Editorial

WorldCon Extravaganza

by Sheila Williams

After a two-year hiatus, it was a thrill to attend the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention that was held in Seattle, Washington last summer. Unfortunately, I can’t fit in everything I did, every person I saw, and every person I missed, but here’s a short synopsis of my trip. I arrived on Wednesday, August 13, and hung out at a lovely room party hosted by Amy Thomson and Edd Vick. In addition to the hosts, the party gave me a chance to see Naomi Kritzer, Brenda Cooper, Astrid Bear, and others. The next morning I met Locus Magazine editor in chief, Liza Groen Trombi.

I had an unexpectedly amusing panel (at least as far as I was concerned) at 10:30 a.m. It was on the unfunny topic of “Coping with Short Story Rejections.” Each of my co-panelists spontaneously finished their own introductions by stating that they’d “been rejected by Sheila Williams.” The moderator went last and after she made the same confession, I grabbed the microphone and asked how many people in the large audience had been rejected by me. Two thirds raised their hands. Fortunately, a number of people later stated that my rejections had improved their work and had sometimes led to their story’s eventual sale.

After the panel, I went on a side trip to Seattle’s Museum of Popular Culture for a private tour and a chance to visit Isaac Asimov’s typewriter. Isaac’s wife Janet gave the typewriter to me many years ago and I lent it to the MoPop about nine years ago. It was very sweet to see the typewriter again and there were lots of other cool things to see at the museum as well. I took Seattle’s monorail back to the convention to attend the art show reception with Maurizio Manzieri. Next it was a car service to the Homeward Books party. Two of the founders of this small press are Dell /Must Read Books Award winners—Rachel Sobel and Lara Elena Donnelly. Guests included Sarah Pinsker and Elizabeth Bear.

After a short visit, I rushed back to my hotel to meet Nancy Kress and Jack Skillingstead for dinner. We were joined by Walter Jon Williams and his wife Kathy, as well as Daryl Gregory. During dinner, I also had the chance to catch up with Nicola Griffith and Kelly Eskridge who were dining at a nearby table. I was disappointed that I couldn’t squeeze Jan Kotouč’s book launch into my schedule, but I was able to visit with him and Julie Novakova in the Czech party suite after that evening’s party was over.

On Friday I had breakfast with Rich Larson, and then met with Chris Campbell for a couple of hours. I rushed to the Locus Party, sharing a cab with Linda Addison and Ellen Datlow. At the party I visited with the agent Caitlin Blasdell, editor Arley Sorg, and others, but I had to dash out to make it to my three p.m. autographing session. The session was not a stampede, but I was delighted that James Van Pelt stopped by for a chat.

Then it was off to a coffee with Nikki Braziel followed by a sprint to the Tor Books party. I spent much of the occasion chatting with Eileen Gunn, then left to meet Emily Hockaday, James Patrick Kelly, and Ray Nayler for dinner. Just before dinner, we briefly met up with Must Read Books’ director of design and operations, Franco Alvarado. After a stimulating dinner conversation we all returned to the hotel and collapsed into chairs in the lobby. We were joined by Naomi Kritzer and continued our conversing.

Bright and early the next morning, Emily and I met up with Robert Silverberg and his wife Karen Haber for breakfast, which was a convention highlight! On the stroll from breakfast to my 10:30 panel on Magazines in the Modern Age, Emily and I ran into Mary Robinette Kowal and had a great sidewalk chat.

I had to move quickly to get from my first panel to my noon panel on Where Do Editors Come From, which I moderated. Then it was a peripatetic lunch with Tegan Moore that included a stop at the art show to visit with John Picacio, rehearsing for the Hugos, and finished up at a coffee shop in the convention center where I also had a chance to catch up with George R.R. Martin. After that I had a “Table Talk” with some readers/writers. And then it was on to an evening of Hugo festivities.

It was gratifying to witness Naomi Kritzer win the best novelette Hugo for “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” (September/October 2024) and to receive heartfelt thanks from the stage from best novella winner Ray Nayler for my contributions to his career. A rewarding end to a rewarding Worldcon!