AS: Last year in June, we talked about conventions! Where we were at with attending, as well as what some of our faves are, and more. This year, I attended the SFWA Nebula Conference in Anaheim, CA and WisCon in Madison, WI, and I’m currently planning to attend Readercon in Quincy, MA. I’m hoping to be able to get to a few others—it would be cool to go to StokerCon in Pittsburgh, PA; Can*Con in Ottawa, ON (Canada); Worldcon in Chengdu (China); and World Fantasy in Kansas City, MO.
CY: I hope to see you in Kansas City! That’s it for me this year, I’m afraid. Travel is pretty tough these days, and my one “big” trip will be to see family I haven’t seen since before the pandemic!
AS: My first time going to a convention, I was actually terrified. It’s hard to explain looking back on it. But I think I just had a lot of misconceptions about them. If a friend hadn’t gone with me, I would never have attended. Christie, for you, what do people get out of these events, and who should think about going? Especially considering that many folks see reading (or writing, for that matter) as a solitary activity.
CY: Anyone who wants to meet and geek out with other genre fans—and learn a little about how the sausage is made—should try to get to a convention! Several have kept an online component, which might make participation easier for those who can’t travel.
World Fantasy 2009 was my first convention. I went alone—I’m still pretty proud of Past Me for that—and I was so intimidated by all of the pros around me! But everyone was so kind and seemed to take me seriously as a writer even though I hadn’t sold a thing yet. WFC is a “pro” convention, as opposed to a fan convention like WorldCon, but that just means it’s primarily focused on business and craft. I’m allergic to the word “networking”–it sounds so transactional and inauthentic—and I was relieved to discover that the people were really genuine, and we bonded over our shared passion for the genre. I met some of my dearest friends that weekend! That’s still why I go—I get to spend time with other genre nerds. So for the writers out there, World Fantasy is a great place to start.
AS: I feel like conventions are such multi-faceted events, and each has its own characteristics, each has its own personality. I usually recommend folks going for the first time do so with a friend, ideally someone they can split off from here and there to have their own, separate hang-outs, or to pursue their own interests. You also have to plan to spend more money than you think. If you go out for drinks, for example, that may be an expense you hadn’t anticipated; and meals and drinks can be great ways to socialize with folks. But it’s also okay to just go and attend panels and meet your literary heroes.
CY: You’re so right—a convention is what we make of it, and if that means hanging out in the bar with a few friends for three days, going to panels and not talking to anyone, wandering through the vendors’ room browsing cool fandom merch, or actively seeking out new people who share your interests, those are all valid options! Also, a whole lot of us are introverts, so if you need to spend half the convention in your hotel room recovering emotional hit points, we will understand—and often will be relieved that we can go do the same!
Publisher’s Note: Kindle Periodicals is Closing, and We Need Your Support More Than Ever.
Many of you have likely already heard about the new existential threat to Fantasy Magazine and all of the other digital magazines in the SF/F/H field: the impending closure, in September, of Amazon’s Kindle Periodicals program. They will be transitioning some magazines into Kindle Unlimited, and so in some respects things may continue as normal if you subscribe via Kindle Periodicals—but this shift will cut severely into the finances of any magazine currently using the service; Fantasy, for instance, will see our largest source of funding cut it in half. (For additional information about this seismic shift, you can see Neil Clarke’s deep dive into the details at neil-clarke.com/amazon-kindle-subscriptions.)
What We Can Do About This
The best thing you can do if you are a Kindle Periodicals subscriber is to migrate your subscription over to one of our other subscription options. Currently, we have the following options available:
- Subscribe direct via our website: We have options for 6 month, 12 month, 24 month, and Lifetime subscriptions. We’re in the process of also bringing back the pay-as-you-go monthly subscriptions (i.e., the way Kindle Periodicals currently works) as well. Your issues can be delivered to your Kindle or Kindle app of choice the same way they are via Kindle Periodicals, though they’d appear on your device as regular eBooks rather than the special “periodical” format Kindle Periodicals forced us to use.
- Subscribe via Weightless Books: Weightless Books’s subscriptions work exactly like our Direct subscriptions, though they only have 6 and 12 month options.
- Become a Patreon patron: If you just want to support Fantasy and the other Adamant Press magazines (without getting ebooks in return), you can become one of our Patrons at Patreon. You’d be able to choose any amount that you’d like to pledge to support us, either monthly or annually.
Visit Fantasymagazine.com/support for more info about all of the above.
Why We Need Your Support
There are no big companies supporting or funding Adamant Press’s magazines—and Adamant itself is kind of a two-person show—so the magazines really rely on reader support. Because of that, it’s vital for us to keep as many Kindle Periodicals subscribers—which is the vast majority of our subscribers are—as possible during this upheaval. So, please—if you care about the continuation of Fantasy and any other genre magazines you subscribe to, please take this to heart and help us make this transition.
Thank You for Being a Subscriber
Thanks so much for your generous support over the months or years you’ve been a subscriber or reader. Together, we can ensure that Fantasy will continue coming to you every month for many years to come.