World Fantasy Convention 2011 – San Diego
on Oct 19 in Blog Post by johnhornor
So, next week begins the Jacobs family’s San Diego vacation which also coincides with the World Fantasy Convention. The missus, Rojo (the eldest) and The Grunch (the youngest) and I will board a flying cylinder and rocket to the Left Coast. The WFC’s theme for this year is “Sailing the Seas of Imagination,” and will culminate in the Under the Sea Dance wherein Marty McFly performs an anachronistic version of “Johnny B Goode.”
This year’s guest of honor is none other than Neil Gaiman, who has the popularity of most rock-stars. Memberships to WFC11 have been sold out since March (or before). There’s huge attendance expected.
If the organizers had the program ready, this would be the point in the blog entry where I tell you when and where I’m speaking or paneling. They don’t, unfortunately. And understandably. HUGE ATTENDANCE. However, since there are SO many luminaries bringin’ their A game, it’s up in the air if I’ll even be on a panel, since in the grand scheme of things I am “only quite a little fellow in a wide world, after all.” (Fantasy nerdery, FTW!)
Some of the people I hope to meet (or my kids hope to) are:
- Neil Gaiman
- Cornelia Funke
- Guy Gavriel Kay
- Peter S. Beagle
- Greg Bear
- Bradley P. Beaulieu
- Gregory Benford
- James P. Blaylock
- David Brin
- Ellen Datlow
- David Drake
- Scott Edelman
- Daryl Gregory
- S. T. Joshi
- Richard Kadrey
- Tim Powers
- Patrick Rothfuss
- Robert J. Sawyer
- Courtney Schafer
- Robert Silverberg
- Katy Stauber
- Steve Rasnic Tem
- Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
No, my kids aren’t fans of Richard Kadrey or S.T. Joshi. They are fans of Neil Gaiman and Cornelia Funke. For me, all of the above. And there are so many more folks attending, many whose names I recognize yet have never read. It’s a pretty incredible roster of attendees. Check out the total membership list HERE. Since memberships are sold out, I imagine there’ll be a few folks – COUGH, Stephen Blackmoore, Erik Williams, COUGH – holding Barcon in the…er, place of libation dispensation.
I shall report on any famous writers dropping trou or committing acts of douchebaggery. I shall omit my own.
My publisher for Southern Gods, Night Shade Books, will have a table in the dealer’s room and is also hosting a party, along with Eraserhead Press, on Friday night. I imagine I’ll be there hoisting a beverage after I put the kids to bed. It might get strange. Or should I say, bizarre. Oh.
As a family, we plan on going to SeaWorld one day, and the San Diego Zoo, on another. My youngest is very pissed that we won’t return home until the night of Halloween. Miss Grumpybutt, aka The Grunch, keeps telling us that she’s NOT GOING. But she’s going. OH YES SHE IS! And she’s going to have FUN. She better have fun. Otherwise, her grumpybutt is going to regret it…
Any suggestions about kid friendly stuff to expose Rojo and The Grunch to, I’d appreciate it.
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So Random
Get Some Books, Y’all
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I’ll be there either Friday, the 28th or Saturday, the 29th depending on a couple of things. Figuring that out now.
Looking forward to finally meeting you, sir.
You might want to consider the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. It’s a separate facility from the zoo nearby in Escondido. You go on a tram ride through the habitat and in some cases get pretty close to the animals. The kid might dig it.
There’s also the museums in Balboa Park. Quite a few of them. The science museum is pretty cool. It’s all hands on and kid friendly.
http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/
http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/balboa/
See you next week.
Hey, those look awesome. We will check them out! But ouch. Some of the safaris are pricey. Or maybe I’m just cheap. Or both.
Oh, I’ll be at BarCon as long as the twins remain in the womb. That’ll be a day-by-day thing for the next few weeks.
As to places to see: by the time you finish the zoo and Sea World, you’ll be animaled out. Plus, the Safari Park is a good half hour north of the Con hotel. Balboa Park is nice just to walk around. Cool architecture. Some of the buildings there were used for the exteriors of “Citizen Kane”‘s Xanadu house.
I’d also recommend downtown. The Gaslamp area is nice. You’ve also got the USS Midway Museum on the waterfront there if you or the kids are into aircraft carriers and fighter jets and such. Don’t know if you’re a Jim Croce fan but Croce’s Jazz Bar is downtown as well.