Originally published at Juliet E. McKenna. You can comment here or there.
Those of you with any experience of con-running won’t be in the least surprised by my lack of posts here lately. For those of you who haven’t ever been involved in a convention committee, I can tell you that these past few weeks have been like trying to play a game of 3D chess while the Enterprise is under fire and taking evasive manoeuvres. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complaining. But busy doesn’t begin to describe it – since Christmas – for me and for the rest of the EightSquared Committee and Staff whose endeavours are absolutely heroic.
However I have just posted a very long piece on the EightSquaredCon blog. Because this past year has drawn my attention to the things which quite a few fans simply don’t know about conrunning. That’s no criticism, of conrunners or of fans. It’s just a fact I’ve become aware of. I’ve also realised some of these things could do with discussing, on the one hand before a real problem arises and on the other hand, to see UK fandom well-placed to move forward as next year’s Loncon 3 World SF Convention in London prompts a influx of new, enthusiastic people.
And yes, I am well aware that in some quarters, doing this is pretty much lighting a blue touchpaper and risking fireworks. It’s still worth doing. Because conventions are important to us all, readers, writers and fans of all aspects of the genre.
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Comments
(OK, simplification mixed with exaggeration, but ...)
This does require a much larger committee - one that effectively includes the heads of staff and assistants too. Early cons had a couple of dozen people at main meetings.
This does provide a good institutional memory, particularly if the previous office holders shadow their replacements, and it does permit an ongoing commercial organisation. It can also keep carry-over funds to make booting up the following convention easier.
What it doesn't do is have a different committee every year (it doesn't happen every year, only every other year with the exception of 2000 which *cough* imploded). And it doesn't have a different venue with a different flavour.
It's an alternate model and it's not necessarily better. I think something somewhere in the middle - perhaps a continuing logistical core called upon by different local directors - might be interesting, but I really don't know you'd put that together in the first place.
When looking for a venue, the constraints are that there should, if possible, be one room that can fit pretty much the entire membership if that's possible. That issue was a problem with Hinckley, where London and Paris could take about 400 each.
The timing is a little fortuitous, but for those coming from foreign parts, the ability to pick up the DWCon and the Worldcon in a single trip with an option on the Eurocon as well (the chair of the last DWCon is on the Shamrokon committee) should be attractive. DWCon has recently tended to be pretty close to Worldcon, which was an issue for us in 2010 when they were adjacent weekends, but opposite sides of the world.
I will be thinking of you and hoping all goes swimmingly as I can't be there myself. I'll be watching for all the good reports from those who go.
Oh and congratulations for taking up the reins for something like this. I may not want to do it myself but I am all admiration for those who do.
Edited at 2013-03-22 09:17 pm (UTC)