I leave for lovely Vieques, Puerto Rico on Friday and yet I can't help wanting to cry because Gaylaxicon starts this weekend! Yeah, some well known folk from Loose-Id and other publishers will be there. Yup, it will cover juicy topics like Bi-guys in fiction, but me... I'll be drunk and lying face down in sand, and while that will be a lot fun. I am missing out on prime networking.Consoling myself and thinking about the cool conventions (but they won't be MM cennntraalll)... um, yeah the cool conventions to come. There are two in 2009 that I will definitely be at because I will be working security for them (again, not the best thing promo, but free admission helps). Those two will be Katsucon in February and Balticon around March.
As a new member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), I am saving coin to attend their conference in DC, July of 2009 but who know with the economy. That convention seems to cost a great deal
The most expensive for me would be Epicon in Vegas. Hotel, airfare, registration fee... coughcoughgamblinganddrinkingcoughcough money. Oh well, here's to getting out of my cave and socializing in 2009!!
8 comments:
Oh...okay... You're counting gambling and drinking as part of the convention. I was wondering how you could come up with EPICon as the most expensive, when I find it nearly the least expensive. Readercon and other local conventions are the only ones that beat it, since I don't have to fly or book a hotel room.
Airfare into Vegas isn't bad, from most places. And, the EPICon convention itself is INCREDIBLY inexpensive, compared to others like RT, RWA...both of which are more than double EPICon's price tag. The hotel rooms are a little more than I'm accustomed to for EPICon, though no worse than they were for RT last year, and I usually share a hotel room with someone else.
Of course, I don't count drinking and gambling, so that makes up the difference, I guess.
Good luck with your networking!
Brenna
Epicon is definitely the least expensive overall, but in 2009 it is the only convention that isn't in my back yard. RWA is holdng their convention less than 30 minutes from where I work this year :D
Ah...well that makes a BIG difference. I said the same. The ones in my backyard win out, simply because I don't have to fly or pay for a hotel room. Hard to beat that.
Brenna
Exactly :D Plus, I love Vegas, witht the shows and the buffets and the stores and the one armed banditos...I need to save dough for books and room in luggage for free books. I would be that idiot that misses a key workshop like 'Writing Believable Conflict in Fiction' so that I could go see my 5th Cirque du Soliel show. Not good.
This year EPICon is going to be held in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada and I can understand that some people have a concern about gambling and drinking.
I took that into account when siting the conference. Lake Las Vegas is actually between Henderson, Nevada and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It only has one casino and the resort itself.
The reason the venue was chosen was because of it's proximity to the Las Vegas area and for it's uniqueness. It is for all intents and purposes, a Tuscan village set on a beautiful lake. It's small and just right for an intimate writers conference.
Vegas is notorious for sucking the life out of any conference hosted in the area through high prices of rooms, transportation and food. With this venue, the rooms are rated reasonably and are wonderful all around. Most of the food is included in the conference fee but what isn't can be had at the resturants in the village. There's a pub, a coffee shop, the Ritz, and a pizza place to just name a few.
The locale is easy to find and if people really want to go see a show, it can be had easily.
Airfare is always reasonable because of it being Las Vegas. They just love your money.
This is the last year for EPICon being priced below $200 making it the most reasonable conference around. Except like in your case, Mya, if it's in your back yard.
We will be offering a host of writing classes at every level. Our keynote speaker is Penny Sansevieri of Red Hot Internet Publicity fame and we're adding more every day.
Still all in all, this conference is one that every writer should check out.
Hmmm... I need to go to one of these Cons myself. :D Have fun in Puerto Rico, Mya. I'm treating myself to a trip to Jamaica next summer, dangit. I've never been out of the states.
Lynn, thank you for clarifying the details. I had been hunting around on the EPIC site looking for info but the 2009 information hasn't been placed up yet. It's also nice to know that the location isn't within walking distance of the strip.
I will check out the details when they are posted.
Sage,
This is a working vacation though... I hope... I also hope you'll be rolling up to the DC Metro area soon!
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