A couple of weeks ago I attended Albacon in Clifton Park, NY.
I’ve been a part of this convention since we brought it to life in 1996, so it holds a special place in my heart. It has always been tiny, which is both frustrating (hard to keep a con afloat when it’s always running barely in the black) and wonderful (want to meet a guest and chat informally? there are so few folks around, just hang out…).
The entire convention is maybe 120ish people on site. We have two programming rooms and a reading room. We have a dealers’ row (this year we only had two vendors, unfortunately). We have a social space con suite and a gaming room. Our convention is fully hybrid. For unofficial spaces, there is the lobby (many folks hang out in these cool high-backed chairs that sway back and forth—we love these chairs), and the patio with a huge fire pit.
I get frustrated as hell helping bring this convention to life, and at the same time, I always enjoy myself there.
This year, our on-site Guests of Honor were Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch, and our Fan Guest of Honor was Geri Sullivan. Our online Guest of Honor was Cory Doctorow.
I did a reading and four panels, and enjoyed all of them. I also got to spend time with Bear, who I’ve known for years (since before I had my kids) and finally got to know Scott a bit. And same with Geri—I’ve known her for years but never really got to talk before. I spent both evenings of the convention out at the fire pit, just chattering away and catching up with Bear. So lovely.
One of the other lovely things about the convention is that for the first time in decades, I decided to dress up. I rewarded myself with a shopping binge for things that I could pull together with things I already owned and create a set of outfits. One of them will continue to be worked on because I need to build some cosplay accessories to make an OC “retired magical girl” outfit. Like. If I’m gonna dye my hair and not need a wig, I need to use this to my advantage, right???
The first one was Friday night—an all in black outfit with an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved “pirate” top with a waist-cinched belt, jeans, and cute low boots. On Saturday I wore a black long jacket and vest top over black leggings and combat boots for a vaguely military look. I want to add steam-punk elements to that one, I think. And Sunday was magical girl day with an under-bust corset vest, a red pirate top, and a mini skirt, fishnets, and sparkly high heeled shoes. The secret to the heels? They are Skechers and so comfortable I can literally run in them. But they are also SPARKLY. I need to make bracers, flowers for my hair, a choker, and a staff for that outfit before it’s done.
Anyway, these will go to other conventions with me, along with my vest + long-sleeved shirts outfits, and t-shirts for when my brain is DONE with costuming.
As for programming… my reading was… uh… not attended. 😀 I performed well for the recording, and hopefully some folks happened to catch it afterwards online! I read the first part of my short story “A Bright and Clouded Future” which will be appearing in the Yay! All Queer anthology from Inkd Publishing.
Saturday’s panel on tropes was a blast, and the one on relationships beyond romance was everything I had hoped it would be. Saturday evening I moderated a panel on new SF voices from around the world, and the first thing we agreed on is that these voices aren’t new, they are simply finally being recognized which is important. We also talked a lot about translations and how translators can help bring these voices to the English-speaking world, particularly for short stories.
Sunday’s panel was fun—it was about how we found fandom, and things that we wished we’d known, and how things have changed. Of the five members of the panel, I was the only one who entered fandom as a tween and who grew up in fandom as a cis female. We had a lot of fun going back and forth, and I was really impressed at how positive it was. I also made a friend, meeting someone who grew up in fandom at the same time I did, at the same cons I did, and somehow we’d never known each other. So that was really awesome and I look forward to seeing them again in the future (and online! Hi!!!).
This year we wisely took the Monday after the convention off from work and I was very very relieved we did. At that point, it had been two weeks of complete chaos in life and work and family, and I needed that break. It was nice to just… rest… and get the chores done, obviously, since we hadn’t been home for it.
Going back to the cosplay… I think the last time I cosplayed I was in my 20s. Like. More than 30 years ago. I haven’t had the confidence, or the ability to see characters in the mirror until recently. This felt like returning to myself and becoming a person who has been hiding so far in my subconscious that I wasn’t sure she’d ever come back. I am so thankful to have been able to do that. I am also glad that I made the decision to combine my fandom and professional lives. I don’t think I could go to conventions as a pure professional—too many people have known me since I was 12. But I am thankful for all of those fandom connections, too, and it’s like seeing family when we go to conventions. I’m also learning that there are people who are happy to help as we branch out into more conventions, and help me reach out to get on programming, which I need for my career.
Our next convention won’t be until February, when we head to Boston for Boskone. I’m already excited for that one—I was chatting with folks at Albacon about potential ideas for things I can do on programming. It’s going to be fun.
And that’s the best part—this aspect of my professional life is fun. Scary sometimes, but in the end, enjoyable. And that’s great.