is two years—there’s a way around this. Surf the net and find someone who has an attending membership and can’t use it; it can be sold and transferred to you prior to mid-July of the year the Worldcon is held . . . after that, it has to be done at the door. (Example: someone who bought his membership early at $80 wants to sell; the price is currently $200 if you buy from the convention; you offer to split the difference, the seller agrees, you get an attending membership for $140, you save $60, the seller makes $60, and everyone’s happy.)
If you see a second-hand book or magazine you want in the hucksters’ room and it’s too expensive for your budget, make an offer. Half the time you’ll find the huckster is willing to deal.
And now a couple of proper ways to spend money:
The maid who makes up your room doesn’t work a 7-day week, so for the best service, and just to be fair, leave a buck or two on your pillow every morning when you go out for the day, rather than leaving $10 or $15 in a lump at the end of the week.
Most parties don’t want your money. But a few hospitality suites will have a bowl out with a note asking for donations. Put a couple of bucks in, or you may never be asked back.
Okay, that’s pretty much it—a way to vote for your favorite stories, books, editors, artists, movies and fanzines, and mingle with like-minded fans and writers at our grandest annual event.
Remembering Giants
There is a great Secret History of Science Fiction to be written, one that exposes all the scams, lies, dirty-dealings, illicit affairs, and the like—but while I know more than my share of it, someone else will have to write