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Attending a WorldCon: in at the deep end
01/10/2005 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
Pauline Morgan reports back from Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention which was held in Glasgow from 4th to 8th August 2005. There was much that grabbed her fancy, but she ponders that attending your first Science Fiction Convention can be a daunting prospect. Attending your first Science Fiction Convention can be a daunting prospect so it is usually better to try a smaller one like the annual Eastercon or even a Novacon. Lynn Edwards and I are both seasoned con-goers. I have attended every one of the 34 Novacons, and many Eastercons. This would be my fifth Worldcon and although Lynn had not been to the 'Big One', she knew the ropes.
John Shields is a young man with aspirations of being an SF writer. When he said he would be visiting his family in Glasgow for the fortnight that incorporated the 63rd Worldcon, we told him about it. He decided to join. John was the one that leapt from the high diving board into the swirling waters of fandom. This account of the Worldcon is designed to give an idea of what both a neo, like John, and a veteran like me found during a long weekend in August.
Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention was held in Glasgow from 4th to 8th August 2005. Most of the events took place in the SECC - the Scottish Exhibition and Convention Centre. All the work of planning the event is done by amateurs - in the sense that they are not paid to do it. The event itself had a very professional feel about it. The SECC is a vast complex beside the Clyde. Other than the exhibition halls, there is a hotel now connected to it by tunnels and the theatre, known locally as the Armadillo.
I drove up from Birmingham on the Wednesday with the artist David A. Hardy who was anxious to have plenty of time the following morning to put his work in the art show. Lynn followed at a slower pace. Other attendees travelled by rail and air, Glasgow having a good international airport and there were delegates from many countries. Most of the hotels in Glasgow were fully occupied with fans who were staying for at least three nights.
The Convention Committee had got its priorities right. Not only did it have registration desks open on the Thursday afternoon so that the early arrivals could get that business out of the way, but they had a Real Ale Bar fully operational at the Moat House Hotel with five varieties of Real Ale. They had also arranged for the Hilton Hotel, which had been designated as the 'Party ' hotel to have a similar set-up.
Thursday morning was a time for orientating oneself. The Convention had taken over the whole of the SECC but did not use all the spaces available. The Lomond suite of rooms were of various sizes, ideally suited, for the most part for the panels and talks, with a large auditorium for the most popular speakers. Hall 1 was taken over by admin - the registration desks, newsletter production and such peripheral things. Hall 2 had most of the fan-based stalls and exhibitions in it, including the enrolment desks of various other conventions. Hall 3 contained the Art Show, the dealers tables and the events organised for the younger fans who were too old for a crèche. Hall 5 was occasionally used for big programme items. The Moat House's Argyll Suite not only had the Real Ale bar but was the focus for fan activities. The Armadillo was reserved for the very big events such as the Masquerade and the Hugo Awards Ceremony, as well as having a few rooms for rehearsal space, chaos costuming and a few other events.
With a membership of over 4,000 from all over the world (there were more visitors from North America than the rest of the world combined), the programme was extensive with as many as 15 scheduled events taking place simultaneously. Choices had to be made. After registering, which was relatively slick (compared with the horror stories of a four hour wait at a previous Worldcon, as related by another queuing fan), we emerged with our badges - nice big ones, programme books and a number of different items, we were free to explore. The biggest problem was the distance between the venues of various parts of the programme. The only issue for an abled bodied person such as myself or John was the time it took to get from one place to another. It was more difficult for Lynn who isn't able to go long distances or at speed. A choice had to made, so we settled for a cup of coffee. In the main SECC the provision was pretty basic. Locals would have done well to bring their own food but the rest of us had to make do. The first panel we decided to go to was 'The Family Business'.
The panellists were (l-r) Adam Stemple, Sean McMullen and his mother, Guest of Honour Jane Yolen. Missing from the line-up were Anne and Todd McCaffrey. This illustrated one of the problems of trying organise a tight schedule, especially on the first day as attendee travelling from afar can run into transport problems. Nevertheless, these three gave a good account of themselves. Adam Stemple in particular is a good raconteur. His daughter, Catherine, is one of those children who is brilliant from an early age. She started writing professionally at the age of nine. The relationship between Jane and Sean is far more conventional. All three discussed the advantages and disadvantages from their perspectives of having writers in the family.
Then they opened the dealers room. This meant that we missed the Opening Ceremony and most of the programmed events for the rest of the afternoon. Imagine a large, echoing aircraft hanger and you will get some idea of the space. Down one side was a photographic portrait gallery of well-known fans from the past and another section of authors who have attended Worldcons. Down the other side, a large screened area hid the Art Show and the Young Adult Fan Association space. Some of the events that took place in there seemed much more fun that outside and for once, the adults were not allowed to join in. The bulk of the area was taken up by the dealers tables. At past Worldcons, the tables have been piled high with books and magazine of all descriptions - old and new, rare and cheap, common and expensive, tatty and pristine. Although there were a wide range of books to choose from, there were also more stalls selling art and craft things as well as the ephemera of SF such as models. It was easy to spend a long time browsing and a lot of money. Unusually, only Rog Peyton - now trading as Replay Books - had a wide range of current, freshly published new books. Both At The Sign Of The Dragon and Fantasy (Medway) were selling off old stock. Richard and Marion van der Voort because they had moved to Scotland and hadn't really the room to store it. Ken Slater because he had decided that after many years of trading, this was a good convention to bow out.
In The Dealers' Room
The Hilton Hotel was designated the party hotel. Anyone wishing to host a party of any description was encouraged to hold them there. The majority were open to any convention member and food and drink was often supplied in lavish quantities, so much so that it was possible graze and drink at other people's expense and forego an evening meal. There were also free shuttle buses taking people from the SECC to the Hilton and back allowing those staying in the hotels close by or on the route between the venues to ignore any worries about how to get back to your rented bed. On the Thursday night, Peter Weston, veteran of many Worldcons and nominated for a Hugo for his book 'With Stars In My Eyes: My Adventures in British Fandom' in the 'Best Related Book' category, attempted to relive his past. I arrived late and avoided his organised activities like the 'Hum And Sway' but he had put on a good spread.
Friday saw the programme following much the same pattern as the previous day with too much to choose from but starting earlier. Also on offer were readings by attending authors, author signing sessions and Kaffeeklasches. The latter are opportunities to sit and chat with your favourite author over a cup of coffee. The number of fans at each session was limited so it was essential to sign up well in advance.
The Art Show was kept under high security, bags having to be checked in at the entrance, partly to prevent photography and partly because some of the work on show was valuable. Most of it was original. Items for sale could be bid on and those receiving seven bids would go into the auction on the Sunday afternoon. The range of work on show was wide. Once only paintings would have been seen at such an exhibition, but here there were also stained glass by Carol Morton and Freda Warrington, teddy bears by Freda Warrington, a clock by David Hardy, jewellery, pottery, masks and other three dimensional pieces. Probably the most unusual was a coffin decorated as a commission by Jackie Burns. The owner, who intends to use it, is a great fan of Anne McCaffrey and wanted the coffin, made from reinforced cardboard, to be decorated with dragons. The other work ranged from the exceptional, such as Anne Sudworth, Fangorn, Jim Burns, Fred Gambino and the Estate of Kelly Freas. There was also some very mediocre work on display. Some was ingenious, such as the set of paintings incorporating redundant electronic parts and the attempt to create three-dimensional paintings by using layers. The technique did not quite work, but has potential. Also on sale were items from the estate of Hans Loos. Hans was a Dutch fan who was a familiar figure at convention art auctions for several decades and bought extensively. A retrospective display had also been put together of the work of Dave Mooring, a talented artist who died earlier this year.
Among the highlights of the panel discussions was Brian Aldiss, Geoff Ryman and others discussing 'You killed off the Old People: Depicting Older People in SF'.
This was the night John was introduced to the concept of room parties. We did explain that at most smaller conventions there are fewer and often not as lavish.
The Friday night parties starred the Friendly Norwegians who, true to form, had laid on copious amounts of food and alcohol. Meanwhile upstairs on the second party floor, Alan Cash hosted the launch of his novel 'The Janus Effect'.
The big event of Saturday was the Masquerade. This was hosted by Sue Mason and Teddy. The first costumes on stage were from the children and were followed by costumes created in the Chaos Costuming strand of the programme from scraps of material and other things. The rest of the entrants were in serious competition and were divided into Novice, Journeyman and Master classes.
Best In Show was awarded to Miki Dennis for 'The Wind Brings Music To The Earth' which was a magnificent piece of craftsmanship and richly deserved the accolade.
While the judges were out making their decisions, the audience was entertained by a performance of 'Ready, Steady, Sew'. With the application of hot glue and staples, two teams were given forty-five minutes to design and create costumes for the unsuspecting hosts of the evening, Sue Mason and Teddy, from a pile of miscellaneous materials.
The big event on Sunday was the Hugo Awards Ceremony. The Masters of Ceremony were Kim Newman and Paul McAuley who handled their task with aplomb. Before the main presentations there were a few others, including the Big Heart Award which is given to fans who have given a lot to fandom in the past and made newcomers welcome. This year there were three European recipients Walter Ernsting, John-Henri Holmberg and Ina Shorrock. Ina had wondered why she had been dragged along and put into the area reserved for nominees and guests without being given the opportunity to change. Her reaction, when she realised they were talking about her was wonderful.
Dave Langford had said that he did not want to be nominated in the fanzine category as he had won it so many times that it was time someone else had a chance. Instead, his publication, Ansible, was nominated as a Semi-Prozine. He won two Hugos again, the other being for best Fan Writer. This time he was able to collect them himself.
The Best Related Book was a surprise winner, going to 'The Cambridge Companion To Science Fiction' edited by Edward James and Farrah Mendlesohn. Charles Stross missed out in the Best Novel category which went to Susanna Clarke for 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' but was awarded the Hugo for Best Novella.
Every convention has Guests of Honour. These are given a high profile and are given spaces on many panels as well as giving a talk or interview. Unfortunately, the American Guest of Honour, Robert Sheckley, was unable to attend, although he sent his wife and daughter to make his apologies. The other American GoH, Jane Yolen, was present and had a high profile. Chris Priest gave a wonderful talk about his adventures at Worldcons past.
Also honoured with GoH status were the Swedish fan Lars-Olov Strandberg and Greg Pickersgill, both of whom have been familiar faces at European conventions for decades. Other Special Guests were the artist Alan Lee and the academic David Southwood.
Monday saw the convention begin to wind down. There were the final opportunities to see if there were any bargains in the Dealers' Room and to see if your bids for artwork were successful. By mid-afternoon, many people were on their way home or to their next destination although there was a Dead Dog party for all those who couldn't face the journey without a good night's sleep.
Did John enjoy himself? He must have done as he has joined next year's Eastercon, also to be held in Glasgow.
Pauline Morgan.
Text and Photos © Pauline Morgan 2005 - all rights reserved
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