Last CapriCon thoughts (and NEXT CapriCon thoughts).
So, is it a good idea to go to a convention four days after a break-up? Maybe not for everyone, but it worked well for me. A few people knew what had happened and offered sympathy, but most didn’t, and that was actually kind of nice, because I could just focus on the work of being at the con.
It’s super-fun work, often with old friends, and I met a lot of interesting people who may end up new friends. I enjoyed the focused intensity of being on my panels — the one on class issues in particular, we could’ve easily gone for another hour or three, I suspect.
And it turns out I have more to say about Babylon 5 than I thought — the exploration of the rise of a totalitarian government and the place of telepaths in that was unique to TV SF, I think. (I did NOT wear my Star Trek mask to the Babylon 5 panel, but I admit, I was tempted.)
I loved interviewing Cecilia Tan about her career — we talked a lot about early indie days, her big press successes, and her current indie efforts. Darius Vinesar will have that interview edited and up soon, and I think it’ll be super-interesting to anyone trying to figure out how to make a writing career work over decades. Shaun Duke will then take an interview clip and make a nice little study guide for the Portolan Project with it, with discussion questions and writing exercises.
I enjoyed spending hours brainstorming con running with various folks on the concom, and you’ll be proud of me that I DID NOT stick up my hand and volunteer to help with running CapriCon. I am not allowed to volunteer for any more service work until I’m finished on school board (May 2025). (I say so, Kevin says so, everyone says so…)
And even then, I should mostly concentrate on the SLF work, and anything else, look for projects that would partner well with the SLF. We’re tentatively planning to do some SLF / CapriCon jointly-sponsored events in the next year, Zoom panels and the like, so I’m excited about that. Watch this space.
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I’d really love CapriCon to become a bigger convention. Chicago should have a great SFF convention — we’re a reasonably affordable fabulous city. Room rents were about $160 / night (in part because it’s in February), and that’s a pretty good deal for a major metropolitan city. Their con registration is relatively cheap too — around $50, I think?
We had great weather this past weekend, but even if we have polar vortex and snow, the current con hotel (locked in for next year), is plenty big enough that you can basically spend all your time in the hotel, or you can walk a block to a Whole Foods, or two blocks to a big set of interesting restaurants, or jump in a cheap Uber and go to the Art Institute, the Planetarium, the Aquarium, the Field Museum, or just to do some shopping on the Magnificent Mile.
I was talking to the concom about how to attract more pro writers, specifically. I think there’s a certain critical mass that you can achieve — if you have at least 30 professionals attending (not necessarily big names, but a good mix of writers, editors, and agents, with representation in a few different genres — hard SF, romantasy, YA, etc.), then your con becomes a destination. That con bar becomes a place other writers want to hang out in, because that’s where all the juicy networking happens. So 30 pros becomes 50, or 75…
And then there’s a great knock-on effect, because if you now have 50-75 professionals attending, your con becomes much more attractive to aspiring writers AND to readers. You have a wealth of knowledgeable folks to add to your panels (and none of them get overwhelmed with being asked to cover 8-10 different panels, which has happened to me before at small cons, and really is a bit exhausting).
I think CapriCon has the potential to be a truly fabulous con, and after 44 years, I find that I’m pretty invested in having these old-school literature-focused conventions hang in there. A lot of them are financially struggling right now, post-pandemic, but they don’t need much to get them back on stable footing — another 200 attendees would make all the difference (especially if some of them also volunteered to help run the thing!).
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So SF/F writer friends — here’s my ask. I’m planning to be at CapriCon 45 next February, and I’m going to go get my pre-registration now. What would entice you to come to Chicago and join me? What are you looking for in a convention these days?
For me, it’s usually the people, but if there are activities you’d want (agent pitch sessions? writer coaching sessions? writing workshops? something else?), now is the time to tell me. (And if you want to come talk to my students at UIC, definitely tell me that too — I have no budget for speakers (state school), but they’d be thrilled, and I can buy you a coffee, at least!)
SFF readers, I’d love to hear from you too. What would seduce you to attend CapriCon? We’re unlikely to get in big celebrity actors — it’s not that kind of con. Does the chance to attend interesting literary & media panels appeal? Play board games in the game room and make new friends? Try new artsy / geeky crafts? They have all of that already! What else?
The current hotel is VERY easy to access via public transit, so I’d love to have fans from all over Chicagoland attending next year. The hotel contract expires next year, and then they have to decide whether to stay in the city or go back to the suburbs, so this may be a make-or-break moment for having a transit-accessible SFF con in Chicago. If you want it to exist, come in 2025!
If I don’t have the time to make your suggestions happen, I might be able to task some of the SLF folks to work on these, or at least pass the suggestions on to the CapriCon concom.
Fandom has been such a gift to me, my entire writing life. It has sustained me in hard times, and taught me much of my craft as a writer. I want it to be there, strong, for the next generation. Let’s make it happen!
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(Pics are of me on the last day, dressed once more in starry-theme, also of the con suite, which had a gorgeous view of the Chicago River — and in fact, much of the con had stunning views of the river. I spent a while writing with one of those views, and it was both inspiring and soothing. My city is so beautiful. You should come see it.
