So today was the first day of World Fantasy, the major professional convention for science fiction and fantasy literature. I’ve only been here for a few hours, but I can already tell it’s going to be awesome.
While making a stop in Chicago, I ran into two other writers on the same flight (one by the name of Theodora Goss who was on a panel later that evening) and ended up sharing a taxi with them. We had some great conversations on the way down, about non-conciliatory fantasy, Dave Wolverton’s workshops, writing short stories vs novels, etc. It was great.
So I arrived at the hotel, checked in, got situated, and immediately started running into other Utah/Mormon writers. I was a bit surprised, because I was expecting us to have a much smaller contingent this year, but I started running into familiar faces right off the bat.
And then, as a tribute to how universal science fiction and fantasy fandom really is, a group of us cleanshaven Mormons ran into an atheist and agnostic from Seattle in the hallway and spent a delightful evening together talking about religion, why there are so many Mormon sf&f writers, more religion, dating/relationships in Utah, still more religion…and it was awesome. They said we were some of the coolest Mormons they’ve come across, and I have to say, I very much enjoyed meeting them as well.
So anyways, I just went to one panel this evening: “Fantasy as a Rejection of the Present.” Basically, it was all about how fantasy tends to hearken back to the forgotten values of the past, and how steampunk and contemporary urban fantasy is largely a reaction against our modern consumer culture. There was a lot more to it as well, including a discussion of Tolkien, Lewis, and William Morris, but that was the most interesting tidbit I took from it.
It got me thinking that perhaps I should try my hand at urban fantasy. I haven’t yet tried it because I get bored just thinking about stories set in the “real world”–but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how screwed up this “real world” really is…perhaps some of those thoughts would translate surprisingly well into urban fantasy.
I don’t know. Anyhow, that’s my <500 word report on tonight’s activities. I’ll try to make another one sometime tomorrow, but I make no promises–hanging out with these people is just too much fun. Good night.
