GenCon 2015 was AWESOME!!
We learned a few things while at GenCon this year…
The Writer’s Symposium is educational and very well run
Marc, Molly, and the Writer’s Symposium folks work really hard to make the Symposium the Best Thing Ever. We were constantly in awe of their dedication, organization, and professionalism as they ran around keeping lines straight, authors comfortable, and attendees happy.
The only time we got a photo of Molly and Marc it was a little too dark. Molly is controlling you with her mind.
Since we were in cahoots with the Writer’s Symposium, we got to co-host an author hangout after con hours, which meant more author time. We got to talk about important things like gaming, writing, Dungeons & Dragons 3rd-edition rules vs. 4th-edition, and what animal’s appendages you’d rather have replace your hands if they were chopped off at the wrist (thanks Sam, that’s still a matter of hot debate).
It was wonderful, and our love of the Writer’s Symposium knows no bounds. Thank you, everyone!
Authors appear to be some gracious, fun, and interesting people
Who knew? We got to hang out with a lot of the authors who have supported Worldbuilders for years, and it was great to finally meet them in person and have real conversations.
Anton Strout approached us right away Thursday morning and said, “When you see Pat, tell him I hate him! In the most loving way.”
Brad Beaulieu went out of his way to say hi and sign a few books for us (we’re such geeks).
Our team for the Worldbuilders run of True Dungeon: Brett, our wonderful volunteers Lance and Joe, Dan Wells, Wesley Chu, Janelle from Badali Jewelry, Rachel, Steve Drew from r/Fantasy, and Max Gladstone, who was the best bard ever.
Delilah S. Dawson and Sam Sykes clowned around with Brett. Brett was a little uncomfortable.
We also got to hang out and chat with Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, Chuck Wendig, Brian McClellan, Kameron Hurley, Elizabeth Vaughan, and Stephen Blackmoore! Rachel even tackled Terry Brooks, who was pretty busy (he was the Symposium’s guest of honor), but who graciously took the time out to talk with her and sign some bookplates. We already knew our supporters are awesome, and now we know we’re just surrounded by awesomeness on all sides.
Cards Against Humanity knows how to party
While we were at the con, we scored some tickets to the Concert Against Humanity, which featured performances by Molly Lewis, The Doubleclicks, the Cards Against Humanity team (who had the audience help them answer some email), stand-up comics Kumail Nanjiani and Cameron Esposito, Pat and John Scalzi, and Paul & Storm. We laughed for four hours straight. Then we stood in line, high on funny, to get some really luscious concert posters autographed.
John Scalzi ate the camera immediately after this photo was taken.
The entire Cards Against Humanity crew was friendly, helpful, funny, and genuinely nice. They even knew who we are! Bonus!
We still love Badali Jewelry
Finally, since we were sharing booth space with Badali Jewelry, we got to spend the whole con with Janelle and her crew (most of whom are her family as well). Nothing but fun. All we can say is that Badali Jewelry doesn’t just make breathtaking fine jewelry, they’re also fun, open, genuine people who geek out almost more than we do about all this. When we invited Janelle to True Dungeon, she stopped breathing for a minute or two.
She’s hard to miss with that hair.
We’ve started a con photo album on our Facebook page if you’d like to see more photos.
Huge thanks to our fantastic volunteers Jacques, Joe, Lance, Mitchell, Tom, Jenn, Kayla, Brian, David (hi David!), Joe, Tony, Darren, Asa, Yiyi, and Jeremiah! You guys were indispensable! Also, Thera is the best volunteer coordinator under the sun!
And hugs and kisses to everyone who stopped by our booth or table to buy some swag, grab a free bookmark, or peruse the sample Karen Hallion calendar we had on display.
Best.
Con.
Ever!