The Hugos are not the only thing that needs to be voted on at Worldcon. There is also the small matter of deciding where Worldcon will be held in 2018. The two bids that have filed their papers are for New Orleans and San José.
Now New Orleans happens to be one of my favorite places to visit in the whole world. But not, I think, in August. And my reasons for visiting it are all to do with food and music, not to do with science fiction conventions. Besides, if you look carefully at the ballot paper you will see my name on San José bid committee list.
This should not come as a surprise. Back in 2002 we ran ConJosé, and Kevin (my Kevin) co-chaired the event. My job was primarily keeping him sane through the process, though I did a whole lot of other things as well, including persuading a chap called Gaiman to attend the Hugo ceremony even though he was convinced that American Gods had no chance of winning.
All things considered, I think ConJosé went pretty well. Obviously a few things did go wrong (yes, I know the Restaurant Guide — we will not make that mistake again!), but I think we did a decent job. Since then we have done a World Fantasy Con and a variety of other conventions. The facilities have got better (including a lot more local restaurants) and I think we’d do a good job again.
Kevin and I won’t be so heavily involved, should we win. In all probability I won’t even be able to attend. But we are still on the Board of Directors of the parent organization so it is down to us to make sure that the job is done well. That includes making sure that we run a safe, welcoming and diverse event.
One slightly non-diverse thing that we have done is keep up the tradition of having the event chaired by someone called Kevin. No, not this one, this one:
Er, the one on the right, not the one with the eye stalk. And there is no truth in the rumor that the chap with the eye stalk will be the Head of Security.
Our con chair, should we win, will be Kevin Roche, who is a master costumer (including making costumes for daleks) but also has a day job doing really cool science. He and his husband, Andy, have been responsible for some truly spectacular parties at conventions down the years. I have every confidence in Kevin’s ability to put together a team that will deliver an excellent event that will appeal to a wide range of fannish interests and be a lot of fun.
Vote for us, please.
Hi Cheryl,
If we win, I’ll be doing the job you did for KevinR, keeping him fed, watered and sane.
As for Neil I used a line from his acceptance speech in 2002 to get a smile from him in 2012.
Me: I know what you said at your first HUGO win.
NG: I’ll have you know I said “Freaking.”
Me: I have it on video, I know exactly what you said.
NG: {little smile}
Me:
Kevin & Andy also threw a heck of a fine Westercon a couple years back, and a CostumeCon before that. They are highly experienced at doing their best to make a convention fun for all participants.