I’ve got a lot of plans for 2012 – quit my day job, survive the end of the world, lose weight, write half a million words…the usual. But one thing I’m definitely doing is traveling a bunch (and while on the subject of traveling, leveling and other words that end in “el,” when did we stop spelling those words with two “l”s? I’m pretty sure it was travelling and levelling when I was younger, but the great god spellcheck says NAY). I’m currently booked for a bunch of different cons this year, and talking with the rest of the Musketeers this weekend (I got dubbed D’Artagnan, BTW) we sorta solidified our DragonCon plans. So in case you’re going to be anywhere in the SouthEastern US this year, or Vegas, or just anywhere that I’m going to be, here’s how track me down.
January 13-15 – Illogicon, Raleigh, NC. – This is the smallest show that I’m actually paying to go to. It’s a new con in the state, and it’s cheap, so I’m going to go hang out and see what it’s all about. Plus I like to drink and there’s a bar in the hotel!
January 20-22 – Chattacon, Chattanooga, TN – The first of my guest appearances for the year. I haven’t done this show before, but there will be a bunch of people that I met at Fandom Fest last year attending, so I can hang with them. Allan Gilbreath from Kerlak will be there, along with the fabulously entertaining Lee Martindale and a host of other folks. I don’t know what to expect from this show, but it has a decent reputation.
February 10,11,17,18,24,25 – Almost, Maine – Ballantyne Community Theatre – My first acting gig of the year. I’ll be performing in a small scene as part of a larger show for the first show by a new theatre group. The folks running it are some of my best friends, so it should be fun. Especially as they try to work around my crazy-ass schedule.
March 2-4 – StellarCon, High Point, NC – Patrick Rothfuss is the guest of honor, and it’s a small con, so the chances of me being able to buy a beer for one of my favorite writers is pretty high. Seriously, I’m not starstruck much anymore, but Rothfuss is a Big F’n Deal. His Kingkiller Chronicles books are some of the most amazing high fantasy I’ve ever read, and I’m tempted to buy hardbacks just to get an autograph. Plus our Aramis will be there as well, the lovely and talented Misty Massey!
March 7-11 – Southeastern Theatre Conference, Chattanooga – Back to Chattanooga for the last lighting convention as a full-time employee. SETC is a conference I’ve attended since 1993, so I’ll almost certainly make it a point to get there next year for my twentieth convention. I’ve made a ton of friends over the years there, and a ton of business contacts. There will be a few drinks consumed.
March 23-25 – MidSouthCon – Memphis, TN – Apparently this is quite the sizable con, so I’m looking forward to this one. A bunch of folks will be there, and Michael Stackpole is the Guest of Honor. I read his blog, and I enjoy his perspective on the current state of the publishing world. A bunch of folks I met at Fandom Fest will be there as well, so it’ll be good to see them again.
April 13-18 – NAB – Las Vegas, NV – The National Association of Broadcasters trade show will be more about marketing work than writing work, but since I plan to start a small business doing marketing work for entertainment lighting industry firms, this would be a place where I could grab them all at one time and pitch them. Unsure if I’m actually attending this show or not, it depends on the cash.
April 26-29 – Merlefest – North Wilkesboro, NC – If you need me the last weekend of April, I’ll be in the mountains. Either come with me to listen to amazing music, or lie down til the feeling passes. This is the 25th anniversary of Merlefest, and I ain’t missing this chance to recharge, reconnect with friends and get my karma bubble right for anything! You should come, it’s great fun.
June is ridiculous, just wanted to get that out of the way early.
First off we have ConCarolinas – June 1-3 – Charlotte, NC – I was accepted as a guest last year but couldn’t attend because it conflicted with Heroes Con, but the shows are not on top of each other this year, so I’ll be there. So will all my Carolinas writing pals – Misty, Kalayna, Faith, Stuart and tons more. This is a really writer- and fan-friendly mid-sized con right here in Charlotte, so it’s very much worth attending for any aspiring writers.
Then we have HeroesCon – June 22-24 – Charlotte, NC – the largest comic show in the Southeast, and a great way for a fantasy/horror writer to hit their target audience. I’m currently splitting a table with one or two other folks, and if we get one more, I think we might have to upgrade to a real booth. I’m not on any panels at this one, just hawking books for three days. And buying comics. God, the comics!
Finally, I’m going back to Fandom Fest/Fright Night Film Fest – June 29-July 1 – Louisville, KY – This is a con that has a sweet spot in my heart, because it’s where I first connected with BellBridge Books, my publisher. There were a TON of small press publishers there last year, making it the best opportunity I saw for writers to connect with the people who actually put their words in print. Stephen Zimmer does an awesome job putting the literary track together, and I made so many connections at that show it was ridiculous. Plus my wife grew up in Kentucky, so she’s excited about seeing old friends.
August 3-5 is RoundCon – Columbia, SC – I haven’t been officially invited yet, and I probably won’t head up the lit track this time, but if I’m asked I’ll happily attend. It’s a small con, but it is growing.
August 30-September 3 is the big one. Dragon Con – Atlanta, GA – This is by far the biggest con I’m doing, and I’m not even a guest! There will be about 45,000 attendees, and I’m working to get a part of a spot on the show floor with a bunch of other people. If that works out, I’ll go in with a few other folks and we’re working on a program ad to drive traffic to our booth, and I’ll likely end up on a few panels just because there are always opportunities to crash :).
This doesn’t include the dates for the Charlotte ComiCon, which I will always do as long as Dave and Rick have room for me. It also doesn’t include the NC Writer’s Network Fall Conference, which I’ll likely attend again now that Red Dirt Review is up and running. One show I did last year that I’m unsure about for this year is the SC Book festival. I lost a few hundred bucks at that show last year, so I don’t think I’m going to attend at this point, but if something changes I’ll let you know. I don’t have any plans to buy a booth, because that was crazy expensive last year, and the crowd wasn’t really much for genre fiction.
I think that’s a good little year’s worth of cons, don’t you?
